What is the practical answer?
The agency that appears first in a directory is not automatically the right fit. Compare the work that will be delivered: technical access, useful service content, evidence you can check, measurement and a clear boundary around claims about AI search.
Start with the search and the business action
Write down the services you want to be found for, the places you genuinely serve and what a qualified visitor should do next. A national B2B software service, a local clinic and a remote website agency need different content and measurement. A generic list of cities is not a substitute for service-area information.
Ask the agency to connect each priority query to a page and a business action. That makes it possible to discuss whether the work is producing relevant visits, inquiries or bookings rather than only an impressive position report.
- The priority service and its search intent
- The audience and real service area
- The page that should answer the query
- The inquiry, call or booking that indicates useful traffic
Check the foundations before the new copy
A serious audit should inspect crawlability, indexing, response status, canonical URLs, internal links, templates, performance and existing search data. It should also show which problems matter to your important pages. A long export of warnings is less useful than an ordered implementation plan.
For a redesign, ask how the existing URL inventory, redirects and incoming links will be protected. A new page title cannot recover a valuable page that was removed without a relevant replacement.
Evaluate AEO and GEO claims carefully
AEO and GEO can describe useful work: direct answers, clear service explanations, consistent business information and original evidence. They do not provide a switch that forces Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity to cite a company. Ask for the source pages, update ownership and measurement method instead of a promise of recommendation.
Google’s current guidance says the same foundational SEO practices apply to AI features, with no additional special file or schema required. A visible, accurate answer is more useful than hidden keyword blocks or pages created only for similar queries.
Read Google’s AI features guidance ↗Read Google’s SEO Starter Guide ↗
Compare deliverables and proof
Ask whether the proposal includes implementation or only recommendations. You should be able to see the important page changes, source ownership, internal links, technical fixes, reporting definitions and the person responsible for approving factual claims.
Case studies should identify what was actually built. Separate a live project, a design mockup and a hypothetical example. Ask which numbers are directly measured, over what period and from which platform. Do not treat a directory badge or an agency’s own statement as independent proof of a ranking or revenue result.
| Area | Ask for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Technical | Crawl, index, canonical and redirect checks | Prevents content work being published on a broken foundation |
| Content | Priority pages, questions and approval owner | Keeps answers useful and factually maintained |
| AI search | Documented queries, dates and referral data | Separates observations from guaranteed recommendations |
| Measurement | Impressions, clicks and inquiry definitions | Connects visibility with business value |
| Ownership | Accounts, source files and handover | Keeps the business in control after the engagement |
Where Melos fits
Melos is a remote web, app and AI systems company in the USA. The work is a fit when you want service pages, website improvements, AI chatbot or agent planning, workflow automation and search content considered together. The public pages describe the scope and limitations; a project proposal still depends on your actual website, audience, systems and evidence.
Send the current site, priority services, service area, existing Search Console access and the inquiries you want to improve. Melos can then define a first release with technical checks, page changes, internal links, acceptance criteria and a measurement plan.
Explore Melos across the USA ↗Review the SEO service scope ↗