The caller sounds confident. They have “analysed your website”, found it is “not optimised”, and can have you “on page one” soon. The price is modest, the contract is long, and they will need your website login to get started. You have had similar calls before, and you suspect at least some of them are not what they claim. The hard part is telling which.
This article lists the SEO agency red flags that come up most often for small businesses, explains why each one matters, and suggests what a better answer sounds like. It is about how to spot a bad SEO company before you sign, or while you are already paying one. It is not a full buying guide; it is a list of warnings.
Promised rankings or a fixed position by a date
Nobody outside Google controls Google’s results. An agency can improve your site and your chances, but it cannot promise that a page will reach a particular position, by a particular date, for a search with real competition. Google itself says, in its guidance on hiring an SEO, that no one can promise a top ranking.
When an agency does make such a promise, one of three things is usually true. The phrase is so obscure that nobody searches it. The phrase includes your business name, which you would rank for anyway. Or the promise will not be kept, and the contract will have been written so that does not matter.
A better answer: “We cannot promise positions. Here is what we will work on, what we expect to change first, and how we will report on it.”
Secret methods and special relationships
Phrases like “our proprietary technique”, “insider access” or “a partnership with Google” are warning signs. SEO is well documented. Google publishes its guidance openly. There is no hidden method a small agency knows that Google has not written about or tried to stop.
An agency that cannot explain what it will do in plain words is either hiding something you would not approve of, or does not fully understand it themselves. Google does not sell or reserve organic rankings for anyone, and a Google Partner badge relates to Google Ads, not to unpaid search.
A better answer: a clear description of the work, the pages involved and the reasons, which you can check against Google’s own documentation.
Links sold by the hundred
“Fifty high-authority backlinks every month” sounds like a measurable deliverable. In practice, links at that volume and price come from networks, paid guest post sites and automated listings that exist mainly to sell links. Google’s spam policies treat buying links that pass ranking value as a violation, and at best the links are ignored.
Our article on what can go wrong when you buy backlinks explains the risk in more detail, including what a manual action is.
A better answer: link work described as specific opportunities, such as suppliers, associations, local press or useful resources, with every link visible to you.
You do not own your own accounts or data
Some agencies create Search Console, analytics or even Google Business Profile accounts in their own name, or refuse to give you access, or move your site onto their hosting. When the relationship ends, you lose your history, your data or even control of your listing.
Every account connected to your business should be owned by you, with the agency added as a user. That includes Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Business Profile, Google Ads if they run ads, your domain and your hosting. You should be able to log in and see what is happening at any time, and remove the agency’s access when you choose.
A better answer: “Please add us as a user on your Search Console and analytics. If you do not have them yet, we will set them up in your name.”
Long lock-in contracts before any work is proven
SEO is ongoing, so a monthly arrangement is normal. A long fixed term signed before the agency has even audited your site is a different matter. It shifts all the risk to you: if the work is poor, you keep paying.
Watch for heavy cancellation fees, automatic renewals for long periods, clauses that keep content or improvements as the agency’s property, and notice periods so long that leaving is impractical.
A better answer: a short initial period or a one-off audit, followed by a rolling arrangement you can end with reasonable notice, and a clear statement that the content and changes on your site are yours.
Vague or vanity reports
A monthly report that only shows keyword positions, with green arrows and no detail of work done, tells you very little. Positions for phrases nobody searches are easy to improve. Rankings for your own name say nothing about new customers. A report without a list of changes made means you cannot tell whether any work happened.
Our guide to reading an SEO report properly sets out what a useful report should contain and how to check the numbers yourself.
A better answer: a short report listing specific work done, changes in clicks and impressions from Search Console for the pages worked on, enquiries from search where tracked, and next month’s plan.
More SEO agency red flags worth noticing
- A cold email or call that opens with a list of your site’s “errors” taken from a free tool, often including items that do not matter.
- Pressure to decide quickly, with discounts that expire today.
- Plans to create many near-identical location pages for every town nearby.
- Offers to write large volumes of articles on loosely related topics, at a price that suggests no one is checking them.
- Changes made to your live site without telling you, or without testing forms and layouts afterwards.
- Fake reviews offered as part of a package, which breaks the platforms’ rules and can get listings penalised.
- No interest in your business: no questions about your customers, your best services or where enquiries come from.
Checking an agency you already use
If you are already paying someone and are unsure, a few checks will tell you a lot:
- Log in to Search Console yourself. If you cannot, ask why.
- Ask for a list of every page changed in the last few months and look at them.
- Ask where each link they built is, and visit a few.
- Compare clicks for searches unrelated to your business name, now versus the same period last year.
- Read your contract for notice periods and who owns the content.
If several of these raise concerns, it is reasonable to ask for an independent look before renewing.
For a positive picture of what good SEO work involves, our SEO guide for small business owners explains the stages, and the wider digital marketing guide includes questions worth asking any marketing provider, not just SEO.
Frequently asked questions
Is a very cheap SEO package always a bad sign?
Not always, but look at what it includes. Real SEO work takes time from someone who understands your site and customers. If the price is so low that only automated tasks or bulk links are possible, those are probably what you will get. Ask for a specific list of monthly work.
Should an SEO agency need my WordPress admin login?
If they will change pages, titles or settings, they need some access. Give them their own user account rather than sharing yours, with the lowest role that lets them do the job, and remove it when the work ends. Avoid any arrangement where you lose access to your own site.
What if my current agency built links I am worried about?
Ask them for a full list. Check Search Console’s manual actions section for any notice. If there is no action, stopping the link building and leaving the existing links alone is often enough. If there is a manual action, a cleanup and reconsideration request will be needed.
Our own SEO services work on the opposite principles to the flags above: accounts in your name, no promised positions, links you can see, and a report that leads with the work done. You are welcome to hold us to that list.
Next in this series: Rankings Dropped? What to Check, in Order
