What does a good SEO agency do?
It finds the searches that bring you customers, makes your site the best answer for them, fixes what stops Google reading it, and builds your reputation on other sites. Then it reports honestly on what changed.
That covers technical fixes, page content, local listings and reviews, links and coverage. A good agency explains which of these you need most and why, rather than selling you everything.
What questions should you ask an SEO agency?
Ask these on the first call. A good agency answers them easily.
- What would you fix first on our site, and why?
- Who will do the work, and will we speak to them directly?
- Can you show results with timeframes, from clients we can look up?
- How do you build links and mentions?
- What will you report on, and how often?
- Who owns the accounts and content you create?
- How long is the contract, and what happens if we leave?
What are the red flags when choosing an SEO agency?
Any one of these is a reason to look elsewhere.
- Guaranteed rankings, or a guaranteed number one spot. Google's own guidance says no one can guarantee that.
- Claims of a special relationship with Google.
- Secret methods they won't explain.
- Hundreds of links for a fixed fee, or link networks. These can break Google's spam policies and hurt your site.
- Reports full of rankings for searches nobody uses, with no link to enquiries or sales.
- Your accounts set up in their name, so you lose them if you leave.
How do you judge an SEO agency's results?
Look for specific results with a timeframe and a named client, not "we doubled traffic" with no context. Then check the client is real and the work is visible.
Ask what the agency did to get the result, and whether it's the kind of work your business needs. A great result for a national software company may say little about local SEO for a trade business, and the reverse.
How do you choose an SEO agency step by step?
Follow these seven steps and you'll make a confident choice in a couple of weeks.
- Write down what you want: more enquiries, which services, which areas and by when.
- Shortlist three agencies that work with businesses like yours.
- Check each one's own site: does it rank, and is it clear and specific?
- Book a call with each and ask the questions above.
- Ask for a written plan and a clear price, and compare what's included.
- Check results, clients and who'll do the work.
- Read the contract for length, notice period and account ownership before you sign.
Should you choose a local SEO agency?
It helps if you want to meet in person, or if local search is your main channel and they know the area. But a good SEO agency can work well for you from anywhere, and a weak one won't improve by being nearby.
Choose on the work, the people and the fit first. Location is a tie-breaker.
Agency, freelancer or in-house?
A freelancer can be great value for focused work, but one person rarely covers technical SEO, content and digital PR equally well. In-house makes sense when SEO is central to the business and there's enough work for a full-time hire. An agency gives you a team of specialists without hiring them, which suits most small and growing businesses.