How to choose an SEO agency before you sign

The best way to choose an SEO agency is to make it show its work before you sign. Think of it like hiring a tradie you can’t watch on site, where you want a clear quote and work you can check. This guide gives you a meeting sheet you can use with any agency, including us.

Here’s an example. A roofer in Penrith gets two proposals. One promises to put him at number one on Google while the other lists the pages it will improve, says who will write them and names the enquiries it will count each month. He shouldn’t pick the bigger promise, because Google says no one can guarantee a number one ranking.¹ The safer move is to check the evidence and the written list of work.

An SEO agency, which some people call an SEO company, is a business you pay to help people find your website through search. A retainer is a regular fee for agreed ongoing work. To see how we set out the work and the terms before you compare quotes, our SEO packages page lists the work and the price of each plan.

What should you do before you talk to any agency?

Decide what you want first, because an agency can only be judged against a goal. Write down these four things and take them to every meeting.

1. The jobs you want more of and the suburbs you want them in.
2. How many extra jobs you could take on without hiring anyone.
3. Your records for the last few months, covering enquiries, quotes and paid jobs, so you can see any change later.
4. The person in your business who can say yes to changes on your website.

Your monthly limit matters too, so our guide on how much SEO costs is worth a read for what Australian fees cover. If you want to test whether a fee could pay for itself, is SEO worth it walks through the calculation. If you are weighing an agency against hiring someone, read SEO agency vs in-house.

Which questions should you ask an SEO agency?

Ask every agency the same questions and write down the answers. Google lists several of them in its advice on hiring an SEO.¹ The table adds what a useful answer sounds like.

Google also says to see whether the SEO is interested in you. A good one asks what makes your business unique, who your competitors are and how your customers find you.¹

Kavera note: On our plans we handle the agreed research, writing and website updates. You share the service facts, project photos and experience that make your business worth choosing. You approve any claim about your work before it goes on a page.

How can you check a case study without being misled?

Check four things: the website, the dates, what was counted and who did the work. A result is only useful when you can see all four.

• Check that the website is named so you can open it and look for yourself.
• Check the dates, meaning when the work started and when the result was measured.
• Check what was counted, because appearances in search, visits to the site, enquiries and paid jobs are four different numbers.
• Check whose work it was, in case the agency only reported on a site that was already doing well.

A result for a single search can look impressive and still say little about the rest of your market, so ask how many searches were checked.

Kavera note: In two checks about two months apart, our client SHORE went from absent to first in one Sydney builder shortlist. We built SHORE’s website and run its SEO. The captures show what happened in two answers to one question. They don’t show a permanent position or a measured increase in enquiries. You can read both answers in our ChatGPT SEO guide.

AI claims need the same care. Some SEOs now sell advice on how AI tools answer questions about a business, which they may call “AEO” or “GEO” services. Google says to ask whether that advice matches Google Search’s official guidance on generative AI features.¹ Ask any agency how it tests its claims. For our Sydney AI search study we froze 50 questions covering 10 trades before collecting any answers, so nobody could pick questions to flatter a result.

Which promises are red flags in an SEO proposal?

Treat any promise that Google itself warns about as a reason to pause. Walk away from a guaranteed first place. The table uses Google’s own wording on what to avoid when hiring an SEO.

A low price is not a warning sign on its own. Ask what finished work it buys, because a fee only means something next to a list of what you will receive.

What should the agreement make clear?

Get the scope, the cost and the exit in writing before you pay anything. Check that the agreement spells out each of these points:

• The work you will receive each month, named by type and number, such as pages, fixes and Google Business Profile posts.
• Who does the work and how you will be told when it is finished.
• What costs extra, such as photos, new website features or tools.
• Whether the price includes GST.
• The minimum term and how much notice you must give to leave.
• What happens if the agreed work isn’t delivered.
• Who owns the accounts, the pages and anything written for you, plus what you receive when the work ends.

Kavera note: Our plans show the price and the term before you talk to us. Every SEO plan is month to month, so you can cancel anytime. We recommend six months to see real results. Our SEO audit is free and comes with no commitment. If we miss a month’s agreed numbers, your next month is free. Compare any agency on the same points.

Australian law also protects some small businesses from unfair terms in take-it-or-leave-it contracts, which the law calls standard form contracts. The protections apply to standard form contracts made or renewed on or after 9 November 2023 and to any term varied or added on or after that date.⁵ They cover businesses with fewer than 100 employees or an annual turnover below $10 million.⁴ Regulators can also seek a court penalty from businesses that put unfair terms in standard form contracts.⁴ This is general information and not legal advice, so ask a lawyer to read a long contract before you sign.

Should an agency get full access to your accounts?

For a first audit, give read-only access and nothing more. Google says that if an SEO offers an audit you should grant read access to Search Console and not write access.¹ Search Console is the Google tool that site owners use to see how their site appears in search.

Search Console has three roles. An owner has full control and a full user has view rights to all data with the ability to take some actions, while a restricted user has simple view rights on most data.²

Your Google Business Profile needs the same care. An owner has full control and can add or remove users.³ A manager has mostly the same access except for adding or removing users and removing the profile.³ Only owners can remove other owners and managers.³ So keep yourself as an owner and give the agency a manager role. If an agency holds the only owner login, you could lose the power to remove it.

Google Analytics, which counts the visits and enquiries on your website, uses different roles. Administrator is the role that can manage users, so keep it yourself and give the agency one of the lower roles instead.⁶

Keep your own logins for your domain name and website hosting too. You should be able to change any password or remove any user without asking permission.

Does the size or specialty of an agency matter?

It matters less than who does your work and how they treat you. A team that works mostly with trades may know the searches your customers use. A larger agency may have more specialists on hand. Either can suit you, so put the same questions to both.

Ask who writes your pages, who you can phone and what happens when that person is away. Ask for examples that fit your trade or area. Then compare the answers with the scoring sheet further down.

Is an agency, a consultant or a one-off audit the better start?

Pick by what you need done. If you want someone to do ongoing work, an agency fits. If you already have people who can do the work, a consultant or an audit may be enough.

If the real question is who should do the work, our guide on SEO agency vs in-house compares your options.

Not sure how to choose an SEO agency from two proposals?

Score each proposal on the same six checks, using the sheet below. Add up the points for each agency.

A higher score does not mean a better agency. It means you can see more of what you would be buying, which is what you need before you sign.

Where should you go next?

Once you know what you need, take the sheet to your shortlist and ask each agency to fill the gaps in writing.

Our SEO audit is free. It reviews your site’s technical health, visibility, keywords, competitors and Google Business Profile and ends with a prioritised roadmap. Implementation is separate unless retained. Compare the monthly plans on our SEO packages page, where monthly plans start at Suburb SEO, $890/month + GST. No SEO package guarantees rankings, leads or revenue.

The fine print

The roofer in the example is made up and so are the two proposals. The questions, the pause signs and the scoring sheet are our suggestions. The warnings in the Google table come from Google’s advice for site owners, which was last updated on 5 June 2026 and which we read on 21 October 2026.

The note on unfair contract terms comes from a Treasury media release dated 9 November 2023 and the ACCC’s guidance for businesses on contracts. The SHORE result is one question and two answers, so it doesn’t show how any agency would perform for you.

We are an SEO agency ourselves, so these checks apply to us as well. We haven’t named or ranked any other agency or tool in this guide.