Five Lies SEO Companies Tell	Visited: 2390 4.9/5.0 (18 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
by Brian Easter October 25, 2010

SEO is the life blood of any online organization; drawing traffic from search engines is imperative for businesses attempting to achieve conversions, sales, and other objectives. However, not all SEO strategies are created equally. In fact, your SEO firm may be advising you to use strategies that are more busted than the dot com bubble.

Even worse, many SEO firms know their tactics are bad, but are counting on the ignorance of their clients. How can you avoid getting stuck with a parasitic SEO firm? Here are a few eye-opening “advisements” you should look out for from your current or next SEO firm.

Lie #1: It’s All About Links

Links are an important part of any good SEO strategy; however, it is quality over quantity that matters to search engines. Are the links to your site actually relevant, or are you using a link farm that has you connected to a Nigerian pyramid scheme? In the old days of search, you could game the system by having links from anywhere and gaining the #1 spot on a search engine.

Since then, search engines have come a long way, constantly evolving the algorithm used to determine the contextual relevance of your website and the links to it. Now, search engines use over 200 factors to determine the position of your website in their rankings, not the least of which are quality links, contextual relevance, buzz, and the strength of your brand. Strategies based on sheer number of links, without considering the relationship to your page, are no longer effective, and can even get you penalized.  These are key facts to consider when someone advises you that links should be the focus of your SEO strategy.

Lie #2: On Page Efforts and Keyword Strategy are Not as Important as Off Page Strategy

Many SEO firms will advise you to focus on off page strategy because they are focused on their bank accounts.  Off page strategies are based on a monthly fee, and every business would prefer monthly revenue to the onetime fee standard for on page implementation.  

Though off page efforts are an important part of SEO, off page strategy does not trump an on page strategy that creates an optimized website with keywords, meta tags, and content used by search engines to extract information.  A carefully optimized website is one of the best ways to increasing your relevance and rankings.

However, most SEO companies will gloss over this fact in their desire to maintain clients who are billed on a recurring basis for off page services, rather than provide a more comprehensive solution. 

Lie #3: You Must Be Doing Well, Your Rankings Are Up

Rankings are important, but it is more important to look at the terms for which you are being ranked rather than solely focusing on the number of keywords in the top ten. If you are a floral company and are ranking #1 for “tuxedo complementary flowers”, a term that few people are actually searching for, then your SEO firm may be pulling a fast one.

It is the quality and relevance of the keywords for which you are being ranked that you must keep in mind. Non-relevant keywords that have low search volume are pointless. Even if your rankings are up, but you aren’t in the top 10 search listings, you are still fighting an uphill battle to achieve your objectives. Over 90% of searchers do not bother to look at the second page, so coming up #11 means nothing if no one is clicking on page two.

Another tactic less than reputable SEO companies may use is showing that you are ranking highly for a search engine; but it isn’t Google, or even Yahoo or Bing. If you are ranking #1 on DuckDuckGo.com, which less than 1% of people are searching on, and wondering why you aren’t meeting your organization’s online goals, then your SEO firm is not only practicing bad strategy, but misdirection as well.

Lie #4: Social Media Strategies Are the Equivalent of Good SEO

Social media, though an important part of any online strategy, does not have the direct, 1 to 1 relationship to search engine traffic that SEO does. As search engines grow and the algorithms change, incorporating buzz or strength of social media is a primary objective, but for the time being remains a promise of the future rather than a current condition.

There is, as of yet, no way to see a specific measurable result of the impact of social media. By default, Facebook “likes” aren’t a part of Google rankings. Twitter does rank within search engines, but is usually very fleeting, and does not have the staying power of good SEO.

Social media marketing is, however, a great way to attract and build indirect traffic to your organization. By distributing content that you have created to the masses, and pulling people in who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer, social media is still an important part of an online campaign. Unfortunately, until social media can provide the same impact on search engines that traditional SEO does, it will remain as a separate entity with less tangible results that SEO..

Lie #5: Content Is About Quantity Not Quality

Quality content entices users to return to your site and link to it, and is a major part of good SEO, making your website more attractive not only to users, but to search engines looking for ranking factors.

However, content for content’s sake is a waste of time and resources. It will do nothing to help your rankings on search engines, or attract users. In fact, bad content is the equivalent of spam, and will quickly land your website well beyond the top 10 on any search engine’s rankings.

Bad SEO firms will often suggest additional site content that is completely unrelated to the focus of your company and yet suggest that this content be filled with keywords you are focused on.  If you encounter this situation, run away, fast.

When the Truth Doesn’t Set You Free

As with any good lie, SEO companies use a bit of truth to manipulate their clients. They take advantage of a loose understanding of SEO strategy, and tell white lies to bait prospective clients into black hat tactics, unproven trends, and misdirection of online efforts.

However, by arming yourself with the knowledge that your SEO strategy should be focused on quality, relevancy, and quantifiable methods, you will find firms that will help you properly achieve your online goals.