Question 1

What is the difference between hiring a freelancer, agency, or in-house SEO?

Accepted Answer

Freelancers are best for project-based work — technical audits, domain migrations, PR link campaigns, link insertion campaigns. They're typically cheaper than agencies but don't have established systems. Agencies are best for brands that want to move fast — they have systems, teams, and tech stacks ready to run immediately, for less than half the cost of a full-time US-based hire. In-house SEO is most common at nine-figure brands and B2B companies with complex lead generation; it's expensive to hire for, slow to get up to speed, and difficult to evaluate if you don't already know SEO.

Question 2

What is the minimum a Shopify brand should pay a good SEO agency?

Accepted Answer

Above $2,500–$3,000 per month is the threshold where you're more likely to find an agency that can actually deliver results. Agencies charging below $2,000/month are almost uniformly not delivering meaningful SEO. Below $1,000/month is a guaranteed waste — even with some rare exceptions for a specific deliverable from a freelancer. The agency featured in this video charges between $3,000 and $6,000 per month, which at the low end is $36,000/year — less than a US in-house hire with comparable experience.

Question 3

What are red flags when evaluating an SEO agency?

Accepted Answer

Seven red flags: no video client testimonials or case studies (only vague written quotes from unnamed clients), no clarity on deliverables or KPIs, you speak to an account manager rather than the people doing the work, pricing below $2,000/month, long contracts (6–12 months) combined with low pricing, a packaged pricing structure (Bronze/Silver/Gold) with fixed deliverables, and slow communication with 'SEO takes 6–12 months' as the primary expectation-setter.

Question 4

Should an SEO agency offer long-term contracts?

Accepted Answer

Month-to-month is generally better for the brand. Long-term contracts (6–12 months) lock both parties into a relationship that can become adversarial if results aren't materializing. A confident agency that delivers early results doesn't need a long-term contract to retain clients — the results do that. The exception: some eight- and nine-figure brands prefer long-term contracts for relationship stability when they've already vetted the agency. But at low price points, a long-term contract is almost always a red flag.

Question 5

Should an SEO agency work with any kind of client?

Accepted Answer

No — a good agency has a clearly defined customer profile and turns away work that doesn't fit it. An agency that serves local businesses, B2B SaaS, e-commerce, and whatever else comes through the door is unlikely to be excellent at any of them. What works in B2B content strategy doesn't work for e-commerce collection page SEO. If an agency's portfolio spans wildly different niches and business models, that's a signal their strategies aren't genuinely specialized.

Question 6

How long should it actually take to see results from SEO?

Accepted Answer

Faster than 6–12 months if the right work is prioritized immediately. The 'SEO takes 6–12 months' claim is frequently used by bad agencies as a cover to keep collecting fees while delivering little. A good agency puts the right parts in place quickly — technical fixes, collection page optimization, initial link building — and starts showing measurable progress in rankings and traffic within the first two to three months, not the first year.

How to Hire an SEO Agency, Freelancer, or In-House SEO — Without Wasting Thousands

The Three Hiring Options

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In-House

Seven Signs of a Good vs. Bad SEO Agency

Frequently Asked Questions

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How to Hire an SEO Agency (I've Hired 15 SEOs)