Our vetting checklist covers what to check before signing. This one covers the opposite: the specific things a bad offshore SEO company says and does, both during the sales call and three months into the contract, once the honeymoon period ends.
Red flags during the sales process
A guaranteed #1 ranking, in writing or verbally
Google's own guidance is explicit: no one can guarantee a specific ranking position, because Google's algorithm changes constantly and factors in signals no agency controls. Any company promising a guaranteed #1 spot is either misunderstanding how search works or lying to close the deal.
Pressure to sign the same day
SEO is a multi-month commitment. Legitimate agencies expect you to think it over, check references, and compare quotes. Urgency tactics, "this price is only good today", are a sales trick borrowed from industries that know their offer doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
Suspiciously cheap pricing
Standard offshore SEO retainers run $250-$800/month for most small and mid-sized businesses, per our own cost breakdown. A $49 or $99/month "unlimited SEO" offer isn't a bargain version of the same service, it's usually automated spam link submission with no actual strategy behind it.
The account-transfer request
If onboarding requires transferring full ownership of your Search Console, Analytics, or domain registrar into the agency's account rather than granting collaborator access, stop. This is the single most common way businesses lose control of their own SEO history.
Red flags that show up after month two or three
Reports get vaguer, not clearer
Early reports are often detailed because the agency wants to justify the new spend. Watch what happens by month three: if the report shrinks to a screenshot of keyword positions with no explanation of what work produced them, that's usually a sign the actual work has slowed down too.
Rankings move but traffic and leads don't
Keyword rank tracking is easy to report and easy to game with irrelevant, low-volume keywords. If your dashboard shows rankings climbing every month but Search Console impressions, clicks, and actual leads stay flat, ask specifically which keywords are ranking and whether they carry any real search volume.
Your point of contact keeps changing
A rotating cast of account managers, each one needing to be re-briefed on your business, usually means high internal turnover or an account that's been deprioritized. Ask directly whether you'll have one consistent point of contact for the length of the engagement.
Your backlink profile looks strange when you check it
Run your own domain through Ahrefs or a similar tool periodically. A backlink profile full of unrelated foreign-language sites, casino or pharma niches, or dozens of links from the same low-authority network is a sign of automated link placement rather than real outreach.
- Guaranteed rankings, in writing or on a call
- Same-day sign-up pressure with an expiring discount
- Pricing well below documented industry ranges
- A request for full account ownership rather than collaborator access
- Reports that get vaguer over time instead of more detailed
- Rankings climbing while traffic and leads stay flat
- No consistent, named point of contact
- A backlink profile full of unrelated, low-quality sites
What to do if you've already spotted one
Start by exporting everything you can, backup of your content, a list of backlinks built during the engagement, and current rankings, before you raise the issue, in case the response is to become unresponsive. Check your contract's cancellation terms and give the required notice in writing. If the backlink profile looks spammy, run it through Google's disavow tool as a precaution once the relationship ends. None of this requires drama, just documentation.
Already Working With Someone and Unsure?
Send us your current reports or backlink profile and we'll give you a straight read on whether it looks healthy.
Get a Free Second OpinionFrequently Asked Questions
Can an SEO company actually guarantee a #1 Google ranking?
No. Google itself states that no one can guarantee specific rankings, since the algorithm weighs many factors outside any agency's control. Treat this promise as an immediate warning sign.
What's the most common way businesses lose control of their own SEO?
Transferring full ownership of Search Console, Analytics, or domain accounts to the agency instead of granting collaborator-level access that can be revoked at any time.
How do I know if my rankings are real or vanity metrics?
Check whether the keywords being reported carry meaningful search volume and whether Search Console impressions, clicks, and actual leads are moving alongside the reported rankings.
What should I do if I think my current SEO agency is underperforming?
Export your content, backlink list, and current rankings first. Review your contract's cancellation notice period, and consider running your domain through a backlink checker to see whether the link profile looks healthy.
