Choosing an SEO Company in Vancouver: 12 Questions to Ask

Search “SEO Vancouver” and you’ll find dozens of agencies and freelancers promising page-one rankings. Some are excellent. Others sell cheap packages that do little — or use tactics that can get your site penalised.

As someone who does SEO for local businesses, I’d rather you hire well than hire fast. Here are the questions to ask any SEO company or consultant before you sign anything.

12 questions to ask

1. What will you actually do in the first 90 days?

A good answer is specific: a technical audit, fixing crawl and speed issues, improving key pages, setting up tracking and starting content or local SEO work. Vague answers like “we optimise your site” are a warning sign.

2. How will you measure success?

Look for business outcomes — leads, calls, bookings and sales from organic search — not just rankings or traffic. Ask how they’ll track them; my guide to GA4 conversion tracking explains what proper tracking looks like.

3. Can I see real results for similar businesses?

Ask for case studies, ideally in your industry or a similar local market. Check that results are recent and that the client agreed to be referenced.

4. Who will work on my account?

With agencies, the person who sells to you is often not the person doing the work. Ask who it is and how experienced they are.

5. How do you approach local SEO in Metro Vancouver?

They should talk about your Google Business Profile, service areas, reviews, local pages and local links — not just keywords. See my local SEO guide for Vancouver for what good looks like.

6. How do you build links?

The right answer focuses on earning links through relationships, content and local involvement. Be cautious if they mention buying links, private blog networks or “thousands of backlinks”.

7. What will you need from me?

Good SEO is a partnership. Expect to be asked for access, information about your services and customers, and quick reviews of content.

8. Will I own everything?

Your website, Google Business Profile, Search Console, Analytics and content should all stay in your name. Never let an agency own your accounts.

9. How do you handle technical SEO?

Ask whether they can fix issues themselves or only report them. Many problems — site speed, structure, indexing — need development skills. See the Core Web Vitals guide for one example.

10. How often will you report, and what will I see?

Monthly reporting is common. Reports should explain what was done, what changed and what’s next — in plain language.

11. What’s the contract length and notice period?

SEO takes time, so a few months’ commitment is reasonable. Long lock-in contracts with heavy penalties are not.

12. What happens if we stop working together?

You should keep all work, content and accounts, and the agency should hand over access cleanly.

Red flags

• Guaranteed #1 rankings. No one can guarantee positions on Google.
• Very cheap monthly packages with no clear deliverables.
• Secret methods they won’t explain.
• Owning your accounts or website.
• Reports full of rankings for keywords nobody searches.

How much does SEO cost in Vancouver?

Prices vary widely with competition and scope. My guide to how much SEO costs explains the pricing models and what affects the budget.

Frequently asked questions

Is a local Vancouver SEO company better than a remote one?

Not automatically. Local knowledge helps with local SEO, and meeting in person can make communication easier, but skill and honesty matter most.

Freelancer or agency?

Freelancers can offer direct access to an experienced specialist; agencies offer more people and capacity. Choose based on who will actually do the work and how well they communicate.

How soon should I see results?

Technical fixes can show effects within weeks; competitive rankings usually take several months of consistent work.

Looking for SEO help in Vancouver?

I’m happy to answer every one of these questions for your business. Learn more about my SEO services in Vancouver, read about my background, or book a free consultation.