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15 Questions to Ask an SEO Agency Before You Hire, and What Good Answers Sound Like
The questions that separate a capable SEO agency from a polished pitch, with what a good answer sounds like, the red flags to listen for, and a simple way to score each agency.
How to use these questions
SEO is hard to judge from a pitch. Every agency shows rising traffic charts and talks about content and links, so the difference lies in the detail: whether they have looked at your site, who will do the work, and how they will prove it is working.
Ask every agency on your shortlist the same questions, in the same order, and take notes on the answers. Listen for specifics. A good answer names something about your business; a weak one could have been given to anyone. After the calls, use the scoring guide further down to compare agencies on more than how much you liked them.
- questions in four groups
- 15
- answers that rule an agency out
- 4
- agencies worth interviewing
- 3 to 5
- minutes per call
- 45 to 60
Prepare these four things before the first call
Good agencies can tell you far more in a first call when they have something to look at. Send these a few days ahead, under a simple confidentiality agreement if you prefer.
Read-only access
Viewer access to Google Search Console and your analytics, or at least screenshots of organic traffic and leads over the past 12 months.
One clear goal
What SEO should achieve in a year, in business terms: more demo requests, more online sales, more calls from a region.
Three competitors
The companies you lose deals to, and the sites that appear above you for searches you care about. They are not always the same.
Your SEO history
Past agencies, site migrations, redesigns and any sharp drops in traffic, with dates. A good agency will ask about these anyway.
Share your budget range as well. It saves a call with an agency whose minimum is above it, and lets the others shape a realistic plan.
Questions about strategy
1. What would you focus on first for our site, and why?
This tests whether the agency has looked at your site before the call, and whether it can prioritise.
Good answer
They name specific issues they found, such as pages that are not indexed, thin category pages or a content gap against a named competitor, and explain why those come first.
Red flag
A generic plan that could apply to any site, or a promise to fix everything at once.
2. Which topics would you target, and how do they connect to revenue?
Traffic that never turns into customers is a cost, not a result.
Good answer
They separate searches that bring buyers from searches that bring readers, and connect their targets to your products, margins or sales cycle.
Red flag
A long list of high-volume keywords with no view on which ones lead to customers.
3. What results should we expect in the first six months, and what will take longer?
Expectations set on the sales call shape every conversation that follows.
Good answer
Ranges with conditions attached, and a clear split between early signs, such as more pages indexed and rankings for specific long-tail searches, and later outcomes such as leads.
Red flag
Guaranteed rankings or a guaranteed first position. Google's own guidance says that no one can guarantee a number one ranking.
4. How will AI answers in search affect our traffic, and what will you change?
AI summaries in search results and AI assistants now answer some questions without a click.
Good answer
A considered view of which of your searches are most exposed, and a plan to earn citations with specific, well-sourced and well-structured content.
Red flag
Dismissing the change entirely, or selling a separately priced AI package without explaining what it does differently.
Questions about how the work gets done
5. Who will work on our account, and how many other clients do they handle?
The people in the pitch are often not the people who do the work.
Good answer
Names, roles and seniority of the people doing the work, and an honest answer about their client load.
Red flag
Only the salesperson's name, or vague talk about “the team”.
6. How do you earn links and mentions from other sites?
Links still matter, and the wrong kind can get a site penalised.
Good answer
Digital PR, original data, partnerships and content worth citing, with examples they can show you.
Red flag
Bought links, networks of sites they control, or a fixed number of links a month at a set price.
7. What will you change on our site, and who makes the changes?
Most SEO recommendations are worthless until someone ships them.
Good answer
A clear split between what the agency implements, what your developers implement, and how changes are tested before release.
Red flag
Recommendations delivered as a report with no plan for getting them done.
8. How do you create content, and how do you use AI tools?
Good answer
A process with subject experts, editing and fact-checking, and AI used for research or first drafts under human review.
Red flag
Large volumes of AI-written pages published with little or no review.
9. What do you need from us to succeed?
Many SEO engagements stall on the client side, waiting for access, approvals or developer time.
Good answer
Specific inputs: access to systems, a named contact, approval times, developer hours and subject experts for content.
Red flag
Nothing at all. SEO always needs something from the client.
Questions about measurement and reporting
10. Which numbers will you report, and how do they connect to our goals?
What gets reported is what the agency will work towards.
Good answer
Leads or revenue from organic search, traffic from searches that do not include your brand name, rankings for target topics, and the technical health of the site.
Red flag
Only vanity numbers: impressions, the total count of keywords ranked, or third-party authority scores.
11. Will we own our data and accounts?
If the agency owns the accounts, you lose your history when you leave.
Good answer
Yes. Search Console, analytics and any tools are set up in your name, with the agency added as a user.
Red flag
Accounts owned by the agency, or reports built on data you cannot check yourself.
12. How do you report a month when results drop?
Every site has bad months. How an agency explains them tells you how honest its reporting is.
Good answer
They explain what happened, what they found and what they will change, and can show you a past example.
Red flag
Reports that only ever show good news.
Questions about price and contract
13. How is the fee calculated, and what does it buy each month?
Without a breakdown you cannot tell whether a fee is fair or compare it with another agency.
Good answer
Hours by role or a list of monthly deliverables, and a clear explanation of the pricing model, usually a monthly retainer for SEO.
Red flag
A package name with no breakdown of hours or deliverables.
14. What is the minimum term, and what happens if we leave?
SEO takes months to show results, but you should not be locked in if the work is poor.
Good answer
A short initial term, a notice period of around 30 days after that, and a full handover of work, accounts and data.
Red flag
A long lock-in with exit penalties, or content and links that disappear when you leave.
15. Can we speak to two current clients and one former client?
A former client will tell you what current clients may not.
Good answer
Yes, with contacts at companies of a similar size or in a similar industry, including one who has moved on.
Red flag
Only written testimonials, or references that look nothing like your business.
Follow-up questions when an answer is vague
Most agencies give a polished first answer. The second question is where you learn whether there is substance behind it. These follow-ups work for the answers you will hear most often.
- “We cover everything: technical, content and links.”
- Which three things would you do first for us, and what would each cost in time?
- “We focus on quality content.”
- Who writes it, who checks the facts, and can I see three pieces you published for a client in the last six months?
- “We build high-authority links.”
- Can you show me five links you earned for a client this year, and how each one came about?
- “You will see results in three months.”
- Which results, measured how, and what did the first three months look like for a client like us?
- “Our reporting is fully transparent.”
- Can I see a real monthly report for a current client, with the name removed?
- “We use AI to scale content.”
- What does a person do to each page before it is published, and how long does that take?
Questions a good agency will ask you
The call should go both ways. An agency that asks nothing is selling a package, not solving your problem. Expect questions like these, and count them in the agency's favour.
- Which pages or products bring in most of your revenue, and which have the best margins?
- How do customers find you today, and how long is your sales cycle?
- Who can make changes to the website, and how quickly?
- Have you had a site migration, redesign or penalty in the past few years?
- Who internally can review content for accuracy?
- How will you judge whether this engagement has worked after a year?
How to score the answers
Score each answer straight after the call, while it is fresh, on a scale of 0 to 3.
| Score | What the answer sounds like |
|---|---|
| 3: strong | Specific to your business, with examples or evidence you can check |
| 2: acceptable | Sound but general; worth a follow-up question |
| 1: weak | Vague, evasive or clearly generic |
| 0: red flag | Matches one of the red flags above |
Add up the scores for each agency, out of 45. Four answers should rule an agency out whatever its total: a red flag on question 3 (guaranteed rankings), 6 (bought links), 11 (accounts owned by the agency) or 14 (a lock-in that keeps your content hostage).
What SEO agencies charge
Price is not one of the fifteen questions because it should not lead the decision, but it helps to know the market. On 24 October 2026, the SEO agencies on the30top that list pricing looked like this.
- of SEO agencies listing a rate charge $100 to $149 an hour
- 53%
- SEO agencies listing a minimum accept engagements from $1,000
- 17 of 18
- companies list SEO as their main service
- 34
- the usual pricing model for SEO work
- Retainer
The low minimums reflect the retainer model: $1,000 is usually the first month of an ongoing engagement, not the price of a finished project. For the wider picture, see our agency hourly rate data and our analysis of minimum project sizes.
What the first 90 days should look like
Once you hire, the first three months tell you whether you chose well. Plans vary, but a capable agency usually works in roughly this order, and you should be able to see each step happen.
- 1
Weeks 1 to 2
Access, tracking and a baseline
The agency gets access to your accounts, checks that analytics and conversions are tracked correctly, and records where rankings, traffic and leads stand today.
- 2
Weeks 3 to 6
Technical audit and priorities
A technical and content audit, turned into a ranked list of fixes with the expected effect and effort of each. You should be able to see why item one comes first.
- 3
Weeks 6 to 10
First fixes shipped
The highest-priority fixes go live, whether the agency makes them or your developers do. Recommendations that sit in a document do not count.
- 4
Weeks 8 to 12
Content and links begin
Content production and outreach start against the topics agreed in the strategy, with the first pieces published and promoted.
- 5
Week 12
First quarterly review
A review of what was done, what changed and what comes next. Early signs such as more pages indexed and better rankings for specific searches are realistic; big gains in leads are not yet.
The 15 questions on one page
- What would you focus on first for our site, and why?
- Which topics would you target, and how do they connect to revenue?
- What results should we expect in the first six months, and what will take longer?
- How will AI answers in search affect our traffic, and what will you change?
- Who will work on our account, and how many other clients do they handle?
- How do you earn links and mentions from other sites?
- What will you change on our site, and who makes the changes?
- How do you create content, and how do you use AI tools?
- What do you need from us to succeed?
- Which numbers will you report, and how do they connect to our goals?
- Will we own our data and accounts?
- How do you report a month when results drop?
- How is the fee calculated, and what does it buy each month?
- What is the minimum term, and what happens if we leave?
- Can we speak to two current clients and one former client?
For a broader view of what SEO work covers and how to scope it, read our SEO services guide.
Compare SEO companiesFrequently asked questions
What should I ask an SEO agency before hiring?
Ask what they would focus on first for your site, how their targets connect to revenue, who will do the work, how they earn links, which numbers they report, whether you own your accounts, and what the contract term is. The 15 questions above cover all four areas.
What are the red flags when hiring an SEO agency?
Guaranteed rankings, bought links, accounts owned by the agency, long lock-in contracts, reports that only show good news, and no clear answer about who will work on your account.
Can an SEO agency guarantee first place on Google?
No. Google's own guidance for people hiring an SEO says no one can guarantee a number one ranking, and warns against anyone who claims to.
How much does an SEO agency cost?
On 24 October 2026, 53% of SEO agencies on the30top that list an hourly rate charged $100 to $149 an hour, and 17 of the 18 listing a minimum accepted engagements from $1,000. Most SEO is bought as a monthly retainer.
How long does SEO take to show results?
Early signs, such as more pages indexed and rankings for specific long-tail searches, usually come first. Larger gains in traffic and leads take longer and depend on how strong the site is today and how competitive the market is. Be wary of anyone who promises fast, fixed results.
What should I send an SEO agency before the first call?
Viewer access to Search Console and analytics, or screenshots of the past year of organic traffic; one clear business goal; three competitors; your SEO history, including migrations and traffic drops; and your budget range.
What should an SEO agency do in the first month?
Set up access and tracking, record a baseline for rankings, traffic and leads, and start a technical and content audit that ends in a ranked list of fixes. Large ranking gains in the first month are unusual.
How many SEO agencies should I interview?
Three to five. Fewer gives you too little to compare, and more makes it hard to give each one a fair hearing.
About the author
the30top Research Team (Research & analysis). We research service categories, interview buyers and maintain the30top rankings. Resource content is independent of listings and never paid for.
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