In shortChoose an SEO company by asking about access, reporting, links and guarantees before you sign. Here are the questions, the answers to look for, and the red flags.
Choose an SEO company by asking the same written questions of two or three of them and comparing the answers: what they will change, how they will measure it, who owns the access, how they get links and what they will not promise. A good one answers plainly, in writing, and will sometimes tell you that you do not need to hire anyone yet.
That last part is the test. Anyone can describe what SEO is. Fewer will tell you the truth when it costs them the job. This guide is written from the buyer's side of the table and applies to any agency you are comparing, including me. If you want the price side first, read how much SEO costs in the UK.
Key Takeaways - No one can guarantee a number one ranking. Google says so itself. - You should keep ownership of your Search Console, your website and everything created for it. - A report should lead with enquiries. Rankings are a leading indicator, not the result. - Ask how links are earned. Buying them breaks Google's spam policies. - A good agency will tell you what it will not do, and when you should wait.
Do you need an SEO company at all?
Not always, and Google says so. Its page on hiring an SEO states: "If you run a small local business, you can probably do much of the work yourself." It points owners to its SEO starter guide first, and adds that knowing the basics helps you spot an agency proposing something that is "not recommended or, worse, strongly discouraged".
Google's guidance on hiring an SEO also says a great time to hire is when you are planning a site redesign or a new site, because the site can then be built search-friendly from the start. So the honest reasons to pay are a build or rebuild on the way, technical problems you cannot fix yourself, or no time to keep the work going. Whether the money pays back is a separate question that is SEO worth it for a small business works through.
The questions to ask, and what a good answer sounds like
A retainer is a monthly fee for ongoing work, usually on a rolling contract. A deliverable is something you can see and check, such as a rewritten page, a fixed fault or a set of new pages. The table below separates agencies that sell deliverables from agencies that sell reassurance. Send it to each one by email and compare the replies side by side.
| Question to ask | A good answer | A red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Can you show me previous work and success stories? | Named examples, what was changed, how the result was measured, and a note on what did not work. | Screenshots of rankings with no enquiry figures, or "we can't name clients". |
| What results do you expect, and in what timeframe? | A split between quick wins on pages already close to page one and slower work that needs months. No promised position. | A guaranteed position or a fixed date for page one. |
| How do you measure success? | Enquiries from search, then the pages and searches that produced them. | Impressions, "domain score" or keyword counts as the headline. |
| Will you share every change you make to my site? | Yes, with the reason for each one, in plain English. | "Our process is proprietary." |
| Who owns Search Console, analytics and the website access? | You do. The agency is added as a user and removed on exit. | The agency holds the only login. |
| How do you get links? | Earned ones: real citations, local directories, press, partners. Slow, and they say so. | Link packages, "high authority" blog networks, guaranteed link counts. |
| What do you need from me? | Honest detail about your jobs, photos, reviews and sign-off time. | "Nothing, we handle it all." |
| What would you not do for my business? | A named list: no bought links, no mass-produced pages, no promises. | Nothing. Everything is on offer. |
| What is the term and the notice period? | A short initial term, then rolling monthly with a clear notice period. | A twelve-month lock-in signed before any report. |
| What do I keep if I leave? | The pages, copy, schema and accounts, plus a handover. | Content or tracking that disappears when the invoice stops. |
Several of those come straight from Google. Its list of useful interview questions includes asking for previous work, asking whether the SEO follows Google Search Essentials, asking what results to expect and how they are measured, and asking whether they will share all the changes they make to your site.
What the red flags mean in practice
A guaranteed ranking is a promise that a placement in search results will be delivered by a set date. Google's guidance is blunt: "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google." It also tells owners to beware of SEOs who claim a "special relationship" with Google or advertise a "priority submit". Neither exists. For the version of this advice written for local providers, see the red flags in a local SEO proposal, which I will not repeat here.
Link spam is, in Google's words, "the practice of creating links to or from a site primarily for the purpose of manipulating search rankings". Its spam policies list buying or selling links for ranking purposes as an example, including "exchanging money for links". If a proposal includes a monthly quota of links, ask where they come from. The penalty risk sits with your site, not the agency's. Google's guidance says it plainly: "Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire".
Scaled content is a second area to probe. Google defines scaled content abuse as "when many pages are generated for the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings and not helping users", however it is made. A proposal for hundreds of near-identical town pages or a blog churned out weekly with nothing to say is the pattern. Ask to see a sample page and ask who checks it for accuracy.
Cold emails about your website are the last one. Google warns owners to be wary of SEO firms that email "out of the blue", and even quotes the template: "I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines". If the first contact is an unsolicited audit, the sales process has already told you something.
How much access should you give?
Less than they ask for, at the start. Google advises that if an SEO offers an audit, you should "only grant read access to Search Console" at that stage and not write access. Search Console has different permission levels: an owner has full control and can add and remove other users, a full user can view all data and take some actions, and a restricted user has simple view rights on most data. Keep yourself as owner and give the agency a user role, then take it away when the work ends. Their own tools can sit on top of that.
The same principle applies to your website. If an agency has hosting or CMS access, Google says they should be "willing to explain all the changes they are making to your site". If they cannot or will not, that is your answer. For how the work and the wait fit together, how long SEO takes sets out which jobs move in weeks and which need months.
The honest answers that make an agency look worse
These are the answers I would give, and they will cost some agencies the sale. Good ones give them anyway.
- "You may not need me yet." If the site has no real service pages, or the Google Business Profile is not set up, the first job is yours or a build, not a retainer.
- "I cannot tell you where you will rank." I can tell you which pages are already close, what I would change and how I would measure it. I cannot promise a position.
- "Some of this you can do yourself." Profile upkeep, review requests and consistent business details do not need an agency. The local SEO checklist covers them.
- "Local search can be won by a competitor I cannot beat." A business with a town-centre address and years of reviews can hold an advantage that no page edit removes.
- "The first months are slow." Fixing titles and faults on pages already ranking can move in weeks. Anything new takes longer, and a report in month two will often look flat.
My view
I run Lucent Digital Studio alone, so I will say how I answer the table above. The SEO services page is the monthly service. It starts with a free audit before any money changes hands, and the audit can conclude that SEO is the wrong spend right now. Search Console stays in your account, the pages and copy I create stay yours, the term is three months to start and then thirty days' notice, and there is no setup fee. The report starts with verified enquiries, and positions come after as a leading indicator.
That is a description of how I work, not a promise of results. I would rather lose a sale to an honest "wait" than win one I cannot deliver. The test I would apply to me is the same one I have given you: put the questions in an email, read the replies, and choose the person who answers them most plainly.
Next step
Send the ten questions to each agency you are considering. Ask for the answers in writing, with one sample report and one sample page. Rule out anyone who guarantees a position, holds your accounts or buys links. Then compare what is left, and use the cost guide to check that the price matches the scope.
