Free Resource
10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Restoration Marketing Agency
We've seen restoration owners waste $30,000-$80,000 on agencies that over-promise and under-deliver. This checklist will save you from being the next one.
Use it on us, too.
The Checklist
Ask every agency you talk to these 10 questions. Pay attention to the answers — and pay more attention to the ones they dodge.
Do you specialize in restoration, or do you serve every industry?
Why it matters: Restoration has unique dynamics — emergency intent, insurance relationships, seasonal patterns, franchise competition. Generic agencies miss all of this. A "marketing is marketing" agency will optimize your water damage page the same way they optimize a dentist's website.
Red flag: "We serve all industries" or "Marketing is marketing"
Green flag: They can explain the difference between water damage restoration and water mitigation without Googling it
Can I see your llms.txt file?
Why it matters: If an agency sells AI readiness or AEO, they should have it on their own site. llms.txt is the standard way to make a site readable by AI agents. An agency that sells AI services but doesn't implement them on their own site is selling something they don't believe in.
Red flag: "What's llms.txt?" or their site returns a 404
Green flag: They can show you a live llms.txt and explain what it does
Show me 3 restoration clients with before/after SEO metrics.
Why it matters: Claims are free. Data isn't. Ask for specific organic traffic increases, keyword ranking changes, and lead volume — with timelines. "We helped a restoration company grow" means nothing without numbers.
Red flag: "We can't share client data" or vague testimonials without numbers
Green flag: Specific metrics — "Client went from 200 to 1,400 organic visits in 8 months"
What's your pricing?
Why it matters: Agencies that hide pricing are either embarrassed by it or plan to charge based on how much they think you'll pay. Transparency is a baseline indicator of how the entire relationship will work.
Red flag: "We need to do a discovery call first" or "It depends"
Green flag: Clear tiers with specific deliverables at each level
Do you require long-term contracts?
Why it matters: If the work is good, you'll stay. Mandatory 12-month contracts protect the agency, not you. They exist because the agency knows you'd leave if you could.
Red flag: "We require a 12-month minimum" (especially for new clients)
Green flag: Month-to-month or short initial commitment with clear exit terms
How do you handle the franchise competition problem?
Why it matters: National franchises dominate page 1 in most markets. If the agency doesn't have a specific strategy for this, they'll waste your budget competing head-on against companies with 200x your marketing spend.
Red flag: "We'll outrank them with backlinks" — you won't outlink a $200M brand
Green flag: Long-tail keyword strategy, local pack optimization, AI readiness as a leapfrog
What happens with my data if we part ways?
Why it matters: Some agencies build everything on their own accounts. When you leave, you lose your Google Ads history, Google Business Profile access, analytics data, or even your website. This is more common than you'd think.
Red flag: "Everything is managed in our systems"
Green flag: "You own everything — GBP, analytics, domain, content. Always."
How many clients do you manage per account manager?
Why it matters: If one person handles 30+ clients, you're getting template work, not strategy. Your "dedicated account manager" is actually juggling so many accounts that yours gets 2 hours a month of real attention.
Red flag: Vague answer or "We have a team approach"
Green flag: A specific number, typically 8-15 for quality work
What's your reporting cadence and what metrics do you track?
Why it matters: Vanity metrics — impressions, "reach," page views — mean nothing for a restoration company. You need phone calls, form submissions, and revenue attribution. If they can't connect their work to your phone ringing, they're guessing.
Red flag: Monthly PDF with traffic graphs and no lead data
Green flag: Call tracking, form attribution, revenue correlation, weekly check-ins
What do you do about AI and voice search?
Why it matters: By 2027, an estimated 30%+ of searches won't have a click. The homeowner asks ChatGPT or Google AI Overview "who should I call for water damage in Dallas" and the AI gives an answer — no link needed. If your agency doesn't have an AEO strategy, they're optimizing for yesterday.
Red flag: "We're keeping an eye on it" or "That's not really relevant yet"
Green flag: They can show you schema markup, llms.txt, and structured data on their own site
How Bodyne Scores on This Checklist
We wrote this list knowing we'd have to answer it ourselves. Here's where we stand — honestly.
- ✓ 1. Restoration specialized
- ✓ 2. llms.txt live — bodyne.com/llms.txt
- ↻ 3. Case studies — Building — we're honest about being new to restoration
- ✓ 4. Pricing published — /restoration/pricing
- ✓ 5. No long-term contracts
- ✓ 6. Franchise strategy — AEO leapfrog, local pack, long-tail
- ✓ 7. You own everything
- ✓ 8. Limited client load
- ✓ 9. Call tracking + attribution
- ✓ 10. AEO deployed on our own site
We pass 9 of 10. The one we're still building? Client results. We're new to the restoration vertical, and we won't pretend otherwise. That's exactly why our founding clients get priority pricing and the kind of hands-on attention that disappears once an agency scales.
A note about the agency you just left
If you're reading this page, there's a good chance you've already been burned. An agency that promised leads and delivered reports. A contract you couldn't get out of. A website you don't even own.
That experience is why this checklist exists. The restoration industry has a real problem with agencies that don't understand the business. The questions above aren't theoretical — they come from conversations with owners who paid $50,000+ and have nothing to show for it. We built this page so fewer owners end up in that position.
Ready to see where your restoration company stands?
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