Unless you like living with regret, don’t hire outsourced, cheap SEO consultants

In fact, cheap SEO will cost you more in the long run. Yes, more. Read on.

Though some may challenge the importance of SEO, I can guarantee this: ensuring search engines can read your content in an organized matter is essential to rank well. If you publish the same article — one that’s search engine optimized, and one that is not — the optimized one will always rank better. If you don’t agree, try it for yourself.

Anyhow, I’m sure if you manage a website, you have likely received an annoying email, likely sent in the middle of the night, offering SEO with the promise of “1st Page on Google!!!” Like so:

SEO Spam Email

Btw, if you do receive these emails, do the sender a favour and hit the spam button immediately.

Now, a lot of wannabe CEOs or well-intentioned start-ups with minimal expertise (Which makes me ask, why are you managing your own website? Focus on your core business!) may jump at this offer. The idea of ranking well and getting a stream of leads “all for $100!!1” must sound amazing! I get it. Anywhere you can save on costs sounds alluring. The problem is, you get what you pay for. If you buy cheap SEO, cheap SEO is what you’ll receive. It’s kind of like dating the girl that everyone has dated, for minimal effort. Or, you know, you could put in some work and get the prom queen.

I want you to think of your website as an individual. Like you, it has a reputation. Your reputation is determined by your age, the neighbourhood you live in, who you associate with, and the quality of your words.

Now, imagine, you meet two people. Both of them want to bring you into their circle. One is the cheap SEO guy, the other is someone like me.

  1. The cheap SEO guy is going to introduce you to a whole bunch of crappy people. Quantity is the name of the game. These people are young, have met a lot of other people (usually scammers), and have malicious or completely irrelevant agendas. Furthermore, they’re not very smart, their words are cheap, they have no value, and people get frustrated when they meet them. Imagine you sell winter coats and you’re hanging out in the desert with a bunch of criminals. How on earth will you sell your coats there?
  2. Me? Well, I make sure you look good. You need to be well-organized, presentable, and prepared to demonstrate the value you offer. I’m not going to introduce you to many people at all: just a few. The difference is, they’ll be people worth paying attention to. People who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer. It’s more like you sell winter coats, and I’m introducing you to a community of snowmobilers, or a retail store in Yellowknife.

What happens when you go with number 1? Well, it’s obvious. Your reputation suffers. Google sees you as a site that hangs out in a neighbourhood with other crappy sites. Do you want that? The problem with this is not so much the association, but the long-term effect on your integrity. You see, in an attempt to rank in the search engines, you end up hurting yourself in ways you couldn’t imagine. Integrity is often lost instantly, and it takes a long time to get it back. In the case of SEO, sometimes it means you have to change your identity completely.

What happens when you go with number 2? It’s simple. You start to rank.

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