How to Choose an SEO Agency in the UAE

What should an SEO proposal contain?

A good SEO proposal is a written scope of work that names what will be done, how often, by whom and how you will see it. It should read as a plan for your site, not as a template with your company name inserted.

Look for these elements:

• An audit of your current site that refers to your real pages and problems.
• A list of deliverables, such as technical fixes, page improvements, content and monthly tasks, with frequency.
• A clear statement of what is outside the scope, so extra costs do not appear later.
• How progress will be measured, using agreed indicators such as enquiries and indexed pages, not only rankings.
• The duration, the notice period and what happens at the end.
• Who does the work, and whether any is subcontracted.

If a proposal arrives before anyone has looked at your website, treat it as generic.

Which questions should you ask before signing?

The most useful questions are those that make a provider explain its method, because vague answers show vague work. Ask them in writing so you can compare responses.

1. What will you change on my site in the first 90 days, and why?
2. How do you decide which keywords and pages to prioritise for my business?
3. How will you build visibility without buying links?
4. Who will I talk to, and how quickly are messages answered?
5. What do you need from my team, and how long will that take?
6. How will you measure enquiries, not just traffic?
7. What happens to my accounts, content and data if we stop working together?

A trustworthy answer includes limits. SEO depends on search engines you do not control, so an honest provider explains what is likely, what is uncertain and what you can verify yourself.

What should SEO reporting show?

SEO reporting should show what was done, what changed in the data and what happens next, in language you can follow. A report that is only a dashboard of rankings and traffic does not tell you whether the work is sound.

Ask for a monthly report that lists completed tasks, search enquiries and visits from Search Console and analytics, the pages gaining or losing visibility, and planned work for the next month. Reports should draw on data you can open yourself. If the provider measures calls and WhatsApp clicks, ask how those are tracked and whether you can see the raw figures.

Insist on explanations for falling numbers as well as rising ones. Anyone who only reports good news is selling, not reporting.

Who should own your accounts and data?

You, the business owner, should own every account that relates to your website and search visibility. That includes the domain, hosting, Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Business Profile where it exists, and any tag manager.

The safest arrangement is that you create or hold the owner account and add the provider as a user with the access level they need. Avoid arrangements where the provider registers these under its own login, because moving away later can then mean losing history. Put ownership in the contract and keep a record of who has access, removing it when the work ends. Our hosting and SSL setup follows the same principle.

What contract terms deserve attention?

The contract terms that matter most are scope, duration, exit and ownership. SEO is a long-term activity, so a minimum term is not unusual, but you should understand what you are committing to and how to leave.

• Length of the minimum term and the notice period.
• What happens to content, code and accounts created for you at the end.
• Who owns written content and whether you may reuse it.
• Whether work is billed by invoice and how disputes are handled.
• Confidentiality, and any limits on using your data.

Contract law differs by jurisdiction and free zone, so confirm the terms with a lawyer, especially for multi-year or high-value agreements. Payment details, such as invoicing and bank transfer, should be written down, not left as a verbal promise.

What are the red flags, including link buying?

The clearest red flag is a promise of specific rankings, because no one outside the search engine controls rankings. Others include secrecy about methods, pressure to sign quickly and offers of large numbers of links.

Link buying deserves particular caution. Google classifies buying or selling links that pass ranking credit as link spam under its spam policies, while paid links are acceptable when qualified with a nofollow or sponsored attribute. A provider who builds links through paid networks risks your site's visibility, and the damage can outlast the contract.

Also be wary of promises tied to a fixed number of keywords, results in a few days, reporting that hides the data source, and claims that cannot be checked. Ask for the reasoning, and walk away if it cannot be given.

How can you check a provider's claims?

You can check an SEO provider's claims by asking for evidence you can verify and by testing how they handle your own site. Ask them to review your pages before any contract and to explain three specific issues they found.

Look at their own website for clear, specific wording rather than superlatives, and ask for references you may contact, with the client's permission. Treat screenshots of rankings with caution, because rankings vary by location, device and time. A small, paid pilot or audit with a defined output is a lower-risk way to test working style than a long commitment.

Agency or freelancer: how do they compare?

An agency offers a team and process, while a freelancer offers direct access and often lower overhead. Neither is better in every case, so compare them against what you need.

Tooba Web works remotely from Istanbul and has no UAE office, which you should weigh honestly against your preference for meetings in person. Our SEO services page explains what we do, and the technical SEO checklist shows what a first audit covers.