Are low cost SEO services for small business safe?

While “low price SEO = danger” is rather a myth than a real statement, cases of bad SEO for a cheap price is not uncommon. Small businesses can particularly relate to this problem as many low cost SEO agencies usually target them and local enterprises and many of their offers sound very attractive for e-stores and sites which try to promote in highly competitive niches.

Following these low price SEO offers blindly can lead to these consequences: 

• Penalty due to Black Hat SEO.  Many SEO agencies which consciously break Google guidelines with keywords spamming, hidden texts, doorways and other bad practices usually offer low prices for their services.  This is the part of their trap: they promise a powerful boost at an attractive cost and deliver the promised boost. Such policy brings them a lot of inexperienced site owners who are unaware that the rankings growth obtained through Black Hat SEO is temporary and major drop is inevitable.  
• Stagnation. Sometimes, you find low cost SEO services for small business or large companies which are not Black Hat. Instead, they are limited in the promotion options and all steps are performed by an inexperienced team. Therefore, after you achieve a certain point, your campaign just freezes there as your SEO curators don’t know where to go from here. Also they simply may not have the means to advance, as low price = low wage.
• Low quality of content. Content plays a major part in keywords optimization, link building and increasing conversion rate. However if your content is not relevant, unique or interesting to read, inserting keywords and links won’t increase your rankings. Unfortunately, the copywriting included in low cost SEO services for business rarely implies research and editing as such team usually lacks experienced writers. Therefore, don’t expect great results from the content you paid 10$ for.    

This information doesn’t mean that you should avoid “affordable” and “cheap” SEO at any cost. What you should do, is to be aware of the risks involved when looking for low cost SEO services for your small business. Affordable doesn’t always equal cheap, and sound pricing policy is not the synonym of scam. While there are bad agencies, which ruin the reputation of SEO firms, we will help you find the distinctions.

Cheap vs affordable: what’s the difference?

It is possible to find good SEO for an adequate price out of myriad of low-quality agencies. You don’t need to be an SEO guru or have a lie detector at hand. A thorough research is more than enough.

• Compose a list of SEO agencies, which offer low-priced professional assistance for small online businesses;
• Compare their costs and the range of services they offer for that price;
• Look into the way they promote themselves: if they promise quick results and overexaggerate, their promises are likely to be good for nothing;
• See whether all of the agencies have a portfolio. Cross out the companies without one. Then study the projects the firms worked on to assess their expertise. You can also visit the sites the agencies did SEO for to see how well they fare against their competitors.
•  Contact the experts of each agency and see what kind of impression they make, whether they are confident and friendly or secretive, ambiguous and in a hurry to make you buy their products. Ask them questions which would reveal their knowledge of Google guidelines, the process of promotion and SEO techniques. Are they quick to promise you results without even asking more about your site? Do they emphasize on quantity and short-term results?  
• Study  the background and the bio of the company. While the agencies with 5 years of experience are preferable, don’t be in a hurry to cast 1-3 year old firms away. Many young companies are founded by the experts who have been in business for 10 years. This point should also be mentioned in the company’s bio and blog if there is one.  
• Check out the reviews. Usually, all credible companies put up their reviews on their site or have an account on review websites to let users leave feedback and respond to it. If an agency, which offers low cost SEO services for small online business avoids interacting with comments, it is probably not safe to deal with.  

Nowadays, SEO companies come in a large variety and approach their pricing policy differently. Therefore, instead of instantly turning away from the SEO teams, which offer you inexpensive solutions, do your research and see the real balance of price and quality. Otherways you may be missing out some amazing deals!