Start with the decision your business needs to make
An agency comparison is more useful when you know why you are appointing a partner. A traffic decline, international launch, technical backlog and need for qualified leads are different briefs. Describe the problem, the people available internally and any constraints before asking several agencies for a generic proposal.
This guide is published by Bird Marketing, an agency that provides SEO services. It is a buyer checklist, not an independent ranking of agencies. We are not presenting a scored dataset or claiming that one supplier is best for every business.
Ask to see relevant work in context
A useful case study explains the starting point, scope, period and work actually delivered. Ask how closely it resembles your market, platform and buying journey. A result achieved for another business is evidence to discuss, not a forecast for yours.
Separate combined-channel results from the part attributable to SEO. Check whether a figure describes users, sessions, leads, revenue or a different measure. If a headline percentage is important to your decision, ask for the underlying numbers and limitations.
Compare the proposed work
| Question | What a useful answer includes |
|---|---|
| What will you investigate first? | Evidence needed, access requested and the decision it informs. |
| Who implements changes? | A clear division between agency, client and development responsibilities. |
| What happens to existing pages? | A reason for retaining, improving, consolidating or removing content. |
| How are priorities chosen? | Impact, uncertainty, effort and business dependencies. |
| What is included commercially? | Deliverables, exclusions, terms and the process for changes to scope. |
Agree how progress will be assessed
Search Console, analytics and sales records answer different questions. Agree which measures can be collected reliably and what counts as a useful business outcome. A ranking report alone cannot establish whether enquiries are suitable or sales have improved.
Timelines depend on the starting point, competition and delivery. Be cautious about guaranteed rankings, fixed recovery promises or a price presented without understanding the work. Ask for milestones the team can control, alongside the outcomes it is trying to influence.
Understand ownership and access
Confirm who owns accounts, content and code, how access is granted and how handover works if the arrangement ends. Your team should understand the work well enough to make informed decisions without needing to accept every recommendation on trust.
If you are investigating a traffic decline
Compare timing, affected pages and queries with technical changes and Google’s published guidance. An algorithmic decline is not the same as a manual action. An agency should explain the evidence and uncertainty before labelling the cause or promising recovery.
Make the next conversation specific
Bring a website URL, the business problem and any available search or sales evidence. Ask the agency to explain what it would investigate and why. You can explore Bird’s SEO approach or read published project examples to assess whether our work is relevant to your brief.