Choosing a Digital Marketing Agency: 15 Questions

Start from Google's own list

Google recommends asking for examples of previous work and success stories, whether the provider follows Google Search Essentials, what results and timeframe to expect, and how success is measured. [Google Search Central, Do you need an SEO?]

Google says a good SEO should ask about what makes your business unique, who your competitors are, and how customers find you, which is a two-way vetting process, not just an intake form. [Google Search Central]

Measurement discipline tends to matter more in slow periods than in fast-growth periods, since a rigorous reporting model is what tells you honestly whether a slowdown is seasonal, competitive, or self-inflicted.

The 15 questions: scope and evidence

Ask what specifically will change on the site, what evidence supports each recommendation, what past results looked like in similar businesses, and how the engagement will be scoped month to month.

Push for specificity here rather than accepting a generic answer; a provider who cannot describe what will change on your actual site in the first thirty days likely does not yet have a real plan for your business.

Resist the temptation to build a bigger dashboard before fixing the definitions underneath it. A small, well-defined report beats a large, ambiguous one every time a real decision is on the line.

The 15 questions: methods and documentation

Check whether recommendations cite official Google documentation, and whether advice on optimizing for AI experiences, also known as AEO or GEO services, aligns with Google's official guidance. [Google Search Central]

Share the same report format with every stakeholder, internal team and outside vendor alike, so that a disagreement about performance is a disagreement about facts rather than a disagreement about which numbers to trust.

The 15 questions: measurement and reporting

Ask exactly which metrics will be reported, how they are defined, and whether the agency distinguishes between Search Console-defined metrics and platform-specific numbers.

Revisit the reporting model itself every few months, not just the numbers inside it, since a metric that made sense a year ago can quietly stop reflecting what the business actually needs to know.

Red flags

Google's red flags include unsolicited outreach, guaranteed rankings, claims of a special relationship with Google, priority submit offers, secrecy about methods, link schemes, and audits that guarantee results. [Google Search Central]

Google warns that if an SEO creates deceptive content on your behalf your site could be removed entirely from the index, and that you are responsible for the actions of companies you hire. [Google Search Central]

Where a vendor's reporting disagrees with your own, treat the discrepancy as a definitions problem first, and trace both numbers back to their source before assuming either one is wrong.

Access hygiene: read vs write in Search Console

For an SEO audit, Google advises granting only read access to Search Console at that stage, not write access, which is a simple test of whether a prospective agency respects account boundaries. [Google Search Central]

A short written glossary of exactly how each metric in your report is defined saves significant time whenever a new team member or partner needs to be brought up to speed.

What good looks like in month one, three and six

Google's own timeline language is that some changes take effect within hours and others take months, with a few weeks a reasonable minimum before assessment, which should set the pace of any early reporting cadence. [Google Search Central, SEO Starter Guide]

A reasonable month-one deliverable is a documented technical and content audit, month three should show the first measurable movement in leading indicators, and month six is when revenue-relevant outcomes should be visible if the engagement is working.

How The DREAM Agency answers these questions

We do not guarantee rankings or AI citations, we cite official documentation for our recommendations, and we start every audit with read-only access, consistent with Google's own guidance for evaluating a provider. [Google Search Central]

Frequently asked questions

Primary sources

Policy and statistical claims in this guide are grounded in the sources below. Access dates and policy details can change, so verify regulated guidance before acting.

• Google Search Central, Do you need an SEO?
• Google Search Central, SEO Starter Guide
• FTC, Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking
• Google Search Central, Search Essentials