Where there’s opportunity, there’s exploitation. And the world of digital marketing, and in particular search engine optimization, reflects this reality. Anyone with a computer and WiFi can claim SEO expertise, which leads to misinformation and questionable tactics.

Over the years, we’ve interacted with numerous businesses that engaged shady SEO or ad agencies and suspected something was “off,” but didn’t know what to look for or how to prove it. The bad SEO actors usually take two forms:

• There are the aggressive sales guys or YouTube “gurus” masquerading as marketing professionals. They onboard clients into retainer contracts, demonstrate early “wins” by targeting low-hanging fruit, then put in minimal effort thereafter. Businesses are hesitant to sever ties, fearing the loss of supposed expertise.

• And there are the freelancers on marketplaces offering one-time “optimization packages” with cookie-cutter checklists, but performing zero to very little actual work. Their “services” are often conducted solely via email. These groups take advantage of small businesses that lack basic SEO knowledge.

Our mission has always been to share with clients the principles of common sense, ethical “white hat” SEO. This article aims to empower you with the knowledge to distinguish and steer clear of the pitfalls of bad SEO practices and outright scams.

First, How to Protect Yourself

Navigating the world of SEO can seem complicated, due to aggressive sales and the potential for deception, but it is manageable. First and foremost, arm yourself with knowledge.

• Educate yourself: Before signing up for SEO tools or courses that you likely don’t need, first study SEO basics on your own. If hiring, familiarize yourself with the process of vetting and hiring SEOs. Learn about common SEO misconceptions.

• Focus on quality: Trustworthy digital marketing professionals will prioritize personal interactions to genuinely understand and serve your needs. Beware of those offering email-only interactions—these groups are only interested in sales. Read their marketing blog, do they publish high-quality, helpful content?

• Ask questions: When hiring, inquire about an agency’s approach, strategies, and past results. If they’re legitimate, they’ll be transparent and eager to share with you. See our suggested questions to ask SEOs.

🚩 Red Flags Indicating SEO Scams or Bad SEO

Many businesses are aware of the pitfalls of “black hat SEO,” or tactics such as creating doorway pages and setting up link schemes. But our experience with hundreds of clients over the years has shown that it’s often the subtler, less obvious practices that lead businesses astray.

It’s important to note that not all providers who use cookie-cutter or bad SEO tactics have malicious intent—some providers simply lack experience and can inadvertently cause harm to your rankings.

There’s overlap between “bad SEO,” which can be due to inexperience, and “SEO scams,” or deliberate deception or practices that take advantage of a customer’s lack of knowledge. So, how can you discern between the genuine and the inexperienced or unscrupulous SEOs? Watch out for the following:

• Cold outreach: Unsolicited SEO spam emails (or calls) from anyone claiming they found errors on your site is likely a fear tactic to secure business. We get the same emails. So does Google. Typically as your site gains traction, the more SEO spam you’ll see. Don’t click any links, just delete the emails. If in doubt, check the sending address and try to verify the company, most spam emails come from a generic address or a domain with no website. Typical cold outreach messaging includes:

  • A list of errors on your site. Use free SEO tools to check for broken links.

  • A promise to get you to the first page of Google. Even businesses that are well-positioned for competitive searches receive this sort of spam.

  • A notification that your domain is expiring. If in doubt, don’t click, sign in to your domain provider directly from your web browser.

  • An offer of a free audit they’ve compiled for your site. Delete.

  • An offer to provide free content for your blog. Delete.

• Guaranteed rankings: Anyone suggesting “page 1 ranking” or “first page of Google” or rapid results is playing on your emotions and over-promising. Or they intend to “rank” you for no- to low-volume keywords. This type of language is common on sites selling SEO tools or courses to beginners and DIYers.

• Out-of-date tactics: Backlinks do not hold as much weight today and not all are beneficial. Earned editorial links from authoritative sites are amazing, but genuine “digital PR” is hard. And no, a pay-to-play link in Forbes will not lend you credibility. Avoid services that sell backlinks, or agencies that suggest links are the solution to your problem. And outdated ideas such as an “ideal blog length” can be ignored.

• Bait-and-switch: Low-cost SEO services are sometimes used as a bait-and-switch tactic. Agencies promise quick results, only to later insist that paid ads are the “only effective solution” for your site. Ads are a legitimate strategy, but it’s essential to discern whether the provider’s true intention is to profit from managing your ad spend or to genuinely improve your organic traffic. If an agency knows SEM versus SEO is the best option for your timeline, this should be mentioned during your first meeting. If a switch occurs, consider it a red flag and look for a transparent partner.

• Platform specific. The foundational principles of SEO are consistent regardless of platform. If an agency insists you migrate to a “proprietary” platform, think twice. If someone argues that only one particular CMS is good for SEO, this likely means they are inexperienced and it is the only platform they know.

• Control over your assets: Any agency or individual that has ownership of your Google Business Profile, domain, content, or social media accounts—without a clear, valid reason—is treading on scam territory. If an agency goes out of business or relations sour, having control prevents disruptions to your online presence. You should always retain control over all your business assets.

• Conflict of interest: Niche-focused agencies, such as “SEO for dentists,” create conflicts when they serve multiple local competitors. Reputable agencies will have policies in place to manage this, such as restricting client intake from certain areas. Seek transparency from agencies about potential conflicts.

• Generic advice: Blogging has its merits, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Many marketers recommend blogs to every site, regardless of fit. Some do this out of inexperience, others do it to encourage you to spend more money.

• Smoke and mirrors: Some SEOs brag about examples of keyword rankings to impress potential clients, but boasting about rankings doesn’t mean they’re valuable. You can vet these sorts of claims with a keyword difficulty checker or traffic checker to reveal any irrelevancies and exaggerations.

• Complex jargon: SEOs who deliberately use complex jargon or emphasize the dire consequences of not using their services are just trying to confuse and scare potential clients into buying their services.

• Lack of transparency: If an agency or provider is unwilling or unable to explain their methods, they might be hiding ineffective or black-hat techniques.

• Free blogs: When you receive offers of free blog posts that “will resonate with your readers,” this is SEO spam. Ignore. These are unscrupulous people hoping to place links on your site back to their content and your site can take a hit.

• Skewed data: Be cautious when reviewing SEO case studies. We’ve seen inexperienced providers showcasing data from unreliable website builder dashboards. Genuine case studies should be based on trusted platforms, such as Google Analytics, to provide an accurate representation of success.

• Google certifications: While Google does offer certifications for some programs like Google Ads, they don’t offer an SEO certification. If someone says they have “Google certifications,” ask what they mean.

• Promotional advice: Be discerning when exploring user forums. If a forum allows affiliate linking, many participants provide “advice” as a means to promote products. You need to differentiate between experienced guidance and self-serving replies.

• Shady Testimonials: We know of websites showcasing “SEO success stories” that are simply their friends’ websites and “testimonials” from their own affiliates whose sites have no SEO value. This one is hard to spot if you are new to the SEO space, but you can always take your efforts one step further and vet the claims of the testimonials.

• Cookie-cutter SEO: One-size-fits-all SEO packages, software, or plugins can make SEO seem like a commodity. Out-of-date, boilerplate, and irrelevant advice is very common. Addressing minor issues like missing H1s or alt text on images won’t drastically improve your rankings. If an SEO or a software tool suggests you “increase word count” or “get backlinks,” it’s time to regroup. A plugin or “25-point package” will not be what propels your SMB SEO efforts forward and you will be outperformed in search—a tailored strategy is best.

Realistic Expectations

Keep in mind, the time it takes for an SEO strategy to show results will vary based on a variety of factors including your history, competitors, industry, target audience, the current state of your website, and more. Some sites are quick and others take time, however here are some very general guidelines to consider:

• Existing sites: Some existing sites can see quick results.

• Tangible movement: By the 3 to 6-month mark, almost any site should see notable SEO improvements, such as increased traffic or better rankings. Not every site can expect explosive growth, but a steady and upward trajectory should be evident.

• Review and reassess: By the 7 to 12-month mark, if there’s no positive trend, or even a decline, it’s time to thoroughly review and reconsider your approach.

Telltale Signs of Bad SEO

If you’ve engaged an SEO provider and are concerned about quality, you should trust your gut, but you can also look for these signs:

• Thin content: Thin content, which offers little to no value to readers, can harm a site’s reputation. Ensure each page serves a purpose and offers genuine value. Keep in mind, thin content is not defined by word count.

• Over-optimized content: Content that unnaturally repeats keywords or seems geared more for bots than humans is a red flag. If your content reads like, “Looking for the best pizza in Brooklyn? Our Brooklyn pizzeria has served Brooklyn residents with the best Brooklyn-style pizza for years,” your site is over-optimized. Note, there is often an overlap between over-optimized and thin content.

• Spammy backlinks: A sudden influx of low-quality, irrelevant backlinks can indicate spammy SEO work. This said, Google ignores spammy links.

• Meaningless keywords: If your website begins to rank for obscure or random phrases that don’t align with your business goals, it can be a sign of misdirected SEO effort. You want to target keywords with genuine search volume and relevance to your business. Ranking for “gluten-free strawberry rhubarb pie in Montana” is of zero use because no one is searching for it.

• Duplicate content: If the same content appears in multiple places on your site or other sites, it’s a sign of laziness. Some agencies that specialize in niche industries, like “SEO for dentists,” will reuse ineffective content from site-to-site. This common approach in niches lacks any strategy and can affect your site’s ranking.

The Consequences of Taking Shortcuts

SEO issues such as structural problems and broken links are common on many sites—they don’t result in a formal penalty and are easy to correct on smaller sites. But the possible ramifications of low-quality content or manipulative strategies can be steep, from drastic drops in rankings and diminished organic traffic, to the extreme case of being completely removed from search results. Penalties can manifest in different ways:

• Manual penalties: These are imposed when a human reviewer at Google flags your site for violating their webmaster quality guidelines.

• Algorithmic penalties: These happen automatically when Google’s algorithms detect that a site offers a poor user experience or is trying to manipulate rankings. Google updates its algorithms all the time. But every once in a while, an update stands out due to the sheer number of sites impacted. Examples include the Panda update (targeting thin content in 2011) and the Penguin update (targeting unnatural links in 2012). And more recently, Google’s third Helpful Content Update (September 2023) knocked out many sites with overall poor user experience.

Regaining Trust and Rankings

Recovering from the fallout of poor SEO practices might feel daunting, but it is doable. Think of it as a journey rather than a sprint. The goal is to re-align your website with search engine guidelines. If your recovery project is complex, a seasoned SEO expert can help. Their expertise will ensure a focus on user experience and quality content to lay the foundation for lasting online success.

SEO is more than just achieving high rankings. It’s about establishing trust, providing value to your visitors, and building a sustainable online presence. Work with digital marketers who prioritize a holistic approach and long-term success over quick wins.

Final Thoughts

Many small businesses mistakenly believe SEO is a one-size-fits-all service, unaware of the need for tailored strategies based on factors like size, location, and industry. Relying on outdated checklist plugins, inexperienced providers, or generic packages inevitably leads to a mismatch of strategies—every time. The misalignment causes businesses to miss out on capturing their target audience and overlook growth opportunities.

Your SEO approach must evolve alongside traditional and AI-powered search engine algorithms and changing user behaviors. While the allure of “quick-fix” solutions can be tempting, using flawed SEO tactics will keep your business from achieving long-term, sustainable success. Learn what to look for when hiring an SEO.

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