If you’re going to hire an SEO agency or SEO firm (or even an SEO consultant such as myself), you need to be prepared to “interview” them. I wouldn’t just hire anyone without asking a bunch of questions. Even if you don’t fully understand these questions, I highly recommend that you do a little homework ahead of time. Search for the question, or ask an AI such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Bing AI to help you understand the question and what it means.
Here are 12 questions you should ask:
What is your approach to SEO?
Can you provide case studies or examples of previous work?
How do you stay up-to-date with industry changes and Google updates?
What metrics or KPIs do you focus on to measure SEO success?
How do you report on progress and how often?
What do you need from us to be successful?
Who will be working on our account?
How do you handle changes in strategy during a campaign?
What are your payment terms and are there any long-term contracts?
What happens if we decide to part ways?
How do you handle SEO for mobile and voice search?
Can you guarantee specific results?
Here’s the questions above, along with a short explanation of what each one means:
- What is your approach to SEO? This question is asking for an overview of the strategies and tactics the SEO service provider uses to improve website rankings in search engine results. It seeks to understand their methodology, whether it focuses on on-page, off-page, technical SEO, or a combination of these.
- Can you provide case studies or examples of previous work? This requests evidence of the provider’s past success with SEO projects, allowing you to gauge their effectiveness and expertise. Case studies or examples demonstrate their ability to deliver results and the impact of their work.
- How do you stay up-to-date with industry changes and Google updates? SEO is a constantly evolving field with frequent updates to search engine algorithms. This question checks whether the provider actively keeps up with these changes and adapts their strategies accordingly to ensure ongoing SEO success.
- What metrics or KPIs do you focus on to measure SEO success? Here, the aim is to find out which key performance indicators (KPIs) the provider considers important, such as organic traffic, rankings, conversion rates, or bounce rates. Understanding what metrics they prioritize helps assess how they align with your own business goals.
- How do you report on progress and how often? This question seeks to determine the communication and reporting style of the provider, including how frequently they will update you on the campaign’s progress and the format of these updates (e.g., written reports, meetings).
- What do you need from us to be successful? This asks what resources, access, or information the SEO provider requires from your side to effectively execute their strategies, such as access to your website backend, analytics tools, or collaboration from your team.
- Who will be working on our account? Understanding who will be directly involved in your SEO campaign is crucial. This question is about the expertise and roles of the team members assigned to your account.
- How do you handle changes in strategy during a campaign? This is about the provider’s flexibility and responsiveness to changing conditions or results during an SEO campaign. It explores how they plan, implement, and communicate strategy adjustments.
- What are your payment terms and are there any long-term contracts? This addresses the financial and contractual aspects of the engagement, including how payments are structured (e.g., monthly, quarterly), any required commitments, and the terms of contract termination.
- What happens if we decide to part ways? This question covers the procedures and considerations for ending the service agreement, including how assets and access are handled, and if there are any finality clauses or handovers.
- How do you handle SEO for mobile and voice search? Given the rise in mobile and voice search usage, this question is about the provider’s approach to optimizing for these platforms, which may involve different strategies compared to traditional desktop SEO.
- Can you guarantee specific results? This seeks to understand the provider’s confidence in their ability to deliver specific outcomes, which is tricky in SEO due to the unpredictability of search engine algorithms. It also tests their integrity, as reputable SEO professionals typically avoid guaranteeing specific rankings.
As a bonus, I’ve actually come up with 44 questions to ask your SEO several years ago, and many of those are still applicable, as well.