Track calls, forms and booked jobs from search, not rankings or traffic. Ask for a list of pages published and links earned this month. If they cannot show new assets and more leads, you are paying for reports.
Full answerExpect early movement in two to three months, meaningful lead volume in five to eight, and real compounding after a year. Anyone promising page one in thirty days is either guessing or selling you branded search.
Full answerLeads from organic and the map pack, the pages and content they shipped with clickable URLs, technical fixes, review and profile activity, and what they are doing next month. One page is enough if those are on it.
Full answerCommon, but not necessary. Long contracts protect the agency, not you. A good shop will work month to month because the results hold the client. If a vendor needs a year locked in, ask what happens at month four.
Full answerFor a single location contractor, clinic or firm, a few hundred to a couple thousand a month is the normal range. What matters is what ships for the money. Heights charges $399 a month, all inclusive, month to month.
Full answerAsk who does the work, exactly what ships each month, which accounts you will own, what the cancellation terms are, and for two current clients in your industry you can call. Vague answers to any of those are the answer.
Full answerSecure access before you give notice. Take ownership of the domain, hosting, Google Business Profile, Analytics, Search Console and ad accounts, export the site and content, then send written notice. Do it in that order.
Full answerDo the local basics yourself, they are cheap and high impact. Hire for the parts that take time you do not have: writing pages every month, technical work and links. If you have five hours a month, start yourself.
Full answerSend the site over. We will tell you what is broken, what you could rank for, and whether AI search knows you exist. No charge and no pitch deck.
