How to Choose a Local SEO Agency: Contractor Checklist

If you run a contracting business, you’ve gotten the calls. “We can get you to the top of Google.” “We work with contractors just like you.” “Sign today and we’ll waive the setup fee.”

Some of those agencies are great. Some will cash your check every month while your phone stays quiet. The trouble is they all sound the same on the first call. So here’s how to tell them apart, whether you’re a roofer in Denver, a plumber in Phoenix or an electrician in Charlotte. Use it on every agency you talk to, including us.

Get the terms in writing

Long contracts protect agencies, not you. If an agency needs a year-long commitment to keep you, ask yourself why.

Get: month-to-month terms, or at least a short, simple exit. You should be able to leave if the work isn’t working.

Ask: “What happens if I want to cancel in month three?”

Then get the price in writing before any work starts. “It depends” is fine for a first conversation. It’s not fine on an invoice.

Ask: “What exactly is included every month, and what costs extra?” If you’re comparing quotes, our guide to local SEO costs shows how to line them up.

Make sure you own your accounts

Your Google Business Profile is one of the most valuable things your business owns online. If an agency or an old web designer is the only owner on it, you’re one bad breakup away from losing it.

Get: you stay the owner. The agency gets manager access. The same goes for your website domain and your ad accounts. They’re yours, in your name.

Ask: “Will I stay the owner of my Google profile and my ad accounts?” and “If I leave, what happens to my website and my domain?”

If you’re not sure who owns your profile today, check it tonight. Our guide shows how to add or remove a Google Business Profile manager.

Ask for reporting that shows calls

Impressions and “visibility scores” aren’t jobs. You want to know how many people called, sent a message, asked for directions or filled out a form.

Get: a monthly report in plain language that leads with customer actions, then shows the work that was done and what’s next.

Ask: “Can you show me a sample report from another client, with their name removed?” We wrote a whole guide on what a real local SEO report should show.

Talk to the people doing the work

A lot of contractors end up talking to a salesperson, then an account manager, then a different account manager. Meanwhile nobody can answer a simple question.

Get: a real person who knows your account and can tell you what was done this month.

Ask: “Who actually does the work on my account, and can I talk to them?”

Questions to ask on the first call

Here’s the short version. Print it, and listen to how each agency answers. A confident agency answers fast and in plain English. An agency that’s coasting reaches for jargon.

1. What’s included every month, and what costs extra?
2. What happens if I cancel?
3. Will I stay the owner of my profile, domain and ad accounts?
4. Can I see a sample report?
5. Which services and areas will you focus on first, and why?
6. What exactly do you guarantee?

Red flags that mean walk away

• Guaranteed rankings. Nobody can guarantee you the top spot on Google. Google doesn’t sell it, and no agency controls it. If the answer to “What do you guarantee?” is “page one,” walk.
• High-pressure discounts. “Sign today” deals are about their quota, not your business.
• You don’t have access. If you can’t log in to your own profile, website or ad account, that’s a problem now, not later.
• Reports with no calls in them. If the report never mentions a phone call, ask why.
• “SEO takes time” as the only answer. It does take time. But time should come with visible work and real progress.
• Cheap resold work. Some low-priced agencies hand your account to an unnamed third party. Ask who does the work, and where.

A plan built around your business

Cookie-cutter packages treat a roofer in Oklahoma City the same as a dentist in Boston. Your plan should name the services that make you money and the areas you actually serve, and explain why those come first.

For most contractors, the work that moves the needle is the same handful of things: a complete, active Google Business Profile, a fast website with a page for each service, a steady stream of reviews, consistent business listings, and honest reporting. Our local SEO service is built around exactly that, and we have pages for plumbers, roofers, HVAC companies, electricians and landscapers.

The bottom line

You wouldn’t hire a sub who won’t tell you what he charges, won’t show you his work and wants to lock you in for a year. Don’t hire a marketing agency that does it either.

Want to hear what a straight answer sounds like? Let’s talk. Tell us about your business, the areas you serve, and what is and isn’t working.