Start with the business decision, not a list of tactics
Before comparing agencies, define what search needs to change for the organisation. The useful starting point may be qualified enquiries, national growth, stronger local discovery, a safer migration, clearer measurement or accurate representation in generated answers. A brief framed only around rankings and traffic makes it harder to distinguish valuable work from impressive activity.
A credible agency should want to understand customers, commercial priorities, sales geography, margins, internal capability and technical constraints. It should be able to explain which search journeys matter, what evidence is missing and why one opportunity deserves attention before another.
- The decisions or enquiries search should influence
- The products, services and locations that matter most
- What the organisation can implement internally
- Known platform, content or measurement constraints
- The evidence that would justify continued investment
Ask to see the method and the evidence
Google recommends asking prospective SEOs about relevant work, expected results, measurement, market experience and how they will communicate changes. The answer should reveal a repeatable method without pretending every organisation needs the same checklist.
Ask how the agency moves from diagnosis to priority. Tool exports can identify symptoms, but they do not establish commercial value or causation. Strong recommendations should state the evidence, likely benefit, effort, dependency and way the result will be checked. Where previous work is shared, look for enough context to understand what changed without expecting confidential client data.
Check ownership, access and communication
Your organisation should retain appropriate ownership and access to its website, content, Search Console, analytics, Business Profile and other core accounts. For an initial audit, Google recommends granting read access to Search Console rather than unnecessary write access. Agree who can publish changes, what will be documented and what happens to created assets if the engagement ends.
Communication should make decisions clearer. Ask who will do the work, how often priorities are reviewed, how risks are raised and whether reports explain what changed and what was learned. A senior sales conversation followed by opaque junior delivery is a different service from direct specialist involvement.
Treat SEO, GEO and AI-search claims with the same scrutiny
Google now explicitly includes generative-AI optimisation among the services an SEO may provide, while warning buyers to test third-party advice against official guidance. There is no special schema, AI text file or prompt trick that guarantees inclusion in generated answers. The durable work remains useful content, technical access, clear entities, relevant authority and honest measurement.
Ask which platforms and signals the agency can actually observe. Useful evidence can include Google and Bing platform reports, analytics referrals, controlled prompt samples, cited sources and factual accuracy. Generated answers vary, so a provider should describe limitations rather than turn a screenshot into a fixed ranking claim.
Choose the right working model
A defined audit or search overhaul suits organisations that need an independent diagnosis, priority fixes and a roadmap. Ongoing work is more appropriate when the opportunity depends on continued implementation, publishing, testing and authority development. Embedded support can work well when an internal team or existing agency already has delivery capacity but needs specialist direction and quality assurance.
Compare the scope, ownership, decision cadence and success measures rather than reducing unlike proposals to a monthly fee. The lightest engagement capable of solving the problem is usually a better starting point than a long contract with an undefined list of recurring tasks.
Make the shortlist practical for New Zealand
A New Zealand base can help with language, market context, time zones, local search and face-to-face collaboration, but physical proximity is not proof of expertise. A Wellington specialist can serve a nationwide organisation effectively, just as an Auckland agency may work beyond Auckland. Test whether the provider understands the locations and customer journeys in the brief without claiming offices or experience it does not have.
Build a short list using relevant capability, transparent delivery and verifiable evidence. Speak with the person responsible for the work, ask the same core questions of each provider and record where an answer is specific, qualified or unsupported. No responsible agency can guarantee first place, but it should be able to make its reasoning and accountability visible.