Questions to Ask Before Hiring an SEO Agency (And the Answers You Want to Hear)
By Kristian Kreaktive Published
The questions to ask any SEO agency before you sign, the answers that should make you comfortable, and my own answer to each, including where I'd tell you no.
TL;DR Too Long; Didn't Read
Ask an SEO agency who owns your accounts, whether they'll show you every change they make, what they'll measure against, and what they'll put in writing for the first month. Good agencies answer in plain English and never guarantee rankings. Google's own advice is that a small local business can probably do much of the work itself, so the first question is whether you need an agency at all.
On this page
I run KREAKTIVE in Colorado Springs, and I sell SEO. So this list of questions to ask SEO agency candidates was written by someone you might end up interviewing. To make it useful anyway, I built the list around Google’s own advice on hiring an SEO, and under every question I’ve written the answer you want to hear, the red flag, and my own answer. Where the way I work is only one reasonable option, I say so. Hold me to the same standard.
If you’ve already read my review of SEO companies in Colorado Springs, you’ve seen five questions there (what they do each month, the minimum term, who you’ll talk to, month-3 expectations, and current-client results). I won’t ask those again here, though a couple of my answers touch the same ground. These go further.
Before the first call
1. Do I even need an agency?
Start here, because nobody else will. Google says it directly: “If you run a small local business, you can probably do much of the work yourself.”
The answer you want: an honest split between what you can handle and where help pays off. Red flag: “SEO is too complicated to do yourself.”
My answer: You can run your own Google Business Profile and ask for reviews yourself. An agency earns its fee when you don’t have the hours, or when your competitors are already investing in SEO and matching them takes more than the basics. I wrote a decision framework for DIY vs. professional SEO if you’re on the fence.
2. Did you contact me first?
Google’s guidance: “Be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that email you out of the blue.” An unsolicited email promising page one is a reason to slow down, not to buy.
The answer you want: they can explain why your business specifically, with something they actually looked at. Red flag: a generic audit that could be about any website.
My answer: If I ever contact you first, apply this question to me too.
3. What do you want to know about my business?
This one flips the interview. Google says a good SEO “should ask questions about what makes your business unique, who your competitors are, how search results can help, and how your customers find you.”
The answer you want: questions about your money, not just your keywords. Red flag: a keyword list and a price before they’ve asked you anything.
My answer: Before I touch a website, I want to know which jobs or services are profitable, which calls you want more of, and how people find you today. If we don’t know what a good lead looks like, SEO turns into guesswork.
How they’ll work
4. Do you follow Google Search Essentials, and can you show me where Google backs your advice?
Google lists this exact question, and it adds a test worth using: “Do they cite official Google documentation as supporting evidence for their recommendations?”
The answer you want: “Yes,” plus a willingness to point to the source when you ask. Red flag: “We have proprietary methods we can’t disclose.”
My answer: Yes. No tricks, no shortcuts, no spam.
5. Will you show me every change you make to my site, and why?
This is straight from Google’s list: “Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?” Google also warns, “Be careful if a company is secretive or won’t clearly explain what they intend to do.”
The answer you want: a written record of the work you can read any time. Red flag: “Just trust the process.”
My answer: Both of my SEO plans include a shared worklog. You can see what I did and when.
6. What access do you need, and what kind?
Google’s advice for an audit is to “only grant read access to Search Console (at this stage, don’t grant them write access).” That’s a good rule in general: give the access the work needs, and know who has it.
The answer you want: a short, specific list, with a reason for each item. Red flag: asking for your main login and password, or owner access to everything before you’ve signed.
My answer: Once we start, I need access to your website, your Google Business Profile and your analytics. My 30-day clock doesn’t start until I have it, so access is the first thing we sort out.
7. Whose name is on my Google Business Profile, Search Console, analytics and domain?
This is different from “do I own the work.” If an agency sets up your profile or analytics under its own login, then leaving means asking them for your own accounts back. Ask before anything gets created.
The answer you want: “Yours. We get added as a user.” Red flag: “We’ll handle all of that for you,” with no mention of whose account it is.
My answer: You own everything from day one.
8. If you sell AI search work (AEO or GEO), how does it line up with Google’s guidance?
Google’s hiring advice now covers this too. If an SEO has advice on “optimizing for AI experiences,” which Google notes are also known as AEO or GEO services, check that it’s “aligned with Google Search’s official guidance on optimizing for generative AI features.”
The answer you want: AI visibility built on top of solid SEO, not sold as a replacement for it. Red flag: a secret AI trick, or a promise to get you “into ChatGPT” by a date.
My answer: My AI Visibility add-on (+$797 a month) only sits on top of an SEO plan. It’s not sold on its own. Here’s how I think about AIO vs. SEO.
Results
9. What will you measure success against?
Google’s list asks, “What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?” The second half is the one people skip. Without a starting point, any report can look like progress.
The answer you want: a recorded baseline from before they started, and calls or booked jobs, not just rankings. Red flag: reports full of traffic and “visibility” that never mention leads.
My answer: I record where you are on day one, and every report compares against that. For a local business, the honest expectation is first movement in impressions and map views early, with rankings and calls usually following in 60 to 90 days. That’s an expectation from past work, not a promise. If you want to know what a useful report looks like, I wrote about that too.
10. Can I talk to your past clients?
Google: “Check your SEO’s business references. Ask past clients if they felt that this SEO provided useful service, was easy to work with, and produced positive results.”
The answer you want: a few references you can contact. If an agency doesn’t share client contacts, it should still give you proof you can check without its help: case studies that name the business, so you can look it up, and reviews on a platform like Google, not only on its own website. Red flag: no references and nothing you can check, just anonymous testimonials on the agency’s own site.
My answer: No. I don’t put prospects in touch with my past clients, and I don’t hand out their contact details. That’s exactly why you shouldn’t take my word for anything, and should look at the proof you can check without me. Every case study in my portfolio names the client, and my reviews are on my Google Business Profile, not just on my own website.
11. What’s your experience in my industry and my city?
Google lists both questions separately (“What’s your experience in my industry?” and “What’s your experience in my country/city?”). Local search in your town and your trade has its own competitors.
The answer you want: specific past work that looks like your business, or an honest “not yet.” Red flag: “We’ve done everything.”
My answer: You can browse my work by industry and by location. One local example: Best Construction Brands, a bathroom remodeler in Colorado Springs, went from #13 to #2 on Google Maps within 60 days in 2024. That’s a past result, not a promise for your business. If your trade or town isn’t there, ask me directly.
12. Do you guarantee rankings, or have a special relationship with Google?
This is the fastest filter on the list. Google: “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a ‘special relationship’ with Google, or advertise a ‘priority submit’ to Google.” And: “Google never accepts money to include or rank sites in our search results.”
The answer you want: “No.” Red flag: anything else.
My answer: No. I don’t promise rankings, traffic, leads or calls on any timeline. The only thing I put a refund behind is the written list you’ll see a little further down.
Money and fit
13. What’s the total cost, and what’s included?
A monthly price on its own doesn’t tell you much. Ask what it covers, what costs extra, and what you’re signing up for in total.
The answer you want: the full price, what it covers, what’s extra, and how long you’re committed, all in writing. A price published on the website is the easiest to check, but a written quote after a discovery call works just as well if it has the same detail. A longer term can be fair too, as long as it’s stated up front and the agency can tell you why it needs that long. Red flag: costs that only show up after you’ve signed, or a term you only find in the contract.
My answer: Search Visibility is $1,500 a month and Search Visibility Pro is $2,800 a month. Both include site improvements, Google Business Profile and reviews work, a shared worklog and a report against your launch baseline. The difference is 4 articles or local pages a month on Search Visibility and 12 on Pro, plus weekly competitor monitoring on Pro. Add-ons, like AI Visibility at +$797 a month, are optional. Both plans have a 3-month minimum, then run monthly. Prices are on my SEO pricing page.
14. What will you put in writing for the first month?
“Results” can mean almost anything. Google’s version of this test is about audits: an audit “should be about giving you realistic estimates of improvement, and an estimate of the work involved.” The same idea works for the first month of any engagement. Know what you’re paying for before the invoices start.
The answer you want: something on paper you can check later. That might be a list of deliverables, a statement of work, or a dated plan with milestones. Agencies handle this differently, and any of them is fine if it’s specific. Red flag: “It depends,” with nothing written down.
My answer: This is how I do it, not the only good way. Before you pay me a cent, I put in writing exactly what I’ll ship in the first 30 days. On Search Visibility, that list includes your launch baseline, a live shared worklog, your Google Business Profile categories, services, hours, description and 10 photos, and 4 articles or local pages. If I don’t ship every item on the list, you get your first month back. That’s my 30-Day Proof Period.
15. What would make you tell me we’re not a good fit?
A good agency turns down work. If they can’t name a reason they’d say no, they’ll say yes to anything, including clients they can’t help.
The answer you want: specific reasons. Red flag: “We work with everyone.”
My answer: If you expect instant results, or you’re shopping for $500-a-month SEO, I’m not the right fit, and I’ll tell you on the first call.
Warning signs you’ll notice without asking
Some red flags show up before you get to any of these questions. Google’s page lists several worth knowing:
- They want you to link to them. Google says, “You should never have to link to an SEO.” A footer link back to the agency on every page is for their rankings, not yours.
- They say their tools are approved by Google. Google doesn’t evaluate or endorse third-party SEO tools, and it says to be wary of tools that claim to be “acceptable” or “approved” by Google Search.
- They won’t explain what they’ll do. Google’s line: “Be careful if a company is secretive or won’t clearly explain what they intend to do.”
There’s one more line on that page every business owner should read before signing: “Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire.” Google also warns that if an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, your site could be removed from Google’s index entirely. Your site takes the hit, not the agency’s, which is why these questions are worth asking.
How to use this list
You don’t need to ask all of them in one meeting. Pick the five that worry you most and send them by email before the call. How an agency answers in writing tells you a lot about how they’ll report to you later.
And if something goes wrong after you hire someone, Google’s page points US business owners to the Federal Trade Commission, which handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices.
Want to put me through it? Get in touch and bring your toughest five.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ask who owns your accounts, how they'll show you their changes, what they'll measure against, and what they'll put in writing for the first month. Also ask about their experience with businesses like yours, ask for references or other proof you can check yourself, and ask what would make them turn you away. If they guarantee a #1 ranking, walk away.
No. Google's own guidance says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google, and warns you to beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings or a special relationship with Google.
About your business, not just keywords. Google says a good SEO should ask what makes your business unique, who your competitors are, how search results can help, and how your customers find you.
Not always. Google says that if you run a small local business, you can probably do much of the work yourself. An agency makes sense when you don't have the time, when competitors are already investing in SEO, or when the work goes beyond the basics.
Guaranteed rankings, a claimed special relationship with Google, unsolicited emails, secrecy about what they'll do, and accounts set up in their name instead of yours. Google lists most of these on its own page about hiring an SEO.
