SEO audit proposal template
Updated
A working audit proposal needs six sections: the problem in the client's words, the scope, the exclusions, the deliverable, the timeline and the price. The exclusions section is the one most proposals skip and the one that prevents the argument.
This is the proposal structure we use, written out with notes on what each section is for and where deals go wrong. It is free to download as Markdown and there is no email step.
It is deliberately short. Long proposals lose to short ones in procurement more often than agencies expect, because the person approving it is reading six of them.
The six sections
Order matters here. Opening with your credentials rather than the client's problem is the most common mistake in the first paragraph of an audit proposal.
- The problem, in their words — quote what they told you on the call. One paragraph.
- Scope — which properties, how many templates, which data sources you will have access to.
- Exclusions — what this engagement does not include, named explicitly. Implementation is usually the big one.
- Deliverable — what physically arrives, in what format, and whether a presentation is included.
- Timeline — dates, and what you need from them by when. Access delays cause most overruns.
- Price — one number, with options above and below it if you offer them.
Why the exclusions section wins deals rather than losing them
Agencies leave exclusions out because they read as negative. In practice the buyer has been burned before by an audit that turned out to be a document when they expected changes, and a proposal that names the boundary reads as the one written by someone who has done this.
Write it plainly: "This engagement produces the audit and the prioritised roadmap. Implementing the fixes is quoted separately once the roadmap is agreed."
Pricing the proposal
Quote one number as the recommendation, not a range. Ranges transfer the decision to the buyer and they always pick the bottom. If you want options, give three named packages with the middle one recommended.
For what the market pays by audit type, the price bands are set out on our audit cost page, and they are wide enough that anchoring matters.
Attaching a sample
Attach a real finished audit rather than describing one. If you do not have a client audit you can share, run one on a site you own and send that — publishing your own failures is more persuasive than a redacted client document.
Download the audit report template (Markdown)
The blank report structure the proposal promises to deliver.
Download the audit report template (Markdown)Frequently asked questions
- Is the proposal template free?
- Yes, as a Markdown file with no email step. Paste it into Google Docs, Word or Notion and edit from there.
- How long should an SEO audit proposal be?
- Two pages for most engagements. The buyer is comparing several, and length correlates with being skimmed rather than with being trusted.
- Should the proposal include the audit findings?
- Include one or two real observations from a quick look at their site — enough to prove you looked. Giving the whole audit away in the proposal removes the reason to buy it.
- What about a statement of work?
- For larger clients, the scope, exclusions, deliverable and timeline sections become the statement of work almost unchanged. That is why they are written as specifically as they are.
- Do you have a report template too?
- Yes — a blank audit report template and a filled-in real audit, both free to download in several formats.
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