What Unpaid SEOs Do To Get Paid

Sep 27, 2013 - 8:19 am 10 by
Filed Under Search News

SEO Paid - click for full sizeEver wonder what SEO companies are likely to do when they don't get paid by their clients?

Well, we wondered and decided to ask the question a few months ago. Now with 350 responses in, I wanted to share the diverse set of answers.

Question: What Do You Do If You Don't Get Paid For SEO Work?

  • 27%: Keep Sending Statements/Invoices/Letters To Client
  • 25%: Use A Lawyer or Collection Agency
  • 25%: Take Back Work and/or Remove Links
  • 17%: Harm The Client's Site (Negative SEO or Reputation Management)
  • 6%: Nothing

Here are some of the cute "other" answers:

Find competitor to work for

Require 100% payment upfront

Disclaimer: Please see my poll disclaimer post before coming to any conclusions on these results.

Forum discussion continued at Black Hat World.

This post was written earlier this week and scheduled to be posted today.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: December 17, 2025

Dec 17, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google

Google Discover Tailor Your Feed With Natural Language

Dec 17, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Maps

Google Business Profiles Review Appeals Are Delayed Before Holidays

Dec 17, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google

Google Tests Very Long Expandable AI-Generated Search Result Snippets

Dec 17, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google Maps

Google Clarifies Business Owner Review Replies Expectations

Dec 17, 2025 - 7:21 am
Bing Search

Microsoft Tests Search With An Image & Make An Image In Bing Search Bar

Dec 17, 2025 - 7:11 am
 
Previous Story: SEOs: Large Web Sites Rank Better In Google