The effort to stay relevant on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) is a full-time, specialized job. It’s standard practice for organizations and businesses to hire SEO services for the purpose of optimizing their web content to rank higher on SERPs. A complex sector of the digital marketing field, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) service is an ongoing effort that requires constant attention to keep up with Google’s algorithm updates.
Lately, you might’ve seen the phrase “Guaranteed SEO Services” floating around online. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at these “guaranteed” services and help you decide whether they’re legit or just fraudulent schemes.
What are Guaranteed SEO Services?
When a SEO service advertises itself as “guaranteed”, it means they’re promising certain results. Such results might include first page rankings for particular keywords, an exact timeframe in which the hired agency will deliver results, or even money-back guarantees if results don’t measure up exactly to what the agency promised.
However, what guaranteed SEO services don’t promise their clients is the use of ethical SEO tactics.
Guaranteed SEO Scam
While the word “guaranteed” certainly sounds appealing, the ever-changing nature of SERP algorithms makes it virtually impossible for an agency to guarantee precise rankings to clients.
Yet still, since the beginning of the digital marketing industry, scammers have created ways to manipulate clients through various schemes. Below are some common examples of black hat SEO scams you may have already come across:
- Doorway Pages: Low-quality web pages optimized to manipulate SERPs by ranking for specific keywords, but then redirecting users to a different page without them realizing. These pages generally use some form of cloaking for discretion.
- Linking Schemes: A practice that artificially increases rankings by purchasing or exchanging links from other sites. This type of scheme directly goes against Google’s Quality Standards.
- Shadow Domains: Websites created with cloaking that redirect users to other websites without them noticing. These pages commonly have high-ranking keywords that don’t make sense grammatically—optimized for search engines, but not the user.
All of these practices might increase rankings in the short-term, but are considered unethical by SEO experts and widely disapproved of. In fact, Google has already taken steps over the years to improve its algorithm in ways that nullify these schemes. In 2015, for example, Google was able to eliminate doorway pages from its SERPs altogether through an algorithm update. If there’s one thing these black hat SEO tactics can guarantee, it’s that they’re complete scams.
So How Do You Find the Right SEO Agency?
Now that you know the truth about guaranteed SEO scams, you’re probably wondering how to sift through the digital marketing industry to find a good SEO agency for you. Don’t worry, here are the most important points that’ll tell you whether or not an agency can deliver authentic and effective SEO services:
- Thorough Knowledge and Clear Explanations
A SEO agency’s website should provide extensive information about the SEO services they provide. And when speaking with an agency’s experts, they should be able to answer any questions you might have. Any authentic SEO agency will be able to provide you with a clear plan of their particular SEO services.
- White Hat SEO
In contrast to the aforementioned black hat SEO scams, white hat SEO practices vouch for the integrity of the SEO service an agency provides. When an agency practices white hat SEO, it means they’re looking to both improve your site’s ranking on SERPs while simultaneously maintaining the integrity of both your website and your organization.
- Tracking and Reporting
Transparency is huge in the digital marketing industry. The best SEO agencies are the ones that provide their clients with regular tracking and reporting of their strategic SEO goals. ROI (return on investment) is another important business factor you’ll need to calculate in order to assess the progress of your SEO campaign, and receiving frequent tracking reports from your SEO agency will help you do just that.
Next Steps
The success of your SEO endeavors truly depends on finding trusted, reputable SEO professionals who practice white hat SEO.
Agencies that promise guaranteed SEO results might sound intriguing, but always remember that any SEO service that’s “guaranteed” is most likely attained through black hat SEO practices. Engaging with such schemes will only hurt the integrity of your business and prove ineffective in the long run.
Finding a reputable and trusted organization to help you accomplish your SEO goals in 2022 can be challenging. At KitelyTech, our expert teams are up-to-date on the latest changes to the major search engines, and we use white hat SEO practices to help keep your scores high. Call us at (800) 274 2908 to learn more about how we can help you resolve issues related to your company’s SEO scores.
