How to choose an SEO provider: criteria, questions, and signs of reliability

Where to start: what task the site has

Providers’ proposals are hard to compare if it isn’t clear what you’re actually buying. Before the first meetings, answer three questions for yourself.

• A one-off task or ongoing work. One-off — for example, an audit, migrating a site to a new domain or platform, fixing technical errors. Ongoing — continuous work on the site’s structure, content, and technical side, with checks on what’s changed. A one-off task needs a provider experienced in exactly that task; ongoing work needs someone ready to run the site for the long haul and report clearly.
• Who will implement the changes. Recommendations don’t change anything until they’re implemented on the site. If you don’t have your own developer, factor that into the choice: the provider either has to implement changes themselves, or be able to brief your development team.
• How much time your team has. A provider needs answers to questions, approvals, access, and information about the business. If your side doesn’t have time for that, the work will move slower than either side expected.

If the task is hard to put into words, start with the site’s current state. A one-off diagnostic before promotion shows which problems exist and which work matters most. With a list like that, it’s easier to compare proposals.

Timing matters too. Google notes that reaching out to an SEO specialist is especially useful before building a new site or redesigning an existing one — the earlier, the better.

Which provider format fits the task

SEO work can be run by an agency, an independent specialist, or an in-house hire. Google’s own help pages mention all of these options: useful services to site owners are provided by agencies, consultants, and specialists in search engine optimization. There’s no universally best format. They differ mainly in three things:

• breadth of expertise — one person working alone, or a team that includes people with different profiles: technical SEO, content, analytics;
• dependence on one person — what happens to the project if the lead specialist gets sick, goes on vacation, or changes jobs;
• access to development — who implements changes on the site, and how quickly.

The choice depends on the task from the previous section. For a narrow one-off task, a single specialist with the right experience may be enough. Ongoing work needs stability and access to development: either an outside team or an in-house hire can provide that, as long as the company has developers. Formats can be combined — for example, an in-house specialist runs the site day to day, while an outside provider runs the audit or handles a specific area. Whichever format you choose, the provider is worth checking against the same set of criteria.

Criteria for choosing an SEO provider

The first six criteria are based on questions Google suggests discussing with an SEO specialist before work begins. The last three are our own recommendations: worth checking in practice even though the help pages don’t mention them.

1. Examples of work you can verify. Google recommends asking whether the specialist can give examples of their previous work and describe successes achieved, and checking their references by asking past clients whether they were happy with the quality of the service. Look not just at the final numbers, but at what was actually done and how it connects to the result. If a provider can’t name a client, ask them to describe the task and the course of the work without the company’s name.

2. Working within search engine rules. Google’s list includes asking whether the specialist follows the recommendations in Google Search Essentials. If the site is also promoted on Yandex, ask how the provider accounts for Yandex’s requirements for sites.

3. Expectations and how results are measured. Google suggests asking what results the specialist expects and over what timeframe, and how they measure the effectiveness of their own work. A good answer is grounded in your task and your site’s data, not general promises. To judge whether the stated timeframe is realistic, compare it against the scope of work promised: too short a timeframe for a large scope of work is a reason to ask what the estimate is based on.

4. Experience in your industry and region. Google names several experience-related questions: what experience the specialist has in your field, whether they’ve worked in your country or city, whether they have experience with sites aimed at audiences in different countries, and how long they’ve been in the field. Experience in a similar niche helps them get up to speed on demand and competitors faster, but it doesn’t replace the other criteria.

5. Communication. Another question from Google’s list: how will you communicate — will the specialist report on all changes made to the site, describe their recommendations in detail, and justify them?

6. Interest in your business. Google advises judging whether the specialist is genuinely interested in your business. In a meeting, this shows up in the questions the provider asks: about the product, customers, seasonality, and which inquiries are actually valuable to you.

7. Who implements the changes. The provider, your developer, or a third party — and who checks that changes were implemented correctly.

8. Who owns the accounts. It’s better if Yandex Webmaster, Google Search Console, and the web analytics tool are registered to your company, with the provider working through access you grant.

9. How risky changes get approved. Changing page URLs, deleting or merging sections, migrating, editing templates. Changes like these are worth approving before implementation and checking afterward.

Questions to ask before signing: a checklist

Ask these questions in a meeting and compare the answers from different providers. What matters isn’t just what they answer, but how specific it is.

1. What’s included in the work, and what isn’t? What to watch for: the list of work is tied to your site’s task, not a standard package. Separately, ask what isn’t included — for example, copywriting, development, or setting up analytics.

2. Who implements changes on the site? What to watch for: the answer makes clear who assigns the task, who implements it, and who checks the result. If your developer implements it, ask how the provider hands off the tasks.

3. What will you do first, and why? What to watch for: the order of work is explained through your site’s actual problems. Google advises caution if a company’s representatives are secretive and refuse to clearly explain what they plan to do.

4. What results do you expect, and over what timeframe? How will you measure effectiveness? This is a question from Google’s list. What to watch for: does the provider name metrics across the whole path — from indexing to inquiries — or only rankings? More on how to tell whether SEO is producing a result.

5. What do you guarantee? What to watch for: an honest answer separates what the provider is responsible for themselves — the scope and quality of work, reporting — from what’s completely outside their control, such as rankings and traffic. When comparing proposals, judge promises by the same principle: what the provider takes on themselves, and what depends on factors they don’t control.

6. Do you have experience in our field and region? Can we talk to your past clients? Experience in the field and in your country or city are questions from Google’s list; it also advises checking references with past clients. What to watch for: specific examples — what the task was, what was done, what changed.

7. Do you follow search engine recommendations? Google suggests asking whether the specialist follows the recommendations in Google Search Essentials. What to watch for: the provider can explain how they work with links, text, and technical changes, rather than giving a general “yes.”

8. Whose name are the Webmaster, Search Console, and analytics accounts under? What to watch for: the accounts stay with your company, and the provider gets access scoped to their task. That way, the site’s data stays with you regardless of how the cooperation ends. In advance, see how to grant a provider access to Yandex Webmaster.

9. How often, and in what form, do you report? Will you report on every change made to the site? The second part of this question is from Google’s list. What to watch for: the report connects the work done to changes in the data, rather than just listing completed tasks.

10. What happens if we stop working together? What to watch for: the provider’s access gets revoked, and you get the materials — audit results, the keyword set, copy, the task list. It’s easier to discuss this before starting than when parting ways.

Put the answers in the contract. The agreements you reach through these answers — scope of work, who’s responsible for what, access, and reporting — are worth putting in writing, not leaving as verbal promises.

Signs of an unreliable provider

Google names several reasons to be cautious outright. No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google, and if a candidate claims to guarantee the #1 position, Google advises looking for another specialist. Be wary of promises of guaranteed high rankings based on a “special relationship” with Google, and advertising of “priority submit” to Google. Secrecy should also raise a flag — when a company’s representatives refuse to clearly explain what they plan to do. Finally, Google advises against working with specialists who advertise link popularity schemes or offer to register your site with thousands of search engines, and warns that you should never have to link to an SEO specialist. Any one of these signs is a reason to ask more questions, or to keep looking.

How to check a provider’s work after it starts

The choice doesn’t end with signing the contract. Early on, watch three things: whether there’s a plan tied to the task you discussed; which changes have been made to the site, and whether the risky ones were approved first; and whether the first report connects what was done to the data. These three points help you quickly tell whether the work is moving in the agreed direction, or whether it’s time to stop and find out why.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need an audit before choosing a provider?

Not necessarily, but it helps. An audit shows the site’s current state and which problems matter most. With it, the task is easier to define and proposals are easier to compare: you can see who’s addressing your site’s actual problems and who’s offering a standard package of services. If you need that kind of diagnostic, see what an SEO audit before choosing a provider gives you.

Can you choose a provider by rating?

A rating can be a starting point for building a shortlist of candidates. But it doesn’t account for your task, and different ratings use different methodologies, so it’s worth checking what criteria it’s based on. It’s better to decide using the criteria and the answers to the checklist questions above.

How much does SEO cost at an agency vs. with a freelancer?

There’s no universal price: the cost depends on the task, the site’s condition, and the scope of work — not just the provider’s format. To compare proposals, ask for a breakdown by scope of work, not just a total figure. What drives the cost of SEO promotion is covered in the “Cost of SEO promotion” section on the service page.