🚩 Guaranteed Rankings
'We guarantee first-page rankings in 30 days!' No legitimate agency guarantees rankings. Google's algorithm changes constantly, and rankings depend on factors outside an agency's control.
Why it matters: If they're confident enough to guarantee, they're either using black-hat tactics that will get you penalized, or lying.
🚩 Link Packages
'Get 500 backlinks per month for only $299!' Quality beats quantity. 10 authoritative links are worth more than 500 spammy directory links.
Why it matters: Google's Penguin update killed link schemes. Agencies still selling link packages are stuck in 2012.
🚩 No Case Studies with Business Outcomes
They show traffic increases but never mention revenue, conversions, or qualified leads.
Why it matters: Traffic is a vanity metric. If they can't tie SEO to business outcomes, they're optimizing for the wrong goals.
🚩 Only Talks About Traffic
'We increased your organic traffic by 300%!' Great, but did revenue go up?
Why it matters: It's easy to drive junk traffic. Good agencies focus on qualified traffic that converts.
🚩 Uses PBNs or Black-Hat Tactics
Private blog networks, automated link building, or 'we have special relationships with high-authority sites.'
Why it matters: Black-hat tactics might work short-term but will get you penalized long-term. Not worth the risk.
🚩 No Understanding of AI Search
Can't answer questions about ChatGPT, Perplexity, or LLM visibility. Still focused only on Google.
Why it matters: Search is changing. Agencies that don't understand AI search are dinosaurs.
🚩 Can't Explain Their Process
'We have proprietary methods we can't share.' Translation: We have no process.
Why it matters: Good agencies are transparent about their approach. Secrecy is a red flag.
🚩 Bad Reviews or No Reviews
Multiple 1-star reviews mentioning lack of results, poor communication, or feeling scammed.
Why it matters: Where there's smoke, there's fire. Trust verified reviews from Clutch, G2, and Google.
🚩 Still Doing Keyword Stuffing
Website or blog content from 2019 still talks about 'keyword density' and has awkward, keyword-stuffed writing.
Why it matters: If they can't optimize their own content, they can't help you.
🚩 No Strategy, Just Tactics
'We'll write 20 blog posts per month.' Cool, about what? 'Whatever you want!'
Why it matters: Content without strategy is just noise. Good agencies start with business goals, then build content plans around them.
Browse Agencies With Zero Red Flags
We already filtered out agencies with these warning signs. Only vetted, modern agencies in our directory.
Browse Vetted Agencies