SEO red flags and scams to avoid
Most bad SEO purchases were predictable at the first meeting. The warning signs below are not subtle once you know them; each one, on its own, is reason enough to keep looking.
Guaranteed rankings
Nobody controls Google. A guarantee of "position one in Google" is either a lie, a trick (position one for a search phrase nobody uses) or a plan to use techniques that violate Google's guidelines and eventually get the site penalised. Google itself explicitly warns against companies that guarantee rankings. This is the oldest and most reliable red flag in the industry.
Secret methods
SEO fundamentals are public knowledge; the difference between providers is execution, not secrets. A provider who cannot or will not explain what they do, in language you understand, is hiding either incompetence or techniques you would not approve of. Reliable specialists explain their approach openly, because an informed client is their best client.
Cheap link packages
Links remain a major ranking factor, which created an industry of five-dollar links from link farms, spam blogs and private blog networks. These links are worthless at best and toxic at worst: Google's algorithms are specifically built to detect them, and a polluted link profile can suppress a domain for years. If links are sold by the bundle at bulk prices, walk away.
Assembly-line contracts
- Twelve-month lock-in before any results are shown
- Automatic renewal with a narrow cancellation window
- No written deliverables, only "SEO activities"
- The provider keeps ownership of content or accounts
- Big discounts for signing today
A provider confident in their work does not need to imprison clients contractually. Month-to-month terms after a short initial period are common among good Dutch providers precisely because their results do the retention for them.
Vanity reporting
Impressions, "keywords tracked", domain scores from third-party tools: these can all rise while your business gets nothing. Reliable reporting connects the work to organic traffic, leads and revenue, and is understandable without an SEO background. If three months of reports leave you unable to say what changed for the business, the reporting is doing its real job: hiding that nothing did.
Cold outreach and pressure
"We noticed issues with your website" spam, urgency tactics and unsolicited audits are marketing for providers who cannot win work any other way. The irony is reliable as a filter: specialists who are good at making businesses findable do not need to cold-email strangers to be found.
The one green flag that matters most
Honesty about limits. A trustworthy specialist will sometimes tell you SEO is not the right investment for your situation, that a result will take longer than you hoped, or that they are not the right fit and refer you elsewhere. That willingness to lose the deal is the strongest positive signal this industry has.