How to Vet an SEO Agency: A 12-Point Checklist
Twelve checks that separate a competent SEO agency from an expensive one, in the order you should run them. Works for agencies in any country.
Twelve checks, in order of how much they tell you per minute spent. The four highest-signal ones: **ask for a content brief and the article it produced**, **ask for a full link list from a real recent month as live URLs**, **ask to speak to the person who would actually run your account**, and **ask for exact overlap hours and an escalation path**. Any agency that cannot clear those four within a day should be removed from your shortlist regardless of price, reputation or how good the deck was. The remaining eight cover contracts, reporting, measurement and exit.
## The four that matter most
### 1. A content brief and the article it produced
Ask for both together, with the writer’s name on each. This detects content mills faster than anything else. **Good answer:** both documents within a day, clearly connected, with a named writer and an editor’s marks. **Red flag:** polished samples with no brief behind them, or a delay while something is assembled.
### 2. Every link built for a real client, last month, as live URLs
Not domains. Not a sample. Live URLs from an actual recent month. **Good answer:** the list, same day, possibly with a note on which were harder to get. **Red flag:** “we can’t share client data” — a link is public by definition, so this answer means the links would not survive inspection.
### 3. The person who would run your account
Not the salesperson. **Good answer:** a call with the named strategist before you sign. **Red flag:** “you’ll be assigned a dedicated account manager after onboarding.”
### 4. Exact overlap hours and escalation path
**Good answer:** clock times and a named route. **Red flag:** “we’re very flexible.”
## The other eight
The full checklist
| Check | What a good answer looks like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Case studies | Search Console screenshots, named clients, stated starting point | Rank-tracker exports, “+500%” with no baseline |
| 6. References | Two clients in your sector you can call | “Confidentiality prevents it” |
| 7. Contract terms | Monthly, 30 days notice | 12-month lock-in, large prepayment |
| 8. What is included | One all-in monthly figure | Reporting, calls and strategy billed separately |
| 9. Reporting | Live access plus a written monthly report | A PDF only |
| 10. Measurement | Conversions and pipeline configured to your CRM | Rankings and sessions only |
| 11. Ownership | You own domain, analytics, content, briefs | Agency holds the domain or the GA property |
| 12. Exit | Full export of everything, access revoked, 30 days | Vague, or a fee |
## Three claims that should end the conversation
**”We guarantee first-page rankings.”** Nobody controls Google’s index. A guarantee means either the keywords are worthless, or a refund clause is doing the work, or they are about to do something you will regret.
**”We have a special relationship with Google.”** There is no such thing. Google Partner status exists for Ads, not for organic, and confers nothing on rankings.
**”Results in 30 days.”** On an established domain, small technical wins can show in weeks. A genuine change in trajectory takes 4–9 months. An agency promising more is either buying links or targeting terms nobody searches.
## What good looks like on the other side
The best agencies are usually the ones who ask you the most awkward questions before taking your money. Expect to be asked what your customer acquisition cost is, what a customer is worth, what your sales cycle looks like, and what happened with your last agency. An agency that does not ask these is not building a strategy; it is filling a slot.
Vetting questions
These are the questions that come up most often on first calls. If yours is not here, ask — we answer in writing within one working day.
What is the single best question to ask an SEO agency?
“Send me every link you built for a client last month, as live URLs.” Links are public, so there is no confidentiality argument against sharing them, and the answer reveals immediately whether the agency does editorial outreach or buys placements. No other single question separates the field as cleanly.
How long should vetting take?
A week. Two or three shortlisted agencies, the four key questions to all of them on day one, a call with each delivery lead by day four. If it is taking a month, you are over-researching a decision that a paid 90-day pilot would answer better than any amount of due diligence.
Should I choose the cheapest quote?
No, and you should be suspicious of it. Work out what the monthly figure buys in hours at the agency’s stated rate. Below about 20 hours a month, the work has to be automated, and automated audits, content and links are all worse than nothing.”
Is a big agency safer than a small one?
Not inherently. Large agencies have process and continuity; small ones give you senior attention. The real question is who specifically works on your account and how much of their time you get — a large agency where you are a small account often gives you less senior time than a small agency where you are a large one.
What if I have already signed with someone bad?
Check your notice period, request the full link list and content briefs immediately, take an export of everything, and make sure the domain and analytics are in your own name. Then leave. Sunk cost is not a reason to spend another quarter.