Questions that separate good SEO firms from bad ones

The short answer

The most useful questions to ask when hiring an SEO company are: what exactly will you do each month, how will you measure success (in leads, not just rankings), what results do you expect and when, can I talk to a client like me, will you explain every change you make to my site, who owns the accounts and content if we part ways, and how do I cancel. Google’s own guide to hiring an SEO suggests several of these and adds a clear warning: anyone who promises a first-place ranking is a reason to look elsewhere.

The answers matter more than the questions. Below, each question comes with what a good answer sounds like and what should make you walk away.

Questions about the work

“What will you actually do in the first 90 days?”

Good answer: a specific plan. An audit or review in month one, a ranked fix list, then named work such as rewriting service pages, fixing indexing problems, building out your Google Business Profile and setting up call tracking. Red flag: “We’ll optimize your site” with no detail, or a plan identical to the one they sent the last ten prospects.

“What happens each month after that?”

Good answer: a defined amount of work, for example a set number of new or improved pages, technical fixes, review and profile work, and a monthly report. Red flag: a retainer where nobody can tell you what you get for it.

“Do you follow Google Search Essentials?”

This comes straight from Google’s list. Good answer: yes, with examples of what they won’t do, such as buying links or publishing hundreds of near-identical city pages. Red flag: hesitation, or talk of “grey hat” tactics that “still work”.

“Will you show me every change you make to my site, and why?”

Google also suggests asking this. Good answer: yes, in a change log or in each report. Red flag: secrecy about methods. Google warns specifically about firms that won’t clearly explain what they intend to do.

Questions about results

“How will you measure success?”

Good answer: calls, form leads and booked jobs from organic search, tracked by source, with rankings and traffic as early signs. Red flag: rankings only, especially rankings for phrases nobody searches.

“What results do you expect, and in what time frame?”

Good answer: an honest range based on your market, your competitors and the state of your site, with early signs in the first few months and lead growth over six months to a year. Red flag: a promise of page one in 30 days, or a promise of any specific ranking. Google says no one can promise a first-place ranking.

“Can I talk to a current client in a similar business?”

Good answer: yes, with a name and number, or at least a case study with real numbers they can explain. Red flag: only anonymous screenshots of traffic graphs.

Questions about ownership and contracts

• “Who owns the Google Business Profile, analytics, Search Console and content?” The answer should be you. You should be the owner on every account, with the agency added as a manager.
• “If we stop working together, what do I keep?” Everything they built on your site and your accounts. Be wary of any setup where pages live on a domain the agency controls.
• “How long is the contract, and how do I cancel?” Long lock-ins are a sign the provider doesn’t expect you to stay on results alone.
• “Who will do the work?” Ask whether it is in-house or outsourced, and who your day-to-day contact is.
• “How do we communicate, and how often?” Google lists this one too. A monthly call and a plain report is a reasonable minimum.

Want to hear our answers?

Book a free 30-minute call. Ask us every question on this page. We look at your site and search presence with you and tell you what we would change first, whether you hire us or not. Pick a time that works for you.

Questions about your market

• “Who are my real competitors in search?” A good agency has looked before the call and can name the businesses that show up for your main searches.
• “What’s your experience in my industry and my city?” Both are on Google’s list. Industry experience helps, but a clear process matters more than having done your exact niche.
• “What would you fix first on my site, and why?” A provider who has done their homework can name two or three specifics in the first conversation.
• “Is local SEO or broader organic SEO more important for me?” A business serving one metro area needs a different plan from one selling nationwide.

Red flags that end the conversation

Several of these come straight from Google’s guidance on hiring an SEO:

• A promise of a first-place or page-one ranking.
• Claims of a special relationship with Google or “priority submission”.
• An unsolicited email saying your site has problems only they can fix.
• Requiring a link back to their site from yours.
• Link packages sold by the hundred, or submitting your site to thousands of search engines.
• Asking for write access to Search Console for an audit. Google says read access is enough at that stage.
• Refusing to put the account ownership terms in writing.

Prepare before the first call

You will get better answers if the agency has something real to look at. Before the call, send:

• Your website address and the three to five services that bring the most profit.
• The areas you serve, and any locations you want to grow into.
• Your main competitors, as you see them.
• Read access to Search Console and analytics, if you have them.
• What you have tried before and what happened.

Then listen for whether they use it. An agency that asks follow-up questions about your customers and margins is thinking about leads. One that only talks about its own process probably sends the same plan to everyone.

How to compare proposals

Put the proposals side by side and score each on four things:

1. Specificity. Does it name the actual work for your site, or is it generic?
2. Measurement. Does it promise lead tracking and a plain monthly report?
3. Ownership and exit. Do you own everything, and can you leave without penalty?
4. Fit. Did they understand your business, competitors and customers?

Price comes after those. A cheaper proposal that fails on specificity or measurement usually costs more over a year. For typical market ranges, see our guide to how much SEO costs.

How JLB USA answers these

JLB USA has done web design and marketing for growing businesses for more than 15 years, starting in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, with 500+ clients and 1,000+ projects. Our SEO services are billed month to month, and you can cancel after any month. You own your accounts and content. If you are in metro Atlanta, our Atlanta SEO page covers local search there.

Keep reading

• Local SEO vs organic SEO: the difference and how to split effort
• In-house SEO vs agency SEO: cost, skills and how to decide
• SEO audit checklist: how to run a basic audit yourself
• Google AI Overviews SEO: how to get cited and keep the leads

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