Looking for SEO company options, judged on evidence

Agencies with a verified published price

How to run the search without wasting weeks

1. Write down the outcome, not the tactic. Say what must change: more qualified enquiries from a named service, recovery after a redesign, visibility in a new market. Firms answer a stated outcome differently, which is what makes proposals comparable at all.
2. Filter by specialisation before price. Industry or channel specialisation predicts fit better than headcount or fee level. A firm that has solved your exact problem before will show it in published case detail rather than in a promise made on a call.
3. Verify each candidate from its own pages. Named team, physical address, printed pricing or engagement shapes, and case studies that name clients. Anything a firm will not publish about itself is something you will have to take on trust later.
4. Use Google's hiring questions on every call. Ask for examples of previous work, whether the firm follows Google Search Essentials, what results it expects and in what timeframe, and its experience in your industry. The answers separate operators from salespeople quickly.
5. Settle ownership and exit before signing. Your Search Console property, analytics, ad accounts, content and tracking numbers stay yours, with access granted rather than transferred. Agree what happens to all of it on the last day of the contract.

The warning signs worth taking seriously

Google publishes its own list and it is short: be skeptical of unsolicited email offers, of firms that are secretive about their methods, and of anyone claiming guaranteed rankings or a special relationship with Google. A request for write access to Search Console during an initial audit is another flag; read access is enough at that stage.

The guarantee is the clearest disqualifier because Google states plainly that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking. A firm promising a position is either contradicting the search engine it claims to influence or planning to rank you for a phrase nobody searches.

What a credible proposal contains

A first ninety days written in specifics: what will be examined, what will be produced, who does the work, and what evidence will exist at the end. Vague retainers describe activity levels rather than outcomes, which is why they are impossible to hold to account later.

It should also state assumptions and dependencies honestly. If progress requires developer time you do not have, or content approval from a compliance team, the proposal should say so before the contract rather than in month four when the plan stalls.

Cheap, expensive and the gap between

The lowest quotes usually buy volume: templated pages, bulk link placements, an automated report. Those are the tactics Google's spam policies name, and sites that violate them may rank lower or not appear in results at all, so the cheap option carries a risk the invoice never mentions.

The highest quotes are not automatically safer. Judge both ends on the same evidence: what is published, what is promised in writing, who actually does the work, and how progress will be measured. Published pricing across this index gives you the reference points to argue from.

Questions people actually ask

How do I compare SEO companies when nobody publishes prices?

Start with the minority who do publish, use those as reference points, and ask every other finalist to position its quote against them. Then compare scope line by line rather than monthly totals, since identical fees can hide very different amounts of work.

Is a ranking guarantee ever legitimate?

No. Google states that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking and lists guaranteed rankings among the warning signs when hiring an SEO. Credible firms forecast with stated assumptions and agree a review date instead of promising positions.

How long should I commit to at the start?

Long enough to measure honestly but not so long that you cannot leave. Google notes some changes take effect within hours and others take several months, so agree a review date with defined evidence rather than an open-ended retainer.

What should I never hand over?

Ownership. Keep your Search Console property, analytics, website, ad accounts and tracking numbers in your own name and grant access instead. Read access to Search Console is sufficient during an initial audit.

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