Are SEO Quick Fixes a Scam?

A quick shout out to internet stranger Krishna who sent me an email today that inspired this blog. Apparently, according to my new BFF, the ReThinc website “has good design and looks great but it’s not ranking on Google and other major search engines…”

Krisha goes on to say that he is an SEO expert who has helped over 150 businesses rank on the (1st Page of Google). I’ve copied the email below so you can see for yourself his keen use of the King’s English as well as the highly personalized nature of the email.

Are all SEO solicitations always misleading?

Solicitations like this aren’t unusual. At last count, I average about fifteen (15) email solicitations per day with about 20% of them having to do with SEO quick fixes or outright solicitations like the one I shared above.

For agency owners, the worst is when one of our clients gets one of these and falls for both the scare tactic (you don’t rank) and the false promises (1st page on Google, my rates are very affordable).

The attraction to rank 1st on Google is understandable as that position holds great value for pretty much every brand in every industry. Let’s clarify here that we are talking about the number one ORGANIC position which is one that you rank for based on a number of factors mostly related to your website. This is not to be confused with the number one PAID position which you bid on with cash monies. You can learn more about that in a friendly article from our friends at Google here.

But wait, please don’t go quite yet.

Let’s go further and explain that ranking first is TERM SPECIFIC not brand specific. Simply put, ranking first for the name of your business is relatively easy. Ranking first for DIGITAL AD AGENCY IN PHOENIX is more difficult and requires a process to do so. In general, the longer the search term the easier it is to rank for it but again, we must understand that consumers don’t always search for things in an exact manner. For instance, someone could also search for DIGITAL ADVERTISING AGENCY IN PHOENIX or DIGITAL AGENCY IN PHOENIX, all with the intent to find ReThinc, which is understandable because Kalyn works here now.

The truth is that proper SEO takes time and a comprehensive approach that most often requires the help of an expert named Andrew (not Krishna). The truth also is that there are no legitimate shortcuts to achieving this position regardless of what Krishna or anyone else for that matter, might tell you.

Here are three (3) primary factors that a search engine like Google uses to rank your website. This is courtesy of our friends at SEMrush, which is a platform we use to refine our search strategies:

1. Crawling: Search engines find (and rank) your website by using bots called crawlers. Once your website page is crawled, the search engine downloads everything on your page.
2. Indexing: All images, text, and videos are then indexed and stored in the search engine’s database.
3. Results: Relevancy is key. The search engine is trying to accomplish its function as efficiently as possible. Therefore listing results it sees as relevant to your search. Word match and other factors are important here.

How does a search engine determine how you rank?

Ranking factors are key to your organic positioning and to keep you on your toes our friends at Google tend to change the rules of this game so that you need to hire a DIGITAL AD AGENCY IN PHOENIX to help you. Here are some important factors for you to consider:

1. Content Quality – Is the content on your site relevant to your search?
2. Backlinks – This is another source of fraudulent solicitations but essentially, backlinks are links from other websites that point to yours. If you see lists like BEST DIGITAL AD AGENCIES IN PHOENIX they are using a backlink strategy (and charging for it).
3. Responsiveness – It’s important that your site load on mobile devices properly. If it doesn’t, you’re not going to rank well organically.
4. Page performance – This one is often overlooked. Search engines gauge things like page load speeds and visual stability. If your site doesn’t have these important factors functioning optimally, your organic ranking will suffer.

So, you see … Krishna cannot magically make your site rank number one despite the fact that he has a cool name and affordable rates. Lots of factors go into making your site rank organically. Writing new content about what you do is also one way that Search Engines like Google will look favorably on you. Oh, and one last thing … you don’t have to capitalize SEARCH TERMS to enhance your organic ranking.

If your business is trying to improve its organic search position, don’t respond to a random email from a guy who is probably not able to legally vote in the United States. Instead, send me an email at ed.olsen@rethincadvertising.com or give me a call at 602.284.6722.