Beware SEO companies who promise Google rankings
So you’ve just received the fourth email this week from another company you’ve never heard of saying you aren’t doing as well in Google’s search rankings as you could be. Paradoxically, they usually start with something like “I found your site on the web, but you aren’t ranking very well”. Beware false promises or SEO guarantees We strongly advise caution when it comes to dealing with these types of companies. They are notorious for making
So you’ve just received the fourth email this week from another company you’ve never heard of saying you aren’t doing as well in Google’s search rankings as you could be.
Paradoxically, they usually start with something like “I found your site on the web, but you aren’t ranking very well”.
Beware false promises or SEO guarantees
We strongly advise caution when it comes to dealing with these types of companies. They are notorious for making massive promises that they can rarely deliver on and are usually based offshore so you’ll have limited recourse. They can also put your entire site at risk depending on the tactics they use to provide ranking results.
- These companies most likely have never even audited your site to see where it ranks. They just use your contact page to send an email to promise you they can do better. They are essentially spammers. They may have even just got your email address from a list somewhere and not even have visited your site.
- Where are these people located? Google’s algorithms are hugely influenced by “regional” searches. That is, someone in Sydney is not going to see the same results as someone from the Sunshine Coast. So you could already be ranking well and they just can’t see it.
- Don’t take their word for it. Do some tests for yourself. Where do you rank? Is what they are saying true?
- The very first question to ask these firms is “will you need access to my website?”. If they answer “no”, run a mile. The vast majority of SEO improvements you can make these days are in improving existing content or adding more content on topics related to your industry. If they don’t access your site, they cannot possibly be doing the most important work.
- If they do want access to your website, do you know who you are handing the keys to your website over to? Could they do more harm than good? How do you know what they will change? Are they qualified to do so?
- Ask them if they need to see your Analytics stats. If they answer “no”, run a mile. Where you rank for a certain phrase does not necessarily equal traffic, and certainly does not reflect the quality of the lead for that phrase.
- You can’t rank number 1 for everything. If you want to rank well for a certain phrase, chances are you will affect all other phrases by trying to achieve it. It’s a constant balancing act.
- If they mention the hidden keywords in the code behind the site, run a mile. The “meta keywords” as they are called, haven’t been used since about 2009. Only spammers or amateurs even talk about those these days.
- Check if the company that emailed you is actually even affiliated with Google.
- If you can’t get them on the phone, DO NOT proceed. What happens when something goes wrong? Who are you going to call?
- In order to achieve fast results, some companies engage in “black hat” techniques which elevates you in Google search results. Often these black hat techniques backfire, with Google penalising sites that engage in such practises to the extent that they do not rank for even their own brand names. We strongly advise caution when looking to sign up with any SEO provider – thorough analysis of techniques should be conducted before making a decision of this nature.
The Kook difference:
- We do not make promises around ranking for specific terms
- Instead, we optimise your entire site to ensure that it is Google friendly
- We optimise your page speeds to ensure that you rank well for user experience
- We manage and improve your content and site structure to ensure that you rank for as many terms as possible.
- Most importantly, we do not engage in link building or any other black hat activities.
As your website gets more and more traffic, you’re going to start receiving calls from all types of marketing companies trying to sell you their digital services – it is good to be wary, we will always go through the latest techniques in online marketing and will happily answer any questions you might have.
What's next, Kook?
A meeting with us costs NOTHING. Even if you have an inkling you aren't getting the results you'd expect, let's have a chat.