Episode 102: The Dirty Truth About SEO Companies

What was discussed?

Quote of the day: “If you try and lose then it isn't your fault. But if you don't try and we lose, then it's all your fault.” - Orson Scott Card

Searching for a new SEO company? Here are some scummy SEO tactics that you should look out for:

Using Old Techniques

If companies are talking to you about getting lots of forum links, mentioning how they’ll create web 2.0s, or if they start talking about spinning content – don’t continue the conversation. These are outdated techniques that aren’t in practice anymore. They can also cause your search engine rank to drop significantly.

Not Optimizing Your Site

If they don’t mention on-page SEO, run the other way! Optimizing your on-page SEO can significantly increase your search engine rankings. Often, a bad SEO company won’t even look at this even though it’s one of the first things that you should do.

Using Sales Tactics

If they’re using sales tactics that revolve around pressuring you into a decision, they’re most likely not a great fit. Sales tactics like this involve telling you that there’s only one spot left, pressuring you into buying their product, telling you they can only take on one more client, or lowering the price even more after you’ve rejected them. If they lower the price and use these tactics just to try and close you, how much effort will they put forth on your campaign? Ask yourself where you think their priorities lie.

Not Asking for Access

You have to trust your SEO companies to give them these logins, but your SEO company should be asking for logins or access to these sites. If they don’t ask for this information, they won’t have the information necessary to work on your campaign and are most likely using outdated tactics. There’s a lot of valuable information on Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools, Google My Business, and Google Adwords (along with any other sites that you use in reference to your site) that SEO companies need access to make adjustments. If they don’t mention any of the above, steer clear.

Saying You Need a New Site

If they tell you that you have to build a new website and it’s going to cost X amount of money, don’t just do it. Seriously consider why you would need a new website, and be sure to ask pointed questions to get this information out of them. Often, you won’t need to build a new website. If they don’t have a good reason for why you should build a new website, you should probably avoid them. If your website is properly optimized, you most likely don’t need to build a new website. If you have an older website that’s not properly optimized, you can consider it, but definitely, look into it. If they’re just trying to get you to build a new website so they can get paid more, it’s probably time to find a new vendor.

Head to titanwebagency.com/seo and pick up our free report that talks about some of these tricks and others that SEO companies will try to pull. It’ll educate you on what to look for and what to ask so you can ensure that you’re hiring the best business to reach your goals.

If you need assistance with finding the right SEO company for your needs, contact us today so we can see if we're a good fit for each other.

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