Sauce · Hiring
Google wrote the rules for hiring an SEO. Most agencies fail rule one.
Quick answer
Google has a page that tells you when to hire an SEO and how to spot a bad one. It says the best time to hire is early, like before you rebuild your site. It also says one thing plainly: no one can promise you the number one spot. If an agency guarantees a ranking, Google's own words say walk away. You need help when your site is not bringing in calls and you do not have the time to learn why. You can wait if calls are steady and you have time to read.
Is your trade still open in your city?We take one client per trade, per city. The call starts with that check, not a pitch.
Book a free assessmentYou have been burned before.
An agency took a retainer for a year. Your rankings did not move. The reports had a lot of green arrows and none of them were phone calls. When you asked why, you got jargon.
So now you are not sure you need SEO at all. Fair. Let us skip the sales pitch and read what Google itself put in writing.
Do you even need to hire someone?
Google has a help page called “Do I need SEO?” It is written for business owners, not experts. It says an SEO is “someone trained to improve your visibility on search engines.” It also says the smart time to call one is early, not after a problem.
Here is the test, in plain terms.
Rule one: no one can promise a ranking
This is the line most agencies fail. Google's page says it flat out: no one can guarantee a number one spot on Google. It calls a “guaranteed ranking” a warning sign of a bad SEO.
Why can nobody promise it? Because Google decides the order, and for local results it uses three things it names itself: relevance, distance, and prominence. And it says there is “no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.”
Read the room before you sign
“Here is where you show up across your service area right now. Here are the gaps. Here is the order we fix them in, and here is how we will measure it.” They show you a map, not a promise.
They ask about your answer rate, your reviews, your service radius, and your worst month. They tell you what they cannot do.
“We guarantee page one in 30 days.” “We have a special relationship with Google.” “We will submit you to 500 directories.”
Google's own page lists these as red flags. A ranking guarantee is not confidence. It is a tell.
The questions Google says to ask
Google's page gives you an interview list. Use it on anyone you talk to, including us.
Can you show past work and results?
Real examples in your kind of business. Not a wall of logos.
Do you follow Google's guidelines?
They should say yes without pausing, and be able to name them.
What is your main way to get results?
If the answer is vague or secret, that is your answer.
How and when do you report?
You want calls, forms, and map coverage. Not just “traffic.”
One line to remember: a ranking guarantee is the one promise that proves they should not be trusted with your money.
Go deeper
Want the full breakdown?
Each of these goes deeper on one piece. Pick the one you actually need.
How to choose a local SEO agency
The full question list, and how to check the answers yourself before you sign anything.
See the guide › Piece 02Why we do not guarantee rankings
What Google Search Central says about ranking promises, and the legal exposure in Canada.
See the reasoning › Piece 03The full 12-week method
What we actually do, stage by stage, plus the 12-point checklist you can run yourself.
See the roadmap ›Do it yourself, or hire
Both are real options. Google's page backs both. The choice is time.
- Start with Google's free SEO starter guide. It is written for beginners.
- Fix your Google Business Profile first: category, service area, hours, reviews.
- Budget several hours a week for months. Progress is slow and quiet at first.
- Best fit when calls are steady and you like learning this.
- You buy back the months of learning and the trial and error.
- Run the question list above. Keep the ones who show a map, not a promise.
- Expect a real local engagement to run in the low four figures a month.
- Best fit when the site is not bringing in work and your days are full.
See where you actually show up first.Before you pay us a dollar, we run a free 49-point geo-grid scan of your service area. You keep the results either way.
Get the free scanWhat this does not mean
It does not mean SEO is a scam. Google says a good SEO adds real value.
It does not mean every agency is bad. It means the guarantee is the filter. Fail that one and nothing else on the pitch matters.
It does not mean you must hire at all. If you have the time, the starter guide is free and it works.
You have a simple test now, written by the referee. Ask for the guarantee. If they give you one, you just saved a year.
Does Google really say no one can guarantee a number one ranking?
Yes. Its “Do I need SEO?” page lists a guaranteed ranking as a warning sign of a bad SEO and states that no one can guarantee a top spot. Google decides the order using relevance, distance and prominence, and says there is no way to pay for a better local rank.
When is the best time to hire an SEO?
Early. Google's page says the ideal time is when you are planning a new site or a redesign, because those changes can undo rankings you already have. Bringing someone in before the build is cheaper than fixing it after.
Can I learn local SEO myself?
Yes, for the basics. Google publishes a free SEO starter guide written for beginners. It covers the core ideas. The limit is time: real progress takes months of steady work, which is hard while running a business.
What should I ask an SEO before hiring them?
Google's page gives a list: ask for past results in your industry, whether they follow Google's guidelines, what their main method is, and how they report. Add one more: ask what they cannot do. A straight answer there tells you a lot.
How much does a local SEO engagement cost?
It varies by market and scope. Independent pricing surveys put ongoing local SEO in the hundreds to low thousands of dollars a month. Be wary of very cheap flat fees that promise rankings, and of long lock-in contracts.
Sources
- Google Search Central, “Do I need SEO?”, developers.google.com: when to hire, the questions to ask, and “guaranteed ranking” listed as a warning sign.
- Google Search Central, “Google Search Essentials”: a page must be crawlable, useful, and follow the spam policies to appear in Search.
- Google Business Profile Help, “Improve your local ranking on Google”: relevance, distance and prominence, and “there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.”
- Whitespark, Local Search Ranking Factors 2026: proximity is roughly 55% of Local Pack weight; review recency is now a top-five factor. Practitioner survey, directional not exact.
- BrightLocal, Local Business Discovery and Trust Report and industry SEO-pricing surveys (Ahrefs, WebFX): ongoing local SEO commonly runs from the low hundreds to low thousands per month.
Next step
Find out whether your trade is still open in your city
One client per trade, per city. The call starts with that check, not a pitch.