A buyer's guide for business owners · Canada and the USA
SEO is the work that gets your business found when people search Google for what you do. Every agency says they're good at it. Here are seven checks, ten questions for the sales call, and a two minute way to check their results yourself, before you sign anything.
30 minutes on Google Meet. For businesses doing $20k a month or more.
7
checks to score any agency
10
questions for the sales call
2 min
to check their results yourself
(01) The short version
Have the agency's proposal or website open. Tap each check they pass. Then score the next agency and put the numbers side by side.
Their score
0/7
Tap the checks they pass.
Do this for every agency you're talking to, then compare the scores side by side.
0 to 4
Keep looking
5 to 6
Push on the gaps
7
Keep talking
(02) Check 1: results you can check
Any agency can show you a nice chart. Ask for one client's name and the exact words people search. Then check it in two minutes, like this.
Get the name and the search. “Which client, and what exactly do their customers type?” Write both down.
Open a private window. In Chrome it's called Incognito. It stops your own past searches from changing what Google shows you.
Type the search, with the town. Google Maps results change with where you're standing, so add the client's town to the words, like “roofer denver”.
Find them, then check the date. If they're where the agency said, good. If the agency sent a screenshot, ask when it was taken.
Try it on us
Google search resultsEquityRich, a Toronto commercial lender. Search “commercial mortgage toronto”.
(03) Checks 2 and 3: the plan and the price
Two questions sort most agencies in one call. Here's what a good answer sounds like, and what a vague one sounds like.
You ask
“Which searches will you go after for me?”
A good answer
“These eight. Here's who types each one and why it can bring you work. We'll check where you stand on all of them before we start.”
Walk away if you hear
“We'll work that out once you sign.”
You ask
“What happens each month for my fee?”
A good answer
“We fix these pages, write these new ones, work on your Google listing, get you mentioned on these local sites, and check your rankings every month.”
Walk away if you hear
“Ongoing optimization.” Two words, and nothing you can check.
Our price, out loud
$1,497 to $5,000 a month
Set by your market. Month to month. AI answers included. How pricing works
(04) Check 4: the contract
That's the contract to look for. It tells you what the agency believes about its own results. Check these five lines before you sign.
Your SEO agreement
How long you're tied in. Month to month, or a short notice period.
Look forWho owns the website. You. Pages and words they write for you stay when you leave.
Look forWho owns your Google listing. Your Google Business Profile, the listing that shows on Google Maps, stays in your name. They get access, not ownership.
Look forWhat happens if it misses. Written down, with a date. Not a promise made on the phone.
Look forTwelve months before anything moves. A long lock-in, signed before you've seen a single search improve.
CarefulThe test
Ask: “If I stop in three months, what do I keep?”
The right answer is everything: your website, your listing, your pages, your accounts. We don't lock you in. Leave any month, and keep all of it.
(05) Check 5: the guarantee
Google's own help page on hiring an SEO puts it in one line: “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.” A guarantee is still worth asking for. It just has to be one you could actually hold them to.
Walk away
“We guarantee you #1 on Google.”
One you can hold them to
Named searches. A date. A cost to them if they miss.
(06) Checks 6 and 7: reports and reach
A report should answer one question in ten seconds: where do I show up now, against where I started? And it should cover all three places people find a business like yours.
What a readable report looks like
An illustration of the format, not a client's figures.
Ask to see a real report before you sign. If you need someone to explain it to you, it isn't written for you.
Google search
The list of websites under the search bar. Still where a lot of buyers start, and the work that ranks you there pays off in the other two.
Google Maps
The map with three businesses that shows for “near me” searches. For a local business, often the first thing a customer taps.
AI answers
The written answer at the top of Google, and ChatGPT. They name a few businesses. Ask the agency to show you a client being named.
(07) Red flags
“We guarantee #1.” Or a set number of phone calls. Nobody controls either.
No client you can check. “Our clients are confidential” means you can't verify anything.
Charts with no search words on them. A line going up tells you nothing if you don't know what was searched, or where.
Your listing set up in their name. If they own your Google listing or your website, leaving costs you both.
A year's contract on day one. Before a single search has moved.
A monthly fee with no jobs attached. If they can't list the work, you can't tell if it happened.
“We have a network of sites.” Mentions of your business should be on real local and industry websites they can show you.
A cold email saying you're “not showing up”. Google's own advice is to be wary of SEO firms that email you out of the blue.
(08) The call sheet
Screenshot this list and keep it next to the phone. A good agency answers every one without stalling.
1. Which businesses like mine have you ranked, and for what searches?
Names, the exact searches, and the towns.
“That's confidential.”
2. Which searches will you go after for me?
A short list, with the reason each is on it.
“We'll work that out later.”
3. What happens each month for my fee?
Specific jobs you could tick off.
“Ongoing optimization.”
4. How will I know it's working?
Rankings for named searches, checked on a set day, in plain words.
“Trust the process.”
5. What happens if it doesn't work?
A written guarantee with named searches and a date.
A promise of #1, or nothing at all.
6. How long am I locked in?
Month to month, or a short notice period.
Twelve months, up front.
7. Who owns my website, Google listing and content?
“You do.”
Anything longer than two words.
8. Who actually does the work on my account?
A named person you can reach.
“Our team.” Nobody in particular.
9. Where will other websites mention my business?
Real local and industry sites they can show you.
“Our network.”
10. Do you work on Google Maps and AI answers too?
Yes, with a client example on each.
A long pause.
(09) From someone who was where you are
“We were skeptical about hiring an SEO agency cause no one would guarantee or stand behind a timeline. […] I did see results within 20 days and by the end of 30/40 days I have seen significant results.”
(10) Put us through it
Use the same checks on us. Here's where we stand on the five that matter most.
Results you can check
EquityRich is #1 on Google for “commercial mortgage toronto”. Search it. Case studies
A plan before you pay
On the free call we look up your searches, show you who ranks for them today, and what it would take to move you up.
A price that says what it buys
$1,497 to $5,000 a month, set by your market, AI answers included. See pricing
A contract you can leave
Month to month. If we're not earning the fee, you shouldn't be paying it.
A guarantee you could hold us to
No visible improvement in 20 days: that period's payment back, plus $200. Qualifying keywords not on page one in 60 days: we keep working free until they are. The guarantee
(11) Is this for you?
Under $20k a month in your own revenue? We're not your agency yet. Over it? Let's talk.
Who it's for
$20k+
a month in your own revenue. This is for businesses already doing $20k a month or more.
How many we take
15
new clients a month, at most. We cap it so we can keep the ranking promises we make.
What it costs
$1,497 to $5,000
a month, set by your market. Month to month. AI answers included.
Hold us to it: page one in 60 days. For your qualifying keywords, or we keep working free. We confirm which keywords qualify on the strategy call.
Guarantee 01
20days
If you don’t see visible improvement in your key metrics within the first 20 days, we refund $200 on top of returning your payment for that period.
What we measure: your traffic, what that traffic is worth, how much authority your site and its pages carry, and how many other sites link to you, against the day we start.
Guarantee 02
60days
If your qualifying keywords aren’t on the first page of Google within 60 days, we keep working for free until they are.
What counts: at least one high-value search for your business on page one of Google.
No long-term contracts. Results keep you here. Paperwork doesn't.
Your next step
On a 30 minute call we look up the searches your customers type, show you who ranks for them today, and answer all ten questions on this page. Bring the list.
Bring with you
We search your market live
The way your customers do, in the towns you serve.
We show who's above you, and why
On Google, on Maps and in the AI answers.
You leave with a road map
Yours to keep. If we can help, we'll invite you to work with us.
For established businesses doing at least $20,000 a month.
(12) Questions
What owners ask before they hire anyone.
Book my free strategy callRun every agency through the same seven checks: results you can check yourself, a plan before you pay, a price that says what it buys, a contract you can leave, a guarantee with named searches and a deadline, reports in plain words, and work that covers Google search, Google Maps and AI answers. The agency that passes the most, and answers plainly, is the one to talk to.
Ask which businesses like yours they've ranked and for what searches, which searches they'll go after for you, what happens each month for the fee, how you'll know it's working, what happens if it doesn't, how long you're locked in, who owns your website and Google listing, who does the work, where other websites will mention you, and whether they work on Google Maps and AI answers too.
No. Google's own help page on hiring an SEO says: no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. A fair guarantee names the searches, sets a deadline and says what you get if it's missed. Ours: your qualifying keywords on the first page of Google within 60 days, or we keep working free until they are. We confirm which keywords qualify on the strategy call.
Ask for a client's name and the exact words searched. Open a private browser window and search those words. For Google Maps results, add the client's town to the search, because Maps changes with where you're standing. Check the date on any screenshot you're sent.
Our plans usually run $1,497 to $5,000 a month, set by your market, month to month, with AI answers included. Whatever an agency charges, ask what work happens each month for that fee. A price that can't be tied to specific jobs is a red flag.
Be careful with a long lock-in before you've seen anything move. Look for month to month terms or a short notice period, and read what happens to your website, listing and content when you leave. Our plans are month to month.
You should. Your website, your Google Business Profile (the listing that shows on Google Maps), your content and your accounts belong in your name. An agency can be given access to work on them without owning them.
Ask every agency for a checkpoint in writing. Ours: if you don't see visible improvement in your key metrics within the first 20 days, we refund $200 on top of returning your payment for that period. If your qualifying keywords aren't on the first page of Google within 60 days, we keep working free until they are.
