Arushi Monga
We all know that SEO can bring great benefits to your business, but SEO is also a big investment (in both time and money). So, to reach the top of those important search results, you have to choose the right SEO Services agency.
Are we saying that the SEO companies are trouble?
Of course not!
There are some great SEO companies that can help your website rank higher on Google. However, SEO is not known as a reliable or reputable industry. Unfortunately, there are a few common SEO mistakes and some common issues with some SEO agencies that need attention.
So what are the challenges of SEO companies?
In this blog, we examine some of the most common problems when hiring an SEO agency and offer solutions to fix them.
But before that:
What is SEO and why is SEO important?
SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of making changes and additions to your website so that it appears higher in search engine results. To understand the importance of SEO better, just think about this.
How often do you turn to the second or third page of Google search results?
Not very often, right?
So, ideally, it should rank on the first page of Google search results and, if possible, rank in the top few pages. The top 5 organic search results account for 67.60% of all website clicks from search engines. If you don’t see them in the top 5, you probably aren’t getting a lot of traffic from search engines.
How does SEO help your business, you ask?
A good SEO strategy will increase your keyword ranking chances and increase organic traffic to your website. And the best part is that organic traffic is free. So it’s definitely worth it!
So what is an SEO agency and how should it help you?
An SEO agency works with you to optimize your website, improve search visibility, and ultimately drive more visitors to your website.
However, like all marketing efforts, it should help you increase your leads, sales, and ultimately revenue for your business.
However, SEO agencies have some concerns that do not affect their original revenue.
What are the main problems of SEO companies?
When it comes to SEO, we have been there and done that.
To our delight, we have many satisfied clients to speak for our work.
Therefore, it is safe to say that we know how to ensure that your website and content rank well in search engines.
However, we’ve also seen the ugly side of SEO, so you know what to look for when looking for SEO Services. And we think you should know that too before you hire an SEO agency.
- They can be expensive
- They don’t advise on messaging and copy
- They may not produce content
- Reports can seem overwhelming
- Difficult to find a reliable company
- Can take a while to see results
- They are not honest about search volume
- They don’t practice what they preach
- They guarantee search engine results
Let’s get started….!
SEO Agencies Can Be Expensive
SEO can cost from $500 to $10,000 a month, depending on who you hire, what you need, how competitive your search terms are, and the work you need to do to rank in search engines.
So why is SEO so expensive? A well-thought-out SEO strategy requires expertise, time, and effort. These three are expensive. But no matter how much you spend, you should definitely get a healthy return.
Sure, it might seem expensive, but if the ROI is high, it’s worth it, right?
Unfortunately, it is not always the case.
This is one of the main challenges of SEO companies. Simply paying a professional every month still may not get you results. This is the reason why SEO is considered expensive. Of course, if you don’t get your money back, it’s expensive!
What happens is you are just paying for the SEO confusion. Again, SEO can be expensive because it can seem like a mystery.
For example, SEO is (usually) more expensive than hiring a lone content writer, but both can help you get better search results.
The SEO agency can charge more simply because it’s more difficult to understand.
They don’t advise on messaging and copy
Yipee!
Your SEO efforts have paid off. Your website is flooded with traffic, with a lot of hits every day.
But it doesn’t lead to more leads or sales. ?
What’s happening?
The truth is that there are various problems that can lead to conversion failure.
Maybe it is a bad user experience?
Or perhaps the copy is not convincing enough? Or your website is turning people away by looking like it was last designed in 2000?
There is a lot of traffic! Often it foretells more sales. But it takes more than traffic to convert these prospects into paying customers.
User experience and copy issues are often not mentioned or considered by SEO companies. Because it’s really not their problem. They want your site to get a lot of attention. However, getting people to your site and not making sales is a huge waste of money. And that’s something a good SEO specialist should be able to point out as soon as the results start pouring in.
Now clients too have a huge part to play at this stage. We personally turned clients down if they didn’t have what it takes to make content and SEO work: an easy-to-use website that clearly shows what you’re doing and attracts your target audience.
They may not create content for you
If you want to earn one of the coveted top spots on Google, you need to create great content related to those searches. That means you need blogs, videos, landing pages, and sales pages filled with keyword-optimized content.
The average content length of articles that appear on Google is 2,416 words. Therefore, to appear at the top of search engines, you need to create long-format content.
Although SEO agencies (should) be aware of this, they frequently request that you provide your own content. Alternately, the content creation will incur an additional fee in addition to the $100 to $1,000 per month that you already pay. All of a sudden, it starts to build up and get quite expensive.
Or, even worse, they can simply ignore it and concentrate on link development or technical SEO. They are performing their job as long as they are bringing you additional traffic. ?.
But as you know, to really harness the power of SEO, you need content. So you’ll have to do it yourself or pay an SEO specialist to do it for you. That’s one of the reasons why we combined content and SEO into one package (among a few other things). So you get high-quality, consistent content that drives traffic and is SEO friendly.
Reports can be overwhelming
The monthly reports that SEO firms offer you may appear daunting and jargon-filled.
Naturally, when you are spending money you want to know what has been done and what effect it has had on your business. However, it’s important that only the relevant metrics – and not ALL of them – are given to you.
Overall organic traffic, backlinks, website speed, website technical health, and keyword rankings are just a few of the things that can be included in SEO reports. But you might not think much of this.
Discuss with your SEO expert to see what KPIs you would need to track and report on. These could consist of:
- What keywords rank and where?
- Is there traffic to your website?
- Will it lead to leads or sales?
- How will this affect our sales and profits?
It’s hard to find a reliable company
Almost anyone might establish an SEO agency tomorrow and begin pitching themselves as a specialist.
There is a fairly low entry barrier, which is a good thing in way that anyone can become an expert—including you!
However, it also means that there are numerous shady SEO services firms out there that lack the knowledge and experience necessary to deliver results for clients.
This is made worse by the fact that SEO might appear to many business owners to be a complete dark art. A LOT of money might be spent with few returns due to a lack of business experience and understanding as well as a shady SEO company.
Finding an SEO agency with great testimonials that have great content and its own SEO strategy implemented is a good place to start. If they can’t prove themselves to have a successful SEO strategy, how are they going to do it for you?
It may take some time to see the results
How long does it typically take for your SEO efforts to produce results?
The ideal period, according to the SEO community, is between three to six months. And that’s sometimes the case; it sometimes takes SEO agencies some time to provide results. especially if they are paying more attention to your website’s technical SEO features.
One of the most widespread misconceptions about SEO is that it takes 6 months to see the results.
When in fact, if done correctly, ranking for your chosen keywords and phrases might happen in less than a month.
However, you don’t stop there. You keep writing and publishing relevant material, alongside optimizing for the targeted keywords.
You’ll rank for more keywords and phrases as you produce more content. (So long as you stick to the proper strategy and optimize appropriately.)
You’ll rank for more keywords and phrases as you produce more content. (So long as you stick to the proper strategy and properly optimize it.)
There is no three-month restriction. or a six-month cap. SEO and content marketing must be a permanent part of your company if you want to win at it. Additionally, you must connect with someone who is open and upfront about this commitment. The bottom line is that SEO should always be part of your business.
They may not be honest about search volume
Today, we could publish a blog post about “Mars workout” and instantly reach Google’s top spot.
We’re not simply praising ourselves here
It’s because no one is searching for the term “Mars workouts,” which has a very low keyword volume. This makes perfect sense because nobody randomly enrolls in a fitness class on Mars.
It also makes it fairly easy to write a blog with this keyword that ranks highly on search engines.
But given that nobody is using that keyword in searches, why bother?
You might believe that you want your website and blog to rank for a specific set of keywords and search terms. However, they won’t always be the most effective, and SEO agencies often exaggerate the frequency of searches for certain phrases.
We recently conducted keyword research for a customer.
They optimized their website and content so that the service name is followed by the word “partner”.
But in fact, their audience didn’t use the word “partner”, they used the word “advisor.” There was also a big difference in search volume (“Partner” < 10 per month vs. “Advisor” > 600 per month).
This is why keyword research is essential, and it’s important to find an SEO Services agency that is honest about what you need to rank for to grow your business.
They don’t follow their own advice.
Have you ever spotted an SEO company that doesn’t appear for any of the relevant keywords?
It’s a running joke that your own company comes last (particularly in marketing circles). SEO companies don’t pay themselves, often their own SEO comes after a client’s work.
To some extent, this is perfectly understandable.
You have a problem, though, if they don’t do any of the things they are advising you to do. It not only raises doubts about the success of their SEO tactics but also about their knowledge and credibility.
An SEO company should create content that is optimized for search engines and ranks for relevant keywords.
If they can’t do it themselves, how will they do it for you?
They promise top search engine positions
Rankings cannot be guaranteed unless the SEO company owns Google!
Of course, they can show examples of their client’s work and show how their SEO strategy was implemented and the results they got. They can show testimonials from existing customers.
However, they cannot assure you that you will succeed similarly. What you can gauge from the testimonials is the honest effort and type of service you will get.
It can be difficult to predict what Google will do next. It can change its algorithm at a whim. We also compete with industry competitors and you can’t control what others in your business post.
Therefore, no one can indubitably promise that you’ll rank first for every single keyword. And if they are, it is a red flag.
Should You Hire an SEO Agency? (and where to look for a decent one)
So after reading about all the problems with SEO agencies, you might think they are the devil.
Are we saying that SEO is a waste of money and should not be invested in?
Absolutely not!
As SEO experts, we are aware of how essential a solid SEO strategy is to the success of any company. However, it just makes up a small portion of the success puzzle and is only one of several factors to consider.
Nevertheless, if you aren’t producing high-quality, consistent content that speaks to what your clients are looking for while spending thousands per month on fancy SEO strategies, you may be wasting money.
A smart, SEO-optimized plan can be a better place to start than investing thousands of dollars each month. This will raise your search engine ranking and help you gain the trust of prospective clients and turn them into paying ones.
Therefore, what should you look for in an SEO agency that offers to assist you to enhance SEO site content?
- SEO Companies that create content both for their clients and themselves
- Those which do not guarantee rankings on Google
- Provide you with honest information about what to expect and how to get there
- Companies that stay away from unnecessary jargon
SEO is a delicate balance between hard work and creativity. Your website can once again dominate the SERPs for the keywords you choose, bringing in a steady stream of qualified visitors.
A solid way to go and address SEO challenges is to get an SEO audit from a top SEO agency. XOR Labs is a full-service Performance marketing agency with strong SEO capabilities. With a consistent effort, we strategize and optimize for SEO as part of our SEO services, so you don’t have to worry about anything.
We offer a complete package that will cover everything you need at a very reasonable price.
