Over the last ten years as a search engine optimization expert I have heard some of the worst stories about companies being taken advantage of by so called SEO gurus. There are thousands of SEO's claiming they are the real deal, but only a handful really understand SEO from a true business perspective. Here are 7 ways to decipher whether your dealing with an SEO expert or a scam. 1. What are the top three hot spots search engines look for when ranking your site? There should be no hesitation in this response. If there is, then you are probably dealing with an amateur. "Authoritative backlinks or better known as link building "Creating quality content "Optimizing title tags " There are many other areas that play a part in your SEO campaigns success such as social media and technical issues within your site architecture, etc. However, these three are the most significant factors that search engines use when positioning your site. If you ask this question and these three answers don't almost fly out of their mouth instantaneously, then you are probably dealing with an amateur. 2. Rankings are where it's at; I can get you top rankings! This is a very open ended sentence. "I can get you top rankings"†What does that mean? To the non-SEO expert it sounds great. Everybody wants top rankings for their business, and so this idea is commonly sold to businesses. I have had the unfortunate or fortunate experience depending on the angle I look at it of seeing many SEO providers show examples on there site of key terms that do well in Google and look really great to anyone that would review them without SEO experience. But when you dig deeper you'll find that the key terms they are showing as examples drive almost no new visitors to the site and have no competition with other sites trying to rank for this same term, which is what makes the key phrase(s) easy to rank well for and valuable. So, make sure when your talking to an SEO provider they aren't selling you on rankings. Ask them to show you some real data, like how many new visits or conversions a particular search term drove to the clients website. For example, if it was a term like "real estate in lala land" ask them how many unique visitors it drove to the site last month or year over year. Ranking does have value in monitoring whether or not a targeted term is improving in the search engines, but it's not the main barometer. The benchmark you need to know is the new visits and conversions from the targeted search terms. 3. Watch out for SEO Trickery - Spammy Black Hat Techniques. Carefully observe whether the SEO provider is recommending using any illegal means to divert the traffic to your site. I won't go into detail about this here, but read this helpful article in Wikipedia (White Hat SEO Vs. Black Hat SEO) to understand a little clearer what is safe and what is not. If your interviewing a provider that is using any "Black Hat" techniques, I strongly recommend that you leave the interview at the soonest exit point. If the provider is dishonest with getting your site ranked, rest assure that the provider will do the same to you in some other way to his benefit. Black hat techniques are short lived and can be devastating to a company. The White hat SEO techniques are long lasting and powerful. 4. Are they providing quality analytics tracking packages like Google Analytics? Is the provider talking about a comprehensive website tracking system or analytics platform? If not, you're going to see a clear picture for defeat. The bluff has been called! Tracking the user action of your website is arguably the most important part of a successful SEO campaign. Tracking down the user behavior of your site and what's driving the visitors and conversions to your site will provide you insight paramount to maximizing and measuring the success of your campaign. 5. Do they talk the talk and walk the walk? Check out the portfolio. Doe's it match their words. Sure, they have knowledge, has it been put to the test? Make sure what they have done in the past reflects a proven track record for success for what they can do for your business today. There is a saying I will paraphrase that I heard from the great author Robert Kiyosaki in the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. "If you hire a financial adviser make sure that financial adviser is a successful investor himself." Check the records. Having the experience and knowledge versus just having the knowledge are very different. Experience is a huge leveler in competition. 6. Are you just another client or are you valued and important? Are your calls answered in a reasonable time? Are they late for meetings? Do you get short and/or long delayed emails in response? Do you feel valued? Be certain that the SEO provider is as enthusiastic about your business's SEO program as you are. So many providers have a mindset that just because a client isn't as profitable as the next, that they don't deserve the premium service. Sure, you may not get the same hours allotted to the company that is three times your value and pays three times more but you deserve what your paying for. I've worked in bigger agencies that charge astronomical numbers and the client doesn't get 1/3 of the value they pay for. Some providers figure that as long as the return on investment is good that time doesn't matter. But it does matter. If I sign a $5,000 monthly contract at $125-$200 per hour you should expect that amount of time be invested in your campaign. Let the ROI fall as it may. Ask the SEO provider what your getting for your money. See a breakdown of hours for services provided. Then compare apples to apples.
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