Why is Trust such an Issue in SEO?
At Front Page SEO, we talk a lot about honest, ethical, transparent, genuine and authentic SEO services.
But what does that mean exactly?
What We Mean by “Transparent SEO”
It means that we keep you in the loop.
Trust is a huge issue when it comes to SEO. Way back in 2019, Australia’s Small Business Ombudsman was trying to convince the ACCC to investigate dodgy conduct in the industry, and asking business owners to come forward with their horror stories.
From my conversations with business owners, nothing much has changed since then.
Business owners are being taken advantage of due to two key factors:
1 – SEO takes time to generate meaningful results. By the time the unwary business owner realises they’ve been ripped off, they’ve already invested a considerable amount of money OR they’ve been locked into a 12 month contract.
2 – The smoke and mirrors which surrounds the whole SEO industry. Perhaps like me you’ve had the experience of taking your car to the mechanic for a service, only to be told the starter motor is on the way out. I don’t know much about cars, so really, I have to take their word for it. I can’t help wondering – does my car really need that new starter motor, or did they see me coming?! SEO (and GEO so you get cited by AI like ChatGPT) is much the same. Most business owners don’t really understand all that goes on “under the hood”, but they know they NEED it, and that today it’s an important part of marketing your business.
So if an SEO agency or consultant tells you that you need to invest thousands of dollars with them to make sure you come up in Google, it’s a bit of a gamble. Do you trust them? Are they just trying to rip you off? Do they actually care about the success of your business?
5 Signs to help you find a Trustworthy SEO
If you are venturing into the mysterious world of SEO and wanting to engage a professional, here are some tips to help you find somebody genuine:
- Check out their reviews on Google and other sites like Facebook or Trustpilot
- Ask if you can speak with some of their current / former clients.
- Do they share any SEO case studies on their website?
- Have they won any awards?
- Find out how THEIR business is performing in search engine results (not sure how to do this? We’ll explain in our next blog post!) … you’d be amazed how many SEO agencies “talk the talk” but don’t actually “walk the walk” themselves.
I can say with confidence that when you follow these 5 tips, you’ll find evidence that you can trust Front Page SEO!
Transparency: Key to Building Trust in SEO
Our commitment to providing you with transparent and genuine SEO services is clear right from your first interaction with us, whether that’s through our social media channels or our website, or if you happen to attend one of our SEO presentations.
When you book your first free Zoom session with us, we show you how your website is currently performing in search engine results, as well as how it could be improved.
Is SEO the right strategy for your business: Being genuine means that there are times when we will tell you that SEO may not be the right option for you at this point in time, when other areas of your business or marketing need to be the priority. If we can, we will refer you to other service providers we know and trust.
Alerting you to issues and opportunities: As your SEO provider, our role is to keep you informed of any potential problems OR possibilities – and then we work with you to try and find a solution that works within your business budget.
The Golden Rule of SEO: At Front Page SEO we aren’t interested in cheating the system, so you never have to worry about receiving a Google penalty. Our strategies are based on the Google guidelines, or what we call the “Golden Rule” of SEO – for example, creating quality content that is all about satisfying the user’s intent, and not for bots.
Regular reporting: Our regular clients receive a report each month, outlining not only how their site is performing in search engine results, but also what has been done. If you’ve ever wondered if your SEO agency is actually doing anything for that monthly fee – well there’s no secrets here, you can see it for yourself, as well as the improvements it leads to.
If you have a small business and like the sound of our open and honest approach to SEO – let’s talk!