With the rise of AI, anyone can become an overnight expert. As such, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate the reputable from the inequitable – especially in SEO and digital marketing. That said, there are a few tell-tale signs that will give away the posers in a flash.
In this article, we’re going to share 5 things that no true SEO expert will ever say, so you can save your most precious commodity and avoid the time wasters…
1. “We guarantee you #1 rankings”
One thing that no true SEO expert will do is guarantee you results – not to mention position 1 rankings.
Here’s the thing; there are many reputable and well-established agencies who will know full well that they can achieve position 1 rankings because they’ve done it time and time again. However, the only reason why anyone would be compelled to make such a statement is because they are either green and desperate for your business or lying and trying to rip you off.
The true experts know that there are far too many variables to make guarantees and let their previous case studies do the talking for them instead…which brings us to our next point…
2. “Unfortunately we don’t share case studies because we must respect client privacy”
If a prospective SEO agency tells you that they don’t share case studies because they cannot breach their client’s trust, they’re talking out of their rear end.
Put it this way: if you were working with an SEO agency and they achieved such awesome results for you that you ended up earning 158% more revenue through your website, would you mind if they used your campaign as an example to on board new clients? No. Because you’d be too busy thinking about what to do with all your new-found wealth.
If an SEO agency won’t share case studies, it’s because they have none. It’s as simple as that.
3. “These ten thousand cheap backlinks are of the highest quality!”
One thing that you will definitely never hear from a reputable SEO expert is: “We’ve got ten thousand cheap links of the highest quality, just for you.”
There is no possible way that anyone could build such a high volume of links from reputable resources with well-written content at such a ridiculously low price.
Quality link building is time and resource intensive. It’s as simple as that.
If someone tries to fool you into buying bulk links, you have every right to be suspicious.
4. “Sorry, we don’t reveal our secrets, you just have to trust us”
Another one to look out for is SEO experts who refuse to share any of their methods with you. The best SEO agencies will be entirely transparent about the work that they do and let you know precisely where every dollar is going.
If they refuse to share the details they either:
- Have no clue what they are doing and will likely make lots of mistakes.
- Are using blackhat techniques that will come back to haunt you.
5. “SEO is all your business needs”
Finally, no true digital marketing expert will tell you that SEO is all your business needs. While SEO is without question one of the most valuable digital marketing strategies and something that can bring excellent value to your business, it works best when paired with a multitude of other methods.
Take Online Marketing Gurus as an example: while they specialise in SEO, they also offer PPC and social media marketing to boot. The best agencies can handle a number of your digital marketing needs under one banner and will encourage you to diversify your efforts.
