Start With Google's Own Advice
Google publishes a page for business owners thinking about hiring an SEO. It's short, it's free, and it's the most neutral advice you'll find, because Google isn't selling SEO. It suggests asking any company you're considering:
- Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
- Do you follow the Google Search Essentials?
- What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe?
- What's your experience in my industry, and in my city?
- How can I expect to communicate with you? Will you share all changes?
It also says the best time to hire is when you're planning a site redesign or a new site, and the earlier the better. Bringing someone in after a redesign often means undoing part of it.
Know What You Need First
Before you compare companies, get clear on the problem. A business that isn't in the map needs different work from one that gets traffic but no calls. A few questions help:
- Do you show up when you search your own business name? If not, that's a visibility problem, not a ranking one.
- Are you in the map for your main service in your area?
- Do people find your site but not call?
- Did a past agency or contractor leave things in a state you don't understand?
You don't need the answers before you talk to anyone. A good company will help you find them in the first conversation. But knowing the question makes every proposal easier to judge.
What a Good SEO Company Does
Explains the plan in plain words
What they'll do, why, and how you'll know it's working. If you leave the call more confused than you came in, that's your answer.
Starts with research
Your market, your competitors and what your customers actually search, before anyone touches your site.
Sets up tracking before changing anything
Search Console, Analytics and call and form tracking, so the results can be measured against where you started.
Keeps your accounts in your name
Your Business Profile, Analytics and Search Console belong to you. The company gets access. If they own them, you lose your history when you leave.
Reports what was done and what changed
A monthly report should answer three things: what they did, what happened, and what's next.
Warning Signs
Google lists its own warning signs, and they still hold up:
- A guaranteed ranking. Google says no one can guarantee a number one ranking, and warns about anyone claiming a special relationship with Google.
- Unsolicited email about search engines. Cold pitches promising page one are a red flag in Google's own words.
- Won't explain what they'll do. If the answer to "what are you doing each month?" is vague, that's the problem.
- Link schemes and shortcuts. Buying links or submitting your site to thousands of search engines can do more harm than good.
Two more from what BMo Ventures sees when it takes over from a previous agency. The first is no real strategy, just a continuation of whatever the agency before did, because the owner had no way to judge it. That's why we start by showing a new client what their current setup is, what's wrong with it, what we'll fix and what to expect, so they can see what their money is buying.
The second is content for its own sake. "Our last agency published a blog a month" comes up a lot. A post nobody searches for does nothing. A real content plan decides which pages to build, whether a post, a service page, a comparison page or an industry page, based on how people arrive at your site and the path they take before they call.
Check Their Work Yourself
Case studies are a start, but you can check more than a company shows you:
- Ask for two or three current clients you can call, ideally in a business like yours. Ask them what changed and how the company communicates.
- Look the company up the way a customer would. Search their name and their service in your city, and ask ChatGPT or Perplexity who they'd recommend. A company that can't get itself found is a hard sell.
- Read their reports, not their pitch. Ask to see a real monthly report with the client's name removed. It tells you what you'll actually get.
- Read the contract for the exit. How long it runs, what happens to your accounts and content if you leave, and whether anything they built stays with you.
How to Compare Proposals
| Topic | A proposal worth considering | A proposal to question |
|---|---|---|
| The plan | Names the work: which pages, which listings, what gets fixed first | Lists services ("on-page, off-page, technical") with no detail |
| Measurement | Ties results to calls, forms and visibility, measured from a starting point | Promises rankings or traffic numbers |
| Timeline | Early movement in two to three months, steadier results around six | Results in 30 days, or no timeline at all |
| Price | Says what you get each month for the money | A long contract with deliverables nobody can name |
| Ownership | Your accounts stay yours | They set everything up in their name |
The timeline row is the one BMo Ventures uses on its own site. Google's advice is to ask any company what results to expect and when.
What to Expect After You Hire
The first month
Research, access and tracking. Not much you can see yet, but the plan should be written down and shared with you.
Months two and three
The work shows: pages fixed or written, your profile finished, listings cleaned up. Early movement on some searches.
Around six months
Steadier results you can measure against where you started, in calls and forms, not only rankings.
After that
Monthly reporting, new content and upkeep. SEO keeps working when it's kept up.
If you want to see what's holding your site back before you commit to a monthly plan, BMo Ventures offers a one-time SEO audit that gives you the list in order.
Common Questions
How much should an SEO company cost?
The guides ranking for small business SEO pricing mostly put it at $1,500 to $5,000 a month. BMo Ventures' monthly SEO starts at $1,500. Be wary of prices far below that range.
Can an SEO company guarantee first place on Google?
No. Google says no one can guarantee a number one ranking. A company that promises one is a company to avoid.
Who should own my Google Business Profile and Analytics?
You should. BMo Ventures gets access to a client's accounts and never sets them up in its own name, so the history stays with the business.
How long should I give an SEO company before judging results?
Around six months for steady results, with early movement in two to three. Ask any company what they expect and when, and hold them to it.