Search engine optimization requires an investment. Look at it as an investment with an expectation of return on that investment.
SEO is a discipline and a long-term process. It requires a solid plan for strategy development and implementation in the areas of technical, on-page and off-page optimization.
Not all places are the same. Goals, conversions, starting points, opportunities, and organizational structures are some factors that determine how easy or difficult it will be to achieve your SEO goals.
Throughout my career, I have worked with hundreds of brands, organizations and sites on SEO. I can definitely say that there is no single answer for the right SEO plan or the right partner for every business.
A vital variable in SEO ROI is the amount of investment itself. If you have it covered by someone on your team or in a role you manage, then you have soft costs. If you’re paying someone outside like a consultant, agency, or SEO company, you know the hard costs all too well.
Using “cheap” options is dangerous. Cheap is a relative term, but what it is will make sense as I unpack the nine risks of cheap SEO.
1. Absence of strategy and plan
With short-term tactics and long-term ROI expectations, it’s critical to have an SEO roadmap. Yes, it will likely change based on the need for additional content, rounds of optimization, and changes with search engine algorithms.
However, when you cut costs, costs or time, you run the risk of shortchanging yourself when it comes to spending enough time on research, strategy development and tactical planning.
2. Misalignment of objectives
An old frustration for me is seeing and hearing about SEO reports that only report ranking positions, ranked keywords, and clicks. Even some levels of conversion reports can fall into this for me.
I learned the painfully long ago about the misalignment of SEO goals versus business goals firsthand early in my career. I still remember confidently walking into that client meeting with all my SEO metrics looking great, thinking the client would be happy. That client came in thinking otherwise, seeing no new business from SEO efforts.
Cheap SEO runs the risk of showing superficial statistics and focusing on things that don’t fit your business or really move the needle.
3. Lack of transparency
If you’re buying $99 a month SEO, there has to be something that allows the company to charge such a low price. Or, if you’re investing in equally cheap software that promises to deliver results, you run the risk of not getting a transparent picture of what you’re buying.
One of the things I hate most about this industry (my industry) is that there are still entities that take advantage of small (and even large) businesses.
Lack of transparency is a warning sign that you are at risk of cheap SEO. This may cover:
Who is working on your account. The strategy What will be measured? How it will be reported. Or anything related to effort.
4. Risk tactics
I’m not here to dive into any debate or talk about gray areas or risky tactics. You can find these conversations and discussions elsewhere, and I’m glad to have them.
You should know that cheap SEO can often take shortcuts to make it affordable. This could include:
Purchase of links from third party services. Large-scale, low-quality content creation. Engage in many other tactics that can be high risk and high reward.
Again, you can be the judge of whether you agree with these tactics or not, but know that the risk exists.
This is especially the case if you experience the lack of strategy, lack of transparency, or other aspects that I have shared so far.
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5. Poor reports
Good SEO reporting includes integration with your business metrics that matter and all the aspects that led up to that point. This means SEO visibility and engagement metrics and the history and insights into what drove the effort.
How are we going to achieve our goals? Where are we on the plan? Is there anything changing or adapting the strategy? What do the metrics mean? How do they contribute to SEO ROI?
Cheap SEO often leads to sparse, inadequate or unreliable reporting. It can lead to seeing numbers that don’t make sense or don’t go deep enough to validate the effort.
6. Not enough communication
Early in my career, I could do a lot more SEO in a silo than can be done now. I think the evolution and blasting of the silo is a good thing.
That said, whoever is driving the strategy, implementing the tactics, and reporting on the plan should speak regularly. SEO requires the alignment of approvers/stakeholders, strategists, UX, developers, IT, content producers and more.
Cheap SEO often leads to promises to do everything, only for the cheap SEO provider to disappear. They may also overpromise or compromise without enough communication to properly collaborate and have all resources working together to achieve success.
7. Little action
Again, I hate to see people get taken advantage of. Yes, cheap SEO is cheap. This means that if it doesn’t work, you won’t lose as much money as if you invested in an expensive endeavor that failed.
However, time lost now throws off the timeline for ROI and results in the future. If the cheap SEO provider is slow or only makes an amount equivalent to their monthly or established reach, it can cost you the speed and speed at which you can grow through SEO.
Cheap SEO risks wasting months of your time and your ability to grow, even if it doesn’t hold you back significantly financially.
8. Cookie-cutter tactics
Even if you see positive movement with a cheap SEO provider, your mileage will likely vary. Chances are you have someone stationed in a shallow strategic area who is working with a checklist.
SEO is much more than a checklist. If you get cookie-cutter tactics, you’ll have a lower ceiling than if you work with someone who may be a bigger investment, but gives you a more personalized approach and solution.
Cheap SEO often relies on simple audits, software or a checklist that anyone could implement and doesn’t go deep enough to drive more competitive markets and keywords.
9. Negative ROI
The biggest and most important risk to cheap SEO is negative ROI. Again, you might not lose a lot of money if the effort doesn’t make an impact.
However, if the cheap SEO option hurt, you may have some hidden costs that push you into more negative territory.
Having to undo risky tactics that could have penalized you or pushed you into negative SEO territory, trying to recoup lost time and money, are big cheap SEO risks that fall into the realm of negative ROI.
conclusion
I’m not saying expensive SEO is good. That’s a topic for another article (along with how to make sure you fully understand what you’re getting without over-investing and putting yourself in a negative position about SEO ROI).
Knowing the risks of cheap SEO, however, can help you know what you might be getting yourself into and fully understand the questions to ask, the warning signs to look out for, or the situations to avoid. Like other areas of life and business, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Look for references, references, and case studies to find the right partner for you whether you’re hiring an SEO company, buying software, or recruiting talent. Recognize risks and monitor your ROI goals and trend and track them.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
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About the author
Corey Morris is a qualified marketing professional with over 15 years of experience developing award-winning, ROI-generating digital strategies for local and national brands. He was recently honored as the winner of the 2019 KCDMA Marketing of the Year Award. Corey is the Director of Strategy for voltage – a marketing company based in Kansas City, MO. He previously founded the KC Search Marketing Conference to help build a local community for search marketers for professional growth. He was recognized for his involvement in the conference and invited to join the global board of SEMPO (now part of DAA) as Vice President of Cities.
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