What should I look out for when choosing an SEO agency, and what questions should I ask in the initial meeting?

If anyone in the meeting claims they have a "special partnership with Google" or guarantees a #1 ranking within three months, end the call immediately. Search engine algorithms change constantly, so nobody can offer that kind of certainty. Partner with an agency that puts your site's actual technical flaws on the table, not one selling empty promises.

We also started in B2B with 20,000 TL a month. For the first two months, we saw almost zero traffic growth because the agency spent all their time cleaning up crawl budget waste and duplicate content issues. By month four, our organic form submissions had tripled. You have to be patient, don't expect miracles in month one.

Before going into the meeting, under no circumstances should you grant the agency edit access to your Google Search Console and analytics dashboards. If they are going to do a preliminary audit, only grant read-only, viewer access. Definitely keep a record of who you gave access to.

Is your site built on an off-the-shelf e-commerce package or custom software? Most agencies know the popular e-commerce platforms well but with custom software, they won't want to actually implement technical SEO recommendations into the code and will pass the buck to your developer. Did you clarify this in the first meeting?

don't beat around the bush in the meeting, just ask them how many hours a month they will dedicaet to you. there are agencies that only spend 4 hours a month for 25 thousand lira while others do regular weekly content and technical checks. honestly get the committed effort in writing in the contract.

In the first meeting, they're going to hand you a 40-page automated software export and call it a "custom audit report", be prepared for it now. Don't look at the colorful charts; look at whether they actually examined competitor products in your niche.

During the contracting phase, put in writing that the intellectual property of all produced content, created infographics, and technical documentation will belong to your company. It is also advisable to establish the handover procedure for access credentials and assets from the outset in the event of contract termination.

the biggest mistake we made was trusting the agency owneer and never meeting the project manager. the senior consultant does all the talking at the table, but then they pass the work off to a fresh-grad intern then tbh make sure you meet the person who will actually be managing your account in the meeting.

Let me summarize the topic, since several different answers were given. The answer varies greatly by industry; there is no one-size-fits-all rule.

When you try to change everything at once nothing settles.

you're right.

I completely agree. Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late.

If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.

I'm curious too. Discussing numbers without verifying the measurement setup is a waste of time.

I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.

There's a common mistake people make when doing this. A page that answers one question works better than one touching on five topics.

If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.

I completely agree. Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate.

Don't hesitate to ask; those who don't ask always pay more. Hope this helps.

I feel the same way. Most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval.

A competitor's ranking might come from years of accumulation, not just their content.

thanks for posting. just becuse everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.

provven by experience.

This is exactly what we experienced. I mean dont hesitate to ask; those who dont ask always pay more.

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