Why Singapore Marketers Should Avoid Cheap SEO Packages

SEO Packages

When it comes to the subject of SEO, there are no shortages of opinions. While some people believe that it is an excellent way to attract organic traffic to your website, others feel that this process can really drain on your budget which can be inconvenient. This is an ongoing debate in the field of digital marketing. However, what is not debated is the importance of search engine optimisation to online marketing. This is especially the case when you consider how much competition your business is up against.

And crucial factor in succeeding with this process is making sure that you use the proper strategies and execute them well. But perhaps the most important factor in conducting great SEO is to be able to identify quality SEO services. More specifically, you should be able to distinguish between services that are prime and those that are merely cheap. Let’s discuss a few reasons why you should avoid cheap packages. But first, why is SEO so important?

Why SEO is So Important

If you’re interested in scaling your online traffic, then SEO is one of the best methods that you can use. This isn’t to say that it is not a challenge. There are many competitive industries and countless amount of companies that are all vying for their share of the attention and visibility. But if you invest in quality SEO services, then you are more likely to be able to surpass the competition and achieve the rankings that you’re striving for.

What makes SEO so vital is that as technology advances and users turn to the help of the internet more often, customers are now performing more product research, Before they actually buy your products or services, they want to know as much about them as possible. From pricing to availability, they are always in pursuit of more information.

And this means that they spend a lot of time putting their search queries into the search engines, relying on the search results to offer the best companies. In fact, on Google alone, there are over 3.5 billion searches each and every day. So if your brand is able to rank well in this search engine’s organic results, then it’s very likely that you will be able to build trust, credibility and generate more traffic sales. And SEO is the foundation of it all.

Why You Should Avoid ‘Cheap’ or ‘Affordable’ SEO Packages

When you really take the time to consider how important search engine optimisation is to your digital marketing strategy, you can understand why it’s crucial that you employ services that are of the highest quality. As millennials become more tech-savvy, a group that accounted for more than 50% of all online purchases during 2017, they are becoming the number one consumer demographic. This means that SEO and digital marketing will only become more relevant in the future as they continue to research their own products and independently curate content.

As discussed earlier, if you want to capitalise on this trend and get the most out of SEO, then it’s important that you have the right strategy and execution. There are a lot of businesses that focus on finding a cheap provider, however, these companies often have one-size-fits-all mentality. You need to get ahead of the competition and invest in a high-quality SEO service that can customise the approach to your goals and needs is a must. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you’re deciding whether or not you should purchase a cheap SEO package.

1. Cheap Packages Fail With Basic SEO Requirements

In general, two of the most important ingredients for basic SEO is backlinks and content. These factors also happen to be the most capital and labour intensive. And this means that they account for a significant portion of your SEO strategy. Even at this most basic and fundamental level, we can see that the amount of credibility that “affordable” SEO packages start to dwindle. These types of companies offer cheap services because they don’t have a sufficient amount of capital which means that they are unable to provide high-quality, long-form content or earn guest post placement on sites that are considered to be a high authority.

Price & Value Comparison

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Long-form content can help to add value to your website. And it requires a substantial amount of research, time, and skill to craft the ideal piece. In many cases, cheap packages are offered by agencies that don’t have the resources to create this type of content. In fact, they often turn to article scraping software that spins online articles and transforms them into “new” posts. This has a negative effect on the structure and grammar of these articles.

When users visit your website, they consider your content to be a direct reflection of your brand. So this type of method can damage your reputation. On top of all of this, these agencies don’t have the time to conduct simple link outreach and this often results in poor or cheap quality links that have very little value, if any at all. Singapore businesses should avoid this at all costs.

2. Cheap Packages Result In Ineffective Link Building

Years ago, the quality of your link didn’t matter. In fact, the more links you were able to accrue the better, no matter where they came from. Companies that had the most links were automatically favoured in the organic search results. So Singapore website owners didn’t have to worry about creating content that was engaging. However, eventually things would change and best practices would indicate that webmasters should emphasise quality over quantity. But still, there are companies that still use the same, “the more links, the better,” approach even though Google algorithms don’t favour it.

Link Building

What many Singapore companies don’t realise is that by investing in cheap SEO packages, they are putting their brand at tremendous risk. Not only does Google not favour companies that use low-quality links, but they also tend to penalise them.

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What most cheap SEO agencies have in common is that they promise to offer high quantity links. As you can see, this means very little if they don’t have the quality to go along with them. Unfortunately, these companies will use automated software to build and then publish your links on websites that have no authority or little to no trust.

At best, this will only waste your money and cause Google to ignore your website. At worst, your website could be blacklisted altogether. In which case, your website would be completely removed from the organic search results. The process of getting this reverse can cost a lot in both time and money.

3. Cheap Packages Result In a Generic Approach

One of the things that you will notice when you are working with an agency that offers cheap SEO packages is that they tend to offer set pricing, all across the board. To most experienced marketers, this would be considered a huge red flag. Why is that? Well, no two businesses are exactly the same. Each will require a different approach–one that is specifically tailored to the company’s circumstances and goals.

Strategy

In fact, when it comes to choosing the perfect package for your business, you will find that there are a large number of variables that come into play when considering which growth strategy is the perfect one for you. For example, the company would take your budget into consideration. They would consider your industry and how competitive it is. A quality SEO company would also take your current SEO status into account and find out if they need to help you recover from certain penalties.

A reputable SEO company is interested in getting to know more about the structure of your business. They want to know whether or not it operates nationally, locally, or overseas. They also want to know-how of a demand there is for your products or services.

This type of research is essential to the success of your SEO campaign, as it will assist you with optimising your spending and gives you the ability to create something designed specifically for your brand. While quality agencies ask important questions, those that offer cheap SEO packages are simply focused on high volume.

4. Cheap Packages Leave No Room for Accountability

Because low-quality agencies are solely focused on delivering volume, they don’t really form long-term business relationships. And this means that they don’t bear much accountability when they deliver services that are substandard. Unfortunately, there are many companies that find themselves starting to get frustrated and ending the relationship. However, by this time, the agency has already secured more clients and are perfectly fine with the idea of ending your contract.

Shouting

And when you think about the devastating effects that can come from using cheap SEO packages, and it can be extremely disheartening and aggravating to have to bear all of this responsibility on your own. This is especially the case when you think about the financial capital that goes into a project like this. This is the exact opposite of the average, healthy business relationship. In a healthy business relationship, each party involved shares a mutual desire to create a long-lasting interaction. They all want to resolve the issues that could threaten the partnership.

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Even if you receive an email from low-quality providers, there is a very good chance that it is one that has been delivered to several companies on their database. These particular approaches are only designed to generate a high volume of business as well as secure one-off payments as fast as they possibly can. It is a sign that the firm is not interested in a long-term collaboration.

5. Cheap Packages Don’t Offer Long-term Strategy

No matter what some companies may tell you, SEO is not a quick fix solution. It takes a great deal of time and patience in order to achieve your desired results. This is particularly the case with industries that are very competitive or in situations in which your firm has been penalised by Google.

get google ranking ad

In fact, in the early stages of your SEO campaign, you will find that there is a great demand for a significant financial investment with no noticeable payoff. And this can be especially frustrating for business owners who have little to no SEO experience. Sure, you will experience a boost in your organic rankings in the near future, but Singapore business owners should keep in mind that it can take some time to get to Google’s first page.

Long term strategy

The companies that are on Google’s first page will usually reap the biggest benefits in terms of the quality and quantity of their website traffic. This brings us to our final point as it concerns companies who decide to work with low-quality agencies who offer cheap packages. By working with a high-quality company, you can ensure that your campaign lasts longer and is, therefore, more effective and yields actual results. Conversely, cheap SEO packages focus on delivering short-term, basic results.

The Takeaway

There is no doubt about it, cheap SEO packages can be very tempting. This is especially the case when you consider the current economic and business climate. However, it’s important that Singapore businesses prioritise the actual value of services over their cost. In fact, this is especially important when it comes to SEO where the amount that you choose to spend and the service provider that you choose will have a direct effect on the results you get.

If you would like to ensure that your brand is treated to quality SEO, then you should never search for a cheap SEO package. These types of services usually end in low-quality content, substandard link outreach and could cost you a great deal of money to repair the damage that is done to your company. Instead of getting a quick fix, think about the long-term success of your business. Consider how the company will help you to achieve your goals in the long run.

About the Author

Tom Koh

Tom is the CEO and Principal Consultant of MediaOne, a leading digital marketing agency. He has consulted for MNCs like Canon, Maybank, Capitaland, SingTel, ST Engineering, WWF, Cambridge University, as well as Government organisations like Enterprise Singapore, Ministry of Law, National Galleries, NTUC, e2i, SingHealth. His articles are published and referenced in CNA, Straits Times, MoneyFM, Financial Times, Yahoo! Finance, Hubspot, Zendesk, CIO Advisor.

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