What questions should you ask an SEO agency before you hire them?

An agency's pitch is designed to show it at its best, so the questions you ask are your main tool for seeing past it. The ones below are grouped by what they reveal, with a note on what a good answer sounds like and what should worry you. You do not need to ask every question; pick the ones that matter most for your business and ask every agency the same ones, so you can compare.

Questions about who does the work

These matter most, because the quality of SEO depends almost entirely on the people doing it.

1. Who will work on my account each week, and how senior are they? A good answer names people and roles. Be wary if the senior people in the pitch disappear after signing.
2. How many other clients does that person look after? There is no correct number, but an honest answer helps you judge how much attention you will get.
3. Do you subcontract any of the work? Many agencies use freelancers for writing or development. That is fine if they tell you and stay responsible for quality.
4. Who do I contact, and how quickly do you reply? Look for a named contact and a stated response time.
5. How long have the people on my account been with you? High turnover means re-explaining your business every few months.

Questions about what they will actually do

1. What will you do in the first month, and what in each month after that? A good answer lists concrete work: a technical review, fixes, new pages, profile updates. "Ongoing optimisation" on its own is not an answer.
2. How will you decide which searches to target? Look for an answer that starts from your buyers and your most profitable services, not from search volume alone.
3. Where do your links and mentions come from? Good answers mention trade bodies, partners, local press and useful content. Be cautious about bulk link packages, which Google's spam policies treat as link schemes.
4. Will you write new pages, and who writes them? Ask whether writers understand your field and whether you approve content before it goes live.
5. What will you change on my website, and will you tell me first? Google's own guide to hiring an SEO, Do you need an SEO?, suggests asking whether an SEO will share every change it makes and explain why. A good agency will.

Questions about results and timelines

1. How will you measure success? The best answers include enquiries from search, not just rankings and traffic.
2. What should I expect after three months, and after six? A good agency gives you a realistic, hedged picture. SEO usually takes several months to show a clear trend; see how long SEO takes.
3. Can you guarantee a ranking? This is a test. The right answer is no. Google's guidance says no one can guarantee a top ranking.
4. Can you show me work for a business like mine? Similar size, similar market. Then check it yourself.
5. What would make you tell me SEO is not worth it for me right now? An honest agency has an answer. If your site needs rebuilding first, or your market is better served by ads for now, they should say so.

The most useful question is often the last one. An agency that can tell you when not to buy its service is one you can trust with the rest.

Questions about reporting

1. Can I see a sample report? Look for one you can understand in five minutes: what changed, what it produced and what happens next.
2. How often will I speak to you, and who will be on the call? Monthly is common. Make sure the person who does the work is available, not only the account manager.
3. Will I have access to Google Search Console and analytics myself? You should. Search Console is Google's free tool showing which searches bring people to your site. The Search Console guide for business owners explains what to look at.

Questions about ownership and leaving

These protect you if the relationship ends, and the answers tell you a lot about the agency's confidence in its own work.

1. Who owns the content you write? You should, once it is paid for.
2. Whose name are the accounts in? Your website hosting, Google Business Profile, Search Console and analytics should be owned by your business, with the agency given access.
3. What is the minimum term and notice period? A minimum of around three months is reasonable for SEO. Long lock-ins with no break clause are a warning.
4. What do I receive when I leave? All content, logins, reports, and documentation of what was changed.

Questions about AI search

More buyers now ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews who to hire. Those tools lean heavily on search results, so this is now part of the job.

1. How do you check what AI tools say about my business? A good answer describes a repeatable check across several tools and searches. You can try it yourself with the free ten-minute AI test.
2. Do you charge separately for "GEO" or "AEO"? These are names for generative and answer engine optimization. Much of the work overlaps with good SEO, so be wary of paying three times for it. See GEO vs SEO.
3. Will you add structured data? Structured data is code that labels facts on your pages, such as your address and services, so machines read them without guessing.

Questions about price and scope

1. What exactly does the monthly fee include, written as numbers? Pages, hours, fixes, reports and calls.
2. What is not included? Web development, design, content beyond an agreed number, ads.
3. What would cost extra, and how is it priced? Avoid surprises later.
4. Is the fee based on hours, deliverables or results? Each can work. Hours are flexible but hard to check. Deliverables are easy to check but can reward volume over quality. Pure payment by results sounds safe, but it often means the agency picks easy searches nobody buys from, so read the definition of a result carefully.
5. How does the price change if my needs change? A good agency can explain how scope moves up or down, and what notice either side needs.

Prices vary widely by market and scope. For a smaller business, SEO retainers often start somewhere around $1,000 to $2,000 a month and can rise well beyond that in competitive national markets. A much lower figure is not automatically bad, but ask what can realistically be done for it each month.

The guide to what a marketing retainer should include shows how to compare proposals like for like.

What should a good agency ask you?

Notice the questions an agency asks in return. A good one wants to know:

• Which services or products are most profitable for you.
• Who your best customers are and how they find you today.
• What happens to an enquiry once it arrives, and how many become sales.
• Who your main competitors are.
• Whether a redesign, rebrand or ads campaign is planned.

After the calls, compare the agencies side by side. For each one, note who would do the work, what they would deliver in the first three months, how they would measure success, and how easily you could leave. The cheapest proposal is rarely the one with the clearest answers, and the clearest answers are usually the better predictor of how the work will go.

If an agency talks only about keywords and never asks how you make money, its work is unlikely to be tied to your enquiries. For a wider view of which kind of supplier fits your business, read the guide to choosing who runs your marketing, and for single consultants, how to choose an SEO consultant.