Why You Should Never Hire An SEO Agency Without Any Social Proof

Before I learned I was a much better writer than a salesman, I used to sell SEO. And during my time in the bullpen the most common objection I would get was: “No thanks. SEO is a scam. Not interested.”

This objection is incredibly disheartening because it serves as a reminder that there are so many businesses out there who could be benefiting from SEO, but aren’t because they have been strung too many times in the past.

If you’d like to know how you can avoid being ripped off, read on and we’ll tell you everything you need to know…

Why should you never hire an SEO agency without social proof?

Today, there’s only one reason why a business won’t have any social proof and that is because they are brand-new and have literally only just started trading.

That doesn’t automatically make them incapable of delivering good results and nor does it mean that they are con-artists. However, it does present you with an element of risk – because you’ll have to take their word for it.

The alternative? Hunt around for a well-established SEO agency with a reputation for delivering superior results and a wealth of social proof to support that fact.

The best part? There are hundreds and hundreds of capable SEO agencies out there who can provide you with all the proof you need to invest your money with confidence.

• Social proof comes from the customer, not the agency: as the saying goes “Self-praise is no recommendation”, and in a world where every business claims to be the very best, it doesn’t carry much weight at all. This is why social proof is so valuable: because it comes from the customer.
• 5* reviews aren’t easy to get: in order for an SEO agency to get 5* reviews—consistently—from their clients, they have to be doing something right. Even when customers tend to be very satisfied, many of them won’t bother leaving feedback at all, and those that do often leave 4-star reviews, just because. Which means that when a 5* review is received, it is almost certainly deserved!

Mitigate risk with social proof

Which sounds more appealing to you?

• A “cheap” SEO company with no social proof but incredibly low prices.
• An “expensive” SEO company with hundreds of 5* reviews.

The fact is, going with the cheap option in SEO is always a risk. In order to deliver serious results with a scalable and sustainable ROI, a lot of time and resources need to be invested.

Fortunately, when you shop around for social proof, you mitigate the risk significantly. This is because the prospective agency has proven themselves time and time again as being the real deal – and their prices will reflect that.

Final thoughts

If you find a prospective SEO agency and they have very little social proof but you have a good feeling about the, don’t write them off entirely. Instead, ask them a lot of difficult questions.

• How much collective experience do they each have?
• Do they have any real-life case studies for you to review?
• Which SEO strategies do they implement?
• How will you track your digital marketing efforts?
• How do you measure success?
• How will they involve you in the process?
• Etc.

If they struggle with these kinds of questions and come back with vague answers, run for the hills.

In any case, you are almost certainly much better off looking for an agency that already has a wealth of social proof. Take this SEO agency in Singapore as an example; with over 500+ 5* reviews, it’s hard to argue with that level of reputation.

Remember, the most common objection in the SEO industry comes from business owners who have been ripped off in the past. You can avoid that almost entirely by settling for nothing less than the very best. Let social proof by your ‘non-negotiable’ guide.