Did you know that your SEO company could be hurting your business?
There are plenty of small businesses who have put their trust in an SEO agency but find out later that their site was delisted by Google because of black hat SEO techniques.
What is the black hat technique? How can it affect my ranking? How will I know that my SEO agency Thailand is using this for my website?
We will answer these questions and a whole lot more in this article.
What is a Black Hat SEO Technique?
Black hat SEO is a technique that some SEO companies are using that is outside the guidelines of Google. It could increase the page ranking in the search engine results pages but there are dire consequences. Since these techniques are going against the terms of service of search engines, it could result in the site getting banned in the search engine and other affiliate sites.
This technique is enticing for some SEO companies because it makes their client’s website easier to rank. However, it could only last for a short time. Remember, every corner you cut will catch up with you over time.
The best technique is doing SEO the right way. It may take time but it is well worth the effort of building quality SEO over time. Yes, it may get you impatient as you need to see immediate results but a good quality SEO is always more successful than the black hat route.
Signs that your SEO Agency is Doing It Wrong
Let us take a look at some of the signs that will tell you your SEO agency Thailand is doing black hat SEO.
They don’t have anything to show
A reliable SEO company should have something to show that denotes a work in progress. Of course, you can’t expect them to show you results yet. What we are talking about here are the actual SEO practices that they are currently using for your website.
Asking for results two or three months into the contract is asking too much. It is early to see significant SEO results at this point yet, so don’t expect this from your SEO agency. But since you are investing in your SEO, you can ask them for deliverables.
Some of the things you can expect the SEO agency to provide you is an analysis of your site link’s profile, optimized content only site, and articles with links to your site that are published on other websites.
The SEO agency is not asking you anything
A reliable SEO agency that is using the right techniques should ask for your cooperation. Because you are the site owner, they should ask you for access to your CMS, Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools, a list of your target keywords and information about your past audits, penalties or work that are related to SEO.
If the firm is not asking you anything, they may be just creating backlinks from their network of spam websites. They are not asking you for access because they are doing actions that may hurt your website.
They don’t have suggestions on how to improve your website
If your SEO agency is not asking or telling you anything, you should be wary. This is a sign that they may be up to something nasty or may not be doing anything at all.
Part of using the black hat SEO technique is when an agency is creating links to your site from their spammy sites. They are using little effort with the hope of yielding high results. Instead of working with you, they just want to make you feel that they are doing something for your benefit.
The best SEO agency should treat you as their partner, working with you to help your website rank higher. They should give you recommendations on how to improve.
They are not sharing the SEO technique they are using
It is normal to get curious about what your SEO agency Thailand is up to. To know this, you have to ask them and they should answer this question. If the answers seem evasive like it is confidential or vague like ‘we are doing a variety of things,’ these are red flags. You should fire them immediately. A reliable SEO firm should be able to explain to you what they are doing and why.
You receive a manual penalty
Nothing is clearer than real proof on your hand. It could come in the form of a manual penalty or an email message. When you receive a manual penalty, find out why you are penalized and how to go about it.
Your ranking and traffic is dropping
Your ranking is dropping due to a variety of reasons and it may not be because of your SEO strategies. However, if you notice that your ranking is steadily declining, then it’s time to investigate what your SEO agency is doing.
A sudden decrease in website traffic may be due to an algorithmic penalty. It will take some careful analysis. Check if the traffic decline coincides with any algorithm changes and if there are changes made to your site leading up to your traffic decline. Finally, sit down with the SEO consultant and discuss the actions taken by the agency.
You are ranking for the wrong keywords
You have already told your target keywords to your SEO agency and based on Google Analytics you know the long-tail keywords that are driving traffic and ranking in the SERPs.
But if you see that you are gaining traffic on a different keyword, there is a reason. All the more when you stop ranking on your previous keyword. It could be because of careless work by an SEO.
You see an increase in suspicious backlinks to your website
In SEO, what you need to monitor is your link profile. It tells you how to rank. If your profile link gets messed up, then the site is in trouble. The backlink comes from a site that is not of the same niche and language.
If you begin to see a proliferation of backlinks it could be a sign that your SEO agency is using random sites to link your site.
Conclusion
Your website depends on SEO to succeed or fail. You must hand it over to a reliable SEO agency. Don’t fall victim to SEO companies that use black hat SEO techniques. The key to ensuring this is to make sure that you are hiring a firm that is a good fit for your company.
