Why Cheap SEO is Bad SEO

Today I had the unpleasant experience of losing a prospective SEO client. Now, I would be understanding if it were lost to another reputable SEO company, with a comparably good service, and perhaps even a similar fee structure. However, it was to a web designer who claimed that they could "get them high rankings" within a few weeks (gulp!) by adding a few keywords to the site, and it would cost less than 10% of my estimate.

Now, I've already written an article on how to detect fake SEO companies. But even someone who hasn't yet read anything about SEO should be wary of an offer like this! Common sense alone dictates that if a specialist is telling you it will cost a certain amount and will take several months - anyone who claims to be able to do the same job in a fraction of the time and budget deserves some scrutiny!

The only scenario I can think of where cheap SEO could be quality, is if the specialist is a family member and is giving you an extreme discount. However, hiring an SEO company whose cost and time estimates are significantly lower than everyone else has these three possible outcomes:

Outcome #1 - Penalization

Search Engine Optimization is not a game. While there are many techniques that can be used to achieve high ranking, 'gaming' a search engine with exploits, keyword stuffing, doorway pages, or any other trick is simply the wrong way to go. Yes, they may even work for a short period of time, and you may even get high rankings fast. These techniques are called 'black hat', because they're banned by search engine policies. The second the techniques are discovered (and the search indexes are policed heavily), you'd better believe you'll take a hit! In fact, the hit is often in the form of being removed completely from search results (called 'de-indexing'), not just dropping down one or two positions.

Really, the only way to charge so little and guarantee fast results against competition, is to use these gimmicks. So, anytime someone tells you that they can just "add a few keywords to your site", run for the hills!

If I were to illustrate this type of SEO company, I'd compare them to a construction company that uses banned materials to build your house, and illegal immigrants for labour. They can certainly get it done for a fraction of the cost, but as soon as you're caught, the building inspector shuts you down. Not to mention that when it's done, you have asbestos for insulation rather than good quality fiberglass.

Outcome #2 - No Outcome

This is perhaps the most common outcome - none at all. The company or person either isn't smart enough to know black hat techniques, or they really are trying with the few basic legitimate techniques they do know (they're most likely a web designer who wants to give their client SEO as well). The reason they're cheaper is that they don't understand the full spectrum of SEO, and therefore don't have any idea of just how much work it is. Therefore, they really have no reason to charge what a real SEO company would.

Unless you have absolutely no competition whatsoever on the world wide web, then you may even get somewhere with this approach. But if you're trying to out-rank another site that is performing real SEO, you can forget about it.

I would compare this type of SEO service to a friend who offers to install your hardwood floor for you, because he saw it done once on TV. He doesn't understand the full process though. He orders only half of the material needed, and doesn't have any of the right tools. The end product is a half-bare floor, and the portion of wood that was laid looks awful because it was installed with roofing nails.

Outcome #3 - Good While it Lasts

This is the scenario in which you have no competition, most often with localized keywords. For example, having a website with the title and h1 heading "Toronto Chinchilla scarves" may certainly be all that's required to rank #1 for a while. That is, until the other Chinchilla scarf maker around the corner decides to get a website and do real SEO involving link promotion! Then, because all you've done is the absolute minimum, you can expect to quickly be overtaken in the search results.

I would compare this with someone who installs your shower tiles with double-sided tape for adhesive. Yes, they may stick for a little while. But after the heat and steam comes from one or two showers, you'd better believe they're dropping to the floor!

Conclusion

The point of this article is not that higher price always means better service. It is simply that you need to know what you're getting into. Real SEO companies charge what they do because they do real work. You're most welcome to pay a couple hundred dollars to have results in two weeks - but in the end it just means that a real SEO company is going to have to charge you even more to fix the problems created by the first.