I got a tweet this morning from someone linking to an article titled, “Five Tips for Avoiding Deceptive SEO Companies“. I like to read articles like this when possible, as it often helps me relate better to potential SEO clients.

While the best advice I could give someone was featured prominently in the article (avoid any SEO company that guarantees a specific ranking for keywords), I was a little disappointed the five tips listed were actually deceptive SEO practices – and not tips someone looking for SEO help could use to sort out whom to hire. From my experience providing SEO for business owners, I’m concern that many wouldn’t be able to identify if these deceptive practices were being used or not.

Therefore, here’s my quick list of the five tips I’d recommend to business looking for SEO services and wanting to avoid “deceptive” SEO firms.

5) References: Most reputable SEO firms can provide references of their past work; “deceptive” companies probably cannot. It’s important to note that SEO is a field where confidentiality agreements are common; therefore you may find case studies without company names, or references to names without specifics on results.

4) How They Get Results: When discussing or interviewing a potential SEO provider ask how they have been able to get results for past clients. Deceptive SEO is often quite complicated and sometimes just sounds “fishy”. A reputable SEO follows a fairly straightforward philosophy that’s pretty easy to understand (in my opinion) and applies it uniquely to each client based on their goals and objectives.

3) What They Don’t (or Won’t) Do: To quote Jimmy Buffet, “The well-seasoned pro knows how far he can go.” Everyone has limits, and there are boundaries we all should respect. I think a key difference between reputable SEO and deceptive SEO is the ability to acknowledge (and explain) the line between so-called “white hat” and “black hat” SEO.

2) Associations / Organizations: Just as in other industries, reputable SEO includes more than just providing a service to make money. There are several active SEO communities online, as well as local Chambers of Commerce and other groups that may be supported by reputable firms. Deceptive firms? My guess is not so much. Check a firm’s website or simply ask what’s important to them in addition to SEO.

1) Cost: The cost of SEO is certainly a topic of much debate, and I am definitely not in a position to settle it in any way. That said, my belief is that reputable SEO (again, similar to reputable companies in other fields) will make very clear their costs and what you as the client / buyer are getting for your dollar. I don’t believe that happens with deceptive SEO – or deceptive anything else, for that matter.

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