seo search engine optimization agencyseo search engine optimization agencyseo search engine optimization agencyseo search engine optimization agency
  • SERVICES
    • Managed SEO
    • Link Building
    • On-Page SEO
    • White Label SEO
    • Content Writing
    • SEO Audits
    • PPC Management
  • TOOLS
    • Backlink Checker
    • Site Audit
    • Broken Link Tool
    • Robots.txt Tester
    • Sitemap Validator
    • Site Speed Tester
    • Title Tag Checker
    • SEO Training
  • WHY US
    • Case Studies
    • Our Process
    • Our Team
    • Our History
    • Become a Writer!
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT
LOGINGET STARTED
✕
Local SEO vs National SEO: What’s the Difference and Why it Matters
Local SEO vs. National SEO: What’s the Difference and Why it Matters
March 10, 2023
Is Guest Blogging Dead?
Is Guest Blogging Dead? Yes & No. Here’s Why.
March 14, 2023

Is SEO a Waste of Money?

Last Updated by Timothy Carter on March 13, 2023
Is SEO a Waste of Money?

You might have heard that SEO is dead….a waste of money.

Depending on your views of the matter and what you expect, it MIGHT be a waste of money.

However, if you grasp how SEO (search engine optimization) has changed over time, you’ll see that SEO still has plenty of value.

But some parts of traditional SEO have gone the way of PDAs and bag cell phones.

If you’re still paying for old-school SEO tactics, you’re wasting your money and could decrease your Google ranking.

How to know if your SEO strategy is worth it or not?

Let’s look at some outdated tactics that some scammy SEO companies still promote.

Table of Contents

  • Link Building
  • Getting a #1 Ranking
  • Free Trial
  • They Want Ownership of Content
  • Keyword Stuffing
  • We Can Do It All For Less Than ‘Those Guys’
  • What Should You Do?

Link Building

A High-Level Overview of Link Building for SEO
Having high-quality backlinks is indeed vital to your website and its ranking. So, link building isn’t dead. But the old idea of having hundreds of poor-quality links on your website IS dead.

When the idea was new, SEO companies did use link farms, and websites rocketed to the top of Google. But that all changed when the Penguin algorithm dropped in 2012, and it’s changed several times since then.

Quantity doesn’t impress Google anymore. Now it’s all about quality. Your site’s backlinks’ quality and relevance are much more critical than the quantity.

The bottom line here: Invest in link building, but only if the SEO company’s strategy involves obtaining authoritative links.

Getting a #1 Ranking

We Guarantee a #1 Placement

Being #1 isn’t a waste of money, but the idea that you can achieve a top ranking and keep it indefinitely is a pipedream.

Many companies obsess over being #1, and tons of them check the results every day to ensure they’re still there. Who is #1 for any search phrase can change daily.

Another related scam is guaranteeing a high ranking in two or three days. The ONLY way that can happen is through illegitimate means or PPC advertising. Whatever they’re doing, they’re dishonest with you, so avoid them.

Instead of focusing on your rank, look at your user experience.

Lean on analytics data and learn what your website visitors want. Focus on giving your users the information they crave.

Regularly review your bounce rate, click-through rate, and duration of sessions.

When you spend time improving your site’s experience and lowering your bounce rate, you’re telling the search engines your site is better than others in your niche. Invest your energy in improving your content’s quality and structure, and you’ll notice over time that your Google ranking will rise.

Free Trial

A legitimate SEO service takes a ton of work and time.

The process is complex, and the time to obtain terrific results takes months. That’s why no serious SEO company will give you a free week or hook to get you in. It’s also why SEO is expensive.

If they want access to your hosting account during the free trial, take a hard pass. You need to work with a company on a paying contract for them to be legit, and never give a company your vital login credentials unless you’ve signed with them.

Website Design Services Offered

Google ‘SEO services’ and be amazed at the number of companies that offer web design and SEO. You’d think every marketing organization on earth is offering search engine optimization!

Beware, especially if you don’t see staff charged with SEO specifically. Many of these firms have little expertise in the field and add it to their web design package to make no money.

You’ll rarely get the same quality of SEO from a do-it-all type of company.

Hire a specialized SEO company, and you’re better off.

They Want Ownership of Content

Anything you’re paying someone for should be yours. Be sure that any contract you sign doesn’t give ownership of anything to that firm. This could hold your content client, and it could even be sold to someone else.

Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing

Eons ago, you could get a high ranking by repeating a search phrase many times on a page. Thankfully, those days are behind us. Google tries to understand what your intent is behind a keyword. It isn’t giving top ranking to a page with the keyword’s most mentions.

What’s that mean for your business? Forget keywords. Instead, focus on topics relevant to your niche and audience. Content optimized by the subject provides the best-quality answers and a superior user experience.

Plus, when you focus on a critical topic, you’ll also get the advantages of semantic variations of the keyword phrase; this means your page might rank for multiple keywords on various search engine results pages (SERPs).

We Can Do It All For Less Than ‘Those Guys’

If you’re working with an SEO company and someone tells you they can do it cheaper, it’s probably a scam. First of all, they don’t know what that company is doing for you, so how do they know they can do it cheaper?

SEO always takes time. If you have tangible results from your current provider and switch, it can take months to know if the new guys are doing a better job. They could come into your life and do nothing, and you won’t know for at least 60 days.

Business owners might not see a reduction in traffic even after a year of paying the new SEO company. It looks like they are doing the same thing for you for less.

What Should You Do?

To ensure you aren’t wasting your money on useless off page and on page SEO, you need to focus on what works. Many experts today say focusing on page speed is critical. Why? Unbounce tells us that 50% of visitors will bounce if your site takes 3+ seconds to load.

Let’s say your site gets 300 unique visitors monthly. If the website is slow, you might miss 300 more visitors because of slow load speeds. About 7% of new site visitors become patients in the healthcare field.

Your site could cost you ten or more clients per month, If each new client is worth about $400 per visit for twice-annual visits, you’re losing thousands of dollars per month on a slow site!

Is SEO a waste of money?

If you’re focusing on the right SEO topics, absolutely not. But it can be a money pit if your SEO company is using archaic tactics.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Timothy Carter
Timothy Carter
Chief Revenue Officer at SEO Company
Industry veteran Timothy Carter is SEO.co’s Chief Revenue Officer. Tim leads all revenue for the company and oversees all customer-facing teams for SEO (search engine optimization) - including sales, marketing & customer success. He has spent more than 20 years in the world of SEO & Digital Marketing leading, building and scaling sales operations, helping companies increase revenue efficiency and drive growth from websites and sales teams. When he's not working, Tim enjoys playing a few rounds of disc golf, running, and spending time with his wife and family on the beach...preferably in Hawaii.

Over the years he's written for publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur, Marketing Land, Search Engine Journal, ReadWrite and other highly respected online publications. Connect with Tim on Linkedin & Twitter.
Timothy Carter
Latest posts by Timothy Carter (see all)
  • How to Market a Brand New Website - March 28, 2023
  • Is Guest Blogging Dead? Yes & No. Here’s Why. - March 14, 2023
  • Is SEO a Waste of Money? - March 13, 2023
Share
0
Timothy Carter
Timothy Carter
Industry veteran Timothy Carter is SEO.co’s Chief Revenue Officer. Tim leads all revenue for the company and oversees all customer-facing teams - including sales, marketing & customer success. He has spent more than 20 years in the world of SEO & Digital Marketing leading, building and scaling sales operations, helping companies increase revenue efficiency and drive growth from websites and sales teams. When he's not working, Tim enjoys playing a few rounds of disc golf, running, and spending time with his wife and family on the beach...preferably in Hawaii. Over the years he's written for publications like Entrepreneur, Marketing Land, Search Engine Journal, ReadWrite and other highly respected online publications.

Related posts

Market a Brand New Website
March 28, 2023

How to Market a Brand New Website


Read more
Is Guest Blogging Dead?
March 14, 2023

Is Guest Blogging Dead? Yes & No. Here’s Why.


Read more
Local SEO vs National SEO: What’s the Difference and Why it Matters
March 10, 2023

Local SEO vs. National SEO: What’s the Difference and Why it Matters


Read more

Inc 5000 Logo

Our Services

  • SEO Services
  • Link Building Services
  • On-Page SEO
  • White Label SEO
  • Content Writing Services
  • Amazon SEO
  • PPC Management
  • Public Relations
  • Brand Mentions
  • SEO Audit Service

SEO Resources

  • SEO for Beginners
  • Link Building Guide
  • Local SEO
  • Online Marketing
  • Digital Marketing
  • Content Marketing
  • SEO Reseller
  • Backlink Checker
  • Keyword Research
  • Google Ranking Factors

About SEO.co

  • About Us
  • SEO Team
  • SEO Blog
  • SEO Clients
  • SEO Tools
  • Markets Served
  • Locations Served
  • Client Login
  • Contact

Contact Us

Email: info@seo.co
Call: +1 (877) 545-4769
Address: 1425 Broadway Suite 22689
Seattle, WA 98112
White Label SEO Agency
  
Outwrite. Outrank.
© 2023 SEO.co. All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy | Sitemap
    GET STARTED