WHAT IS BAD SEO?

What would you want if a genie granted you one wish to help your business? You may want your website to be at the top of the search engine overnight, like many other business owners who are trying to make their name known. Even though we love folktales, a promise of quick SEO is just that: fiction.

Search engine optimization (SEO), for most companies, is an excellent method to drive organic traffic to their website. Your chances of getting even more visitors increase as you receive more traffic when people search for what you offer.

The sad truth is that many SEO companies are a waste of time. Around 70% of the people who come to our shop in retail have been burned by digital marketing "experts". Many business owners had bad experiences with SEO professionals. We are motivated to act rightly by the stories we hear. There are bad players everywhere. Instead, we'll teach you how to identify them. How can you tell if your SEO is working or not?

This article will explain what bad SEO looks like from a technical perspective, why it doesn't work and how to identify signs that your SEO strategy isn’t working.

WHAT IS BAD SEM?

Most business owners don't have time to study SEO because it is so difficult to keep up to date with the constant changes. We understand.

Bad SEO is difficult to detect at first. SEO experts who claim to be "gurus" will make bold promises about how quickly your website can reach the top of search engine results. Real SEO takes time. Although we have achieved page one results for relevant keywords in less than a week, this is not the norm and depends on your industry's competitiveness.

Your agency cannot make a claim that is universal. You'll therefore need to create a custom SEO plan for your website and industry. You cannot rank overnight by simply flipping a switch. Anyone who says they can is either naive, or simply lying.

It can be difficult to determine what bad SEO is. How can you tell if the SEO process that you are using is flawed? Here are a few tips:

THEY MISS THE BASICS

SEO may seem easy at first glance. You just need to write some content that is appealing to your audience and relevant for search engines. Yeah, not quite.

To create a comprehensive SEO strategy, you will need to do multiple types of SEO. On-Page SEO optimizes your existing web pages. Off-Page Search Engine Optimization helps to build your website's authority across the internet by using links. Technical SEO is the process that optimizes your website so it's user-friendly and easy to crawl by search engines. Technical SEO eliminates or minimizes issues that could prevent a search engines from indexing your site properly. A good SEO strategy is a combination of on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO.

If you don't pay attention to these three aspects, your website won't be where you want it.

Local businesses will want to fine-tune their SEO strategy to a geographically-relevant audience. Mobile SEO is also important for optimizing your website. Your industry and company will determine the best SEO strategy.

BLACK HAT TACONS

Big promises and questionable results are a red flag for SEO. Many SEO agencies want to sell their services. They'll make promises such as "you'll reach the top of the search results within a week!" But how could that be? They may be using black-hat SEO techniques, but the risks of doing so can be high.

People can use black hat SEO techniques to achieve quick results. They focus on "tricking Google" rather than working within its guidelines. Tricking Google is a thing of the past. You either have to work with Google, or you'll be de-indexed. So simple. Google is the world we all live in.

Black hat tactics don't provide a good user experience in the long run. Search engines may penalize your website if they discover that your SEO agency is using shady tactics.

What are some of the black hat strategies? Be on the lookout for these sneaky tactics:

* Keyword stuffing: If you want to rank in search engines for specific keywords. To do it correctly, you must provide an experience that is useful to the user. Keyword stuffing can be detrimental. If, for instance, your bakery is trying to rank locally on the phrase "cakes near my location", keyword stuffers will change your landing page so that it says "Are You Looking for Cakes Near Me? You need not look any further. Kate's Cakes can be found nearby if you're searching for cake near me. "Cakes near me are in the middle of Atlanta." Nobody wants to hear that!

* Unsavoury Links: SEO firms that are questionable abuse links in many ways. Link building is a crucial part of any SEO strategy. Bad SEO agencies may use link farms instead of links that have authority. Link farms may contain the exact keywords that you are trying to rank for. It links to a low-quality site. These links don't build authority for your site nor do they provide a positive experience for users.

* Cloaking Imagine reaching into the cookie jar and finding kale. At best, it's unexpected. At worst, it's deceptive! Cloaking, a black-hat technique that is similar to that, works in a similar way. SEO companies that are not trustworthy create a type of web page that is optimized for search engines. The user is presented with a completely different website. This trick is used to allow search engines rank web content higher. However, the person actually viewing the content will see a page which is not as useful as they think. Cloaking reduces user experience to increase search engine ranking.

They don't do backlinks

Off-page SEO strategies include backlinks. Linking to other websites that are more established helps you build your website's authority.

Quantity is not as important as quality. Although it can be tempting, links from unreliable sites are not helpful to your website. If you only have a few backlinks, your website will lose credibility and trust.

Consider it. You wouldn't quote unqualified people as sources in a research report. Backlinks are no different. Search engines such as Google constantly evaluate the relevancy and authority of their results. Your SEO agency's backlink strategy will not get your website to where you want it to be if they are focused on quantity rather than quality.

The King of BAD SEO is...

It is the most simple tactic that bad SEO agencies use to rip clients off. They ignore your website.

Nearly every SEO expert will tell you it takes "3-6" months to get your website on the first page of search engines. It's true that SEO is a lengthy process, but there are also times when the time frame can be shortened and others when it takes longer depending on the level of competition in the industry.

It is possible that a client will wait up to 3 months before realizing nothing has happened. The monthly fee is already paid. It's crucial to have metrics and reports to show that your site is moving up in the search engine results.

There is really only one metric to consider, which is the answer you give when asked, "How often does your phone ring?" Once search engine optimization has been activated.

BAD SEO AND YOUR WEBSITE

SEO firms that employ black-hat SEO techniques are usually located overseas, looking for quick business. But it can get worse. Your website may suffer long-term damage if you violate search engine guidelines.

RUDDEN LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE

Black Hat SEO companies don't want to tell you this. Real SEO work takes time. It takes time to do thorough keyword research, create meaningful content, and establish authority. Black hat SEO techniques can damage your company's reputation. If you are penalized for shady SEO tactics, it will be impossible to see how SEO can help your business.

If you're working hard on technical SEO, black hat tactics could come back and bite you. If a search engine penalizes your site, all that hard work you put into making it as user-friendly and attractive as possible could be thrown out the window.

REPELS CALLERS

Consider how you use search engine in your everyday life. Google could be your go-to when you are deciding what to order for dinner tonight, or if you have any other question. Search engines are used by people to find information. Sites with useful blog posts, helpful guides, or entertaining listicles can help answer your questions and give you a positive impression of the website.

Poor SEO tactics will not provide a positive user experience if they are too busy stuffing keywords or have unhelpful content. You need to use proper SEO in order to maintain a positive user experience. Black hat techniques will leave a bad impression on your customers and drive them away.

DEINDEXING YOUR WEBSITE

If you use black hat strategies, your website could face severe penalties. If Google or Bing detects that your SEO agency has been cloaking keywords or stuffing them, they may penalize your website by lowering your ranking on the search engines.

You don't want your SEO agency to lower your website's ranking! You could even risk having your website completely deindexed if you use shady SEO tactics. In the long run, short-term SEO can wipe your website from search engine results. It is not worth the effort.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I'M GETTING BAD SEO?

You can now tell how effective your SEO strategy is. You can tell that your SEO strategy isn't effective by noticing the following when you audit it:

YOU AUDIENCE IS NOT QUITE RIGHT

You've probably done extensive research on your target market as a business owner. You know who you want to find your website via organic search results. Your target audience will not be able find you if your SEO agency doesn't appeal to the right audience.

Bad SEO agencies will waste your money on vanity metrics. Some agencies only focus on traffic. You may be getting your name out there, however, these people will not convert. You can use an analytics tool such as Google Analytics to see how your audience interacts with your site. If your SEO is not working, you may be seeing a lot of users outside your target area.

YOUR KEYWORD SEARCH IS OFF

How would you like your ideal audience to find you on a search engine. Using keywords, of course! A poor keyword strategy can ruin your SEO strategy. Bad SEO often focuses on obvious keyword phrases like the name of the company and similar broad phrases. Keyword research is not done to determine the search intent of users or how they are at different stages in the sales funnel.

Recently, someone asked us to translate this sentence from the SEO agency.

Right now, your Google listing is number one. We are currently working to move the website up from 7th place.

The report was a single page. There was no indication as to what keywords were used. This person's website was only ranking for the basic keyword of his name. It was not even ranking for any keywords.

Your content is crashing

Search engines are used by users to find content that is relevant to them. Blogging, when done right, is a great way to create backlinks and to provide useful information to potential clients. If done badly, blogging can be annoying and spammy. It can also cause your customer to leave your website immediately. You should ensure that the blogs your SEO agency writes for you are useful and helpful to your business.

Your SEO agency may not be doing you any favours if it is constantly rambling in your landing pages. Search engines will penalize you if they detect bad content. Use a tool such as SEMRush for auditing your website to detect duplicate content.

YOUR SITE IS UNCHANGED

It is important to optimize the SEO process, no matter how extensive it may be. To see where you rank for specific search terms, you can use SEO measurement tools such as ahrefs. If your ranking is still low despite the efforts you have made and the timeline set by your agency, it might be time to optimize your SEO strategy.

You know by now that it takes time to build a good SEO agency. You should be updated on your SEO progress, including metrics such as keyword ranking, search engine rank and organic traffic. You're probably getting subpar SEO assistance if you feel that they are not being proactive.

SEO: GET IT RIGHT and MAKE IT LOUDER

You're correct if you think that SEO is a complex strategy. We don't offer a one-size fits all solution for your business at Make it Loud. We'll thoroughly examine your site before we begin SEO. We use both your website and the search engines to help you reach the top of search engine results pages.