Ask these before you sign
- Can you show me examples of your previous work, and let me speak to a past client?
- What exactly will you do in the first three months?
- Who will actually do the work?
- How will you report on it, and what will I see each month?
- Will my Google Business Profile and website stay in my name?
- How long is the contract, and how do I cancel?
- What will you do on my Business Profile, not just my website?
Red flags
- A guarantee of number one. Google says no one can guarantee a top ranking.
- Secrecy about what they do. If they can't explain it, be suspicious.
- Hundreds of links for a low price. Paid link schemes break Google's spam policies.
- Suburb pages that are the same page with the name swapped.
- Owning your profile or domain themselves.
How to tell if it's working
Look at calls, website clicks and direction requests from your Business Profile, and enquiries from your website. Rankings move around and can be cherry-picked. Calls are harder to fake.
Give it fair time
Google's own guidance says SEO commonly takes four months to a year to show its benefit. That's a reason to ask for a clear plan up front, not a reason to accept a year of vague reports.
What a good one looks like
They tell you what they'll do, do it, show you it's done, and report results in numbers you can check yourself. They'll also tell you when something isn't worth paying for.
Rather not do this yourself? Our Google Business Profile management handles the profile, the posts and the reviews every week, for one monthly fee.