Before we go into understanding a fake SEO consultant, we will look into the working of an authentic one. A real consultant will develop his working around the idea of “right strategy at the right time at the right place” these are the three “Rs” that any legit consultant will work on.

The work of any legit SEO consultant is not to provide you with a business, but to provide you with new possibilities of doing a business. With all that said let’s focus on identifying a fake SEO consultant.

A lie cannot stay hidden forever it is exposed one way or another over time; this is how it has been going on for centuries. Any Fake SEO consultant can be detected by checking into these eight ways:

• Guaranteed Rankings
• Own Website
• Link Building
• Cheap services
• Google Analytics and Search Console
• On-site and Technical SEO
• Secret Formula
• A promise to get number one ranking

In order to get it clear how these 8 ways are signs of fraud, you must know what these terms mean.

Nobody can get you guarantee rankings as it is not to be decided by any agency or consultant, as it is purely the work of Search Engines. Any consultant or agency claiming to do so is using techniques to go against the policies of Google.

Good to remember

If such types of SEO consultant approach you and promise to provide you with cheap SEO services at $199.00 for guaranteed rankings, then remember that it is time for you to turn your back and run. To make it clear that it is really fraud ask the consultant or agency to provide you with past case studies and further ask to provide you with client’s website.

Give a good look at their own website if their sites look well managed and well structured then they might be a professional after all, as professionals like to keep it elegant.

Good to remember

Remember to ask yourself these questions

• Does their site include Case Studies and Portfolio?
• Is the site unnatural and spammy in the interface?
• What is it’s ranking on Google?
• Have they stuffed keywords in their content?

SEO services are not cheap and it takes a lot of hard work and time to get things right. If you are looking for a cheap SEO service provider then be prepared to get your website penalized.

Good to remember

A good SEO agency or consultant would ask you to pay around $600 to $1200 each month. If a consultant asks you below $300 then be ready to get penalized, as they are using techniques that are not approved by Google policies.

A necessary question to ask the SEO agency or consultant is if they would be needing access to your Google Analytics and Search Console? As they include all the past information regarding your site like search traffic, search sources etc.

Good to remember

An agency or a consultant not asking for access to these accounts has no intention to do well to your website.

Using On-site and Technical SEO shows that the consultant or agency is professional in what it is doing. It will take your cooperation into consideration to produce high-quality content; it will make use of local SEO and will also include Social Media for better results.

It will further develop the overall structure of your site; fix broken links, adding Meta titles and Meta descriptions, optimizing re-direct and fixing any technical problems.

Good to remember

If your consultant or agency is saying to focus only on link building then it is time for you to watch out.

If your SEO consultant or Agency claims that he is in a secret partnership with Google then this rings a clear red signal that they are 100% fraud, because all the Google algorithms are kept a secret.

Good to remember

Any consultant or agency providing with such claims is a fraud and is making use of black hat techniques that are prohibited by Google, so it is time for you to start looking for another consultant or agency. Remember nobody can get the insight to Google’s Internal Operations.

We have already discussed the guaranteed rankings, but it is crucial to know that individuals who make promises of guaranteed rankings will also promise to make it quick. It is a clear red flag if such actions are stated by any agency or consultant.

Good to remember

It commonly takes 3 to 5 months to see any improvement in rankings; if any agency is promising to deliver overnight high rankings then it is making use of fraudulent techniques. SEO is a long-term investment and it is not a miracle that could happen overnight.

Any legit consultant or agency will never promise success overnight but it will only promise better rankings in search engines. The work of any SEO agency or consultant is to make use of methods and techniques to help your business grow and get more visibility amongst customers.

Any fake SEO agency or consultant will promise you overnight rankings but that is not possible legally as Google keeps on changing its algorithms and policies. They must be making use of prohibited techniques to deliver results, legit SEO is a long term investment and it takes some time to show results.