21 Questions to Ask an SEO Agency Before Hiring (India Edition)

Most SEO sales calls follow the same script. The agency talks for forty minutes, shows a slick deck, and promises page one. Then it asks when you would like to start.

You can flip that script. Walking in with the right questions to ask an SEO agency before hiring puts you in control, and it reveals more about an agency in thirty minutes than any proposal will.

This guide gives you 21 questions, grouped by what they uncover. Each one comes with the answer you should hope to hear. We have also added the questions that matter specifically for Indian businesses, such as GST invoicing, contract terms and who actually does the work.

Key Takeaways

• Start with Google's own list. Google publishes a set of questions to ask any SEO, and they remain the best foundation.
• Ask who does the work. Many agencies resell or outsource. You deserve to know who touches your website.
• Confirm you own everything. Your domain, Search Console, Analytics and Google Business Profile should stay in your name.
• Only grant read access at first. Google advises giving read access to Search Console during an audit, not write access.
• Treat guarantees as a warning. Google states that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking.
• Ask about AI search. An agency working in 2026 should have a clear view on AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity.

Questions to Ask an SEO Agency Before Hiring

Quick answer: Before hiring an SEO agency, ask to see relevant results, how it measures success, what it will deliver each month, who does the work, who owns your accounts, how the contract ends, and how it handles AI search. Good agencies answer clearly and specifically. Vague answers, guarantees and secrecy are reasons to keep looking.

The questions below fall into six groups. You do not need to ask all 21 on one call. Instead, pick the groups that matter most to you, and send the rest by email afterwards so you have the answers in writing.

Questions About Results and Experience

These come straight from Google's guidance on hiring an SEO, so they are a sensible place to start.

1. Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?
Hope to hear specific numbers from specific clients, ideally in a business like yours. "We grew organic enquiries 40% in nine months for a Pune manufacturer" beats "we have helped hundreds of clients." Our own case studies show the level of detail you should expect.

2. What is your experience in my industry?
Industry experience shortens the learning curve. A healthcare agency understands compliance limits, and an ecommerce agency understands product feeds. Neither is essential, but both help.

3. What is your experience in my city or country?
Local rankings in Chennai work differently from national rankings across India, and both differ again from ranking in the US or UK. Ask for examples in the market you care about.

4. What results do you expect, and over what timeframe?
Look for milestones rather than promises. For instance: technical fixes in month one, new pages by month three, ranking movement by month four to six. Any date attached to "page one" is a red flag.

5. How do you measure success?
The best answer mentions leads, enquiries or revenue from organic search. If the answer stops at rankings and traffic, probe further.

Questions About How They Work

6. Do you follow Google Search Essentials?
This is Google's own rulebook, previously called the Webmaster Guidelines. The answer should be an immediate yes, followed by examples of tactics the agency refuses to use.

7. Will you share every change you make to my site, with the reasoning?
Google suggests this exact question. A good agency keeps a change log and explains its decisions. Secrecy about methods is a warning sign.

8. Who will actually work on my account?
This one matters in India, where many agencies subcontract to freelancers. Ask for names, roles and experience. Ask whether any work is outsourced, and to whom.

9. How often will we talk, and who is my main contact?
Agree on a rhythm, such as a monthly review call and a written report. Also confirm you will have one named person, not a rotating support inbox.

10. What questions do you have about my business?
Google notes that a good SEO asks about what makes your business unique, who your competitors are and how your customers find you. If the agency asks nothing about your business, it is selling a package, not a strategy.

Questions About Deliverables

11. What exactly will you deliver each month?
Get specifics in writing: number of pages optimised, articles published, technical fixes, outreach, reporting. "Ongoing optimisation" is not a deliverable.

12. Will you do an audit first, and what will it include?
A proper SEO audit covers technical health, content, links and competitors. Google advises that an audit should give you realistic estimates of improvement and of the work involved.

13. Who writes the content, and how do you ensure quality?
Ask whether writers know your industry, whether AI tools are used and how the output is edited. Google's guidance on generative AI search stresses unique, non-commodity content, so recycled articles will not help you.

14. How do you build links?
Listen for editorial outreach, digital PR and relationships. Google warns against link schemes and notes that you should never have to link back to an SEO.

Questions About Contracts and Money

These matter most for Indian businesses, where verbal agreements still cause a lot of disputes.

15. What does it cost, and what is included in that price?
Ask for a clear monthly figure with a list of inclusions. For context, our guide to SEO cost in India sets out what agencies currently charge at each level.

16. Do you issue GST invoices?
A registered agency should. Proper invoicing also protects you if a dispute ever arises.

17. How long is the contract, and how do I exit it?
Many agencies ask for six or twelve months, which is reasonable given how long SEO takes. What matters is a clear notice period and no penalty for leaving after the minimum term.

18. Who owns my accounts, content and data if we part ways?
You should own your domain, hosting, Google Search Console, Google Analytics and Google Business Profile, with the agency added as a user. Every page and article written for you should belong to you as well.

Questions About Access and Risk

19. What access do you need, and when?
Google advises granting only read access to Search Console during the audit stage. Grant wider access once you have signed and trust the team, and remove it if you part ways.

20. Can you guarantee rankings?
This is a test question. The right answer is no. Google states plainly that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google, so any agency that does is either misinformed or misleading you. Our list of SEO agency red flags covers the others to watch for.

The 2026 Question

21. How do you approach AI search?
AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT and Perplexity now answer many questions directly. A current agency should explain how it measures visibility there, for example with Search Console's Generative AI performance report. Be cautious of anyone selling "AI hacks": Google's own guide says you do not need llms.txt files, content chunking or special markup to appear in its AI features.

How to Score the Answers

Rate each answer on a simple three-point scale.

One disqualifying answer should end the conversation. Several weak answers together should too.

A Short Script for Your First Call

If you are short on time, ask these five first. They separate good agencies from average ones faster than any others.

1. Show me a result you achieved for a business like mine.
2. What exactly will you deliver in the first 90 days?
3. Who will do the work?
4. Who owns my accounts and content?
5. Can you guarantee rankings?

Then send the remaining questions by email, so you have every answer in writing before you sign.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Hiring an agency is a long relationship, so a little rigour at the start saves months of frustration later. The right agency welcomes hard questions, because good answers are how it wins work.

Keep your notes, compare answers side by side, and choose the team that was clearest about what it will do. If you want to see how we answer them ourselves, learn more about us. These are the questions to ask an SEO agency before hiring, and any agency worth your money will be glad you asked them.

About the author

Ganesh Shanmugam

Ganesh Shanmugam is an SEO and AEO consultant based in Chennai, India, and the founder of Billion Game — a boutique agency serving clients across the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Ireland. He previously held SEO roles at 7 Eagles and Digital Scholar before going independent, and brings 4+ years of hands-on experience

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