How to Choose an SEO Company: Questions and Red Flags
Short answer: To choose an SEO company, judge how clearly it explains what it will do, how it measures results in calls and leads, and whether you keep ownership of your website, domain, Google Business Profile and data. Walk away from anyone who guarantees rankings, will not explain their methods, hides the links they build or wants to own your accounts.
Hiring SEO help is hard because the work is mostly invisible and results take months. That makes it easy to pay for activity instead of progress. The questions below help you tell the difference before you sign.
What should you know before you start looking?
Get three things clear for yourself first:
- Your goal in plain terms. "More water heater installation jobs in the north suburbs" is a goal. "Rank higher" is not.
- Your budget for at least six months. SEO is slow to show results, so a budget you can only sustain for two months will be wasted. Our guide to how much SEO costs explains what drives price.
- Your current numbers. How many calls and forms you get now, and from where. Without a baseline, nobody can prove improvement.
Which questions should you ask an SEO company?
Use these in every sales call. Write down the answers.
About the plan
- What would you do in the first 90 days, specifically? Expect named tasks: technical audit, Google Business Profile fixes, service pages, city pages, citations, review process.
- Which searches would you target first, and why? A good answer refers to search demand and your services, not a generic keyword list.
- What do you need from me? Good SEO needs your input: photos, job details, approvals, access.
About the work
- Who actually does the work? In-house team, contractors or overseas resellers. Any of these can work, but you should know.
- How do you build links? Ask for examples. You want relationships, partnerships and useful content, not bulk placements.
- Will you write content, and who reviews it for accuracy? Content about your trade needs your expertise or careful fact-checking.
About results
- How will you report progress? Look for calls, form leads, Search Console impressions and clicks, and Business Profile actions. Rankings alone are not enough.
- What results should I expect by month three and month six? Honest answers are ranges and leading indicators, not promises. Our guide on how long SEO takes gives a realistic picture.
- What happens if it is not working? You want a process for diagnosing and changing course.
About ownership and exit
- Who owns the website, domain, content and accounts?
- What do I keep if I cancel?
- What is the minimum term and the cancellation policy?
What are the red flags?
Any one of these should slow you down. Two or more, walk away.
- Guaranteed rankings. Google's own guidance warns that no one can guarantee a number one ranking. A company can guarantee effort and transparency, not Google's decisions.
- Secret or proprietary methods they will not explain. Real SEO is not secret. If they cannot describe it, they may be doing something you would not approve.
- They own your assets. The domain, website, Google Business Profile or analytics are registered to the agency. Leaving becomes very expensive.
- Hidden links. They will not show you the sites linking to you. Often a sign of paid networks.
- Guaranteed link counts per month. Real links do not arrive on a schedule.
- Rankings for terms nobody searches. Reports that celebrate page one positions for long phrases with no demand.
- Long lock-ins with steep exit fees. A short initial term is fair. A year with penalties removes their incentive to perform.
- Cold outreach that says your site is "broken." Often a generic automated audit sent to thousands of businesses.
- Fake reviews offered as a service. Buying or writing reviews breaks Google's policies and can get your profile suspended.
- Keyword-stuffed business names. Advice to add "Best Plumber Denver" to your Google Business Profile name breaks Google's guidelines and is a common cause of suspensions.
- No access to your own data. Reports arrive as screenshots or PDFs, but you have no login to Search Console, Analytics or call tracking to check them.
Who should own your website and accounts?
Your business should own every core asset, with the agency added as a user or manager:
| Asset | Should be owned by | Agency access |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | Your business | None needed, or DNS access |
| Website and hosting | Your business | Admin user |
| Google Business Profile | Your business | Manager |
| Google Analytics and Search Console | Your business | User or full access |
| Google Ads account | Your business | Manager access |
| Call tracking numbers | Your business, or ported to you on exit | User |
| Content and images | Your business, in writing | N/A |
If an agency already holds these in its name, ask for ownership to be transferred before or as part of any new contract.
What does a good SEO proposal contain?
A strong proposal is specific to your business. It should include:
- What they found. A short review of your site, Business Profile and competitors, with real issues named.
- Target services and cities, with the reasoning or demand data behind them.
- A first 90-day plan, task by task.
- Monthly deliverables after that, described as outcomes and work, not just hours.
- Reporting: what you will see, how often, and in what format.
- Price and term, with the cancellation policy in plain words.
- What they need from you.
- Ownership terms for content, accounts and tracking numbers.
A proposal that could be sent to any business unchanged is not a plan.
How do you compare SEO companies fairly?
Put each shortlisted company in a simple scorecard:
| Question | Company A | Company B | Company C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specific 90-day plan? | |||
| Reports calls and leads? | |||
| Shows every link built? | |||
| You own all assets? | |||
| Reasonable term and exit? | |||
| Experience with your trade or similar? | |||
| Clear answers without jargon? |
Ask each company for a sample monthly report, with client names removed if needed. It shows you exactly what you will be reading every month, and whether it talks about calls and leads or only about activity. If possible, speak with one current client in a business similar to yours.
Cheapest is rarely best and most expensive is not automatically better. Pick the one whose plan you understand and whose reporting you could check yourself.
Should you hire a local SEO company or a remote one?
Location matters less than understanding your market. A remote team can do excellent local SEO if it researches your city's search demand, competitors and service areas. A local agency can do poor work. Judge them on the plan and the transparency, not the office address.
We work remotely with businesses nationwide, and we have done SEO since 2011. You can read about our founder, Tom Johnston, or see how we approach SEO services. If you want a second opinion on a proposal you have received, get in touch and we will tell you plainly what we think.
Key facts
Choose an SEO company by how clearly it explains its plan, how it reports results and whether you keep ownership of everything it builds. Red flags include guaranteed rankings, secret methods, long lock-in contracts, refusal to show links and agencies that keep your website, domain or Google Business Profile in their own name. A good proposal ties the work to your services, cities and leads, not to vague activity.
Questions
What questions should I ask an SEO company?
Ask what they would do in the first 90 days, how they report results, who will do the work, which links they build and how, and what you keep if you cancel. Clear, specific answers are a good sign.
Is it a red flag if an SEO company guarantees first page rankings?
Yes. Google itself warns that no one can guarantee a number one ranking. A company can commit to work and reporting, not to Google's results.
Should I sign a long SEO contract?
Be cautious. SEO takes months, so a short initial commitment is reasonable, but long contracts with steep cancellation fees remove the agency's reason to keep earning your business.
Who should own my website and Google Business Profile?
You should. Your domain, website, Google Business Profile, analytics and ad accounts should be in your business's name, with the agency given access as a manager.
Terms in this guide: Google Business Profile · Local SEO