It seems to go against common sense: why would you try to pay more for a service such as search engine optimization (SEO)? Isn’t that just throwing money out the window, into the waiting hands of a greedy SEO marketing agency?
The problem is that not all services are created equal. More money spent on a campaign typically means more time spent on it — and a consequently higher quality. Consider this: search rankings are a bit like a boat race. You need to buy a high-quality boat that glides through the water in order to have a chance at placing in the top three. If you buy the boat with holes in the middle, you won’t just lose the race — you’ll lose your entire investment in the middle of the lake.
Why pay for low-quality SEO? Here are several reasons you should pay more for good SEO companies.
Many People Don’t Know What They’re Doing
The SEO industry is worth billions of dollars. Like anything, it attracts a large number of people who don’t know what they’re doing, but are willing to pretend in order to make a quick buck. Don’t be fooled by questionable practices just because someone has their own website — anyone can own a website these days. A few signs that people don’t know what they’re doing:
- They promise to use keyword stuffing
- They only know how to practice SEO by placing content on your website
- They offer a cookie-cutter type package deal that isn’t individualized for your business’s specific needs
- They don’t know what you’re talking about if you mention the Google search algorithm updates of Penguin, Panda or Hummingbird.
Low Quality SEO Comes With Promises SEO Marketing Agencies Can’t Keep
You might be convinced that your dirt-cheap SEO web advertising agency is the only real deal out there. They’re offering you what no one else can because of their expertise! Here are three things you shouldn’t believe no matter what:
- “I can get you to number one for any search keyword!”
- “You will see results from our SEO content immediately.”
- “Our content isn’t that great but it doesn’t matter because it’s not posted to your website, it’s just for clicks.”
Why are these all untrue? Certain top keywords will cost you hundreds of dollars to hold onto for even a couple weeks, and there’s no way around this. No one can even give you an estimate of future rank without knowing the intended keywords, and your budget.
SEO typically takes a few months to build up because of the way content distribution works — if you suddenly get a ton of clicks they are likely paying for PPC instead, without telling you. And content quality always matters — if links to your website consistently pop up on low-quality sites, Google’s algorithm will assume you might be less relevant for searchers as a result.
You shouldn’t be afraid to look for affordable SEO companies, of course. Just remember to always keep quality and expertise as the two most important factors in determining which SEO marketing agency you choose.
What do you expect from a good SEO marketing agency? Let us know in the comments.
