Nowadays, when online presence is a key element of business success, companies are increasingly using SEO agencies. The goal is to improve visibility in search results and attract more potential customers. Unfortunately, in the SEO industry, as in any other, you can come across dishonest practices. In this article, we’ll take a look at how some SEO agencies can deceive their clients by promising golden mountains, but delivering only empty promises and little results.
How can SEO agencies deceive clients?
Promising immediate results
One of the most common ways to deceive customers is to promise immediate results. The SEO process is complex and takes time to produce lasting results. Agencies that claim they can provide quick results often use unethical techniques that can do more harm than good in the long run.
Hiding the real methods of operation
Some SEO agencies do not inform their clients about the specific measures they take in their operations. Lack of transparency can lead to the use of “”black hat”” methods that go against search engine guidelines and can result in penalties or even the complete removal of a site from search results.
False reports and data manipulation
Another dishonest practice is providing clients with false reports. Agencies can manipulate data to make it appear that an SEO campaign is producing great results. This can include artificially inflated statistics on site traffic or the number of links acquired, which in reality have no value.
Use of low-quality links
Link building is one of the key SEO strategies, but some agencies use low-quality links that can harm a client’s site. Buying links from link farms or other questionable sources may bring a short-term boost in rankings, but in the long run can lead to serious penalties from Google.
Ignoring technical optimization
Some SEO agencies focus solely on content and links, ignoring the technical aspects of the site. A lack of technical optimization, such as improving page load speed, mobile optimization or URL structure, can significantly affect the effectiveness of SEO efforts.
High fees for basic services
SEO agencies often charge high fees for services that are relatively simple and do not require much work. Clients pay a lot for activities that don’t provide adequate benefits, which is highly unethical. Often, the vendor adjusts the SEO budget to how much a potential client is able to pay maximum for these services.
Why do SEO agencies cheat their clients?
SEO agencies often deceive clients to enrich themselves on their ignorance and credulity. Many entrepreneurs lack sufficient knowledge of the complex processes of search engine optimization, making them easy targets for fraudulent practices. These agencies take advantage of their clients’ lack of awareness by promising quick and spectacular results, which in reality are difficult to achieve. They manipulate data, use unethical techniques and hide their true methods of operation, allowing them to charge high fees for services of questionable value. As a result, clients pay for promises that rarely materialize, and agencies profit from their trust and ignorance.
3 signs that your agency is cheating you
It is common for some SEO agencies to take advantage of clients’ ignorance and fail to perform promised actions or use unethical practices. Such behavior can lead to a lack of expected results and even harm a site’s position in search results. Here are three key signals to look out for to make sure the SEO agency is acting in accordance with the contract and in your favor.
No implementation of changes to the site
One of the first signs that an SEO agency may be cheating you is the lack of visible changes to your site. Professional SEO agencies regularly make modifications to improve your site’s search engine optimization. If you don’t see any updates, such as changes to your site’s structure, content, metatags or loading speed, it could mean that the agency isn’t doing the work it promised.
Reports of work done are still the same and very general
Another worrisome sign is reports that don’t provide details and don’t show progress on SEO efforts. If you are receiving reports from your agency that are consistently the same, full of generalities and lacking details about the work done and its impact on your site, this is a clear indication that the agency may not be doing the work it promised. Credible agencies provide detailed reports that clearly show what was done and what results it produced.
Linking from poor quality linking sites
The last signal is low-quality linking. An effective link building strategy is to acquire links from valuable and reliable sources. If your SEO agency is acquiring links from shady sites, link farms or other low-quality backlinks, it could harm your site instead of helping it. These links often come from low-reputation sites that may be considered spammy by search engines, which can result in penalties for your site. A reliable SEO agency will focus on acquiring links from valuable and thematically related sites.
How to find out if your SEO agency is cheating you?
To make sure your SEO agency is working honestly and in accordance with the contract, it’s a good idea to regularly monitor their activities and results. Start by seeing if they are implementing specific changes to your site, such as optimizing content, improving loading speed or URL structure. Regularly analyze the reports provided by the agency – they should be detailed, with specific information about the work done and its results. Pay attention to the quality of inbound links – SEO tools such as Ahrefs or SEMrush can help you assess whether links are coming from valuable and reliable sources. It’s also a good idea to consult with an independent SEO expert, who can conduct an audit and assess whether the agency’s efforts are professional and producing the desired results.
I kindly invite you to contact me if you have even the slightest doubt about the SEO work being done on your website. I will conduct an SEO audit and together we will consider the best solution for your business!
