How to Audit an SEO Agency

The short answer

Request the Delivery Records

A presentation can be assembled after the result. A reliable operating trail is harder to reconstruct. Sample the URLs, dates and transactions, then check whether the movement followed the work inside the same reporting scope.

The four-record audit

The records do not need to live in one tool. They do need stable identifiers and dates so a page change can be joined to a reporting window and a cost.

Read Search Console Honestly

Google defines CTR as clicks divided by impressions. It also defines average position as the average topmost position occupied by the property or page across impressions. A lower position number is better, but Google recommends focusing more on click and impression trends than position alone.

CTR

clicks ÷ impressions

Average position

topmost position, averaged

Property totals and page totals are not interchangeable. When several pages from the same property appear for one query, property aggregation counts them differently and reports the topmost position. The chart can therefore disagree with a page-grouped table without either being wrong.

Use this comparison standard:

1. Keep the Search type, property, country, device and query filters identical.
2. Compare equal-length, complete periods; label preliminary days separately.
3. Split brand and non-brand demand where the data supports it.
4. Inspect pages and queries, not only the property total.
5. Put intervention dates on the chart before discussing cause.

Audit Paid Link Risk

A paid placement needs a transaction and a live-page record. It also needs the correct relationship attribute. Google’s spam policies say links bought for ranking purposes are link spam; advertising and sponsorship links should be qualified with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".

For each placement, verify:

• the page is live and indexable;
• the destination and anchor match the approval;
• the link relationship matches how it was obtained;
• the charged amount matches the wallet entry;
• lost or changed links remain in history rather than disappearing.

A ten-minute monthly review

1. 01
   Sample three changes

   Open the affected pages and confirm the recorded work exists.

2. 02
   Rebuild one comparison

   Use the same Search Console property, filters and complete date windows.

3. 03
   Trace one paid placement

   Join approval, wallet charge, live URL and current verification.

4. 04
   Challenge one causal claim

   Check that the intervention predates the movement and that another major change is not being ignored.

Decision rule

Reporting Should Survive Scrutiny

If a claim leads to the exact page, event, source record and cost, the service is auditable. If each question needs a new presentation, you are reviewing a narrative rather than delivery.

See managed SEO delivery

Primary sources

1. Google Search Console: clicks, impressions, CTR and positionsupport.google.com
2. Google Search Console: aggregation and data freshnesssupport.google.com
3. Google Search spam policies: paid and sponsored linksdevelopers.google.com