In this modern era, digital marketing success is essential to businesses growing online. It helps reach a wider audience, build brand awareness, and generate sales.
But as it becomes more valuable, concerns arise, “Is digital marketing a scam?”.
Why are scams in digital marketing becoming more common? As the popularity of digital marketing grows, the opportunities for scammers also increase. They use shady tactics to trick people into giving money and personal information. Being aware of these scams and learning how to protect yourself is important.
Read on to find all about digital marketing scams and how to avoid them.
Top 9 Digital Marketing Scams
Following are the top fraudulent ways digital marketing agencies can scam you.
Fake Followers & Engagement
This is one of the most common digital marketing scams people fall for. To get thousands of followers, you might be tempted to acquire engagement without knowing the reality.
The followers provided to you are bots that can take the space of followers. But the fact is that you can’t get more benefits from these bots. These followers are numbers added to your social media following. People or bots are used to click on online content in a practice known as click farming. This boosts the popularity or rankings.
Click farming can lead to a serious outcome: getting shadowbanned. Social media platforms shadow-ban by hiding posts from many users without notification. This means that fewer people see your content even if you keep posting.
PPC Fraud:
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) fraud is another very common digital marketing scam. This happens when someone clicks on an ad to trick the advertiser into paying for clicks. These clicks are not the actual audience or organic traffic. A fraudulent person does them to earn money for most clicks.
Competitors who try to waste your ad budget can also do this. Competitors can affect your advertising outcomes, making ad campaigns less efficient.
You should track unusual clicks with digital marketing tools. ClickCease and PPC Protect are well-known tools for this purpose. By preventing yourself from these PPC frauds, you can maximize the outcomes and minimize the spending on irrelevant online audiences.
SEO Scams:
Guaranteed SEO results in just a few days at cheap rates..!! Wait!
Are you for real? Is it possible to make a great SEO impact in a few days and with minimal cost? I don’t think so. These type of statements also come from digital marketing scams.
SEO is the most crucial component of a website. Yes, a great digital marketing strategy can get you desirable rankings and business success. But it takes its due time to start showing results, especially with the constantly changing search engine dynamics.
SEO scams are tricks that try to get people to pay for SEO services that don’t work. These scams promise to improve how a website shows up in search results but often don’t deliver.
It’s best to research companies and ask for references to avoid SEO scams. You should be cautious of any promises that sound too good to be true. Reputable SEO companies like Eyes on Solution that lay out a proper plan after discussing your goals and incorporating feedback before implementation are the ones you can trust.
Cheap Website Scam:
Some scammers offer website design services at very low prices. They deliver poor-quality websites or sometimes no website at all. They use templates or outdated designs, leading to a website that looks unprofessional. As a result, these websites will not work.
This can affect your business reputation. You need to be considerate when choosing a website development agency. Falling for low prices that don’t work well can affect your business in the longer run, and you could only end up losing money.
Lead Generation Scam:
Companies promise to provide leads or customers for a low fee. The leads they provide are often low-quality or fake. This results in wasted time and money for your business.
Be cautious of companies that promise a high volume of leads at a very low cost. Research the company’s reputation and ask for references from past clients. Look for any complaints or red flags on multiple forums. Start with a small trial project before committing to a larger lead service.
Email Phishing:
It is one of the well known digital marketing scams. Email phishing is when someone sends fake emails that look real. They trick you to get your secret information, like your password or credit card number. These emails often say you need to do something fast.
They might also have links to fake websites that look real but have a hidden redirect that takes you somewhere else. To stay safe from email phishing:
- Always check the sender’s email address.
- Don’t click on links or open attachments from emails you don’t know.
- Never give personal or secret information to anyone in an email.
Business Directory Scams:
Scammers contact businesses, offering to list them in a directory for a fee. These directories are often presented as reputable and promising increased visibility and credibility.
But, many of these directories either do not exist or have little to no real value. Businesses should beware of unsolicited directory listing offers. They must verify directory legitimacy before paying. Seek recommendations from trusted sources before using directory listing services.
Domain Name Renewal:
Fake domain renewal scams deceive website owners with fake emails about expiring domains. They scare owners by threatening website shutdown or domain loss if they don’t renew. The scammers offer to renew the domain for a big fee, much more than usual. Check the sender’s email address. Verify your domain’s end date with your registrar. Don’t rush to renew if pressured and you don’t see the need to after investigating at your end.
Falsified Back Catalog:
Scammers trick businesses with fake backlinks from reputable websites. These backlinks will improve search result rankings and increase website traffic. However, the backlinks are either not good or not real, so they don’t help the business at all. Businesses must research websites for backlinks, verify quality, and avoid untrusted sources.
Steps to Avoid Digital Marketing Scams:
We discussed the most common scams in the previous section. Now, you will learn about how to avoid digital marketing scams. You need to consider the following steps:
Research the Company:
It’s always a good idea to check out any company before working with them. You want to see what others say without them telling you. Look at how long they have been doing business and how good they are at their job.
Also, look at their website and check their social media profiles. Check if they look professional and if their content is current. This can show you their professionalism. It reveals how they present themselves to the public.
Avoid Unrealistic Growth Promises:
Nobody should say they can make you huge overnight or in a short time. Legitl ways to get more people take time and work. Big changes don’t happen right away.
Companies that say they can do the impossible too fast are probably not being real with you. Listen to those who say it takes effort over days, weeks, and months to draw more folks in little by little. That’s the type of marketing that follows the rules and gets you results.
Understand Digital Marketing Strategies:
Take some time to learn how companies use the internet to reach more people. Learn what works and doesn’t work from experts. Knowing the right ways stops the wrong ones from tricking you.
Good marketing agencies only do what they’ve been shown to do well. They’re good at attracting folks, and have numbers to prove it. They stick to plans that work and don’t waste time on ideas that won’t help them. Understanding helps you pick who to follow online.
Ask Questions and Evaluate Proposals:
Make sure to ask all the questions you can think of and look at any offers they give you. Good companies will tell you exactly what they are doing, how they are doing it, and what things will cost you. Don’t be afraid to ask them to explain everything they say really well so you understand it all. Taking the time to learn all the details is important.
Consider Trial Periods:
Think about trying out companies for a little while before giving them a big payment. If you just do a test first, you can see if what they say they’ll do really works for you before spending a lot. This helps make sure the business is good at what it claims to help bring customers.
If it doesn’t seem to be helping during the trial or you don’t like it, you don’t lose much. But if things go well, you can keep using them knowing they’ll help your business. Testing things first helps you test the digital marketing service. It prevents investing all your money and is a smart move.
Check Certifications:
Verify that companies have the necessary documents to show they have the marketing knowledge that they claim. Good companies will be part of groups that track who understands online rules. Check that licenses, certificates, and group memberships are real.
This shows they learned proper marketing methods and are not luring you in for a scam.
Beware of Pushy Sales Tactics:
Be careful of companies that are too excited to take your money without waiting. Some companies just want a fast sale and may say you must decide quickly. But it’s always best to step back and think about different choices. Never feel scared if someone gets upset that you don’t want to sign papers immediately.
Real marketers ask for advice and understand if you need time to decide. A company might get upset if you don’t review other options before committing your money. Patient partners will still be there when you’re ready.
Conclusion
To answer ‘Is digital marketing a scam?’ in a single word, we can definitely say No! Yet, scams exist in the industry. It’s essential to be aware of these scams and gain the necessary knowledge while doing your own research to avoid them. You can protect your business from falling victim to digital marketing scams. You must research companies, ask questions, and be cautious of unrealistic promises.
Reputable companies like Eyes on Solution help businesses grow with digital marketing strategies.
