1. There are only a few weeks left until a major holiday (e.g. Valentine’s Day), and you are looking for SEO services in order to get your rankings up in time for the shopping surge.
Search engine optimization is not a quick-fix solution. So, one should not wait until a holiday approaches before starting to think about signing up for an SEO service. SEO is a long-term ranking solution, not a quick fix; this means that it is necessary to have a short-term plan until SEO can produce sustainable results.
2. You just set up a brand new website selling handmade jewelry, and are looking for an SEO company that will help you rank for the keyword ‘jewelry’ (soon).
It is worth repeating that commitment to an SEO campaign should not be taken lightly. SEO is a slow process. One should expect to invest months (if not years), not days or weeks, before starting to see results. Of course the length of time that it takes to achieve rankings depends not only on the potential of a website, but also on the capabilities of the SEO company, as well as the competition level of the keywords being targeted.
3. You are considering several SEO proposals and your top choice is the cheapest one and the low price is why it is the top choice.
Even though high prices do not necessarily guarantee good service, extremely low pricing will, almost always, result in lackluster rankings (at best). Do not make the price your main deciding factor. One should take the time and compare the services being offered, and work towards getting the best value (not the cheapest price). It is also highly recommended that one does her homework before approaching SEO companies—take some time to learn the difference between white-hat, gray-hat, and black-hat SEO. The time spent on learning a little bit about search engine optimization will pay dividends by keeping money from being wasted on unwholesome services, or ones that are not going to produce acceptable results.
4. Your site offers specialized auctions and you insist that your competition is ebay.
Being realistic is as important as anything else when embarking on a search engine optimization campaign. Everyone wants their fledgling business to thrive and play with the big boys, but knowing a websites limits can be invaluable. A runner who has been practicing for only a few weeks, does not think an Olympic sprinter as his competition. As such, the owner of a new website should not see the biggest players in his industry as the competition. Failing to do this, will inevitably result in disappointment and wasted funds.
5. The only marketing/advertising activity you are looking to engage in is SEO.
SEO is a very attractive option when it comes to Internet marketing; however it cannot be the only approach to marketing a website. Having top results in organic search engine result pages (SERPs) is highly desirable, but not every website is able to solely rely on organic search engine traffic to succeed. It is recommended that a search engine optimization campaign be supplemented with other marketing/advertising activities such as pay-per-click advertising, display advertising (banner ads), or affiliate marketing. As long as these alternative options produce positive ROI, there is no reason to stop them completely. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Why not use a cliché if it applies? :)
