How to Choose the Best SEO Agency in Manchester (Without Getting Burned)

My £8,000 SEO Lesson (The Hard Way)

So there I was in 2021, running a small marketing consultancy in Manchester, watching my competitors crush me in Google rankings. My website was buried on page 3 for keywords I desperately needed to rank for.

Enter “Manchester SEO Solutions” – not their real name, but they promised the world. Top 3 rankings in 90 days, guaranteed traffic increases, the works. Sounded perfect. Cost me £800 a month for a year.

Fast forward 12 months: my rankings were worse than when I started. When I asked for reports, I got generic PDFs that looked like they were made for someone else’s website. When I asked about their strategy, I got vague answers about “building authority” and “technical optimisation.”

That’s when I learned the hard way that not all SEO agencies are created equal. Especially in Manchester, where everyone’s calling themselves an SEO expert these days.

But here’s the thing – my third agency choice was spot on. Digizaro took my website from page 3 obscurity to consistent first-page rankings for my main keywords. The difference? They actually knew what they were doing and could prove it.

Let me share what I learned so you don’t have to waste £8,000 like I did.

The Manchester SEO Scene: What’s Actually Out There

Manchester’s got loads of SEO agencies. Some are brilliant, some are mediocre, and some are frankly taking the piss. The market’s packed with agencies claiming to offer innovative strategies and tailored approaches, with review platforms showing mixed results across different providers.

Here’s what I’ve noticed after dealing with multiple agencies and talking to other business owners:

The Good Ones:

Show you real results from real clients
Explain their process in plain English
Give you access to actual data
Don’t promise overnight miracles

The Dodgy Ones:

Promise guaranteed rankings
Use lots of technical jargon to confuse you
Won’t show you their previous work
Want big upfront payments

The Mediocre Ones:

Do basic keyword research and call it strategy
Send you generic monthly reports
Treat you like just another account number
Get some results but nothing spectacular

The trick is telling them apart before you sign anything.

What Actually Makes an SEO Agency Good (Beyond the Sales Pitch)

They Show You Real Results From Real Clients

Good agencies don’t just talk about what they can do – they show you what they’ve already done. When I was vetting Digizaro, they walked me through actual case studies with real numbers. Not “increased traffic by 200%” nonsense, but proper before-and-after screenshots showing ranking improvements for specific keywords.

Ask to see:

Google Analytics screenshots showing traffic growth
Search Console data proving ranking improvements
Specific examples of content that’s ranking well
Client testimonials that mention actual results

If they won’t show you this stuff, walk away. Credible agencies should demonstrate how they plan to improve not just rankings, but commercial outcomes.

They Understand Your Business, Not Just SEO

The agency that screwed me over never asked about my business model. They just wanted to know my target keywords and started building links. Mental.

Good agencies want to understand:

How you make money
Who your customers actually are
What problems you solve for them
How people currently find you

When Digizaro first met with me, we spent an hour talking about my business before we even mentioned SEO. They wanted to understand my customer journey, my profit margins, my seasonal patterns. That’s when I knew they got it.

They’re Transparent About Their Process

Dodgy agencies love mystery. “We have proprietary techniques.” “Our methods are trade secrets.” Bollocks. Good SEO isn’t magic – it’s just hard work done right.

Good agencies will explain:

Exactly what they’re going to do
Why they’re doing it that way
How they’ll measure success
What their timeline looks like

If they can’t explain their process in simple terms, they probably don’t understand it themselves.

They Give You Access to Real Data

This is huge. Bad agencies send you pretty PDF reports that don’t actually tell you anything useful. Good agencies give you direct access to the tools and data.

Look for agencies that:

Give you login access to Google Analytics and Search Console
Use professional SEO tools you can see
Show you live ranking data
Let you verify their claims independently

Red Flags That Scream “Run Away”

Guaranteed Rankings

Anyone promising guaranteed first-page rankings is either lying or planning to use dodgy tactics that’ll get you penalised. Guaranteed rankings are considered a major red flag when choosing an SEO company.

Google’s algorithm changes constantly. No one can guarantee specific rankings for competitive keywords.

Dirt Cheap Prices

SEO takes time and expertise. If someone’s offering comprehensive SEO for £200 a month, they’re either cutting massive corners or planning to outsource your work to someone who doesn’t speak English.

Good SEO for a local business starts around £800-1200 per month. For competitive industries, you’re looking at £2000+ monthly.

They Want Massive Upfront Payments

Legitimate agencies work on monthly contracts. Anyone asking for 6-12 months upfront is either desperate for cash flow or planning to disappear with your money.

No Local Presence or Reviews

Manchester’s not that big. Good agencies have local clients and local reviews. If you can’t find any trace of them helping Manchester businesses, that’s weird.

They Can’t Show You Their Own Rankings

If an SEO agency can’t rank their own website for relevant keywords, why would you trust them with yours? When I Google “SEO Manchester” or “Manchester SEO agency,” I want to see them somewhere on the first page.

Questions That Separate the Pros From the Pretenders

“Can you show me three examples of websites you’ve improved rankings for?”

Good agencies will have case studies ready. Bad agencies will make excuses about confidentiality or give you vague examples.

“What SEO tools do you use?”

Professional agencies use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or similar. If they mention free tools only, they’re probably not investing properly in their business.

“How do you approach keyword research?”

Good answer: They research search volume, competition, and commercial intent. They consider your business model and customer journey.

Bad answer: Generic stuff about “finding high-volume keywords” or using Google Keyword Planner only.

“What’s your link building strategy?”

Good answer: They create valuable content and earn links naturally. They might do some outreach but it’s targeted and relevant.

Bad answer: They buy links, use private blog networks, or talk about “link packages.”

“How often will we communicate and what will you report on?”

Good agencies have structured communication plans and report on metrics that matter to your business, not just vanity metrics.

The Due Diligence Checklist That Actually Works

Check Their Own SEO

Before you hire anyone, see how they rank for their own target keywords. If “SEO agency Manchester” or similar terms don’t show them anywhere decent, that’s telling.

Look at Their Website

Good SEO agencies should have decent websites. Not fancy necessarily, but well-structured, fast-loading, and ranking for relevant terms.

Google Their Name + “Review” or “Scam”

You’d be amazed what turns up. Always worth a quick search to see if anyone’s had major problems.

Ask for Client References

Not testimonials on their website – actual contact details for current or past clients you can speak to directly.

Check Their Google My Business

Local agencies should have proper GMB profiles with genuine reviews from local businesses.

What Good SEO Actually Looks Like

Month 1-3: Foundation and Strategy

Good agencies spend the first few months doing research and fixing technical issues. Don’t expect massive ranking improvements immediately.

They should be:

Auditing your current website
Researching your market and competitors
Fixing technical SEO issues
Developing content strategy

Month 4-6: Content and Authority Building

This is when they start creating content and earning links. You should see some ranking improvements for less competitive keywords.

Month 7-12: Results and Scaling

By this point, you should see clear improvements in rankings, traffic, and hopefully enquiries or sales.

Pricing Reality Check: What You Should Actually Expect to Pay

Local Business SEO: £800-1500/month

For local service businesses (plumbers, solicitors, restaurants), this should cover:

Local SEO optimisation
Google My Business management
Basic content creation
Local link building
Monthly reporting

E-commerce SEO: £1500-3000/month

Online shops need more technical work:

Product page optimisation
Category structure improvement
Technical SEO fixes
Content marketing
Competitor analysis

Enterprise SEO: £3000+/month

Large websites with thousands of pages need comprehensive strategies:

Advanced technical audits
Large-scale content strategies
Complex link building campaigns
Multi-location optimisation

Why I Ended Up Choosing Digizaro

After my expensive lesson with the first agency, I was paranoid about making another mistake. I interviewed eight agencies before settling on Digizaro.

Here’s what sold me:

They showed real results. Not just pretty charts, but actual client websites I could verify were ranking well.

They understood my business. Spent time learning about my customers, my sales process, my challenges.

No bullshit approach. Explained everything in plain English. No mystical SEO secrets or proprietary techniques.

Transparent reporting. I get access to all the data and tools they use. No black box reporting.

Local knowledge. They understand the Manchester market and have other local clients I could speak to.

Reasonable timeline expectations. They told me upfront it would take 6-9 months to see significant results. Anyone promising faster results was lying.

Six months later, I’m ranking on page one for my main keywords, getting quality enquiries from Google, and actually seeing ROI from my SEO investment.

The Questions You Should Ask Before Signing Anything

About Their Process

“Walk me through exactly what you’ll do in the first 90 days”
“How do you prioritise which keywords to target?”
“What’s your content creation process?”

About Results

“What results should I expect and by when?”
“How do you measure success?”
“What happens if we don’t see improvements?”

About Communication

“Who will be my main contact?”
“How often will we communicate?”
“What will you report on monthly?”

About Contracts

“What’s the minimum contract length?”
“How much notice do I need to give to cancel?”
“Are there any setup fees?”

The Bottom Line: What I Wish I’d Known Earlier

Good SEO takes time, costs proper money, and requires expertise. Anyone promising quick fixes or cheap solutions is probably taking shortcuts that’ll hurt you long-term.

The Manchester SEO market is competitive, which means there are good agencies available – but you need to know how to spot them.

Don’t make my mistake of going with the first agency that sounds good. Do your homework, ask the right questions, and choose an agency that understands your business, not just SEO.

My advice? Start by having conversations with 3-4 agencies. See who asks the best questions about your business. See who can explain their process clearly. See who shows you real results from similar businesses.

The right agency will feel like a business partner, not just a service provider. When you find that, you’ll know you’ve got a winner.

And if you want to shortcut the process, Digizaro’s website is worth checking out. They’re the agency that finally got my SEO right after two expensive failures. But whatever you do, don’t just take my word for it – do your own research and ask the right questions.

Your future Google rankings will thank you for it.