Red Flags To Avoid When Looking For A New York City SEO Company

When looking for an SEO company to help you with your online marketing goals, you’ll have no trouble finding articles telling you what to look for in an SEO company.

However, what you don’t see much of, is information on what not to look for.

In this article, we’re going to highlight some major red flags to avoid when you’re looking for a New York City SEO company to invest in.

Whether you are an NYC based business or you are located overseas and want to work with an SEO agency based in the USA’s capital for international business, read on and we’ll help you avoid throwing your lot in with the wrong people.

Guarantees

You should be mindful of any SEO company who actively promotes 100% money back ‘guarantees’. The fact is, there are no guarantees in SEO.

There are far too many variables and anyone who draws you in by saying “we’ll deliver X by Z” is, frankly, lying to you. SEO is data-driven and those who understand the industry know that there is no empirical evidence to support any viable guarantees.

Yes, some agencies can offer money back guarantees based on potential results over a 6-month period, however, there will be no specifics – and in most cases you will see enough positive movement to void the potential for asking for your money back.

As a rule of thumb, avoid it.

Fast / instant results

Just as no SEO agency can guarantee results, they can’t promise fast or instant results either. SEO is a marathon and something that takes months and months of investment and solid strategizing before you can experience a decent return on your investment.

Any ‘expert’ who promises to get you fast or instant results is lying. Either that, or they will be using ‘black-hat’ SEO techniques that go against Google’s policies. Which means that even if you do end up getting instant results, they will invariably drop off and your website will likely receive heavy penalties as a result.

Instead, look for a New York City SEO company who is honest and transparent about expected time frames. The fact is, you don’t need ‘instant results’ if you choose a reputable SEO company who has a proven track record of success with plenty of quality testimonials and case studies to support them.

The promise of dominating the #1 positions

You can likely see the trend here that you should avoid anyone who makes bold claims and promises. You need to be realistic about what can be achieved. Yes, #1 rankings are the dream, but being at the top of every SERP (search engine results page) for every single keyword you are targeting is highly unlikely.

There’s an awful lot of competition out there and you’ll be up against competitors who have likely been working on their SEO for many years. Should that put you off?

Absolutely not. Any reputable SEO agencies worth their salt will be able to get you ranking well for a wealth of keywords and search phrases that will be valuable to you.

Not only that, but there’s still great value in the lower positions. For example, you can be ranked #5 and still attract just as much (if not more) business than the #1 position, provided your website is optimised well and has world-class sales copy.

They’re so cheap it feels too good to be true

More often than not, if an SEO company in New York City offers you impressively low rates (making them considerably cheaper than the majority of the companies you’ve interacted with), then there’s likely going to be a very good reason for it (or rather, a not so good reason).

Not only does quality SEO that is bound for success require a whole lot of expensive resources, but the cost to rent an office in New York isn’t exactly cheap either.

Do your research and understand why SEO costs what it does, and then shop on reputation and track record, rather than whoever’s going to charge you the least.

As the saying goes: “pay peanuts, get monkeys”.

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