1. “We’ll get you to #1 on Google in 30 days!”
Example: An HVAC company pays $1,200/month for “SEO services” and gets a report showing 50 new keywords , all obscure terms like “eco-friendly duct covers NJ.” Zero phone calls. No traffic. Nothing that matters.
2. “We created your website, but we own the domain.”
Example: A salon tries to switch providers, only to learn their old agency registered theirbusiness.com in the agency’s name. $500 ransom later, they got it back. Some never do.
3. “You have to sign a 12-month contract.”
Example: A landscaper in Toms River gets stuck paying $700/month for generic blog posts and ad campaigns that deliver nothing — and he’s stuck for another 6 months with no recourse.
4. “Your site’s optimized, we added meta keywords.”
Example: A bakery’s SEO “expert” tells them they’re fully optimized. When we audit it, there’s no sitemap, no schema, no local targeting, and page speed is 12 seconds. But hey… “meta keywords” were filled in.
5. “We submitted your site to 500 search engines.”
Example: A chiropractor receives a PDF listing 498 websites with names like bizbotz.net and SearchAllStuff.com. Not one has ever delivered a visitor.
6. “We built your Google Business Profile, but you can’t have access.”
Example: A pizzeria’s listing was created under the agency’s email. When the owner tried to fire them, they refused to transfer ownership. Reviews, photos, hours, held hostage.
7. “Boost your post for $5/day!”
Example: A dental office boosts random posts like “Happy Friday!” without targeting. After spending $400 over two months, they get 6 likes and zero leads.
8. “Just use social media, you don’t need a website.”
Example: A boutique builds their whole presence on Instagram. One day, they’re locked out. Years of content, gone. No backup, no email list, no ownership.
9. “Here’s your design, a JPEG from Photoshop. That’s $3,000.”
Example: A real estate agent is given a mockup but no working site. Then the designer vanishes. She had to hire someone else to build the site from scratch.
10. “It’s a one-time setup fee!”
Example: A plumber is charged $999 for “setup,” then $249/month for “maintenance.” No one tells him what’s being maintained. Spoiler: nothing.
11. “We added 10,000 backlinks!”
Example: A roofing company’s traffic tanks. Turns out their SEO firm built links on foreign blogs and spam forums. Google penalized them. Took 6 months to recover.
12. “You don’t need mobile optimization.”
Example: A local painter’s site looks great on desktop… but is unreadable on phones. Calls drop.
13. “We have a proprietary ‘secret sauce’ strategy.”
Example: A law firm signs on and gets a templated website identical to five other clients, same layout, same copy, even the same photos.
14. “We’ll handle everything, just don’t ask questions.”
Example: A business owner gets vague emails but no reports or ad access. After 3 months, she logs in and sees all campaigns paused and no tracking installed.
15. “We’ll get you 500 leads a month.”
Example: A contractor gets a flood of form submissions all from overseas, fake names, and bots. No real local leads. All garbage.
16. “We do everything!”
Example: A “full-service” agency offers social, SEO, ads, video, email… but outsources everything. None of it works because no one owns the outcome.
17. “We built your site… now only we can update it.”
Example: A florist can’t change a single photo without paying $200 per update. The backend is custom-locked. We rebuild it with WordPress and train them.
18. “Use Gmail, business email isn’t important.”
Example: A cleaning service uses cleanbyjean@gmail.com and gets filtered to spam. We set them up with info@cleanbyjean.com and response rates shoot up.
19. “Put our link in the footer and we’ll discount your site.”
Example: A contractor’s site says “Proudly Built by CheapSitesRUs” on every page. It cheapens his brand and the $100 discount wasn’t worth it.
20. “You had 100,000 impressions , you’re crushing it!”
Example: An attorney gets a glowing report with high impressions but 0 calls. The campaign was showing to people across the country who weren’t even potential clients.
21. “We use AI to generate all your content.”
Example: A skincare company gets AI-generated blogs filled with fluff and wrong advice. Their traffic drops, and customers complain about misinformation.
22. “We ranked you for 50 keywords!”
Example: A remodeling contractor ranks for “cheap fix my house now,” “fix faucet blog,” and “house builder podcast.” No search intent. No leads.
23. “Your CPC is down to $1!”
Example: A massage therapist sees cheap clicks from irrelevant placements. Her real cost per lead? Over $200. We cut the waste and bring it under $30.
24. “We can’t show your report, the tool’s down.”
Example: A restaurant owner asks for Google Ads results. The agency says “something’s broken.” Truth: they hadn’t even launched the campaign.
✅ The Web Alliance Difference
At Web Alliance International Agency, we’ve been through it all. We offer:
✅ Real strategy (not buzzwords)
✅ Custom-built websites that YOU own
✅ SEO and advertising that actually drives leads
✅ No contracts, no gatekeeping, no surprises
✅ Full transparency with access to YOUR data
✅ Many, real references, available
Tired of the Fluff? Call Us. Let’s Fix It.
We’re the team you call when you’re tired of getting burned.
Let’s finally do this right.
Disclaimer: The examples and scenarios in this post are for educational purposes only and are based on common industry experiences. They are not intended to target or accuse any specific company. Always do your own due diligence when hiring any marketing or web development agency.
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