What should be in a SEO proposal?

Featured

Featured connects subject-matter experts with top publishers to increase their exposure and create Q & A content.

8 min read

Things that Should be in a Proposal for SEO Services

© Image Provided by Featured

Table of Contents

What is one thing that should be included in a proposal for SEO services?

To help you craft the best SEO service proposal possible, we asked SEO professionals and digital marketing experts this question for their best recommendations. From benchmarking your offerings against a competitor’s to establishing realistic expectations for results, there are several insights that may help your SEO service proposal shine.

Here are 15 recommendations for what should be included in an SEO service proposal:

  • Benchmark your Offerings Against a Competitor’s
  • Include Options in your Proposals
  • Add a Timeline
  • Finish the Proposal Strong
  • Provide an Example of your Services
  • Focus on Local SEO for Small Brick & Mortar Businesses
  • Clearly Define & Measure Success
  • Review Social Media Channels
  • Analyze Monitoring & Management Processes
  • Custom-Fit & Tailor a Detailed Plan of Action
  • Make it Clear & Concise
  • Forecast & Project Potential Traffic
  • Introduce your Company
  • Establish Realistic Expectations for Results

Benchmark your Offerings Against a Competitor’s

The competitor benchmarking process can be highly beneficial to any business because it helps in the charting of a foolproof plan and provides a yardstick for you to measure the progress. A business can take from competitor strategies and make them suitable for their own company. This is why, for an SEO proposal to truly be complete, it helps to have a deep understanding of the competitors.

Marc Roca, 4WD Life

Include Options in your Proposals

I think the one thing that should be included in our proposal for SEO services is to actually offer options. I feel like we’re living in a world where consumers and customers have a lot of different options. So, typically what we’ll do is put together a representative, competitive, and dominant recommendation so that clients can make the decision that works best for their business.

We’ll obviously talk about the pros and cons about each of these options. In it we give clients the choice to make the decision themselves, but also what we believe will be the best path for them. I think that’s been super helpful as far as us being able to be of service and meet people where they are and let them know all of the ways we can support them.

Gresham Harkless Jr., https://blue16media.com

Add a Timeline

A proposal for SEO services should always include a timeline. This timeline should be realistic, and it should outline the specific steps that will be taken in order to improve the client’s website ranking. This will ensure that you and the client are clear about when specific tasks will be completed, and it will help to keep the project on track.

Without a timeline, it can be difficult to gauge the progress of the SEO campaign, and this can lead to frustration on the part of the client.

In addition, a timeline makes it easier to identify any potential red flags, such as an unrealistic goal or a sudden drop in traffic. By including a timeline in your proposal, you can give your clients the peace of mind that comes with knowing exactly what to expect.

Antreas Koutis, Financer

Finish the Proposal Strong

This is for the last section of your proposal. Your proposal should conclude with a compelling call to action that informs the clients of the next necessary steps. Your contact details and the procedure’s subsequent steps ought to be included. Contact information may seem like an easy addition, but keep in mind that many people may be watching this proposal. You need to make it simple for everyone involved to get in touch with you. This is one of the most crucial parts of your SEO proposal that is far too frequently overlooked.

Sanket Shah, InVideo

Provide an Example of your Services

Before any SEO services are performed, consider adding an authority analysis project to your proposal to kickoff your services. This analysis can be used to look at the authority of a website at both a domain and page level. You can also take a look at the link profile of the website in this report to gain a better understanding of where it currently stands and where it needs improvements.

Consider providing callouts and recommendations throughout the report, as well, to give insight into how your SEO services can be used to improve your client’s website.

Including this website authority analysis in your proposal can be an incredible resource not only for you but for your clients and can set the tone for what services you plan to offer in the future.

Hilary Kozak, LivSmooth

Focus on Local SEO for Small Brick & Mortar Businesses

If the client has a limited service area where they only provide a service for several towns or counties, you don’t want people outside of that service area seeing the website. This is why including local SEO in the proposal will generate more qualified prospects and sales from people in their area who are looking for their products or service, making it easier to narrow down the results to a given area instead of paying for expensive online ads.

Brenton Thomas, Twibi Digital Marketing Agency

Clearly Define & Measure Success

When drafting a proposal for SEO services, it’s important to clearly articulate the objectives of the project. What are the goals of the SEO campaign? What does success look like? Once the objectives have been established, the next step is to provide a detailed explanation of the services that will be provided. This should include a description of the research that will be conducted, the keywords that will be targeted, and the methods that will be used to improve search engine rankings.

In addition, the proposal should outline the timeline for the project and identify milestones that will be used to measure progress. By clearly articulating the objectives and deliverables of an SEO project, businesses can ensure that they are hiring a reputable provider of SEO services.

Jim Campbell, Wizve – Digital & Affiliate Marketing Agency

Review Social Media Channels

Social media review is one key element that should be included in a SEO proposal. These days, an organization’s effectiveness on social media can make or break the business. You need to ensure that your channels are functioning at an optimal level. Typically, a SEO agency will conduct an audit in order to see where your social media currently stands. From there, you will be able to get feedback and determine how you can improve your content so that it is resonating better with your target audience.

Gerald Lombardo, The Word Counter

Provide a Case Study as Evidence of Your Qualifications

SEO is not just like any other industry, many things going on behind the scenes and it takes a long time to get results even when everything is implemented correctly. That’s why transparency in the SEO industry is a must, you should have a good understanding of the problems your prospects want to resolve and present accurate insights from your past work to prove that you are the right person to make it happen. It builds trust and healthy relationships between people from the start.

You wouldn’t believe any stranger out there who hasn’t any proof that he is able to solve your problems, right? So it’s time to convince your prospects with a compelling case study including one of your previous works. Your past results increase your credibility with prospective clients and they will get a chance to see how you can add value to people like them. It’s one of the most important things that should be included in a proposal for SEO services.

Tomasz Bartczak, PhotoAiD

Analyze Monitoring & Management Processes

If you’re a brick-and-mortar business with physical foot traffic, Google reviews are going to be a cornerstone for your overall SEO strategy. Any SEO agency worth its weight would include local SEO in their strategy, and that needs to include a solid review of you management processes.

And if you’re 100% online, you might think you’re off the hook, but really you’re not. The hard reality is, you won’t rank on your core keywords for a while, and even if and when you do, you’ll just have the one result on the SERP. Other results will include platforms like Capterra, G2, Trustradius, etc. 

Where you rank on those platforms, and how much traffic you’ll get from those is almost entirely up to your review management strategy. Any digital marketing agency that knows what they’re doing will include something about those platforms, since once you hit first page results, that’s where the action is for every other result on the page.

Axel Lavergne, Reviewflowz

Custom-Fit & Tailor a Detailed Plan of Action

A proposal for SEO services should include a detailed plan of action outlining what the SEO company will do to improve the client’s website ranking. This action plan should be tailored to the client’s needs and website. It should also include an estimated time frame for results. Finally, the proposal should explain how the SEO company will measure success. 

When looking for a company to provide you with SEO services, it’s essential to make sure that they can create a detailed and comprehensive proposal.

Checking this document via PDF or Proposify should outline all of the work that the company will be doing for you and what you can expect in terms of results. Additionally, the proposal should include a completion timeline and a breakdown of costs. By ensuring that your potential SEO provider can give you a clear and concise proposal, you can be sure that they are fully prepared to take on your project and deliver the results you need.

Lukasz Zelezny, SEO ANT LTD

Make it Clear & Concise

First and foremost, your proposal for SEO services should be clear and concise. It should outline what you can do for the client, how you will do it, and what results the client can expect. Your proposal should also be realistic. Don’t promise the world to your clients—if you can’t deliver on your promises, they’ll quickly become disappointed. Be upfront about what you can and cannot do, and set realistic expectations from the outset.

Finally, make sure that your proposal is tailored to each individual client. Generic proposals are a turn-off—show that you have taken the time to understand the client’s specific needs and requirements by tailoring your proposal accordingly.

Matt Davies, Slingshot Search

Forecast & Project Potential Traffic

A potential client often wants to know how you can save them money or how you can make them more money. You may want to consider creating a ROI forecast to demonstrate this point. There are of course a number of variables that affect such figures, but they provide a solid starting point.

An excel forecasting function could be used to figure this out. It’s important to note that you must have access to the client’s Google Analytics data in order to perform this task. In addition to average order value and conversion rate, other methods would require information from the client.

Saad Raza, RetroCube Mobile App Development

Introduce your Company

One thing that should be included in a proposal for an SEO service is an introduction and summary of your company. Clients should know who they’re working with, and if they’re interested enough to want to hire you, they’ll be glad to see a description of who you are. The introduction should include your company history/personnel, mission statement, and value proposition. The summary should include how the company is well-positioned for the future, how it will continue to deliver consistent customer value (as well as a competitive advantage), and a statement that the market opportunities are substantial with growing demand.

Saunav Kaushik, VinPit

Establish Realistic Expectations for Results

The client should have a realistic expectation for the number of months it would take for their website’s Domain Rating to rise. Domain Rating or Domain Authority is a score that estimates the chances a website can rank at the top of search engines for certain keyword phrases.

This is a measurable metric and an indicator that the SEO service provider is taking the proper action. Keep in mind, this score is logarithmic. This means it’s exponentially more difficult to increase an already-high score such as 70 to 75, than it would be to increase a modest score such as 30 to 35.

Scott Lieberman, Touchdown Money

Submit Your Answer

Would you like to submit an alternative answer to the question, “

What should be in a SEO proposal?

” Submit your answer here.

Terkel creates community-driven content featuring expert insights. Sign up at terkel.io to answer questions and get published.

Up Next