Which agency do you actually need? Probably not the one that found you first.
Owners rarely wake up wanting an SEO agency. They wake up with a business that isn't making what it should. Here's how to work out what kind of help that needs, including the cases where it's not us.
Start from the symptom, not the service
Write down the thing that's actually wrong in one sentence. "We get enquiries and most go nowhere." "Sales are up but I'm making less." "Everything goes through me." "The website embarrasses me." Each of those points to a different kind of help, and only one of them is a marketing problem.
A marketing agency
Right when the offer is good, the follow-up works, the website converts, and you simply need more of the right people to see it. Wrong when leads already arrive and die in the inbox; more traffic just makes that leak bigger. Agencies sell what they sell, so ask one question: what happens to a lead after you deliver it? If the answer is "that's on you", decide whether "you" is actually handling it.
A web agency
Right when the site is genuinely the bottleneck: slow on phones, no clear next step, no way to enquire at 9pm. Wrong when the site is fine and the problem is that nobody answers the form. A new website fixes a website. Read why websites don't generate leads before you commission one.
A consultant
Right when you need the diagnosis and have the team to act on it. Wrong when you don't; a report is only useful if someone implements it, and most owners don't have the hours. Ask what happens after the report. If the answer is a second invoice, factor that in.
A business coach
Right when the problem is you: decisions, delegation, confidence, habits. Wrong when the problem is the follow-up process or the ad account. Coaching changes the owner; it doesn't change the CRM.
A fractional CMO, COO or CFO
Right for a specific function at a senior level a few days a month. Wrong when the problems cross functions, which in a business under a few million in revenue they almost always do. Three fractional people is three more suppliers who don't talk to each other.
One partner across the whole business
This is what Asteroid is, so read it knowing that. Right when the leak sits between departments, when the owner is the bottleneck, when you've tried an agency and the money didn't come back, or when you don't know which of the above you need and would rather someone looked first. Wrong when you have a single, clean, well-defined problem and the team to handle everything else; hire the specialist.
If you want the diagnosis without the commitment, the audit exists for exactly this. The services pages show how each part fits into the whole.
Six questions to ask anyone before you sign
- What happens to a lead after you've delivered it?
- Show me a number from a client dashboard, not a slide.
- Who does the work, and will I talk to them?
- What would you tell me not to buy?
- What does month three look like?
- How do I stop?
The second one is the test. Our answers are on the Work page.