A What question

What red flags should I avoid in an SEO company?

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The warning signs appear before you sign anything: in how a company contacts you, what it promises, what it is willing to explain, and what it asks of you. Google’s own guide to hiring an SEO names several of them directly, and the rest show up in the proposal and the contract. The reason to take them seriously is stated in the same guide: “Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire.”

The signs Google names

Google’s guide to hiring an SEO is unusually direct about what to avoid.

  • It tells readers to “be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that email you out of the blue”, and notes that Google receives the same spam emails offering to get google.com “listed” in search engines.
  • It warns about SEOs that “claim to guarantee rankings, allege a ‘special relationship’ with Google, or advertise a ‘priority submit’ to Google.”
  • It treats secrecy as a warning sign in its own right: “Be careful if a company is secretive or won’t clearly explain what they intend to do.”
  • One line is short enough to remember: “You should never have to link to an SEO.” A contract or setup that requires a link from your site to the company’s site is a sign to stop.
  • It also warns: “Avoid SEOs that talk about link popularity schemes or submitting your site to thousands of search engines.”

The guide also explains the stakes: “If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, your site could be removed entirely from Google’s index.”

Signs in the proposal

A fixed package sold before anyone has looked at your site, your market, or your competitors is a proposal written for every client, not for you. Ask for a short assessment of your situation and a plan that reflects it.

Vague deliverables are the next sign. If the proposal cannot say what you will receive each month and how progress will be measured, you will have no basis for judging the work later.

Watch who will own what. Analytics, Search Console, and any other accounts set up for your site should be registered to you, with the company working through its own access. A proposal that has the company holding those accounts leaves you without your own data if the relationship ends.

A price far below other quotes deserves a question rather than a verdict: what hours and deliverables does it cover, and how is the work done at that price?

Signs in the sales process and contract

Pressure to sign quickly, for example before a discount expires, deserves to be noticed for what it is: pressure. A company confident in its work can give you time to read the terms. Long minimum terms with no way out, large upfront fees, and reluctance to explain cancellation are worth questioning before you commit, not after.

If you were misled

Google’s guide also says where to turn. “In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices.” For a company in another country, the guide points to econsumer.gov. Keeping the proposal, the contract, and any written promises makes a complaint, or a conversation with a lawyer, easier.

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