Clause 2 of 5 · The promisesNo. 02
Promises no one can make about Google rankings
No one can promise a top ranking on Google: Google says “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google,” and that it “never accepts money to include or rank sites in our search results”. An agency that promises a ranking is making a claim about the future, and the ACCC says a business making a claim about future matters must have reasonable grounds for it at the time it makes it.
This is general information, not legal advice about any agreement. The ACCC’s guidance and the Australian Consumer Law itself are the places to check, both linked at the foot of this page.
Google’s wordWhat Google says no one can do
Google’s page on hiring an SEO gives a short list of claims to treat with suspicion: “Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a ‘special relationship’ with Google, or advertise a ‘priority submit’ to Google.”
Money does not buy a place either. Google says: “Advertising with Google won’t have any effect on your site’s presence in our search results.” It also says it costs nothing to appear in the organic results, the ones that are not ads.
Even being listed is not assured. Google’s SEO starter guide says “there’s no guarantee that any particular site will be added to Google’s index,” although following its Search Essentials makes a site more likely to appear. And results take time to read: the same guide says some changes take effect in a few hours and others could take several months, and that you will likely want to wait a few weeks to judge whether the work helped.
Side by sideWhat you might hear, and what the source says
| What you might hear | What the source says |
|---|---|
| “Guaranteed number one on Google.” | “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.” (Google) |
| “We have a special relationship with Google.” | Google lists alleging a “special relationship” with Google among the claims to beware of. |
| “We’ll priority-submit your site.” | Google lists advertising a “priority submit” to Google among the same claims. |
| “Take an ad package and your free rankings will rise.” | Advertising with Google has no effect on a site’s presence in its search results. (Google) |
| “You’ll see results next week.” | Some changes take a few hours to show and others several months. (Google) |
| “We’ll submit you to thousands of search engines.” | Google calls this one of the “typically useless exercises” that don’t affect ranking in the major search engines. |
The lawMisleading claims under the Australian Consumer Law
Google’s advice is guidance. The rule against misleading claims is law, and it starts with section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law:
“A person must not, in trade or commerce, engage in conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive.”
Australian Consumer Law, section 18(1)
Section 29 goes further for specific claims. Among other things, it says a person must not, in connection with the supply of services, “make a false or misleading representation that services are of a particular standard, quality, value or grade”, and the Act notes that a pecuniary penalty may be imposed for a contravention.
The ACCC states the principle in one line: “Any information or claim that a business provides about its products or services must be accurate, truthful and based on reasonable grounds.”
Five points from the ACCC’s guidance
- Businesses are protected too. The ACCC’s advertising guide says it is illegal for a business to mislead or deceive “consumers or other businesses”, even if it did not intend to and no one suffered a loss.
- Intent does not matter. “It makes no difference whether a business intends to mislead or not.”
- Predictions need grounds. “A business that makes a claim about future matters (including predictions or projections) must have reasonable grounds for making the claim at the time of making the claim.” It is the business, the ACCC says, that has to show it had those grounds. The ACCC adds that such claims need to address the uncertainties and variables involved.
- Specific beats vague. The ACCC says broad, vague terms “may mislead consumers”. It also says wildly exaggerated claims that no one could treat seriously, called puffery, are generally not considered misleading.
- The small print cannot undo the headline. “Information in fine print and qualifications must not conflict with the overall message of the advertisement.”
Search is not a special case. The ACCC’s guide says the requirements of the law still apply as technology changes, and that “all businesses involved in placing advertisements on search engines must take care not to mislead or deceive consumers.”
The honest versionWhat a proposal can say instead
Google describes what a sound audit offers: “realistic estimates of improvement, and an estimate of the work involved.” Its interview questions point the same way, asking what results an SEO expects, in what timeframe, and how they measure success.
An estimate written down with how it will be measured is something both sides can check later; a guarantee of position is the thing Google says no one can give. If a proposal makes promises like those in the table, keep a copy of it with the agreement. Google’s questions for an SEO has the full interview, and When it goes wrong in the Territory sets out where a Territory business can take a complaint about a claim that turned out to be misleading.