Getting ranked on the internet is almost directly proportional to your SEO efforts. There are On-page and Off-page hassles with regular posting, site maintenance, and other technical details. Focusing on all of them single-handedly is next to impossible, especially when you have a large brand and a substantial amount of content. Therefore, you will always need to hire an SEO agency that has practical knowledge and access to the necessary resources to manage it all.
Seeking an SEO company can become hectic, and one wrong move here can be extremely costly. It might be your first time seeking an SEO service or 100th, but asking the right questions of an SEO company is crucial to finding an expert guide. After all, this guide is responsible for mapping out a detailed route, leading to digital success for your business.
To help you make an informed decision, we have curated a list of questions to ask your next SEO company. These questions are divided into 4 main collections: Strategy and Expertise, Defining Success, Logistics and Communication, and Pricing and Contracts.
Understand the Fundamentals of SEO
An SEO company provides various services around simple SEO that aim to increase organic traffic and visibility through three segments:
- Technical SEO
- On-Page SEO (Content)
- Off-Page SEO (Authority)
1. Technical SEO:
Technical SEO is the behind-the-scenes stuff. It ensures that it is easy for search engines to crawl, scan, and ultimately understand your website and its content. The elements of technical SEO include optimizing the site loading speed, ensuring the website is mobile user-friendly, overseeing metadata, finding pages with redirect problems, and removing site errors altogether.
2. On-Page SEO (Content)
On-page SEO is all the visible pieces of content – meaning whatever users and search engines see (i.e., text, images, video)- that a site will learn and show search engines, and also their potential customers, what your website is about. In the process of aiding on-page SEO we must do our keyword research to identify what potential customers search for, we must to create a user experience that is filled with content while still being easy to navigate, and we will optimize title tags, and metadata, to strengthen the on-page effort by optimizing what people and search engines visualize about the content of the page.
3. Off-Page SEO (Authority)
Off-page SEO is the components of SEO that work towards establishing your website’s reputation, relevance, credibility, and authority. Link building is the most crucial component of Off-page SEO. Link building is the process of gaining quality backlinks (hyperlinks on other quality, reputable websites). These backlinks are essentially a “vote” for your site’s popularity, which tells the search engines your site is a reliable source. Off-page SEO can also be managing reviews and third-party sites (Google Business Profile) and social media platforms.
Key point. SEO will be a collective effort of Technical SEO, On-Page SEO, and Off-Page SEO.
Questions to Ask While Hiring an SEO Company
| Category | Focus Area | Example Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy & Expertise | Agency’s approach, ethics, and specialization |
|
| Defining Success | KPIs, timelines, and transparency of reporting |
|
| Logistics & Communication | Workflow, collaboration, and tools used |
|
| Pricing & Contract | Cost models, agreements, and exit terms |
|
Strategy and Expertise (Questions 1–7)
These questions help you assess whether the agency’s approach matches your own unique business needs and ethical standards.
Select SEO When You Want to:
1. What SEO areas will you optimize my site for?
It’s always worth asking this question, even if you’ve seen the agency’s website, to avoid any misalignment about the expectations of both the agency and yourself. Agencies prioritize diverse elements of SEO, focused on specific areas (like technical SEO or content). You’ll want to make sure that the agency is going to take a holistic approach, including potentially technical SEO, content, and UX.
Once a website is ranking high in organic search results, the traffic will consistently keep coming in at a reasonable and steady pace, unlike PPC, where traffic stops coming as soon as the budget stops. The sustainability aspect of organic traffic is priceless for long-term prospect growth.
2. Do you have expertise in SEO for certain markets?
If you can find an agency that specializes in your industry (e.g., manufacturing, B2B, e-commerce) especially since your competitor is working with them. You certainly have an advantage in the fact that the agency has already acquired knowledge of your market, challenges, and nuances. If they do have experience in your field, follow-up questions include:
- How many clients in my sector have you worked with?
- Will an industry expert work on my account?
- May I have references or case studies?
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3. Do you work with any of my competitors?
A reputable SEO service provider should not work with you and your competitor and should investigate this fact before speaking to you. If they do work with your competitor, they should recommend another agency.
4. Can you provide examples of successful SEO campaigns you’ve executed?
Asking for case studies provides evidence of the vendor’s success relevant to your industry. Look for some measurable results, such as organic traffic growth or search ranking improvement.
5. How do you tie SEO into a larger marketing plan?
SEO works best when it’s tied into a larger omnichannel marketing plan overall. Ask if they consider your current efforts (like email marketing lead magnets), or if they help ensure that paid landing pages are following SEO best practices (such as using noindex). Any company that provides that level of consideration will be a partner and not just a service provider.
6. Will you work with my other agencies?
If you work with other agencies (like website design or social agency), ask if the SEO agency would work with them. Working with agencies can help push projects through a system, stay on task, and have aligned marketing initiatives.
7. Do you adhere to Google's best practices? (Ethical Practices)
This question is important for both transparency and ethical practices. You want to avoid “black hat ” agencies that will take shortcuts (such as spammy content or link farms) to earn quick rank improvements that likely lead to penalties or worse, being de-indexed by Google.
Always ask for specifics:
Understand the agency’s philosophy on SEO and the approach to backlinks. Link building should prioritize quality over quantity. An aggressive approach can create a “footprint” that leads to a penalty.
Algorithms:
Ask what they know about Google’s and other search engines’ algorithms. They should know that they have been around long enough to understand the basics of what Google is looking for: Unique content and good value for the audience.
Defining Success and Measuring Results (Questions 8-12)
A good SEO partner should clearly define what success looks like and also prove the value of your investment in it.
8. How do we define success with SEO?
Verifying their definition of success is one of the most crucial steps. Some agencies will treat success strictly in terms of rankings and traffic, while others will emphasize leads and revenue. The right firm will always try to gather information on what success is for your organization and create a strategy specific to that success.
9. When can we expect to see SEO results?
Be wary of firms that indicate they can provide results within 30 days or a few months – that’s typically associated with “spammy” techniques. SEO usually takes about 3-6 months to see significant results, while some websites may take around 12 months. If the agency has reviewed your site, they should be more specific with their answer.
10. How do you measure SEO success and report on KPIs ?
All SEOs should provide reporting. Ask what the KPIs are that they would be reporting on (search engine rankings, organic traffic, bounce rate, conversion rates, etc.) and what attribution model they use.
- Progress vs. Monetization: Understand the difference between Progress and monetization. Moving your ranking from page 10 to page 2 is simply progress, as it drives no sales. However, reaching page 1 in SERP is Monetization as it drives traffic, and monitors conversions and sales.
- Reporting Quality: Reports must provide deep insights into why metrics changed, not just numbers and charts. Ask for written strategies and recommended changes, as undocumented strategies can make future activities unpredictable.
11. Can you guarantee number one rankings?
If an agency says yes, run away fast. No one can guarantee a #1 ranking or has a special insider relationship with Google. An honest agency will tell you why they cannot guarantee rankings and will clearly communicate the hurdles ahead and their plan to overcome them.
12. Can you tell me about an unsuccessful campaign?
If an agency has been operating long enough, they have likely been “humbled” at some point. An agency with a seemingly perfect track record has learned nothing from its failure. They need to explain how they handled the setback.
Logistics and Communication (Questions 13-17)
These questions consider the regular workflow and the degree of partnership needed to conduct it.
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13. Do you need to access the website?
SEO requires making updates, whether it’s publishing content or making technical fixes. Some agencies can manage site updates without direct access (this is often the case with enterprise organizations). But most agencies need to access the site at some point. If the agency cannot access the site, ask them how often they work this way and what impact it has on their effectiveness.
14. Which SEO tools do you use?
Knowing what tools the agency has access to (e.g., Ahrefs, Semrush, paid platforms) provides insight into what data they have access to and how they evaluate value. If they have an in-house or proprietary tool, ask them for a demo, where the data originates from, and if your business’s data is safe.
15. What channels will I communicate with clients, and who will I communicate with in regard to my account?
Communication is key. Understand communication channels ( email, phone, video conferencing) and frequency (weekly, monthly).
Dedicated POC: You’ll want a dedicated point-of-contact (POC) when you share information or if problems need to be investigated.
Direct Access: Ideally, you’ll want to work with an agency with talented team members actually doing the work that are available directly, not just a sales associate/account manager who will outsource the execution
16. How much of my time will you need?
You can ask this question regardless of how involved you want to be (hands-off vs. hands-on). Agencies often want you to be more involved at the start. This question can also serve to understand whether your preferred involvement is in line with what they value.
17. What do you require from my business to be successful?
The agency will want input from your team to succeed. The agency will often want things like guidelines for your brand or style, the demographics for your audience, access to your site, and insight into your best-selling products or services. When you give the agency the context of your business, they can better customize an SEO strategy that is specific to your business.
Pricing and Contract (Questions 18 – 21)
Before working on your website, you need to understand the financial and legal obligations before you sign a contract.
18. What is your pricing model for SEO?
Most SEO firms do not list their pricing, so asking up-front is important when you want to know the cost to provide the service. Most commonly, the fee is a monthly fee, but sometimes it is via consulting, even hourly, or by a one-time project fee.
- Pricing as an Indicator of Quality: The price of the services is often an indicator of quality. In general, an agency that is less than $2,000 to $3,000 USD a month is likely low quality or has very productized services.
19. Will you require an SEO contract?
In most instances, an SEO company will have a contract for SEO work, on average, 6 – 12 months, but a few have a month-to-month contract. Month-to-month contracts or lesser contracts may mean the agency is very confident in early results.
20. What are your deliverables for SEO?
Deliverables outline exactly what the agency will deliver for your business.
- Transparency: You should steer clear of any SEO agency that does not provide a list of deliverables or refuses to include them in the contract.
- Custom: Be aware of overly “product-ized” packages that offer set amounts of deliverables (i.e., “four blogs a month,” “five backlinks a month”) without considering your specific brand situation as part of the strategy. A good agency will provide you with 1 pricing offer and create a custom, bespoke strategy to suit your brand.
21. What happens if I terminate the contract?
Ask what the termination process looks like before you sign. How they respond to termination can depend upon the basis of termination (i.e., budget constraints, or was their performance poor). An important thing to ask is whether the agency will hold your site or any deliverables – including any backlinks they built- “hostage” if you decide to switch providers.
Get These Questions Answered With Softtrix
By reviewing these 21 questions, you will get a genuine feel for their management style, and if they are capable and in line with your business for the long term. Keep in mind the main through-line in your evaluation: you want transparency. So, if the agency states their processes are proprietary or if they are unable to articulate what they are going to do, or how it connects back to your goals — this is a huge, red flag.
Hiring an SEO agency is not about the cheapest agency, or the flashiest promises; It is about hiring a partner that knows your industry, communicates well and can demonstrate an impact over time. These 21 questions is your guide to separate the true experts from the agencies that over-promise and under-deliver.
At Softtrix, we believe transparency, measurable impact, and custom strategies are crucial. No matter if you need technical SEO fixes, authority-building campaigns, or growth driven content strategies, we can help. Schedule time to discuss your goals and put a plan together for genuine digital success.
