Most owners of small businesses have had the call or the email at some point: "We can get you to the top of Google." Some of them signed. A few months later they had paid the invoices, received a deck full of screenshots and noticed that the phone was ringing no more than before. Wanting to be found was the right instinct. Choosing the provider on the strength of a promise, rather than on criteria you can check, was the mistake.
This guide gives you a decision grid built for the person who signs the cheque, not for a marketing specialist. The stakes are simple. A good partner gets your business in front of buyers who did not know you existed and turns that into enquiries. A poor one costs you a year and a sizeable part of your budget.
Decide what you are actually buying
Before you compare proposals, write one sentence down: "I want my business to appear when a buyer searches for what I do, on Google and in the answers of AI assistants, and I want that to turn into enquiries." Everything that does not serve this goal is secondary. A new website, a busy social media calendar or a refreshed logo may all be worthwhile, but none of them is visibility if nobody finds you.
That sentence keeps the conversation honest. When a provider spends the meeting on tools, acronyms and technical dashboards, bring it back to outcomes: how many enquiries, from where, and how will I know? If you have not yet worked out what being hard to find is costing you, our guide on what an invisible small business loses helps you put a figure on it before you talk to anyone.
The decision grid: five criteria
1. They commit to what they control, not to what Google decides
Nobody controls how Google ranks a page or what an AI assistant says. A provider who guarantees a position is either overselling or does not understand the work. What they can guarantee is their own delivery: what the plan includes goes live on schedule, and if it does not, there is a clear consequence. Ask for that commitment in the contract.
2. You see the results in your own accounts
Be cautious about reports that only the provider can produce. Results should be visible in your company's own Search Console, which you keep if you ever switch providers. A dated report every week lets you follow progress without chasing anyone.
3. They have done it for themselves first
The best evidence is not a case study PDF; it is the provider's own website. If they make other businesses visible, their own business should be visible too. Ask to see their real performance curves, not cropped screenshots. A credible partner will be happy to show you.
4. They limit how many competitors they take on
For any given search in your area, only a handful of positions really matter. If your provider works for five firms in your trade in the same city, they cannot fight for all of them in good faith. Ask the question plainly: how many businesses in my sector do you work with in my area?
5. The timeline is realistic and has checkpoints
Lasting visibility takes months to build. A provider promising dramatic results in three weeks is focused on closing the deal, not on delivering. One who asks for a long commitment with no review point is asking for blind trust. The healthy middle ground is a longer commitment with a measured review along the way. Our guide on why visibility work runs on 12 months explains what the provider should guarantee in return.
Red flags worth walking away from
Some warning signs come up again and again. The first is a provider who runs everything from their own accounts and will not give you access. The second is a bundle priced to look like a bargain that mixes website, social posts, paid ads and visibility without stating what is delivered each month. The third is a contract that is easy to sign and hard to understand, with no named deliverable and no review date.
A quieter red flag is a provider who never asks who your buyers are. Whether you sell to local households, to procurement teams or to clients in other countries, the search behaviour is different. A good partner asks about your clients, your margins and your capacity before saying anything about how they work.
What to get in writing
Before signing, check that the proposal or contract states clearly:
- what is delivered each month, and what happens if it is not;
- the length of the commitment and the date of the first measured review;
- access to your own measurement accounts, in your company's name;
- how many competing businesses they accept in your sector and area;
- the total first-year cost, including any setup fee.
If any line is missing, ask for it. How the provider reacts to that request will tell you a lot. We have gathered the questions to ask before signing a visibility contract, along with the answers that should reassure or worry you.
How Traffic Engine measures up
Traffic Engine is Kolonell's service for making your business visible when buyers search for what you do, on Google and in AI assistant answers. It was designed to pass exactly this kind of grid. Kolonell ran it on its own website first, and the Search Console curves are published on the offer page and refreshed daily. The guarantee covers what Kolonell controls: what your plan includes goes live on schedule, or the following month is free.
You follow results in your own Search Console and receive a dated report every week. Seats are capped at 3 per sector and per area, each with its own positioning. Everything starts with a Visibility Audit at $750, delivered within 48 working hours and fully deducted from the $1,650 setup if you go ahead within 30 days. Monthly plans run from $1,200 (Presence) to $3,850 (Flood), on a 12-month commitment with a measured review at three months. See the offer and check which seats are still open in your sector.
Your next step
Take the proposals you have on your desk, or the ones you are about to request, and run each through the grid above. Note what is written down, what was only said in the meeting and what is missing. The right choice usually becomes obvious. If you would like a quick read on where you stand before talking to anyone, the free website score gives you one in seconds.