Questions to Ask Before
Hiring an SEO Agency
The questions to ask before hiring an SEO agency as a recruitment agency: results, method, who does the work, how success is measured and the contract terms.
Most recruitment agencies hire an SEO provider on the strength of a pitch, then spend six months discovering the mistake. A handful of direct questions, asked of every agency you shortlist, prevent that. Ask whether they can show results for a business like yours, walk you through their method and first ninety days, say who does the work, explain how they measure and report success, confirm you keep ownership of your data and set out the contract terms. Compare how each answers, scoring on specificity rather than confidence, since the strong ones reply clearly while the weak ones turn vague.
The questions that reveal the truth
Most recruitment agencies hire an SEO provider on the strength of a pitch, then spend six months discovering the mistake. A handful of direct questions, asked of every agency you shortlist, prevent that. Ask about results in recruitment, the method, who does the work, how success is measured and the contract terms, then compare how each agency answers. The strong ones give clear, specific replies while the weak ones turn vague. Score the answers on specificity, not confidence. Here are the questions to ask before hiring an SEO agency as a recruitment agency, with what a good answer sounds like.
Can you show results for a business like mine?
Start here, because proof beats any promise. Ask for case studies from recruitment or similar businesses, then dig in: what was the starting point, what did they change, what happened to enquiries and placements, how long did it take. A real agency talks happily through the messy detail, while a weak one offers a vague we did great or only a logo wall. A national software case study tells you little if you run a niche recruitment firm. Press for relevance to your model and, ideally, your sector. The quality and specificity of the results they can point to is the single most revealing answer you will get.
What is your method and your first ninety days?
Ask them to walk you through their approach, not list their services. A strong answer has structure: an audit and research first, then technical fixes, content and authority building in a clear sequence, with the reasoning for each step. A weak answer is just a list, keyword research, on page, links, reporting, with no logic for the order. Ask exactly what they would do in the first ninety days for your site, since a credible agency can sketch a real plan rather than a vague we will figure it out. The clarity of the method they describe is a direct preview of the work you will receive.
Who does the work?
This question catches a common trap. Many agencies pitch with impressive senior staff, then hand the account to junior or outsourced teams once you sign. Ask directly who will run your campaign, who writes the content and whether the work is done in house or passed to contractors. Content quality is a major ranking factor and central to being picked up by the AI tools, so knowing whose hands your content is in matters. You are paying for expertise, so confirm you are getting it rather than a polished sales team backed by juniors. A straight answer here tells you whether the people who impressed you are the people who will deliver.
How will you measure and report success?
Pin this down before you start, because it is where the relationship lives or dies. Ask how they define success and what they will report, then steer it toward the numbers that matter to your business: candidate applications, client enquiries and placements, not impressions and keyword counts. Agree those targets up front so there is no confusion six months in. Ask how often you will get reports and a strategy call. Ask whether the report ties the work to enquiries rather than burying flat results under traffic charts. An agency happy to be judged on leads and placements is one whose interests sit with yours, which is exactly what you want.
Who owns the data and the work?
Protect your assets before you sign. Confirm that your Google Analytics, Search Console and website accounts stay in your ownership, with the agency given access rather than control, since an agency that holds your data can hold you hostage. Ask what happens to the content and work produced if you part ways, making sure it belongs to you. Clarify access, ownership and handover in writing rather than trusting it to good faith. These details feel dull next to strategy, yet they decide how easily you can leave a partner who underdelivers, so settle them clearly at the start while you still have the leverage to do so.
What are the contract terms?
Finally, understand what you are committing to. Ask the minimum term, the notice period and the exit terms, then be wary of a long lock in with no performance review built in. A reasonable contract reflects that SEO takes time, often six to twelve months, yet still gives you a clear way out if the agreed targets are missed. Watch for early termination penalties and auto renewal clauses that favour the agency. A confident agency ties its retention to results rather than to a contract that traps you. Run these questions past every agency you consider, compare the answers, so the right partner becomes clear. Our SEO for Recruitment Agencies service answers every one of them straight.
Ask us
anything.
Ask about our recruitment results, our method, who does the work, how we measure success and our contract terms, then you will get straight, specific answers, because our service is built to be judged on enquiries and placements.
Here is what is included in our local SEO plan for a recruitment agency:
One clear retainer. No setup fee. No twelve month tie in trap.
This guide is part of our complete SEO Guides for Recruitment Agencies series. The hub gathers every question an agency asks about SEO in one place, from cost and timescales through to local search, sector specialisms, content and working with an agency, each one written for UK recruitment agencies.