After Google rolled out recent Penguin and Panda search engine algorithm updates to shake up low quality content and fight Black Hat SEO, the landscape of SEO changed forever. All reputable SEO companies and experts removed all sorts of guarantees for ranking improvements from their contracts and agreements.

Does it mean that SEO is dead and no one can help your business improve rankings and organic traffic? The answer is no, as ranking not the only metric and outcome of SEO improvements.

Here is what you need to know and pay attention to when you vet and work with SEO experts.

Ranking is Not The Most Important Metric For SEO

Wait a minute, isn’t SEO all about getting a higher search engine ranking? While that concept is not entirely wrong, the main goal of an SEO campaign is an increase in search engine TRAFFIC. Sometimes, the SEO contract also includes site optimizations for conversion.

While having a high ranking can certainly help with getting more traffic, it is very important to understand that rankings do not equal traffic.

Most of the time, SEO clients are only looking for rankings to boost their egos, and that is why many SEO experts thought of ranking as a vanity metric. The obsession with solely focusing on high ranking is detrimental and should be avoided at all times. In fact, over-obsessive approach to rankings can hinder traffic.

So, your focus metric should always be search engine traffic, and there’s a lot more contributing to traffic than SERP.

Even The Search Engines Warned You

Even Google’s own guideline mentioned this: No one can guarantee a number 1 ranking in Google searches.

Put it simply, even Google warned you against SEO experts, companies, or even a certain ‘method’ that claim to guarantee rankings.

Yet, many thought that Google is simply lying about this because they don’t want to lose the organic nature of the search engine. Yet, that is not truly the case, as we will discuss in the next point.

Rankings Are (Extremely) Unstable

Maintaining a high position on Google SERP is extremely difficult — and trustworthy, reputable SEO experts and companies will first admit to that fact.

Not only does it require consistency, but it also has to take into account that search engine rankings are very local. So, when you search a certain keyword on a certain location and then drive 2 or 3 hours north, the result will be different.

Given the truly fluctuating nature of search engine rankings, Google is correct: no one can guarantee #1 spot on rankings. Thus, anyone who claims to be able to do so is most likely bogus.

Also, don’t forget the fact that Google is constantly updating their algorithm from time to time. So, even if you rank well using a certain method, you can be penalized after a new algorithm change is implemented and lose it all.

That is why, rather than focusing on a vanity metric that is unstable, we can focus on other things like slowly building your organic backlinks for authority and producing high-quality contents to attract readers.

There is A Bad History of ‘Guaranteed Ranking’ Services

Ever since SEO gained popularity in 1996 or so, there have been many SEO scams guaranteeing rankings and traffic giving a bad reputation for SEO in general.

So, that is why many SEO experts and companies avoid using the label. In fact, if you see anyone guaranteeing rankings nowadays, it is one of the clearest indication that you should run away from them.

Many of the SEO companies that still guarantee rankings are cheating by only focusing on certain keywords that they themselves choose. This way, they can focus on non-competitive keywords that won’t bring any benefits to your traffic

Final Thoughts

It is extremely unethical to guarantee something we cannot control, like how politicians always make promises they cannot deliver on. Since Google and other search engines ranking is very unstable, that is one of the main reasons many SEOs avoid guaranteeing high rankings.

Remember that rather than ranking, traffic is a more realistic and beneficial goal for your business. The key to success in SEO is first understanding that it is a long-term strategy requiring consistency, so you should avoid any services offering short-term success.

About the Author: Mike Khorev is an SEO expert and digital marketing strategist who helps small and mid-sized businesses grow revenues online. He offers expert advice on marketing your company the right way through performance-based digital marketing, web design, social media, SEO, SEM, and many other online practices. Find him on LinkedIn and Twitter.