How do you spot an SEO scam?

Ascent Vision · Published October 19, 2026

Most SEO scams announce themselves: an email or call you did not ask for, a claim that your site is not listed or your listing is about to be lost, pressure to act today, and a promise of a top spot. Google tells site owners to be wary of SEO firms that email out of the blue and says no one can promise a number one ranking. The FTC's advice applies: slow down, check the company, never pay under pressure.

The pitch you did not ask for

Google's guidance for site owners says to treat SEO firms that email out of the blue with the same skepticism as "burn fat at night" diet pills. Its sample spam message opens by claiming your site is "not listed in most of the major search engines" and offers to fix it. The same goes for calls and texts: a message that names no problem you can check and wants a call today is a sales script, not a finding.

Fake calls about your Google listing

A version owners often report is a recorded call that claims to be from Google and says your listing will be removed or is unverified unless you act now. Google says creating a Business Profile is free, so a caller who wants payment to keep that listing alive is selling something else, if anything.

The FTC groups calls like these with directory scams, where a caller offers a "free" listing or asks to "confirm" your details and the aim is a bill for a listing that does not exist. Its page names no search engine; the pattern is the same whoever calls.

Promises no one can keep

Google says plainly that no one can promise a number one ranking, tells owners to beware of firms that allege a "special relationship" with Google or advertise a "priority submit", and says to find someone else if a firm promises first place. It also says it "costs nothing to appear in our organic search results".

Secrecy is the other tell. Google says to be careful with a company that will not clearly explain what it intends to do, and that owners are responsible for the actions of anyone they hire. Paying for ads does not raise a site's free position either; the related answer on whether Google Ads help your free rankings covers that myth.

What to do when the pitch arrives

Slow down and check the company before anything else; the related answer on how to spot spam and scam inquiries covers the FTC's advice on urgency, checking a company's name and reporting a scam. Once you are talking to a real company, the related answer on questions to ask before hiring an SEO agency is the next check.

Sources

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