Offered an "SEO consulting" package — what does this actually mean, and what should they be doing each month?

Here's the checklist of what should actually land in your hands each month for that invoice: 1) At least 4-6 original articles approved by a doctor and scheduled at the start of the month, 2) Weekly posts and Q&A monitoring on your Google Business Profile, 3) A list of technical site bugs identified and handed off to your developer, 4) An end-of-month report on organic phone calls and form submissions.

There are tons of agencies that pitch a "comprehensive package" and just email you the same automated PDF report every single month. If the contract doesn't explicitly state the number of deliverables and the exact scope of technical fixes, you're just throwing money out the window. Demand a list of completed tasks each month not just a report.

We started at 16,000 TL a month last year for our clinic of similar size in Istanbul. Organic traffic didn't budge for the first 3 months, and the doctors were losing patience. But starting in month 4, we began getting 8-10 new patient calls a week just from searches for implants and orthodontics. By month 6, it had more than paid for itself.

The biggest bottleneck in this process usually happens on the clinic side, not with the agency. The agency writes the copy, but the doctors take three weeks to approve it because they're busy; the developer takes weeks to push technical fixes to the site. If you're going to hire consultants, you absolutely need a point person on your team who can clear these approvals quickly.

pay very close attention to healthcare regulations. like don't get in trouble with the health directorate over advertising bans or misleading medical claims, never publish the agency's copy without a doctor reviewing it first.

Make sure to include a clause allowing unilateral termination at the end of the 3rd month. Defining the consultant's failure to execute the submitted action plans according to the agreed schedule as a justified ground for termination will safeguard your legal interests.

Ask them this directly in your meeting: 'In month one how many action items will you deliver to our developer, and how many doctor-approved treatment pages will you hand over per month?' Walk away from any agency that can't give you hard numbers and just talks in circles.

Saved. Everyone rushing into seo consulting gets stuck at the same point.

If you post the result here, it will help others too.

Exactly, and not many people know this. I mean start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

Let me summarize whats been said so far. Mistakes made on the seo consulting side are usually reversible but expensive.

Trying to do this alone is the most expensive way. Good luck with that.

If youre going this route sort this out first. I mean the real issue isnt the number but what its based on.

Any unwritten clause becomes a point of disagreement later as both sides remember it differently. anyway proven by experience.

I went through the same thing two years ago. The biggest time-waster for us was not knowing who had the final say.

If rankings stay the same but clicks drop, the issue isn't your page, but the search result appearance. Just leaving this note, it might be useful.

Noted, thanks.

I'm curious too.

Just a heads-up. Everything goes well for the first three months; problems arise in the fourth.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

I agree. Everything goes well for the first three months; problems arise in the fourth.

When you try to change everything at once, nothing settles. Thats all, sorry if I went on too long.

To get into the details: Any unwritten clause becomes a point of disagreement later as both sides remember it differently.

If you dont write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later. like of course, it varies if your situation is different.

This is exactly what we experienced. When making a decision first look at what data you have on hand.

Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate. If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.