SEO services providers, compared on published proof

Agencies with a verified published price

How to compare providers before the first call

1. Write down the outcome, not the tactic. Decide whether you need more qualified enquiries, coverage of a new product line, or recovery from a traffic drop. Each of those points at a different provider, and naming it stops the sales call from choosing for you.
2. Filter by evidenced specialisation. Providers cluster by industry or by channel. A provider that publishes case detail in your vertical is showing you a ceiling it has already reached; a generalist is asking you to assume one.
3. Check the claims you can check. Published address, named team, printed prices, case studies with a named client and a real metric. Anything a provider will not put on its own website is unlikely to be firmer in a proposal.
4. Ask the questions Google publishes. Ask for previous work and success stories, what results are expected and in what timeframe, how success is measured, and whether every change to your site will be shared with you. Those are Google's own suggested questions.
5. Compare quotes against printed floors. The providers who publish fees set the market's reference points. Ask each finalist to explain where its number sits against those floors and what specifically changes between tiers.

What separates providers that are otherwise identical

Almost every provider offers audits, technical fixes, content and links. The differences that matter are structural: who does the work, whether it is subcontracted, how many accounts a strategist carries, and what the notice period is. Those questions have concrete answers and a provider that dodges them is telling you something useful.

The second separator is honesty about time. Google's own guidance notes that some changes take effect within hours while others can take several months, so a provider willing to say that plainly, and to name what it expects to move first, is easier to hold to account than one selling a fixed outcome on a fixed date.

Warning signs that come from Google, not from us

Google's hiring guidance names the red flags directly: providers who are secretive or will not clearly explain what they intend to do, unsolicited email pitches, claims of a special relationship with Google or a priority submission service, and link popularity schemes. It states that no one can guarantee a number one ranking. It also advises granting only read access to Search Console during an audit rather than write access.

Those are not opinions from a directory; they are published by the search engine every provider is trying to influence. Using them as your filter costs nothing and removes a surprising share of any longlist before you have spent an hour on calls.

What a fair proposal contains

A proposal worth signing names the queries and page types it intends to win, says what will be built and by whom, sets out reporting on impressions and query coverage as well as positions, and states the exit terms. It should also say what it will not do, because the tactics Google's spam policies name as violations are exactly the ones a cheap proposal quietly relies on.

If two proposals differ by a large multiple, the difference is almost always scope or seniority rather than value. Ask both to price the same named deliverables for the same three months, and the comparison becomes possible.

Questions people actually ask

How much do SEO services providers charge?

Most sell monthly retainers, with project pricing for audits and migrations. The providers in this index that print their fees give the honest reference points; ask any finalist to position its quote against them and to say what changes between tiers.

Should I choose a local provider?

Only if proximity buys something real, such as on-site work or shared regulatory context. Otherwise judge on evidenced specialisation and communication, since the work itself is remote by nature.

What should a provider never promise?

A promise of fixed positions, or a special relationship with Google. Google's own hiring guidance names both as warning signs and states that no one can guarantee a number one ranking.

How do I check a provider without a sales call?

Read its own pages: address, team, prices, case detail with named clients and metrics, and whether it ranks for its own specialty phrase. Every agency in this index is listed on those checks and nothing else.

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