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SEO and the ROI Debacle

10 Ways Search Engine Optimization Firms Waste Your Money

The problem with many search engine optimization firms is that they don't know what they're doing.

It's not that they'll necessarily take all of your money and do nothing. Some of their efforts may produce results - just not nearly as many as they should. In some cases, you'll never see any return. Much of search engine optimization is intuition, so don't give your consultant too much of a hard time if you disagree about an approach once in awhile.

Here are some common mistakes they make:

1. Failing to size up a company's business objectives and target market.
If they can't grasp what you do and who you do it for, the whole program will be giant waste of time.

2. Rushing through keyword research.
It's all well and good to prefer to spend time optimizing a website (i.e. META data, updating visible text, etc.) but your keywords are the foundation of any SEO campaign.

3. Insisting on only long-tail keyword phrases.
It's definitely a good strategy to feature some search terms in the four-word category, but some companies overdo it a bit because they're afraid to go after competitive search terms. If you've got the link reputation, page depth and website longevity, it's possible to succeed over time for two and three-word phrases. Broad terms get a bad rap sometimes because they don't convert as well as long-tail phrases. But sometimes it's worth playing and celebrating the volume game. Get visitors and customers from among the crowd - if you can rank high.

4. Choosing broad keywords.
Again, with a limited grasp of your website's ability to support competitive keywords, some search firms run with them anyway. Like you, they may be enamored by the amount of traffic they bring. But if your website isn't positioned to rank for them, they could just spin search engine optimization wheels and burn your cash.

5. Keyword stuffing.
Without a sound writing background, search engine optimization firms may end up placing keywords in places they don't belong or repeat them too many times in a short space.

6. String keywords in page titles.
Depending on the content, you may get by with one, two or three phrases in a page title, but unprofessional SEO consultants sometimes litter page titles with too many keywords.

7. Poorly written META descriptions.
They should feature strong search terms, your business name, an offer and/or a corporate attribute.

8. Ranking focus.
Rankings are essential but they're not the main attraction. Search engine optimization "experts" sometimes pay too much attention to rankings and not enough to traffic trends.

9. Analysis failings.
Some consultants take a shallow approach to their next moves. For example, if a search phrase ranks #8 on Google for one page on the website and #14 for the same phrase on another page, the tendency may be to make future updates on the page ranking #8 while ignoring the one ranking #14.

But it's critical to be mindful of variables before making any decision. This is the heart of SEO work - being able to interpret data and make effective moves in view of the website's ability to support SEO.

What other search terms is that #8 page supporting and how do they rank on which search engine? What is the call to action on the #8 page and the on the #14 page? Which page might convert better in the long run? Can the #14 page rank better over time? Will the #8 page hit a ceiling? What other search terms can the #14 page support? How many content updates are likely on each?

What search engines do most customers use (in the past, present, and what is the likely trend moving forward)? Is the percentage breakdown such that it's worth getting traffic from all of the major search engines? How is that being accomplished?

10. Not being consultative.
If you're SEO firm isn't driving the program with keyword selection and content updates (including making sure you don't make bad moves on your end), you've hired the wrong consultant.

Read excerpts from this SEO study online: