Snake oil is a term used to describe deceptive marketing, health care fraud, or a scam. After 20 years in this business and even with friends that call themselves “SEO experts”, I still think it is nearly entirely a scam. I would not recommend an SEO company to anyone. Not 20 years ago, not today, not ever! To me, the same type of people get caught in this trap time and time again, people looking for short-term fixes.