Are you looking for ‘guaranteed SEO service’ – We offer…………………………

Guarantee – A word that grabs attention and instills a sense of security (monetary) in the minds of prospective customers. But can guarantee be given in the realm of SEO services?

We, as SEO service provider, have asked ourselves this question umpteen number of times. But that is not the intention of writing this post. The motive of writing this post is to challenge the legitimacy of such guarantees.

Many of our prospects have demanded ‘guaranteed SEO service’ in the past. They have gone to the extent of quoting guarantees offered by other vendors. ‘Organic ranking’ is what most vendors guarantee; it is a different story that closer scrutiny reveals a number of strings attached to any such guarantee.

Can anyone guarantee search engine rankings?

Let’s hear it from the horse’s mouth first

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Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings ….

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If this is not sufficient evidence to convince you; think of it yourself. Search engine ranking algorithms are one the best kept secrets in the world. The only way to guarantee ranking is to know exactly how the algorithm works, and nobody has that kind of knowledge except for a privileged few. Sure there are tried and tested methods but even they are susceptible to algorithmic change. Guaranteeing something, over which you don’t have total control, is not only unethical but misleading.

Our research took us from one service provider to another and we zeroed upon some of the most abused guarantee statements. Subsequent to which we decided to play the role of ‘Myth Buster’.

Myth #1 – Guaranteed top 10 rankings

Many SEO companies (we are not taking any names) give guarantee which reads something like this:

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We guarantee to optimize your website for up to 100 different keyword phrases.

(Your primary targeted phrase will appear on the first page of one or more major search engines.)

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Sounds impressive and many prospective clients fall for it. They however fail to understand that such ranking guarantee is for keywords chosen by the vendor and not them - needless to say that these keywords would be obscure in nature. Ranking for non competitive terms or terms with low search volume will give little or no benefit.

A pizza parlor which has an online ordering website will derive no benefit by ranking for keywords like ‘pizza recipes’ (non-targeted) or mozzarella cheese (obscure) – ‘online pizza delivery’ is the more apt option.

In essence, this flavor of guaranteed SEO offers no real value.

Myth #2 – Top rankings for competitive key phrases

Here’s an example of one such guarantee statement”

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First page ranking or money back!

(We will guarantee top 10 rankings across the 15 search engines or don’t pay)

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The top three search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN) command more that 93% of the total market share in US (comScore). The remainder is distributed amongst various other search engines. The picture is pretty much similar globally.

If you read the fine prints you would know that these 15 search engines do not include the top 3. Such guarantees are offered for search engines having insignificant market share and are mostly unheard off. Ranking on search engines like these will have no benefit whatsoever. Would you open a shop in a desolate locality?

Myth #3 Search engine placement guarantee

Many companies are lead to believe that the only factor that is holding back their website from being an online success is search engine placement. They have a new website but it has not been indexed by search engines.

Unscrupulous vendors claim to have ‘special relationship’ with search engines and promise priority submits. Well there is no such thing for sure. This is what big G has to say on this:

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Beware of SEOs…… allege a “special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google.

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There is only one way of submitting your website to search engines – the ‘add URL’ feature. If you have an optimized website will is linked from other web pages, you can even spare yourself the trouble of submitting it to search engines.

The Truth – Customized Assurance

Certain SEO companies will offer you guarantee/assurance derived from the analysis of your current traffic, the competitiveness of your business, and revenue of your site. You will ideally be offered this type of specialized guarantee from the beginning of your contract, and it will ensure that you will achieve meaningful results and maximum ROI. Fair enough.

However, most SEO companies cannot or should not give assurances that they would achieve something (especially the ones mentioned in this post) which is totally out of their control. We personally consider it as cheating a client. We commit on deliverables, something we can fully control, and execute it with professional integrity.

Don’t get us wrong, we by no means are trying to scare you. There are experienced legit people who can help your website perform to its potential. However, mention of the word ‘guarantee’ should set the alarm bells ringing.