Avoid SEO Scams: Key Questions to Ask Any SEO Agency!
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What Does “Avoid SEO Scams: Key Questions to Ask Any SEO Agency!” Talk About?
In this episode of the James Dooley Podcast, James Dooley and Kasra Dash walk listeners through the essential questions to ask before hiring an SEO agency, framing the conversation around avoiding costly mistakes and wasted budgets. They open with a critical discussion on contract structures, emphasizing why rolling contracts are preferable to long-term commitments of 12 or 24 months, since being locked in with an underperforming agency leaves businesses with little recourse. They also break down the importance of understanding whether an agency uses white-hat or black-hat SEO strategies, noting that Google penalties are a real risk if businesses don't ask the right questions upfront.
The conversation moves into evaluating agency expertise through niche-specific case studies, with James pointing out that industries like solar panels, finance, and gambling each require distinct SEO approaches. Kasra adds that businesses need to beware of one-size-fits-all strategies and instead demand clarity on exactly what deliverables they will receive each month, whether that is blog articles, backlinks, or technical fixes. The episode also covers the importance of transparent pricing and reporting, with James illustrating that a monthly report showing only two 404 errors fixed should never justify a £5,000 invoice. Finally, both hosts highlight the value of testimonials and a dedicated account manager as essential indicators of a trustworthy SEO partner.
“The amount of SEO agencies that don't, they're just charging money and they're not saying within the reporting at the end of the month what they've done. They should be pretty clear. Okay, we have written 16 articles and we've done 15 backlinks. There you are, that's why it's £5,000 this month.”
— James Dooley
Who Are the Guests on “Avoid SEO Scams: Key Questions to Ask Any SEO Agency!”?
James Dooley is a seasoned SEO professional and entrepreneur best known for his work at FatRank, a digital marketing and SEO agency. He has extensive hands-on experience in link building, content strategy, and technical SEO across a wide range of industries, and regularly shares practical, no-nonsense advice for businesses looking to grow their online presence. His straightforward approach to evaluating SEO agencies comes from years of working in the industry and observing where businesses commonly go wrong when outsourcing their search engine optimization.
Kasra Dash is an SEO strategist and digital marketing expert who brings a complementary perspective to the conversation, focusing on strategy transparency and deliverable accountability. He emphasizes the importance of business owners educating themselves on basic SEO concepts so they can have informed conversations with agencies, and stresses that tailored strategies based on a website's specific needs are a hallmark of a credible provider. Together, Dooley and Dash offer a grounded and experience-backed guide to navigating the SEO agency landscape.
What Are the Key Takeaways From “Avoid SEO Scams: Key Questions to Ask Any SEO Agency!”?
Here are the key points discussed in this episode:
- Businesses should prioritize rolling contracts over long-term agreements to maintain flexibility and avoid being trapped with an underperforming SEO agency.
- Understanding whether an agency uses white-hat or black-hat SEO tactics is essential because black-hat strategies can result in Google penalties that harm your website.
- Niche-specific case studies are a critical proof point, as effective SEO strategies differ significantly across industries like legal, finance, and home services.
- Customized strategies are a sign of a reputable agency, since not every website needs the same mix of technical SEO, on-page optimization, and link building.
- Transparent monthly reporting that details exactly what work was completed, such as articles written and backlinks built, is a baseline expectation for any legitimate SEO agency.
“If you have just recently had your website redesigned and it's all been optimised and stuff, you might not need technical SEO, but you might need more on page SEO and more link building. So actually figuring out what you're going to be getting at the end of every single month.”
— Kasra Dash
Is “Avoid SEO Scams: Key Questions to Ask Any SEO Agency!” Worth Listening To?
This episode is worth listening to because it provides an unusually practical and honest checklist for evaluating SEO agencies, grounded in real industry experience rather than vague generalities. James Dooley and Kasra Dash do not just tell listeners what to look for in theory; they walk through specific red flags like agencies that refuse to share case studies, charge thousands of pounds for fixing a handful of 404 errors, or lock clients into multi-year contracts without any accountability mechanisms. The concrete examples, including the £5,000 monthly fee scenario and the discussion of foundational backlinks versus off-page authority strategies for aged sites, make abstract SEO concepts tangible and actionable.
What sets this episode apart is that both hosts approach the topic from the perspective of protecting the buyer, not selling a service. Their advice on asking about account managers, requesting video testimonials, and learning basic SEO terminology before outsourcing empowers business owners to enter agency relationships with confidence. Whether you are considering your first SEO investment or reevaluating a current agency relationship, this episode gives you the exact vocabulary and framework needed to ask smarter questions and make a more informed decision.
Who Should Listen to “Avoid SEO Scams: Key Questions to Ask Any SEO Agency!”?
This episode is ideal for:
- Small business owners considering hiring an SEO agency for the first time and wanting to avoid common pitfalls.
- Marketing managers responsible for vetting and managing external digital marketing vendors and agency contracts.
- Entrepreneurs who have previously had poor experiences with SEO agencies and want a structured framework for evaluating future providers.
- Startup founders with limited SEO budgets who need to maximize return on investment and ensure they are getting real deliverables for their spend.
Where Can You Listen to James Dooley Podcast?
You can listen to James Dooley Podcast on all major podcast platforms:
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You can also subscribe using the RSS feed: https://feeds.transistor.fm/james-dooley-podcast
What Are Listeners Saying About This Episode?
“This episode was exactly what I needed before signing with a new SEO agency. The breakdown of contract types and why rolling contracts are better was a wake-up call since I had been about to lock into a 12-month deal without a second thought. Really practical and no fluff.”
“James and Kasra do a great job explaining what transparent reporting should actually look like. The example about paying £5,000 for two 404 fixes made me laugh but also made me realize I need to be asking my current agency much harder questions. Genuinely useful content.”
“I appreciated how they explained that different industries like legal or solar panels require completely different SEO strategies. It made me realize that a one-size-fits-all agency probably isn't the right fit for my niche business. Now I know to ask for industry-specific case studies upfront.”
James Dooley: So if I am looking to hire an SEO agency and I want to make certain I'm actually going to get results, what are some questions that I should be asking before hiring an SEO agency? So the first question I'd want to know is legally, the contracts that's going to be put in place. Is it a 12 month contract, is it a 24 month contract, is it a three month SEO contract or is it a rolling contract? In an ideal world I would always want to team up with an SEO agency that's got a rolling contract, just so I'm not tied into long term. I might not be happy with the quality of the content or the quality of the links, and if I'm tied into a 12 month contract it's going to be hard for me to get out of it. So the first thing I would be asking in general with any SEO agency is how long are the contracts that you're looking to tie me in for.
Kasra Dash: That's a really good point and obviously tracking every month like, okay what's going on. In some cases if you're a newer business or a newer website where you've not got that much history, you can't really track it every single month because what they might do in January, you might only see the results in March as well. So just bear that in mind if you are looking to hire an SEO agency. It's not just like a one month and then boom, we're ranking further with them. The next thing that I would probably be asking is, what are the actual effects? What's the actual strategy going in place? Is it a black hat SEO strategy, is it white hat? If it is going to be black hat are you okay with that, because Google might end up penalising your website. So just knowing a little bit more about the actual strategy. Potentially you might even want to watch a couple of YouTube videos to just understand a little bit more on SEO, because I think when you're hiring or when you're Outsourcing something it's probably good to be able to understand and speak the actual lingo.
James Dooley: For sure. Another one that I'd want to look at is case studies. So how many other websites have you done search engine optimisation for in my niche? So if I do solar panels or I do finance or I do gambling, they have very different SEO strategies that's needed to take place. So I'd want to see some sort of case studies in place to show, okay yes I have ranked in the UK for solar panels or yes I have ranked in law firm or legal industry in Orlando. Whatever it is, I'd want to try to go yes, I think these are the right person. They specifically understand my industry and my niche, and therefore yes the case studies is a really important question I would ask for an SEO agency.
Kasra Dash: Another thing that I would also be doing a little bit of digging on is the actual strategy. So for example a lot of SEO agencies just have a one size fits all. Have they actually looked at your website and what are you actually getting for that actual SEO strategy? Because again, not every single website might need technical SEO. For example if you have just recently had your website redesigned and it's all been optimised and stuff, you might not need technical SEO, but you might need more on page SEO and more link building. So actually figuring out what you're going to be getting at the end of every single month. Is it just going to be a glossy report or are they going to be uploading blog articles? Are they going to be building 10 backlinks every single month? Just being able to actually understand what you're getting.
James Dooley: I think you touch on a couple of good points there. So the customization that's needed for that client, because again a new website might need a lot of pillow or foundational backlinks like no follow backlinks, business listings, a press release. If you're going a little bit black hat you might go down the Google stacks or the cloud stacks and stuff like that. So it's trying to understand the strategy like you said and the customization. Because if they are an aged site that doesn't have much technical problems then obviously they might want to be spending more on the backlinks and the off page and trying to get more authority. So yeah the customization is important. The reporting like you said is important, what have they actually done. The amount of SEO agencies that don't, they're just charging money and they're not saying within the reporting at the end of the month what they've done. They should be pretty clear. Okay, we have written 16 articles and we've done 15 backlinks. There you are, that's why it's £5,000 this month. If they came back and were like okay, we fixed one or two 404 errors, you're like that shouldn’t cost £5,000 a month. And then this leads me on to my next question that I would be asking an SEO agency, probably the most important question, is the costs and the prices. How much are you going to charge me and what are you going to do for that, and do I feel that's good value. The difficult part is some could think that the cheapest package is the best package, but obviously that's not the case. You want to make certain you're trying to get best value out of whatever you're spending. If your budget for SEO is only £500 a month or £2,000 a month or £10,000 a month or £20,000 a month, whatever that budget is, you want to be trying to make certain long term you're seeing a return on investment. Like you said, it's difficult to start with because it can take a few months. But as long as you know you're working in the right direction of building good quality content, building topical authority, technically the site is good, and building backlinks and getting referring domains, you know you're going in the right direction.
Kasra Dash: Definitely. Is there anything else that you would ask? I think that's pretty much it with regards to the questions. Maybe looks is slightly different to case studies. Testimonials, seeing if there are any video testimonials of business owners. Just that personal touch. And then I'd probably say the last one is an account manager. Do I have someone who I'm able to contact if I've got any questions? Do I have an account manager that can go back and forth with, just saying why have you built these links, I don't think they're relevant? Or I don't really like this content, can we do it this way? Further down the line it might be like it's not persuasive enough in the tonality. So having an account manager to be able to deal with and have that personal touch I think is also important when you're looking to hire a new SEO agency.
James Dooley: So hope this video has helped you guys when it comes to hiring a new SEO agency. What I would probably be doing is just taking a few notes of all the questions that we've asked, and then if for example the SEO agency isn't willing to actually provide any of the answers, let's say they don't have any case studies, that should be automatically a red flag personally speaking. But if you guys do want maybe a growth strategy call, check the link down below or head over to FatRank.com and fill in the contact form.
Creators & Guests
Host
James Dooley is a UK entrepreneur.