Is This SEO Proposal Any Good? Free 2-Minute Check

Just been quoted for SEO? Answer 8 quick questions about what the agency is promising, and we’ll flag the red flags, the green lights, and the things you should push back on before you sign anything. Built for UK small businesses. No email required. No data leaves your browser.

Why We Built This

Most SEO proposals sent to UK small businesses are a bit dishonest. Some are outright scams — “guaranteed page 1 rankings”, 500 spammy backlinks a month, 12-month lock-ins for work an intern could do in a weekend. Others are legitimate but oversold, with real work buried under jargon designed to justify the price.

Telling the difference on a 20-minute sales call is genuinely hard — especially if you don’t speak SEO. This 2-minute check does it for you, based on the actual red flags we’ve seen across hundreds of proposals sent to UK small businesses like yours.

The 8 Things to Check on Every SEO Proposal

The same 8 checks the quiz above runs. If you’d rather skim than click, here they are with the reasoning behind each one.

1. What are they promising about your rankings?

Nobody can guarantee Google rankings. Not us, not them, not anyone. Google itself explicitly says so. Any agency promising “guaranteed page 1” or “#1 rankings” is either lying, ignorant, or planning to use rank manipulation tactics that will eventually get your site penalised. Look for outcome-based promises tied to enquiries or traffic, not ranking positions.

2. What contract are they asking you to sign?

SEO takes time to work, so some initial commitment is reasonable — usually 3 months. Anything longer than 6 months is designed to protect the agency, not you. If they demand a 12-month lock-in, it’s because they know clients would leave once they saw what they were paying for.

3. How do they describe backlinks?

“500 backlinks a month” or “high-authority backlinks from our network” almost always means spammy directory submissions or private blog networks (PBNs). Both violate Google’s guidelines and can get your site penalised. Real link-building in 2026 is manual, slow, and mostly means digital PR or earning links through genuinely useful content — nobody legitimate is promising volume.

4. Do they audit your site before starting?

Any agency worth paying will want to look under the bonnet before quoting the work. If they’ve quoted a package before understanding your site, they’re selling you a template — not a strategy. Free-audit-before-you-commit is the gold standard; a proper paid audit in the first 2-4 weeks is also fine.

5. Who’s actually doing the work?

You want to know the name of the person doing your SEO. If the answer is “our team”, “our specialists” or “our partner network”, the work is likely being outsourced — often overseas, often to junior staff, often with templates. That’s not automatically bad, but the person selling you the work should be able to tell you clearly who’s doing it and what their experience is.

6. Have they asked for Google Search Console access?

Google Search Console is the only source of truth for how your site actually performs in Google. Any legitimate SEO agency will want access before they start work — because without it, they can’t see baseline performance, they can’t measure their own results, and they can’t prioritise properly. If they haven’t asked, they’re either flying blind or planning to sell you generic work regardless of your specific situation.

7. How will they report on progress?

You should get a monthly report in plain English, ideally with a call or written summary explaining what changed and what’s next. Automated dashboards alone aren’t reporting — they’re a substitute for it. Jargon-heavy PDFs are a way to look busy while explaining nothing.

8. How do they want to be paid?

Monthly, in arrears or on the first of the month, is normal. Some upfront setup fee is fine if the work justifies it. Full annual payment upfront is a serious red flag — legitimate agencies don’t need to lock in your money to keep you as a client; the work does that.

FAQ

Is this tool actually free?

Yes. No email required, no signup, no data collection. The whole thing runs in your browser — nothing you enter leaves your device. If you find it useful, telling other small business owners about it is thanks enough.

What if my proposal scores amber?

Amber usually means the agency is legitimate but the proposal has weak spots worth pushing back on. Go back with the specific concerns the tool flagged and see what they say. A good agency will explain or adjust; a bad one will get defensive.

What if my current SEO agency scores red — should I fire them?

Not necessarily today. Ask them the questions the tool flagged and hear the answers. If the answers don’t reassure you, then yes — but give them the chance first. If you’ve been with them a while and rankings and enquiries haven’t moved, that’s a separate warning sign this tool doesn’t cover.

Can I ask you to look at the proposal directly?

Yes. If the tool flags something you’d like a second opinion on, or the proposal is complicated enough that eight questions don’t cover it, request a free audit. We’ll look at your site, look at what they’re proposing, and tell you what we’d do differently and why. No obligation to switch — genuine honest opinion.

Want a Human Second Opinion?

Send us the proposal, the URL of your site, or both. We’ll audit your site free, look at what the other agency is offering, and tell you honestly what we’d do differently. No sales pitch — just a straight answer.