There are two general types of SEO companies, those that offer guaranteed search engine optimization, and those that never offer any guarantees. You need to stay as far away as possible from the guaranteed folks, as guaranteed SEO is simply a big, fat lie.
Guaranteed SEO is simply a big, fat lie.
Here are five reasons why:
1. What History Teaches Us
SEO services providers have used such phrases as ‘guaranteed increase in traffic and rankings’ over the years to attract naïve and gullible entrepreneurs and companies, baiting them with promises that are simply too good to be true.
However, as evident from SEO’s history, there is no such thing as guaranteed traffic or SERP rankings, especially since the launch of Google updates such as the Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird.
2. The Search Engines Speak
Google themselves warn against believing an SEO company’s claims of guaranteed rankings, as it is simply not possible to promise the top rank on Google’s search engine results pages.
While the number-one spot is certainly achievable, it is by no means assured, not even by using white hat SEO techniques exclusively and ensuring extremely high content quality.
3. The Instability at the Core
There are a lot of metrics and variables involved in Google’s search algorithms, such as user location at the time of search, and thus the results displayed can vary significantly. Moz came out with a study that claims over 80 search algorithm factors play a part in where you are positioned in SERP.
Therefore, it is impossible to guarantee that a certain website will show up on the top spot in search results at any given time. More recently, with user preferences and search history also being taken into account, it is now entirely possible that the same query provides different results, even if searched twice within hours.
4. Rankings and Performance
An effective, successful SEO campaign focuses on the increase in organic search engine traffic and the subsequent conversion rate, instead of an ego soothing SERPs ranking. Being highly ranked does not truly help achieve anything in itself, but serves as a means to an end. The goal should be to attract the highest volume of traffic possible, and then to convert it into leads and customers.
5. The Ethics Behind It All
A promise for something you cannot fundamentally control is a promise just made to be broken and rather unethical and irresponsible too. Imagine a travel agent promising you that it won’t rain where you are headed, no matter what, and you will get a picture of why no SEO services provider can ever guarantee top spots in SERPs rankings.
Each of Google’s major algorithm updates, including Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird, has further ensured that it is extremely difficult, if not downright impossible, to offer ‘search engine optimization guaranteed’.
