On almost every first call, the owner tells us the same thing. "We're not ranking for our services. We want page one and the top of the Map Pack."
Every SEO company they talk to says it can get them there. Here is how to choose an SEO company that can actually get you there.
Don't take anyone's word for it, ours included. Run the nine checks below. Most take ten minutes from your own phone.
1. Do they rank in their own city?
Search for their main service in their own city, the way a customer would. If they sell SEO in Vancouver, try "SEO Vancouver" and a few close searches. A company that can't get its own site seen should explain why before you hand it yours.
Not every good SEO company ranks first for the hardest phrase. In a city the size of Vancouver, a lot of agencies chase the same few spots. But they should rank for something real and be able to show you.
One Reddit commenter made the point. A client can't trust you "if you can't apply your skill in your trade to your site" (r/SEO).
Google's own hiring guide tells owners to ask for examples of past work (Google Search Central). Their website is the first example you can check without asking anyone.
On the call, ask: "Which search do you rank for right now? Show me." A confident company shares its screen and searches live.
2. Where was that ranking screenshot searched from?
Ask where, when and on what device it was taken. Google says results change with "the area you're searching from, language, and device type" (Google Search Help).
A Map Pack screenshot is the map with three businesses under it. Taken near the business, it can show #1 when customers across town never see it.
Google ranks local results on relevance, distance and prominence. Prominence means how well known the business is (Google Business Profile Help).
Distance means the searcher's location changes the list (Google Search Help). So the same search can show a different top three in Kitsilano than in East Vancouver.
From our own work
In August 2026 we checked a Toronto restoration company. A Google Maps check run from his own office put him at #1 for both of his main services.
Then we ran the same two searches from four other spots, 5 to 20 km away. He wasn't in the results at any of them.
On normal Google results for Toronto, the Map Pack showed on 4 of 8 searches, and he was in none. Two competitors with fewer reviews (35 and 58, against his 66) were.
| Searched from | "water damage restoration" | "mold removal" |
|---|---|---|
| His own office | #1 of 20 | #1 of 18 |
| 5 km west | Not listed (8 shown) | Not listed (9 shown) |
| 10 km west | Not listed (10 shown) | Not listed (5 shown) |
| 12 km north | Not listed (3 shown) | Not listed (4 shown) |
| 20 km west | Not listed (4 shown) | Not listed (9 shown) |
One spot proves nothing. A grid check searches from many spots at once and shows where you really rank.
Our free Map Rank Grid checks up to 49 spots and colours each one. Green means the top 3, and red means you don't show.
Try this: ask a friend in another part of the city to search the same phrase on their phone. Compare it with the screenshot. If the business disappears, the screenshot proved nothing.
3. Can you phone two of their past clients?
Yes, and you should ask to. A good SEO company will give you the names and numbers of past clients who agreed to take a call. If every client is "confidential", you have no way to check the results they claim.
It's a common complaint. One owner on Reddit asked three SEO companies for a client to call. None would name one (r/SEO).
Ask us, and we'll give you a past client's number to call. We'd rather you hear it from them than from us.
When you get someone on the phone, ask four things:
- What did you want to rank for when you started?
- Did more calls or leads come in, and roughly when?
- Did you get reports, and did you understand them?
- Would you hire them again?
A case study should also be checkable. Our DELANA Interiors case study names a real West Vancouver renovation firm.
As of September 2026 it's #1 in the Map Pack for "kitchen renovation West Vancouver". Search it yourself, ideally from West Vancouver.
4. Do they promise #1, or results in 30 days?
Walk away. Google says "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google." It adds that if a company guarantees first place, you should "find someone else" (Google Search Central).
Real SEO on a competitive search usually takes months, not weeks. You can't buy your way to the top of the Map Pack either. Google says there's "no way to request or pay for a better local ranking" (Google Business Profile Help).
Timing varies. Google says some changes take effect "in a few hours, others could take several months" (Google SEO Starter Guide).
In our experience, clear movement on competitive terms takes three to five months at minimum. Anyone promising "50 keywords at #1 in a month" isn't being honest.
What does a fair SEO guarantee look like?
If a proposal offers an "SEO guarantee", read exactly what it promises. A fair one promises the work: pages built, profile fixed, reports sent by set dates. It never promises a ranking, because nobody controls Google's results.
5. Where do their links come from?
Ask them to name the kinds of sites that will link to you, and how. Good answers sound local and real: suppliers, partners, trade groups, local news. Google treats bought links, automated links and low-quality directories as spam.
A site caught doing that can drop out of results. Google's spam policies list buying links, automated link programs, excessive link swaps and low-quality directory links. Sites that break the rules "may rank lower in results or not appear in results at all" (Google spam policies).
That risk lands on you, not the agency. Google's hiring guide says "you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire" (Google Search Central).
Good link building needs your help. We often ask clients for contacts at their suppliers, contractors and partners. Those relationships make the best links, and only the owner has them.
Be careful with a pitch like "We'll build 200 links a month". It names no sites and gives you no say.
6. Who owns your Google Business Profile, Analytics and website?
You should. Your Google Business Profile, Google Analytics, Search Console, domain and hosting should all sit in your business's name. The SEO company gets added as a user.
If they own the accounts, leaving them can mean losing your profile, your data or your website. Here's what each account should look like:
- Google Business Profile: you stay primary owner. Google allows one primary owner, and a manager can't remove users or delete the profile (Google Business Profile Help). Give the agency manager access.
- Google Analytics: you hold the Administrator role. A Viewer can only read reports (Google Analytics Help).
- Search Console: give a new SEO company read access only at first. It can look but not change anything. Google says "don't grant them write access" at this stage (Google Search Central).
- Domain and hosting: registered to you, with logins you hold.
From our own work
Before anyone argues about who owns a profile, check it exists and works. DELANA Interiors had a business but no Google Business Profile at all when we started, so we set one up.
The Wire Guys, an Abbotsford electrician, and a wellness coaching client both had profiles that had never been optimised. In every case, the website and the profile needed fixing together.
Also ask what happens the day you cancel. One Reddit commenter warned that some agencies drop you from their service "and your SEO tanks" (r/SEO). Read the cancellation clause before you sign.
7. What happens in the first 90 days?
Ask for the plan in writing, month by month. A good answer names what gets researched, built, fixed and reported, and when. "We'll optimise everything" isn't a plan.
You should be able to check each item yourself at the end of every month. For a client who needs a new website plus SEO, our first 90 days look like this:
- Discovery call. Your services, goals, domain, hosting and background.
- A written question set. It pulls out the business facts a ranking website needs.
- A follow-up meeting if anything is unclear.
- The website, every service page with on-page SEO built in. A full site takes 30 to 45 days.
- Your Google Business Profile, set up or fixed and matched to the website, so you can rank in both.
- Citations and backlinks, the listings and links that build trust with Google.
Google suggests asking what results a company expects, in what timeframe, and how it measures success (Google Search Central).
One Reddit commenter gave a simple test. Impressions (how often you show up in search) should rise first, then positions, then clicks (r/SEO). If nothing moves in that order, ask why.
For what a monthly report should show and what the fee covers, see our guide to SEO prices in Vancouver.
8. Did they show you a real problem on your own site, or send everyone the same email?
A good first message points at something real on your own site that you can check in a minute. A copy-paste email promising "page 1 guaranteed" could have gone to any business in town. Google warns owners to "be wary" of SEO firms that "email you out of the blue."
That warning is on Google's own hiring page (Google Search Central). Not every email is spam, though. Check whether it talks about your business or could have gone to anyone.
The same goes for free audits. One web developer on Quora noted that an agency's first "review" is often pasted straight from a free tool (Quora).
A tool report lists every small issue it finds. A real audit tells you which three matter for your business, and why.
Ask, "What would you fix first on my site, and why?" Then check the answer yourself.
Want us to look at yours? Our free SEO audit covers your site and your Google profile, and tells you what to fix first.
9. Do their reviews look real?
Read the reviews, not just the star rating. Real reviews name a service, a person or a result, and a few will be mixed. A burst of short five-star reviews in one week is a warning sign.
In Canada, misleading reviews can lead to penalties from the Competition Bureau. The Bureau has gone after big names. In 2015, Bell paid a $1,250,000 penalty after its own staff posted reviews of its apps (Competition Bureau).
The Bureau repeated the warning in 2024. It said "anyone who writes or permits writing reviews" that mislead can be liable (Government of Canada).
Three quick checks on any SEO company's Google reviews:
- Sort by newest, then by lowest. Read how the company replies.
- Tap a few reviewer names. A profile with one review in total deserves a second look.
- Look for reviews that name the service you want, not just "great team!"
If an SEO company offers to write reviews for you, walk away. That puts your business at risk too. Ask how they help you collect real ones instead.
10. How to choose an SEO agency: put the 9 checks side by side
Run the same nine checks on every company you're considering, then compare. Searching "trustworthy SEO company Vancouver" gives you a list, not an answer. The answer is the one with the most proof you checked yourself.
Here's what to ask on the call, and what to listen for.
| What to ask | A good answer | A red flag |
|---|---|---|
| What do you rank for yourselves? | Names a real search and shows it live | "We're too busy with clients" |
| Where was this screenshot searched from? | Gives the place, date and device | Doesn't know, or gets defensive |
| Can I phone two past clients? | Gives names and numbers | "All our clients are confidential" |
| What results will I see, and when? | A range of months, and how it's measured | "#1 in 30 days, guaranteed" |
| Where will my links come from? | Names local, real kinds of sites | "200 links a month" |
| Whose name are my accounts in? | Yours, with them added as users | "We set it all up under our account" |
| What happens in the first 90 days? | A written, month-by-month plan | "We'll optimise everything" |
| Why did you contact me? | A real problem on your own site | A template that fits any business |
| How do you get reviews? | Asking real customers, with an easy link | Offers to write them |
Use the scorecard below while the calls are fresh.
Quick check
Score an SEO company
Answer nine quick questions about one company you're talking to.
Answer all nine to see your result.
Want to compare real options? Our list of the best SEO agencies in Vancouver scores 10 firms side by side. To put us through the same checks, start with how our SEO services in Vancouver work.
Frequently asked questions about choosing an SEO company
What makes a good SEO agency?
A good SEO agency shows you proof you can check. It ranks for something itself, gives you past clients to phone and keeps your accounts in your name. When you weigh what to look for in an SEO company, add honest timelines and no #1 promise.
What questions should I ask an SEO company on the first call?
Start with three questions to ask an SEO company. Ask what they rank for, whether you can phone two past clients, and whose name your accounts will be in. The full list of nine is in the table above.
Is an SEO guarantee ever a good sign?
Only if it guarantees the work, not the ranking. Promising set pages, fixes and reports by set dates is fair, but promising first place is not. Google says plainly that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking.
How long before SEO shows results?
Google says some changes show up in hours and others take several months. In our experience, competitive local searches take three to five months to show clear movement. Expect impressions to rise first, then positions, then calls.
Should my SEO company also cover AI search like ChatGPT?
It should at least have a plan for it. Some customers now ask ChatGPT and Google's AI answers for recommendations. Ask how they help your business show up there, and how they'd check it.
Should I hire an SEO agency or a consultant?
Either can work. Run the same nine checks on both. We compare the two in our guide to the best SEO agencies in Vancouver.
Harman Chahal
Run these nine checks on us
IshaanEx Digital does SEO and websites for service businesses in Vancouver, Abbotsford and across the Lower Mainland. Book a free call. We'll show you, live, where our clients rank, and give you a past client to phone.