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How to choose
an SEO company

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Choose an SEO company by what it will build each month and how it will prove it worked, not by its price or its promises.

The ten questions below separate agencies that build content and authority from agencies that sell reports.

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Google's own advice on hiring an SEO says to ask for examples of past work, how success will be measured, and what experience the agency has in your industry and your market. It also says no one can guarantee a number one ranking.

This guide turns that advice into ten questions, with the answers a good agency should give.

A good SEO company can explain, in plain words, what it will build for you this month and why.

Before you talk to anyone

Know what you want SEO to do for the business, and what a result is worth.
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Know your goal

  • More calls, forms or bookings, not just traffic
  • The services and areas that matter most
  • What a new customer is worth to you

An agency can only plan well when it knows what a result is worth.

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Know your budget

  • Most local businesses: A$1,000 to A$2,500 a month
  • Competitive or multi location: A$2,500 to A$5,000
  • A horizon of six to twelve months

Our SEO cost guide shows what each price level buys.

The right agency asks about your business before it talks about rankings.
The questions
10 questions to ask an SEO company

Ask every agency the same ten questions, and compare the answers side by side.

  1. What will you do in the first 90 days?
    A good answer names a technical audit, the pages to build or fix, and a content plan tied to your services.
  2. How will you measure success?
    Calls, forms and revenue from organic search, not rankings alone.
  3. Who will do the work?
    Named people, and a straight answer on anything outsourced.
  4. How do you build links?
    A few relevant, trusted sites, earned through content and PR. Not hundreds of links a month.
  5. What content will you write, and who approves it?
    A monthly plan you can read, with your team signing off before anything goes live.
  6. Can you show results for a business like mine?
    A case study with real numbers, ideally in your industry or a similar market.
  7. Do you guarantee rankings?
    The right answer is no. Google says no one can.
  8. Who owns the accounts and the work?
    You own the website, Google Analytics, Search Console and every page written.
  9. What does the agreement say?
    A clear monthly fee and scope, and a fair notice period.
  10. How will you help us show up in AI search?
    A plan for being cited by ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews, built on the same content and authority.

An agency that answers all ten clearly, with examples, is worth a second meeting. Our SEO and AI search work is built around the same answers, and our guide to generative engine optimisation covers question ten in depth.

Before you sign

What to get in writing

Ask for these before you agree to anything.
Ask for these
01.
The monthly scope, page by page
02.
How results will be reported, and how often
03.
Who owns the website, accounts and content
04.
The notice period, and how to leave
05.
The plan for the first 90 days
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What good reporting looks like

For Millard Financial, a Gold Coast equipment finance broker, success was measured in qualified calls, not rankings alone. The site went from fewer than 10 indexed pages to more than 3,280 keyword rankings, and organic users grew from 12 to 669 in twelve months.

What mattered to the business was the outcome: 4 to 8 qualified calls every week. Read the Millard Financial case study.

Choose the agency that explains its work, not the one that promises the most.
Compare
How to compare SEO proposals

Put every proposal side by side against the same checks.

Check/Scope/Measurement/Links/Ownership
What a good proposal shows/Pages to build and fix each month/Enquiries and revenue, not just rankings/A few relevant, trusted sites/You own every account and asset
Two proposals at the same price can buy very different amounts of work.
When prices are close, choose the one with more content and authority in scope.
Fit

What makes an agency the right fit

Four things decide whether an agency will work for your business.

1. Experience with businesses like yours

An agency that has grown a business in a similar market will know what your buyers search and what convinces them.

2. A plan built for you

No two businesses are the same. A proposal that could be sent to anyone was probably sent to everyone.

3. Honest communication

Plain answers, regular updates and access to the people doing the work.

4. More than SEO

Search works best when it is joined to your ads, website and tracking, so every enquiry can be traced to where it came from.

Choose the plan, the people and the proof. The price follows.
Red flags
Warning signs and good signs

What to walk away from, and what to look for instead.

Warning signs/Guaranteed rankings/Methods it will not explain/Hundreds of backlinks a month/Reports with rankings but no enquiries/Accounts held in the agency's name
Good signs/Honest ranges and timelines/A plan you can read and question/Links earned from relevant sites/Reports tied to calls and forms/Everything set up in your name
One warning sign is reason enough to keep looking.
The verdict
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How do you choose the right SEO company?

Choose the one that ties its work to your enquiries, shows you what it will build each month, earns links rather than buying them, and leaves you owning everything. Scope matters more than price.

Should you choose a local agency? Local knowledge helps with local search, but how an agency works matters more than where it sits. How long should you give it? Six to twelve months, with clear reports along the way.

For what each budget buys, read how much SEO costs in Australia.

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Want a second opinion on an SEO proposal?

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