8 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an SEO Agency

Most business owners looking for SEO services make the same mistakes in proposal meetings: they listen to the pitch, flip through the brochure and compare prices. Yet a few well-placed questions in that very meeting can save both money and months of wasted time. There is an all-too-common scenario in Turkey: once the contract ends, access to Search Console data or produced content simply disappears. To make sure none of that happens to you, keep these eight questions close.

1. 'What steps will you take for our site, in what order, and why?'

A serious agency will plan three things together: cleaning up the technical foundation, building content architecture and growing authority over time. They will also explain why they are doing things in that particular order. If you hear something vague like 'we will do keyword research and provide backlinks,' that is a red flag — it means the agency has no strategy tailored to you.

2. 'What do you do to get us seen inside ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews?'

In 2026, SEO is no longer just about Google rankings. ChatGPT is used by more than 800 million people every week; Perplexity handles 780 million queries a month. Google's AI boxes now appear in close to half of all searches. A site that makes it inside the AI box can attract far more clicks than one ranked first but left out of the box. An agency that understands this shift will give you concrete steps: FAQ-style content formats, use of statistics and correct technical tags (schema markup). If they say 'we only focus on Google rankings,' move on.

3. 'How will you build backlinks for us — can you show an example?'

Backlinks — links pointing to your site from other sites — remain one of the most important parts of SEO. But how they are earned makes all the difference. Legitimate methods include guest authorship in relevant publications, producing content that earns media attention and relationship-driven outreach. An agency that promises '500 backlinks' or 'guaranteed high-score links' is violating Google's spam policies. After a penalty like that, your site's traffic can drop by more than seventy percent, and recovery can take months or even years.

4. 'Who will own my Search Console and Analytics accounts?'

There is a real example from Turkey: a business owner whose contract had ended was told 'this data belongs to us' by the agency, and they lost access to years of accumulated Search Console history. The correct approach is this: Google Search Console and Analytics 4 accounts are always opened under your own email address; the agency is given 'manager access.' When the contract ends, the agency's access is removed promptly. Do not sign with an agency that will not open accounts under your name.

5. 'How will we measure success?'

Moving forward with an agency that only says 'we will track rankings' is risky. Rankings are a nice indicator but are not directly tied to your business goals. A good agency also asks: 'How many customers does this traffic actually bring you?' Monthly reports should include organic visitor counts, position changes on target keywords and the number of leads or sales coming from the organic channel together. Do not commit long-term with an agency that only shares screenshots.

6. 'Is site speed and technical auditing included in the scope?'

By 2026, Google has tightened its page speed thresholds even further: the main content must appear on screen in under 2.0 seconds, not the previous 2.5. The time from a user clicking a button to the page responding must stay below 200 milliseconds. Sites with weak technical scores also rarely appear in AI search boxes. If technical auditing, crawlability checks and JavaScript rendering support are out of scope, find that out before signing the contract. Fixing it later costs far more.

7. 'What documents will be handed over to me when the contract ends?'

Everything produced during the SEO engagement should belong to you: keyword research, technical audit reports, content plans, the list of earned links and any produced content. Watch for clauses in the contract that say 'content belongs to the agency.' Also find out the minimum contract term upfront. Three to six months is considered reasonable; twelve months or more with no early-exit right, especially in the early stages, carries real risk.

8. 'Can you show a reference from our sector?'

Asking for references is not rude — it is expected. A good agency does not shy away from providing them. If they lack sector experience, they say so honestly and explain their research process. Positive references should be concrete: 'Site X grew organic traffic by this percentage in six months.' Generic statements like 'they were very happy' are not enough. Calling the reference to verify is also a perfectly natural step.

• 'We will get you to number one in 30 days' — Google explicitly prohibits guaranteed ranking promises.
• 'We have a proprietary algorithm, we can not share the method' — no transparency means no trust in the results.
• No monthly report, or reports that are only ranking screenshots.
• 'Google changed its algorithm' — an agency using this as a blanket excuse without analysis is a problem.
• Wanting to open accounts under their own name.