I'm Ayman, and I run Ayman Results, a small SEO agency in Western Sydney. A surprising number of my clients came to me after a bad experience with another SEO company. Jimmy at Design Timber Flooring is one of them. He paid an agency thousands, got reports he didn't need, and no new work.
SEO is an easy industry to fake. The work happens out of sight, results take weeks, and most business owners don't have time to check. So here are the questions I'd want a tradie to ask before signing with anyone. Yes, I know that includes me. That's fine.
The short version
- Make sure you own your website, domain, Google Business Profile and analytics, no matter what.
- Ask exactly what work happens each month, and who does it.
- Judge results by calls, quote forms and clicks from Google, not rankings for phrases nobody searches.
- Avoid ranking guarantees and long lock-in contracts.
- Ask for real examples in a trade like yours, with numbers.
Why tradies get burnt by SEO companies
It usually goes like this. A cold call or a Facebook ad promises page one. You sign a 12-month contract. You get a monthly PDF full of graphs. Rankings go up for phrases like "best quality plumbing solutions Sydney NSW", which nobody types. The phone doesn't ring any more than before. When you try to leave, you find out they control your website.
Australia's small business ombudsman has flagged SEO firms that take ownership of websites at the start of a contract and shut them down when it ends. It's common enough to be a known problem.
If an agency won't answer a straight question before you sign, it won't answer one after.
Ownership and access
1. Who owns my website and domain?
Good answer: "You do. The domain is registered in your name and you get the logins." Walk away if: the domain is in their name, or the website only exists on their platform and can't be moved.
2. Who owns my Google Business Profile?
Good answer: "You're the owner. We're added as a manager." Never let an agency be the only owner of your profile. Your reviews live there.
3. Will I have access to Google Search Console and Analytics?
Good answer: "Yes, in your own account, from day one." These are free Google tools. There's no good reason to keep you out of them.
The actual work
4. What exactly will you do in the first three months?
You want specifics. Something like: benchmark your rankings, fix your Google Business Profile, build service and area pages, get your citations right, set up a review process. If the answer is "ongoing optimisation", ask what that means. I've laid out our own 12-week process publicly so you can compare.
5. Who actually does the work?
Is it the person you're talking to, a junior, or an overseas team? Any of those can be fine. You just want to know, and you want someone who understands Australian trades and suburbs.
6. How do you get links?
Good answer: real directories, local organisations, suppliers, genuine mentions. Walk away if: they talk about hundreds of links a month for a small fee. Bulk cheap links can hurt you.
7. Will you need much of my time?
A good agency needs a bit from you at the start, like your services, areas and photos, then gets out of your way. If you're expected to write content yourself, that should be clear up front.
Results and reporting
8. How will I know it's working?
Good answer: "We'll show you calls, quote forms and clicks from Google, and where you rank across your area, compared with where you started." Rankings alone aren't results. Phone calls are.
9. Can you show me a result for a business like mine?
Ask for a case study with real numbers, in a trade or local business similar to yours. Not a logo wall. Ours are on our case studies page, including STC Tank Cleaners going from no website to 182 Google clicks in three months.
10. Can you guarantee first place on Google?
This is a trick question. The right answer is no. Nobody controls Google. Legal guides for Australian SEO contracts make the same point: an agency can control its work, not Google's rankings. An agency promising "#1 in 30 days" is guessing, or about to do something risky with your business.
Contract and exit
11. How long is the contract, and how do I leave?
Good answer: a short minimum term or month to month, with a clear notice period. SEO does take a few months to show results, so a short initial commitment is reasonable. Two years with no exit isn't.
12. What happens to my website and pages if I leave?
Good answer: "You keep everything." Every page, every piece of content, every login. If you'd lose your website by cancelling, you don't really have a website. You're renting one.
Try this week
- Check who the domain is registered to. Search your domain on a WHOIS lookup or ask your current provider in writing.
- Open your Google Business Profile and check you're listed as the primary owner, not just a manager.
Instant red flags
- "Guaranteed page one" or "guaranteed #1".
- A cold call saying your Google listing is "about to expire" or "at risk".
- Prices that look too good, like full SEO for $199 a month.
- They won't tell you what they'll do, because it's "proprietary".
- Reports with rankings for phrases that include your business name, or that nobody searches.
- They want to be the owner of your Google profile.
If you've already been burnt, Australian Consumer Law can apply to business services, including misleading promises. That's worth a conversation with a lawyer, not just a refund request.
What happened with Jimmy
Jimmy had 20 years of referrals, no website, and one bad SEO agency behind him. He gave it one more go, on the condition it wouldn't eat into his time. We built his site and ran our local SEO process, without eating into his week.
If you're comparing agencies on price, I've also written up what SEO costs for tradies in Australia. And if you're a local business in Western Sydney, here's how we run SEO in Western Sydney.