First, there is a reason I am writing this. I care. We care.
This is the most frustrating issue that comes into Shoreline. A client who thinks they can achieve “Amazing” results for $99/month because their last company was doing it. Well, let’s face it, they are the “Last Company” because you are searching for one that couldn’t do what’s needed, right?
To be fare, we are not your last company. We’re better. We actually do the work that gets you the results. An entire team of professionals at your fingertips. Either walk onto our offices or call. We’ll be there. That’s an agency.
Failure to choose a professional SEO or Digital Marketing company will leave you and your company with poorer results than you had prior.
We get it. It’s hard to understand and it takes time, but that is what you have an entire team of professionals for. There’s a lot of self-proclaimed SEO experts out there but trust me when I say that you MUST separate the Digital Marketing and SEO contenders from the pretenders. We get results. That’s it. No BS “Package Deals”. We focus on our EXPERT knowledge in Web, SEO and Digital Marketing.
So what is a “Package Deal”
A Package Deal is usually a deal from a company who either outsources 100% of their work, a print or newspaper company who is trying to get into the digital game or someone sitting in their kitchen who took some online classes and is now an expert in all things media. About 99.99% of the time, if you are getting a “Package Deal” that includes Ads, SEO, etc. it is because they know 0% about Digital Marketing.
Package Deals when it comes to buying products in bulk may be great, but choosing a Digital Marketing or SEO (Search Engine Optimization) company because they gave you a “Package Deal” may be one of the largest red flags when trying to strategize your Digital game plan.
Packaged SEO plans typically do not offer reports that give you a true assessment of your website’s performance. Instead they are all false and misleading as 99% of the budget goes into whatever the actual service is (usually print) aside from the Digital services in the”Package”.
Trust me, I have been doing this for almost 20 years. (FYI, This is Joe)
Unfortunately, I see this all of the time. A company either has multiple agencies all doing the same thing leaving you competing with yourself and wasting a ton of money or a so-called “Digital Marketing” or “SEO” agency who’s probably doing about an hour’s worth of work a month.
The site https://www.risefuel.com/ published a great article stating multiple reasons why these “Package Deals” are for startups OR ones who do not know the actual digital space. Here’s a few I found very true.
SEO packages are usually made without evaluating your website.
No two websites are exactly alike. Accordingly, there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” SEO package. In fact, businesses within the same industry often differ sharply with respect to the content on their website.
Prefabricated search engine optimization packages are prepared without any analysis of your website or understanding of your customer base.
Here are a few ways that this lack of analysis can impede your performance:
- You do not receive any customized analysis tools that identify keyword to content ratios or user flow.
- Packaged SEO is prepared with no knowledge of your competitors.
- Any troubleshooting provided usually arrives in the form of a quick fix.
You may be paying for keywords and search engines that you never use.
Packaged SEO services are designed for the masses. They are put together by individuals who are guessing what the average website in your field would need to prosper.
As a result, packaged SEO plans often feature keywords that are useless to your specialty. This leads to two unpleasant consequences:
- You are paying for services that you do not need and will never use.
- Despite overpaying for services, there is a strong likelihood that keywords pertinent to your business will be missed.
Any initial results are usually fleeting.
Most providers who push prepackaged SEO services lack a long-term, strategic plan for your organization. In fact, the only long-term goal they likely have for your business is to convince you to pay for their “services” as long as possible.
Surprisingly, many packaged SEO providers achieve this goal because they promise immediate results to customers to entice them to sign on with their business.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as immediate results and any short-term improvements are typically not sustainable.
Packaged SEO services are often outsourced to overseas providers.
Packaged SEO providers might give you the impression that they will be handling your SEO locally. In reality, many packaged SEO providers outsource to India and other overseas countries.
This means your keywords and phrases could be determined by a non-native English speaker who knows absolutely nothing about your business.
“A large majority of ‘so-called SEO experts’ are sales guys who outsource to India, and the result is decline in your business.” – Josh Rubin, Founder of Post Modern Marketing
Your website security could be compromised.
Packaged SEO providers, especially those who outsource overseas, could leave you and your company vulnerable to data thieves and hackers. As you evaluate SEO providers, make sure to ask them exactly what security methods they use to protect sensitive information.
Also, ask them to outline precisely how they handle security problems with their customers. Providers who are unable to provide a clear answer should be avoided at all costs.
Communicating with your provider will be extremely challenging.
Did you know you can walk into our office and stop into any department to speak with an actual SEO Guru, Developer, Social Media Professional, Ads Professional. Why? Because we’re an actual Digital Marketing & SEO company.
Communicating with your provider by phone may prove to be challenging due to time zone differences and poor quality phone lines and just a couple of small linguistic mistakes by a non-native English speaking SEO provider could tank your search engine rankings.
You will face numerous quality control issues.
Poor management and a lack of understanding of a client’s business can detract from your company’s image and your SEO. While some items like poor grammar and spelling might not heavily impact Google search results, they can hurt your rankings on Bing and other search engines.
You may end up incurring harsh penalties from Google.
That’s like having 2 agencies running ads for you at the same time.
The black hat SEO tactics used with pre-packaged SEO could land you and your company in deep water. Penalties and sanctions for using practices such as link building and keyword stuffing can range from diminished page rankings to complete removal from search results for an undefined time period.
With that being said, because you were responsible for hiring the SEO provider, you will likely face these penalties even if you were not directly responsible for practices such as link building or website hacking.
Categorised in: The Shoreline Blog
This post was written by Shoreline Content Team
