Six of the Most Common SEO Scams - Episode 09

Summary

Podcast Summary: Grumpy SEO Guy – Episode 09: Six of the Most Common SEO Scams

Release Date: June 21, 2023

Podcast Information:

• Title: Grumpy SEO Guy
• Host: Grumpy SEO Guy
• Description: Sharing 14 years of experience running an SEO agency, Grumpy SEO Guy provides actionable strategies to elevate websites to the top of search engine rankings. This podcast aims to demystify the SEO industry, offering listeners knowledge surpassing that of 99% of SEO professionals.

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Introduction

In Episode 09, titled "Six of the Most Common SEO Scams," Grumpy SEO Guy delves into prevalent deceptive practices within the SEO industry. Expressing frustration over widespread scams, he aims to equip listeners with the knowledge to identify and avoid these pitfalls.

Notable Quote:

"Most SEO agencies and most SEO consultants are scammers."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [00:00]

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1. Scam #1: Agencies Doing Nothing

Timestamp: [01:24]

Grumpy SEO Guy identifies the first scam as agencies collecting payments without performing any meaningful SEO work. He explains that website rankings naturally fluctuate over time, often leading to minor positional changes without any intervention.

Key Points:

• Natural Ranking Fluctuations: Websites inherently move up and down in search rankings due to various factors.
• No Actual Effort: Some agencies exploit this by doing nothing, yet claim progress based on these natural shifts.
• Client Misconception: Clients may perceive slight improvements as agency efforts, leading to continued payments despite no real value being added.

Notable Quote:

"If you're not at the top of the search engines, your SEO agency is wasting your time and wasting your money."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [03:20]

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2. Scam #2: Guaranteed Rankings

Timestamp: [06:00]

The second scam revolves around agencies promising top search engine rankings. Grumpy SEO Guy warns that no SEO agency can guarantee specific rankings, as search engine algorithms are dynamic and influenced by numerous factors beyond any single agency's control.

Key Points:

• Unrealistic Promises: Agencies may promise top positions for any keywords, often selecting low-competition or irrelevant terms.
• Zero Impact Keywords: Achieving high rankings for keywords with no search volume results in no tangible traffic gains.
• Waste of Resources: Clients end up investing in rankings that do not translate to increased website visits or business growth.

Notable Quote:

"No SEO agency can guarantee that they will get you any movement whatsoever."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [06:15]

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3. Scam #3: Falsely Listing Big Clients

Timestamp: [07:00]

Grumpy SEO Guy exposes the tactic of SEO agencies falsely claiming high-profile clients to build credibility. He emphasizes that reputable companies like Google rarely engage external agencies for SEO, making such claims highly suspect.

Key Points:

• False Credentials: Agencies may list well-known companies to appear trustworthy, even when these companies are not actual clients.
• Lack of Verification: Without independent verification, such claims are unreliable and intended to mislead potential clients.
• Case Studies vs. Client Listings: Genuine success should be demonstrated through verified case studies, not merely listing client names.

Notable Quote:

"Nobody has Google as an SEO client. Just don't even fall for that. That's a bunch of nonsense."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [08:57]

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4. Scam #4: Fake Case Studies and SERP Charts

Timestamp: [11:07]

This scam involves creating fabricated case studies and fake Search Engine Results Page (SERP) charts to showcase nonexistent or exaggerated SEO success. Grumpy SEO Guy advises skepticism towards unverified claims and emphasizes the importance of third-party validation.

Key Points:

• Unverifiable Claims: Agencies may present manipulated data to falsely represent their effectiveness.
• SERP Chart Fabrication: Creating fake ranking charts in tools like Excel deceives clients into believing significant progress.
• Need for Authenticity: Genuine case studies should be backed by independent third-party verification to ensure credibility.

Notable Quote:

"If you can't prove it, well, you might as well be lying."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [10:08]

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5. Scam #5: Disinformation About Backlinking

Timestamp: [12:57]

Grumpy SEO Guy addresses the contradiction some SEO websites present regarding backlinking. While proclaiming backlinking as manipulative and against search engine guidelines, these sites simultaneously promote courses or services centered around building backlinks, causing confusion and undermining SEO best practices.

Key Points:

• Contradictory Messaging: Agencies discouraging backlinking while simultaneously offering backlink-building services.
• Authority of Backlinks: Backlinks remain a cornerstone of SEO, contributing significantly to a site's authority and ranking.
• Disinformation Strategy: Spreading false narratives about backlinking discourages effective SEO practices and promotes agency-controlled solutions.

Notable Quote:

"How is this a scam? Well, it's literally disinformation."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [14:22]

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6. Scam #6: Claiming Google Certification in SEO

Timestamp: [15:00]

The final scam involves individuals or agencies falsely claiming to be "Google Certified" in SEO. Grumpy SEO Guy clarifies that while Google offers certifications for tools like AdWords and Analytics, there is no official SEO certification, rendering such claims fraudulent.

Key Points:

• Non-Existent Certifications: No official SEO certification exists from Google, making such claims baseless.
• Misleading Credentials: Claiming nonexistent certifications is intended to falsely enhance an agency's credibility.
• Client Vigilance: Clients should verify certifications and be wary of exaggerated or false qualifications.

Notable Quote:

"Don't work with anybody who claims to be Google certified in SEO. Now look, is there AdWords certification? Yes… But there is no SEO certification. So that person is lying."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [15:00]

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Conclusion

In this episode, Grumpy SEO Guy meticulously dissects six common SEO scams, offering listeners invaluable insights to navigate and discern genuine SEO practices from deceptive ones. He underscores the importance of skepticism, verification, and informed decision-making in selecting trustworthy SEO partners.

Final Thoughts:

• Vigilance Against Scams: Awareness of these scams empowers businesses to make informed choices and avoid wasting resources on ineffective or fraudulent services.
• Focus on Results: Emphasis should be placed on verifiable results and transparent methodologies when engaging with SEO agencies.
• Continuous Learning: Grumpy SEO Guy encourages ongoing education and critical evaluation of SEO practices to stay ahead in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Notable Quote:

"This is a good place to begin learning about what kinds of things you should avoid."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [16:30]

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Looking Ahead: Grumpy SEO Guy hints at future discussions, including the dangers of certain backlinking strategies and the pitfalls of one-time or lifetime backlink payment schemes, promising continued guidance to help listeners steer clear of SEO industry scams.

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Contact Information: Listeners are encouraged to reach out with questions or topic suggestions via email at [e-mail].

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Join the Conversation: Subscribe to Grumpy SEO Guy’s podcast to stay informed on authentic SEO strategies and to continue learning how to elevate your website’s search engine performance while avoiding common industry scams.

Transcript

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

This is Grumpy SEO Guy, Episode 9 Six of the Most common scams in the SEO industry. You're listening to Grumpy SEO Guy, the SEO podcast that doesn't waste your time with nonsense that doesn't work. I'm the grumpy SEO Guy, and I'm sharing with you the strategies that have helped me successfully run my SEO agency for the last 14 years. In this podcast, I'll be sharing my knowledge and experience, discussing tips and strategies, and trying to help you cut through the confusion that permeates this industry. If you listen to this podcast, you will know more about SEO than 99% of people on the planet. Ready? Let's get started. I'm the Grumpy SEO guy. Let me tell you why I'm grumpy today. I'm grumpy today because, as I said, most SEO agencies and most SEO consultants are scammers. And today we're going to look at some of the common scams that you are likely to see. But before we do that, my lawyer tells me that I have to say this right now. A quick disclaimer before we get started. Everything I say here is based on my experience and opinion from 14 years in the industry. I don't officially know how Google or any other search engines work. Everything I say here is hypothetical and based on my experience, this podcast does not constitute advice or services. What worked for me may or may not work for you. Okay, back to the show. So if you liked this episode, don't worry, because we're probably gonna do another episode on more SEO scams. Cause you know what? There's a lot of scammers out there, There's a lot of liars out there, and there's a lot of SEO scams out there.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

So the first common SEO scam is actually doing nothing. Let me explain. You hire an SEO agency, you give them money, they do literally nothing. Now let me explain why this scam even happens. The majority of websites will change their rank over time. Let's say you're on page three. Okay, you know what? No. Let's say you're position 26. I just picked that number. Okay, let's say you're in position 26. If you do nothing, you might be in position 26. One day, you might be in position 25. The next day, you might be in position 27. The next day, you might Be in position 23. The next day, you might Beth in position 26. Websites move around. That's normal.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

That's totally normal. Now, if You're a brand new website. It's entirely possible that your website might drift upward over time. Okay, now let me clarify that though you're probably not gonna get to the top of the search engines from doing nothing. Okay, that's probably not gonna happen unless you've got very, very low competition. Okay, but, but look, every website moves around a little bit on its own. That's normal. Even websites that are at the top of the search engines in position one, they might be one most days, but you know what? They're gonna be number two. Some days they're gonna be number three. Some days they're gonna be back at number one again. That's normal. That's how it works. Okay, so brand new websites that happen to maybe be getting some publicity from different sources or whatever reason might tend to move upwards gradually over time on their own, depending on the level of competition. Okay, so what these SEO agencies that do nothing do is you start paying them, they do nothing. Your website happens to move up over time just because you're growing your business. And then they say, oh yeah, we did that. Keep paying us. And people who don't know any better might think, well, I hired this SEO agency and seems like my website's moving up a little bit and I guess that's what they said they were doing. Oh, okay, I guess I'll keep paying them. No, because you know what, it would have happened anyway in those cases. So this is related to what I keep telling you too. If you're not at the top of the search engines, your SEO agency is wasting your time and wasting your money. So these people that you're paying that aren't doing anything, and they got you from the middle of page three to. To the top of page three and they're like, oh yeah, we did that. You're not at the top of the search engines. Why are you paying them? I mean, they're not doing anything anyway. But even if they were, you're not at the top. Why are you paying them? They're wasting your time and they're wasting your money. Using this rule of if you're not at the top of the search engines, your SEO agency is wasting your time. And wasting your money will protect you from scammers, because even if you were paying them, you're not at the top of page one. So stop working with them. But you know what? They're not even doing anything. Again, you're not at the top of the search engine. Stop paying them. And I will say here, just for clarification, because I know somebody is gonna misinterpret this. The only way that rule does not apply is if you just started working with somebody because you're not gonna be at the top of the search engine after like a month.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

I mean, you might. I've given examples of when that has happened, but generally speaking, it takes three to six months. Sometimes it even takes 2012 months to get significant movement, depending on how hard your competition is. So if you've been working with somebody for a few months and you're not making significant movement, and the middle of page three to the top of page three is not significant movement, by the way, if you're not making significant movement, stop working with them. They're not the right agency for you. Now, let me be totally specific about this, okay? Look, you're not going to get to the top from that happening, but these kind of scams will be effective for a few months as the website slightly moves up over time. Now, if the website gets no movement, which can also happen, or if the website goes down on its own, which can also happen, then the SEO agency just gets fired. And who cares? Because you know what, they got paid and they didn't do anything. So it's literally no loss to them.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

Don't fall for this kind of scam. It's very important before you hire an SEO agency that you ask them specifically what are they going to do? We might have another episode on this. Specific questions to ask an SEO agency before you hire them.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

Don't fall for the scam of people doing nothing. The next scam is guaranteed rankings. No SEO agency can guarantee that they will get you any movement whatsoever. It does not work that way.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

What generally happens in this case is, is you have an SEO agency and they guarantee you that you'll be at the top of the search engines. Okay? So you know what they do? They pick the worst keywords with no search volume and no competition, and they get you to the top for those keywords. And you say, well, that looks cool, we're at the top now. But you know what? Those keywords have zero search volume. So even though you're at the top of the search engine for those keywords, you don't get any traffic from them and it's a complete waste of your time and money. Why do you want to be at the top of the search engines for keywords that don't get any traffic? You don't. It's a waste of time and a waste of money. As I mentioned on another episode, there's one exception to that rule, and that's if you believe a keyword is going to have higher search volume in the future, you might want to position yourself at the top of the search engines earlier than anyone else. But that's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about scammy SEO agencies lying to you by guaranteeing you that you'll be at the top of the search engines and then ranking you for keywords that get no traffic and you don't get any increase in visitors to your website and you're wasting your money. Don't fall for it. Common SEO scam number three. I see this a lot with SEO agencies and I also see this a lot with individuals or SEO consultants as you might call them. They will list on their website, our clients include. And then they always have big names. They'll have like the big five. They'll have like giant tech companies that I guarantee you are not their SEO clients. Okay, I mentioned on another episode, somebody listed Google as a client once. Nobody has Google as an SEO client. Come on. Google is the search engine industry, okay? Google doesn't need to hire anybody to do their SEO for them. Nobody had Google as an SEO client. Just don't even fall for that. That's a bunch of nonsense, okay? But here's the thing. Big companies like Facebook or Netflix or Apple, guess what? They probably didn't hire some random SEO consultant that you met on a forum and who has them listed on their website. But just for fun, let's say. Okay, let's say. Actually, you know what? Before we even go that, let me tell you this. I've run an SEO agency for over a decade. More than 90% of our clients are companies that you have never heard of.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

You've never heard of them. So even if I were to put them on my website, and I don't, for reasons I explained in a previous episode, even if I were to put them on my website, it wouldn't mean anything because you've never heard of them. Now, we have had a couple clients that were somewhat well known to certain people in certain industries. For example, we had a very elite level supplement company as a client.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

Now, some people who are into supplements and who are into biohacking may have heard of this company. I'm not gonna name them here, obviously, but you might have heard them. They're not a household name, but some people in that industry will probably have heard of them. Okay, we have another client who. I don't want to give them away. Let's say they're one of the largest martial arts retailers in America, okay? We'll say top three. They're one of the top three largest martial arts retailers in America, okay? They're not a household name, but you know what? People in the martial arts industry have probably heard of them. But like I said, Over 90% of our clients are people that you've never even heard of. So anybody bragging that they've worked with not just one, but multiple big name tech companies, especially tech companies, okay. Is like, most definitely lying.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

And let's just believe this lie for a second, okay? And say that, okay, maybe they actually did get this company as a client. Okay? They didn't, but let's just say maybe, maybe they did.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

Having a company as a client is not the same as getting results for that company.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

So maybe, maybe Netflix actually did hire this random guy to do their SEO.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

Let's even say maybe that happened.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

How do you even know if you got good results? Maybe he was literally the worst SEO consultant on the planet and got them like negative movement or something. So even though he's like, Facebook was my client, it doesn't mean he did a good job.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

Okay. First of all, there's a whole lot of problems with listing your clients on a website. I've talked about this before, but generally speaking, here's a quick version. The SEO industry is very secretive. The overwhelming majority of companies do not want anyone to know what SEO agency they are using. Therefore, they will not let you list them.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

So if they are being listed, it means one, they probably don't know about it, and two, the person might even be lying about it.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

Anyway. But listing your clients is pointless anyway because nobody cares about what clients you have. They. They should only care about the results you got.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

So on this note, case studies mean nothing if they're not verified by an independent third party company. Do you want to know why? Because literally anyone can say, oh, we took this client from page five to the top of page one. Can you prove it though? How do you know it was you? How do you know specifically what things you did that took them from page five to the top of page one. Are you lying? Were they even your client? Were they even on page five? Can you prove it? Because literally anyone in the world, especially in a shady industry like SEO, can say whatever they want about anybody. Can you prove it with an independent third party verification of your claims? If you can't, well, you might as well be lying. Okay, what's the Next, common scam on the topic of lying about your clients while you're looking at the case studies, don't even pay attention to them if the chart of their ranking. Remember the SERP charts we talked about on another episode? A SERP chart. S E, R P SERP Search engine results page. A SERP chart is a chart that shows ranking over time. You started out here and then you went up and then you went down, and then you went up, up, and then you kept going and now you're at the top of the search engines. Whatever. I don't know if that was a good description, but it makes sense when you see it. Do not pay any attention to them if they do not come from real SERP tracking companies. You know what a lot of people do? They will make a chart in Excel and be like, well, this is a chart of our client's rankings. They were down here, now they're at the top. Cool chart that you made in Excel. Good job. That definitely looks realistic. Yeah, I'm sure that actually happened. I'm sure you really got that movement for that client. Okay? Don't even pay attention to them if they don't come from an actual SERP tracking company.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

And by the way, this should all be confirmed in the verification from third party. So next common scam. This one's pretty funny. So literally yesterday I was reading an SEO website and I'm not gonna name anyone. Look, a rule that I try to follow in my podcast is I only name companies and sources that are good and helpful, okay? So I'm not gonna name this website even though it's very popular and I'm quite certain that you have heard of it. So I was reading a very, very popular SEO website. That's all I'm gonna say. And this website had an article about how link building is manipulative and it's against Google's terms of service. And to be fair, there are certain kinds of link building that are against Google's terms of service. I'm not debating that that's the case, okay? The search engines say that because they don't want people knowing that the system can be manipulated. Look, if you were a big search engine company, okay, would you want people to know that you could game the system? I wouldn't. That sounds terrible for business. So they will fight forever to convince people that A, backlinking doesn't work when it does, and B, you shouldn't do it when. I mean, I don't know, man. If you don't build any backlinks have fun not ever being at the top of the search engines. I'm just gonna leave it here. Anyways, so I was reading this article. It's talking about how backlinking is bad and it's against the rules and it's manipulative and all this bad stuff.

[Listener]

Okay?

[Grumpy SEO Guy]

And I'm like, whatever. I'm used to hearing this kind of nonsense, right? And then I clicked back to get off of the page. Cause I was done with the article, I clicked back and I literally got a popup on their website that said, learn the secrets for how we got 1,000 backlinks in six months. Well, which is it? Are you saying link building is bad, or are you trying to sell me a course on how you got a thousand backlinks in six months? I mean, it can't be both. If backlinking is so bad, why are you promoting this on your website? I just thought it was funny. Like, they're all like, backlinking is so bad. And then you click off the site and it's like, learn how we build a thousand backlinks in six months. So you're trying to get us penalized with your manipulative backlinking? Ha ha ha. No, look, authority ranks websites. The only way to get authority is to get backlinks from authoritative websites. That's how SEO works. Okay, well, that's 99% of SEO. That's probably 98% of SEO. So the 2% that's leftover 1% is probably content and technical site things like, does your site take forever to load? Do you have any stupid errors on your site? Do you have any duplicate content on your own site? You know, whatever. And the other 1% is make sure you don't get a penalty. Because if you get a penalty, everything goes out the window. By the way, if you have a penalty, go listen to episode two. I explain how to fix them and how to figure out what kind of penalty you have. Anyway, I just thought it was funny. Here's like a super popular, super well known super high quality SEO website explaining all the things, and it's like, don't backlink. And then I click back to get off the page and it's like, learn how we built a thousand backlinks in six months. Okay, bro, way to contradict yourself. So how is this a scam? Well, it's literally disinformation. They're literally telling you, don't build backlinks. So what's that gonna do? That's gonna make people go hire SEO agencies that say they don't build backlinks. And then they're either not gonna get any results because if you don't build backlinks, you won't get any results. Or the SEO agency is lying and is actually building backlinks when they say that they're not. Which is probably one of the worst things because they're just being dishonest with you. Most SEO agencies are shady, okay? We've established this. You want ones that are honest with you. I have told every single client we have, hey, we're building backlinks for you. That's why you're at the top of the search engines. And they either don't care because they came to us because they wanted our high quality backlinks, or they're like, all right, whatever, we trust you. Usually the people who don't for whatever reason like backlinks. And yes, there are some will not even work with you if you say that. Like I said on another episode, I've had prospects be in sales meetings and say, oh, you guys build backlinks. I don't think this is gonna be a good fit. Cause you know what? They read on some website like the one I was just talking about that you're not supposed to build backlinks. Cause it's manipulative and it's against the terms of service. Okay, call me in six months. If you're not at the top of the search engine, we'll get you there. You know what? It's all good. But I don't lie to people. I don't say, oh, yeah, we just build good content. Because that's okay. That's like the stupidest thing ever. Look, if you tell somebody, oh, we're gonna build you good content and that's what's gonna get you to the top of the search engine, then like, what? So they pay you for like a month? Like, how long does it take to write good content? And then they're at the top of the search engine forever. Like what? I don't even understand. Just hire like a content writer or something. I don't know. Except don't. Because that's not gonna get you to the top of the search engines. But it's funny because then I feel like people think, you know what? Actually, I bet you that's why people think that SEO is such a short term thing too. Not only the WordPress plugins like we talked about on a different episode, but also because people think that, well, SEO is just the content. They just make some changes to our site anyway. So there's that. So it's not really a scam. But let me give you a little sample of what we're going to talk about on another episode. I talk about backlink building a lot. Why? Because it's literally the most important part of SEO. And there are some very common ways of building backlinks that I wouldn't necessarily say are scams, but they're pretty dangerous. So, you know, might be similar. Anyway, in a future episode, we're gonna talk about why the two most common types of backlinks are dangerous. Oh, let me give you one more kind of scam. And I don't know that this is a scam, but this is just kind of a lie. There are some people out there who will claim that they're Google certified in SEO. Alright? That doesn't exist. So anybody saying that is lying. They say that because they think that it makes them look better. They're like, well, I could hire this other guy, but this guy is certified by Google. You know what? There is no, no, that person. That person is lying. Don't work with them. If they lie to you about one thing, they will lie to you about everything. Don't work with anybody who claims to be Google certified in SEO. Now look, is there AdWords certification? Yes, that exists. Is there analytics certification? Yes, that exists. But there is no SEO certification. So that person is a liar. Okay, We've covered a good number of SEO scams. I think this will give you a good head start in into how to identify people that are liars and that are scammers and that you shouldn't work with. Now, don't be fooled by the size of the agency. There are some individual consultants that are quite talented and there are some large SEO agencies that are trash. Okay, it doesn't matter, but this is a good place to begin learning about what kinds of things you should avoid. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe. I hope this episode was helpful and if you have any questions or, or if there's anything that you want me to talk about on a future episode, you can email [e-mail] and I'll talk to you later. You're listening to Grumpy SEO Guy, the SEO podcast that doesn't waste your time with nonsense that doesn't work. Join us next Wednesday when we talk about the real reason that a one time payment, or sometimes called a lifetime payment for backlinks is always a scam.