Buyer's guide
Including us. The answers separate agencies that grow revenue from the ones that send ranking reports.
Rankings and traffic are inputs. Ask to see leads, sales and the money they bring, pulled from your analytics, and how they will be measured before you sign.
Ask for real examples placed for current clients. Links on unrelated or thin sites can lift rankings briefly and then cost you them. Relevant sites with real readers last.
Some agencies pitch with a senior person and hand the work to a junior or an offshore reseller. Meet the person who will run your account.
Long contracts suit the agency, not you. A confident agency earns the next month with the last one.
By the end of the first quarter you should hold a plan that names the keywords and pages, a forecast, and technical fixes already live. Vague promises about authority are a red flag.