SEO scams: offers small business owners should ignore

Treat these as scams until proven otherwise: an email, call or ad that promises your business the top spot, a deal that comes with a deadline for results, or a warning that your listing is about to be removed unless you pay. Nobody outside Google can guarantee where you appear, and Google does not call businesses to sell them placement. Most of these offers want a monthly fee for work that does nothing, and some do real harm to your site. Here are the common ones and how to spot them.

The "guaranteed number one" promise

The classic pitch: "We'll have you on page one within a month, or you don't pay." Variations promise a top-three spot, a set number of new customers, or results "for any keyword".

Why it is a scam: nobody can promise a ranking, and Google itself says so in its own advice on hiring help. Where you appear depends on the searcher's location, their search history, your competitors, and Google's systems, none of which an outside company controls.

How they appear to deliver anyway:

They "guarantee" a phrase nobody searches for, like "affordable licensed plumber in North Elmwood Heights", then show you a screenshot of you appearing for it.
They show you results from their own computer, which can differ from what your customers see.
They count ads they bought with your money as "rankings".

When someone offers that kind of promise, ask which searches, measured how, and what happens to your money if it fails. The answers usually end the conversation.

The cold email that "noticed problems"

Almost every business with a website gets these:

"Hi, I was looking at your website and noticed it's not showing up on Google for important keywords. I found several errors that are hurting you. Can I send you a free report?"

Signs it is a mass email:

It does not mention anything specific to your business, or only your business name and website address pulled automatically.
It comes from a free email address or a company name you cannot find.
The "errors" are generic: "missing meta tags", "slow speed", "no backlinks".
It arrives again and again from different names.

Real businesses that do good work rarely find clients by mass-mailing strangers about vague errors. Delete it. If you are genuinely curious about your site's speed or setup, run your own free checks: pagespeed.web.dev for speed, Google Search Console for how Google sees your pages.

The phone call "from Google"

A caller says they are from Google, or "a Google partner", and your Business Profile is "unverified", "about to be suspended" or "not showing on Maps". They offer to fix it for a fee, or ask you to read out a code that Google just sent you by text.

This is a scam. Google does not make unsolicited sales calls to put you on Maps or keep your listing active, and managing your Business Profile is free. Never read out a verification code to anyone who calls you: that code lets them take control of your profile.

What to do: hang up, then sign in to your profile yourself, through business.google.com, and check that everything looks right and that only people you know are listed as managers. Getting your Google Business Profile back from an old agency helps if someone else already controls it.

Link packages and "backlinks"

The pitch: "Get 500 high-authority backlinks for one low price." A backlink is a link to your site from another site. Real links from respected local sources, such as your chamber of commerce, a supplier, a local newspaper, can help Google trust your business.

Bought links in bulk are different. They usually come from networks of junk websites set up only to sell links. Google's spam policies forbid buying links to influence search results. At best, Google ignores them, and you paid for nothing. At worst, your site gets a manual action and drops out of results until you clean it up. Google penalties explained covers what that looks like.

Fake reviews for sale

Offers to post dozens of five-star reviews on your Google profile. Google removes many of them and can put a warning on your profile, and the Federal Trade Commission's rule on fake reviews makes buying them a federal violation with fines. Why buying reviews backfires goes into detail.

Domain and listing "renewal" notices

Letters or emails that look like invoices: "Domain name expiration notice", "Annual listing renewal", "Search engine submission". They are often from companies you never did business with, hoping you pay without reading. Some try to move your domain to them at a much higher price.

Before you pay anything, check who your domain is actually registered with and when it really expires. Domain renewal scam letters and emails shows how to check.

"Search engine submission" for a fee is also a relic. Google finds websites on its own, and you can tell it about your site yourself, for free, in Search Console.

Monthly packages with nothing to show

Some services are not outright scams but deliver almost nothing for a monthly fee. Warning signs:

You cannot get a plain answer to "what did you do this month?" Reports full of charts but no list of actual changes.
They need your logins but will not say why.
They lock you into a long contract with a fee to cancel.
They say their methods are secret. Good work is not secret: it is clearer pages, a complete profile, honest reviews, fixing technical errors.
They own your listings or website. If they set up your Business Profile or domain under their own account, you may lose it when you stop paying.

Should you pay for SEO services lists the questions to ask a provider before you sign.

How to check any offer quickly

When an offer arrives, ask yourself:

Did I ask for this? Unrequested offers about your website are almost always mass marketing.
Do they promise a specific place in Google? No honest provider does.
Do they want a code, a password or payment today? Pressure is a red flag.
Can I find the company, with a real address and people, outside their own email?
Would I be able to see what they changed on my site, page by page?

If you already paid

Stop the payment if it is recurring. Your card company can help if the company does not respond.
Change passwords on any account you shared: website, hosting, domain, Google.
Check who manages your Google Business Profile and remove anyone you do not know.
Check your domain is still registered to you, with your email, at the registrar you expect.
Report it. The FTC accepts fraud reports at ftc.gov.

What to do this week

Make a folder or filter in your email for unsolicited SEO offers and stop reading them.
Sign in to your Google Business Profile and check who has access.
Look up who your domain is registered with and when it expires, so renewal letters cannot fool you.
If you pay for a monthly SEO service, ask them in writing for a list of what they changed in the last three months.

The honest work that helps Google understand your business starts with a clear website. If yours is out of date, you can see your site rebuilt first, with no promises about rankings and nothing to sign before you see it.