We all know the types. The companies that promise an immediate spot at the top page of Google in a matter of weeks. The ones who promise that you could soon be the next social influencer, boasting an incomprehensible number of past follower figures. Heck, they even claim their contact at the Guardian will be able to get your business featured.
It seems too good to be true, right?
Ding! There’s no surprise that SEO companies promising amazing figures and lots of shortcuts are the ones that will be taking the money and doing a swift exit when the penalties start rolling in. Cutting corners may sound promising, but in reality, it simply doesn’t work for SEO.
These are the shortcuts that could be doing your website more harm than good.
Keywords everywhere
If you spot a lot of keywords popping up on your site, some black hat SEO may be at work.
The first sign that your site contains too many keywords is when it becomes clear that the writing of your blog doesn’t come first. For instance, if every couple of sentences is punctuated by a keyword, it’s time to pull up your SEO agency and make them face the music.
While keywords may have once been the way to get your website noticed, your website could now be penalised for including too many – especially if they compromise the user’s ability to read your page.
Duplicated content
One easy way to get around posting new content is to duplicate what you have. However, if you choose to do so, you’ll only be doing your website a disservice.
A lazy SEO company will duplicate content at the risk of your ranking. Don’t let them be your downfall and make sure you call out any SEO company on duplicated copy that appears on your website.
New and original content is the order of the day when it comes to keeping your website at the top of the search engines, so get your thinking caps on and start coming up with creative content that will get reader’s thinking – or employ an agency to do that for you!
Skipping mobile
Failing to adapt your website for a mobile audience is a big no-no in any industry. Mobile has proved itself to be of huge importance in any SEO strategy.
For those with e-commerce businesses, it’s even more important as you could lose valuable sales by failing to have a mobile-friendly site.
Keep on top of your SEO agency when it comes to mobile, and ensure they’re doing everything in their power to make your website ready for your mobile customers.
Automating social
Why have someone manning the social channels when you can have a bot sending automatic messages? One reason: originality.
Automatic messages can seem like a great timesaver, but they’re a sure-fire way to turn followers away from your social media sites.
These messages instead make it clear that you aren’t interested in interacting with those interested in the same industry – instead, you’re trying to take what you can get without giving anything back.
Avoid spamming your followers and get stuck in in person by sharing insightful industry-related thoughts that will propel interesting conversation.
Not staying updated
SEO is an ever-changing beast, which means the right thing may quickly become the wrong thing – with very little warning.
Keeping updated on the latest practices should be standard practice for any SEO agency. If your agency appears to be a bit behind the times, or promise results from practices you know to be outdated, steer clear and look for a new SEO company to take over your website.
Have you tried to shortcut your way to the top? Or maybe you’ve been promised a lot by an SEO company that haven’t delivered the goods? Team Organic work with you on your website to ensure it reaches the best place it can through organic means. Grab a free website review and quote from us here.
