SEO Scams – They Still Exist, So Here’s How to Spot One

Ever wondered how a scam SEO artist can be spotted from a thousand paces at a single glance? It’s easy really – you just have to know what you’re looking for!SEO Bundles or Pre-Packed SolutionsRight off the bat, there is no place in the modern business world for standardised SEO bundles that are sold on something of a one-size-fits-all basis. A couple of decades ago when the rules weren’t so strict, then perhaps you’d get away with it, but not in 2015. Nevertheless, some SEO agencies still offer packages where for let’s say a one-off price of $99.99 they’ll blast the hell out of your site with bum links, crappy keywords and all manner of similar tactics that in this day and age only spell misery.     There’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all in SEO – not anymore!OTT ClaimsIt’s important to remember that there’s only a certain amount the SEO expert can achieve in any given time period, which means being realistic when it comes to expectations. One of the clearest and most obvious signs of an SEO scam is when the provider promises first-place rankings, or really any other exact place in Google’s listings. After all, what if another client comes along and wants the same position as you for the same keywords? Do they just bin you off and serve them instead? Of course not, because they can’t deliver on such promises in the first place. And the same also applies to time too – SEO needs plenty of time and lots of on-going tweaking to hit its peaks, so if you’re ever promised a great result practically overnight, you’re being taken for a fool.Claims of Privileged InformationThese days, it’s not uncommon to come across an SEO provider that claims to offer an unrivalled service for the simple reason that they ‘know’ someone that works behind the scenes at Google and can therefore advise and guide above and beyond anyone else. Sadly though, this smacks of nothing more than desperation and is basically an admittance than the SEO provider in question doesn’t know enough about the subject in their own right – hence why they have to name-drop to win your respect.A Poor Site That’s Hard to FindWhen you bring in an SEO outsider to help, you’re basically entrusting your website and your business as a whole to their hopefully capable hands. As such, you’d like to think that if they’re going to be able to make your site a success, they’d have been able to do the same with their own. This is precisely why you should never, ever overlook the quality and exposure of the SEO company’s website itself. If it’s littered with mistakes and tends to hover on page 20 of the rankings at best, what chance is there of your site coming out any better?Advance PaymentsAnd finally, you should never have to pay out any lump sums in advance before receiving any services or being able to analyze results. When and where you’re asked to pay in advance for services not yet rendered, you’re staring down the barrel of a scam.