Common Digital Marketing Scams and How to Avoid Them

Originally published: October 26, 2022 01:38:39 PM, updated: November 19, 2022 12:00:00 AM

If you are a business owner, your goal is to promote your business as best as possible. Naturally, you have a lot on your plate. You need to deal with various aspects of your business, generate income, and on top of that, market your brand. If you are not well-versed in doing that, you might make a few honest mistakes along the way. It is extremely easy to become a scam victim, as so many so-called marketing experts are out there. Find out about the common digital marketing scams and how to avoid them so that you can rely on legitimate professionals to expand your business.

An Unusually Low Price

If something is unexpectedly cheap, there may be a good reason. If what you are offered sounds impressive, but the price does not add up, you are right to be suspicious. Your best bet would be to do some research. Check what the other marketing agencies offer and how much they ask for the same service. Chances are, they will provide you with subpar services or will not deliver on what they promised. We all know that it does not make sense for anyone to break their backs to earn peanuts.

Buying Followers on Social Media

Not having to do all the hard work sounds terrific. However, buying followers is one of the digital marketing scams that you want to avoid. When you pay for followers, they are primarily bots that will take up space but will not give you credibility. You will get high numbers, but there will be no engagement. And with social media—engagement is everything. It will increase your popularity and draw attention to your product. You need followers who are interested in your business in order to gain actual paying customers.

Instead of falling for this scam, look for a digital media strategist that will come up with a legitimate plan. This plan would include quality content creation, keyword research, following trends, and finding proper leads.

A Quick Fix for Your SEO

Like followers, your Google rankings take time to reach certain heights. And time is the least of your worries. You may never get the desired rankings if you are not equipped with proper SEO practices. Therefore, if a digital marketer promises to fast-track your SEO—they are scamming you. There is no way for anyone to have the magic solution to the Google algorithm; even if they did, the constant updates make it impossible to keep up. There are no guarantees with SEO, but a lot of hard work is involved with no shortcuts.

Make sure that you find a digital marketing agency that will take you through the steps and explain everything thoroughly. They should give you realistic predictions and analysis and offer monitoring throughout the process. Always double-check the information they provide you before deciding to hire them. Remember—Google rankings take quality content, thorough research, and time.

Ask Questions

In order to avoid digital marketing scams, make sure you ask questions. Be prepared with a list of things you want to know. Do research beforehand to know what precisely to ask and how to get to the bottom of certain things. These are just some of the things you should find out:

• Ask the digital marketing expert to explain their process
• You should also find out what timeframe they typically give clients and what you can expect on their end (keep in mind that these things can take months)
• Let them know you want to set up regular meetings where they would provide reports—whether weekly or monthly

Do Research to Avoid Digital Marketing Scams

Before you get into business with a digital marketing firm, do your own research instead of solely going off what they tell you. Creating a website that makes a company look professional with all the possible (alleged) credentials is not difficult. But the quality of their own website will tell you a lot about the type of business they are running. One red flag could be lots of pop-up ads. You do not want this type of marketing on your website, as intrusive ads can deter visitors. In fact, they are one of the most common reasons why people leave websites.

If they offer credentials—check them. Reach out to their former customers and verify their credibility. Go over their website and see how well it is executed. Check their SEO and the quality of their blog content, and extend the search to their social media. They should have a well-executed social media campaign as a digital marketing agency. This includes a realistic number of followers—but check how many they follow as well. In addition to that, they should have regular posts, regular interaction with customers, and an account that has not been created very recently. All this will give the company credibility that you are looking for.

Check References

Digital marketing agencies might have an impressive list of clients that will make you want to hire them immediately. However, their list of references can also be fabricated. They may very well be legitimate, but do take it upon yourself to verify this information. Many businesses do that to create an idea of credibility, as most clients will not waste time attempting to contact these references.

The Takeaway

Becoming a victim of digital marketing scams is very common nowadays, as it is increasingly more challenging to figure out who the good guys are. Do your due diligence and research, check all the information and references, know what questions to ask, do not accept the lowest price, and build your following organically. You do not want to invest time and money into an alleged professional leading you astray. Most importantly, if you have invested in the wrong agency and do not get any results, your business will suffer, causing you to lose revenue.