Your SEO Company is Not Your IT Department (And That’s Okay!)
There’s a persistent misunderstanding in the business world: if an SEO company works on websites, they must also be responsible for everything remotely tech-related in your business. This assumption leads to frustration on both sides—clients wondering why their SEO agency isn’t fixing their email problems, and SEO specialists scratching their heads as to why they’re expected to troubleshoot issues outside their scope. The reality is, while SEO professionals often have a solid understanding of technical concepts, their role is to get your website ranking, drive traffic, and generate leads—not to manage your IT infrastructure. Expecting them to fix unrelated technical issues is like assuming your mechanic should also be able to redesign your car’s interior because they work on engines. Yes, both are car-related, but they require completely different skill sets.
Why SEO Companies Are Not Responsible for Your IT Problems
Think of an SEO company as a highly skilled marketing strategist. Their job is to ensure that when people search for businesses like yours, your website appears prominently, attracts visitors, and converts them into leads. They focus on things like keyword research, on-page optimizations, link building, and analytics tracking. What they don’t do is manage the nuts and bolts of your internal business operations, such as email configurations, DNS settings, or troubleshooting whether your spam filter is eating your contact form submissions.
A good analogy is hiring an architect to design your dream home. They’ll plan every detail of the structure, ensuring it looks great and functions well. However, if the plumber installs the pipes incorrectly and your shower isn’t getting hot water, that’s not the architect’s fault—it’s a plumbing issue. Likewise, if your leads aren’t reaching you due to an email configuration problem, it’s not an SEO failure. SEO companies build the system to attract and generate leads; it’s up to you and your IT team to ensure they’re being received properly.
The Email and Lead Form Confusion
SEO Can’t Control Your Inbox
One of the most common complaints SEO agencies hear is: “We aren’t getting any leads!” The client assumes that since they aren’t seeing inquiries in their inbox, the SEO strategy must not be working. However, SEO companies do not have control over what happens after a lead is generated and submitted through a website form.
Let’s say an SEO company optimizes your website and gets you to the top of Google. A potential customer visits your site, fills out a contact form, and submits an inquiry. At this point, the SEO agency’s job is done—the lead has been captured and sent to the designated email address. If that email ends up in your spam folder, gets lost due to a misconfigured email setup, or isn’t forwarded to the right department, that’s an IT problem, not an SEO problem.
Think of it like mailing a letter. The postal service (SEO) ensures that the letter is correctly delivered to your mailbox (email system). If you never check your mailbox, accidentally throw the letter away, or the address on the letter is incorrect, that’s not the fault of the postal service. The same applies to SEO—just because you don’t see the leads doesn’t mean they aren’t arriving. It’s crucial to check all points of failure on your end before assuming the SEO company isn’t doing its job.
What SEO Companies Do vs. What They Don’t Do
| SEO Companies DO | SEO Companies DON’T |
|---|---|
| Optimize your website for search engines to increase traffic | Fix your email problems or troubleshoot why leads aren’t appearing in your inbox |
| Conduct keyword research and content strategy to improve visibility | Manage your domain’s DNS settings or troubleshoot hosting issues |
| Build backlinks and improve domain authority | Reset your email password or configure your spam settings |
| Ensure website forms are functioning and collecting leads | Diagnose why your business emails aren’t being received |
| Track leads and website analytics to measure success | Provide IT support for your network, devices, or internal systems |
Where to Direct Your IT Issues Instead
Because SEO companies do not manage IT infrastructure, it’s important to know where to turn when problems arise. If you’re experiencing issues with leads not appearing in your inbox, first check your spam folder. Email providers frequently filter out messages, especially if the email contains common marketing language or attachments that trigger spam filters. If the emails still aren’t arriving, reach out to your email provider or IT specialist to verify whether there’s an issue with email forwarding, filters, or your email server’s configuration.
If you’re experiencing website downtime, domain connectivity issues, or SSL certificate errors, contact your website hosting provider or domain registrar—not your SEO team. They can help troubleshoot whether your domain name system (DNS) settings are misconfigured, whether there are server outages, or if there are issues with expired SSL certificates.
For general IT support, including network troubleshooting, hardware malfunctions, or software issues, your internal IT team or an outsourced IT provider is the correct point of contact. SEO professionals specialize in digital marketing and search engine visibility, not business IT operations.
Why Understanding This Distinction Matters
When business owners misunderstand the role of an SEO company, it leads to misplaced frustration and wasted time. If an SEO team has to constantly defend themselves against IT-related issues, it takes time away from improving search rankings and driving new leads. Just as you wouldn’t expect your accountant to fix your broken office printer, you shouldn’t expect your SEO team to troubleshoot technical IT issues.
This distinction is crucial for ensuring leads aren’t slipping through the cracks. If you assume that no leads mean bad SEO, you might miss that inquiries are coming in but aren’t being properly routed to your inbox. This happens more often than you’d think, and it’s a common reason why businesses believe SEO isn’t working—when in reality, their email system is failing them.
Final Takeaway: Who to Call for What
If you’re dealing with an SEO-related issue like low search rankings, declining traffic, or poor visibility, contact your SEO company. They are responsible for making sure your website is optimized, ranking well, and bringing in organic traffic.
If you’re dealing with email problems, missing leads, DNS errors, or network-related issues, contact your IT team or email provider. These problems fall squarely outside the responsibilities of an SEO agency.
If your website is down, slow, or experiencing server errors, contact your hosting provider. They are responsible for keeping your site online and ensuring that it loads properly.
At the end of the day, SEO professionals excel at driving potential customers to your business—but they can’t ensure you check your email, fix your spam filters, or troubleshoot your IT problems. Understanding this difference saves everyone time, frustration, and unnecessary back-and-forths. Your SEO team wants to help you succeed, but for the right issues, you need the right experts.
