12 Signs Your “SEO Guru” Sucks

I have to admit that I’m a bit behind on blogging so I thought I’d release what I call a “fun post” even though I think it should still be taken seriously. I’ve been performing SEO for my own websites and my client’s websites for 10+ years. In that time I’ve seen and experienced many things, including self-proclaimed “SEO Gurus” that really suck. So, if your “SEO Guru” exhibits some of the following characteristics you may want to think about finding an SEO professional, SEO expert or SEO specialist.

Without further ado, here are 12 signs your “SEO Guru” sucks:

1. Your SEO Guru calls themself an “SEO Guru”

I’m not a fan of calling yourself a “Guru” of anything, especially when it’s self-proclaimed. However, I suppose if someone else refers to you as an “SEO Guru” it’s ok. Just don’t call yourself an “SEO Guru”. It’s unprofessional and could be a sure sign that you suck.

2. Your SEO Guru never talks about revenue

All praise to Neil Patel for this one. He opened my eyes to the bottom line. Your customers may think and say they want higher rankings, but we all know that they really want more revenue. Neil doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to this. This image was taken from his personal SEO consulting website. So, if your “SEO Guru” isn’t talking revenue, he or she may suck.

3. Your SEO Guru states how many articles they’ll give you per month

Nothing annoys the crap out of me more at our SEO company in Chicago than when a client says something like, “XYZ SEO Company is writing X amount of articles for us, How many articles will you write?”. First of all, any “SEO Guru” who focuses on the number of articles he or she is writing for you really sucks. Quality over quantity. I would take one well written, informative, and sharable article over 10 crap articles that no one reads or shares.

4. Your SEO Guru sends you SEO reports that are exported from Google Analytics

One of my clients asked me if our reports were custom or exported from Google Analytics. Of course I assured him that ours is custom but may include data or PDFs from Google Analytics. He then explained how unhappy he was with his previous SEO company for only providing them with exported PDFs from Google Analytics. Don’t get me wrong, you should include those PDF’s with your custom report; however, they shouldn’t be the only thing you provide your clients.

5. Your SEO Guru‘s website is not ranked very well

Does your “SEO Guru‘s” site suck? Is it ranked very poorly? That’s probably a sign that your “SEO Guru” sucks. I just find it hard to believe that your “SEO Guru” can’t or doesn’t have time to optimize or properly design their own site.

6. Your SEO Guru never mentions conversions

As an SEO consultant, I always discuss CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) because many of our competitors do not. Prospective clients sign with us all the time because our competition only discussed SEO. We not only discuss how performing SEO will increase traffic, but how performing SEO and CRO with increase revenue. I’ve warned many clients that getting them ranked on page #1 won’t necessarily generate more revenue for them. If your site has a high bounce rate you’re missing out on sales.

One more thing. Want to impress your client by doubling their leads and sales? Do some A/B testing and improve their conversion rate from 2% to 4%. Boom! You just doubled their leads and sales. So don’t be an “SEO Guru” and talk about traffic all day. Be an SEO professional and talk about how to increase revenue through SEO and CRO.

7. Your SEO Guru doesn’t audit your website

There are two type of SEO audits an SEO professional will give you. The first is a preliminary SEO Audit that is given during the initial sales meetings. This type of SEO audit can be performed using an SEO audit tool like the one on seogroup.com. It’s fast, instant, and does a good job communicating some initial SEO concerns.

The second type of SEO audit is a much more in-depth audit that can be done manually and with many SEO tools. This should be provided post sale, during the strategy phase of your project. It provides a much more in-depth analysis of your code, analytics, and level of optimization.

8. Your SEO Guru doesn’t return phone calls

Ask anyone in our office what bugs me the most about contractors. Going MIA! I have a one strike policy. If I can’t get a hold of you and you don’t return calls in a reasonable amount time – you are history. Good communication is the corner-stone of every successful project.

9. Your SEO Guru doesn’t talk “local”

About 25% of searches in Google are local according to Chitaka and 75% of those local searches are performed on mobile phones according to Google. Has your “SEO Guru” mentioned this? If not, it may be time to go with an SEO Professional.

10. Your SEO Guru is your kid

Little Billy sucks. Enough said.

11. Your SEO Guru references “Star Wars” in his bio way too much

We’ve all seen the Star Wars references. Gotta admit I’m a huge fan (of the original three). But I don’t mention it in my bio. I’m not an SEO Jedi here to save you from lower rankings. That’s just weird.

12. Your SEO Guru “builds” links instead of “earning” them

We all know how important links are, so it’s important to see the bigger picture. “Link Earning” as opposed to “Link Building” implies something different in your strategy and execution. It says that you develop, create, and write wonderful content that people enjoy and naturally want to too. Link building has a slightly negative implication. It implies that you are buying, paying or trolling for links.

I heard the phrase “link earning” somewhere about a year ago. Anyone know who coined it first? Answer below (with proof) and I will set you up with a Free 90 day trial to seogroup.com.

Conclusion

If this article offended you than chances are you are an “SEO Guru”. But don’t just take my abuse. Fight back by becoming a better SEO professional for you and for your clients.