# Request for proposal: SEO (search engine optimization)

Ask agencies the same questions, in the same order, so their answers are easy to compare.

Fill in the blanks, then send the same document to each agency you are considering. Free to copy and change. Written in plain words by the team at the agency that publishes it; it works for any bidder.

## 1. About your business

- Business name: ________________
- Website: ________________
- Locations and service areas: ________________
- Main services, and which earn the most: ________________
- What has been tried before, and what happened: ________________

## 2. Goals

Be specific. Agencies can only propose well against goals you can check.

- What you want from search (calls, form requests, bookings, visits): ________________
- How you will know it worked: ________________
- Which towns or areas matter most: ________________

## 3. Scope: what you want help with

- A technical check of the site (speed, mobile, crawling, errors)
- Keyword and search-intent research for your services
- Page writing and improvement for each service and area
- Google Business Profile set-up and upkeep
- Local listings and consistent business details
- Earning links from real, relevant sites
- Reviews: asking, replying, monitoring
- Monthly reporting

## 4. Questions for each bidder

- Who will do the work? Name the people, and say what is done in-house and what is outsourced.
- What happens in the first 90 days, week by week?
- How do you measure success, and what exactly will the monthly report show?
- Show two examples of work for similar businesses, and give references we can call.
- What do you need from us, and how often?
- How do you earn links? Which practices do you refuse to use?
- Do you use AI tools for writing or analysis? How is that checked and disclosed?
- What is a realistic timeline for results in our market, and what could slow it down?
- Do you work for competitors in our area? How do you handle that?
- What will you not do?

## 5. Ownership and access

- Our accounts (analytics, Search Console, Google Business Profile, domain, hosting) stay in our name, with the agency added as a user.
- We receive all content, images and files created for us, and the right to keep using them if we leave.
- Please describe how a handover works at the end of the contract.

## 6. Pricing: please itemise

- Monthly fee, and what it covers
- One-time set-up or audit fee
- Any third-party costs (tools, listings, content, ad spend) and who pays them
- Contract length, notice period and what happens if we leave early
- What is charged extra, and how you quote it

## 7. Timeline

- RFP sent: ________________
- Questions due: ________________
- Proposals due: ________________
- Interviews: ________________
- Decision: ________________

## 8. How we will compare proposals

Set your own weights before you read the proposals.

- Understanding of our business and goals: weight ________________
- Quality of the plan and the people: weight ________________
- Evidence and references: weight ________________
- Clarity of reporting and ownership terms: weight ________________
- Price and contract terms: weight ________________

## 9. Warning signs in a proposal

- A promise of a fixed ranking, a place in results, or a date by which you will reach it. Nobody controls search results.
- Vague answers about who does the work or how success is measured.
- Buying links, or links from networks of sites that exist only to link.
- Accounts or content that stay in the agency’s name.
- Pressure to sign before you have seen references or the contract.