How to choose a local SEO agency

What a local SEO agency should actually do

Local SEO is the work of getting a business found in Google Maps and local results. An agency doing it properly will normally cover:

• Your Google Business Profile: categories, services, hours, photos, posts and booking links.
• Reviews: a routine for asking, and replies.
• Listings: the same name, address and phone number everywhere.
• Your website: location and service pages, structured data and technical fixes.
• Tracking: calls, direction requests, forms and bookings, by source.
• Reporting: what was done, what it brought in and what happens next.

If a proposal names a price but not the work, ask for the list. For the basics, see what local SEO is.

Ten questions to ask before you sign

• What will you do in the first 30, 60 and 90 days? You should get a list of tasks, not a slogan.
• Who will do the work, and who do I talk to? Ask whether it is their own team or a subcontractor, and how quickly they reply.
• Can you show results from a business like mine? Look for named accounts, a date range and the tool the figure came from.
• How will you measure success? The answer should be calls, bookings and inquiries, not only rankings.
• What will the monthly report contain? Ask to see a sample.
• Who owns the Business Profile, the website and the analytics? The answer should be: you.
• How do you get links and listings? Bought links in bulk are a risk to you, not to them.
• How do you handle reviews? They should help you ask real customers. They should never write or buy reviews.
• What is the contract length and how do I leave? Know the notice period and what you keep.
• What do you need from me? A straight answer here usually means they have done this before.

Warning signs

• A guaranteed position on Google or Maps. Nobody controls the results.
• A promise of results in days.
• A price far below everyone else, with no list of work.
• The agency creates your Business Profile or analytics in its own account and will not add you as owner.
• Reports full of impressions and rankings, with no calls or inquiries.
• Keywords added to your business name on the profile, fake addresses or fake reviews. These break Google’s rules and can get a profile suspended.

What you should own

Whoever you hire, these should be in your name, with the agency added as a manager:

• Your Google Business Profile.
• Your domain name and website.
• Google Analytics and Search Console.
• Your advertising accounts, if ads are part of the work.
• The content written for you.

That way you can change agencies without starting again.

How agencies charge

Most charge a monthly retainer, because local SEO is ongoing. Some charge a fixed fee for a one-off job such as an audit or a profile clean-up. The price usually depends on the number of locations, how competitive the area is and how much website work is needed. Our SEO pricing guide explains the models and what a quote should include.

Nearby agency or one overseas?

Local SEO can be done well from anywhere, because the work happens in your profile, your website and your listings. What matters is whether the agency understands your market and whether you can reach them. With an agency in another country, check the hours you overlap, who your contact is, and whether they already work with businesses in your country. We are based in India and work with businesses in the United States, so we get asked this often, and these are the checks we would make ourselves.

How to compare proposals

Put them side by side and compare line by line: the work each month, who does it, what is reported, what you own, the contract terms and the price. The cheapest and the most expensive are both worth questioning. Choose the one whose plan you understand and whose results you can check.

How Frisler Digital works

We start with a free audit, so the plan and the quote reflect your business and your area. Tracking is set up before any campaign starts, every figure we report names its source, and your accounts stay in your name. You can ask for the audit and compare it with any other proposal you have.