1. Who owns the website, domain and Google profile?
This is the question that costs contractors the most when it goes wrong. The complaints repeat: a site taken down the day the contract ended, a domain registered in the agency's name, a Google profile the owner had to fight to get back.
- Domain: registered in your name, on an account you can log into.
- Website: hosted on an account in your name, or with the files handed to you if you leave.
- Google Business Profile: you are the primary owner. The agency is added as a manager you can remove.
- Analytics and call tracking: in your name. The tracking number is ported to you if you leave.
2. How long is the contract, and how do you cancel?
Twelve-month contracts with auto-renewal and exit fees are common in contractor marketing. They're not always bad, but you should know before you sign.
- How long is the minimum term?
- Does it renew automatically, and for how long?
- How do you cancel: email, phone, certified letter? How much notice?
- Is there an early termination fee?
- What happens to your site and profile on the last day?
Our answer, for comparison: three months minimum, then month to month, cancel by email with 30 days' notice, no exit fee, and you keep everything.
3. What counts as a lead?
Contractors regularly find spam calls, existing customers and wrong numbers counted as leads in agency reports. Ask for a written definition.
A good one sounds like: a call to your tracking number that connects for 30 seconds or more, or a form from a real person, excluding spam, existing customers, vendors and repeat calls the same day.
4. Can I see a sample report?
Ask for one, with fake numbers if they need to protect clients. You want to see calls and forms from your own Google and Analytics data, and a list of the work done that month. Dashboards full of impressions and rankings, with no calls, are a warning sign.
Red flags
- Guaranteed #1 rankings. Nobody controls Google's results.
- No prices until a sales call, and different prices depending on how you answer.
- Owning your site or profile, or being vague about it.
- Fake addresses or keyword-stuffed business names to rank you in new cities. Both get profiles suspended.
- Reviews for discounts, or any plan to buy reviews.
- Ad spend through their account with a markup you can't see.
Green flags
- Prices and contract terms published on the website.
- A written definition of a lead and a sample report.
- Month-one deliverables you can check, with dates.
- Proof from sites they've built that you can check yourself, like Search Console numbers.
- A straight answer when you ask what they can't do.
