Most SEO sales calls sound the same. The agency shows a deck, promises traffic, and sends a contract. You find out three months later that nobody can explain what they have actually done. A better call starts with better questions, so you can judge the agency on how it works, not how it pitches.
This post covers 12 questions to ask before you sign, what a good answer sounds like, and what should make you pause.
Questions to Ask an SEO Agency Before Signing: The Short List
Ask about six things: what they will do and in what order, who does the work, what they will and won't promise, how they build links, what they will report, and what the contract lets you keep or leave. A good agency answers in plain language with examples. A weak one retreats into jargon, guarantees, or "our proprietary process."
If you would rather have those answers from us, talk to Logic Inbound and bring this list with you.
Questions About the Work and the People
1. What will you do in the first few months, in order?
You want a sequence, not a menu. A good answer sounds like this: fix what blocks Google from crawling or understanding the site, decide which pages should target which searches, improve or build those pages, then earn links and mentions. The order depends on your site, so the agency should have looked at it before the call.
Google's own guidance for hiring an SEO says to be wary of anyone who won't clearly explain what they intend to do. If you can't repeat the plan back to a colleague after the call, ask again.
2. Who actually does the work, and who will I talk to?
The person selling is often not the person doing. Ask who writes the content, who handles technical fixes, and who joins your calls. Ask whether any work goes to a subcontractor or an overseas team. Neither is automatically bad, but you should know before you sign. If you are an agency yourself and want to resell the work, that is a different arrangement. Our white label SEO checklist covers it.
3. How will you decide which pages should rank for which searches?
This question separates strategy from busywork. Many agencies add pages and keywords because it looks like progress. A better one decides which single page should own each search, and cuts or reworks pages that compete with it.
Here is a call we made. One of our e-commerce clients had two pages ranking for the same phrase: a category page and the product page that actually sells the item. Both sat around position 10. Most reports would count that as two wins.
Our SEO specialist saw a problem. Two pages chasing one phrase split the clicks, and neither one climbs. His question to the client was, "Would you have two 10s or one five?" So he took the phrase out of the category page's title and headings, gave that page a broader term, and linked it to the product page. The category page became the supporting page, and the product page got a clear run at the top spots.
The timing was deliberate. Over the previous 90 days the phrase had climbed from about 15th to 10th, clicks had roughly doubled, and product-page clicks were up 40%. Close to page one, two pages splitting the traffic costs you more.
Ask the agency for a move like that, one where they took something away to make the right page win. If every answer is "add more," be careful.
Questions About Promises and Methods
4. Do you guarantee rankings?
The right answer is no. Google states plainly that "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google," and it warns site owners about SEOs who offer that guarantee. An agency can promise a process, deliverables, and reporting. It can't promise a position, because it doesn't control the results page.
The same applies to local search. If someone says they can buy you a better map ranking, they can't. Local results come down to relevance, distance, and prominence, and our local SEO mistakes post shows where Seattle businesses lose ground.
5. How do you build links, and will I see where they come from?
Links still matter, and this is where agencies cut corners. Google's spam policies list buying or selling links for ranking purposes as a violation. Ask how the agency earns links: original content, outreach to relevant sites, partnerships, local organizations. Then ask whether you will get a list of every link built.
Walk away if the answer involves a "network of sites," a fixed number of links per month at a fixed price, or anything the agency won't show you.
Want a plan you can read and question before you commit? Tell us about your site and goals, and we'll tell you what we would do first and why.
Questions About Reporting and Timing
6. What will you report, and how does it connect to leads?
Traffic is easy to report. Leads and revenue are harder, and they are the point. Ask which numbers you will see each month, where they come from, and how the agency will tie organic visits to form fills, calls, or sales. Ask what they will do if tracking is broken or incomplete, because it often is.
A good agency sets up tracking early and tells you what the numbers can and can't prove. For a starting list of what to watch, see our post on ways to track your SEO performance.
7. Will I own and have access to everything?
You should have admin access to your own Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Business Profile, ad accounts, and website. Ask who owns the content the agency writes and what happens to it if you leave. Any answer other than "you do" needs a written explanation.
8. How long until I should expect results?
A straight answer includes ranges and reasons: how competitive your searches are, how old your site is, and what is wrong with it today. An agency that says "30 days" with no caveats is selling, not forecasting. For what slows things down or speeds them up, read how long SEO takes.
Ask what you should be able to see at the first check-in even when rankings haven't moved yet, such as fixed errors, published pages, and tracking set up.
Questions About Proof
9. Can you show results for a business like mine?
Ask for case studies with a metric, a timeframe, and a plain description of what changed. Be careful with vague claims and screenshots without dates.
Here is the kind of detail to expect. Our Ski Monster SEO work produced a "300% increase in organic traffic — weekly visits grew from ~6,000–7,000 to ~22,000–29,000 by early 2026." The full case study shows the work behind it. For Dr. Kate Kass, "Organic traffic rose from 31 users per month to 1,040 per month, a 34x increase, within 12 months." The project page has the detail.
Notice that both are traffic numbers. Traffic is a good sign, not the finish line, so ask any agency, including us, what happened to leads or sales alongside it.
10. Can I talk to current clients, and what do their reviews say?
Ask for two references and call them. Then read the agency's public reviews. The FTC advises looking at a variety of review sources, checking how recent the reviews are, and watching for a burst of reviews in a short period, because that can sometimes mean they're fake. See its guide on how to evaluate online reviews.
Questions About the Contract
11. What does the contract cover, how long is it, and how do I leave?
Read for four things: the length of the commitment, the notice needed to end it, what deliverables are listed, and who keeps the work if you stop. Month-to-month terms aren't always better, since SEO needs time, but you should know the exit before you enter.
On cost, be wary of any agency that quotes a price before it has looked at your site. Our pricing is scoped to each business and depends on your site, your market, and what you need done, so we don't publish a rate card. Ask any agency what is included at the price it gives you and what would change it.
12. What do you need from us?
SEO stalls when the client side goes quiet. Ask what the agency needs from you: approvals, access, developer time, subject-matter input, and fast follow-up on leads. If they say "nothing, we handle it all," be skeptical. Good SEO needs your knowledge of customers, and the best results usually come when someone on your side owns the relationship.
Red Flags That Should End the Call
- A guaranteed ranking or traffic number
- Refusal to say how links are built
- No named person doing the work
- Reports with no tie to leads or sales
- Pressure to sign today
- Contracts that keep your site, content, or accounts if you leave
One red flag deserves a follow-up question. Two or more means keep looking.
When to Bring in Help
If you want a second opinion on a proposal you already have, we are glad to read it. Logic Inbound is a Seattle digital marketing and SEO agency, and the page explains how we work and what we think makes us different. We would rather you ask hard questions of us than sign on trust.
Get These Questions Answered Before You Commit
If you are comparing agencies and want a clear plan for your site, contact Logic Inbound. Tell us what you sell, who you sell to, and what you've tried. We'll walk you through what we would do first, what we'd need from you, and what we can and can't promise.
How many SEO agencies should I talk to before signing?
Talk to two or three. That is enough to compare how each one explains its plan, handles your questions, and prices the work. Use the same questions on every call so the answers are easy to compare. More calls than that usually add confusion, not clarity.
What should an SEO proposal include?
A good proposal names the specific work, the order it will happen in, who does it, and what you will receive each month. It should say how results will be measured, what access the agency needs, and how the contract ends. If it only describes outcomes, ask for the activities behind them.
Is it a red flag if an agency won’t give an exact timeline?
No. SEO results depend on your site, competition, and starting point, so an honest agency gives ranges and explains why. The red flag is the opposite: a fixed date for page-one rankings. What an agency can give you is a schedule of work and early checkpoints you can verify.
Should I sign a long contract with an SEO agency?
It depends on the scope. SEO takes time, so very short terms can be unrealistic, but a long term with no exit is risky. Ask what happens if you need to leave, who keeps the content and accounts, and what notice is required. Get those answers in writing before you sign.