What to ask before hiring an SEO agency

Most SEO pitches sound the same: keywords, backlinks, monthly reports. These questions cut through the template and show whether the agency will change your site or only your inbox.

Questions to ask before you sign

• What will you change on our site in the first 90 days — specific pages, metadata, structure, speed?
• Do you need developer access, and who implements technical fixes — your team or theirs?
• How do you measure success? Rankings alone are not enough — ask about traffic quality, conversions, and Search Console coverage.
• Who writes content, and will it be written for our customers or for algorithms?
• What happens to our accounts, data, and site changes if we stop working together?
• Can you show results for a business similar to ours — not only a traffic graph with the axis hidden?
• Do you guarantee #1 rankings? (Walk away if yes — no one can promise that honestly.)
• How do you handle a site migration or redesign without losing visibility?
• What is included in the monthly fee vs billed separately — link building, ads, web development?

Red flags

• No mention of technical SEO, indexation, or site speed.
• Opaque “proprietary strategy” with no deliverables list.
• Bulk backlink packages or private blog networks.
• Reports full of vanity metrics and keyword counts you did not ask for.
• Pressure to sign a 12-month contract before a baseline audit.

A good SEO partner talks about your product, your customers, and your site architecture — not only your competitor’s domain authority. If the first call is a keyword list before anyone has seen your site, keep looking.