Scams from “Guaranteed” SEO Companies in Michigan: What You Need to Know

The number one telltale sign of a scam from a Michigan SEO company is a “guaranteed” top ranking in the search engines. The truth is, that no company can guarantee a top search engine ranking, and that is because it is impossible to control how search engines like Google rank websites. They have algorithms and trolling “spiders” all their own that work completely independent of and update at a much faster pace than what Michigan SEO companies can provide and monitor.

What Google has to say about SEO “Guarantees”:

No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.  (Google:  https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35291

Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a “special relationship” with Google, or advertise a “priority submit” to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap and you can do this yourself at no cost whatsoever.

Now, none of this means that a Michigan SEO company cannot help you rank higher in Google and use their industry knowledge of Google’s latest updates for ranking and establishing an authority. It is simply important to know a scam when you see or hear one, and how to tell if you’re dealing with an untrustworthy SEO service.

The Three Reasons Why a SEO Company May Guarantee You a Top Ranking

If you speak with an SEO company and right off the bat they are filling your ears with unrealistic promises of guaranteed high Google rankings, they are using one of the following tactics in their business:

• Describing paid (Pay Per Click) AdWords and not organic SEO. Many companies will take the easy way out and purchase cheap AdWords to give the impression of building traffic when in reality they should be implementing organic SEO methods and trying to get people to your site naturally.
• Promising a high ranking for a phrase you don’t want to rank for. Sure, ranking for your unique business name that doesn’t exist elsewhere, or for some obscure phrase that no one types into Google, will get you ranking for that, but neither will actually get you any traffic or sales.
• Lying just to get your business. Because SEO is not an overnight service, you will need to work with them for months to actually see any results. But when you’re working with a scam, that’s months worth of wasting your money.

The Difference Between Paid Listings and Organic Search Results and How They Affect Your Business

Pay Per Click ads are the listings that appear at the top of a search engine results page. These are the ads that businesses pay for hoping that customers will click on them and immediately be taken to their website. Businesses pay for every click their ad gets from a potential customer. Google prioritizes these paid ads by the amount of money a business is spending on the ads and how they score their website for quality.

Organic search results appear below the few paid ads at the top and are the results that naturally pop up for a certain search term. Ranking for organic results is what businesses should aim for as their long-term goal. Google uses over 200 ways to rank a website for particular keyword phrases, and your site’s ranking ultimately depends on the quality ranking of your website, as well as the competitiveness of your industry and how difficult it is to rank high.

How Can I Achieve High Rankings for a Phrase?

Your website must be determined as an authority for a particular phrase of your choosing in order to rank highly for that phrase. One key rule to work with is that the more general the keyword phrase, the more difficult it will be to rank. This is because there will be thousands of other businesses competing for that same phrase. But if you can narrow down the search term to something more unique to your business, you will have a higher chance at ranking for it and commanding a top search position.

Google does not give out ranking algorithms, but a reliable SEO service can learn and improve your ranking with research and testing. When you hire a professional Michigan SEO company to help you rank your business, they will look at the number of quality inbound links you have, your website title, headings and usage of keywords, your local testimonials and reviews, mentions on social media, your site’s loading speed, the amount of fresh content you have, and your site’s structure.

A digital marketing company will look at all of these factors and will be able to help you improve each of them to name your business as a professional, authority in your industry, and to help you rank higher in the search engines.

While a truly professional SEO service cannot and will not guarantee you results, they will do all they can while looking at multiple factors to improve your online presence and help you reach more customers. If you’re looking for an SEO company located in Michigan that you can trust for your business, look no further than Spyder Byte Media, Inc.  We have been helping our clients outsmart and outrank their competitors in Google since 2004.