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

Google Updates

Google December 2025 Core Update Is Rolling Out - You Surprised?

Dec 11, 2025 - 12:34 pm
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: December 11, 2025

Dec 11, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google

Google AI Mode Links Updated & Adds Contextual Introductions

Dec 11, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Preferred Sources Now Global & Adds Spotlighting Subscriptions

Dec 11, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google AdSense

Google AdSense Offerwall Optimization: Automatic Enrollment

Dec 11, 2025 - 7:31 am
Bing Ads

Bing Tests Hide Sponsored Results Button & Ad Grouping, Like Google Ads

Dec 11, 2025 - 7:21 am
 
Previous Story: SEOs: Large Web Sites Rank Better In Google