Most Patna business owners hire an SEO company the same way: a cold call, a WhatsApp forward with a "special offer", a quick meeting, and a monthly retainer starts. Six months later nobody can say clearly what was done or whether it worked.
This guide flips that around. Treat the first meeting as an interview where you are the one asking questions. Below are ten questions, what a good answer sounds like, and what a weak answer sounds like. Use it with every agency you meet, including us.
Before the meeting: know what you are buying
SEO is not one product. For a coaching institute on Boring Road it may mean ranking for course names; for a manufacturer in Fatuha supplying across India, it means product pages for specific industrial terms. Write down three things before you meet anyone: which services or products bring you the most profit, which areas you serve, and how customers contact you today (calls, WhatsApp, walk-ins, forms).
The 10 questions to ask
1. What will you do in the first 30 days?
A good SEO company in Patna will describe an audit: checking how Google crawls and indexes your site, page speed on mobile, broken pages, duplicate titles, your Google Business Profile, and which keywords you already appear for. They should mention fixing basics before creating anything new. A weak answer is "we will start link building".
2. Will I own my Google Search Console, Analytics and Business Profile?
The answer must be yes, in your name, with the agency added as a user. If an agency creates these accounts under their own email and refuses to hand over ownership, you lose your data the day you stop paying. This is the single most important question on the list.
3. Which keywords will you target, and why those?
Ask them to show a short keyword list for your business with a reason against each one: search intent, how competitive it looks, and how close it is to a sale. "Best SEO company" type vanity keywords look nice in a report but may bring no customers. A dental clinic needs "root canal treatment in Kankarbagh" more than "dentist" on its own.
4. What will a typical month of work look like?
Good monthly SEO work usually mixes four things: technical fixes, on-page improvements (titles, headings, internal links, content updates), new useful content, and local signals (Business Profile posts, photos, review replies, consistent address details across listings). Ask for an example month in writing.
5. How do you build links?
Relevant links still matter, but how they are earned matters more. Acceptable answers include local business associations, supplier and partner pages, genuine press coverage, useful guides others want to cite, and selected directories that real people use. If the answer is a fixed "package of 100 backlinks per month", be careful. Bulk links from unrelated or spammy sites can do more harm than good.
6. What will your monthly report contain?
A useful report shows clicks and impressions from Search Console, rankings for the agreed keywords, calls and direction requests from your Business Profile, form submissions or WhatsApp clicks from the website, and a plain list of work completed that month with links to the changed pages. If the report is only a ranking screenshot, you are not seeing the full picture.
7. Who will actually do the work?
Ask whether the work is done in-house or passed to freelancers, and who your single point of contact will be. You need someone who replies and explains changes in plain language.
8. Will you change my website, and do you need developer access?
Real SEO often means editing pages, improving speed and fixing structure. Ask whether they will make changes themselves or send instructions to your developer. Our website design team in Patna sees many sites where the SEO problem is really a website problem.
9. How long before I should expect results?
An honest agency will say it depends on your competition, your site's current condition and how much content and trust you already have. Small technical and local fixes can show movement within weeks; competitive keywords usually take several months. Anyone who gives you an exact date for page one is selling hope.
10. What happens if I stop?
Ask about notice period, what you keep (content, accounts, reports) and whether any links or listings will be removed. Good agencies leave you better off even after you part ways.
Red flags that should end the meeting
- Guarantees: "Rank #1 in 30 days" or "guaranteed top 3". Nobody controls Google's results.
- Backlink packages sold by count: numbers without names of sites or reasons.
- No access to Search Console: or accounts held only in the agency's name.
- Secret methods: "we can't tell you what we do, it's our formula".
- Very cheap all-in plans: real work takes hours; a price that cannot pay for those hours usually means automated or copied work.
- Long lock-in with advance payment: a year paid upfront before any audit.
What good SEO looks like, month by month
- Month 1: audit, account access sorted, keyword map, Business Profile cleaned up, urgent technical fixes.
- Month 2: on-page improvements to your top service pages, internal linking, first new pages for important services or areas.
- Month 3: content that answers real customer questions, review request process, local citations corrected.
- Months 4 to 6: refine based on Search Console data, improve pages that get impressions but few clicks, earn a few relevant links.
- Ongoing: monthly report, quarterly review of goals, and a clear list of next actions.
Cost depends on how many pages and locations are involved, how competitive your field is, whether content writing is included, and how much website work is needed. Ask for a written quote that lists deliverables, not just a monthly figure.
Quick scoring checklist
- They asked about your profitable services first.
- You will own every account.
- They showed a sample report.
- No guarantees were made.
- The scope and notice period are in writing.
FAQs
Is local SEO different from normal SEO?
Yes. Local SEO focuses on your Google Business Profile, map results, reviews and area-specific pages. Most Patna shops, clinics and institutes need local SEO first.
Should I do SEO or Google Ads first?
Ads bring traffic quickly while you pay; SEO builds over time. Many businesses run both: ads for immediate enquiries, SEO for long-term lower-cost visibility.
How many blog posts do I need each month?
There is no fixed number. A few genuinely useful pages beat many thin ones. Quality and relevance to your customers matter more than volume.
What if my previous agency used bad links?
A new agency should review your link profile and advise whether any clean-up is needed.
Talk to Givni before you sign anywhere
If you want a second opinion on a proposal you have received, or want to put these ten questions to us, we are happy to answer them in writing. See how our SEO service in Patna works, or contact our Khajpura office. You can also call or WhatsApp +91-9835942411.
हिंदी में सारांश
पटना में SEO कंपनी चुनते समय पहली मीटिंग को इंटरव्यू की तरह लें। सबसे ज़रूरी सवाल यह है कि Google Search Console, Analytics और Google Business Profile आपके नाम पर रहेंगे या नहीं। अगर एजेंसी ये अकाउंट अपने ईमेल पर बनाती है, तो काम बंद होते ही आपका डेटा भी चला जाता है।
पूछिए कि पहले 30 दिन में क्या होगा, किन कीवर्ड पर काम होगा और क्यों, हर महीने की रिपोर्ट में क्या दिखेगा, और बैकलिंक कैसे बनाए जाएंगे। अच्छी रिपोर्ट में क्लिक, इम्प्रेशन, कॉल, WhatsApp क्लिक और किए गए काम की साफ़ सूची होती है, सिर्फ़ रैंकिंग का स्क्रीनशॉट नहीं।
खतरे के संकेत: "30 दिन में नंबर 1" जैसी गारंटी, गिनती के हिसाब से बिकने वाले बैकलिंक पैकेज, अकाउंट का एक्सेस न देना, और पूरे साल का पैसा पहले मांगना। SEO में समय लगता है और नतीजा आपकी प्रतिस्पर्धा और वेबसाइट की हालत पर निर्भर करता है।
किसी भी प्रस्ताव पर दूसरी राय चाहिए तो Givni से +91-9835942411 पर बात करें।
