There are few things that can be guaranteed in business, such as employees being not as productive as they can. Something that can definitely not be guaranteed is a page one, position one Google SERP ranking.

SEO experts around the globe chase top rankings in Google search results. The effort a page 1 Google ranking requires is indescribable. There’s simply too much to do and at the end you just have to do the best you can and then leave it to the ranking algorithm. It’s only natural that ranking high on Google poses such a challenge – the potential rewards for a valuable keyword can be in the thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in business.

Seeing the success of rival companies with a little help from SEO, you start looking for SEO Agency. Some SEO companies will make outright claims of guaranteed page one ranking, and you should take this as a red flag and stay away from such companies.

According to TempeOp, “The world of search engine optimization is as volatile as it gets… A good SEO agencies won’t make any bold claims on what they can do for you. They won’t promise page one rankings in a week, neither will they guarantee an X amount of leads in any given month.”

Let’s explore this issue in detail as business owners with little SEO knowledge often fall into the trap of SEO agencies that promise quick fixes.

Guaranteed Search Engine Rankings

When an SEO agency ‘guarantees’ search engine rankings, it could mean a number of things like:

• Getting your ‘money’ page to the top of Google search rankings for a keyword
• Getting your website into Google’s local search three-pack
• Moving your site to page X on the Google SERP

An SEO agency that promises any of the above is a guaranteed SEO service. For business owners who’re desperate to capture leads or increase their visibility on Google, this seems like a pretty good offer.

However, it must be realized that despite their very best efforts, Google search rankings simply can’t be predicted by any degree of precision. And agencies who ‘promise’ ridiculous results like these are likely to engage in questionable SEO ranking tactics, which we’ll discuss later.

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Tricks Behind SEO Guarantees

For decades, shady SEO companies have used the “guaranteed rankings and traffic” catch phrase to attract gullible business owners. There is a reason why many view SEOs as mostly scam artists. Even today, SEO agencies have the nerve to include the following in their messaging:

“We guarantee 1st position rankings after deciding on a keyword”.

And that’s what you get with shady SEO companies. The keywords they ‘decide’ to rank on the 1st page will generally be non-competitive, low-value keywords that won’t do much for your business. These companies have mastered the art of picking keywords that are of no use to any business, and thus can be ranked with a fairly high rate of success.

Google Strongly Advises Against Rank Guarantees

Google’s guidelines on search marketing specifically states that “no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google”, and advises business owners to beware of SEOs that guarantee rankings, or allege a special relationship with Google.

Search Rankings are Inherently Unstable and Unpredictable

Anyone who’s been practicing SEO will tell you that search rankings are highly unpredictable. There are hundreds of ranking signals that Google looks for in every page, and no one knows for sure what they are. Because of this, sites that might seem unlikely to rank, sometimes end up ranking above sites with high authority.

No one can say for sure why this happens. If you search for “how to contact Instagram”, it’s not an official Instagram page that is on the top. What’s more, search rankings even change depending on the location of the user. If you search for “SEO company” in Tyler, then perform the same search in Texas, the search results are likely to be very different.

Search results can even change depending on your browsing history. In light of all these points, no SEO can truly say that they can guarantee rankings.

Good SEO Agencies Help, But Do Not Guarantee Results

What a reputable, ethical SEO agency will guarantee is that they’ll provide the best advice and take the required steps in order to help your website get more traffic. If they see that your site has tremendous potential but follows poor SEO practices, they might even guarantee a certain percentage increase in website traffic.

This is because following good SEO practices can in fact, help your site get more traffic, and not just through search rankings alone. Good SEO practices are focused on making the user experience of your site better, and Google highly favors sites that follow them.

The agency will focus on improving the content, navigation and even the aesthetics of your site in a bid to increase traffic. When users stay longer because your site is great to be on, Google sees this as a good thing. In return, it starts to increase your search rankings.

How to Choose a Good SEO Agency

There are a number of things to look for when choosing an SEO agency. For starters, schedule a call with SEO agencies and ask them how they’ll help your website get more traffic. If ALL they talk about is “we’ll get you to the first page of Google”, then simply cut the call short.

In reality, a lot of activities need to be carried out for your website to rank well and get more traffic. Consider discussing the following and see how the SEO’s salesmen respond:

• On-page optimization
• White hat link building
• Sitemap optimization
• Traffic monitoring
• Content
• Social signals
• Website design

If the agency is willing to discuss all of this in detail, then there’s a good chance they’ll be a worthwhile investment. You need to know what your money is being spent on. If all the agency is willing to discuss are keywords, then that’s simply not good enough.

SEO requires a comprehensive strategy that comprises of many different activities – ranking keywords being one of them. Don’t fall for promises and ask the agency to layout a strategy that they plan to follow over the coming months.

Junie Rutkevich is an Independent Authorpreneur and an Internet Media Influencer. She has been working as an SEO Expert for more than 10 years, advising all sizes of businesses to scale up their clientele.