Time to Drop Your SEO Agency?
So, you’re thinking about dropping your SEO company but don’t know which red flags to look out for? Well, we got you sorted. In this article, we look at several red flags that should convince you to fire your SEO agency. Let’s get into it!
Unrealistic guarantees
This should be the first writing on the wall to fire your SEO company. While it might be tempting to believe their claim, you should not give in to their tricks. No one, not even Google employees can guarantee you’ll rank for specific keyword phrases.
As you’d expect, Google’s algorithms are protected and keep changing. Even Google warns against working with agencies that offer unrealistic SEO guarantees. SEO takes time and anyone promising results in a few months or weeks is likely to engage in back hat SEO tactics. For instance, we are Rank Guarantee SEO, don’t offer the moon, we guarantee realistic results that build upon themselves month over month. Check out our guarantee here.
SEO takes time and anyone promising results in a few months or weeks is likely to engage in back hat SEO tactics.
Poor communication
Any reputable SEO company has a clear communication plan with most offering monthly reports. If your company has no communication plan, it means they are evading accountability for their actions. Besides, they should give you the name, phone, and email address of the person you’ll be working with.
With their contact, you can directly follow up on your project’s progress. This also creates a healthy rapport, meaning the person can over-deliver. The less a company communicates, the faster you should drop them.
Offer services for a cheap price
Let’s face it, SEO costs effort and time. As such, many reputable companies will place a premium on their services. Beware of companies charging less than $450. It means they’ll spend less time on your SEO campaign. They are also likely to have a poorly trained SEO staff offering half-baked results.
That said, not all companies charging a premium guarantee much-needed results. If their results do not reflect your investment, then you should look for another company. In essence, you should compare a company’s work with its charges to see if they live up to their name.
Their online presence is poor
Being an SEO company, its digital footprint should be strong. Avoid a company that claims to spend much of its time working for clients without doing its housekeeping. The company should have a robust website and blog.
Another red flag to watch out for is thin content on their blog. An ideal company should have a robust blog talking about best SEO practices. Also, they should explain their services and pricing structure. Finally, you should avoid a company not ranking for its niche keywords.
Not sharing their SEO practices
Your SEO company should share with you all the practices they’ll employ in your SEO campaign (we aren’t afraid to share our secret SEO sauce). They should not just list them but also demonstrate them to you. Some of the practices they should share include site audit, an overview of your campaign, evidence of work, and others.
Not asking what your goals are
Like any service provider, an SEO company should dig deep into your goals to offer quality services. This helps them to come up with a practical plan that will see them support your goals. For example, they should ask about:
- Your competitors
- Your niche industry
- Your marketing goals and business objectives
- Keywords that you want to rank for
- Your Google Analytics and other SEO tools admin access
An ideal company will want to support you throughout the journey. If your SEO company shy’s away from asking for such kind of information, choose another one.
Claiming to fix all problems in one go
Another reason to drop your SEO company is the claim to fix all problems in one go. As mentioned, SEO optimization is an ongoing process. Algorithms and goals change, as such, tactics will have to change after every few months. To prevent a fall in results, you’ll need to do frequent SEO maintenance.
Algorithms and goals change, as such, tactics will have to change after every few months.
A drop in rankings
If your rankings continue to drop month after month, consider dropping the company. This shows that the company might have employed black hat SEO tactics leading to your site getting penalized.
A drop in traffic
You should fire your SEO agency should traffic to your site begin to tank.
What to look out for in an SEO company
To avoid dropping SEO companies month after month, here are characteristics you should consider.
Clarity
Any serious SEO company will come up with a clear strategy to achieve your goals. What’s more, they’ll tell you what results to expect once the campaign is complete. The main aim is to ensure you understand what work will go into play. This can help you come up with a budget or delegate the work to another person.
Any serious SEO company will come up with a clear strategy to achieve your goals.
Mutual relationship
A company that wants to foster a healthy working relationship with its clients will go out of the way to build a partnership. Dubious companies will only look to create transactional relationships only talking to you about your achievements.
A true company will share the good and the bad with its clients. They’ll seek to learn from their mistakes and present you with a revised strategy. They can also offer classes or tutorials on basic SEO practices.
Accountability
This is arguably one of the main traits you should be looking for in an SEO company. Once they share with you their thought process and the results to expect, it will be easier for you to hold them accountable. They should own up to their mistakes and take a step to rectify them.
Proof of work
Finally, you should consider their past SEO projects. Check how their clients’ websites are faring and go through past clients’ reviews.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are several red flags to watch out for when dropping your SEO company. If a company is not asking about your goals, has poor communication, and does not share with you their best practices, fire them.
Ready to get started on your way to generating more traffic, leads, and revenue for your website? Let us help!
