“Why us” pages usually list the five generic things every agency claims (experienced, dedicated, transparent, results-driven, customer-focused). That is not useful. Here are five concrete things most agencies in our space do that we deliberately do not — with the reasoning, so you can judge whether you agree.
1. We don’t use PBNs (private blog networks)
Most “cheap backlinks” services run on private blog networks — sites built specifically to sell links. They look like normal blogs to a casual visitor. To Google’s spam algorithms, the patterns are obvious: similar hosting fingerprints, similar plugin sets, link-only outbound profiles, no real organic traffic. Google’s SpamBrain detects PBN networks at scale and de-indexes them — taking your purchased links (and the rankings they propped up) with them.
We do not buy or build PBN links. Every link we deliver is a real editorial placement on a site with real organic traffic and real audience engagement. Costs more per link, lasts forever, never gets nuked in the next algorithm update. See our link-building service.
2. We don’t build on Elementor (or any heavy page builder)
Elementor, Divi, WPBakery, and similar page builders make WordPress easy to start with. They make it expensive to live with. Each adds 200-500 KB of CSS and JavaScript per page regardless of which features you actually use. Page Speed scores tank. Core Web Vitals fail. Updates break things. Switching costs become punitive — every page has to be rebuilt to leave.
We build with native WordPress Gutenberg blocks. Custom server-rendered blocks per project. Result: marketing sites loading in under a second, your editorial team can still edit every page from the WordPress admin, and switching themes does not require rebuilding the site. See our WordPress design approach.
3. We don’t lock you out of your own data
Many agencies hold the “agency-only” Google Ads account, the “agency-only” Search Console property, the “agency-only” GA4 dashboard. When you leave them — or they leave the industry — you lose access to your own marketing history. We have seen six-figure ad budgets disappear into accounts no one remembers the password to.
We always set up Google Ads, GSC, GA4, and any third-party tools (Klaviyo, Mailchimp, etc.) under your own ownership. We get user-level access. If you fire us tomorrow, you keep everything.
4. We don’t charge for “discovery hours”
The 10-hour kickoff scoping call billed at $200/hour is a common agency revenue line. We think it is dishonest — that conversation is sales, not work. Either we want your business or we do not.
Initial calls are free. Strategy proposals are free. Written quotes are free. We start charging when we start producing work — and the work delivered is what we agreed to in the scope, not whatever fills the hours.
5. We don’t promise rankings we cannot deliver
“Rank #1 in 30 days” is not how SEO works. It is also against Google’s terms of service to guarantee specific rankings. Any agency that promises specific positions is either lying or describing rankings on no-volume keywords nobody searches for.
What we do promise: a specific scope of work delivered on a specific timeline, monthly reports that show what we shipped and what moved, and an honest assessment if a campaign is not working so we can pivot fast. Most clients see ranking movement in 30-60 days. We will tell you the realistic timeline for your specific market on the kickoff call.
What we DO promise
- Transparency on every link, every page, every dollar of ad spend
- Quality over volume on every deliverable
- Honest reporting, including when things are not working
- Permission-first marketing — no spam, no buying lists, no shortcuts that damage your domain reputation
- You own your data, your accounts, your relationships
If that matches how you want to work with an agency, message us or claim a free starter backlink. If the boundary stuff above made you uncomfortable, we are probably not the right fit — and that is fine.