Buy a defined process, documented work, and access to your own data. Ask providers to explain uncertainty before you sign.
Write the problem before requesting the proposal
Start with a business problem: people cannot find your product documentation, a service page attracts the wrong enquiries, or buyers misunderstand a category. “We need GEO” is too broad to compare proposals fairly.
Give every provider the same brief. Include your audience, markets, languages, current publishing process, available analytics, and the decisions you need to make. Ask them to separate discovery, technical fixes, editorial work, and measurement in their response.
Ask to see what a month of work looks like
Request an anonymized example of a deliverable, with confidential information removed. A useful report should connect a finding to a proposed action, an owner, and a way to check completion.
- Which pages will be reviewed or changed?
- Who approves factual claims and translations?
- What does the provider need from your team?
- What will be delivered if no citation changes are observed?
These are procurement questions we recommend, not a certification standard. The answers make the service easier to compare and the relationship easier to manage.
Interrogate the visibility score
Ask for the underlying questions, sampling dates, platforms, and scoring rules. Can you export the observations? Does a brand mention count differently from a linked citation? Will a changed prompt set be disclosed?
A composite number can be useful for navigation inside a report. It becomes misleading when its definition is hidden or its movement is presented as proof of revenue. Agree on business outcomes separately, including how attribution gaps will be reported.
Keep ownership and exit terms clear
Your domain, content files, analytics access, and source material should have explicit ownership and handover terms. Ask how credentials are shared, how changes are approved, and how the work can be continued if the contract ends.
Be cautious about guaranteed placement in an AI answer, unexplained networks of links, or large-scale publishing without editorial review. Request a written explanation of the mechanism and evidence behind any strong promise. If the provider cannot explain it clearly, narrow the scope before committing.
Follow the evidence.
References checked Oct 16, 2026. Examples and workflow recommendations are editorial illustrations, not measured results. Provider guidance may change. Our editorial standards.
