The best GEO agency for your company is one that can identify useful work and carry out the part you’re hiring it to do. You can learn a lot about that fit before committing to a retainer.
Ask a provider to explain one relevant observation about your market. Give it enough context to understand what you sell. Then listen for the steps between the observation and the proposed fee.
An agency doesn’t need to give away a complete audit during a sales call. Our GEO audit checklist gives you concrete deliverables to ask about. It should be able to explain how it investigates an answer and decides what deserves attention.
Ask to see the research behind a recommendation
A screenshot of a company appearing in ChatGPT is a starting point. Ask which question produced it and when it was recorded. Find out whether the observation was repeated and what sources the answer cited.
The agency should be comfortable explaining the limits of the sample. If it tested a narrow group of questions, its conclusions should stay within that group.
For a hypothetical logistics software company, a useful finding might involve buyers comparing products for multi-warehouse operations. The agency could show how it inspected the cited sources and determined whether the software genuinely fits the question.
A finding that your company is absent from an unrelated “best software” answer tells you much less. The missing mention matters only if the buyer and the recommendation are relevant.
Find out who turns the findings into published work
Some providers specialize in research. Others can help produce content or carry out outreach. Either arrangement can work if you understand what you’re purchasing.
Ask who is responsible for implementing the recommendations. If your team must do it, make sure someone has the time and authority. If the agency does it, ask what access it needs and how you approve changes.
When a delivery partner is involved, the contracting agency should explain who remains accountable. You don’t need a diagram of every supplier relationship. You do need a clear contact when the work stalls.
Check the experience relevant to the assignment. Someone may be excellent at technical search work and have limited experience pitching trade publications. The proposal should reflect the capabilities of the people doing the work.
Evaluate how the agency talks about outside coverage
A provider may recommend getting included on websites that appear in relevant AI answers. Ask why each proposed source deserves attention.
You want evidence about the source’s subject matter and the quality of the page. If the provider relies on a domain metric alone, ask what that metric tells you about the actual audience. Our guide to evaluating links and brand mentions for GEO explains the page-level checks behind that question.
Also ask how the coverage would be obtained. An editorial review and a sponsored placement have different costs and conditions. The provider should explain those differences before money is committed.
It should never need to invent a customer review to make your company look established. A good pitch starts with something true that the publisher’s audience would find useful.
Compare proposals using the same questions
Use this worksheet when you speak to providers. Blank cells mean you still need an answer.
| Question | Provider A | Provider B |
|---|---|---|
| Which business problem is in scope? | ||
| What research will we receive? | ||
| Who implements the recommendations? | ||
| What evidence supports the proposed outside sources? | ||
| Which costs are additional? | ||
| What data and finished work do we retain? |
Be specific about the reporting. Microsoft’s AI Performance announcement, for example, describes citation counts and cautions that they do not establish ranking or placement within an answer. Ask the agency to separate those observations from visits and inquiries.
For an initial comparison, a defined four-week piece of work may be easier to inspect than a broad annual promise. Four weeks here describes a possible delivery scope. It isn’t a forecast for ranking or revenue.
Choose a scope you can manage
The strongest proposal may still be a poor fit if it requires more input than your team can provide. Ask how much time the agency expects from the people who know your product and from the person who maintains your site.
You can review our GEO services alongside the same worksheet. Keep the standard consistent for every provider, including us. If you already pay for SEO, compare the overlapping SEO and GEO work before approving an additional retainer. Before signing, you should be able to explain to a colleague what you’re buying and why that work deserves the budget. That standard reflects the approach at GEO Agency.