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In today's digital world, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has become a crucial component to the online success of any business. However, as the demand for SEO services has increased, there has also been an increase in agencies and professionals promising extraordinary results, often without having the necessary skills or even deceiving or confusing the client. This article explores how to recognize a bad SEO, differentiate them from those who carry out effective marketing activities but which are not SEO, and discover real scams or deceptions to the detriment of their unsuspecting customers.
In short, if you do SEO, you must do Search Engine Optimization, everything that is not Search Engine Optimization is not SEO.
It's very common for so-called SEO or marketing agencies to claim to offer SEO services, but ultimately limit themselves to running advertising campaigns on various platforms and social media. The end client sees increased traffic, more visits, more orders, higher revenue, and increased profit, and becomes convinced that the consultant's work is excellent and that they're doing SEO, when in fact they're only running paid advertising campaigns, not SEO.
Differences between SEO and Advertising campaigns
To fully understand the differences between SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and advertising campaigns, it is essential to explore in detail the peculiarities, strategies and long-term implications of both methodologies.
SEO: A Marathon, Not a Sprint
SEO is a process that requires patience, consistency, and a holistic approach. Unlike advertising campaigns that generate instant visibility, SEO is a marathon that requires long-term investment. This methodology focuses on optimizing various elements of a website, such as content quality, usability, page loading speed, internal and external link structure, as well as the authoritativeness of the content creator.
The main goal is to improve organic visibility in search engine results, such as Google.
Key elements of SEO include:
- On-Page Optimization: Refers to all changes and optimizations made directly within the site, such as the quality and relevance of content, the use of strategic keywords, HTML tag structure and image optimization. This process involves careful analysis and improvement of the site's content to ensure that it is not only informative and useful to the user, but also structured to be easily indexable by search engines. The use of relevant keywords helps tell search engines what a page is about, while the structure of HTML tags, such as titles and meta tags, provides additional context and improves the site's understandability.
- Off-Page Optimization: extends beyond the boundaries of your website, encompassing a series of external activities that aim to strengthen the reputation and authority of the site in the eyes of search engines. At the heart of this strategy is the building of backlinks, or the practice of acquiring links from other websites that point to your own. These backlinks act as a type of vote of confidence in the digital context, signaling to search engines that other sites consider your site's content worthy of sharing or mentioning. The quality, relevance and authenticity of these links are crucial; Links from authoritative and relevant websites in your industry can have a significant impact on your site's ranking. At the same time, off-page optimization strategies also include activities like social media marketing and guest blogging, which not only help build backlinks but also increase visibility and brand awareness. Other practices such as participation in industry forums, viral content creation, and online reputation management play an essential role in influencing public perception and visibility of your site, thus indirectly contributing to its search engine rankings.
- Technical SEO: it is a fundamental component of the website optimization process, focusing on the technical aspects that directly influence its ranking in search engines. This area of SEO is primarily concerned with improving site loading speed, a critical factor for user experience and an important criterion for search engines. A fast website reduces abandonment rate and improves user engagement. Mobile responsiveness is another key aspect, given the constant increase in the use of mobile devices to access the Internet. A mobile-friendly site not only provides a better experience to users on mobile devices but is also preferred by search engines in terms of ranking. Finally, optimizing your site's code is crucial to ensuring that it is clean, efficient, and free from errors that could prevent search engines from crawling and indexing your site properly. This includes minification of CSS and JavaScript, use of Static Caches, fast communication protocols such as HTTP3 or QUIC. Optimized code also contributes to faster loading times and a better user experience, which search engines consider when evaluating a site's ranking.
Advertising Campaigns: Instant Visibility and Direct Costs
Advertising campaigns, on the other hand, offer immediate visibility through paid ads on search engines and social platforms. These ads are typically placed at the top of search results or on social media pages, and are marked as “sponsored” or “advertising.” Digital advertising campaigns are based on a cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-impression (CPM) model, where you pay per click or per thousand views.
Crucial aspects of advertising campaigns:
- Precise Targeting: Advertising campaigns allow you to target specific demographics, interests and behaviors, offering the possibility of reaching the desired audience in a very direct way.
- Measurable Results: Provide real-time data on ad effectiveness, including clicks, impressions, conversions and ROI (return on investment).
- Flexibility and Control: Allow you to modify, optimize or stop the campaign at any time based on results or available budget.
Advertising campaigns and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) represent two fundamental but fundamentally different approaches to digital marketing. While SEO focuses on the organic and natural positioning of content, improving a site based on search engine ranking factors, advertising campaigns focus on forced and paid positioning of content.
A clarifying example is the promotion of a product such as "pleated mosquito nets". In an advertising campaign, you could simply create a website, a landing page or an e-commerce site and then launch an advertising campaign, where you participate in a sort of auction in Google ADS to ensure that the ad appears in Google's sponsored results . This process does not require advanced SEO skills, just basic knowledge of Google ADS. However, appearing in sponsored results is no guarantee that the click will lead to a sale, nor that the site is optimized to maximize conversions. Indeed, your site could be unattractive, slow or poorly structured and still get a high position in sponsored results, simply because you paid for that visibility.
On the other hand, organically ranking "pleated mosquito nets" within the top five results on Google requires a completely different technical approach and advanced SEO skills. This process includes optimizing site content, improving speed and usability, and ensuring the site meets search engine ranking criteria. A high organic ranking is significantly more valuable, as savvy users know that if a site appears at the top of the results without ads, there must be a valid reason why Google has placed it so highly.
While advertising campaigns can offer immediate visibility, they do not necessarily indicate SEO expertise. On the contrary, effective SEO work leads to organic positioning which not only improves the visibility of the site, but also increases its authority and trust on the part of users. This distinction is crucial for companies trying to understand how to effectively invest in digital marketing and what strategies to adopt to maximize the return on online investments.
The Key Difference: Organic vs Paid Visibility
The fundamental distinction between Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and online advertising lies primarily in the nature of the visibility gained. With SEO, visibility is achieved organically, meaning a web page appears in search results based solely on its relevance and usefulness, as perceived by search engines. There is no payment involved for positioning in these prime search results areas. This approach not only gives lasting value to this visibility, but can also significantly strengthen a brand's image, building a substantial level of trust and credibility among users.
In contrast, in the case of advertising, visibility is the result of advertising expenditures. This method can undoubtedly generate an immediate influx of traffic to a site, but the visibility gained through advertising does not have the same longevity nor does it offer the perception of authenticity associated with organic traffic generated by SEO . Users, recognizing a sponsored link positioned at the top of search results on platforms like Google, understand that its presence is merely the result of financial investments and not the intrinsic merit of the content offered. In niche market contexts, where users are more knowledgeable about how paid positioning mechanisms work, they are likely to choose to ignore sponsored results, instead focusing on organic results, which are perceived as more valuable and authentic.
Furthermore, the effect of visibility gained through advertising is temporary; once the dedicated budget is exhausted, visibility quickly dissipates. This is in stark contrast to a well-planned, long-term SEO strategy, which aims to establish a solid and ongoing online presence. SEO techniques, by their very nature, are designed to build and maintain results that not only last over time but can improve with further optimization and ongoing content updates, thus ensuring a lasting and significant impact on a website's online visibility.
A good SEO requires a site that complies with the Core Web Vitals
In the context of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Google Core Web Vitals represent a crucial set of metrics used to evaluate a website's user experience. Google has clearly distinguished these factors from so-called Vanity Metrics, explaining that unlike the latter, which may appear impressive but do not influence ranking, Core Web Vitals are actual ranking factors.
Vanity Metrics, such as the number of unique visitors or page views, can give the illusion of a performing website without having a direct impact on its ranking in search results.
Core Web Vitals encompass three key aspects: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). LCP measures the loading speed of the page's main content, FID evaluates how quickly the site responds to user interactions, and CLS quantifies the visual stability of the page during loading.
We, for example, with our company website managedserver.it are not satisfied with being "one among many", but we claim to excel knowing how important it is to pass the Google speed assessment. We work hard to pass tests on both desktop and mobile devices. To achieve this result we spare no expense.
Obviously, working hard on this technical front helps us rank high on Google's SERPs for strategic and highly competitive keywords, which helps us get found and close sales for our services. For example, we're in the top three for the keyword "Dedicated Servers":
This allows us to have good visibility and authority, avoiding having to pay for clicks on paid ads which, in our specific sector, that of Dedicated Servers and hosting, can even exceed 5 euros per click.
Considering that we receive on average at least 500 clicks per month for that keyword, it means that every month we generate a traffic value for that keyword of at least 2500 euros, which we would have had to pay to Google to be seen in the sponsored ones, if we had not been positioned organically with the SEO work we have done.
Having a website that exceeds the Core Web Vitals , on both desktop and mobile, is essentially proof that you've optimized your site in line with Google's expectations. This not only improves your search rankings, but also ensures an optimal user experience , especially important in competitive markets where a superior user experience can make all the difference.
Additionally, Core Web Vitals ensure that your site is accessible and performs well even on older devices or with slower internet connections, such as 3G or poor coverage.
In this context, a good SEO or marketing agency will focus on long-term strategies to ensure the website meets or exceeds the Core Web Vitals . This commitment demonstrates a deep understanding of how Google evaluates websites and a commitment to optimizing not only for search engines but also for the end user experience.
Google itself, among its reports, releases the scores of your site's pages, which may be good, bad, or in need of improvement. If you want to do yourself and your business a favor, always insist on at least a monthly report of the above data, or ask for your Google Search Console login credentials so you can see for yourself what your SEO is up to.
If you see pages that don't pass Google's usability tests, or PageSpeed tests that don't pass the Core Web Vitals , ask your SEO or marketing expert about it and ask in detail if they're making the site compliant with Google's Web Vitals. If they say it's not important, change it immediately; they're cheating you.
While paid advertising campaigns can be used to temporarily compensate for SEO shortcomings and generate immediate traffic, the ultimate goal should be to build a website that naturally excels in organic rankings. This strategic approach not only increases the site's long-term visibility, but also reduces reliance on expensive advertising campaigns, improving ROI and ensuring a steady flow of traffic and conversions based on the quality and effectiveness of the site itself.
A good SEO has their site compliant with Google standards and Core Web Vitals.
The effectiveness of an SEO consultant can be quickly assessed by looking at their company website. It's a fundamental principle that an SEO expert's website must meet the highest optimization standards, especially in relation to Google's Core Web Vitals . Those who hide behind sayings like "The cobbler walks around with broken shoes" often prove inadequate in our industry. The website of an agency offering SEO services must be a shining example of optimization excellence.
A site that exceeds the Core Web Vitals testifies not only to the SEO agency's technical expertise but also to its commitment to following the most up-to-date guidelines provided by Google.
Google itself ultimately requires and encourages website owners to have sites that comply with the Core Web Vitals . It seems foolish to not comply with Google's guidelines, knowing full well that it will be Google itself that will examine your website and decide whether to reward you or hide you on the tenth page.
Below, for example, is the website of a well-known web marketing and SEO company that ultimately ends up only running ad campaigns. What's even more worrying and obvious is the statement, "Find out what your real users' experience is like: no data."
The message “See what your real users’ experience is like: No data” in Google’s Core Web Vitals tests indicates that there isn’t enough data to provide insight into real users’ experience on your website.
When you receive this message, it means that Google hasn't collected enough data from real visitors to your site to provide meaningful analysis. This can happen for various reasons:
- Low traffic: If your site has relatively low traffic, there may not be enough visits to generate reliable data.
- New site or recent changes: If your site is new or has undergone recent changes (such as a domain change or significant renovation), there may not be enough history for the data.
Understand that an SEO agency with a presence of at least 5 years, which has no traffic, is an agency that should be avoided regardless for SEO activities. That doesn't mean I'm not good at other things, though, but SEO is definitely not.
Furthermore, demonstrating the ability to optimize your website according to these parameters is a clear indicator of the quality of work that the agency can offer its clients.
In other words, an SEO agency that does not apply these practices to its website lacks credibility and trust, essential in an industry where technical skills and transparency are the key to building long-lasting and profitable relationships with clients.
A website optimized according to Core Web Vitals is not just a showcase for potential clients, but is tangible proof of the effectiveness and reliability of the SEO agency itself.
Conclusions
In an increasingly crowded and competitive digital market, it's crucial for every client to demand clarity and specificity in the SEO services offered by agencies or consultants. Specifically, when it comes to technical SEO, clients should explicitly request that their websites be optimized to pass Google's Core Web Vitals test. This requirement not only ensures that the site is technically cutting-edge, but also that the SEO practices adopted are aligned with the latest and most relevant search engine evaluation metrics.
While advertising campaigns can provide immediate and tangible results in terms of visibility and traffic, they shouldn't be the sole digital marketing strategy. Even when a company has a large budget that allows for aggressive advertising campaigns and a good return on advertising investment (ROAS), it's crucial to consider a balanced approach that includes a thorough website review and optimization. This process should focus on meeting Core Web Vitals requirements , improving hosting, and adopting SEO best practices. This way, a company can gradually reduce its reliance on sponsored campaigns, consolidating the results achieved and achieving a valuable organic search engine ranking.
A consultant or agency that focuses exclusively on advertising campaigns, without paying due attention to organic SEO and compliance with Core Web Vitals , isn't operating in the true spirit of SEO. Instead, they're simply promoting paid visibility, which is the exact opposite of what SEO is intended to do. To realize a website's full potential and ensure its sustainability and growth over time, it's essential that technical SEO and continuous improvement of the user experience are key elements of a company's digital strategy. This approach will not only lead to increased organic traffic, but will also ensure the website is well-positioned to capitalize on emerging trends and future evolutions in the digital landscape.
