5 Reasons to Avoid SEO Guarantees at All Costs

SEO is a complex and ever-changing field. It’s hard to know if you’re getting the best return on your investment or if you’re even doing it right. 

You’re not alone. A lot of business owners feel this way about their SEO. They know they need it, so they’re tempted by flashy guarantees that agencies can rank their websites number one.

However, SEO is, in fact, complex, and companies can’t guarantee you’re going to rank number one above Amazon for online shopping or Apple for an iPhone. Those companies that suggest so are lying and could cause more harm than good to your business.

What is an SEO guarantee? 

An SEO guarantee is an assurance from an agency that your website will rank in a certain position within a given time frame. The guarantee may also come with a money-back promise if the rankings are not achieved.

It might sound too good to be true, and that’s because it is. The methods they use can lull you to think that more real customers are visiting your site, but often, that’s not the case.

Some of the ways the SEO company may do this is by

1. Artificially increasing your site traffic

You may have bought an SEO guarantee for your website and asked to see results. The company can use bot traffic to visit your website, click a few links, and appear like there is an increased number of people visiting your website.

These visitors aren’t real people who will convert into paying customers. The results they’re showing you make no tangible difference to your bottom line and are thus a waste of money.

2. Ranking against obscure, unimportant keywords

Keywords are a user’s search words that help find a relevant result. It’s important to make online content that hits keywords that potential customers would be using. An SEO guarantee may rank you number one by targeting long-tail keywords that no one is searching for.

They show you as number one, but the results mean nothing again.

3. Black hat SEO link-building tactics

Search engines like Google look for links that act as votes to rank your website. The more votes (links) you have, the more likely your website will rank. However, some companies may resort to black hat SEO tactics to get these links, such as:

• link buying
• link farms
• comment spamming

These may work to begin with, but Google punishes this behavior, which can result in your website being de-indexed.

5 reasons to avoid an SEO guarantee

Let’s look at some reasons why to avoid SEO guarantees altogether.

1. SEO is a long-term investment and guarantees often promises short-term results

Search engine optimization is an indispensable tool for any business that relies on web traffic for sales and leads. By helping your website rank higher on search engine results pages, SEO can bring a steady stream of highly qualified visitors to your site.

However, SEO is not a quick fix; it is a long-term investment that requires ongoing effort to maintain and improve your website’s ranking. Promises of instant results from so-called “SEO experts” offering a guarantee should be viewed cautiously. These methods are often ineffective or practices that violate search engine guidelines and can result in your site being banned entirely from the search results.

If you’re serious about using SEO to grow your business, look for a reputable firm that takes a sustainable approach to optimization and is transparent about its methods.

2. An SEO guarantee may not take into account your specific goals or needs

Any good SEO expert will tell you that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to search engine optimization. Every website is different, and each one needs to be tailored to fit the business’s unique needs. As a result, any SEO guarantee that promises results without taking your specific goals into account is likely to be more trouble than it’s worth.

A good SEO company will take the time to understand your business and what you’re hoping to achieve before proposing a plan of action. This way, you can be confident that their recommended strategies will be relevant to your business and designed to help you achieve your goals.

So, if someone tries to sell you an SEO guarantee, ask them how they intend to tailor their services to your specific needs. Otherwise, you may end up with a lot of empty promises.

3. It’s impossible to guarantee results in a field as volatile as SEO

Anyone who’s ever worked in SEO knows that the field is volatile and constantly changing. What works today may not work tomorrow, and vice versa. This can make it difficult to guarantee results since what may have worked last week may not work this week.

While algorithms are constantly updated, it’s impossible to guarantee results in SEO. However, this doesn’t mean that SEO isn’t worth doing. Even in a volatile field, SEO can help improve visibility and organic traffic.

4. A guarantee may bind you to an SEO provider who isn’t delivering results

When you sign a contract for an SEO guarantee, you may be binding yourself to an SEO provider who isn’t delivering results. This can be a major problem if you’re not happy with their work or the results you’re seeing.

Before signing on with an SEO provider, it is important to read the fine print. Many companies offer guarantees, promising a certain number of keywords will be ranked within a certain timeframe.

However, these companies don’t tell you that they may use questionable tactics to achieve these results. These tactics can result in your website being penalized by Google or even banned entirely.

Awareness of the risks associated with signing a guarantee is essential. Otherwise, you may find yourself stuck with an SEO provider who isn’t delivering results.

5. There are better ways to measure SEO success than rankings

One of the biggest problems with ranking guarantees is that they don’t consider other important factors. For example, just because a website ranks for a certain keyword doesn’t mean that it will get traffic or conversions.

Several other factors need to be considered when measuring SEO success. These include organic traffic, conversion rate, and click-through rate.

Additionally, you should consider the quality of the traffic that you’re getting. Just because you’re getting a lot of traffic doesn’t mean it’s relevant or likely to convert.

The bottom line

Don’t use an SEO guarantee; instead, opt for a company with a proven track record of providing a great ROI. This is the best way to see your business succeed in a digital world.

If you’re after ethical SEO digital content which won’t harm your business, see Writing Studio’s pricing for more.