How to choose a B2B SEO agency (a checklist & some red flags)
SEO
Key takeaways
Choosing a B2B SEO agency or service provider is about more than comparing prices, rankings or the number of deliverables in a proposal.
The right agency should take time to understand your commercial goals, target audience, sales process and in-house capabilities before recommending a strategy.
It is also important to understand how the work will be delivered. Agencies can vary widely in the way they create content and build links (the bedrock of any SEO campaign).
Look for transparency, realistic expectations, expert-led content, ethical link building and reporting that focuses on qualified enquiries rather than traffic alone.
Most importantly, choose a provider whose skills, working style and level of support fit the gaps in your own team.
Choosing an SEO agency can feel a little uncomfortable.
You are being asked to invest a meaningful amount of money into something that takes time, involves a fair amount of technical language and does not come with a guaranteed result.
That is quite a lot of trust to place in people you may only have met once or twice.
And, unfortunately, not every SEO agency makes that decision easier.
Some overwhelm you with jargon, whilst others promise results they cannot realistically guarantee. Others may show you impressive-looking reports but don’t explain whether any of the work is helping your business.
Others are perfectly capable, but may be more suited to working with B2C brands and not be the right fit for a B2B company with a specialist audience, long sales cycle and several decision-makers.
There is also a huge difference in how agencies deliver SEO.
One agency may write content in-house, work directly with your technical experts and build links through genuine partnerships, whilst another may outsource most of the work, publish large amounts of generic content and buy links from a network of websites.
Both may describe the service as “SEO”, but the experience for your team, risk for your business and quality of the work can be very different.
So, how do you choose a B2B SEO agency with confidence?
The best place to start is by understanding how the agency thinks, who will actually do the work and whether the strategy is built around the clients you want to attract.
Let’s look at what to consider.
Why choosing a B2B SEO agency is different
Most SEO agencies understand the basic principles of search engine optimisation.
They should know how to research keywords, improve pages, fix technical problems and build links.
But an agency that’s providing B2B SEO services needs to understand how different B2B SEO can be from B2C SEO.
To begin with, the sales cycle tends to take a lot longer in B2B marketing as several people are involved in the decision-making process. As such, the content that a website requires is different to that of a B2C service or product and may need specialist or technical input.
In addition, lead quality often matters much more than raw traffic, as one enquiry may have significant value.
These kinds of differences may mean that B2B SEO strategies differ from B2C ones.
If an agency judges success mainly by traffic growth, it may chase the wrong opportunities; you could end up with thousands of extra visits from people who will never become clients. Whilst this may look good in a report, it does not necessarily help your business.
How different agencies may approach B2B SEO
There are several common approaches.
Some agencies are highly focused on domain authority. Their main goal is to increase visibility by building lots of backlinks to your website.
Some focus more heavily on content volume. They may aim to publish a certain number of articles each month and rely on scale to increase traffic.
Others still are more commercially focused. They look at which searches are most likely to lead to a good-fit enquiry, even when the search volume is relatively low.
There are also agencies that specialise in particular areas, such as:
- Technical SEO
- Content marketing
- Digital PR
- Local SEO
- Conversion rate optimisation (CRO)
- Enterprise SEO
None of these approaches is automatically wrong.
The important question is whether the agency’s strengths match what your business actually needs. For example, a business with a technically broken website may need a technical specialist, whereas a company with strong internal writers may need strategy and technical support rather than outsourced content.
How Twogether Digital approaches B2B SEO
At Twogether Digital, we lean towards a commercial approach to SEO. We begin by understanding who you actually want to attract and what a commercially useful enquiry looks like for your business.
We do not automatically prioritise the keyword with the largest search volume, but instead consider:
- The type of organisation using the search term.
- The person likely to be searching.
- The service they need.
- Their stage in the buying journey.
- The potential value of the opportunity.
- Whether the term is likely to generate a suitable enquiry.
Understanding who you’re trying to reach and what information they need forms the foundation of our KnowShowGrow framework and our SEO services for B2B businesses.
So, with all that in mind, how can you choose the right B2B agency for your business?
Start with your commercial priorities
Before comparing agencies, it helps to be clear about what you actually need.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to create a perfect brief! But it will really help if you are able to explain the main problem you’re having. For example, that might be:
“We are too reliant on referrals.”
Or
“Our website is not generating enough enquiries.”
Each situation will be different and will require a strategy.
If you’re not sure, ask yourself: what would success look like? Whatever that is will probably be your ultimate goal. You can work backwards from there, suggesting other objectives that you want to achieve, such as “beating our competitors in our local area”.
Sometimes SEO is not the answer
At Twogether Digital, we do not assume that SEO is automatically the answer to everything.
Before recommending a campaign, we look at how your brand, website, content and search visibility work together.
Sometimes poor SEO is the main issue.
But in other cases, the main problem could be something else. For example, the website may be attracting visitors but failing to explain the service clearly, or the brand may not stand apart from competitors.
Our more joined-up approach is encapsulated by our KnowShowGrow framework:
- Know who you are and who you want to reach.
- Show your value clearly through your website.
- Grow your visibility through ethical SEO/GEO.
Our goal is to recommend the right solution to your problem rather than automatically selling the largest retainer.
When choosing your SEO provider, make sure they are diagnosing the real problem or fitting your business into the service they want to sell.
Consider your in-house capabilities
Some businesses do have the capacity in-house to create content. This is great! Not only will your content be full of fantastic industry expertise (which is great for your SEO), but you’ll be able to save a ton of money.
If this is you, consider looking for an SEO provider who can work with your internal team, either setting strategy and then optimising content that your team writes, or training your employees in the ways of SEO as you go along.
If your team has plenty of experience, you may only need to pay for some consultation following an audit.
When choosing a provider, you need to consider the level of SEO support that you need – a full retainer, where everything’s outsourced or someone your team can check in with. This may affect which agency you can approach.
How different agencies may present their SEO packages
Some agencies work from a fixed service model; they may sell the same package to every client, with a set number of articles, links and reports each month. So if you want someone to work alongside your internal team, they may not be the best fit for you.
Others begin with an audit and recommend a tailored mixture of work. This can be great if you’ve got plenty of in-house talent.
Make sure that your selected provider can provide the level of service that you need.
Consider how well the agency understands your business model
A B2B SEO strategy should begin with your business, not a list of keywords.
A good SEO service provider should want to understand:
- What you sell.
- Which services matter most.
- Who your ideal clients are.
- How much a good client is worth.
- How long your sales process takes.
- Who influences the buying decision.
- What makes you different.
- Which competitors you encounter.
- What your internal team can handle.
Be cautious if the conversation moves straight to traffic and rankings without any discussion of commercial goals. It’s not possible for any agency to know everything on day one, but it should show genuine curiosity.
How different agencies may learn about your business
A lighter-touch agency may rely mainly on a written onboarding form or a short introductory call to learn about your business. But a more involved agency may run:
- Discovery workshops.
- Interviews with sales teams.
- Interviews with subject-matter experts.
- Customer research.
- Stakeholder sessions.
- Brand and positioning exercises.
At Twogether Digital, we are huge advocates of spending time with our clients to truly understand their business and their industry. We run all of the above, ensuring that any content we write and any strategies we develop are fully aligned with your business’s goals, audience, needs and industry.
Avoid agencies that don’t talk to you (or your team) at all costs. They may be creating content by just copying other businesses’ websites or relying on AI-generated content. You don’t want to just sound the same as everyone else, and content without original thought, opinion and expertise does not rank well in today’s AI-driven world.
Check how much experience the agency has with B2B companies
Some agencies specialise in one industry. This can be incredibly valuable because they may already understand your audience, competitors and common search behaviour.
However, it is worth checking whether they also work with direct competitors and how they manage that conflict. In some instances, it can also mean that you end up with content that just sounds the same as everyone else.
Other agencies work across several B2B sectors. They may bring broader ideas and avoid relying on a fixed industry formula, but they may need more time to learn the details of your industry.
However, an agency does not need to have worked with a company identical to yours to do a good job. In fact, too much sector exclusivity can create its own problems if the agency is working with several direct competitors.
What is more important is checking whether an agency has case studies on its website that demonstrate its expertise.
The quality of an agency’s case studies also varies.
Some focus heavily on traffic and rankings, whereas others can show qualified enquiries and commercial outcomes. Make sure you look beyond the headline number and ask what the work changed for the business.
Our B2B experience
At Twogether Digital, we work particularly well with specialist B2B and service-based companies where trust, expertise and clear communication matter.
Our experience includes:
- Technical and engineering services.
- Recruitment.
- HR and employee benefits.
- Professional services.
- Construction.
Our projects do not all begin in the same place.
NDT Group needed its expertise translated into a much clearer website, supported by service pages, sector content and ongoing SEO.
VIQU IT already had an experienced marketing team and needed strategic input, commercial keyword direction and an external perspective.
You can explore these and other projects in our client case studies.
Check who will actually work on your account
This is one of the most important questions you can ask. You may meet a senior strategist during the sales process, but who will do the day-to-day work once the contract begins?
Ask:
- Who will create the strategy?
- Who will carry out the keyword research?
- Who will write the content?
- Who will make technical changes?
- Who will build links?
- Who will review performance?
- Who will attend meetings?
- Will any work be outsourced?
How different agency delivery models work
A larger agency may use separate departments for:
- SEO Strategy.
- SEO Content.
- Technical SEO.
- Link building.
- Account management.
This can provide access to a wide range of skills (which is great!).
However, it may also mean you communicate mainly through an account manager rather than the specialists doing the work.
A smaller agency may give you direct access to senior people, but it may rely on freelancers or external specialists for certain services. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with freelancers (they often have experience with lots of different industries), look out for agencies that outsource most of their fulfilment to white-label providers.
That is not automatically a problem, but you should know:
- Who controls quality.
- Whether the outsourced team understands your business.
- Who is accountable.
- Whether the work is being reviewed.
The delivery model should be clear rather than hidden behind the agency brand.
Who works on a Twogether Digital campaign?
Twogether Digital is a small digital marketing agency led by Hannah and John.
Hannah leads the SEO, content strategy and reporting work. John handles much of the website design and development.
Where additional specialist support is required, we use a carefully selected team of trusted freelancers who work to our processes and standards. The work remains overseen and reviewed by us.
At Twogether Digital, you are not passed between layers of account handlers; you work directly with the people responsible for understanding your strategy and delivering the work.
Check who will implement the work
Some agencies identify problems but do not fix them. Whilst they may provide audits, recommendations and a detailed plan, if you do not have the internal capacity to implement the changes, then you may get a bit stuck.
Full-service agencies may handle everything – from content writing to tracking.
There is no single correct model, but you need to know where responsibility sits. A cheaper consultancy package may become more expensive if you also need to pay a developer or content writer to implement everything.
How we handle implementation
At Twogether Digital, we can provide advice, implementation or a combination of both.
Depending on the agreed scope, we may:
- Rewrite and upload content.
- Create new pages.
- Improve metadata.
- Add internal links.
- Make technical corrections.
- Work directly with your existing developer.
- Improve page structures and calls to action.
- Set up or refine conversion tracking.
- Provide clear tasks for your internal team.
Because we offer website design and development alongside SEO, recommendations do not have to remain trapped in an audit.
Where implementation is outside the agreed monthly resource, we explain that clearly and agree how the work should be handled.
Check how the content will be created
Content plays a major role in B2B SEO, but the quality can vary enormously depending on which agency you engage. Ask how the agency creates the content that is going to form a major part of your campaign.
How different agencies may create content
Some agencies employ an in-house team of specialist writers; others use freelance writers or white-label content providers. Others still rely on AI-generated content.
There are good and bad ways to employ AI. AI is a fantastic tool and can help to reduce the time it takes to create content (which can reduce costs on your end if the agency passes these savings down to its clients).
But producing large amounts of poorly edited AI-generated content goes against search engine guidelines. This is known as black hat SEO and can lead to penalties that affect your website’s visibility in the results pages.
The issue isn’t whether AI is used or not; it’s how much human expertise, fact-checking, and editing go into the final piece.
Positive ways of utilising AI include:
- Generate ideas.
- Building briefs.
- Summarising research or reports.
- Drafting sections.
- Proofreading copy
For specialist B2B content, accuracy and credibility usually matter more than volume.
How we create B2B content
Our content process usually begins with your expertise. We may interview a relevant member of your team for around 30-60 minutes before writing an important article, service page or case study.
This helps us uncover:
- First-hand experience.
- Useful examples.
- Client questions.
- Strong opinions.
- Technical explanations.
- Common misunderstandings.
- Details your competitors have missed.
We then combine this knowledge with keyword research and search-intent analysis.
The first draft is sent to you for review so your experts can correct, clarify or expand anything necessary. Then, when you’re happy, we can also upload the finished content and add the relevant internal links (depending on the level of service you have engaged).
AI is fab. It’s a great supporting tool, but we do not simply generate an article and present it as expert content.
The final piece should reflect your business and provide something more useful than a rearranged version of what already exists online elsewhere.
Check how the agency approaches link building
Link building is one of the areas where agencies can take very different approaches.
It is also one of the areas where poor practice can create the most risk!
How different agencies may build links
There are many ways to build links, but not every method is good for your website!
At the riskier end of the spectrum, an agency may use private blog networks (PBNs) or buy link insertions (this is when you pay to have a link added to an existing article that you have not written).
These approaches, and others like them, are often described as black-hat or grey-hat link building. They can produce a high number of links quickly; however, these practices run counter to Google’s guidelines, and you could be at risk of penalties that affect your website’s visibility.
At the more conservative end, agencies may build links through:
- Partnerships.
- Industry relationships.
- Digital PR.
- Responding to journalist requests (expert commentary).
- Original research.
- Useful resources.
- Professional organisations.
- Relevant directories.
These are generally considered white-hat approaches because the link is earned through genuine relevance, value or a real relationship.
There are also agencies that sit somewhere in the middle; they may utilise a lot of the “white hat” techniques but apply strict quality and relevance checks if buying any supplementary guest post placements.
This can be difficult for clients to evaluate because agencies do not always disclose how the links were secured; make sure you ask for a clear explanation of the method, not just the number of links promised.
How we build links
At Twogether Digital, we take an ethical, relevance-led approach to link building.
That means we do not buy bulk backlink packages or place links on websites purely because a third-party metric looks impressive.
Our favourite link-building activities include:
- Responding to journalist requests (providing expert commentary on third-party websites).
- Identifying relevant directories and memberships.
- Creating useful resources (such as downloadable assets or blogs).
- Developing original research.
We look at whether a website is relevant, credible and likely to be useful to your audience.
A link should help strengthen your reputation, not simply increase the number shown in an SEO tool!
Our guide to ethical link building explains this approach in more detail.
You can also read about our wider ethical SEO service.
Check how success will be measured
What would success look like from your point of view?
More enquiries? More demos booked? Selling more of a specific product or service?
A good agency should aim to understand what success means for your business.
How different agencies define success
Some agencies measure success primarily through rankings, others through organic traffic.
More commercially focused agencies may measure enquiries, lead quality and revenue.
All these metrics can be useful, but if the chosen metric is disconnected from the business goal, then it can become a problem.
For example, an increase in traffic may be positive, but if the traffic comes from the wrong audience, it may not represent commercial success.
A strong measurement framework should include both:
- Leading indicators, such as visibility and traffic.
- Commercial outcomes, such as qualified leads and revenue.
Agency, freelancer or in-house team?
An agency is not automatically the right answer; the best option depends on your situation.
- A freelancer may suit you when you need one specialist skill or your budget is limited.
- An agency may suit you when you need several skills, such as strategy, content and technical work.
- An in-house team may suit you when you can afford to recruit a specialist, or you want complete control over implementation
But there is also a fourth option: you can combine them.
Many businesses may use:
- An in-house marketing manager.
- An SEO agency (or a digital marketing agency that provides SEO services).
- A digital PR agency (to support the development of their domain authority).
- A freelance web developer.
This can work well when responsibilities are clear, but it can also become fragmented if each supplier works separately with no idea what is going on with the other providers.
A full-service agency can simplify the process, but you may pay for skills you already have internally.
The best model is the one that fills genuine gaps without creating unnecessary duplication.
How we adapt to your team
At Twogether Digital, we do not insist on taking over work your team already does well.
If you have an experienced internal writer, we can provide other services, such as keyword research, and work with them to create an SEO strategy that works towards your business aims.
Where you need more support, we can research, write, build, upload and report.
The arrangement should fill the gaps in your existing team, not duplicate skills you are already paying for.
Warning signs to look out for
Not every concern means you should immediately walk away, but several warning signs together should make you cautious.
- Guaranteed rankings. No agency controls Google. Whilst an agency’s expertise will allow it to make informed estimates or impact and improve your chances of ranking well, it cannot guarantee a particular position. Search engines are notoriously fickle creatures! They guard their algorithm like a dragon guarding their hoard, and no SEO can say with 100% certainty what the full algorithm is.
- Promises of instant results. Some changes can produce quick improvements, but sustainable B2B SEO usually takes time.
- A heavy focus on traffic. More traffic is not automatically useful. The agency should also talk about traffic relevance and lead quality.
- No interest in your sales process. If the agency does not ask how clients buy, it may struggle to connect SEO with commercial outcomes.
- Vague link-building methods. You should know whether links are being earned through credible activity or purchased from poor-quality websites. Vague explanations about “link building” should be a red flag that black-hat linking activities may be taking place.
- Huge volumes of cheap content. Ask who writes it, how it is researched and how it will reflect your expertise. Google’s latest core updates work hard to ignore poor-quality spammy content. Don’t pay for something that will probably never rank; you will be throwing money away.
- Lots of jargon and very few explanations. SEO can be technical, but the agency should still be able to explain its work clearly and do its best to help you understand what’s happening.
- The strategy appears before discovery. A detailed plan created before the agency understands your business is likely to be generic.
- You never meet the delivery team. There may be a big gap between the people who sell the service and the people who provide it.
- Vague reports. The report avoids enquiries and revenue and only shows traffic and rankings. Traffic and rankings may be easier to report, but that does not make them the only things that matter.
So, how should you choose a B2B SEO agency?
Firstly, choose an agency that takes time to understand your business, uses genuine expertise to create content and builds authority ethically. These are the key drivers of sustainable SEO growth and business success, not just quick wins that disappear after the next search engine core update. “Green flags” include a substantial discovery or interview process where key employees or experts are spoken to before any strategy or content is created. These sessions should surface details about what makes your business different, your target audience, key messages and industry expertise.
You can learn more about our SEO services for B2B businesses, our ethical SEO approach or review our B2B case studies.