Define the outcome first
Write down what success means for your business: more qualified leads, more online sales, visibility in new countries, presence in AI search answers, or recovery from a traffic drop. Also note your budget range, your markets and who will work with the agency internally. Agencies give better answers when the question is concrete, and you will spot vague answers faster.
Agency, in-house or freelancer
An agency is not always the right choice. If you are still deciding, our comparison of agency vs in-house vs freelancer walks through the trade-offs. And if budget is the open question, see our guide to how much SEO costs.
1. What would you do in the first 90 days, and why
Why it matters. It shows whether the agency thinks about your site or runs a template. Good answer. A sequence tied to your situation: audit and fixes for the biggest technical blockers, priority pages and keywords based on business value, then content and links, with reasons for the order. Red flag. "We start with 50 backlinks and 10 blog posts" before anyone has looked at your site.
2. How do you choose which keywords and topics to target
Why it matters. Traffic that never converts is expensive vanity. Good answer. They start from your products, buyers and intent, look at what competitors rank for, and prioritize terms close to revenue before broad awareness topics. Red flag. A long list of high-volume terms with no link to what you sell.
3. How do you handle technical SEO
Why it matters. Content and links underperform on a site that is slow, poorly indexed or full of duplicates. Good answer. They describe crawling, indexing, site architecture, page speed, structured data and how fixes get implemented, either by them or with your developers, with clear tickets. Red flag. "Technical SEO is just installing a plugin."
4. How do you work on AI search and answer engines
Why it matters. Users increasingly see AI Overviews and use ChatGPT search or Perplexity, and these surfaces quote and cite sources. Good answer. A concrete approach: answer-first content, entity and schema work, consistent brand facts across the web, and tracking citations for a fixed set of questions. Red flag. Either "AI search does not matter" or "we have a secret trick to get you into ChatGPT."
5. How do you build links
Why it matters. Link schemes can waste money or lead to a manual action. Good answer. Editorial links earned through useful assets, digital PR and respectful outreach, reported with live URLs. See our guide to safe link building for what this looks like. Red flag. Packages priced by DR or DA, private networks, or "we have 5 000 sites we can place you on."
6. Who writes the content, and how is it reviewed
Why it matters. Thin or inaccurate content does not rank and can hurt trust. Good answer. Named writers or editors with relevant experience, a brief for each piece, fact checking, and review by you before anything goes live on your site. Red flag. No review step, or content published directly to your site without your approval.
7. How do you avoid pages competing with each other
Why it matters. Several pages targeting the same intent split signals and confuse search engines. Good answer. A keyword or topic map where each important query has one owning page, and a plan to consolidate overlapping content. Red flag. "More pages always means more traffic."
8. What do you report, and how often
Why it matters. Reports should show progress toward your goals, not decorate activity. Good answer. Monthly reporting on organic traffic, conversions, rankings for priority terms, work delivered, links with URLs, and what comes next. Red flag. Only rankings for terms nobody searches, or a dashboard you cannot verify.
9. How will we know if it is working before rankings move
Why it matters. SEO takes months, so you need leading indicators. Good answer. Indexing improvements, impressions growth in Search Console, more pages ranking in the top 20, and delivery against the plan. Red flag. "Just trust the process for 12 months."
10. Can I see a sample report
Why it matters. A sample shows how clear and honest their reporting really is. Good answer. Yes, with real structure and explanations, anonymized if needed. Ask to see one before you sign anything. Red flag. Reluctance to show anything before you sign.
11. Who owns the content, accounts and data
Why it matters. If you leave, you should keep everything you paid for. Good answer. You own all content, analytics and Search Console properties, ad and business profiles, and any assets created. The agency works through access you grant. Red flag. The agency creates accounts in its own name, or content "stays with us" after cancellation.
12. What access do you need, and can I revoke it
Why it matters. Broad, permanent access is a security risk. Good answer. The minimum needed, read-only where possible, as named users you can remove at any time. Red flag. Asking for your main passwords or owner-level access to everything.
13. What does the contract lock me into
Why it matters. Long lock-ins remove the agency's incentive to keep earning your business. Good answer. Month-to-month or a short initial term, a clear notice period, and no exit fees. Red flag. A 12 or 24 month contract with penalties for leaving early.
14. What exactly do I get each month for the price
Why it matters. Vague scopes make it impossible to judge value. Good answer. A defined scope: number of markets, content pieces or page optimizations, editorial links, technical work and reporting, plus any setup fee stated upfront. Red flag. "We do whatever is needed" with no deliverables in writing.
15. Can you guarantee a number one ranking
Why it matters. This question tests honesty. Good answer. No. Nobody controls Google's rankings. They can commit to work, process and transparency, and set realistic expectations. Red flag. Yes. Google itself warns that no one can guarantee a number one ranking. Any guarantee either relies on obscure terms nobody searches, on tactics that put your site at risk, or is simply untrue.
What a guarantee usually hides
Search results depend on hundreds of factors, competitors who are also working on their sites, and frequent algorithm updates. A guaranteed position usually means one of three things: the agency picks long, obscure phrases that are easy to rank for but bring no buyers; the agency uses aggressive tactics such as link networks that can work briefly and then backfire; or the guarantee has fine print that makes it meaningless, such as a refund in "service credits." A reputable agency commits to effort, quality and transparency, and measures outcomes honestly.
Score each answer from 0 to 2
Give 0 for a red-flag answer, 1 for vague, 2 for a clear, specific good answer. Compare totals across agencies, and treat any 0 on questions 5, 11, 13 or 15 as a deal breaker.
| Number | Question | Score 0 to 2 | Deal breaker if 0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First 90 days plan | ||
| 2 | Keyword selection | ||
| 3 | Technical SEO | ||
| 4 | AI search and answer engines | ||
| 5 | Link building method | Yes | |
| 6 | Content and review | ||
| 7 | Avoiding cannibalization | ||
| 8 | Reporting | ||
| 9 | Leading indicators | ||
| 10 | Sample report | ||
| 11 | Ownership | Yes | |
| 12 | Access and revocation | ||
| 13 | Contract lock-in | Yes | |
| 14 | Defined monthly scope | ||
| 15 | Ranking guarantee | Yes |
A total of 24 or more with no deal breakers is a strong candidate. Below 18, keep looking.
The clauses that matter most
Before you sign, read the contract or terms of service for these points.
| Term | What to look for | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Length and lock-in | Month-to-month or short initial term | 12 to 24 months with early exit fees |
| Notice period | Clear and short | Long notice plus automatic renewal |
| Setup fees | None or stated upfront | Large non-refundable onboarding fee |
| Ownership of content | Belongs to you | Licensed to you only while you pay |
| Accounts and data | In your name, agency gets access | Created and owned by the agency |
| Access | Minimum, read-only where possible, revocable | Owner-level access to everything |
| Deliverables | Specific monthly scope | Vague "ongoing optimization" |
| Links | Listed with live URLs | "Proprietary network", no URLs |
| Cancellation | Simple, self-service or by email | Phone call required, retention calls |
A quick pre-signing checklist
- Read the cancellation clause twice.
- Confirm in writing that you own content and accounts.
- Confirm the monthly deliverables and price.
- Confirm that there is no setup or exit fee, or that it is stated clearly.
- Make sure access is granted per user and can be revoked.
Questions to ask about any case study
Case studies are marketing. They can still be useful if you read them carefully.
- Is the baseline shown? A 300 percent increase from a very small starting point means less than it sounds.
- What was the time frame? Growth over three years includes many factors besides the agency.
- What changed besides SEO? A rebrand, a new product or paid campaigns can drive organic growth too.
- Is it traffic or revenue? Traffic growth from irrelevant topics does not pay bills.
- Is the industry comparable? Results in a niche with weak competition do not transfer to a crowded market.
- Can you verify it? Named clients, references or public data are stronger than anonymous charts.
Sales process as a signal
Many agencies require sales calls before they show a price. That is not automatically bad, but notice whether the process gives you clear written answers, or mainly pressure to commit. A transparent agency publishes its pricing and scope.
Built to pass the scorecard
AgencySEO is an SEO agency you buy online. Our SEO services run as a monthly retainer with published prices: Small 1 500 USD (1 market, 2 editorial links per month), Growth 3 500 USD (2 markets, 6 editorial links, AI search visibility and AEO and GEO work), Scale 7 500 USD (5 markets, 14 editorial links, a digital PR asset each quarter) and Enterprise 12 000 USD (10 markets, 24 editorial links). Annual prepay saves 20 percent. There are no sales calls and no setup fee, plans are month-to-month, you cancel in the panel, you keep ownership of all content and accounts, and access is read-only where possible and revocable. Links are live-checked and reported in the panel.
If you want to see how we would approach your site before paying, start with a free SEO audit.