When the Wrong Agency Gets It Wrong: The Harsh Cost of Poor SEO Decisions

The cost of Poor SEO Decisions haunt us… So there’s a graph we keep on file — not to gloat, not to throw shade, but as a harsh reminder of what can happen when good SEO work gets undone by poor decisions.

The graph shows a rise from obscurity to visibility: organic rankings that grew steadily, peaking at around 11–12% visibility nationally. That growth didn’t happen overnight. It came from months of careful strategy, content development, technical SEO, and consistent, behind-the-scenes graft. That visibility translated into 80–100 genuine leads per month — real conversations with people ready to buy.

Then, it all came crashing down.

In December 2024, a new agency convinced the client to transfer their business to them and rebuild the website from scratch. That’s fine, we’ve always maintained that we don’t own anyone as a client and business is not a given… But since that launch, as you can clearly see on the chart, their visibility fell off a cliff. It’s now sitting at around 0.8%. Leads? From what we understand, they’re down to a trickle — maybe 5 to 10 a month if they’re lucky.

And look — we’re not here to say “told you so.”

We’re gutted.

Because behind that SEO performance was a team who genuinely cared. Who poured their energy, time, and experience into helping a business grow. We treat our clients’ brands like our own, and seeing our work unravel because someone else promised shortcuts or shiny new things? It stings.

This is why choosing the right digital partner matters. SEO isn’t a tick-box exercise. It’s not just about having a “nice” website or stuffing a few keywords into a page. SEO is technical. It’s strategic. In fact it’s bloody complex. And furthermore, it absolutely cannot be handed off to a provider who doesn’t understand how SEO works, how Google indexes sites, or what happens when you launch a new website without a proper migration plan.

There’s a harsh truth here: not all digital agencies are created equal. Some can sell ice in the arctic — and unfortunately, they’re better at selling than they are at delivering. It’s not just frustrating — it’s costly. Costly in leads, costly in ranking, and costly in lost opportunity.

If you’re thinking about changing providers or launching a new site — stop. Ask the hard questions:

• What is your SEO migration plan?
• How do you measure and track performance?
• Can you show me results from other clients?
• Do you actually understand what’s at stake?

Because getting it wrong doesn’t just set you back a month or two — it can erase a year (or more) of growth in a single stroke. And that’s the intangible Cost of Poor SEO.

We share this not to scare you — but to protect you. And if you’re reading this thinking, “This sounds familiar…” — we’re here. No judgment. No sales pitch. Just straight-up advice.

Because at the end of the day, results speak louder than promises. And that chart? That chart speaks volumes.