Proof and decision support · buyer guide
Questions to ask before hiring an SEO provider
Use these questions to understand evidence, scope, access, reporting, page ownership, link practices, guarantees, and what happens when the data does not support more work.
No password sharing. We use the information only to respond to your request.
Before signing
Clarify the problem, scope, and evidence.
- What evidence supports the recommended work?
- Which pages, markets, and services are in scope?
- What is explicitly excluded?
- Which access is required, and can it be granted without password sharing?
- What will exist at the end of the engagement?
- What assumptions could change the price or timeline?
During the work
Ask how changes and decisions will be recorded.
- Will I receive a material change log?
- Who approves page, technical, or profile changes?
- How will forms, calls, and qualified leads be measured?
- How will broad traffic be separated from buyer-relevant traffic?
- How are links evaluated and documented?
In the report
Look for decisions, not a pile of activity metrics.
- Which commercial landing pages produced qualified actions?
- Which relevant queries moved and from what baseline?
- Which pages received traffic but no useful action?
- What does the data not show?
- What should be expanded, revised, consolidated, or stopped?
Red lines
Be cautious with promises the provider cannot control.
Guaranteed rankings, unexplained bulk links, unsupported client results, shared-password requests, and reports that never connect work to a measurable buyer path deserve scrutiny.
Questions worth answering
Before you decide.
Is a ranking guarantee normal?
A responsible provider should not guarantee a search-engine position it cannot control.
Should I ask for a page count?
Ask first which buyer needs and business destinations the pages serve. A page count without an intent map can reward waste.
What if reporting shows no useful progress?
The provider should explain the evidence, limitations, and whether the work should be revised, consolidated, observed longer, or stopped.
A useful next step
Start with the decision in front of you.
Get a plain-language review of what is visible now, what needs evidence, and which fix deserves attention first.
Request a free three-point review