Here is why you should be weary when you get a cold call from an SEO consultant or agency.
First and foremost, it tells you that they may not be practicing what they preach.
Their whole business centers around increasing Google rankings and web traffic for clients, and yet them cold calling indicates that they may not be able to rank for keywords related to their industry or generate traffic for their site.
To illustrate this, lets take a look at the Google traffic for the keywords “SEO consultant” and “SEO agency San Francisco."
“SEO consultant” generates 1,000-10,000 searches per month, while “SEO agency San Francisco” generates 100-1,000 searches a month.
An SEO agency that is worth their salt should be able to rank for these keywords or be saavy enough to run effective Google Adwords campaigns for them.
Another reason why you should be weary of SEO cold callers is that there are no qualifications required to be an SEO consultant or agency.
Thus, it is very difficult to discern the skills of an SEO by what they say over the phone.
They may tell you that they are Google Adwords or Analytics certified or a Google Premier Partner, but these certifications are very easy to get.
Being Google Adwords certified simply requires you to pass a test for which all of the answers are easily available online.
In conclusion, there is very little reason for an SEO consultant or agency to be cold calling you, as they should be able to generate enough business through SEO or Google Adwords alone.
What has your experience been with SEO cold callers? Feel free to comment on Twitter.