Cardiff Media
Every month I speak to at least one business owner who has paid an SEO agency for a year or more and can't tell me what they got for the money. No idea what was done, no idea who did it, and no real change in the phone ringing. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone, and it isn't your fault. SEO is easy to sell and hard for a non-specialist to check.
So here are the seven warning signs I see most often, what each one costs you, and what a good agency does instead. If you're with an agency now, run through the list. If you're about to sign with one, ask about every point before you do.
1. They guarantee rankings
"Page one in 90 days or your money back" sounds reassuring. It isn't. Google's own guidance on hiring an SEO is blunt: "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google" (Google Search Central). Rankings depend on your competitors, Google's updates and dozens of things nobody controls.
Guarantees usually mean one of two things. Either the agency picks obscure phrases nobody searches for, so it can "hit page one", or it takes shortcuts that work for a few months and then fall over.
What good looks like: a realistic timeline, named results for businesses like yours with live links, and a rankings chart you can check yourself.
2. You can't see what they do each month
If you can't say what your agency did last month, that's a problem. "Ongoing optimisation" is not a task. Neither is "working on your authority".
What good looks like: a defined number of hours each month, a short list of what was done, and what's planned next. Our plans spell out the hours up front: about four hours a month on the £140 plan, and about eight on the £295 plan.
3. The reports are full of jargon and vanity numbers
A 20-page report packed with impressions, "visibility scores" and colourful graphs can hide the fact that nothing useful is happening. Impressions are fine, but they don't pay your bills.
What good looks like: a plain-English update that connects the work to things you care about: where you rank for the searches your customers actually use, map pack visibility, and calls, bookings and enquiries. If you have to ask what something means, it should be explained without making you feel daft for asking.
4. They own your website, domain or Google accounts
This is the one that hurts most when you try to leave. Some agencies register your domain in their name, build your site on a platform only they can access, or make themselves the owner of your Google Business Profile and Search Console. Walk away and you can lose your site, your listing or your history.
What good looks like: you own your domain, your website files and every account. The agency is added as a user, not the owner. At Cardiff Media this is written into our service terms, and every website comes with a handover pack.
5. They chase links before fixing your website
Links still matter, but buying bulk links while your site is slow, broken or confusing is like putting a new sign on a shop with the door locked. Worse, Google's spam policies class "buying or selling links for ranking purposes" as link spam (Google spam policies). That can do real damage.
What good looks like: technical problems fixed first (speed, crawl errors, missing titles, broken links), then pages that properly answer what customers search for, then genuine local links and citations.
6. They write or buy your reviews
Any agency offering to "boost" your reviews with ones it writes itself, or with reviews from people who've never used you, is putting your business at risk. Fake and undisclosed incentivised reviews are now banned in the UK under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and the Competition and Markets Authority has published guidance on enforcing it (techUK).
What good looks like: a simple system for asking every genuine customer for a review at the right moment, and help replying to them. That's exactly what our RepGro review tool does.
7. The contract traps you
Long contracts aren't always bad. Proper SEO takes months, and a minimum term lets an agency plan the work. The warning sign is a contract you can't understand, auto-renewals you weren't told about, or exit fees on top of the remaining months.
What good looks like: one clear minimum term, then month to month with a reasonable notice period, all in writing before you sign.
Already been let down? Do these five things this week
- Check who owns your domain. Look it up on a WHOIS service or ask your registrar. It should be in your name.
- Check your Google Business Profile. In the profile settings, under people and access, make sure you are the primary owner.
- Check Google Search Console. Make sure you're a verified owner, then look at the Manual actions report. If it says "No issues detected", you're clear.
- Ask for everything in writing. Request a list of the work done in the last six months and any logins they hold for you.
- Save your data. Export your rankings, analytics and any reports before you give notice.
Common questions
How do I know if my SEO agency is doing a good job?
You should be able to say what they did last month, see your rankings for the searches that matter, and see more calls or enquiries over time. If you can't do any of those after six months, ask hard questions.
Should I switch SEO agency or give it more time?
If the work is clearly defined and you can see steady progress, give it time, because SEO is slow. If you can't see what's being done, or any of the warning signs above apply, it's worth getting a second opinion.
Get a second opinion
If you're not sure whether your current SEO is working, I'm happy to take a look. Book a free site review and I'll go through your rankings, your Google Business Profile and how AI tools describe your business, then tell you honestly what I'd do. You can also read how our SEO agency in Cardiff works, or browse more answers in our FAQs.
