Can a company "over do" SEO?

[Bridget]

I have been reviewing some information on this. I'm looking to hire a SEO company and have been cautious because I have learned that sometimes they can mess things up. Is this possible?

[Asim Ad]

Its possible but if you get report on weekly or monthly basis then it will let you know that they are working properly and you will got some traffic on the site soon because new website takes six month probably.

[Gerry Downey]

When hiring an seo company you should always do your research on them because there are bad seo company's out there just like there are bad web designers I asume you have google analythics installed in your site if not you should if you just keep an eye to see if your stats are improving or decreasing if decreasing you know something up

[Tommy]

Hi Bridget,

Yes to you can over-optimized SEO which will hurt your website ranking and YES, bad SEO Companies can mess up your website as well.

To be on the safe side, you should do some research on the SEO company and check up on their reviews. Furthermore, ask the SEO company to update you either bi-weekly or monthly so that you know what is going on. To be super safe, you or someone in charge should learn the basics of SEO so that you don't take everything the company tells you even if they are doing "black hat" tactics which will hurt your website.

To get you started in learning the basic SEO: check out this website.
http://www.mktdojo.com/how-to-optimize-website

Furthermore, there are a few things that you should pay attention to while finding a SEO company.

If they tell you
1) They can get your website rank # 1 in a 90 days or a month (LIES). Not one can be sure when a page can get ranked. Things change all the time

2)If they say they will submit your website to 1000 search engines

3) If they charge you for doing Meta Keywords

4) They can help you get 1000 links for a certain price

5) They are not telling you what they are doing. Hiding the strategies. You should know what is going on with your website

Hope this helps!

[Hal Smith]

If you do your research properly and get a good idea about the company from it's previous clients before hiring them then you'll be safe. There are individuals and companies out there that have had bad results, but mostly good companies with good clients know what they are doing. Just keep in contact with them, tell them about your concerns and the rest will be fine. Remember, if you are planning to spend your money for SEO instead of doing your own SEO then don't worry about saving a few bucks by hiring an inexperienced individual. Go for a professional company and you'll be safe and quite happy with the results.

Hal Smith
URLdreamer Consultant