In 2017, I started building what would eventually become the Specialist Network. Back then, the SEO industry was already becoming a sea of sameness. Everyone was promising 'Page 1' and 'X amount of backlinks.' I saw companies getting burned left and right by agencies that talked a big game but didn't actually own any of the assets they claimed to control.
I realized that if I wanted to help people choose the right partner, I had to be the partner that practiced what they preached. I didn't want to be another guy with a slick slide deck. I wanted to be the guy with 800 pages of content-as-proof and a network of 4,000 journalists.
When you are looking for an SEO company, you aren't just looking for a vendor; you are looking for a growth partner who understands that SEO is an investment, not a cost. The problem is that the 'standard' way of choosing an agency is fundamentally broken. It relies on looking at client logos (which are often fake or outdated) and looking at 'guaranteed' results (which don't exist).
In this guide, I'm going to pull back the curtain on how the industry really works and show you the contrarian signs of a high-performing SEO partner. If they can't show you their own authority, they have no business managing yours.