A What question

What client reviews should I look for in an SEO company?

3 min read Cites 1 source

Reviews that describe a real engagement in detail: what the company did, how it communicated, what changed and over what period, and how long the client stayed. A high average rating tells you little on its own. Give the most weight to recent reviews that name specifics, appear on platforms that say how they check reviewers, and form a consistent picture, and give the least to short praise that could describe any business.

Where to read them

Start with the company’s Google Business Profile, where reviews are public and quick to scan, though they can be brief. Then look at business-to-business review platforms, where reviews can be longer and built around a single project; check each platform’s own explanation of how it confirms that a reviewer was a real client, and weigh reviews accordingly. Testimonials on the company’s own site are useful context, but the company chose which to publish.

What a substantive review covers

Four themes separate a useful review from a compliment. Communication: did the company answer promptly and explain its work in plain terms? Transparency: did the client understand what was being done and why, and were reports clear? Results: does the review name a measurable change, such as more inquiries or traffic, and the period it took? Duration: how long did the relationship last, and was it renewed? A review that touches several of these is evidence; one that says only “great team” is an opinion.

Signs a review may not be genuine

Google’s policy for content on Maps sets the standard the reviews on a Business Profile are meant to meet: “Contributions to Google Maps should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business.” Among the kinds of fake engagement it lists is “Content that has been posted from multiple accounts by or at the request of one person.” You cannot see who is behind an account, but you can notice patterns worth a closer look: a cluster of reviews posted within a few days, reviewer profiles with no other activity, and reviews that repeat the same phrases or read like marketing copy rather than an account of working together.

A short review is not necessarily fake; it is simply thin. Count it, but let detailed reviews decide your view.

Reading the whole picture

Recent reviews matter more than old ones, because staff and methods change. Read the negative reviews too, and read the company’s replies: a calm, specific reply that addresses the problem tells you how the company handles difficulty, which matters more than whether every review is positive.

Going beyond reviews

Reviews are a starting point, so ask the company for two or three clients with situations like yours whom you can contact, and ask them the questions a review leaves open: what the company got wrong, how it responded, and whether they would hire it again.

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