Questions to ask before hiring an SEO agency
Twelve questions, the answers that should reassure you, and the ones that should not.
- Ask what gets measured, against whom, and whether the set stays fixed.
- Ask to see a real report with the numbers left in.
- Ask who else in your category and market they serve.
- Ask what you own if you leave: the site, the content, the data, the profile access.
On measurement
What exactly will you measure, and against whom? Look for named metrics and a named competitor set. Vagueness here predicts vagueness everywhere.
Does that set stay fixed? A moving denominator manufactures improvement indefinitely.
Can I see a real report before I sign? With the numbers left in, not a redacted sample. Ours is published: a real monthly report and the Two client results we have written permission to show.
On method
Can I see the method before I pay? Any agency can describe results. Fewer will show how the number is produced.
What would make you tell me this is not working? A specific answer with a date is the best signal available.
Who actually does the work? Senior on the pitch and junior on the account is the oldest pattern in the industry.
On conflicts
Who else in my category and market do you work with? An agency serving two competitors in one market is selling the same positions twice.
Do you have an exclusivity policy, and is it in writing?
On terms
What is the initial term and what happens after it?
What do I own if I leave? The site, the content, the data, the profile access.
What is excluded from the scope?
What is the total cost, including anything billed separately?
The answers that should worry you
A guarantee of rankings or AI citations. A single score with no derivation. No exclusions. A discount to close this week. Reluctance to name who else they serve in your market.
None is disqualifying alone. Two or more together describe a relationship where you will not be able to tell whether the work is working.
Run it on us
This list is published so a prospect can run it against our own proposal. Our answers are on the pricing and methodology pages, and the results we can actually evidence are on a third, including the parts that cost us the sale.
“A guarantee of rankings or AI citations means either a loophole or a metric chosen because it is easy.”
Questions owners ask
Youssef runs visibility work for established local businesses: Google Maps, organic search and AI answers, measured monthly against a published protocol. Where a number cannot be checked, it does not go in the report.
More about Youssef