Hiring an SEO expert can be one of the best investments for your business, but choosing the wrong person can waste months of time and money.

I have been working in SEO since 2013, and one thing I have learned is that ranking a website on Google and generating business from Google are two different things.

Many businesses receive keyword ranking reports, backlink spreadsheets, and traffic graphs every month. But when you ask the most important question—How many genuine enquiries or customers did SEO generate?—the answer is often unclear.

The problem is not always SEO itself. Sometimes, the strategy is wrong. Sometimes, the agency is not spending enough time on the project. And sometimes, the business owner is being shown numbers that look impressive but have little connection to sales.

If you are planning to hire an SEO expert, especially for a local business or a growing company, here are the red flags I recommend checking before you sign a contract.

1. The Guarantyd Google Position within a Month

This is one of the biggest red flags I have seen in the SEO industry.

If an SEO agency is promising you to rank on the first page of Google within 30 days, ask them one question:

You can’t guarantee an outcome without properly testing the strategy.

SEO depends on many factors such as your website history, competition, technical condition, content quality, backlinks, search intent, and Google’s ability to crawl and index your pages.

A new website is not in the same boat as an established website with years of SEO history. A new website can take a considerable amount of time to build up visibility and authority, whereas an established website can improve its rankings faster if the right changes are made.

In my experience, a reasonable planning horizon for a fresh website to see meaningful organic growth is around 7-9 months, depending on the industry and competition. That doesn’t mean there’s a set Google timeline or that you’re guarantyd to get results in that time.

A good SEO expert will be able to tell you what they will do and what they expect to improve, how they will measure progress and what factors could affect the timeline.

What questions should you ask an SEO expert?

• What keywords are you targeting and why?
• What’s the current competition for those keywords?
• What are the improvements you will bring in the first three months?
• How do you measure leads and conversions?
• What do you do if the first plan doesn’t work?

A good SEO expert will be able to commit to ongoing work, transparent reporting, testing and optimisation. They should not be promising a certain ranking if they do not know if the strategy can actually deliver it.

2. Super Cheap SEO Packages with Unrealistic Expectations?

I understand that all businesses have a budget. Of course, hiring a cheap SEO expert isn’t always a bad thing.

But you should know what you are actually paying for.

SEO comprises research, technical analysis, content planning, keyword research, competitor analysis, link analysis, implementation and ongoing optimisation. Depending on the project, it may also involve outreach to relevant websites for guest posting and other legitimate link building opportunities.

It takes time to find the right keywords alone. You need to know what people are searching for when they are ready to buy, not just compile a list of phrases that have something to do with your services.

For example, an agency may offer an extremely cheap package because it handles a large number of clients simultaneously. If the team spends very little time researching and implementing your strategy, your project may receive only superficial attention.

The agency might send you a ranking report every month, but that does not tell you how much meaningful work has been completed.

Why cheap SEO can become expensive

Imagine that you run a dental clinic. Your SEO agency reports improvements for several general dental-care keywords, but your appointment enquiries remain unchanged.

You may have paid for months of SEO without receiving the business results you expected.

The issue could be keyword intent, poor landing pages, a weak call to action, or a lack of conversion tracking. Simply improving rankings does not automatically solve these problems.

Before hiring an agency, ask for a clear breakdown of the work included in its package.

Do not judge an SEO expert only by the price. Judge the value of the research, implementation, and strategy you will receive.

3. The Agency Targets Keywords That Do Not Generate Business

This is one of the most important things I want business owners to understand.

Not every keyword is valuable to your business, even if it has a high search volume.

Some searches indicate that a person wants to learn something. Others suggest that the person is actively looking for a service provider.

Both types of keywords can be useful, but they serve different purposes.

For example, consider a psychiatrist’s website.

Informational keywords might include:

• 5 signs of anxiety
• Coping strategies for anxiety
• What is depression?
• Symptoms of stress

These topics can help attract readers and establish topical relevance. However, a person searching for information about anxiety may simply read an article and leave without looking for a psychiatrist.

Now consider searches with stronger service intent:

• Psychiatrist near me
• Psychiatrist in Champaign, IL
• Best psychiatrist for children
• Online psychiatrist consultation

These searches are more directly connected to finding or contacting a provider, although actual intent varies from person to person.

A real example from my SEO experience

I took over an ongoing SEO project for a psychiatrist. When I reviewed the existing strategy, I found that the previous agency had focused heavily on informational keywords, such as anxiety signs and coping strategies.

The website was attracting the wrong kind of attention for the business goals we wanted to achieve.

I redirected the strategy towards service-related searches, including location-specific psychiatrist keywords and searches for child psychiatry services.

I also worked on other areas of the website, including:

• Improving calls to action so visitors could take the next step.
• Setting up WhatsApp access to make enquiries easier.
• Reviewing backlinks and addressing poor-quality links where appropriate.
• Fixing broken links.
• Rewriting website content to better match relevant searches.
• Making selected design changes to improve the user journey.

Because the website was an established domain with previous SEO work, I expected the corrected direction to have an opportunity to produce results faster than a completely new website. I planned around a minimum three-month period for this phase, rather than treating it as an instant result or a universal SEO timeline.

The lesson is simple: the right keyword strategy starts with understanding how your customers search when they need your service.

Before hiring an SEO expert, ask them to explain why each important keyword matters to your business. If they cannot explain the connection between a keyword and a potential customer, you should question the strategy.

4. No Transparency: Only Keyword Ranking Reports

Another red flag is an agency that sends you a keyword ranking report every month and considers the job complete.

Rankings are useful, but they are only one part of the picture.

As a business owner, you should understand what is happening on your website, which searches are bringing visitors, and whether those visitors are taking meaningful action.

At a minimum, ask your SEO expert to report on the following:

Google Search Console data

Google Search Console can help you understand:

• Total search impressions.
• Organic clicks.
• Click-through rate (CTR).
• Average position.
• Search queries bringing users to your website.
• Pages receiving search visibility.
• Relevant indexing and technical issues.

Website traffic and conversions

Google Analytics or another suitable analytics platform can help you assess:

• Organic website traffic.
• Landing pages attracting visitors.
• Important user actions.
• Form submissions and tracked calls, where configured.
• Other relevant conversion events.

For a local business, this might mean tracking appointment enquiries, calls, booking requests, or qualified leads.

For an e-commerce business, it might mean measuring purchases and revenue.

The exact metrics depend on your business model, but the principle remains the same: you need to understand what SEO is contributing.

How frequently should you receive reports?

I recommend asking for regular progress updates rather than waiting until the end of the month to discover what has happened.

A practical reporting arrangement could include:

• Weekly: A brief update on completed work, current priorities, and any issues.
• Every 15 days: A traffic and performance review to understand emerging trends.
• Monthly: A consolidated report covering search visibility, traffic, conversions, completed tasks, and next steps.

The agency should also explain any tracking limitations. For example, not every phone call or offline sale can automatically be attributed to organic search.

If your SEO expert refuses to share relevant data or cannot explain the numbers in plain language, ask why.

5. No Regular Work on Your Website

SEO is not just about sending reports. It requires implementation and ongoing attention.

I have seen agencies take on large numbers of clients because their packages are inexpensive, only to give individual projects limited attention.

In some cases, the work appears concentrated around reporting dates rather than being carried out consistently throughout the month.

You should not have to guess whether your SEO expert is working on your website.

How can you check whether your agency is doing the work?

Ask for a record of completed tasks, such as:

• Technical SEO fixes.
• Content updates and new pages.
• Internal linking improvements.
• Google Business Profile optimisation, where relevant.
• Backlink analysis and legitimate outreach.
• Conversion tracking improvements.
• Landing page and call-to-action changes.
• Keyword research and competitor analysis.

You can also review available change histories, task-management records, website revisions, or other agreed evidence of implementation.

If your agency claims to have published content, ask for the URLs. If it claims to have fixed technical issues, ask what was changed and how the fix was verified.

You do not need to monitor your SEO expert every hour. However, you should be able to verify the work being performed.

My advice is to ask questions regularly and occasionally request a status update without waiting for the scheduled report.

Consistent work does not guarantee rankings, but without appropriate implementation and optimisation, a strategy is unlikely to reach its potential.

6. The SEO Expert Focuses Only on Rankings, Not Your Business

This is where I believe the difference between an ordinary SEO approach and a business-focused SEO approach becomes clear.

When I start evaluating a project, I do not want to look only at current rankings and website traffic. I also want to understand the business’s existing leads, sales, services, customers, and website performance.

Why?

Because a website can look outdated and still generate enquiries. Another website can look beautiful, rank for many keywords, and attract traffic without producing meaningful business.

A website’s appearance alone does not tell you whether it is commercially effective.

Likewise, ranking number one for a low-value keyword does not necessarily make a campaign successful.

What should a good SEO expert evaluate first?

They should try to understand:

• Which services or products generate the most value for your business.
• Who your ideal customers are.
• Which locations you serve.
• What your current enquiries and sales look like.
• Which keywords indicate a genuine need for your service.
• Whether your website makes it easy to contact you or purchase.
• Which actions can be measured to evaluate progress.

For example, a therapist may receive considerable traffic from general mental health articles but very few consultation enquiries. In that situation, the strategy may need a stronger focus on relevant service pages, local searches, clearer calls to action, and a better conversion journey.

The solution is not necessarily to publish more articles or chase higher traffic numbers.

It is to identify what is preventing the website from attracting and converting suitable visitors.

SEO should support your business objectives, not become a competition to produce the biggest traffic graph.

7. The Agency Builds Backlinks Without Explaining Their Relevance

Backlinks can contribute to SEO, but the number of links alone does not tell you whether a link-building campaign is worthwhile.

I pay particular attention to relevance when evaluating potential backlink opportunities.

For example, a website that publishes relevant content for your industry may offer a more sensible link opportunity than an unrelated website created primarily to sell links.

Before hiring an SEO agency, ask:

• How do you identify potential websites for link building?
• How do you assess their relevance and quality?
• Are the links editorially earned, sponsored, or paid placements?
• How do you avoid link schemes that violate Google’s spam policies?
• Will I receive a list of the links acquired?
• How do you evaluate existing backlinks?

Be cautious if an agency promises hundreds of backlinks for a very small fee without explaining where they will come from.

Also, do not assume every low-quality backlink will damage your website or that every suspicious link requires disavowing. Google generally ignores many ordinary spammy links. A disavow file is a specialised tool that should be used carefully, not as a routine step for every website.

The objective is not to collect the highest number of backlinks. It is to develop a sound, sustainable strategy that supports your website’s visibility.

8. They Cannot Explain Their Strategy in Simple Language

SEO includes technical concepts, but your SEO expert should still be able to explain the work in a way you understand.

If you ask why a particular page needs updating, they should explain the problem and the expected benefit.

If they recommend a new service page, they should explain which audience it serves and why it is needed.

If they suggest improving your website’s technical performance, they should be able to identify the issue and describe its likely impact.

You do not need to become an SEO professional yourself. You do need enough information to make informed decisions about your investment.

Be cautious if an agency uses complicated terminology to avoid answering straightforward questions.

A reliable professional should welcome reasonable questions, explain the strategy, and acknowledge uncertainty when it exists.

9. They Recommend the Same SEO Strategy for Every Business

A local dentist, an online therapist, a B2B software company, and an e-commerce store do not have identical SEO requirements.

Their customers search differently. Their buying journeys differ. Their competition, sales cycles, and conversion actions are different too.

If an agency is proposing the same package, same number of articles and same link-building plan for every business, they might not be paying enough attention to your real needs.

So for a local service provider, Google business profile and local SEO might be a good starting point.

B2B companies might need detailed service pages, industry-specific content, technical optimisation, and content that supports a longer sales cycle.

If you have an established website, then fixing technical issues or optimising pages that are already ranking in search may be the biggest priority.

The correct approach will depend on the case.

Before you hire an SEO expert, ask for a strategy based on your current website, your competitors, your audience, and your business goals, not just a generic list of deliverables.

10. They Ignore Google Business Profile and Local SEO

If you run a local business, you may not need to invest in every SEO service from day one.

In my opinion, many local businesses can begin by building a strong Google Business Profile and improving their local presence.

Suppose Rahul owns a dental clinic in Karol Bagh, Delhi. If a person is searching for a dentist in that area he/she might want a convenient nearby clinic instead of driving a long distance.

With your Google Business Profile, local search visibility, reviews, accurate business information and your website, you can connect with local customers.

Same goes for many of the location-based services like dentists, psychiatrists, salons, clinics and other local services.

A step-by-step approach for businesses on a budget

Step 1: Build up your local presence.

Set up or optimise your Google Business Profile by selecting appropriate categories, listing pertinent services, ensuring accurate contact details are current, and gathering authentic customer reviews in line with Google’s policies.

Step 2: Target local searches.

Find out what customers in your service area are looking for. Enhance your business information and website copy to accurately reflect the services you offer and the locations you serve.

Step 3: Make it easy for customers to reach you.

Make sure your website clearly explains what you do and offers straightforward ways to call, book or enquire.

Step 4: Plough it back into your growing business.

Once you have a foundation and are able to see what’s working, consider investing in broader website SEO, additional service pages, content and other appropriate activities.

This is not a universal sequence for all industries, but it can be a practical starting point for local businesses with limited budgets.

11. They Don’t Know How SEO Helps Leads and Sales

One of the biggest misconceptions about SEO is that business owners can’t see how technical work, backlinks and keywords lead to customers.

This is understandable. If an agency sends you a spreadsheet containing keyword rankings and backlinks without explaining their business value, SEO can start to feel like nothing more than an Excel sheet.

A good SEO expert should connect the work to a clear objective.

For example:

• Keyword research helps identify how potential customers search for your services.
• Service pages help visitors understand what you offer.
• Local SEO helps eligible businesses become more visible to relevant nearby searchers.
• Internal linking helps users and search engines discover related pages.
• Conversion tracking helps you measure whether visitors take meaningful actions.
• Content can answer customer questions and support their decision-making process.

Not every SEO activity produces an immediately measurable lead, and attribution is not always straightforward. However, the agency should be able to explain why the work is being done and how its contribution will be evaluated.

At Click Click SEO, our approach starts with understanding the business and its customers before recommending a strategy. We focus on business outcomes rather than treating keyword rankings or website traffic as the final goal.

12. How to Hire a Reliable SEO Expert: A Practical Checklist

Before signing an SEO contract, use this checklist to compare agencies or freelancers.

• They ask about your business goals, services, customers, and competitors.
• They review your current website and available performance data.
• They understand the difference between informational and commercial search intent.
• They explain which keywords they want to target and why.
• They provide a realistic plan for the first 30, 60, and 90 days.
• They explain what they will implement, not just what they will report.
• They provide access to relevant analytics and search performance data.
• They explain how leads, enquiries, or sales will be tracked.
• They can justify their backlink and content strategies.
• They provide regular progress updates and monthly reporting.
• They explain risks, limitations, and uncertainties honestly.
• They do not promise guaranteed Google rankings.
• They can explain how the proposed strategy supports your business goals.

You do not need every detail finalised before starting. However, you should understand the proposed scope of work, the responsibilities of both parties, and how performance will be evaluated.

Questions to ask before hiring an SEO agency

Here are five questions I would recommend asking during an initial consultation:

1. What would you prioritise on my website during the first month?

This helps you understand whether the expert has identified actual opportunities or is simply selling a standard package.

2. How will you choose keywords for my business?

Look for an explanation based on customer intent, competition, relevance, and business value—not search volume alone.

3. How will I know what work you have completed?

The agency should be able to describe its reporting process and provide reasonable evidence of implementation.

4. How will you measure whether SEO is helping my business?

The answer should go beyond rankings and include suitable traffic and conversion measures.

5. What happens if the strategy does not produce the expected results?

A reliable expert should be willing to review the data, identify possible reasons, and adjust the strategy rather than blindly repeating the same activities.

13. Should You Hire a Freelancer or an SEO Agency?

Both can be suitable options. The right choice depends on the complexity of your project, your budget, and the level of support you need.

Do not assume an agency is automatically better than a freelancer, or that a freelancer is automatically more affordable or effective.

Ask who will work on your project, what experience they have, how much time is allocated, and who is responsible for implementation.

The quality of the strategy and its execution matters more than the label attached to the service provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to see SEO results?

The time it takes to see results from SEO will depend on the age and history of your website, the competition, the technical condition, the content, and the work you are doing. Some improvements may come fairly quickly but meaningful organic growth can take several months. There are no set timelines that guarantee results, but in some cases a 7-9 month planning horizon for a new website might be reasonable.

No, an SEO expert cannot guarantee first page rankings on Google.

There is no way to guarantee a specific Google ranking for a specific keyword in a specific time period. An SEO expert can develop a strategy, outline likely opportunities, execute changes and track results. Watch out for anyone who promises rankings as a sure thing.

What is the cost of SEO services?

There is not one price for all businesses. Price depends on your website, competition, location, industry and how much research and implementation is needed. Don’t just pick an agency based on the lowest cost. Instead, compare the scope of work, the expertise of the team, the reporting structure and the anticipated deliverables.

How can I tell if my SEO agency is doing any good?

Ask for regular updates on progress, logs of what has been done, relevant search and analytics data, and a description of what’s next. Look at whether agreed actions are being actioned and if the strategy is delivering your business objectives.

Small business – Google Business Profile or website SEO to begin with?

Google Business Profile and local SEO can be a good start for many location-dependent businesses. A full strategy can also include a well-optimised website, useful service pages and conversion tracking. What the right starting point is will depend on your business and what its current online presence is.

Is website traffic the best way to measure SEO success?

No. Traffic is good but that doesn’t mean leads or sales will happen automatically. The relevance of the visitors, their search intent, enquiries, bookings, purchases and other meaningful conversion actions should also be taken into consideration.

What is the difference between SEO, AEO and GEO?

SEO is about making a website show up better in search engines. Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) is about getting content in front of people who are asking direct questions and looking for answers. Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the practice of enhancing a brand’s presence and visibility in AI-generated search experiences. These approaches can overlap and their value should be evaluated in context to your audience and your business goals.

Final Thoughts: Believe The Evidence, Not SEO Promises

I’ve been in the SEO business since 2013 and my advice to business owners is simple: don’t hire an SEO expert based on their promise of first page ranking, their great traffic graph or their cheapest package.

Ask questions. Get the plan. Check the work. Look past rankings and verify that the campaign is reaching the right audience and helping your business goals.

SEO is research, testing, analysis, implementation, and continuous improvement. Even an experienced professional cannot predict all the possible outcomes in advance. They can use the data they have, use their experience, explain their decisions and change as the evidence demands.