Resources / Decision guide
Specialist or generalist: how to assess an SEO agency.
Use evidence, ownership and reviewable delivery to choose a supplier, rather than relying on a specialist label.
Ask for evidence close to your brief.
A website launch demonstrates a different contribution from a sustained search programme. An anonymous percentage without dates or definitions tells you little about either. Ask what the agency did, what the client contributed and how any claimed outcome was measured.
Our Scarsdale Solicitors case study covers a website redesign, SEO and AI visibility. It includes original Google reports, with 3.09K Web search clicks for May 2026 and 58.2K generative AI feature impressions for 1–28 July 2026, shown with their reporting context.
Use these questions in the proposal review.
| Area | Question | Useful evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial understanding | Which services would you prioritise and why? | A reasoned page and intent map. |
| Technical delivery | Who implements the recommendations? | An example issue, fix and completion check. |
| Content accuracy | Who approves legal claims and fees? | A defined source and review process. |
| Measurement | What counts as a result? | Definitions and a traceable reporting example. |
| Ownership | What happens if we change supplier? | Account access, handover and contractual responsibilities. |
Make both suppliers answer the same brief.
Give each provider the same priority service, existing website and outcome you want to assess. Ask for the proposed first page decision, the evidence they would inspect and who would implement the change. That lets you compare their reasoning alongside their claims of experience.
For example, if employer and employee enquiries arrive through the same employment page, ask how the provider would investigate the overlap. A useful response considers actual services, current pages and search evidence before promising a page split. This is an illustrative procurement exercise, not a client finding.
| Compare | Stronger evidence | Question if it is missing |
|---|---|---|
| Relevant experience | A named project with the provider’s contribution and reporting context. | What did your team actually deliver? |
| Implementation | A worked finding with an owner, dependency and completion check. | Who makes the change after the audit? |
| Content review | An agreed source and approval process your team can support. | How will legal accuracy and firm facts be approved? |
| Full commitment | Initial fees, recurring fees and separately scoped costs together. | What will the firm pay before and during ongoing work? |
| Reporting | Definitions for completed work, contact intent and confirmed outcomes. | How can we trace the claim back to a record? |
Look beyond the “specialist” claim.
Ask how sector knowledge changes the actual work. For a law firm, useful answers might include separating employer and employee journeys, preserving approved price information or distinguishing office location from service coverage.
A supplier should be able to explain those decisions without claiming to provide a blanket legal compliance certificate. Your firm’s professionals remain responsible for approving legal information and obligations.
Red flags that deserve a direct question.
A red flag is a reason to seek an explanation, not evidence that every agency with a particular business model is unsuitable. Evaluate the response and the actual proposal.
- Guaranteed rankings, AI recommendations or a fixed number of instructions.
- Client results without a source, period or definition.
- A publication quota that ignores review capacity and page purpose.
- Unclear account ownership or unexplained third-party costs.
- Automated reports that do not identify what changed or what happens next.
Compare a bounded initial scope.
A defined audit or page improvement can make a working relationship easier to assess. Agree the input, deliverable, approval route and completion check before expanding the engagement.
Use the SEO audit service, cost guide and in-house versus agency comparison to prepare a fair brief.
Our SEO fees are £7,000 for initial work, followed by monthly fees typically ranging from £1,500 to £5,000+. The ongoing engagement has a six-month initial term, then monthly with 30 days’ notice. A substantive standalone audit is quoted separately. Review the current scope and terms.
Sources & further reading
Primary references checked on 6 September 2026.
SEO Audit
An independent SEO audit for your UK law firm or website relaunch. Get prioritised findings, supporting evidence and a clear handover for implementation.
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Law firm SEO costs: a UK pricing guide.
Understand UK law firm SEO costs: RankMyFirm charges £7,000 for initial work, then £1,500-£5,000+ monthly. Compare deliverables, terms and the full commitment.
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In-house SEO or an agency: define the work first.
Choose a resourcing model by the skills, implementation access and review capacity your firm needs.
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