Real SEO services include a review of your website, technical fixes, pages that match what your customers search for, work on your Google Business Profile, and a plain monthly report. Most results take months, not weeks, and Google says some changes can take several months to show up.
If you run a small business in Central or Northeast Pennsylvania, you've likely been pitched SEO. Maybe it came as an email. Maybe it was a phone call that promised page one.
It's hard to tell real work from a monthly fee for nothing. Guess wrong, and you can pay for months with no new calls to show for it.
Below, we use Google's own advice and a few published studies to show what real work looks like.
What real SEO work includes
Google keeps a page called "Do you need an SEO?" It lists what an SEO might do for you. The list includes a "review of your site content or structure," technical advice on things like "hosting, redirects, error pages," "content development" and "keyword research."
Here is what that means for a small business.
A site review and technical fixes
The work should start with a look at your website. Are pages broken? Is the site slow? Can Google read every page? A good provider writes down what they find and fixes it, or tells you who will.
Pages that match what customers search
Your customers type real words into Google. Think "furnace repair near me" or "custom granite countertops." Keyword research finds those words. Then each main service should have a page that answers that search in plain language.
Your Google Business Profile
This is the listing that shows up on Google Maps and in local search results. Google says local results are based on relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance is how well your listing matches the search. Distance is how far you are from the person searching. Prominence is how well known your business is.
Google is clear on one point: "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google." It also says "more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking." So real work here means a complete, accurate profile and a steady habit of asking every customer for a review.
Content that answers customer questions
Content is the words on your site. It can mean better service pages or answers to common customer questions. Good content answers a real question in plain words, such as how long a job takes. Ask which pages your provider will write or rewrite each month, and read them before they go live.
A report you can check
You should get a report that shows what was done and what changed. If you can't see the work, you can't judge it. That's the main test for any SEO pitch.
How long before SEO shows results
SEO is slow. Google's own SEO Starter Guide says, "Some changes might take effect in a few hours, others could take several months."
Outside studies point the same way. Ahrefs, an SEO software company, tracked 2 million new pages created in October 2023. Ahrefs found that only 6.11% of them reached Google's top 10 within one year. It also found that the #1 page in Google is 5 years old on average. Ahrefs measured age from when its own crawler first saw each page.
Those numbers cover all kinds of pages, not just local businesses. Still, they show why steady work beats quick tricks.
Early signs come first
The first months should bring signs you can check yourself:
- Broken pages fixed
- Faster load times
- A complete Google Business Profile with correct hours and photos
- New or rewritten service pages
- More reviews coming in
New calls come later
Phone calls and form leads tend to come after the early signs, if they come at all. The site needs time to be found and shown more often. The timing is different for every business, so be wary of anyone who promises new calls by a set date.
Red flags in an SEO pitch
Some pitches are easy to spot once you know the signs. Each one below comes from Google or the FTC.
- A promise of #1. Google says no one can promise you the top spot. It adds, "If they guarantee you that their changes will give you first place in search results, find someone else." (source)
- An email out of the blue. Google's advice is to "be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that email you out of the blue."
- Link schemes. Google warns against SEOs who talk about "link popularity schemes." Its spam policies list "buying or selling links for ranking purposes" as link spam. Google says bad tactics mean "your site could be removed entirely from Google's index."
- Secrets. Google's guide warns you to "be careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do."
- Claims to work "for Google." Google's help page on scam calls warns that scammers "might say they work 'with Google' or 'for Google.'" Google also says it will "never ask you for payment information over the phone." You can report these calls at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
The FTC has gone after these schemes. In 2018, it got a court order against a group tricking small businesses into paying for listings and search engine optimization services. In 2019, it shut down a robocall scheme falsely promising first-page placement in Google results.
Questions to ask before you sign
Google's "Do you need an SEO?" page suggests questions to ask. We've added three of our own at the end.
- Can you show me examples of your past work and success stories?
- Do you follow Google Search Essentials?
- What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe?
- How do you measure your success?
- Do you have experience in my industry?
- Do you have experience in my area?
- How long have you been in business?
- How will we talk, and how often?
- What will you do each month?
- What will the report show?
- What do I own if I leave? Think website, Google profile, content and logins.
A good provider answers each one in plain words. If the answers are vague, treat that as a red flag.
How to tell if it's working
Rankings alone don't pay the bills. A report full of keyword positions can look busy and still say nothing about your business.
Ask that your report tie the work to things you care about:
- Phone calls from your website and Google Business Profile
- Form leads from your website
- Visits to your key service pages
- What work was done that month
Google suggests asking any provider, "How do you measure your success?" Get the answer in writing before you sign. Then check each report against it.
If months go by with no visible work and no change in calls or leads, it's time for a hard talk.
Want a second look at your website?
SEO starts with the website itself. We build websites with SEO basics in place. You can see sites we've built on our portfolio.
See how our SEO service works. If you've been pitched SEO and aren't sure what your site needs, contact us and ask for a free website audit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should I expect to pay for SEO?
It varies a lot, so no single number fits every business. The cost depends on how big your site is, how many services and towns you want to be found for, how crowded your area is, and how much work you need each month. Ask any provider to list what they'll do each month and what you'll get in return. Be wary of a low price that says little about the work, and of a high one that can't explain it. Get the price and the scope in writing before you sign.
How much does it cost to hire someone to do SEO?
Providers usually charge one of three ways: a monthly retainer, an hourly rate, or a flat price for a one-time project. A retainer fits ongoing work, since SEO takes months. A flat project price fits a defined job, like fixing a site's technical problems. Hourly work suits advice or a short task. Whichever you're offered, ask what it covers, how long the term is, what happens if you want to stop, and what the monthly report will show.
Is it worth paying for SEO services?
It can be, if you can see the work and it ties to calls and leads over time. It isn't worth it if you're paying for vague reports and promises. Google says the best time to hire an SEO is "when you're considering a site redesign (the earlier, the better), or planning to launch a new site." So if a new website is coming, plan SEO into it from the start.
