What should SEO services actually include?
SEO services get your website into Google's free results when customers search for what you sell, and turn that visibility into calls and enquiries. A serious service is not measured by the number of keywords in a proposal. It is measured by what changes on your site and in your Search Console numbers.
Google's own page on hiring an SEO lists what one can help with: reviewing content and site structure, technical advice (hosting, redirects, error pages, JavaScript), content development, keyword research, expertise in specific markets and cities, and optimizing for generative AI. We group that into four parts:
| Area | What gets done | How you can check |
|---|---|---|
| Technical SEO | Speed, indexing, sitemap, redirects, Schema | "Indexed" pages rising in Search Console |
| Keyword research | Terms your buyers really type | A written map: one keyword per page |
| Content and pages | Service pages and articles answering real questions | New page links in every monthly update |
| Local SEO | Google Business Profile, city targeting, reviews | Showing up in Maps and "near me" results |
What happens month by month?
Month one: foundation. Connect Google Search Console, submit the sitemap, find pages that are not indexed, fix duplicate titles and descriptions, add Schema, and finish keyword research with a page-by-page plan.
Months two and three: building. Improve the existing service pages, then publish new content from the plan with internal links between related pages. Local businesses also need their Maps listing in order; see our Google Business Profile guide.
After that: optimise from data. A query with many impressions but a position between 8 and 20 points to a page that needs strengthening. A page with impressions but few clicks needs a better title and description.
On the sites we build, the foundation ships on day one: Schema, sitemap, llms.txt, IndexNow pings for new pages, and Search Console connected.
How do you know your SEO is working?
Ask for a monthly report from Google Search Console itself, not only screenshots from third-party tools; Google notes those tools have no access to its internal ranking data. A useful report shows:
- Clicks from Google Search to your site
- Impressions in search results
- CTR: clicks divided by impressions
- Average position of your top result
- Top queries, compared with last month
- Real leads: calls, WhatsApp messages, form requests
- Work done this month, with links
What are the red flags?
- "Guaranteed #1 on Google." Google says no one can guarantee a top ranking and warns about anyone claiming a "special relationship" with it.
- Bulk links or "submission to thousands of search engines." Google calls this typically useless, and link schemes can break its spam policies.
- Secrecy about what will change on your site and why.
- Requiring a link back to the agency's site.
- Accounts owned by the agency. Search Console and your Maps listing should stay in your name.
Questions to ask before you sign
Can you show real sites you worked on? What results do you expect, in what timeframe, and how will you measure them? Do you follow Google Search Essentials? What is your experience in my industry and city? Will you share every change and the reason for it?
Search is also moving into AI assistants; our guides on showing up in ChatGPT and Gemini and ranking on Google cover the next steps. Hook Marketing in Amman runs SEO services for businesses in Jordan and Saudi Arabia with a written keyword plan, monthly work with links and a Search Console report. Want us to look at your site? Get in touch.
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