THE SHORT ANSWER
In short
Choose an SEO and GEO agency by asking for a website review, a clear implementation plan and measurement tied to relevant business enquiries. A keyword list or a promise of first place is not enough. Your partner should explain what they will change, who will do the work and how progress will be assessed.
When do you need an agency rather than more articles?
If your website is not bringing relevant enquiries, publishing more blog posts may not be the right first step. A core service might lack its own page, the contact form might fail on mobile, or the content might address a different need from the one your customers have. Investigation should come before production.
Explain what you sell, who you serve and what makes an enquiry useful. A local business and a company serving customers across Greece need different priorities. Your SEO partner should ask how your business operates, not just how much traffic you want. Start with our guide to what SEO is and how it helps businesses if you are new to the subject.
What should an initial SEO audit include?
A useful audit connects technical findings with important business pages. It examines whether pages can be crawled and indexed, whether canonical tags and redirects are correct, whether navigation makes services discoverable and whether the content explains them clearly. Mobile usability and speed should be considered alongside working contact and purchase journeys.
Ask for examples from your own website, not just an automated score. Each finding should have a recommended action, a priority and a way to verify the fix. If development is required, establish whether implementation is included. Initial access to reporting can be read-only and limited to the permissions actually needed. Keep ownership of your accounts.
How do you evaluate a GEO service?
GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, concerns making content clear, accessible and useful for AI-powered search experiences. It is not a switch that forces ChatGPT or Gemini to recommend your business. Platforms select their sources, and responses can change with the question and context.
Google's guidance for AI Overviews and AI Mode says the established SEO fundamentals still apply, without additional special technical requirements. Ask for clear service pages, direct answers, accurate business details and structured data that matches visible content. These support website quality but do not guarantee selection as a source.
Also ask how potential AI mentions will be recorded. A sample answer is not a stable ranking or proof of customer growth. Record the question, date and testing context separately from actual website visits and enquiries. Do not generalise Google's technical guidance to every other AI platform.
A checklist before you agree to work together
Send the same questions to each prospective partner. This lets you compare the scope rather than proposals that share a label but describe different work. The answers should explain responsibilities, deliverables and limits in plain language.
- Which pages and searches will take priority, based on my services and customers?
- Will I receive a documented initial audit and action list, rather than only a tool export?
- Who implements technical fixes and checks that forms, booking flows or checkout still work?
- Are content updates and internal links included, and who approves factual claims?
- How will accepted form submissions and contact clicks be measured with appropriate consent?
- What will the monthly report contain, and how will priorities change when an action does not help?
- Who owns the domain, accounts and content, and what happens when the agreement ends?
What should monthly SEO and GEO work cover?
Monthly support makes sense when there is ongoing work on the website: reviewing findings, implementing fixes, improving pages and checking changes. It should not mean changing text daily without a reason or producing articles just to increase the count. Each action needs an identifiable purpose.
Codehouse's monthly SEO and GEO service connects daily website work with analysis and adjustment. We discuss business requirements and organise the changes the website needs. The agreed scope determines which technical improvements, content changes and measurements are included.
There is no fixed price for every project. Scope depends on project size, technical condition, services and implementation requirements. Ask for a written description of what is included and what requires a separate agreement. A subscription label alone does not define the work.
Which measurements relate to potential customers?
Search impressions and clicks help you understand whether the right people are finding your pages, but they are not sales. Review landing pages, accepted form submissions and contact clicks separately. A telephone click does not prove that a call happened, and a submitted form does not prove that a contract was agreed.
The team handling enquiries can assess whether they concern a service you actually provide and whether they lead to a useful conversation. Combine this feedback with available search and analytics data without sending personal details in analytics events. Consent, tracking restrictions and attribution limitations affect completeness.
If visits are arriving but enquiries are not, review the offer and contact journey rather than only adding keywords. Our guide to why a website does not bring customers examines that different part of the problem.
Do you need local SEO or a wider audience?
For businesses serving a specific area, review genuine service locations and Google Business Profile where eligible. Opening hours, contact information, categories and services should be accurate. Avoid invented addresses or interchangeable location pages for places where you do not operate.
For a business serving customers across Greece, distinguish customer needs and connect them with appropriate service pages. Repeating a location phrase in every paragraph does not replace useful information about working together. See our Google Business Profile and local SEO guide for the local side.
Which warning signs should you watch for?
Google warns that nobody can guarantee a number-one ranking. Promises of certain customers, a special relationship with Google or guaranteed AI recommendations are not a documented plan. Be cautious about unexplained changes, artificial link schemes and near-identical pages with little useful information.
A responsible partner explains what is known and what still needs checking. Website development projects should not be presented as proven SEO results without evidence. Ask for a clear distinction between completed implementation, observations and verified outcomes, and retain control of business accounts.
How can you start a conversation with Codehouse?
Send your website URL, main services and target audience or service area. Explain whether people cannot find you, visit without getting in touch, or send irrelevant enquiries. If search data is available, we can discuss appropriate access without asking you to send passwords through a form.
Explore the Codehouse SEO/GEO service and request a quote for your website. The first conversation should define a useful scope, not an unsupported ranking promise. The form below lets you describe your requirements directly from this guide.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What you need to know
How should I choose an SEO agency?
Compare the initial review, proposed actions, implementation responsibility and measurement. Ask for examples specific to your website and a written monthly scope rather than broad promises.
Can an agency guarantee first place on Google?
No. Google explicitly warns that nobody can guarantee a number-one ranking. A responsible engagement defines goals and actions without claiming control over rankings or competitors.
Does GEO guarantee a ChatGPT recommendation?
No. Clear, accessible and well-supported content improves website quality, but does not guarantee that an AI platform will mention a business in a particular response.
What does monthly SEO and GEO support cost?
Codehouse does not have one fixed price for every project. Quotes depend on size, technical condition and the agreed work. The requirements of your website need to be discussed first.
Will publishing articles alone bring customers?
Not necessarily. Useful service pages, a working contact journey and content that addresses customer needs also matter. Evaluate traffic alongside the relevance of the enquiries it produces.
What should I send when requesting a quote?
Share the website URL, main services, audience or area, and the problem you want to address. Do not send passwords or customer personal data through the contact form.
SOURCES