I got hit up by some guy named “David Smith” (which is a suspect name– hard to find him). His website is legalfirmseo dot com, but you can’t find it when you search for it:
So naturally, I take a look at the SEO of this legal SEO firm:
A bunch of zeros.
No organic traffic, no SERP features, no inbound links we can find, and a DA3.
Hey, if you are new to SEO and starting out as an SEO agency, that’s totally fine.
There is so much you can learn from the industry pros.
You can contribute content to Search Engine Land, Search Engine Strategies, PubCon, moz.com and all the well-known SEO blogs.
But what is not okay is pretending you’re an SEO expert, playing upon lawyers who don’t know how to tell who actually knows SEO or not.
We’re not saying SEO is a scam— rather, it’s completely measurable. You can measure content production, inbound link generation, organic traffic to the site, leads from the organic traffic, and so forth.
Your SEO consultant should clearly lay out a plan of what they’re doing–then hold themselves accountable to it. You could even audit your SEO consultant, which drives them mad that you can learn how to use tools like Semrush and Ahrefs in just a few minutes to expose them.
Be transparent with your clients, instead of selling snake oil.
Would you take swimming lessons from a “swim coach” who has never been in the pool before?
Final thoughts: nothing wrong with being a new SEO consultant and wanting to learn the ropes. But if you publicly attack someone who has been in the SEO space a long time, you might get outed.
This “David Smith” fellow– we can’t even find him online. Or maybe his name is “John White”. He needs some help to build up his personal brand with SEO, like here:
Related scam story – Brandon DeBoer: My $2,500 Lesson from an Influencer Who Overpromised and Disappeared
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is the CEO of Local Service Spotlight, a platform that amplifies the reputations of contractors and local service businesses using the Content Factory process. He is a former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on Google and Facebook ads for Nike, Quiznos, Ashley Furniture, Red Bull, State Farm, and other brands.
Dennis has achieved 25% of his goal of creating a million digital marketing jobs by partnering with universities, professional organizations, and agencies. Through Local Service Spotlight, he teaches the Dollar a Day strategy and Content Factory training to help local service businesses enhance their existing local reputation and make the phone ring.
Dennis coaches young adult agency owners serving plumbers, AC technicians, landscapers, roofers, electricians, and believes there should be a standard in measuring local marketing efforts, much like doctors and plumbers must be certified.