I’m about to show you how to spot an SEO scam in under 60 seconds—and it might save your Jacksonville business from wasting thousands of dollars.
Last month, a Jacksonville restaurant owner came to our office with a problem. He’d been paying an SEO agency $700/month for 18 months. That’s $12,600 invested. His Google ranking? Worse than when he started. His phone calls from Google? Zero.
When I looked at what the agency had actually done, I wanted to throw my laptop across the room. They’d filled his Google Business Profile with spammy keywords, built links from sketchy foreign websites, and stuffed his homepage with so many keywords that it read like a robot wrote it.
It took us 6 months and $8,000 to undo the damage before we could even start real SEO.
This isn’t rare. It’s disturbingly common. Here are the exact warning signs that your Jacksonville SEO agency is scamming you—and what to do about it.
Scam Sign #1: They Guarantee First Page Rankings
What they say:
“We guarantee first page rankings in 30 days or your money back!”
Why this is a red flag:
Nobody can guarantee rankings. Google’s algorithm is a black box that changes constantly. Any agency making this promise is either:
- Lying
- Using black-hat tactics that will get you penalized
- Targeting irrelevant keywords nobody searches for
Real example:
A Jacksonville HVAC company paid an agency that “guaranteed” first page rankings. The agency got them ranked #1 for “best HVAC company in Jacksonville Florida USA North America.” Technically first page. Zero searches per month. Zero value.
What legitimate agencies say instead:
“Based on your competition and current site health, we typically see first page rankings for target keywords within 4-6 months. We’ll track progress monthly and adjust strategy based on results.”
What to do if your agency guaranteed rankings:
Ask them to put it in writing with specific keywords and timelines. If they won’t, or if the keywords are suspiciously vague, you’re being scammed. Get a second opinion from a legitimate Jacksonville SEO company.
Scam Sign #2: They Won’t Show You What They’re Actually Doing
What they say:
“Our proprietary SEO process is confidential. Trust us, we’re getting you results.”
Why this is a red flag:
Transparency is standard in legitimate SEO. If an agency won’t tell you what they’re doing, it’s because what they’re doing won’t stand up to scrutiny.
Things a legitimate agency will show you:
- Exactly which pages they’re optimizing
- The keywords they’re targeting and why
- Where they’re building links (specific websites)
- What content they’re creating
- What changes they’re making to your site
Red flag responses when you ask for details:
- “That’s proprietary information”
- “We can’t share our secret methods”
- “You wouldn’t understand the technical details”
- “Trust the process”
Real example:
A Jacksonville law firm asked their SEO agency for a list of backlinks they’d built. The agency refused, saying it was “confidential.” When the firm finally got access, they discovered 300+ links from Russian gambling sites, adult content sites, and link farms. Their site had been flagged by Google for a manual penalty.
What to do:
Demand full transparency. If they refuse, fire them immediately. Our Jacksonville SEO team provides monthly detailed reports showing every single action we take and why.
Scam Sign #3: Your Reports Are Full of Meaningless Metrics
What they show you:
“Traffic increased 250%!” “We built 500 backlinks!” “Your domain authority went from 12 to 15!”
Why this is a red flag:
Scam agencies focus on vanity metrics that look impressive but don’t correlate with business results. Let’s break down the BS:
“Traffic increased 250%”
From where? Bot traffic and referral spam are easy to generate and completely worthless. If traffic is up but conversions are flat, the traffic is garbage.
“We built 500 backlinks”
From where? Low-quality directory links and blog comment spam don’t help—they hurt. One link from Jacksonville.com is worth more than 500 links from random blogs.
“Domain authority increased”
Domain Authority is a made-up metric by Moz. It’s not a Google ranking factor. It’s like bragging about your Klout score in 2025—nobody cares.
Metrics that actually matter for Jacksonville businesses:
- Local pack ranking position: Are you in the top 3 for “your service + Jacksonville”?
- Phone call volume from organic search: Track this with call tracking or Google Analytics.
- Form submissions from organic traffic: How many contact forms, quote requests, appointment bookings?
- Revenue from organic search customers: This is the only metric that truly matters.
What to do:
Ask your agency to report on business results, not SEO metrics. If they can’t or won’t connect their work to actual revenue, they’re hiding behind vanity numbers. Demand better or switch to an agency that tracks ROI.
Scam Sign #4: They’re Building Links From Sketchy Websites
How to check:
Log into Google Search Console (search.google.com/search-console), go to Links → Top Linking Sites. Look at where your backlinks are coming from.
Red flags:
- Links from foreign websites in languages you don’t speak
- Links from sites with no relation to your industry
- Links from obvious link farms (sites that exist only to link out)
- Links with exact-match anchor text (like “Jacksonville plumber” repeated 50 times)
- Links from adult content, gambling, or pharmaceutical sites
Real example:
A Jacksonville dentist checked his backlinks and found links from a Russian poker site, a Chinese pharmaceutical directory, and a link farm with 10,000+ outbound links. His agency had been buying bulk link packages. Google penalized his site, dropping him from page 1 to page 8 overnight.
What legitimate link building looks like:
- Links from Jacksonville news sites (Jacksonville.com, Jacksonville Business Journal)
- Links from local business associations (Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce)
- Links from industry-specific directories (Avvo for lawyers, Healthgrades for doctors)
- Links from local blogs and community websites
- Links earned through PR, partnerships, or valuable content
What to do:
Audit your backlinks immediately. If you find spammy links, use Google’s Disavow Tool to tell Google to ignore them. Then fire the agency that built them. Professional link cleanup and penalty recovery can cost $5,000-15,000.
Our SEO team only builds white-hat links from legitimate Jacksonville sources. We’ll show you every single link before we build it.
Scam Sign #5: They Lock You Into Long Contracts With No Performance Guarantees
What they require:
“Sign a 12-month contract. Payment is due regardless of results. Early termination fee is 50% of remaining contract value.”
Why this is a red flag:
Legitimate agencies are confident enough in their work to offer reasonable contract terms. Scam agencies lock you in because they know you’ll want to leave once you realize they’re not delivering.
Red flag contract terms:
- 12+ month contracts with no performance clauses
- Auto-renewal without your explicit approval
- Huge early termination penalties
- No refund policy regardless of performance
- They own your content, backlinks, or changes to your site
Fair contract terms from legitimate agencies:
- 3-6 month initial commitment (SEO takes time to work)
- Month-to-month after initial term
- Reasonable termination notice (30-60 days)
- You own all content and changes made to your site
- Performance milestones with check-ins
Real example:
A Jacksonville med spa signed a 24-month contract with a $10,000 early termination fee. After 6 months of zero results, they wanted out. The agency refused to release them without the full penalty. The business owner paid the penalty just to escape—then had to pay a new agency to start over.
What to do:
Never sign a long-term contract without performance protections. If you’re already locked in, consult a lawyer about your options. Some scam agency contracts are legally unenforceable.
Scam Sign #6: They’re Making Sketchy Changes to Your Website
What they do:
Add hidden text, cloak pages, create doorway pages, stuff keywords, or make other black-hat changes to your site.
Why this is dangerous:
These tactics can get your entire website banned from Google. Not penalized—BANNED. Your site won’t show up in search results at all.
How to check:
- View your page source (right-click → View Page Source) and look for text that’s hidden with CSS (white text on white background, text sized at 0px)
- Search “site:yourwebsite.com” in Google and look for weird pages you didn’t create
- Check Google Search Console for “Manual Actions” (penalties)
- Use Copyscape to check if your content has been duplicated elsewhere
Red flags:
- Pages filled with repetitive keyword variations
- Invisible text or links
- Doorway pages (low-quality pages created just to rank for keywords)
- Auto-generated content that makes no sense
- Links to unrelated websites embedded in your content
Real example:
A Jacksonville contractor hired an SEO agency that created 50 “city pages” for different Florida cities. Each page was identical except for the city name. Google flagged this as duplicate content and penalized the entire site. Rankings dropped 80% overnight.
What to do:
Audit your website immediately. Remove any sketchy content or pages. File a reconsideration request with Google if you’ve been penalized. Then fire the agency and hire professionals to clean up the mess.
What to Do If You’re Being Scammed Right Now
If you recognized 2+ of these warning signs, here’s your action plan:
Step 1: Document everything
- Save all reports, emails, and communications
- Screenshot your current rankings
- Export your backlink profile from Google Search Console
- Save copies of any content they created
Step 2: Stop payment if possible
- Review your contract for termination clauses
- Send a formal termination notice via email
- If they used fraudulent tactics, dispute charges with your credit card company
Step 3: Assess the damage
- Check for Google penalties in Search Console
- Audit your backlink profile
- Review all changes made to your website
- Check your Google Business Profile for spam edits
Step 4: Start recovery
- Disavow toxic backlinks
- Remove spammy content
- File a reconsideration request if penalized
- Hire a legitimate agency to rebuild properly
Step 5: Warn other Jacksonville businesses
- Leave an honest review on Google and the Better Business Bureau
- Report the company to the FTC if they committed fraud
- Share your experience in local business groups
How to Avoid Scams When Hiring a Jacksonville SEO Agency
Questions to ask before hiring:
- “Can I speak to 3 current Jacksonville clients about their results?”
- “What specific tactics will you use to improve my rankings?”
- “Will you show me every backlink before you build it?”
- “What happens if I’m not satisfied after 90 days?”
- “Can you show me examples of rankings you’ve achieved for businesses like mine?”
Red flag responses:
- “Our client list is confidential” (legitimate agencies have references)
- “We can’t reveal our methods” (transparency is standard)
- “We guarantee results” (nobody can guarantee this)
- “Trust us” (never trust anyone who says this)
The Bottom Line: Trust Your Gut
If something feels off, it probably is. Legitimate SEO agencies are transparent, realistic about timelines, and focused on business results—not vanity metrics.
The Jacksonville SEO industry has its share of scammers, but there are also plenty of honest agencies doing great work. The key is knowing how to tell the difference.
If you’re currently working with an agency and something doesn’t feel right, get a free second opinion from Jacksonville SEO. We’ll audit your current SEO, tell you honestly what’s working and what’s not, and give you a clear path forward.
No pressure. No BS. Just honest answers about your Jacksonville SEO.
Don’t let scammers steal your money and damage your business. You deserve better.