Writing an SEO proposal clients can say yes to
A proposal is a decision document, not a brochure. What to put in it, in what order, and what to leave out.
· 3 min read
By the time a prospect asks for a proposal, they are interested. The proposal's job is to make saying yes easy, and to give the person reading it something they can forward to whoever signs off. Long proposals full of generic SEO explanations rarely do that.
Before you write: ask the right questions
A good proposal is built on a good conversation. Before writing, find out:
- What the business wants: more leads, more sales, a successful relaunch, recovering lost traffic.
- How they measure it today, and what they know about where their customers come from.
- What has been tried before, and why it did or did not work.
- Who decides, what the budget range is, and when they want to start.
- What they can do themselves: do they have developers, writers, access to the site?
If you cannot answer these, you are guessing, and the proposal will show it.
The structure
1. Their situation, in their words
Open with a short summary of what they told you: the goal, the problem and the constraints. It shows you listened, and it is the part the decision-maker reads first.
2. What you found
Include two or three specific observations from a quick look at their site and search presence. For example: important pages that are not indexed, a competitor ranking with a page type they do not have, a slow template on their key pages. Specific findings are far more persuasive than a list of services. Use tools like Google Search Console (if they give you access) and a crawler such as Screaming Frog.
3. What you propose to do
Describe the work in phases, each tied to the goal:
- First month: what you will check, fix and set up.
- Months two and three: the main work.
- Ongoing: what continues, and how you will decide priorities.
Keep the tactics in plain language. The reader needs to understand why each piece matters, not how you will do it.
4. How you will measure progress
Agree the measures now: leads or sales from organic search, visibility for the pages that matter, indexing of key pages. Say how often you will report and in what form. Be honest about timescales; SEO results usually take months, not weeks.
5. Price and options
Give two or three options with clear scope. Say what is included, what is not, payment terms, minimum term and notice period. See How to price SEO services for the models.
6. Next steps
End with exactly what happens if they say yes: sign here, first call on this date, access you will need.
What to leave out
- Guarantees of rankings or traffic. Nobody controls search results, and Google's own guidance tells site owners to be wary of anyone who promises them.
- Pages of generic "what is SEO" explanation. If they need it, give it in the call.
- Jargon without explanation. If the decision-maker will not understand a term, explain it or remove it.
- Every possible service. Propose what this client needs now.
After you send it
Follow up within a few days with a short message offering to walk through it. If they say no, ask why. The answer is the most useful feedback you will get on your proposals.
Building your client base? Read Where SEO agencies actually get leads, and discuss proposals with others in the Careers and freelancing community.