Bit of a rant I guess, but also a real question, so y’know bear with me About a year ago I tried sorting my website out. I paid someone who basically promised “results” and I got absolutely nothing. Not even the usual half decent “we’ll be improving X next” kind of thing, just… nothing. Wasted a few hundred quid and somehow came out more confused than I started. The site is still invisible, still getting zero enquiries still watching competitors rank above me for basically everything

So now I’m trying again, but this time I’m being a lot more careful about who I let anywhere near it

I’m currently looking at an seo services bristol, because after what happened last time I want local and I want accountability. Someone I can actually sit down with face to face if things aren’t moving rather than having emails get sent off into some void, and then hoping somebody replies

What I genuinely can’t figure out is how you separate the agencies that actually know what they’re doing from the ones that are just really good at selling themselves. From the outside they all seem… pretty similar. Nice websites, big promises, “case studies” that could mean just about anything, and buzzwords every other line

So what questions should I be asking before I hand over any money ? And what answers should be an instant nope, like walk away right there. No debate

Also, is there anything specific I should look for when evaluating an SEO agency Bristol style that I probably wouldn’t think to ask in the first place

I’ve been burned once already, so I just want to get this right second time round. Any genuine advice would be really appreciated

Thanks