Whenever I hear SEO companies guaranteeing rankings I always cringe. But to guarantee a measurable result, such as an increase in revenue is good business practice and sets a good standard for others in the industry.

Frankly, I’m amazed the people buy SEO services with no guarantee of measurable results.

If you’re confident in your ability to deliver then you should be able to offer a guarantee.

My only concern is that we get SEO companies guaranteeing measurable results and then failing to achieve them. What happens then? Will they be big enough to refund the money and take the hit?

Such behaviour could hurt the industry even more.

I think Rand was certainly on-point with arguing why reputable SEO firms don’t guarantee rankings – for the same reasons you’ve highlighted above (namely, because rankings don’t equate to traffic or conversions).

I think it’s about sharing the risk with your clients – or at least letting them know that you’re making a real commitment to provide them value, not just an empty metric.

SEO firms and consultants should be establishing clear and valuable goals for contracts and working to reach and surpass those goals.

Falling short of the goal shouldn’t mean the client suffers and your disclaimers protect you. Whether we’d like to admit it or not, even with disclaimers our fate is tied to that of our clients. Protection from law suits doesn’t mean protection from a negative reputation.

What is more important: watching your ass in the short-term, or building your brand in the long-term?