How to choose an SEO agency (12 questions to ask before you sign)
How to choose an SEO agency without getting burned, with 12 questions to ask before you sign, what good answers sound like and red flags to walk from.
On this page6 sections
Short answer
Choose the SEO agency that can tell you specifically what they'll do in the first 90 days, how they'll measure success in leads rather than rankings, and who will actually do the work, while making it clear you own every account. Walk away from anyone who guarantees rankings.
Knowing how to choose an SEO agency is mostly knowing what to ask. Every agency's website says roughly the same things: data-driven, transparent, results-focused. The differences show up in the answers to specific questions, and in how comfortable the agency is giving them.
I run an agency, so take this with whatever grain of salt you like. But these are the questions I'd ask if I were on your side of the table, and they're the ones I'd want a prospective client to ask us.
What does an SEO agency actually do?
Before the questions, it helps to know what you're buying. A good SEO agency does some mix of:
- Technical work. Making sure search engines can crawl, index and understand your site, and that it's fast and works on phones.
- Content. Building and improving the pages people search for: services, locations, products, answers to common questions.
- Local SEO. Managing your Google Business Profile, reviews and listings if you serve a local area.
- Authority. Earning links and mentions from relevant sites, legitimately.
- Measurement. Tracking calls, forms and revenue from search, and reporting on them honestly.
The mix depends on your business. We break down the monthly work in more detail in what an SEO agency actually does each month.
How to choose an SEO agency: 12 questions to ask before you sign
Several of these come straight from Google's own advice on hiring an SEO, which is worth reading in full. The rest come from what I've seen go wrong.
1. What will you do in the first 90 days?
You want specifics: an audit, a list of fixes, which pages they'll build or rewrite, how they'll set up tracking. "We'll optimize your site and build authority" is not an answer. An agency that can't describe the first three months can't describe the next twelve.
2. What results do you expect, in what timeframe, and how will you measure them?
This is one of Google's suggested questions, and it's the most revealing. A good answer names realistic ranges and admits uncertainty. If you want a benchmark for what's realistic, our post on how long SEO takes lays out typical timelines.
3. Can you show me examples of similar work?
Ask for examples in businesses like yours. Ask what was done, not just what happened to a graph. If they offer references, call one and ask what the agency was like to work with when things weren't going well.
4. Do you follow Google Search Essentials?
Google publishes Search Essentials, its rules for what's allowed. Any reputable agency should say yes without hesitating and should be able to explain how their link building fits within them.
5. Who will actually do the work?
Will the person on the sales call be on your account? Is the work done in-house, by contractors, or resold from another provider? None of these is automatically bad. Not knowing is.
6. Will you tell me every change you make to my site?
Google suggests asking this, and it matters. You should be able to see what was changed and when. Changes made without your knowledge are how sites end up with hidden pages, spammy links or broken tracking.
7. Who owns the accounts, content and data?
Your Google Business Profile, Google Analytics, Search Console, website, domain and ad accounts should belong to you, with the agency added as a user. Any content they write for you should be yours. If you leave, nothing should leave with them.
8. How do you earn links and reviews?
Listen for paid links or "link packages." Google's spam policies list buying links for ranking purposes as link spam, and it can get pages ranked lower or dropped. For reviews, Google's review policy prohibits incentives and selectively asking only happy customers, and in the US the FTC has a rule against fake and paid reviews. A good agency helps you ask every customer, honestly.
9. What's your experience in my industry and my market?
Another of Google's questions. Industry experience helps, but it's not essential. Understanding how your customers search and how they decide is. An agency that asks good questions about your business is often better than one that claims to have done it all before.
10. What will you need from us?
SEO goes faster when the business is involved: approvals, access, photos, answers about services and prices. Ask how much of your time they'll need each month. If the answer is "none," expect generic content.
11. What's in the contract?
Minimum term, notice period, what happens to work in progress if you leave, and whether price changes need your agreement. A minimum of a few months is reasonable because SEO takes time. A long lock-in with no defined monthly work is not.
12. What will your reports show?
Ask to see a sample. A good report leads with calls, forms and revenue from search, then explains the rankings and traffic behind them. A report that's mostly charts of tool scores, like Domain Authority, tells you what the agency thinks matters. Our guide to the SEO KPIs that actually matter shows what we'd expect to see.
Green flags and red flags
| Green flags | Red flags |
|---|---|
| A specific 90-day plan | Guaranteed rankings or "page one in 30 days" |
| Success measured in leads and revenue | Success measured in Domain Authority or keyword counts |
| You own every account | They own your profile, analytics or domain |
| They explain every change | Secret methods or "proprietary techniques" |
| Honest about timelines and uncertainty | Claims of a special relationship with Google |
| Asks hard questions about your business | Sent you a cold email promising page one |
About guarantees
Google says it directly: "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google." It also warns against SEOs that claim a special relationship with Google, or that email you out of the blue.
An agency can reasonably guarantee the work: that certain pages will be built, fixes made and reports delivered. It cannot guarantee where Google ranks you, because nobody outside Google controls that. If someone does, either they don't understand SEO or they're counting on you not to.
What I'd do
If I were hiring an agency for a small or mid-sized business, I'd talk to three. I'd send each one the same short brief: what we sell, where, who our best customers are, and what we've tried. Then I'd ask these 12 questions and compare the answers side by side.
I wouldn't pick on price alone. Quotes vary because the amount of work varies; ask each agency to list exactly what's included each month. Our breakdown of what local SEO costs shows the typical ranges. Then I'd start with a defined first phase, often an audit and fixes over 90 days, before committing to a long retainer.
If you'd like us to be one of the three, here's how our SEO and local SEO service works. We're happy to answer every question on this list.
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose a local SEO agency or one anywhere?
Location matters less than understanding your market. An agency in another state can do excellent local SEO if it takes the time to learn your towns, competitors and customers. Being able to meet in person is a bonus, not a requirement.
Is a freelancer a better choice than an agency?
Sometimes. A strong freelancer can be great value for a single-location business with simple needs. An agency makes more sense when you need development, content and analytics covered together. Ask the same 12 questions either way.
How long should I give an SEO agency before judging it?
Judge the work from the first month: was the plan delivered, were changes shared, is tracking set up? Judge results in leads after about six months. If nothing has moved by then, including impressions and rankings, it's fair to ask hard questions.
