Questions to Ask Before Hiring
an SEO Agency as an Estate Agent
The questions to ask before hiring an SEO agency as an estate agent: property results, the first 90 days, who does the work, reporting and contract terms.
The way to see past a polished pitch is to ask a few pointed questions, then compare how agencies answer. Ask to see results from estate agents like you, what they will do in the first ninety days, who does the work, how they report and on what, then the contract terms including what you own if you leave. Ask the same questions of two or three agencies. The strong ones reply with clear, specific detail, while the weak ones turn vague. Treat a guaranteed ranking, vanity metrics or a refusal to share references as a reason to walk away.
Ask, then compare the answers
Every agency sounds impressive in a pitch. The way to see past the polish is to ask the same handful of pointed questions to two or three agencies, then compare how they answer. The strong ones give clear, specific replies. The weak ones get vague or defensive. Here are the questions worth asking before you sign, with what a good answer sounds like.
Can you show results from estate agents like me?
Start here, because it is the most revealing question of all. A flashy chart proves nothing. What you want is proof they have helped agencies like yours, ideally of a similar size and in the UK property market. Ask for case studies and live client sites, then dig into the detail: what the starting point was, what they changed and how long it took. A confident agency will happily walk you through the messy specifics. Be wary of anonymous examples or only percentage gains with no real numbers behind them.
What will you do in the first ninety days?
This separates strategists from box tickers. A good answer is specific: a technical audit, keyword research focused on your areas, a baseline of where you rank now, the first content and a clear order of work. Watch for cookie cutter replies like we optimise everything equally or we start with the homepage, which suggest generic work. You also want to hear that they ask about your goals, your areas and your competitors before promising anything, since a plan made without that context is guesswork. We cover the scope in What Does an SEO Agency Do for an Estate Agent?
Who does the work?
Find out whether the person selling to you is the person doing the work and whether it is done in house or passed to contractors. Many agencies have a polished sales team and a very different delivery team. Ask who writes your content, since quality matters for both ranking and AI visibility. Ask for a real, named point of contact who understands estate agency. You are paying for expertise, so you should know whose hands your agency is in once the contract starts and the pitch is over.
How and on what do you report?
This is where the relationship lives or dies. Ask exactly how and how often they report, then insist on seeing a sample. The report should lead with the metrics that matter to your business, enquiries, calls and valuation requests, not just rankings and traffic dressed up as success. Agree what winning looks like before you start, so there is no confusion six months in. If a sample report is all impressions and keyword counts with nothing tied to leads, the agency is measuring its own activity rather than your results.
What are the contract terms and what do I own?
Read this carefully before you sign. A short minimum term is fair, since SEO takes months to show, though you should be wary of long lock ins with no exit for poor performance. Ask what happens if you leave. Confirm in writing that you keep your website, content and domain, along with the rankings you have built. A contract that takes your site away when you stop paying is a trap. Also ask whether they work with your direct competitors, since a reputable agency will not, to avoid a conflict of interest. We cover the numbers in How Much Does SEO Cost for an Estate Agent?
The answers that should worry you
A few replies are clear warning signs. A guaranteed number one ranking is the biggest, since no one can promise that and anyone who does is either naive or risky. Be cautious too of very low prices that hint at corners cut, vanity metrics offered as proof, vague link building they will not explain and a refusal to share client references. An agency that does not ask about your business is planning generic work. Trust the pattern: confident specifics are a good sign, evasion is not. We weigh this up in How to Choose an SEO Agency as an Estate Agent.
In short, ask for property results, the first ninety day plan, who does the work, how they report and the contract terms, then watch for guarantees and vanity metrics. Ask the same questions of a few agencies and the right one stands out by the clarity of its answers. Our SEO for Estate Agents service welcomes every one of these questions.
Ask us
anything.
We welcome every hard question, property case studies, the first ninety day plan, who does the work, sample reports tied to enquiries and fair contract terms, because clear answers are how we earn estate agents as clients in the first place.
Here is what is included in our local SEO plan for an estate agent:
One clear retainer. No setup fee. No twelve month tie in trap.
This guide is part of our complete SEO Guides for Estate Agents series. The hub gathers every question an agency asks about SEO in one place, from cost and timescales through to local search, content and working with an agency, each one written for UK estate agents.