Unmasking SEO Scams: A Guide to Verify Previous SEO Services
Have you recently worked with an SEO professional and suspect that the promised optimizations may not have been implemented? Being cautious about the authenticity of SEO services is crucial in today's digital world. In this blog post, I hope to guide you through a step-by-step process to check if your previous SEO person truly performed the paid for optimizations or if you may have fallen victim to a scam.
Review the Initial Audit: Start by revisiting the initial SEO audit provided by your previous service provider. A legitimate SEO professional typically conducts a comprehensive website audit to identify areas that require improvement. Evaluate whether the audit was thorough and if the identified issues were properly addressed.
Examine On-Page Elements: Scrutinize the on-page elements of your website, including the titles of each page, meta descriptions, header tags, and keyword usage. A genuine SEO effort involves optimizing these elements to enhance your site's visibility on search engines. If the backend SEO where this writing is stored is not easy for you to get to. Use google to search “your company name” X “name of the website page” you want to check, and see what pops up in google. This is where your optimized SEO page title and description should be seen. And they should NOT be a duplication of anything that’s visible on your site. For example, if your “about page” google seo description is just the first three sentences of your about page- SEO was not done.
Backlink Analysis: Request a list of links to the backlinks that were supposedly built for your website. Verify if the backlinks work and align with industry best practices.
Check Content Optimization: It is within your rights to request a list of keywords that were implemented on your site, and check over your sites static pages to see if they contain said keywords. A quick way of doing this is by going to the specific website page and clicking (ctrl+f on windows) and (command+f) on mac. Once here, a little search bar should appear, type the keyword and see where it appears on your page and how frequently.
Social Media and Local SEO: Not every SEO package includes social media seo, but if social media and local SEO were part of the promised services, verify their implementation. This means searching your site in the same way as above for local cities/towns/suburbs names and seeing if they appear. Social media SEO should show new pins on pinterest, alt tags added to your posts, and image search descriptions created, as well as stories linking to your site (backlink strategy)
Communication and Reporting: Reflect on the communication and reporting practices of your previous SEO person. Regular updates, transparent reporting, and clear communication are hallmarks of legitimate SEO professionals. If there was a lack of communication or vague reporting, it raises concerns about the authenticity of the services provided.
Taking proactive steps to verify the implementation of SEO services is essential for protecting your online presence and investment. If you discover inconsistencies or suspect a scam, consider seeking assistance from a reputable SEO professional to rectify any issues and set your digital strategy back on the right track. Remember, an informed approach is your best defense against potential SEO scams.
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