Many people think that they’ve found the best SEO agency only to find out later that the agency isn’t providing them with any value.
What are some clear signs you’re about to fall into the net of a bad SEO agency? Confidently, we’ve compiled some pointers to put you on track as you search for the best SEO agency to handle your organic brand awareness online.
Signs of a bad SEO agency include:
Table of Contents
1. Bad website design
A bad website design can be the first sign of a bad SEO agency. They might not understand how search engine optimization works and they can’t fix it when it goes wrong.
Bad design, poor technical SEO implementation, poor code structure, and website layout are some of the most obvious points of a bad SEO agency.
A poorly designed website with poor navigation, missing content, unclear calls to action can negatively affect a website’s SEO performance and if this is the case with your intended self-claimed SEO agency, then you’re about to fall for a cheap scam.
If/when a SEO agency can barely achieve all these implementations to boost their business and establish their professionalism, then it’s another bad news.
It is at least expected of a good SEO agency to know that a good design will generate leads and increase conversions. A well-designed site is a clear sign that a company cares about its customers and will provide a better customer experience. A good design also helps with branding and marketing efforts by making your business more recognizable in the market or industry you are in.
2. Poor branding
There are many signs that can point to a bad SEO agency, but lack of branding is another sign.
Lack of branding means they don’t see the importance of having a recognizable brand. This is not only harming their own business but also hurting the potential consumers.
It is important to have branding for your business that attracts the search engine. Good branding will help you get on top of Google, but it is also important to stay on top of Google. This is where effective search engine optimization begins.
A bad SEO agency has different signs that can be easily seen by website owners or business people who are looking for a good SEO company. A bad SEO agency may have the following signs:
3. Poor social media presence
It is difficult to have a good SEO agency if you have a small social media presence. This is because there are many different aspects to search engine optimization and one of them is to be active on the internet.
You can tell that your SEO company is not doing what they claim they can do by looking at their social media presence.
4. Low quality, copied, thin content on their own site
Bad SEO agencies are defined in different ways, but one of the most common indicators is low-quality content.
If your website has low quality, stolen, or thin content issues, then that’s a clear signal that the agency is not providing their customers with the best possible results they deserve.
5. Negative search results and reviews
This is also an indicator that they’re not making any effort to optimize their name for good rankings.
A bad SEO agency is one that does not invest in its website. They do not invest in good content, an editorial team, and only focus on Google rankings.
It is obvious when an SEO company doesn’t take the time to make sure they are doing everything right when it comes to SEO. The signs are usually found in their website design, SEO strategy, and the quality of the work they produce.
When you are looking for an agency to help you with your SEO campaign, it is important that you do your homework first. Take a closer look at what they have done in the past and what others have said about them online.
6. Paying too little attention to onsite optimization and content marketing
When your SEO agency doesn’t take this into account, it’s a sign that they don’t know what they’re doing. The company either has no idea how to do this or doesn’t care about generating top rankings for their websites.
Signs of a bad SEO agency include:
– No onsite optimization plan in place
– Not using the data to generate ideas for content marketing
– Not using analytics data to optimize website content
7. They never ask questions about your budget
An agency that doesn’t ask you about your budget is a red flag. A good SEO agency should ask you about your budget before they start working with you to generate traffic.
It is not just the company that will be affected by the quality of service they provide, but also their customers who might find their content ranking lower than it ought to be because of the bad SEO agency.
8. They promise to get you to the first page while they themselves are nowhere in the rankings
A bad SEO agency can be a dangerous place for prospective clients. They might be promising to get you to the first page, but they themselves are nowhere in rankings. This is another sign of a bad SEO agency.
SEO agencies, as an industry, have been mostly unregulated and untrusted by the public for a long time now. That is why there are so many agencies that promise results, but don’t deliver what they have promised to their clients.
Although it might seem like an easy job with low competition, it is not safe when you work with scammers.
Some signs that an SEO company might be scamming their clients include a low response rate, lack of experience in the industry or no contact information for the SEO team at all.
Also, if they don’t talk about Google’s policies and guidelines, it’s a strong indication that they don’t know what they’re doing.
9. They hand you a half-baked site audit or none at all
If you are looking for a good SEO agency, you should first conduct a site audit to identify what’s already done, what needs be undone, and what needs to be done.
A site audit is one of the first steps that an SEO agency should take. It is important to learn how the website ranks and how it’s generally fairing compared to competitor’s websites on Google and what content needs to be optimized.
This is because there are many signs of bad SEO agencies including low-quality content, poor visibility on search engines, and not providing detailed reports.
Many companies and organizations that do not know the principles of good SEO end up with bad results and in turn lose their reputation and credibility. The most important sign of a bad SEO agency is when they don’t provide any site audit or provide it in a half-baked manner.
A website audit is essential to perform when starting out with SEO. A good SEO agency will be able to help you understand how they can help you improve your search engine ranking and visibility by doing proper site audits.
10. Check their website’s SEO
A bad SEO agency will promise to solve your problems and fix the SEO decline, but, most of the time, their own website is ranking for zero keywords and nowhere to be found on search for any relevant keywords.
These companies talk about specific keywords, but they don’t offer any real solutions for you. They may also make claims like “we can rank your website on page 1” but only offer you campaign advice.
Another sign is if they ask for money upfront, which means they can’t guarantee the best results that come with investing time into your business.
If this happens, it’s best that you find someone else who can invest time into your business, rather than continue with the bad SEO agency who does not care about their website or their clients, it is best to switch to the new company that provides superior SEO services with an eye toward organic, long-term growth.
11. Poor backlinks form link farms
It is hard to tell whether a company is performing well in search engine optimization (SEO) by looking at the links they have used. The links may seem like they are helping the company get ranked but they may not be useful for achieving long-term success.
The best way to tell whether a company is performing well in SEO is by studying its backlinks. Some companies use link farms that are considered spammy and don’t produce any value.
They have all the backlinks but backlinks but position tanking on search.
12. They claim they have a secret method or some SEO magic wand
SEO agencies claiming that they have an SEO magic wand are bad news. It is hard to know if the agency is good or not with this kind of approach.
Don’t be fooled by claims of secret SEO magic wands. It’s simple if their work doesn’t get anywhere, it’s likely they are not doing much for you in the first place.
More signs that an agency is bad:
- They don’t have a website or social media presence, which isn’t surprising given that most SEO agencies don’t put their websites on their business cards.
- They don’t offer free consultations.
- They ask for money upfront for services that they promise to provide within a certain time frame.
- They claim they have a secret method or some SEO magic wand.
- They promise results within days for whatever their “secret” is.
- They say they are ranking for high-value keywords with zero traffic.
13. No clear SEO Strategy and plan
The lack of a clear SEO strategy and plan is one of the signs of an SEO agency that has failed.
With the business shifting towards digital marketing, there is a huge need for SEO agencies to develop clear SEO strategies and plans that can cater to specific industries.
14. No blueprint of genuine winning case-studies
In the internet era, it is not enough for a business to have a good product or service. They also need to be present online in order to sell their products and services.
A recent survey from Hubspot revealed that 75% of marketing executives have faced a bad SEO agency at some point in their careers. The case studies from these agencies show how they did not react quickly enough to changes happening in the industry, did not have a clear vision, and did not execute strategies properly.
There are many signs of a bad SEO agency so if you’re looking out for one – take note of these signs:
- A bad SEO agency will not have a single case study.
- All they have to show you is Inconsistent results in their rankings and traffic.
- Lack of knowledge regarding organic search engine optimization strategies.
- No proven track record
15. Sweet-mouthed Presentation, but eventual bad Implementation
Don’t wait till it gets to this, because at this point, you’re already a victim. Bad SEO agencies always try to be smart with their presentation, they are willing to show bogus stats and theorize a lot just to win the clients to themselves, then when it comes to implementation, they fail to deliver.
“If you don’t live up to your promises, you won’t be in business too long.” – Gary Vaynerchuk
It is not enough for SEO agencies to present brilliantly in theory. They also need to deliver well at the place of implementation. The best SEO agencies are those that take the time to understand their clients’ needs and deliver accordingly.
More signs of bad SEO agency: marketing spamming, using unethical methods, over-selling services, over-charging clients, under-delivering due to under-charging for the work, and many more.
Web Design Nigeria; New-Age SEO Agency in Nigeria
Thousands of marketers are looking for the best SEO Agency in Nigeria but finding one can be tricky considering some of the factors we listed above.
Now that you have a clearer perspective on how to know a bad SEO agency. We confidently like to let you know that we offer the best SEO and web positioning service in Nigeria for all classes of businesses, individuals, and organizations.
Our expert SEO team have helped over 80 customers in 1+ years, turning their sites into constant leads and profit generation tool. Our services include website creation and optimization, content optimization, link building, content marketing, and more. We are small-business friendly therefore our rates are pocket-friendy.
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