> Ten questions to ask before hiring an SEO agency, what a good answer sounds like, and the warning signs: promised positions, vague methods, locked accounts. - Canonical: https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/questions-to-ask-an-seo-agency/ --- # Questions to ask before you hire an SEO agency An SEO agency should be able to say what it will do, how you will know it worked and who owns the accounts when you leave. Ten questions bring those answers out before a contract is signed. Updated 11 October 2026 ## 1. What will you do in the first three months? A good answer names tasks: an audit, a list of faults in order of importance, the pages to be rewritten or built. A weak answer describes outcomes and no work. ## 2. How will I know whether it worked? The measures should be agreed before the work starts and recorded as a baseline: the searches you appear for, the clicks they bring and the enquiries that follow. Without a baseline, any later figure can be called a success. ## 3. What will I see each month? A monthly report should say what changed in search, what was done and what comes next. Our guide to [what a monthly SEO report should show](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/what-a-monthly-seo-report-should-show/) sets out what to expect in one. ## 4. Who owns the accounts and the content? Search Console, Analytics and every page written for you should be yours, in your name, from the first day. Ask the question directly and get the answer in writing. ## 5. Who changes the website? Recommendations that nobody carries out are worth nothing. Find out whether the agency makes the changes itself, hands a list to your developer, or expects you to do it. ## 6. How do you earn links? [Links from other websites still matter](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ranking-systems-guide), and how they are obtained matters more. A good answer describes content worth linking to and relationships with real organisations. Paying for links breaks [Google’s spam policies](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies), and [the penalty lands on your site, not the agency’s](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo). ## 7. Can I inspect your own site? An agency’s own website is the one project where it had no client to blame. Run it through [PageSpeed Insights](https://developers.google.com/speed/docs/insights/v5/about) and read its titles and structure. Our guide to [checking website speed](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-check-your-website-speed/) explains the results. ## 8. What do you need from me? Expect to be asked for access to Search Console and Analytics, for knowledge of your customers, and for someone who can approve changes. An agency that needs nothing from you is not planning to learn your business. ## 9. What happens if I leave? The honest answer is short: access is removed, the content stays on your site, and nothing built for you is taken down. ## 10. What will you not do? An agency that knows the rules can name what it refuses: [bought links, hidden text, copied content](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies), [pages written only for search engines](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content). An agency with no such list has not thought about the risk it is taking with your site. ## Warning signs Five answers are reason enough to walk away. - [A promised position](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo), or a promised number of visitors. - Methods that cannot be explained in plain words. - Accounts opened in the agency’s name. - Reports with figures and no list of work done. - A long contract with no notice period. ## Questions people ask ### Can an SEO agency promise a position in Google? No. Google decides positions, and [its own guidance](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo) warns against anyone who promises one. An agency can commit to the work it will do and to reporting what happened. ### Who should own the Google accounts? You should. [Search Console](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7687615), [Analytics](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9305788), the [Business Profile](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3403100) and any [ad accounts](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9978556) belong in your name, with the agency added as a user. An agency that keeps them in its own name can take your data with it when it goes. ### How long should an SEO contract run? Long enough to see an effect. [Google says](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide) a change can take a few hours or several months to show and suggests waiting a few weeks before judging it, so agree the measures first and you will see the effect when it comes. The notice period matters more than the length: a contract that holds you for a year with no way out protects the agency, not the work. ## Free competitor gap report A fair test of an agency is to ask for evidence before you commit. Name up to three competitors and we measure your site against theirs and send you the findings, so the work can be judged before any contract. 1. Speed and technical health, side by side 2. On-page SEO and site structure 3. The content they are found for and you are not 4. Who holds the searches that matter in your market 5. A prioritised list of what to fix first [Request your free report by email](mailto:contact@hadalmedusa.com?subject=Competitor%20gap%20report%3A%20Guide%3A%20Questions%20to%20ask%20before%20you%20hire%20an%20SEO%20agency&body=Website%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AWhere%20you%20compete%20(area%2C%20country%20or%20countries)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0ACompetitors%20to%20compare%20against%20(up%20to%20three)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AAnything%20else%20we%20should%20know%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A) - **Address** — contact@hadalmedusa.com - **Include** — your site; up to three competitors; where you compete ## More guides - [Why a competitor outranks you, and how to check](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/why-a-competitor-outranks-you/) - [What a technical SEO audit covers](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/what-a-technical-seo-audit-covers/) - [A local SEO checklist for UK businesses](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/local-seo-checklist-uk/) - [All guides](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/) - [On-site SEO: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/seo/)