Why You Should be Wary of Free SEO Advice

Getting free SEO advice might sound like a convenient way to save some money in the short term. However, you should know that using this free advice can waste a lot of your time and resources in the long run. A professional SEO service might be more expensive but could help you grow your business more over the long term. This is one of the many reasons why you should be wary when receiving free SEO advice. 

Professional SEO Services Use Data

One of the major advantages to using a professional SEO company over trusting free advice is that professional SEO companies use data to support their advice. This ensures that you are getting advice that has been supported by case studies and other research. Additionally, if you were to hire a professional SEO service, they could give you data on how your business specifically could improve. 

Anyone can claim to have great advice online. It is much different to get advice from an established company that has data and experience to back up what they are saying.

Professional SEO services also have case studies they have worked on to prove that their services are effective. When you are wondering how to improve SEO for your website, you should consider where you are getting advice from. If it is from a random blog post without any data to support their claims, you should probably keep looking for a better source. 

Free Advice is Often Outdated

Search engine companies like Google are constantly changing how their algorithm works. This means that a company looking for how to improve SEO needs to have the most up-to-date information when making decisions. Much of the free SEO advice that is available online is outdated. Sure, at some point that information might have been correct, but changes in the algorithm could make that information incorrect. 

A professional SEO service on the other hand constantly monitors the changes in the algorithm so they can give the most accurate advice. This ensures that when you do hire an SEO service, that it will work for the current algorithm. Since an SEO service spends so much of its resources on finding out how to increase ranking in the algorithm, it will probably also be the first to know how the changes in the algorithm are affected. This means that you will be at an advantage over other websites that are relying on free online advice. 

Professional SEO Services Will Have Reviews

Before you take any advice, it is important to see how that advice has worked for others. If you are using free advice you found online, you have no way to verify if that advice has worked for others. You just have to take the word of whoever is posting the advice and hope that it works. Before hiring an SEO service, you can look up the reviews they have to see if their services have worked for other companies. You can see if there were any complaints in the past and see if those are deal-breakers for you.

Professional SEO Services Target Specific Traffic

If you are looking for free SEO advice online, it might be difficult to find advice specific to your industry. After all, most advice you find online for free will probably be very general. Different industries might require different SEO tactics to work effectively. The advantage to using a professional SEO service is that they will give you specific advice for your industry. 

One of the ways an SEO service does this is by targeting a specific demographic. Depending on your industry, you will have a different target market than other industries. An SEO service can help your website with the algorithm but also help make sure that more people in your target demographic see your website. This often leads to higher conversion rates when it comes to sales as well. If more people from your target demographic are being exposed to your website, it only makes sense that you will have a higher conversion rate. 

Hiring an SEO Service Will Save You Time

Time is the one resource that you can never get more of. Many companies will waste a lot of time looking for how to improve the SEO of their website from free sources. Many will spend a lot of time researching and not find much, if any, meaningful information. 

Hiring an SEO service will save you a lot of time. You do not have to worry about improving your own ranking in the algorithm. They will take care of that for you. You can instead spend your time growing your business in other meaningful ways. It is obviously a lot cheaper in the short run to just look for free advice online. However, spending that time looking for advice that might not even help could cost you money in the long run. Oftentimes companies could optimize their business more effectively by hiring a professional SEO company instead. This is especially true considering that even after finding advice, you still have to try and implement it which takes even more time.  

Many SEO Services Also Provide Other Services

One thing many people overlook when researching free advice is that professional SEO services also provide other marketing services. Of course, there are companies that strictly focus on SEO, but many are full-service agencies that offer a wide variety of marketing services. 

You might be wondering why someone who is looking for SEO advice would care about other marketing services. Sometimes a company that wants to improve the SEO of their website might be missing out on other ways they can use marketing to elevate their business. For example, if a company with an unprofessional website wants to improve their ranking in the Google algorithm, a full-service agency will recommend ways in which they can improve their website first. Or maybe a company is looking to reach a goal that might be better solved by using a service that is not SEO. Had that company looked for free advice online, they would not have been able to efficiently solve their problem. 

Using Free Advice Can Make it Difficult to be Competitive

Many small businesses hire professional SEO services. In fact, 42% of small businesses hire a professional SEO service. Since a significant amount of small businesses utilize SEO services, the ones that do not might struggle to compete. It is of course possible for a small business to be competitive without hiring an SEO service, it will just be a lot more difficult. It is unlikely that a company will be able to find free advice online that is as effective as a professional SEO service. A company that looks for free advice will have to hope that the advice works. Whereas a company that hires an SEO service will know that their Google ranking will increase. This is why the businesses that do hire professional SEO services have a competitive advantage over those that look for free information online. 

Ensure Mobile Compatibility

In addition to making sure that the SEO is compatible with desktops, many professional SEO services will also make sure that it is compatible with mobile. This is really important since a lot of consumers increasingly make searches on their mobile devices. Google actually says that 61% of their searches are done on mobile devices. This is why it is so crucial that you know the advice you are getting also takes into consideration mobile searches. 

Much of the free SEO advice that is available only works for searches done on a desktop computer. When a majority of Google searches are done on mobile, taking free advice will cause you to miss out on potential prospects. A professional SEO firm knows how important it is to have mobile compatibility and therefore will prioritize that. If you are concerned about the mobile compatibility of your website, you should hire an SEO service. 

Hiring a Professional SEO Service

Now that you know the benefits an SEO service provides try using one! Although it can be tempting to just look up free advice, you will often get inferior results by doing that. If you still aren’t convinced and believe that free advice is a good alternative, you could of course try to implement some of the free advice. However, if free advice is not giving you your desired results then it might be time to hire an SEO company like SEO Design Chicago.

SEO Design Chicago’s experienced SEO consultants can solve problems for all kinds of businesses. Whether you are local or national, we can provide a number of marketing services to help you gain more exposure.

FAQ: Why You Should be Wary of Free SEO Advice

1. How can I tell if free SEO advice online is outdated or unreliable?

Look for publication dates on articles and blog posts – SEO advice older than 6-12 months may be outdated due to frequent algorithm changes. Check if the source provides data, case studies, or references to support their claims. Be wary of advice that promises quick fixes or guaranteed rankings, as these are often outdated tactics that can harm your website. Reliable sources will mention recent Google updates and acknowledge that SEO is an ongoing process requiring constant adaptation.

2. What’s the typical cost difference between free SEO advice and professional services?

While free advice costs nothing upfront, it often leads to higher long-term costs through wasted time, ineffective strategies, and potential penalties from outdated tactics. Professional SEO services typically range from $500-$5,000+ monthly depending on business size and needs. However, 42% of small businesses invest in professional SEO because the ROI from proper implementation usually outweighs the cost. Consider that time spent researching and implementing free advice could be better used growing your business in other areas.

3. Can I start with free SEO advice and switch to professional services later?

Yes, but be cautious about implementing free advice that could harm your website’s ranking before switching to professionals. Some outdated or incorrect SEO tactics can result in Google penalties that take months to recover from. If you start with free advice, stick to basic, universally accepted practices like creating quality content and improving site speed. When you’re ready to invest in professional services, they can audit your current efforts and correct any issues while building a proper strategy.

4. How do I verify that an SEO service is legitimate and not just expensive bad advice?

Look for SEO services with verifiable case studies, client testimonials, and online reviews from multiple sources. Legitimate services will conduct a website audit before proposing solutions, provide transparent reporting, and explain their strategies clearly. Avoid services that guarantee specific rankings, use vague language about their methods, or pressure you into long-term contracts immediately. Ask for references from current clients and check their own website’s SEO performance as an indicator of their expertise.

5. What are the biggest risks of following free SEO advice found online?

The biggest risks include implementing outdated tactics that violate current Google guidelines, potentially resulting in ranking penalties or de-indexing. Free advice often lacks industry-specific guidance, leading to wasted effort on irrelevant strategies. You may also miss mobile optimization opportunities, as free advice frequently focuses only on desktop SEO. Additionally, generic advice can’t address your specific website’s technical issues or competitive landscape, leading to suboptimal results and lost opportunities.

6. How often do Google’s algorithms change, and why does this matter for SEO advice?

Google makes thousands of algorithm updates annually, with major updates happening several times per year that can significantly impact search rankings. This constant evolution means SEO strategies must continually adapt to remain effective. Professional SEO services monitor these changes closely and adjust strategies accordingly, while free online advice may not reflect the latest updates. What worked six months ago might be ineffective or even harmful today, which is why current, data-backed guidance is crucial.

7. Is it worth trying to do SEO myself if I have a limited budget?

If budget is tight, you can start with basic SEO fundamentals like creating quality content, optimizing page titles and descriptions, and improving site speed. However, avoid complex technical SEO or link-building strategies without proper knowledge, as mistakes can be costly to fix. Consider starting with a one-time SEO audit from a professional to identify priority issues, then implement basic fixes yourself while saving for ongoing professional services. Remember that poor SEO implementation can cost more in lost opportunities than investing in professional help from the start.