10 Questions to Ask an SEO Agency When Looking For The Right One

Finding a quality SEO agency can be difficult. Here are some questions to ask before you sign the dotted line.

Finding a great SEO agency can be a difficult and an overwhelming, especially if...you don't know anything about SEO! If you need to brush up on your knowledge, we have a fully section on our blog about search engine optimization to help you learn more.

But let's say you are really in dire need of someone to help you boost your online ranking. You are so sick and tired of hanging out on page 8. Then, after doing research, you finally find a reputable and well-known agency that is recommended by a few friends. What do you talk about when you're sitting across from them? How do you know that they are going to do what's in your best interest?

Here are 10 questions to ask any SEO agency when you're learning about their services:

Question 1: What tasks do you do to build our search engine ranking?

Try to get a thorough understanding of exactly what they will be doing to increase your page ranking. Don't let them talk about the theory of SEO. Ask them pointedly what they do to your website to make it rank higher.

Question 2: Will I get a monthly report stating what tasks were completed and how much we have improved?

This is just part of accountability. You need to be getting a monthly report of what tasks were accomplished by the agency, because that's what you're paying for. There is nothing worse than paying a monthly fee for services when you're unsure what they accomplished that month.

Question 3: What do you do to assist with technical, on-site, off-site, and content SEO?

There are four basic types of SEO. Go through each of these four basic types and ask what they do. Perhaps they only focus on creating content that is optimized for SEO purposes. That's fine, but ideally, if you want to rank on page 1 you need to address multiple factors and not just one.

Question 4: Where do you find partners for back-linking?

Most SEO agencies make back-linking part of their strategy. Ask them where they find their partners and ask for a list of their partners so you know what sites your blogs, articles, and other links will be posted on.

Question 5: Are your content writers well-versed in my industry?

You need to know that they know what they are talking about when they write articles and post them on your blog.

Question 6: Do I get to approve each piece of content before it goes on my website?

This comes down to preference. I know of some people that don't care as long as it is getting done. Others want to review every piece of content before it goes out into the internet.

Question 7: Do you outsource content or is it produced by writers in-house?

Do they have in-house writers or are they outsourcing the content? How do they find writers if they are outsourcing? Again, this comes down to preference, but you want to understand their process and get an idea of the level of quality they provide.

Question 8: How long does it usually take until we rank on page 1?

This is sort of a trick question. It's hard to answer for any SEO professional and even the best agency. However, case studies can help. The thing you want to avoid is an agency that promises a relatively short amount of time. If they offer to get you to page one in 2 months without any other case studies of working with companies in your industry, something is fishy.

Question 9: If you have access to my website, are my subscribers, contacts, and my information secure? How do I know?

This question is pretty common sense. You don't want someone logging into your website, they get hacked, find your password, and steal all of your clients.

Question 10: What changes will need to made to the structure of my website?

If you already have a website that you like, you want to be aware of what structural changes they will need to make to it. Perhaps to decrease load time they need to compress or remove media assets (photos, videos, etc.). These are important things you need to know so that you don't go on the website some day and be completely surprised.

If you're currently speaking to an SEO professional or agency and have any additional questions, please feel free to send us a message.