SEO Errors

If you manage a website or oversee marketing for a business, there is a good chance you have received an email that looks something like this:

“We ran a quick audit of your website and found several critical SEO errors that are hurting your rankings.”

Sometimes it includes a list of issues. Sometimes it promises quick wins. Sometimes it claims your current agency is missing obvious problems. Almost always, it is unsolicited.

As someone who has worked in SEO for a long time (and yes, someone who has participated in this exact type of outreach earlier in my career) I want to explain why these emails exist, what’s really happening behind the scenes, and how you should think about them if you are already working with an agency.

The Short Answer: It Is a Lead Generation Tactic

At its core, the “SEO errors” email is a sales tactic. It is designed to start a conversation with someone who already has a website and, in many cases, already has an SEO partner.

From the agency sending the email, the logic is simple. Businesses that are already investing in SEO are more likely to spend money on SEO again. The easiest way to break into that relationship is to introduce doubt about the work being done today.

That doubt usually comes in the form of “errors.”

Why Errors Are the Hook

Every website has issues. Every single one.

SEO tools can always find something wrong, whether that is missing alt text, slow-loading images, duplicate title tags, broken links, or pages without meta descriptions. These are not secrets. They are surface-level signals that tools can pull automatically without understanding the broader strategy behind a site.

The reason agencies focus on SEO errors is that they sound concrete. They feel objective. And they are easy to frame as urgent, even when they are not.

An email that says “Your site strategy could be improved” is easy to ignore. An email that says “Your site has 47 SEO errors hurting your rankings” can create anxiety, especially for someone who doesn’t live in SEO every day.

The Automation Behind the Curtain

In many cases, these emails are not written by someone who truly reviewed your website. They are generated by tools that crawl thousands of sites, pull common metrics, and drop them into a template.

That’s why the emails often feel generic. It’s why they sometimes reference pages that no longer exist or issues that have already been resolved. It’s why they rarely mention your actual business goals, competitors, or industry realities.

This does not automatically mean the agency sending the email is malicious or incompetent. It does mean the outreach itself is low-effort and designed to cast a wide net.

Common “Errors” These Emails Usually Point Out (and Why They Are Often Overstated)

Below are some of the most common issues mentioned in SEO outreach emails, along with why they are usually not as serious as they sound when taken out of context.

• Missing Meta Descriptions
  Meta descriptions do not directly impact search rankings. While they can influence click-through rates, Google often rewrites them anyway. Having some missing or auto-generated descriptions is extremely common and rarely a critical issue.
• 404 Errors (Broken Pages)
  A small number of 404 errors is normal for any active website, especially one that publishes new content, updates URLs, or removes old pages. These only become a problem if they are widespread or affecting important pages.
• Duplicate Content Warnings
  Many CMS platforms generate similar URLs or repeated content by default. This does not automatically mean your site is being penalized. True duplicate content issues are rare and usually only matter when they involve large volumes of identical pages competing with each other.
• Slow Page Speed
  Tools often flag page speed based on ideal technical benchmarks, not real user experience. Some pages may load slightly slower due to images, tracking scripts, or third-party tools that are necessary for the business.
• Missing Alt Text on Images
  Alt text is useful for accessibility and image search, but missing alt text on some images is very common and not something that will suddenly destroy rankings.
• Low Domain Authority or “SEO Scores”
  These are third-party metrics created by SEO tools, not real Google ranking factors. They can be useful for comparison, but they are not something your website is graded on by search engines.
• Thin Content Flags
  Automated tools often label pages as “thin” simply because they are short. In reality, many pages only need to be concise to serve their purpose effectively.
• Too Many or Too Few Internal Links
  Internal linking recommendations are often generic. There is no universal correct number of links per page, and optimal structure depends heavily on site size and content strategy.
• Mobile or Core Web Vitals Warnings
  These metrics fluctuate constantly and are influenced by many technical variables. Minor warnings here are extremely common, even on well-optimized sites.
• Missing H1 or Heading Structure Issues
  While heading structure matters for usability and accessibility, having imperfect headings is rarely a ranking killer, especially if the page content is clear and relevant.

Why They Target Businesses With Existing Agencies

From experience, this approach is not about proving your current agency is bad. It’s about creating enough uncertainty to get a foot in the door.

If you already have an SEO partner, there are two assumptions the outreach relies on:

1. You may not fully understand everything your agency is doing.
2. You may not feel confident enough to push back on technical claims.

By highlighting isolated issues, the outreach aims to shift the conversation away from long-term strategy and toward checklist-style execution. That makes it easier to say, “Your agency missed this. We would not.”

The Truth About Most “Errors”

Here’s the part that often gets lost.

Many of the issues listed in these emails are either low priority, already known, intentionally deprioritized, or not meaningful in isolation. SEO is not about having a perfect technical score. It’s about making strategic decisions (and yes, tradeoffs) based on resources, goals, and impact.

For example, missing meta descriptions do not directly affect rankings. A few 404 errors on an actively updated site are normal. Duplicate content warnings are common in modern CMS platforms and are not inherently harmful.

Without context, these issues sound catastrophic. With context, they are usually just part of managing a living website.

How Legitimate Agencies Differ

Legitimate SEO agencies do not rely on fear-based outreach. They understand that real SEO work is nuanced, ongoing, and rarely summarized accurately in a cold email.

More importantly, good agencies are transparent with their clients. They expect questions. They welcome conversations about reports, tools, and priorities. They know that trust is built through explanation, not alarm.

That’s why, if you receive one of these emails, the best next step is not to panic or keep it secret. The best next step is a conversation with your current agency.

Ask them about the issues mentioned. Ask how they prioritize technical fixes. Ask what is being tracked and why. A good agency will be able to explain its decisions clearly and calmly.

Questions You Can Ask Your SEO Agency If You Receive One of These Emails

If you receive an “SEO errors” email and are unsure how to interpret it, here are some simple, reasonable questions you can ask your current agency.

None of these are meant to be “gotcha” questions. They are just meant to help you understand what is being worked on and why.

• Are you already aware of the issues mentioned in this email?
  In many cases, the answer will be yes. The difference is usually in how those issues are being prioritized.
• Which of these items actually matter for our goals right now?
  Not all technical issues carry the same weight. A good agency should be able to explain impact, not just existence.
• Are there reasons some of these things have not been addressed yet?
  This often comes down to resources, timelines, or focusing on higher-impact work first.
• How do you decide what to work on each month?
  This helps you understand whether your SEO strategy is reactive or intentional.
• What metrics do you use to measure success?
  Rankings, traffic, conversions, engagement, or something else entirely.
• How do technical fixes fit into the bigger strategy?
  This separates tactical execution from long-term planning.
• If another agency ran a tool-based audit, how different would it look from yours?
  This opens up a healthy conversation about automated tools versus real analysis.
• Is there anything in this email that actually concerns you?
  A confident agency will answer honestly, not defensively.

To Sum It Up

SEO “errors” emails exist because they’re an easy way to start conversations, especially with businesses that are already investing in SEO. They rely on technical language and isolated issues to create uncertainty, not because something is necessarily wrong, but because doubt opens the door to discussion.

That does not mean every issue mentioned is fake, nor does it mean your current agency is perfect. It does mean that context matters. SEO is not about eliminating every warning a tool can surface. It is about prioritizing the work that actually moves the needle for your business.

If you receive one of these emails, the most productive response is not to panic or to remain silent. It’s to ask questions. Talk to your current agency. Ask how they evaluate technical issues, what they are tracking, and why certain things are prioritized over others.

At the end of the day, good SEO is not built on fear or shortcuts. It is built on transparency, long-term thinking, and informed decision-making.

Have questions about SEO?

Reach out to Lifted Logic for honest, transparent guidance.

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