Beware of the “Guarantee” in Marketing and Find a Small Business SEO Company that Sets Realistic Expectations for Your Campaign

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Have you ever had a vendor give you a promise that sounds too good to be true? Maybe they said they could get you to the top spot in Google in a month, or that they could guarantee a certain percentage rise in revenue. These promises are tantalizing, but when they come from a small business SEO company they are usually false. When shopping for SEO services for small business, be wary of any guarantees you receive.

Quality Vendors Don’t Give Guarantees

High quality SEO companies do not give guarantees. It’s as simple as that. The reasons behind this have to do with the nature of search engine optimization. Today’s platforms are much more refined than they were a decade ago. That means that tactics that used to work to “game” the system are completely outdated. Any vendor that claims to use a process that guarantees certain results is either using tactics that are obsolete, completely unethical, or both.

Even if a vendor were able to ethically provide you with real results, any guarantee they make would be false. This is because SEO rankings are determined by Google not the agency. Reputable SEO services for small business know this, which is why they would never offer you a guarantee.

Setting Realistic Expectations

Great companies work with you to create a set of realistic expectations for your search engine marketing campaign. Managing your own expectations can help you approach each vendor with a clear head, allowing you to effectively weed out low quality companies. Focusing on ROI is a great place to start. Rather than assuming that putting $X a month into a campaign will give you Y results, ask your potential vendors what it will take to effectively compete. Here are a few power questions that can help you navigate this discussion:

  • What will it take to increase my sales online by X% over the next 12 months?
  • Given my product/service set, current positioning, and budget, what are the highest ROI activities we should be focusing on?
  • What is a reasonable expectation of overall ROI for the investment I’m making?

Not only do questions like these help to weed out vendors who are willing to make unrealistic promises, they also alert you to alternative activities that may further your success.

It can be tempting to buy into the guarantees made by SEO services for small business, but in this situation they’re all too good to be true. Look for vendors that set realistic expectations and stay away from lofty promises.

Learn more about how to spot tell tale warning signs from internet marketing companies and how to find one of the best agencies in the country by downloading our free eBook – 30 Minute Guide to Hiring a Great Internet Marketing Company.