In short: An SEO agency helps a website get found more easily in Google's unpaid results. To do this, it checks the technical setup, plans content around search queries, improves existing pages and measures what changes. Most agencies work with a fixed monthly budget. No reputable provider can promise you first place, and Google says so itself.
What is an SEO agency or SEO company?
SEO stands for search engine optimisation. An SEO agency is a service provider that does this work for other businesses. Whether the provider calls itself an agency, an SEO company or an SEO service provider makes no difference to the work itself. Some agencies do nothing but SEO, while others offer it as part of online marketing, alongside Google Ads, web design or social media.
There are also freelancers who work on their own, and in-house teams, meaning your own staff. Small firms often wonder whether an agency is worth it at all. In its guide to choosing an SEO, Google writes that small local businesses can handle a lot themselves. According to Google, an agency makes particular sense when a new website is being built or a relaunch is coming up.
What does an SEO agency do day to day?
An SEO agency's work consists of recurring tasks. How much of it you need depends on the state of your website and on your goal.
SEO audit: looking at where you stand
Almost every project starts with a review. The agency crawls the website with tools and looks for technical errors: pages Google isn't allowed to index, duplicate titles, broken links, slow loading times, missing structured data. A useful audit includes prioritised recommendations. Afterwards, you should know what comes first and why.
Keyword research and search intent
Next, the agency works out which search terms your customers use and what they expect when they search. Someone typing "SEO costs" wants something different from someone searching for "hire SEO agency". This research produces a plan showing which page covers which topic. We explain how this works in principle in our article SEO for beginners.
On-page optimisation and content
This part is about the pages themselves: titles and descriptions, headings, text, internal links, images with alt text. Many agencies also write content or provide briefings for copywriters. The yardstick is the searchers' questions: a page is more likely to rank if it answers them fully and clearly.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO covers page speed, mobile display, clean redirects, canonical tags, the sitemap and robots.txt. According to Google, SEOs also advise on hosting, redirects, error pages and JavaScript. You hardly notice this work from the outside, yet it decides whether Google can properly capture your pages at all.
Off-page and link building
Links from other websites count as a signal of trust. Reputable agencies earn them through good content, partnerships or PR work. Bought links violate Google's spam policies. You can read what is allowed and what isn't in our article Link building: what is legitimate.
Reporting and measurement
An agency should show you regularly what has happened: visibility, rankings for important keywords, organic traffic and, where measurable, enquiries or revenue. The metrics need to fit your business goal. More visitors without more enquiries bring little.
New: visibility in AI answers
Google's guide now also lists optimisation for generative AI as a possible service from SEOs. At the same time, Google stresses that no special tricks are needed for this. The AI features in Search are built on the same ranking systems. Find out more in our article Is SEO still worth it?
What does an SEO agency cost?
Most SEO agencies work with a monthly budget. In a survey by the agency Schild Roth, 95 per cent of the agencies questioned said they bill this way. Of the 521 agencies contacted in the 80 largest German cities, 243 responded. On average, they charged 1,256.71 euros per month. The survey dates from 2021.
What does an hour of SEO cost?
Hourly rates vary widely. In the same survey, the highest averages were in Hamburg at 122.33 euros and the lowest in Bottrop at 47.50 euros. For freelancers, newer figures are available: in September 2026, the platform freelancermap analysed around 2,744 profiles with SEO skills. The median was 80 euros per hour, with the middle half between roughly 60 and 100 euros. These are the rates freelancers ask for in their profiles; they don't show what was actually billed.
What affects the price?
- Size of the website: A shop with thousands of products needs more work than a company site with ten subpages.
- Competition: If you want to get ahead in a competitive industry, you need more content and more time.
- Scope: Advice and an audit alone cost less than an agency that also writes texts and implements technical changes.
- Regional focus: Local SEO for one location is usually cheaper than nationwide visibility.
A one-off audit is often offered at a flat rate. Ongoing support almost always runs for months, because SEO takes time. In the Schild Roth survey, agencies said it takes three to five months before the first rankings become visible.
How do you recognise a good SEO agency?
There is no neutral list of the "best SEO agencies". Online rankings follow their creators' criteria, which aren't always disclosed. A better approach is to judge the agency by how it works. Google itself recommends asking these questions:
- Can you show me examples of your previous work and successes?
- Do you follow Google's guidelines for Search?
- What results do you expect, over what timeframe, and how do you measure success?
- What experience do you have in my industry and my region?
- Will you explain every change to me and the reason for it?
Another tip from Google: if an agency shows no interest in your business, your customers and your competitors, look for a different one. Also ask for references and, if possible, talk to former clients.
Warning signs
- Promises of fixed rankings: Google states plainly that nobody can promise the top spot.
- A supposed special relationship with Google: There is no such thing. Google also doesn't accept money to show pages higher in the organic results.
- Cold contact out of nowhere: Google advises caution with companies that get in touch unsolicited.
- Secrecy: If an agency won't tell you what it is doing, you still bear responsibility for the consequences.
- Link exchange packages and mass submissions: According to Google, these are mostly useless and sometimes risky.
- Ads as an SEO lever: Google Ads has no influence on organic rankings. A promise like that is a warning sign.
Granting access correctly
For an audit, an agency usually needs access to Google Search Console. Google advises granting read-only access for this. An audit doesn't require write permissions.
Do it yourself or hire an agency?
That depends on your time and your starting point. With a small company website, a well-maintained Google Business Profile and your own regular content, you can often manage without an agency. An agency is more worthwhile if the website is large, has technical problems, a relaunch is coming up or the competition is strong.
A middle way is a one-off audit by a professional, which you then implement yourself. That way you know where the biggest problems are and only pay for the analysis. For local businesses, our article on optimising your Google Business Profile is a good first step.
How does working together usually go?
- First meeting: Clarify goals, target audience, competitors and budget.
- Audit and keyword research: Record the current state and prioritise topics.
- Strategy: A plan with actions, sequence and metrics.
- Implementation: Technical work, content, internal links, later link building.
- Reporting: A monthly report and agreement on the next steps.
Pay attention to the contract term. Long minimum terms without interim goals are a risk. Clear milestones and the option to cancel if agreed services are not delivered are fair.
What should the contract include?
An SEO contract protects both sides if it is specific. Vague wording such as "ongoing optimisation" won't help you much in a dispute. Check these points before you sign:
- Scope of services: Which tasks does the agency take on, how many hours or texts per month, and what costs extra? Also clarify who makes changes to the website.
- Reporting: How often will you get a report, which metrics does it include, and is there a meeting to discuss it?
- Term and cancellation: Minimum term, notice period and whether the contract renews automatically.
- Access and ownership: Search Console, analytics and website accounts should be registered to your company. Make sure texts, graphics and analyses stay with you after the contract ends.
- Liability for measures: What happens if a measure violates Google's guidelines and rankings are lost? The agency should commit to using only methods within these guidelines.
For questions about liability and contract clauses, a legal review helps. This is general information, not legal advice.
Terms you'll come across in proposals
Proposals from SEO agencies are full of jargon. Technical SEO covers everything related to crawling and indexing, that is, whether Google can find, read and include your pages. On-page refers to the content and structure of your own pages, off-page mainly to links from other sites. Newer are abbreviations like GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) or AEO (Answer Engine Optimization). They describe work on visibility in AI answers. In its guide, Google writes that optimising for generative AI search is still SEO. So ask which specific tasks are behind such a package. Find out more in our article on Generative Engine Optimization.
What to take away
An SEO agency handles technical work, content, link building and measurement so that your website is easier to find in search. Prices range from flat fees for an audit to monthly budgets, averaging just over 1,250 euros according to the 2021 Schild Roth survey. Compare proposals using the questions in this article and ask to see examples. You'll find more of the basics on our SEO topic page.
Sources: Google Search Central, "Do you need an SEO?"; Google Search Central, "Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search" (as of 10.07.2026); Google Ads Help, "Advertising and organic search results"; OnlineMarketing.de on the Schild Roth cost study (23.04.2021); freelancermap, SEO hourly rates (September 2026).