It happens regularly: an unusually friendly voice on the phone uses my name three times in the first sentence, because the sales training said customers like that. Then come compliments on my website. And then the catch: sadly, the site isn’t optimised for Google, and urgent action is needed. Either the caller is a former Google employee or has an SEO agency “recommended by Google” behind them.
The remarkable part: I’m an SEO expert, and my German page has been on page 1 of Google for “SEO-Experte Hamburg” since 2013, often in first place. When I ask which website they’re actually talking about, I only get evasive answers. That’s when it’s clear the caller has no idea who they’re talking to. A copywriter from Hamburg even told me she got these calls about a website that wasn’t online yet.
In this article I draw on my experience in online marketing since 1999 to show you how dubious providers operate, how to recognise a trustworthy SEO agency and why you should never hand over SEO completely. At the end you’ll find what to do if you’ve lost trust in your current agency.
Why are there so many dubious SEO agencies?
Because for many clients SEO is a black box. Results take time and are hard to verify – which makes life easy for dubious providers.
Every industry has its cowboys, but in search engine optimisation they have a particularly easy time – especially in cities like Hamburg with a crowded market. You can see the progress of a new website straight away. SEO, on the other hand, is intangible, and results often take months to show.
That long wait is a convenient excuse. If an agency doesn’t explain its work, you can neither follow nor check what it’s doing with your money. A professional agency offers full transparency here. Unfortunately, some providers exploit exactly this blind spot.
How do dubious SEO agencies operate?
The pattern is almost always the same.
1. Sales promises the top spot
It starts with a sales team that calls or emails you. The salespeople are often paid high commissions, so they’re highly motivated. They promise to get you to number one in no time. Ask how, and you’ll hear: “We have our methods, but of course we can’t reveal them.”
Another favourite is the revenue projection: “This is how many clicks you’d get in first place – and this is what that’s worth.” All you see is the goal of “first place”. What’s being sold is a dream: pay once, and customers will come by themselves.
2. A long contract and a new contact
The contract usually runs for 12 or 24 months, with a set-up fee plus a monthly retainer. Once you’ve signed, the salesperson vanishes – they’re already chasing the next client. You get a new contact who suddenly takes a very different tone. Quite often, the person looking after you is just starting out themselves. The boss never deals with you personally. There’s a “back office” you have no access to. Transparency: zero.
3. Keyword-stuffed copy and links from anywhere
Next, you notice your website copy being mangled. Keywords are crammed in at all costs, with no regard for your audience. If you care about how your brand comes across, it hurts.
Then come the backlinks – links from other websites to yours. Backlinks matter for SEO; that’s no secret. The problem starts when they come, sometimes automatically, from forums or directories that have nothing to do with your topic.
4. Rankings rise – then comes the reckoning
In the short term your rankings may even improve. That’s exactly when the agency asks you for a review. A few months later Google often delivers the reckoning: rankings collapse. Google’s systems are getting better and better at spotting low-quality copy and bought links. Some providers then charge an extra fee to remove the links they placed themselves – paid for by you.
The worst part: you never had any influence, because you never got to see their hand.
New since AI search: promises of “AI visibility”
As AI search tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews grow in importance, the same pattern has a new label: guaranteed mentions in ChatGPT, or mass-produced pages “for the AI”. The same rules apply as for Google: nobody can guarantee a mention, and volume without value tends to backfire. What trustworthy optimisation for AI search looks like is explained in GEO vs. SEO.
How do you recognise a trustworthy SEO agency?
A trustworthy SEO agency explains what it does, proves its results, doesn’t promise rankings and works with you rather than without you.
Use this checklist when choosing:
- Its own visibility: does the agency rank on Google for its own key terms? If it can’t manage that for itself, it rarely manages it for clients.
- Evidence: can it back up results with real figures, case studies and named client testimonials?
- Explained methods: does it explain clearly what it plans to do and why? “Secret methods” are a red flag.
- No guarantees: reputable providers don’t guarantee rankings. Google’s own guidance on hiring an SEO states that no one can guarantee a number one ranking.
- Access to everything: you get access to Search Console, analytics and a list of all measures, including links.
- A named contact: you know who works on your project and can reach them.
- Business-focused reports: reports show not just rankings but enquiries and revenue too.
- Fair contracts: terms and notice periods are reasonable, and services are clearly described.
You can read more about how I work as an SEO consultant in Hamburg.
Why is a shoestring budget for an agency a bad idea?
Maybe your budget is small and you think: for a modest monthly fee, an agency can look after my SEO. That’s not a good idea – not because the money is too little, but because it’s spent in the wrong place.
An agency has to analyse your audience, work on your positioning and your website, and learn about your industry – knowledge you already have. On a shoestring budget that can’t be done properly. You know your customers far better than any service provider. So it’s often smarter to learn to optimise your website yourself. Business owners who invest a small budget in themselves – in books, courses or a few sessions with an expert – usually get further.
Why should SEO stay on the boss’s desk?
Because visibility on Google decides how many new customers you win. In small and mid-sized companies it belongs with management – even if someone else does the hands-on work.
The CEO of a large corporation won’t do their own keyword research; there are whole departments for that. But in smaller companies without a marketing department, SEO is a leadership issue. You can appoint someone to handle it, but there always has to be a dialogue with the agency, however good it is. Handing everything over means letting go of the wheel.
You have to make time for it. If someone wants to work with me but can’t spare one or two hours a week, I decline. It doesn’t help anyone. It’s like physiotherapy: if you say “make me better” and never do your exercises, the result will be poor – and in the end the therapist gets the blame.
I explain in detail why SEO belongs on the management agenda in SEO for CEOs and managing directors.
Learn to read the reports
Most things aren’t that complicated – but you have to engage with them and learn to read the reports. Have you ever received blood test results and understood everything? I haven’t. You need someone to explain what matters. SEO reports are no different. As a business owner you juggle many topics and rarely have time to work through everything alone. It’s easier when someone shows you the way.
Is SEO worth it at all?
Honestly: I’ve tried almost every advertising channel there is – apart from cinema ads. My conclusion after working online since 1999: for me, SEO is the best way to build lasting reach and win new customers. Organic visitors don’t cost you per click, and a page that ranks well works around the clock. My own position on Google proves the point: since 2013 my German page has been on page 1 for “SEO-Experte Hamburg”, often in first place – without paid ads.
What should you do if you’re not doing any SEO yet?
Start today. If you don’t have the budget for an agency, read up: there are plenty of good guides and webinars on search engine optimisation. Check how current they are – what worked ten years ago can do harm today.
Keyword stuffing is a good example. Back in the day, keywords were crammed into copy en masse, sometimes even in white text on a white background. That stopped working long ago. Google sees through it, and in the worst case you end up worse off than before the “optimisation”. I explain which fundamentals matter today in what is SEO?.
In my free SEO Compass you enter your address, answer a few short questions and within a few minutes you see where your biggest levers are – no sign-up needed.
How does a good SEO agency work with you?
A good agency works with you, not without you, and makes every step transparent. But a good working relationship requires you to build a basic understanding of search engine optimisation. Then you can steer your agency far more effectively.
That’s exactly why I created two routes:
- SEOrocket: a structured programme in six modules that helps you and your team understand quickly what your website needs – and tackle it. Even if you need help with individual points afterwards, you’ll know what you’re buying. More under SEOrocket.
- SEO online coaching: for anyone for whom a one-to-one programme isn’t the right fit. With learning videos and support, so you’re never stuck alone with a question – especially important for beginners. More under SEO coaching.
What optimisation costs depends on the state of your website, your competition and your goals. After a short conversation you get a clear proposal. If you want the implementation handled for you, my team at SEOeffekt takes care of it – transparently and with full access to all data.
How do you make sure your SEO strategy actually gets implemented?
Plenty of companies have a solid SEO strategy sitting in a drawer – they just lack the time to put it into practice. So when you choose a partner, make sure they don’t just advise but roll up their sleeves too: writing copy, fixing technical issues, building the pages that are missing. Ideally all from one team, so nothing gets lost between strategy and execution.
Agree on regular check-ins to review progress and keep a list of what gets done by when. That way you can see at any time whether the strategy is actually reaching your website. You can read how ongoing implementation by my team works under SEO services.
What’s the difference between SEO consulting and an SEO agency?
SEO consulting develops the strategy with you and builds know-how inside your company. A classic SEO agency mainly executes, often in standard packages.
Many classic agencies sell fixed packages: so many articles, so many links a month. That can work if it’s clear what your website needs. Often, though, that clarity is exactly what’s missing – and then work gets done without anyone questioning the strategy. Transparency and strategic value quickly fall by the wayside.
Good SEO consulting starts one step earlier. It works out which search terms match your customers, which pages are missing and in what order to tackle things. And it explains all this so you can follow and shape every decision. With me it’s not either-or: I own the strategy, and you decide whether you implement it yourself, with your team or with my team at SEOeffekt. You can read how that works under SEO consulting.
Is SEO worth it for niche manufacturers and B2B mid-sized companies?
Yes. In niches, few people search – but they’re exactly the right decision-makers, and often hardly any competitor ranks well yet. Whether it pays off for you can be calculated honestly up front.
Many mid-sized companies have won new customers through trade fairs, field sales and referrals for years. That still works, but buyers now start their research on Google and increasingly in AI search. If you don’t show up there for your industry’s terms, you don’t make the shortlist. For a niche manufacturer, a search term with just a few dozen searches a month can be worth it if a single order pays for a year’s work.
Before you invest, we work through the business case together, honestly: how many enquiries do you need, what is a customer worth, how often do people search for what you offer? Only then do we build a strategy for your industry. More under B2B SEO.
What should you do if you no longer trust your SEO agency?
First secure all your logins, ask for a written list of the work done and get an independent second opinion. Only then decide whether to course-correct or switch.
The invoices are opaque, rankings and traffic have stalled, and your questions get vague answers? Then it’s time to act – but not in a rush. Here’s how:
- Secure your access: Search Console, analytics, your Google Business Profile and your domain are in your name, not the agency’s.
- Ask for the work done: get a written list of everything implemented in recent months – copy, technical changes and above all every link.
- Compare the numbers: put the trend in clicks, enquiries and revenue next to the agency’s reports. Do they match?
- Check the contract: how long does it still run, what’s the notice period, who owns the content created?
- Get a second opinion: have the work reviewed by someone who doesn’t earn from it.
After that you’ll know whether it’s enough to reset the relationship or whether a switch is needed so your website supports your business goals again.
Who can review your SEO agency’s work independently?
You get an independent second opinion from SEO consultants who offer audits without trying to sell you the implementation at the same time. An SEO audit is a systematic review of your website, your rankings and the work done so far: what worked, what did harm, what’s missing? Ideally, get it done before you renew a contract.
I offer second opinions like this myself, for companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. You get an honest assessment – even if it turns out to be: your agency is doing a good job. Just send me a message below, or read first how my SEO consulting works. For a first impression of where your website stands, try the free SEO Compass.
Why is your own knowledge the best insurance?
The truth about SEO agencies isn’t that they’re all dubious. Most do good work. But dubious providers have an easy time as long as SEO remains a black box for their clients. The best insurance is your own basic knowledge: if you understand what’s happening, you’ll spot empty promises immediately and be able to steer a good agency with purpose.
You’ll find more guides on the blog and an overview of everything I offer under SEO solutions.
