Are you sick and tired of digital marketing agency pitches that guarantee search-ranking positions on the first page?
SO ARE WE.
It makes the honest agencies in this industry look bad. Listen closely, no one can guarantee you any specific position in search rankings much less #1. So, if you don’t feel like reading all the way through, that’s all you need to know in a nutshell.
But if you’re interested and want to know more about what we do as a digital marketing agency to try and achieve the best position possible— keep reading.
We’re all about educating our clients because we don’t like to hide behind technical terms and some mysterious veil. We’ll be the first to tell you what we do isn’t some secret formula or rocket science. It is, however, very tedious and requires a lot of research and analysis.
So yes, you could actually do this all by yourself. Our clients don’t pay us because they can’t do what we do—they don’t have the time. They don’t want to make the time. Why? Because that’s not where they make their money. They want to focus on the activities that they’re in business for that drive their revenue—it’s that simple.
So, with that being said let’s dive into how ridiculous anyone’s claim that they can get you on the first page of Google search results is.
Are You Ready For An SEO Reality Check?
You’re a business owner, so you’ve definitely seen some advertisements that mentioned the term “SEO” (search engine optimization). In fact, it gets thrown around a lot, especially when a less-than-honest agency that wants to try to confuse or impress you.
But what is SEO exactly? Can a marketing agency really guarantee results—we’ve answered that, NO. The agencies who make these wild guarantees also know that, and that’s why they usually try to lock you into an immediate long-term contract. Somewhere down in the microscopic fine print of the contract terms you might see something that basically says no results are guaranteed. Quite honestly, some dishonest people won’t even give you that. That’s why you need to know what SEO is, as well as what it can and cannot do. So, let’s get into it.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization is in a nutshell, a series of adjustments and processes that optimize your website for Google’s algorithm. For the sake of time, we won’t cover every single task but it does include things like:
- Developing content that focuses on target keywords
- Creating backlinks
- Optimizing website structure
The goal of SEO and all of the techniques used, is to make your website more visible in Google’s search algorithm. The better the visibility is the stronger the likelihood of a better position to get more clicks and more traffic. However, no matter how much you work at it, there’s no guarantee of a position.
Like Hector said, we don’t guarantee anything but our commitment to give you 100% of our efforts. That’s all that any agency can guarantee. Because ultimately, Google runs the show. So, then why do some marketing agencies make that ridiculous claim. They’re trying to sell you and if you know anything about marketing it’s that no one likes to be sold.
When we meet with prospective clients we don’t need to sell them. Yes, you read that right. Why? Because we’re confident in our work ethic, our knowledge, and most importantly our limitations. No, we’ll never guarantee you a position on the Google search pages—because we can’t deliver on that guarantee and no one can.
So, when we can walk into a room confident in what we can control it gives our clients peace of mind that they are in very capable hands. That is all you can ask for from an honest digital marketing agency—capability, willingness to work, and integrity.
So, let’s take a look at what’s behind all of this, “Google algorithm” stuff,
The Google Search Algorithm
Google is without a doubt the world’s largest and most dominant search engine. It receives millions of requests every hour, and they have a responsibility to their users to deliver accurate information. Not just information that’s accurate but that’s also relevant to what someone is searching for. For example, if you’re searching for “digital marketing agency,” it would be completely irrelevant to show you search results for car dealerships.
So, to avoid getting garbage responses like that, Google uses a complex mathematical algorithm. This is about the only part of SEO, that can get a little confusing, to be honest.
To try to simplify what the algorithm does, you have to think about it like an IFTTT (if this, then that) formula. Granted, it’s a lot more than that but that helps explain the general concept so it’s not so mysterious. So, when you enter a search term and let’s just stick with the current example, “digital marketing agency,” Google does a lot behind the scenes.
Naturally, it looks at the actual search terms but then also takes into account data it gets by various means. We are always transmitting data when on the internet. Our general location, our interests, and many other classifying pieces of information.
So, once it does that, let’s say you’re on your mobile phone in Houston, TX. It’s going to show you agencies near your general area and show you a mobile-friendly link. A lot is going on behind the scenes that is probably too wordy for this blog, but feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to explain in greater detail.
Why Can No Agency Make Guarantees?
Now here is the nail in the coffin on these bogus “first page guarantees” and why it’s fraudulent. The algorithm that we just got done explaining we’ll work a certain way today and be completely different two weeks from now.
Let us explain, the Google algorithm is a dynamic algorithm not static. It is constantly learning new trends and datasets to come up with results. Even more so now with the onset of AI-assisted searches that create a neural net of data to work from and evolve.
No, there’s not going to be a Skynet that becomes self-aware and sends down Austrian cyborgs to wipe us out. However, what it does mean is that search engine results will have much more integrity and relevance as it continues to develop. That is a good thing as it prevents companies from cheating the system and getting an unfair advantage over other businesses.
The Bottom Line: Do The Hard Work For SEO
If you want your website to have the best possible chance at a decent ranking on the search pages, it’s going to require work. A lot of work. And that is why companies hire us to do the legwork in hopes that it will get favorable rankings.
That means we create high-quality content that informs your audience using relevant information. It means we identify your demographic and their habits to find out what’s going to appeal to them. To be quite honest, a lot of it is testing the waters and seeing what works and adjusting accordingly. No one may have told you that before—but that’s because they were trying to sell you.
We’re trying to tell you the truth.
If you want a digital marketing agency that works as hard for your success as you do— let’s meet and make things happen.
