We get a lot of calls from treatment centers asking for help with SEO.  We also work with a lot of new centers that are starting out and really don’t know much about the space.  An issue we have seen over and over again is that SEO companies are promising the world to these centers in order to close the deal.  Too often, we come across a company after they have already been taken advantage of by a dishonest SEO firm, and we have to help dig them out of the quagmire.  I want to discuss this issue and give you the information you need to make a smart, safe decision when it comes to selecting an SEO firm. 

There are two types of SEO that can be done to your site: Quick or correct (Risky or True).  Not both.  If a firm says they can get you first page rankings in two months, they are either lying to you, or are using risky SEO practices. 

What are These “Risky” SEO Practices? 

An estimated 70% of what determines a website’s ranking increase in Google are the links pointing to the site.  We have discussed this before – links are like votes for your site.  The more websites that link to your site, the more authority you have in Google’s eyes, and hence, the higher your site will rank for keywords.

Risky SEO is not playing by the rules Google has outlined for SEO.  This means BUYING links, not earning links.  You can buy 10,000 links to your site for about $250. This method worked great in 2006, however not so much in 2015.  The draw here is that it is much cheaper to do link building this way, which is why risky SEO companies can offer you such a low rate for services. 

The benefit of Risky SEO practices is that it, sadly, still works but only for a short period of time.  You can get rankings in 2 to 3 months, but in 6 to 9 months, Google will penalize you and you will not rank for ANYTHING.  Imagine what that would do to your business.

What is “True” SEO?

True SEO is what The Drug Rehab Agency and a few other firms in the space do.  This is based around providing Google with what it wants – lots of top level content.  Then we use this content to approach websites and ask for a link to the content.  Another form we use is writing knowledgeable content to host on publishers’ websites in the treatment space. This content then links back to your site.  As long as the content quality is there and there is not exchange for services, this is 100% above the board with Google. 

Take-Away

SEO is not instant.  Period.  No matter what you are told; there is no way for SEO to give you instant results.  That is what your paid search budget is for. We have found that it takes 5 to 7 months for a new website’s rankings to reach the first page of Google’s search results, and about 3 to 4 months for a currently live site. Be very careful when selecting your SEO partner as their “work” may leave your site worse than before they started.  SEO takes time, and can be a HUGE ROI driver for your treatment center, so ensure you select the right company for the job.  Or, you can just call us…