SEO Consultation: How to Prepare So the First Call Is Worth It

An SEO consultation is only as useful as the ten minutes before it. Without preparation, a good part of a first call goes on working out what the business sells, which pages matter and what “SEO isn’t working” actually means. A little preparation moves that part out of the call, so the time you have goes on your real problem.

I have worked in SEO and digital marketing for more than 16 years, and I run a free 10-minute first call for anyone thinking about hiring me. Ten minutes is short on purpose. It is enough to tell you whether your problem is technical, content, local or something else, and whether I am the right person for it. It is not enough for an audit, and I will say so on the call.

Below is what to bring, what access to prepare, what to ask, and what a good consultant should give you before you hang up. It works for a call with me or with anyone else.

What an SEO consultation can and can’t do

A first call is a triage, not a treatment. Google’s own page on hiring an SEO says an audit “should be about giving you realistic estimates of improvement, and an estimate of the work involved.” You cannot give a realistic estimate of anything from a short conversation, so be wary of anyone who promises results on the first call.

Here is what I think a short free initial consultation and SEO advice can honestly cover, and what needs data access first.

That last row matters. Google’s SEO Starter Guide says that “Some changes might take effect in a few hours, others could take several months.” Anyone who gives you a date on the first call is guessing.

What to bring: the one-page brief

The single most useful thing you can send before an SEO consultation is a short brief. It does not need to be polished. A few lines under each heading is enough.

The “what changed” line saves the most time. If traffic fell “in spring” and the site moved to a new theme in March, we already know where to look. If you have the dates of releases or migrations, bring them.

If you want to show where you stand today, a recent ranking check or a Search Console export is better than a screenshot of your own Google search, which is personalised to you. My article on why your Google rankings look different on every screen explains why your own search is a poor guide.

The access to prepare (and what to keep)

You do not need to give anyone access before a first call. But if the call goes well, the next step is usually a review of your data, so it helps to know how each tool’s permissions work. Google’s hiring page is clear: for an audit, “only grant read access to Search Console” at that stage.

The details are in Search Console Help on owners, users and permissions, Analytics Help on access and data-restriction management, and Business Profile Help on owners and managers. In Search Console, only an owner can add users, under Settings, then Users and permissions.

Two practical points. First, invite a named Google Account, not a shared login. Second, write down who has access, so you can remove it when the work ends. I would rather be given restricted access and ask for more than be handed the keys to everything on day one.

Questions to ask in an SEO consultation

Google’s page suggests a few questions for any SEO you consider. They work just as well on a first call:

• “Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?”
• “Do you follow the Google Search Essentials (previously known as Webmaster Guidelines)?”
• “What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe?”

I would add four of my own:

1. Who will actually do the work? On a call with a consultant, the answer should be the person you are talking to.
2. How do you charge? By the hour, by project or monthly retainer, and what a first piece of work would cost.
3. What will you need from my team? Most SEO fixes are made by a developer or content writer. If nobody can make changes, the advice will sit in a document.
4. When would you tell me not to hire you? A good consultant has an answer to this one.

A consultant who can’t tell you what they don’t know after ten minutes will struggle to tell you after ten months.

Watch for the red flags Google lists on the same page: a guaranteed number one ranking, a claimed “special relationship” with Google, or an SEO who emails you out of the blue. I went through those in more detail in what Google itself says an SEO can and can’t do.

What a good first call should give you

By the end of a first SEO consultation you should have three things, even if you never speak to that consultant again.

• A first direction. “This looks like an indexing problem”, “this is a local listing issue”, or “your content does not match what people search for”. A direction, not a diagnosis.
• Honest open questions. What the consultant would need to check before giving a firm answer.
• One next step. It might be a paid audit, a fix you can make yourself, or “you don’t need an SEO yet, start with Google’s Starter Guide”. Ask for it in an email after the call.

If the next step is an audit, ask what it covers and roughly how many hours it takes. Our SEO website audit is a written list of issues ranked by impact, with the reasoning behind each one, so your team can act on it without me in the room.

If you want to schedule a free consultation for local SEO

Local businesses can prepare more than most, because much of what matters is visible in their Google Business Profile. Before you schedule a free consultation for local SEO, have these ready:

• The exact business name, address and phone number as they appear on your website, and any old addresses or numbers the business has used.
• Your Business Profile categories and service area, and whether you serve customers at your premises, at theirs, or both.
• Who owns the profile. Business Profile Help notes that a profile “can have multiple owners but only one primary owner.” If a former employee or an old agency is the primary owner, that is the first thing to fix, and it is not an SEO job.
• The towns or areas you most want customers from, in order of value.

Google’s hiring page also says that if you run a small local business, “you can probably do much of the work yourself.” I agree, and a first call can tell you which parts. When you do want help, our local SEO work covers the profile, the site and the local signals together.

How I run a first SEO consultation

My first call is free and lasts 10 minutes. If you send a brief, I read it before we speak, and we spend the call on your goal and the most likely cause of the problem. I will tell you if your problem is outside what I do well, or if you can handle it without paying anyone.

If we work together after that, I charge by the hour with no fixed packages, so you pay for the work your site needs. You can read about my background, the platforms I work with and my certifications on my profile page. Every recommendation comes in writing, with the reason behind it, so it stays useful whoever implements it.

FAQ

What should I bring to a free initial consultation and SEO review?

Bring your goal, the three to five pages that bring in revenue or leads, a list of recent changes with dates, and the searches you want to win. A Search Console export or a recent ranking check helps more than screenshots. You do not need to grant any access before the first call.

How long is a free SEO consultation, and what can it cover?

Ours is 10 minutes. That is enough to agree a first direction, check whether we are a good fit and decide on one next step. It is not enough to audit a site or explain a traffic drop with certainty, which needs data access.

How do I schedule a free consultation for local SEO?

You can book a call with me through our contact page. Before the call, check who owns your Google Business Profile, note your categories and service areas, and list the towns you most want customers from.

Should I give an SEO consultant access before the first call?

No. Wait until you have agreed what they will review. Then start with the lowest role that lets them look: restricted user in Search Console and Viewer in Google Analytics, and keep ownership in your own organisation.

Is a first SEO consultation a sales call?

It should not feel like one. A good consultant spends the time on your problem and tells you honestly when you don’t need them. If the call is mostly about packages and guarantees, take that as your answer.