Surprisingly high percentage of companies outsources their SEO. Unlike social media, where you have some idea what to do, optimization is a completely new concept for people starting their first internet business. Due to this fact, most of the entrepreneurs will decide to outsource it.

Generally speaking, outsourcing is great as it can save you some money. We all know that optimization is necessary for a website to be successful. However, the thing that most people do not tell you is that outsourcing SEO can cause additional costs without any benefits.

Have in mind there are a lot of companies out there offering SEO service. Some of them are good, some of them are bad. Although it is very hard to tell at first, there are certain signs telling you to avoid cooperating with a certain SEO outsourcing company.

Let’s check them out.

1. Unrealistic Promises

SEO experts that know their job are in high demand. They have a lot of clients and even more pending clients. With that in mind, if a company approaches you offering you unrealistic things, it can be an instant red flag. This can be seen as a desperation move. Outsourced SEO company probably doesn’t have enough work so they are prepared to tell you things that cannot be accomplished in practice. Even if that wasn’t the case, making unrealistic promises may be a sign that a person is not actually a professional. Usually, SEO experts are conservative. They know that getting links is not completely in their hands. With that in mind, person who knows his job will refrain from such statements.

2. Focusing on SEO

SEO is a complete service. In order to achieve good results, professional will have to have complete access to your website, to be able to optimize website architecture, to use social media on a daily basis and ultimately, to build links. All of these activities are necessary nowadays. Otherwise, results will be lackluster. If SEO expert is solely concerned about SEO and getting links then, he probably isn’t the best person for the job.

3. Not willing to share results

Most of the upstart websites rely on SEO outsourcing. It is a new concept for majority of the website owners when they first start blogging and it can definitely be intimidating. Due to this, entrepreneurs are not willing to learn more on the topic. Instead, they just delegate the work to an outside company. However, you should be able to analyze your SEO and traffic so you can check out the results. The problem occurs when outsourced organization is not willing to share their results with you. This can be sign of two things: poor performance or malpractice. Needless to say, both of these can be disastrous for website.

4. Unable to meet the deadline

Even though SEO is a long-term activity that produces results after a while, you have to impose certain deadlines for outsourced company. There is no rush when it comes to optimization. As long as you get links and traffic, it will be good for you. But, if the company is late with its performance, it can be sign of bad productivity. Why is that important if they will ultimately get you the links they promised? Well, if they couldn’t provide them in set time, this may be due to bad performance meaning that they will do almost anything to make it up. In other words, if you notice something fishy, this means that a company didn’t manage to build links naturally in agreed time period but instead, they started building bad links just to satisfy you.

5. Insisting on payment in advance

When it comes to blogging and Internet jobs, most of the deals are verbal. You make an obligation towards another individual, start doing your job and after it’s done and you submit your work, you get the payment. Sometimes, you can get an advance as a sign of good will. Customer can pay 50 % in advance and rest upon completion. Furthermore, there are cases where clients pay the entire sum in advance. Potential problem occurs when SEO company demands full payment in advance. Generally speaking, this is a poor business decision as it can create unnecessary tension before project even started. It can also be a red flag. Everywhere in the world, you get money after you provide a service or a product; not before. Demanding the whole amount of money in advance can be a sign that a company is trying to swindle you.

You can never be too careful. Although most of the guys are willing to play by the book, you are likely to encounter those that are not. In such cases, it is best to have some prior knowledge that will tell you have to behave in certain situations.

SEO is quite specific in that regard. Hiring a bad person will not only lose you money but it can also endanger your website. With these tips, you will know what to look for and how to prevent it from happening.

Have you had a negative experience when outsourcing SEO? Share it in the comment section bellow!

Author: Nikolay Stoyanov is a well-known Bulgarian SEO expert with over 8 years of SEO experience. He’s a huge fan of Brian Dean and a proud graduate of his SEO That Works online course. He practices 100% white hat SEO techniques and has a vast experience in keyword research, on-page optimization, SEO auditing and link building.