How do I know if my marketing agency is actually doing SEO?
Short answer
Ask for evidence, not adjectives. Real SEO shows up as: a Google Business Profile with completed services and keyword descriptions, consistent citations across directories, and new pages that answer the specific questions your customers search. If your agency can't point to those three things and show ranking movement in Search Console, you're paying for hope, not SEO.
The three things a real SEO agency does
- 01Optimises your Google Business Profile — every service filled in with a keyword-rich description, not left on default.
- 02Builds citations — your business listed with identical NAP across the directories Google and AI engines read.
- 03Publishes real answer pages — one page per question customers actually type, with genuine answers, not blog filler.
If they aren't doing those three things, you're not paying for SEO. You're paying for hope.
Ask to see your Search Console impressions trend and the pages published in the last 90 days. Silence there is your answer.
UpdatedJul 14, 2026