Questions to Ask Before Hiring
an SEO Agency as a Solicitor

The questions that reveal the truth

The best way to judge an SEO agency is to ask the right questions and listen closely to how they answer. A strong agency replies with specifics and evidence, while a weak one falls back on vague reassurance. Here are the questions to put to any agency before you sign, along with what good and poor answers sound like.

Do you work with law firms and can you prove it?

This is the first thing to establish. A strong answer is that they work mainly with solicitors and can describe how they handle the SRA rules in the content they publish. A weak answer is that they work across many industries and apply the same fundamentals to any niche, which tells you their process matters more to them than your situation. You want sector focus, backed by examples.

Can you show real results from firms like mine?

Ask for evidence, not testimonials. A good agency will show real keyword positions and traffic before and after a campaign, drawn from their own search console data, ideally for firms in similar practice areas and markets. Be wary if they offer only glowing quotes, polished slides or case studies with no named firm and no verifiable numbers, since that often hides thin results.

Do you understand the SRA rules?

For a solicitor this question is essential. A good agency knows that everything it publishes for you is publicity under the SRA rules and builds a compliance check into its content. A poor one looks blank or, worse, suggests bold claims about your results that the rules would not allow. If an agency has never heard of the SRA Code of Conduct, it is not ready to market a law firm.

How do you measure success?

You want to know what they count as a win. The right answer is enquiries, calls and new clients from search, tracked through call tracking and form tagging. A weaker answer leans on impressions, traffic and keyword positions, which look good but do not pay the bills. Ask to see a sample report, then insist on your own access to Google Analytics and Search Console so you can check the numbers yourself.

What exactly will I get each month?

A good agency answers this clearly: a set amount of content, named technical work, local SEO tasks and a reporting format, written down before you sign. A vague promise of ongoing optimisation tells you little and makes it hard to judge value. The clearer the monthly deliverables, the easier it is to hold the agency to account. We cover what a full service should include in What Should an SEO Service Include for a Solicitor?

Who will really do the work?

It is common for a senior person to sell the work, then pass your account to a junior. Ask who will run it day to day, how experienced they are and how many other accounts they handle. Someone managing a hundred clients cannot give yours real attention. You want regular contact with a person who knows your firm, not a faceless queue.

How do you build links?

Link building separates good agencies from risky ones. A strong answer describes earning quality links through digital PR, legal directories and editorial placements on real publications. A worrying answer is vague or admits to buying links in bulk, which can trigger a Google penalty. If they cannot explain their approach in plain terms, treat it as a warning.

Are you adapting for AI search?

Search is changing fast, so this question matters. A forward looking agency will talk about AI Overviews and tools like ChatGPT, along with how it structures content and signals to be cited and recommended by them. An agency still selling rankings alone, with nothing to say about AI, is behind the market. You want one preparing your firm for how clients search now, not how they searched five years ago.

What are your contract terms?

Ask about commitment and exit before you sign. A reasonable minimum term is fair, since SEO takes time, though you should be wary of a long lock in with no exit and no performance checkpoints. A confident agency is happy to be judged on results rather than holding you to a contract. Make sure you understand what happens if things are not working.

What do you need from me?

Finally, turn the question around. A good agency has a clear list: access to your website and analytics, your history and an understanding of your practice areas, your goals and your best clients. An agency that says it needs almost nothing is planning generic work that ignores your firm. The more they want to understand your business, the better the partnership will be.

In short, the right questions reveal the right agency. Press for evidence of legal results, clear deliverables, real reporting, SRA understanding and fair terms. Watch for guarantees, vagueness and disinterest in your firm. The answers will tell you far more than any sales pitch. For the wider criteria, see How to Choose an SEO Agency as a Solicitor. For what the work itself involves, see What Does an SEO Agency Do for a Solicitor? Our SEO for Solicitors service is built to answer every one of these questions well.

This guide is part of our complete SEO Guides for Solicitors series. The hub gathers every question a law firm asks about SEO in one place, from cost and timescales through to local search, EEAT and working with an agency, each one written for UK solicitors.