Unvertise / For agencies / How to choose a partner
How to choose a white label SEO partner.
Twelve questions, the red flag behind each one, and my answer, so you can hold me to the same standard as everyone else.
The checklist.
Run every partner you’re considering through the same list, me included.
- Will they work under your brand, all the way down?Red flag: Reports with their logo on them, emails from their domain, a “powered by” footer.Me: Reports carry your logo or none. You talk to the client; I talk to you.
- Can they show results without naming clients?Red flag: A logo wall of brands they say they “worked with.” If they’ll show you theirs, they’ll show someone yours.Me: Industry, situation, numbers. No names. Screen-share on request.
- Will they tell you when a client isn’t ready for SEO?Red flag: Every client is a perfect fit, forever.Me: If the site or the budget isn’t ready, I’ll say so, and you keep the client.
- What’s the contract?Red flag: Annual terms, exit fees, or a clawback clause in the fine print.Me: Month to month. Cancel any time, no exit fee, no clawback.
- Who actually does the work?Red flag: A sales rep you’ll never hear from again after signing.Me: Me, plus named specialists for design and data.
- How do they report, and how often?Red flag: A PDF of vanity charts with no “what we did” and no “what’s next.”Me: Monthly: what changed, what we did, what’s next. Here’s what that looks like.
- How do they build links?Red flag: A link package sold by the hundred, with no list of where they land.Me: I’ll find you links, cheap or expensive. It’s not the main way I rank sites.
- Will they put a non-solicit and an NDA in writing?Red flag: Hesitation. Any hesitation.Me: Ask for it before you sign anything, with anyone, including me.
- Can they show you a failure?Red flag: Every case study is a win. That’s a filtered chart.Me: Two of mine didn’t work. They’re published.
- What happens in the first 90 days?Red flag: “SEO takes time” with nothing more specific.Me: Audit first, fixes second, content third. The order, written down.
- Do they cover the channels your clients ask about?Red flag: SEO only, then “we have a partner for that” for everything else.Me: SEO, local, AI search, and ads on any platform.
- Can you reach a human the same day?Red flag: A ticketing system and a three-day SLA for a typo.Me: I answer my own phone: (502) 963-7305.
Bring your account count.
Wholesale rates get better with volume, and the bigger win is less of your time per account every month.