Start with what you want search to do
Before you talk to any agency, write down what search should bring in: phone calls, quote requests, demo bookings, online sales. Agencies that start with keywords and never ask about this will report on keywords forever.
Shortlist on evidence
Every agency has a portfolio page. Ask for something harder to fake:
- Ranking reports for real clients, with the keywords and dates. A list where every keyword is first is a warning sign; real reports have movement in both directions.
- A sample monthly report, so you can see whether it ends with leads or stops at traffic graphs.
- A link-building sample: five sites they placed links on in the last three months. Open them. If they look like content farms, walk away.
Questions worth asking
- Who will actually work on our account, and can we speak to them?
- Will you work in our Search Console, Analytics and CMS, or in your own tools?
- How do you log changes?
- What happens to our content and accounts if we stop?
- What do you need from us each month?
Keep ownership on your side
Every account (domain, hosting, CMS, Search Console, Analytics, Google Business Profile, ad accounts) should be registered to your company, with the agency given access. This one rule removes most of the risk in outsourcing. If an agency insists on owning accounts, that is a reason not to hire it.
Use the time difference
India runs on UTC+5:30 with no daylight saving. From North America that means work happens overnight; from the UK, a shared morning; from Australia, a shared afternoon; from the UAE, almost the whole day. Agree in the contract when you can expect replies and when calls happen.
What the first ninety days should look like
Month one: the audit, and the fixes that block everything else. Month two: the pages that should rank and don’t, and the first content. Month three: a steady rhythm, and the first report that links work to results.
If by the end of month three you can’t see what was done and nothing has moved at all, talk about it. If the agency can’t explain why, that tells you something.
On price
Indian agencies cost less than local ones, but the cheapest quote usually means automated reports and bought links. Compare what each quote includes, hour for hour, before comparing the number.
FSD India
Washmatic India
Wisdom Tech Seal