Greg K.SEO and analytics at Adcore · LinkedInChoose an SEO agency not by its ranking or a partner badge but by its answers to a few uncomfortable questions: what exactly will you do, how will I check it, and what stays with me if we part ways? An honest contractor will answer calmly; a dishonest one will start talking about guaranteed top positions. We’re an agency too, so this article relies not on our own opinion but on a document from Google itself.
10 questions to ask an SEO agency
Google has a dedicated page of advice on hiring an SEO. Few people read it, because it’s awkward for the agencies themselves: the first eight questions below come straight from it, and we added the last two. Listen not only to what they answer, but to whether they’re willing to answer at all.
| Question | Good answer | Bad answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories? | Shows case studies with numbers and explains its own role | Only logos and generalities |
| 2. Do you follow the Google Search Essentials? | Yes, and explains what it doesn’t do | “The rules are different for everyone” |
| 3. What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success? | Benchmarks and metrics, no guaranteed position | “Top 3 in two months” |
| 4. What’s your experience in my industry? | Specific niches and typical problems in them | “We work with everyone” |
| 5. What’s your experience in my country/city? What’s your experience developing international sites? | Understands the market, shows examples | Sees no difference |
| 6. How long have you been in business? | Years, headcount, long-term clients | Dodges the question |
| 7. Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and the reasoning behind them? | A list of work every month | “We have our own secret methods” |
| 8. Do you cite official Google documentation? What is your advice on AI search? | Gives links, separates fact from assumption | Sells special AI optimization with no evidence |
| 9. Who exactly will work on my site? | Names people and their experience | “The team” |
| 10. What stays with me if we part ways? | Domain, accounts, copy and pages are yours | Links and pages will “disappear” |
Questions 1–8 follow Google’s document “Do You Need an SEO?” (updated June 5, 2026), abridged. The good and bad answers are ours.
What’s missing from this list? Certificates and a place in a ranking. Let’s see why.
Why the Google Partner badge says nothing about SEO
There’s no such thing as a Google partner for SEO. Partner status is granted for ad performance, client spend of at least $10,000 over 90 days and Google Ads certifications. Premier means the same requirements plus being in the top 3% of companies in the country. There isn’t a single criterion about search optimization.
What’s more, Google forbids showing this badge on materials that advertise SEO without a prominent notice that such services are not verified or endorsed by Google. We’re a Google Premier Partner ourselves, and we hold that status for advertising too. It says a lot about how an agency runs Google Ads, but nothing about your site in organic search results.
How SEO company rankings work
Open the methodology and everything becomes clear. In one of Ukraine’s best-known agency directories, points are awarded for the number of reviews, case studies, articles and portfolio items and for the age of the company’s domain, and verification is worth 500 points. We saw no measure of client results in this formula: no traffic, no leads. Case studies and articles are uploaded by the company itself.
That doesn’t make the ranking bad. It shows who actively maintains a profile and who has been in the market for a long time, and that’s information too. It just doesn’t answer your question. The same goes for “top 10 SEO agencies” articles, which are often written by one of the agencies on the list. Use a ranking to build a shortlist, and choose based on the answers to the questions above.
What you risk if you choose the wrong one
Google puts it like this: “Ultimately, you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire.” The penalty hits your site, not the contractor.
In February 2011, The New York Times described how the J. C. Penney chain had spent months in first place for searches about clothing and furniture, while thousands of paid links pointed to it. When Google applied a manual action, rankings collapsed within hours: for the query “Samsonite carry on luggage,” the store fell from No. 1 to No. 71 in two hours. The company said it knew nothing about the links and fired its SEO contractor. The journalists never established who actually bought them.
Even Google has been through this. In January 2012 the company demoted its own Chrome browser in its search results for 60 days: according to NPR, an agency hired for advertising paid bloggers for posts through a partner. Google said it had agreed only to the ad purchase. It still got the penalty.
The rules have only become stricter since then. Google explicitly calls exchanging money for links, mass-producing pages and placing content on another site to borrow its authority spam. In 2026 alone there were four spam updates: in March, June, August and September.
Red flags: when it’s time to walk away
On promises, Google doesn’t do diplomacy: “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.” The same goes for emails that arrive out of the blue. Google advises treating them like “burn fat at night” diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.
Think of the last conversation or proposal and check off what you heard.
How to keep an SEO agency under control
- You own every account. Domain, Search Console, Analytics, Google Business Profile, ad accounts. The agency gets access, not ownership.
- Read-only for the audit. Google explicitly advises granting only read access to Search Console at this stage.
- A list of work every month. What was done, on which pages and why. A “show me” request shouldn’t offend anyone.
- The report covers leads, not just rankings. You can check impressions, clicks and average position in Search Console without the agency, and leads are counted in your CRM.
- It’s clear what stays with you. Pages, copy, links and access must remain yours after the contract ends.
To be honest, there are times you don’t need an agency. Google writes that the owner of a small local business can probably do much of the work themselves: get the Google Business Profile in order, write service pages, ask for reviews. The best time to hire a contractor, according to the same document, is before a redesign or the launch of a new site, not after.
We make money from SEO, so this article isn’t disinterested, and that’s exactly why we rely on Google and independent sources rather than our own word. Want to go through these questions with us? We take on projects from UAH 25,000 a month and show you exactly what you’re paying for. Adcore SEO agency.
Frequently asked questions about choosing an SEO agency
How much does an SEO agency cost?
On average, most commercial projects in Ukraine come in at UAH 15,000–30,000 a month; we break down what exactly you’re paying for in our article how much SEO costs.
Which is better: a freelancer or an agency?
For a small site, an experienced freelancer is often enough. When you need technical work, content and links together, one person can’t keep up. The questions are the same in both cases.
How do you hire an in-house SEO specialist?
Give them a test task on a real site: an analysis of one page and its competitors. A specialist who cites Google’s documentation and separates facts from assumptions is usually stronger than one who promises results.
Do you need a contract for SEO?
Yes. It should spell out the list of work, reporting, ownership of accounts and content, and how the relationship ends.
What are AEO or GEO services, and should you pay for them?
This is optimization for AI search. Google advises checking whether such advice matches its official guidance. More in our article on AI Overviews.
Sources
Quotes from Google and other English-language sources are given verbatim.
- Do You Need an SEO? Tips for Hiring an SEO, Google Search Central, updated June 5, 2026.
- Spam policies for Google web search, Google Search Central, updated August 28, 2026.
- Partner badge guidelines, Google Ads Help.
- Google Partners requirements, Google Ads Help.
- Google Search Status Dashboard, Google.
- The Dirty Little Secrets of Search, The New York Times, February 12, 2011, archived copy.
- Google Slaps Its Own Wrist Over Chrome Pay-For-Blogging Flap, NPR, January 4, 2012.