By Tanya Ganian · · 3 min readAsk an SEO company four kinds of questions: how they'll evaluate your site and choose keywords (strategy), what they'll actually do each month (work), how they'll measure and report results (accountability), and what the contract says about commitment, cancellation and ownership. A good company answers in plain language and never guarantees first place on Google.
Questions about their strategy
Short answer: you want to hear a clear, specific plan for your business, not jargon.
- How will you evaluate my current website?
- How do you choose which keywords to target?
- What exactly will you do each month?
- Do you handle technical SEO and content, or only one?
- How do you approach local SEO and Google Maps?
- What about AI search, like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews?
- What happens if rankings don't improve?
To understand the pieces they should mention, see what SEO actually does for your site.
Questions about results
- How will success be measured?
- Will I receive regular reports, and what will they include?
- Can you show examples of previous work?
- How long might it take to see progress?
- How do you connect SEO results to calls, forms and sales?
Our guide on how to know if SEO is working explains which numbers matter.
Questions about the contract
- Is there a minimum commitment?
- What happens if I cancel?
- Who owns the content you create?
- Will I have access to my Google Analytics and Search Console?
- Are there any additional costs?
Red flags to watch for
- Guaranteed first-place Google rankings
- Promises of instant results
- Refusing to explain their methods
- Reports that show only traffic or rankings, never leads
- Buying links or mass-producing low-quality content. See can SEO hurt my website?
The bottom line
You don't need an SEO company that makes impressive promises. You need one that can explain its work, show its progress and be accountable for what it delivers.
Ask us any of these questions about our SEO services in Montreal, or compare prices in how much SEO services should cost.
Frequently asked questions
What should I ask an SEO company before hiring?
Ask how they'll evaluate your site, how they choose keywords, what they'll do each month, how they report results, and what the contract says about commitment, cancellation and ownership.
Can an SEO company guarantee first place on Google?
No. Nobody controls Google's results. A company that guarantees first place is a red flag.
Who should own the content an SEO company creates?
You should. Make sure the contract says the content, accounts and data belong to your business.