Is your SEO actually working? Get a human review before your next decision.
In the AI era, tools can analyze a website in seconds — but they can't review your agency or freelancer's actual strategy, reports, and recommendations the way a human can. Get an independent second opinion on their work, from an expert with 14+ years spent on both sides of the table: inside agencies, and running SEO in-house.
Experience across industries — including work with
Why This Exists
When you should consider a second SEO opinion.
Reports get longer. Impressions tick up. Tasks get marked "done." None of that tells you whether your SEO investment is working — or whether you'd know if it wasn't. The problems rarely show up as one dramatic failure; they show up as a quiet, recurring pattern, and that's exactly what a second opinion is built to catch.
Validate your strategy
Confirm whether your SEO priorities actually match your business goals, your customers and your most valuable markets.
Evaluate the work delivered
Understand whether the recommendations, content, reporting and technical work meet a professional standard — or just look like it.
Surface missed opportunities
Find the keywords, content gaps, technical fixes or strategic priorities that never made it onto the roadmap.
Make a better decision
Know whether to keep the current strategy, push for specific changes, or start looking elsewhere — with evidence, not a gut feeling.
No Transparency
Reports show activity, not outcomes — and it's hard to get a straight answer about what any of it actually means.
No Prioritization
Everything is "important." Nothing is ranked by impact, urgency, or what would move the needle first.
Flat Performance
Traffic, rankings and conversions have been stagnant or declining for months, with no clear explanation why.
Technical Blind Spots
An audit lists hundreds of issues with no action plan — or content that never quite reads naturally for your market.
One of these on its own doesn't mean much. Two or three together usually do.
Pricing
One flat fee, agreed before I start.
Every second opinion is a single flat fee, agreed before I start — not an hourly clock. Turnaround is typically about a week, confirmed once we've scoped it.
Foundations Review
€650
Confirm whether your strategy and SEO foundations are genuinely solid — not just whether rankings look fine on the surface.
When this fits
- Effort and spend have gone in, but traffic, rankings or visibility just aren't showing up
- You just hired a freelancer or agency and want an independent baseline first
What's included
- Technical SEO health check
- Ranking keywords vs. competitors
- Missed keyword & visibility opportunities
- 12-month visibility trend
- Backlink & authority profile
- Second opinion on your provider's technical claims
This is right for you if
- You want an independent check without granting account access
- You want proof your strategy and SEO foundations are actually solid
- You've been told everything's fine and want to verify that yourself
Business Review
€1,300
Confirm whether your SEO strategy is actually driving business results — not just rankings.
When this fits
- Good rankings, strong impressions, real traffic — but it isn't turning into enough business
- Marketing says traffic is up, sales says it hasn't touched pipeline
What's included
- Everything in Foundations Review
- Full GSC, Analytics & conversion data review
- Opportunities only private data reveals
- Second opinion on your provider's strategic claims
This is right for you if
- You want proof your SEO serves the business, not just rankings
- You're renewing, switching, or investing seriously
- You can share GSC/Analytics access
Prices apply to sites up to ~300 indexed pages and up to 2 languages or markets. Larger sites, or more languages: scope and fee are confirmed on the intro call, before you commit to anything.
No follow-up sales pitch — just the findings.
Your provider is never contacted without your say-so.
Agreed upfront — no hourly surprises.
Human vs. Automated
A human SEO review, not another automated audit
SEO tools are essential for collecting data. They can't understand your business priorities, your internal constraints, or your relationship with your current provider.
An automated tool tells you
- You have 214 "issues" to fix
- Your score is 62 out of 100
- Every page that could theoretically be improved
- Nothing about whether any of it matters commercially
A human second opinion tells you
- Which issues genuinely matter
- Which actions will actually move performance
- What to prioritize first, and why
- Whether the plan is realistic for your team
- Whether it supports your actual commercial goals
I use professional SEO tools to investigate. Every conclusion and recommendation is written manually.
What I Review
What can I review?
Your second opinion is scoped to your website, your current provider and your actual concern — not a generic template.
Strategy & roadmap
Whether your strategy targets the right audiences, markets, topics and business priorities.
Agency deliverables
Proposals, reports, roadmaps, audits and content briefs — compared against what was actually delivered, including whether the fee is fair for the work done.
Technical SEO
Crawling, indexing, architecture, internal linking, performance, structured data and international setup.
Content & keywords
Targeting, search intent, content quality, topic coverage, cannibalization and what's been missed.
Performance & reporting
Whether your KPIs and reports give you a fair, useful picture of organic performance — or a flattering one.
International & multilingual
International targeting, plus a direct read of keywords and content in French, Spanish and English.
The Document
What you'll actually receive
Not an export from an SEO tool. A written PDF report I prepare myself, built around your situation — plus a debrief call to walk through it together.
Executive verdict
A concise, direct read on whether the strategy is credible and your fees are fair for what's delivered — plus a clear keep / renegotiate / leave verdict.
What's working
The solid foundations and successful decisions worth keeping, named specifically.
Risks & red flags
Issues that deserve attention, backed by data and concrete examples — not vague warnings.
Missed opportunities
Technical, content, keyword, competitor or international gaps not currently on the roadmap.
Prioritized recommendations
A practical action plan, ranked by impact, urgency and effort to implement.
Questions for your provider
A short, specific list you can bring to your next call — agency, freelancer or internal team.
Presentation call
A one-to-one walkthrough of the conclusions, your questions, and the realistic next steps.
Executive verdict — illustrative example
"The strategy is technically sound, but under-prioritized. Reporting shows activity, not outcomes. Estimated impact of the top three fixes: high. Recommended path: renegotiate scope — not a new agency."
Possible verdicts
The final PDF report belongs to you. Share it with management, your agency, your developers, or keep it to yourself.
How It Works
How the second opinion process works
Initial consultation
We discuss your business, current SEO setup, concerns and the decision you actually need to make.
Documents & access
You share what's relevant — Search Console, analytics, reports, audits, proposals or roadmaps.
Independent review
I analyze the website, performance, strategy and deliverables against the agreed scope.
Report & debrief call
You get the full PDF report — typically within about a week — then we walk through it together on a debrief call.
Who I Am
Gael Balouek — 14+ Years in SEO
No team, no account managers, no outsourcing. Every second opinion is researched, written and presented by me, personally.
- 14+ years in SEO, working since 2012
- 8+ years agency-side and client-facing
- 3 years leading in-house SEO across 18 markets, at Eden Springs
- 100+ businesses supported across 20+ markets
- Native French, bilingual Spanish, fluent English
- Technical SEO, content strategy, international SEO, analytics & AI search visibility
Testimonials
"Having Gael in the team for 3 years was such a privilege. I'd highlight the strong legacy he left in SEO for the rest of the marketing teams. I could not recommend him more."
Josep Trabal — CMO, Eden Springs
"I've worked with Gael for several years across different accounts. Every time I recommend him to a client, I do so with full confidence, and clients are always extremely happy to be in his hands."
María Vásquez — SEO Director, Neil Patel Digital
"Gael played a pivotal role in developing our SEO strategy, helping us expand our visibility. His strategic and technical expertise enabled us to make data-driven decisions that boosted our online performance."
Emily Hunkler — COO, QuicklyHire & GoWP
See More Reviews
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between an SEO audit and a second opinion?
An audit mainly examines the website. A second opinion looks at the complete SEO programme — strategy, reporting, priorities, deliverables and the actual work your current provider has completed.
How long does it take?
Typically about a week from when I have full access and documents. Larger sites, multi-market programmes, or a wider scope can take longer — we'll agree a specific timeline once your project is scoped.
When do I need to pay?
Payment is due upfront, in full, once we've agreed the scope of your review — before I start the work.
Will you recommend I change my SEO agency?
Only when the evidence supports it. In many cases, fixing priorities, reporting or communication is the better move — not replacing the provider.
Can this stay confidential?
Yes. Your agency or internal team is never contacted or involved unless you specifically ask me to.
What access will you need?
For the Foundations Review, none — it's built entirely from public tools (SEMrush/Ahrefs), your public site, and anything your provider has already sent you. For the Business Review, I'll also need Google Search Console, Analytics and conversion data, since that's what lets me check results against your actual business goals.
Can you review just one specific issue?
Yes — a technical audit, a content strategy, a traffic decline, an international market, or a single agency proposal. Tell me the concern and we'll scope it to that.
Can you review French, Spanish and English SEO?
Yes. I can directly assess keyword targeting and content quality in French, Spanish and English, plus the broader international SEO setup.
Next Step
Get clarity before your next SEO decision.
You may not need a new agency, another full audit, or a new website. You may just need an experienced outside opinion telling you plainly what's working, what's missing, and what to do next.
Request Your Independent SEO Second Opinion or email me directly →