Hiring help with SEO can be confusing. Every agency claims to get results, contracts vary wildly and the work itself is not always easy to see. Whether you speak to us or someone else, these are the questions we would want answered before signing anything.
What will you actually do each month?
A good answer is specific: a technical audit and fixes in month one, then a set number of new or improved pages, local search work, link outreach and reporting. A vague answer such as "ongoing optimisation" makes it hard to know whether you are getting value. Ask for a sample monthly plan.
Who will do the work?
Some agencies sell the service locally and send the work elsewhere. That is not always a problem, but you should know. Ask who writes the content, who handles technical changes and who you will speak to each month.
How do you build links?
This question tells you a lot. Good answers mention digital PR, relationships with relevant publications, local partnerships and creating content worth linking to. Warning signs include fixed monthly link quotas, "guest posts on high-DA sites" packages or reluctance to show you the links.
Can you guarantee first page rankings?
No honest agency can. Google does not sell organic rankings and changes its algorithms constantly. An agency that guarantees a top three position is either targeting obscure terms or is not being straight with you. What a good agency can do is explain what is realistic, based on your current position and the competition.
How will we measure success?
Rankings are a means, not an end. Agree upfront on the measures that matter for your business: enquiries, calls, sales, bookings or quote requests. Make sure tracking is set up properly at the start, so you can compare before and after.
What access do you need, and who owns the accounts?
You should own your website, domain, Google Analytics, Search Console and Business Profile. The agency should be added as a user, not set up as the owner. If you part company, everything should stay with you.
What is the contract length and notice period?
SEO takes time, so a minimum term of a few months is reasonable. Long lock-in contracts with heavy exit fees are a warning sign. Ask what happens to the work if you leave. Content written for you should belong to you.
Do you understand our market?
An agency does not need to have worked in your exact industry, but they should be willing to learn it. For a Northampton business, it helps if they understand the local area: the difference between searches in the town centre and the outlying villages, the industrial estates, and the nearby towns your customers come from.
How do you report?
Monthly reports should be readable by someone who is not an SEO specialist. They should explain what was done, what changed and what is planned next. Pages of charts with no commentary are not much use.
What would you do first?
Ask the agency to look at your site before the meeting and tell you the first three things they would change. Their answer shows whether they have looked properly and whether their priorities match your goals.
What does it cost, and what is included?
Prices for SEO vary a lot. A small local business might need a modest monthly budget; a large ecommerce site will need much more. What matters is what is included for the price. Compare proposals on the actual work, not just the headline fee.
Red flags to watch for
- Guarantees of specific rankings or traffic numbers
- Refusal to explain methods, often described as a "secret sauce"
- Setting themselves up as owner of your accounts
- Reporting only on vanity metrics
- Pressure to sign quickly with discounts that expire
Our approach
Local, regional or national agency?
There is no single right answer. A local agency can visit you, understands the area and often has relationships with local publications and business groups. A larger national agency may have more specialists in-house. What matters most is that the people doing your work understand your customers and communicate clearly. For many small and medium-sized Northamptonshire businesses, a smaller local team offers more direct contact with the people actually doing the work.
Freelancer or agency?
A capable freelancer can be excellent value, especially for a focused project such as an audit or a site migration. The trade-off is capacity: if they are ill or busy, work pauses. An agency usually has more cover and a broader range of skills, at a higher price. Ask either option how they handle holidays, absence and urgent issues.
Trial projects
If you are unsure, start with a fixed-price project such as an audit or a Google Business Profile clean-up before committing to an ongoing retainer. It shows you how the agency works, how they communicate and whether their advice makes sense for your business.
A simple scoring sheet
When you have two or three proposals, score each on the points below from one to five. It makes comparison less about who presented best and more about what you will actually get.
| Criterion | What a good answer looks like |
|---|---|
| Clarity of monthly work | Specific tasks and outputs each month |
| Who does the work | Named roles, and you know who you will speak to |
| Link building approach | Earned links, examples shown, no bulk packages |
| Measurement | Enquiries and sales, with tracking set up at the start |
| Ownership | You own every account, domain and piece of content |
| Contract terms | Reasonable minimum term, fair notice period |
| Understanding of your market | Relevant first recommendations about your actual site |
| Reporting | Plain English, with commentary and next steps |
What a first month should look like
Whoever you choose, the first month should produce something concrete: a technical and content review of the site, a check of your Google Business Profile, tracking set up or corrected, a plan for the next three months and a handful of quick fixes already made. If the first month is only "onboarding" and a report, ask what will change for your business by the end of month two.
If you are switching from another agency
Ask your current agency for a list of everything they have done, including links built, pages created and technical changes. Make sure you have owner access to all accounts before giving notice. A new agency should start with an SEO audit so you both know where things stand. If you are mainly after local enquiries, read about our local SEO approach; if you sell to other businesses, see B2B SEO.
We are happy to answer every question above, in writing, before you commit. If we do not think SEO is the right investment for your business at this stage, we will say so.