The Journey to Finding the Right SEO Partner
🔁 From Burned to Thriving The Journey to Finding the Right SEO Partner
Let’s talk about a story that’s way too common in the business world — especially for startups, small agencies, and eCommerce brands.
It starts with ambition. It runs into frustration. And if you're lucky — it ends in transformation.
⚠️ Stage 1 The First SEO "Expert" — Cheap, Fast, and Disappointing
“They promised 1st-page rankings in 3 months.”
The first hire was a freelancer off a marketplace. Low cost. Fast replies. Confident sales pitch.
Within weeks, they sent spreadsheets of backlinks and “rankings improvements.” It looked impressive — until traffic didn't move. Or worse, ped.
Digging deeper
The backlinks? From spammy, unrelated sites.
The content? AI-spun gibberish.
The reports? All fluff, no strategy.
Eventually, the site triggered a manual penalty. Recovery took months.
💸 Stage 2 The Agency with the Glossy Website — All Talk, No Delivery
“They had case studies, a cool dashboard, and a slick onboarding call.”
The next step was to go "premium." A well-known SEO agency with dozens of testimonials and a pitch deck that felt like a Fortune 500 pitch.
You paid 4-5x more than the freelancer.
But what did you actually get?
A project manager (not an SEO expert).
Vague monthly s.
No clear KPIs, no roadmap, no accountability.
Months went by, and rankings plateaued.
You start to realize you’re one of 80 clients. You’re a number, not a partner.
🧠 Stage 3 Trying to Build an In-House SEO Team — A Full-Time Headache
“If you want something done right, do it yourself.”
After two painful experiences, the business decides to build an in-house SEO team.
A full-time SEO specialist is hired. Then a content writer. Then a developer to handle technical work.
In theory, it should work. But in practice
SEO strategy changes constantly — you need senior-level insights.
The team gets stuck in analysis paralysis.
You’re now managing SEO, HR, tools, reporting, AND still not seeing ROI.
You’ve spent more than both previous phases combined.
🌅 Stage 4 The Turning Point — Finding the Right SEO Partner
“They didn’t sell us hype — they asked smart questions and showed us the gaps we couldn’t see.”
Eventually, through a referral or deep research, you find a different kind of SEO partner.
Not a freelancer, not a bloate
Let’s talk about a story that’s way too common in the business world — especially for startups, small agencies, and eCommerce brands.
It starts with ambition. It runs into frustration. And if you're lucky — it ends in transformation.
⚠️ Stage 1 The First SEO "Expert" — Cheap, Fast, and Disappointing
“They promised 1st-page rankings in 3 months.”
The first hire was a freelancer off a marketplace. Low cost. Fast replies. Confident sales pitch.
Within weeks, they sent spreadsheets of backlinks and “rankings improvements.” It looked impressive — until traffic didn't move. Or worse, ped.
Digging deeper
The backlinks? From spammy, unrelated sites.
The content? AI-spun gibberish.
The reports? All fluff, no strategy.
Eventually, the site triggered a manual penalty. Recovery took months.
💸 Stage 2 The Agency with the Glossy Website — All Talk, No Delivery
“They had case studies, a cool dashboard, and a slick onboarding call.”
The next step was to go "premium." A well-known SEO agency with dozens of testimonials and a pitch deck that felt like a Fortune 500 pitch.
You paid 4-5x more than the freelancer.
But what did you actually get?
A project manager (not an SEO expert).
Vague monthly s.
No clear KPIs, no roadmap, no accountability.
Months went by, and rankings plateaued.
You start to realize you’re one of 80 clients. You’re a number, not a partner.
🧠 Stage 3 Trying to Build an In-House SEO Team — A Full-Time Headache
“If you want something done right, do it yourself.”
After two painful experiences, the business decides to build an in-house SEO team.
A full-time SEO specialist is hired. Then a content writer. Then a developer to handle technical work.
In theory, it should work. But in practice
SEO strategy changes constantly — you need senior-level insights.
The team gets stuck in analysis paralysis.
You’re now managing SEO, HR, tools, reporting, AND still not seeing ROI.
You’ve spent more than both previous phases combined.
🌅 Stage 4 The Turning Point — Finding the Right SEO Partner
“They didn’t sell us hype — they asked smart questions and showed us the gaps we couldn’t see.”
Eventually, through a referral or deep research, you find a different kind of SEO partner.
Not a freelancer, not a bloate
Published on 30/05/2025