TL;DR:
- Set clear goals, budget, and success metrics before outreach.
- Shortlist 3 to 5 agencies that fit your model and industry.
- Ask for a tailored plan, sample reporting, and recent case studies.
- Avoid guarantees, secret tactics, or bulk link schemes.
- Choose value over price, then lock scope, KPIs, and review cadence.
SEO is a means to an end. Write down the business goals you want to hit. For example, grow qualified leads 30 percent, reduce paid search spend, or break into a new market. Turn these into simple SEO outcomes, like improving non-brand traffic, ranking for 20 service keywords, or lifting conversions on five high-intent pages.
Decide your budget range. SEO is ongoing work. Most companies set monthly retainers. Keep some budget for content and development changes that the work will uncover.
Learn what good SEO looks like
A good agency focuses on users and your site health, not tricks. Work should include technical fixes, content improvements, internal links, and fair link earning. Google’s own guidance says to ask for a clear explanation of proposed changes and to avoid risky tactics. If someone promises instant rankings or special relationships, walk away.
Choose the agency model that fits you
There is no one best agency. Match the model to your stage, speed, and in-house skills.
| Model | Best for | Watch outs |
| Boutique specialist | B2B, niche topics, complex tech stacks | Limited bandwidth, check depth of team |
| Full-service agency | Multichannel needs with SEO plus content or CRO | Risk of generic playbooks, ask for your exact team |
| Enterprise firm | Large sites, many stakeholders, heavy compliance | Higher cost, longer onboarding |
| Freelancer or consultant | Early stage, audits, advisor to guide in-house | Needs your team to execute recommendations |
Build a short list
Create a list of 3 to 5 firms. Use referrals, communities, and reputable SEO publishers to find names. Review their sites, team pages, and case studies. Look for recent wins in your industry and honest detail, not vague claims. Ask for client references you can call. Search for the agency name plus “reviews” and note patterns.
Guides from Search Engine Land and Ahrefs suggest cross-checking services, deliverables, reporting samples, and team seniority before you contact sales.
Questions to ask every SEO company
Use the same questions for each vendor. Compare answers side by side.
- What will you do in the first 90 days, and why. Ask for a week-by-week plan.
- What access do you need. Expect access to CMS, analytics, and search console.
- What KPIs will you report. Get sample dashboards and a reporting schedule.
- Who will be on my account. Meet the lead strategist, not only sales.
- How do you earn links. Look for PR, content worth linking to, and outreach with quality standards.
- How do you handle technical work. Confirm they write tickets your devs can ship.
- What is in scope and what is extra. Nail down content creation, design, and dev time.
- How do you forecast impact. Expect reasoned scenarios, not guarantees.
Google’s hiring advice stresses asking for a technical and search-friendly plan tailored to your site, plus a communication cadence and measurable goals.
Red flags that signal risk
- Guaranteed rankings or traffic. No one controls results.
- Secret methods or “proprietary” link networks. You carry the risk if it fails.
- Bulk link packages, paid guest posts at scale, or AI-spun content. Low value and risky long term.
- No access to reporting or data. You should own analytics and search console.
- Vague case studies with no dates, baselines, or KPIs.
- All junior team with no senior review.
What a solid proposal includes
Ask vendors to send a short, tailored proposal after the discovery call. It should include:
- Your goals, current state, and a simple diagnosis.
- A 90-day plan with tasks across technical, content, and links.
- Roles, meeting cadence, and response times.
- KPIs, dashboards, and definitions of “success.”
- Risks, assumptions, and items that need your team.
- Pricing, contract term, and out clause.
Search Engine Land’s 2024 guide recommends clear scope, a documented review cycle, and shared ownership of KPIs to avoid misaligned expectations.
How SEO pricing works
Most firms use one of three structures.
- Monthly retainer. Common for ongoing work. Price varies by scope and seniority.
- Project fee. Good for audits, migrations, or content sprints with fixed timelines.
- Hourly or day rates. Best for advisory support or overflow tasks.
Expect extra fees for content production, digital PR, or heavy development. Ask for itemized rates. Ahrefs’ overview of agency services can help you map deliverables to cost lines.
Agree on KPIs and a review rhythm
Pick 3 to 5 outcome KPIs, not 20 vanity metrics. Examples:
- Qualified organic leads or assisted revenue.
- Non-brand organic sessions to key pages.
- Share of voice for a set of target keywords.
- Technical health score and index coverage.
Set a monthly review and a quarterly plan refresh. Decide what happens if KPIs slip for two months. Tie a portion of scope to experiments, like new page types or on-page tests.
Enterprise and global buyers, add these checks
If you run a large or multilingual site, add due diligence:
- Governance. Ask how they manage many stakeholders and approvals.
- Change control. Confirm they can write JIRA-ready tickets and test in staging.
- Localization. Check workflows for hreflang, translation briefs, and in-market links.
- Security and compliance. Ask for data handling and vendor risk documents.
Enterprise guides recommend aligning platform access, analytics governance, and content ops early to avoid blocked work.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Shopping only on price. Cheap work can cost more to fix later.
- Focusing on rankings, not revenue or leads.
- Not resourcing content or development, so good plans never ship.
- Signing long terms without an out clause after 90 days.
- Skipping reference calls.
Why it matters
A good SEO partner compounds value. You get cleaner code, better content, and steady growth. A poor choice wastes time and risks penalties. Use this process to make a clear, confident pick that fits your stage and goals.
Sources:
- Google Search Central, “What is an SEO expert? Do you need an SEO,” https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo, accessed 2025-09-22
- Search Engine Land, “How to hire an SEO agency: The definitive guide,” https://searchengineland.com/how-to-hire-an-seo-agency-the-definitive-guide-437495, published 2024-02-15, accessed 2025-09-22
Ahrefs, “What Do SEO Agencies Do? (And Tips for Choosing One),” https://ahrefs.com/blog/what-does-an-seo-agency-do/, published 2023-02-13, accessed 2025-09-22