SEO Proposal Template With Scope, Fees and Acceptance

Executive Summary & Goals

When to use: Open the proposal by framing the client's situation and the business outcomes the engagement is built to support.

Executive Summary

Prepared for [Client / Company Name] by [Your Agency Name] on [Date]. This proposal outlines how we will help [Client Name] grow qualified organic traffic and revenue from search over the next [Engagement Length].

Where you are today: [1-2 sentences on the client's current visibility, traffic, or competitive gap].

Business Goals This Engagement Supports

• Primary goal: [e.g. increase organic leads / signups / revenue]
• Secondary goals: [e.g. improve rankings for priority topics, grow non-brand traffic]
• Target audience: [Who you want to reach]
• Primary success metrics (KPIs): [organic conversions, qualified leads, assisted revenue, non-brand traffic]
• Leading indicators (not the primary measure of success): rankings and keyword visibility, which we track as early signals that the strategy is working, not as the headline metric the engagement is judged on.

SEO is a compounding, long-term investment. Rather than promise specific rankings, we commit to a disciplined process that improves visibility, traffic quality, and conversions over time, measured primarily against the business KPIs above with rankings and keyword visibility used as leading indicators.

Findings / Audit Snapshot

When to use: Show the prospect you have already looked at their site and can name what is holding it back.

What We Found

Based on an initial review of [Website URL] and available analytics, here is a high-level snapshot of the opportunities and issues limiting organic performance today.

Please note: this is a preliminary view drawn from external data and third-party tools, not from full access to your analytics, server logs, or CMS. The findings below are provisional and may change once the complete audit is performed with proper access.

Technical Health

• Crawl & indexing: [e.g. pages blocked, thin index coverage, duplicate URLs]
• Site speed & Core Web Vitals: [current status / problem areas]
• Mobile & structure: [issues found]

Content & Keywords

• Coverage gaps: [topics competitors rank for that you do not]
• Existing content: [pages that could be improved or consolidated]

Authority & Off-Site

• Backlink profile: [strengths, gaps, or risks]

This is a preliminary snapshot, not a full audit. A complete technical and content audit is included as the first deliverable so we can prioritize work by impact and effort.

Proposed Strategy & Deliverables

When to use: Translate the findings into a concrete plan of work mapped to the client's goals.

Our Approach

We will focus on the highest-impact opportunities first, sequencing technical fixes, content, and authority-building to compound results over the engagement. Every workstream ties back to the KPIs defined in the summary.

Core Workstreams & Deliverables

• Technical SEO: [audit, crawl/index fixes, Core Web Vitals, structured data]
• On-page & content: [keyword mapping, optimizing key pages, new content for priority topics]
• Content production: [# of pages/articles per month]
• Authority & digital PR: [link earning, outreach, brand mentions]
• Local SEO (if applicable): [Google Business Profile, citations]
• Measurement: [analytics setup, dashboards, conversion tracking]

What We Need From You

• Access: CMS, analytics, Search Console, and developer support as needed.
• Approvals: A named point of contact to review and publish work within [turnaround].

SEO is a shared effort; timely access and approvals directly affect how quickly results appear.

Timeline & Milestones

When to use: Set realistic phase-by-phase expectations so the client understands SEO unfolds over months.

Engagement Timeline

The plan below spans [Engagement Length] and is organized into phases. Dates are estimates and may shift based on site access, approvals, and scope changes.

Phase 1: Foundation (Months [1-2])

• Deliverables: full audit, keyword and content strategy, analytics and tracking setup, priority technical fixes.
• Milestone: [e.g. roadmap approved, tracking live]

Phase 2: Execution (Months [3-6])

• Deliverables: on-page optimization, content production, ongoing technical work, authority building.
• Milestone: [first measurable visibility/traffic gains]

Phase 3: Growth & Refinement (Months [7+])

• Deliverables: scale what works, expand content, refine based on data.
• Milestone: [KPI targets reviewed against baseline]

Meaningful organic results typically take several months to materialize. Early phases build the foundation that later compounding depends on.

Pricing & Packages

When to use: Present clear pricing options so the client can choose a scope that fits their budget.

Investment

Pricing reflects the scope, content volume, and level of support in each option. All figures are placeholders for you to set. Choose the package that best matches your goals and budget.

Package Options

• Starter, [$X / month]: [core technical + light content, ideal for smaller sites]
• Growth, [$X / month]: [full strategy, more content, authority building]
• Premium, [$X / month]: [aggressive content + digital PR + priority support]

Terms

• Minimum term: [e.g. 6 months, given SEO timelines]
• One-time setup / audit: [$X, if applicable]
• Billing: [monthly in advance / invoicing terms]
• Not included: [paid media spend, third-party tools, dev hours beyond scope]

We recommend the [Growth] package as the best balance of impact and value for your goals.

Expectations, Reporting & Terms

When to use: Close the proposal by setting honest expectations, reporting cadence, and the terms of working together.

Setting Expectations

We believe in transparency over hype. To be clear about how SEO works:

• No rank guarantees: No one can guarantee #1 rankings or specific positions; search results depend on Google's algorithms and competition. Anyone who promises this is a red flag.
• Timeline: Meaningful results typically take [several months]; SEO compounds over time.
• Shared responsibility: Outcomes depend on timely access, approvals, and content publishing on your side.

Reporting

• Cadence: [monthly] written report, delivered by the [5th] business day of each month.
• Live dashboard: an always-on [Looker Studio / Google Looker Studio] dashboard, refreshed [daily], with read-only client access shared to [your team's email addresses] so you can check progress at any time.
• What we report: progress against the business KPIs (treating rankings and keyword visibility as leading indicators), work completed, and next priorities.
• Check-ins: [monthly / quarterly] strategy calls.

Terms

• Agreement: [term length, notice period, cancellation]
• Ownership: All work and accounts remain yours.
• Proposal validity: This proposal is valid for [X] days from [Date]; pricing and scope may be revised after that date.

Acceptance & Sign-Off

This section forms a mutual agreement between both parties for the [selected package, e.g. Growth] package at [agreed monthly fee, e.g. $X / month], on the scope, pricing, and terms set out in this proposal. To proceed, please have both parties complete and sign the fields below.

Accepted on behalf of the Client

• Name: [Full name]
• Title: [Job title]
• Signature: [Signature]
• Date: [Date]

Accepted on behalf of the Agency

• Name: [Full name]
• Title: [Job title]
• Signature: [Signature]
• Date: [Date]

Once both parties have signed, the [selected package] at [agreed monthly fee] is confirmed. Ready to move forward? Sign above or reply to [Your Email] and we will schedule kickoff.

Scope, Fees & Acceptance (fill-in)

When to use: Agree the commercial terms before any work starts: goal, market, baseline, deliverables, exclusions, who implements, fee, milestones and how each deliverable is accepted.

Scope, fees and acceptance

One page, agreed before the work starts. Anyone who reads it in a year, a finance team, a new marketing lead, a lawyer, should be able to tell what was promised and what was not.

1. Goal

• Business goal: [the commercial outcome, e.g. more qualified demo requests from search]
• Search goal behind it: [e.g. rank the 12 commercial pages sitting on page 2]
• What success looks like by the end date: [one measurable sentence]

2. Market

• Countries and languages: [e.g. UK and Ireland, English only]
• Who is searching: [the buyer, and what they are trying to do]
• Competitors we measure against: [3 domains you actually lose deals to]

3. Baseline, measured before day one

• Source: [the exact tool or property each number comes from]
• Date measured: [date]
• Non-brand organic sessions: [number]
• Qualified inquiries from search: [number, and who decides one is qualified]
• Ranking keywords and average position: [number, position]

Write it down even when it is unflattering. A baseline nobody recorded is why most arguments in month 6 cannot be settled.

4. Deliverables

What is produced, how many, how often.

• [deliverable, e.g. technical fix specification] · [quantity] · [cadence]
• [deliverable, e.g. optimised commercial page] · [quantity] · [cadence]
• [deliverable, e.g. report and review call] · [quantity] · [cadence]

5. Exclusions

The cheapest paragraph in the document. Name what is not included, so nobody assumes it is.

• [e.g. paid media management]
• [e.g. development work on the site]
• [e.g. writing copy for new product launches]
• [e.g. translation into other languages]

6. Who implements

• We recommend, they implement: [yes / no]
• Named owner on the client side: [name and role]
• Agreed turnaround for a fix: [e.g. 10 working days]
• If a fix is not implemented: [e.g. it stays in the backlog, is reported monthly, and work moves to the next item]

This clause decides whether the engagement produces anything. Recommendations nobody ships do nothing for either side.

7. Fee and payment

• Fee: [amount and currency] · Basis: [monthly retainer / fixed project / day rate]
• Invoiced: [e.g. monthly in advance] · Terms: [e.g. 14 days]
• Pass-through costs: [e.g. tool licences and placements, at cost, with receipts]
• Notice period: [e.g. 30 days, either side]

8. Milestones

• [date]: [e.g. audit delivered and backlog agreed]
• [date]: [e.g. first 10 fixes implemented and verified live]
• [date]: [e.g. first review against the baseline]

9. Acceptance criteria

How each deliverable is accepted, so an invoice is never a debate.

• Accepted when: [e.g. delivered in the agreed format and walked through on the review call]
• Review window: [e.g. 5 working days from delivery]
• If not accepted: [e.g. one revision round within 5 working days]
• Accepted by: [name] · Date: [date]

10. Two tiers, so the buyer chooses scope instead of haggling

Tier 1, [name it, e.g. Foundations]: [what is included] · Fee: [your fee]

Tier 2, [name it, e.g. Foundations plus content]: [everything in tier 1, plus what else] · Fee: [your fee]

No prices are printed here on purpose. Rates move with market, scope and seniority, and a number invented by a template is a number you have to defend in the room.

Worked Example (sample client)

When to use: The same fields filled in for an invented client, so you can copy the level of detail instead of guessing at it.

Worked example

Example only. The company, the numbers and the tiers below are invented to show how the fields read once they are filled in. Replace every line with your own, and never quote these figures as ours.

1. Goal

• Business goal: more demo requests from search for the warehouse software product
• Search goal behind it: move the 12 commercial pages sitting on page 2 into the top 5
• Success by 30 June: non-brand demo requests from search go from 18 a month to 30 a month

2. Market

• UK and Ireland, English only
• Operations managers comparing warehouse systems before a shortlist call
• 3 named competitor domains the sales team keeps losing to

3. Baseline, measured 12 January

• Source: Search Console over 3 months, plus the client's CRM for inquiries
• Non-brand organic sessions: 4,120 a month
• Qualified inquiries from search: 18 a month, counted as inquiries sales accepted
• Ranking keywords: 2,400, average position 28

4. Deliverables

• Technical fix specification · 1 · month 1, updated monthly
• Optimised commercial page · 4 a month · months 2 to 6
• Report and review call · 1 · monthly

5. Exclusions

• Paid media management
• Development work on the site
• Translation
• PR and events

6. Who implements

• We recommend, the client's developer implements
• Owner: the client's web lead
• Turnaround: 10 working days per batch
• Not implemented: stays in the backlog, reported monthly, work moves on

7. Fee and payment

• Fee: your rate · monthly retainer
• Invoiced monthly in advance · 14-day terms
• Tool licences at cost, with receipts
• Notice: 30 days either side

8. Milestones

• Week 3: audit delivered, backlog agreed
• Week 8: first 10 fixes live and verified
• Month 6: review against the January baseline

9. Acceptance

• Accepted when delivered in the agreed format and walked through on the monthly call
• Review window: 5 working days, then one revision round
• Accepted by: the client's marketing lead

10. Tiers offered

Tier 1, Foundations: audit, backlog, 2 optimised pages a month, monthly report. Fee: your rate.

Tier 2, Foundations plus content: all of tier 1, 4 optimised pages a month, and 2 new comparison pages a quarter. Fee: your rate.

Next step

Fill this in, then bring it to a scope call: book a free consultation, or read how we scope implementation work on our SEO and GEO services page.