How to Choose an SEO Company: What They Do and 10 Questions to Ask

Hiring an SEO company is one of the bigger marketing decisions a leadership team makes. Done well, it builds a steady source of qualified leads for years. Done poorly, it burns budget on reports that look busy and results that never show up in the pipeline.

This guide explains what an SEO company actually does, how search has changed now that AI answers so many questions, and the questions to ask before you sign anything.

What does an SEO company do?

A good SEO company helps the right people find your business when they search, on Google and increasingly in AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews. In practice, that work usually falls into five areas:

• Technical SEO: making sure search engines can crawl, understand and index your site. That covers site speed, mobile usability, sitemaps, redirects, structured data and fixing broken pages.
• Keyword and audience research: finding the searches your buyers actually use, then mapping each one to the right page.
• On-page optimization: page titles, meta descriptions, headings, internal links and content that answers the question clearly.
• Content strategy: planning and creating service pages, industry pages and articles that show real expertise and support sales conversations.
• Authority building: earning links and mentions from respected websites and publications, often through digital PR, so search engines and AI tools trust your business.

For businesses that serve a region, local SEO matters too: a complete Google Business Profile, consistent business information across directories and real reviews from real customers.

How AI search changes what you should expect

Search is no longer only ten blue links. Buyers ask AI tools for recommendations and summaries, and those tools pull from sources they consider clear and credible. That means a modern SEO partner should also be working on:

• Answer-ready content: direct answers, descriptive headings and helpful FAQs that AI tools can quote.
• Entity clarity: a consistent description of who you are, what you do and where you work across your website, profiles and coverage.
• Third-party credibility: mentions in trusted publications, which influence both rankings and AI recommendations.

If you want the background, our guide to answer engine optimization (AEO) covers how this works.

How to choose an SEO company: 6 things to look for

1. They start with your business goals, not keywords

The right partner asks who your best customers are, what a qualified lead is worth and which services you want to grow. Keywords come after that.

2. They explain their work in plain language

You should understand what they will do each month and why. If the answer is vague or full of jargon, keep looking.

3. They connect SEO to the rest of your marketing

SEO works best alongside your website, brand messaging, PR and paid media. A partner who works in isolation will miss easy wins. We wrote about why modern marketing doesn't work in silos.

4. They report on outcomes, not just rankings

Rankings are useful, but leadership teams care about qualified traffic, inquiries and revenue. Ask to see a sample report before you hire.

5. They are honest about timelines

SEO compounds over time. Technical fixes can help quickly, while competitive terms often take months. Be cautious of anyone who promises fast, guaranteed results.

6. They show relevant experience

Look for work with businesses like yours, whether that is B2B, professional services, manufacturing or multi-location brands. Ask for examples and references.

10 questions to ask an SEO company before you hire

1. What would you focus on first for our business, and why?
2. How do you decide which keywords and pages to prioritize?
3. What technical issues do you check for, and how often?
4. How do you approach content, and who writes it?
5. How do you earn links and mentions, and what tactics do you avoid?
6. How are you preparing clients for AI search and AI Overviews?
7. What will we see in a monthly report, and how will you tie it to leads?
8. What do you need from our team to be successful?
9. Who will we work with day to day, and how senior are they?
10. What does the contract look like, and what happens if we part ways?

Red flags to watch for

• Guaranteed rankings: no one controls Google or AI tools.
• Secret methods: good SEO is not a black box.
• Bulk link packages: cheap, low-quality links can do more harm than good.
• Long lock-in contracts with no clear deliverables.
• Reports full of vanity metrics with nothing about leads or business impact.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an SEO company cost?

It depends on your goals, competition and how much content and technical work is needed. Ask each company to explain what is included so you can compare scope, not just price.

How long does SEO take to work?

Technical fixes and on-page improvements can show early movement, while competitive terms usually take longer. A good partner will set realistic expectations up front and show progress along the way.

Should we hire a local SEO company or a national one?

What matters most is experience with businesses like yours and a strategy tied to your goals. A local partner can be a plus if you sell in a specific region, since they understand the market and local search.

Can we do SEO in-house instead?

Some teams handle the basics in-house and bring in a partner for strategy, technical work and authority building. The right mix depends on your team's time and skills.

Looking for an SEO partner?

L&L Collective is a senior-level team in Dayton, Ohio that helps B2B and growing brands get found on Google and in AI search. Explore our SEO and AI search services or tell us about your goals.

Keep reading

• What Is AEO in Marketing? Answer Engine Optimization for B2B Teams
• How Digital PR Boosts SEO (and Vice Versa)
• Questions to Ask a Web Designer Before You Build