This is such a familiar pain point - and honestly, you're not wrong to feel frustrated after months of nothing moving. The portfolio-optimisation trap is real. From what I've seen, a lot of agencies hide behind the "it takes time" line when what they really need is to admit your site wasn't ready for their cookie-cutter plan.
The good news? If your on-page and CRO are solid now, you're actually ahead of the game. The real lift comes from building topical authority and earning links that signal genuine expertise. That takes 6-12 months because Google wants to see a consistent pattern - and agencies can't shortcut that. So when they ghost, it's usually because they don't want to own the timeline.
For vetting, I'd shift your approach completely. Stop asking for case studies - ask to talk to clients they currently work with in your vertical. Not the ones they pick, but ones you find yourself. And on the first pitch, make them walk you through the exact gaps in your backlink profile and topical coverage versus your top three competitors. If they can't do that straight away, they're selling a service, not a solution.
Also, put everything in writing: specific keywords, target positions, and deadlines by month. That alone makes the fly-by-night agencies think twice before taking you on. It's a simple filter, but it works.
