SEO Spam, we all get it, nobody wants it. So what’s the motivation behind it? Peak District SEO owner Phil, asks why these so-called SEOs send these emails.
SEO Spam, we all get it, nobody wants it. So what’s the motivation behind it? Every single day I get an email from a so-called SEOs offering me SEO services. Every single day I consigne the emails to the spam bin before clearing them out.
The standard format goes something like:
Now, I admire the entrepreneurial spirit of people who get off their backsides and hustle up some cash. I really do. However, this is not the way to do it, in my opinion.
I’m sure that somewhere, someone is replying to these emails and getting completely ripped off. Probably having their personal data and credit card details stolen, too.
Or, perhaps, in some magical, Unicorn land, these people are REAL SEOs with amazing skills and they really are getting websites to number one on Google for 20 chosen keywords. I doubt that very much.
Basic Professionalism
Let it be stated here for the record that there are levels of professionalism. Personally, I do not like too much formality. I prefer a friendly, more personal way of doing business. That said, the basics have to be in place before things can happen.
Imagine sitting in your work office and suddenly someone barges in and hits you with a sales pitch, in broken English. Would you go for it? Unlikely, so why do people try it via email?
Do Some Research
Do some basic research on the client you are emailing. Most of the emails I get tell me I’m not ranking for my “chosen keywords”. At least look at who you are emailing, at least check the keyword positions.
Sort Your Email Address Out
However, emailing people from a Yahoo email address is probably only acceptable if you’re over 65 or under 16. If you don’t have your own website domain and associated email address, then why would I trust you to look after my website?
Sort Your Pitch Out
Pitching is hard. Even if you’re good at it. Even if you close a deal 99% of all time, it takes work and a proper formula. Which is why, every morning when I open my emails and sigh as I see the SEO spam, I think
“Perhaps today one will be ok, maybe today, I’ll be impressed by the pitch.”
I never am.
Sort Your Grammar Out
Let’s not be prudish about grammar here.
We all make grammar mistakes here and there. Most of us have made grammatical mistakes. Let’s be honest about it.
I’ve found them in books, newspapers, the BBC website, etc. It happens, let’s accept it, it’s not the end of the world. It’s a human error, and a fairly low-level one in my book. However, if you want to win trust, I would think that your pitch has to be pretty much error-free.
The person who sent this morning’s email didn’t have an English surname and the content of her email reflects that English probably isn’t her first language.
If I were a non-English person sending emails to businesses based in England, the first thing I’d do is get somebody who is fluent in English to check the content.
Or, imagine this crazy idea, I’d use a spellchecker. Or maybe Grammarly. You could avoid glaring errors like this:
Don’t Be Conned By Speculative SEO Emails.
The idealistic part of my personality likes to imagine that the person behind each email is a poor but plucky SEO in a developing country, just hoping and praying for that big break. We all need a break to get started, right?
If this is the case, though, they need to get a proper email address and a website so that prospective customers can read case studies, see reviews, and blogs, etc.
Band together to form a cooperative, but do it. The opportunity will come.
The cynical side of my personality thinks that it’s probably just some huge organised crime ring, autogenerating emails and sender’s addresses. They are sending out thousands, no millions, of emails each day.
They are praying on the cash-strapped, non-techy website owner who thinks $20 a day for SEO is about right. Subsequently, these criminals are making a lot of money, even if just 1% of people respond to their pitch.
Nobody wins with this approach.
If the spammers are genuine SEO practitioners, they just have to up their game. If they are organised criminals, they could still improve their tactics. Thankfully, for now, the emails are pretty lame, and most of us are safe.
Either way, the only kind thing to do is to add the email to our spam bin.
It seems a bit fruitless, as they keep coming. However, the more we mark as spam, the harder it is for them to continue in the same manner.
Do not respond to them directly. You are putting your personal details at risk.
Just add them to the spam bin and move on. There’ll be another two or three to read by the end of the week.
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I’m Phil Gregory, the MD and founder of Peak District SEO.
I’m an SEO & Google Ads Consultant with 27+ years of experience in I.T and helping UK Businesses improve website performance.
I built my first website in 1998, then I discovered the joys of website optimisation and never looked back.
If you want a no-nonsense, no-hard-sell approach and to actually get your website fixed with a solid, affordable, long-term approach, hit the contact button today.
Peak District SEO is a UK-based Digital Marketing Company.
We help businesses make more money, using traditional Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) , Ai Search / GEO and paid advertising (PPC).
Why Peak District SEO?
27+ years of experience.
80+ 5* reviews on Google
Our customers have hundreds of page one and position 1 rankings, and we can prove it.
We’ve helped hundreds of SMEs in the UK
We have numerous articles published across the web discussing SEO.
We regularly publish case studies about the work we’ve done
Customers trust our service – See our reviews on Google, Trustpilot and Facebook
Our customers have hundreds of page one and position 1 rankings and we can prove it.
