Why the Cheapest SEO Company Always Calls First
Your phone rings. Someone promises page one of Google for $199 a month. They call first because their business model depends on volume, not results. This is the spam filter for evaluating every SEO pitch that lands in your inbox or voicemail.
Scanning the Incoming Message
Every business owner has received this pitch. It arrives by phone, email, or LinkedIn message. The script barely changes. Understanding why these companies reach out first requires examining the economics behind the pitch. The same pattern shows up in the worst sales calls ever made.
Predatory SEO Company
Definition: A vendor that sells search engine optimization services using high-volume outreach, below-market pricing, and vague deliverables. These operations prioritize client acquisition speed over service quality. Their revenue model depends on signing many clients quickly and retaining them through contracts rather than results.
The Volume Economics Formula
Required Clients at $199/mo = 500+ to sustain a team
Close Rate on Cold Calls = Low
Solution = Call Thousands Daily
At $199 per month, a company needs hundreds of clients to cover operational costs. The only way to sign hundreds of clients is to contact thousands. They call first because calling is the only viable acquisition channel when you cannot demonstrate results through your own online presence.
The Irony Test
If the company calling you were good at SEO, they would not need to call you. They would rank for "SEO services in [your city]" and you would find them. The cold call itself is proof that their product does not work. Apply this test to every inbound SEO pitch. This is the same logic behind why the cheapest option always wins until it does not.
Threat Detection - Six Spam Signals
Every predatory SEO pitch contains identifiable patterns. Like a spam filter scanning email headers, you can detect these signals before the pitch finishes. Each signal has a threat level and a reason it should trigger your filter.
Guaranteed page 1 ranking
Threat Level: CriticalNo one can guarantee Google rankings. Google explicitly warns against companies making this claim. Anyone offering a guarantee either plans to game the system temporarily or is lying outright.
Extremely low monthly pricing ($99-$299)
Threat Level: HighLegitimate SEO requires research, technical audits, content creation, and link building. At $199/month, there is no margin for real work. The math only works if the company does nothing meaningful or spreads one person across hundreds of accounts.
Unsolicited cold call or email
Threat Level: HighCompanies with real SEO results generate inbound leads from their own rankings. If an SEO company cannot rank well enough to attract their own clients, they cold-call. The irony is the product they are selling.
Vague deliverables with no specifics
Threat Level: HighPhrases like 'optimize your online presence' and 'boost your visibility' without naming specific tactics, keywords, or timelines are filler. Legitimate providers scope the work before quoting a price.
Long-term contract required upfront
Threat Level: MediumLocking clients into 12-month contracts before delivering any results protects the vendor, not the client. Legitimate providers earn retention through measurable outcomes, not legal obligations.
Name-drops Google partnership loosely
Threat Level: MediumGoogle Partner status relates to Google Ads, not organic SEO. Many companies conflate the two to imply Google endorsement of their SEO services. Google does not endorse or certify any SEO provider.
Predatory vs Legitimate - Side by Side
The differences between predatory SEO operations and legitimate providers follow a consistent pattern. This comparison table maps each factor so you can classify any vendor in minutes. The same principle applies to lies web designers tell when selling their services.
| Factor | Predatory SEO | Legitimate SEO |
|---|---|---|
How they find clients | Mass cold calls, purchased lead lists, unsolicited emails | Referrals, content marketing, inbound from their own SEO rankings |
Pricing model | One-size-fits-all low monthly rate | Custom scoping based on competitive analysis and goals |
Deliverables | Vague reports showing 'keyword improvements' on irrelevant terms | Specific action items: technical fixes, content plans, link-building targets |
Contract structure | Long-term lock-in with cancellation penalties | Month-to-month or milestone-based with clear exit terms |
Guarantees | Guaranteed page 1 rankings | No ranking guarantees - explains why guarantees are impossible |
Communication | Automated reports, hard to reach a real person | Named account manager, regular strategy calls, transparent access |
What Predatory SEO Actually Does
- Builds low-quality backlinks from spam directories
- Submits your site to irrelevant business listings
- Generates auto-spun content that reads like gibberish
- Reports on vanity keywords with zero search volume
What Legitimate SEO Actually Does
- Audits technical site health before proposing changes
- Researches keywords with verified search volume and intent
- Creates original content aligned to specific ranking targets
- Builds backlinks through outreach to relevant, authoritative sites
How They Poison the Market
Predatory SEO companies do not just harm individual clients. They damage the entire market for legitimate SEO services. Every business owner burned by a $199/month operation becomes skeptical of all SEO providers. This is similar to the hidden cost of cheap leads where the initial savings create long-term damage.
Market Damage Scorecard
Impact rated from 1 (minimal) to 10 (severe). These effects compound over time as more business owners share negative SEO experiences with peers. For outreach professionals, this trust erosion is why cold emails look like spam even when they are legitimate.
The Cascade Effect
A business owner pays $199/month for six months. Nothing changes. They cancel and tell other business owners "SEO does not work." Now legitimate providers face a prospect who already believes the entire industry is a scam. The cheap company collected $1,194 in revenue. The legitimate company lost a potential multi-year engagement worth significantly more. This is the real damage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do cheap SEO companies call instead of ranking for their own services?
Because they cannot rank themselves. A company selling SEO that relies on cold calls and purchased lead lists to find clients is demonstrating that their own methods do not work. If their SEO tactics produced results, their own website would generate inbound leads. The cold call itself is evidence of the product's failure.
Is all low-cost SEO automatically bad?
Not automatically, but the economics are revealing. Real SEO work involves technical audits, keyword research, content creation, backlink outreach, and ongoing monitoring. At $199/month, a provider can afford to spend roughly one to two hours per client. That is not enough time to execute any meaningful strategy. Low cost almost always means low effort or automated shortcuts.
What does a legitimate SEO engagement actually cost?
It varies by market competitiveness and scope. For local businesses in moderately competitive markets, expect $750 to $3,000 per month for genuine, hands-on SEO work. For competitive markets or multi-location businesses, costs run higher. The key difference is that legitimate providers scope the work first and price based on what needs to be done, not on what sounds cheap enough to close over the phone.
Can a cheap SEO company actually hurt my rankings?
Yes. Common damage includes low-quality backlinks from spam networks that trigger Google penalties, duplicate content generated by AI without review, keyword stuffing that violates Google guidelines, and directory listings with inconsistent business information. Recovering from these tactics often costs more than the original 'savings.'
For more on how bad SEO practices damage rankings, see why the second page of Google is a graveyard.
How do predatory SEO companies make money at $199 per month?
Volume. One account manager handles 100 to 300 accounts simultaneously. The work is either fully automated, outsourced to the cheapest available labor, or simply not done at all. Monthly reports are auto-generated to create the appearance of activity. The business model relies on churning through clients before they realize nothing changed.
What should I ask an SEO company before hiring them?
Ask: What specific changes will you make in the first 30 days? Can you show me results from a similar business in a similar market? How do you build backlinks? What is your cancellation policy? How many clients does each account manager handle? The answers to these questions separate legitimate providers from volume operations.
Spam Filter Rules
Apply these filter rules to every SEO pitch that reaches your inbox, voicemail, or LinkedIn. Each rule is an IF/THEN statement with a named pattern and a recommended action.
Rule 1: GUARANTEE_DETECTED
RULE: GUARANTEE_DETECTED
MATCH: "guaranteed page 1" | "we guarantee rankings" | "first page guaranteed"
IF: message.contains(ranking_guarantee)
THEN: action = BLOCK
REASON: No entity can guarantee Google rankings. This is the single strongest spam signal.
Rule 2: UNDERPRICED_SERVICE
RULE: UNDERPRICED_SERVICE
MATCH: monthly_price < $500 AND scope = "full SEO"
IF: price.below_market_threshold AND deliverables.vague
THEN: action = BLOCK
REASON: Full-service SEO below $500/mo cannot cover the cost of real work. Volume model confirmed.
Rule 3: UNSOLICITED_CONTACT
RULE: UNSOLICITED_CONTACT
MATCH: source = "cold_call" | "unsolicited_email" | "linkedin_spam"
IF: sender.is_seo_vendor AND contact.unsolicited
THEN: action = FLAG
REASON: SEO companies that need cold outreach cannot rank themselves. Flag for further inspection.
Rule 4: CONTRACT_LOCK_IN
RULE: CONTRACT_LOCK_IN
MATCH: contract_length >= 12_months AND results_shown = 0
IF: vendor.requires_long_contract AND vendor.has_no_case_studies
THEN: action = BLOCK
REASON: Long contracts before proving results protect the vendor, not the client.
Rule 5: LEGITIMATE_PROVIDER
RULE: LEGITIMATE_PROVIDER
MATCH: has_case_studies AND custom_scope AND no_guarantee AND transparent_pricing
IF: vendor.shows_specific_deliverables AND vendor.offers_month_to_month
THEN: action = ALLOW
REASON: Specific deliverables, proven results, and flexible terms indicate a real operation.