Guide
SEO proposal template: scope, pricing and an example
A one-off audit, then a monthly plan: what to count, how to word results without promising rankings, a costed sample and a template to copy.
By Vincent Trienpont · Published · Last checked · 9 min read · How we write
An SEO proposal template works best in two parts: a one-off audit at a fixed price, then a monthly plan on a minimum term that does the work the audit found. Count what each month delivers, say what the client must supply, and promise the work and the reporting, not positions in Google. Below are the sections, a costed sample with VAT and a template to copy.
What makes an SEO proposal different
The skeleton is the same as for any client proposal: their problem, the plan, the scope, the price, the terms and one next step. The guide to what each industry changes in a proposal sets that skeleton out and shows the SEO row next to nine other trades. Three things are particular to SEO.
First, the client cannot see the work. A designer delivers a website; an SEO consultant delivers fixes, pages and reports whose effect shows up later. So the scope has to count deliverables, and the proposal has to say how progress will be measured.
Second, results depend on things you do not control: the client's developer, their approvals, competitors and Google's own changes. The proposal should name each dependency.
Third, the honest answer to "where will we rank?" is "nobody can say". Google's own guidance on hiring an SEO states that "no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google". Your proposal should say the same thing in plain words, and then say what you do promise.
The sections, in the order the client reads them
- The client's situation. What is wrong today, in their terms: enquiries dropping, a competitor showing up first for the services they sell. I open with the client's problem, not with a presentation of my company; who you are comes later.
- What you found so far. Three or four observations from a quick look before the call. Keep it short: the full audit is what they are buying.
- The audit. What you check, how many pages, what they receive and when.
- The monthly plans. Two or three levels, each counted per month.
- How you measure progress. The measures, where the data comes from, and how often you report.
- What we need from you. Access, a named contact, approval times, developer time.
- Not included. The edges of the scope.
- Proof. One or two pieces of past work that match this client's problem. I don't paste the same cases into every proposal; I pick the ones that fit this client.
- Price, term and payment. The audit, the plans, the minimum term, VAT and when you invoice.
- The next step. One action, and the date the offer is valid until.
The questions that fill sections 1, 2 and 6 are best asked on a call first; the list of discovery call questions covers budget, decision makers and timing.
What to count in an SEO scope
Without numbers, every request fits inside "ongoing optimisation". Pin these down:
| Item | What you write down | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Audit coverage | How many key pages you review in depth, and which areas: indexing, redirects, speed, structured data, content | Without a page count, an audit has no end |
| Technical fixes | Hours per month, and whether you make the change or write the specification | Many fixes need the client's developer or CMS access |
| Content | Articles or page refreshes per month, with length and who briefs, writes and approves | Without a count and an owner per step, content has no limit |
| Links and PR | Outreach campaigns per quarter, and what you will not do, such as buying links | Say what you do, and what you will not, before the client assumes a number of links |
| Reporting | Which measures, from which tool, how often, and whether a call comes with it | It is the part of the work the client sees every month |
| Approvals | How many working days the client has to approve a brief or a draft | Slow approvals stall the plan, and the month's hours still run |
The scope must also say what happens to hours the client does not use. Rollover rules, overage rates and notice periods are the same as for any monthly arrangement; the guide to writing a retainer proposal covers these and the other retainer terms in detail.
Pricing: a fixed audit, then monthly plans
The audit is a fixed-price project. It has a clear end, a deliverable and a date, so it is easy to buy. It also gives you the facts you need to price the monthly work properly.
The monthly plan carries the ongoing work. Offer it in levels that differ in counted deliverables, mark one as your recommendation, and include the largest level too. I don't assume what a client can afford: I put the premium option in and let them choose. How to build the levels so each step up is worth its price is covered in the guide to good, better and best pricing options.
Add a minimum term to the monthly plan. A client who stops after one month has paid for the first month's groundwork and seen little of its effect in the data. After the minimum term, let the plan run month to month with a notice period, so the client stays because the work is useful.
Finally, state your hourly rate for anything outside the proposal. Requests for an extra landing page or a migration check will come, and the client should know the price before they ask.
A sample SEO proposal, filled in
The agency, the client, the hours and the amounts below are fictional examples: replace them with your own.
Example
Proposal 2026-041 from Harbour Search (Cork) to Linden Office Furniture Ltd (Dublin). Dated Monday 2 November 2026, valid until Wednesday 2 December 2026.
The situation. Linden sells office furniture to businesses. Enquiries from its website have fallen this year, and two competitors now appear above it for the products it sells most. Goal: more quote requests from organic search.
Part 1: technical and content audit, fixed price, excl. VAT, at €95 an hour.
| Item | Hours | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Crawl and technical review: indexing, redirects, speed, structured data | 14 | €1,330 |
| Content and keyword review of 40 key pages | 10 | €950 |
| Gap review against 3 named competitors | 6 | €570 |
| Written report, prioritised fix list and a one-hour walkthrough | 6 | €570 |
| Total | 36 | €3,420 |
Part 2: monthly plans, excl. VAT, from January 2027, minimum term of 6 months.
| Plan | Each month | Price per month |
|---|---|---|
| Maintain | 4 hours of technical monitoring and fixes, 1 article, monthly report | €950 |
| Grow (recommended) | 5 hours of technical monitoring and fixes, 3 articles, 2 page refreshes, monthly report and a 30-minute call | €1,900 |
| Lead | Grow, plus 3 more articles, 2 location pages and one outreach campaign a quarter | €3,325 |
How Grow adds up, at €95 an hour.
| Item | Hours | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Technical monitoring and fixes | 5 | €475 |
| 3 articles, briefed, written and optimised | 9 | €855 |
| 2 page refreshes | 3 | €285 |
| Report and monthly call | 3 | €285 |
| Total | 20 | €1,900 |
The first six months with Grow, excl. VAT.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Audit, one-off | €3,420 |
| Grow, 6 monthly fees of €1,900 | €11,400 |
| Total | €14,820 |
VAT at an example rate of 23% on €14,820 (use the rate that applies to you): €3,408.60. Total incl. VAT: €18,228.60.
Longer commitment. Commit to 12 months and the Grow fee drops by 5%, from €1,900 to €1,805 a month.
How we measure progress. Organic clicks and impressions from Google Search Console, quote requests from organic visits, and the positions of 30 agreed search terms, reported monthly against the audit month. We do not promise rankings: no one can. We promise the work listed above and an honest report on these measures.
What we need from Linden. Admin access to Search Console, analytics and the CMS by the kick-off. One named contact. Approval of briefs and drafts within 5 working days. Developer time for fixes we specify that we cannot make in the CMS.
Not included. Developer work on the site, copy beyond the listed articles, translations, paid advertising, and buying links.
Payment. Audit: 50% on signing, 50% on delivery of the report. Monthly fee invoiced in advance on the first of the month. Payment within 14 days. Unused hours do not roll over.
After the minimum term. The plan runs month to month, with one month's notice.
Extra work. €95 an hour excl. VAT, always quoted and agreed in writing first.
Planning. Audit kick-off Monday 16 November 2026; report and walkthrough Friday 11 December 2026; Grow starts Monday 4 January 2027.
Why this sample works: the audit stands on its own and has an end date, the plans differ in things the client can count, the recommended plan is broken down into hours, the first six months have one total, and the proposal says plainly what it does and does not promise.
How to word results without promising rankings
When a client asks for a guarantee, give them certainty about what you control instead. Wording you can adapt:
Template
What we promise. Each month we deliver the work in your plan: [hours of technical fixes], [number] articles and [number] page refreshes, plus a report on the [date] of the following month.
What we report. Organic clicks and impressions from Google Search Console, enquiries from organic visits, and the positions of [number] search terms we agree with you, compared with the month of the audit.
What we cannot promise. No one can guarantee a position in Google's results. Rankings depend on Google, on competitors and on changes to your site that we do not make. If a measure moves the wrong way for [number] months in a row, we will tell you why we think it happened and propose a change to the plan.
An SEO proposal template to copy
Template
Header. Proposal [number] from [your agency, city] to [client, legal form, city]. Dated [date], valid until [date].
The situation. [The client's problem in two sentences.] Goal: [what success looks like, ideally measurable].
What we found so far. [Three or four short observations.]
Part 1: audit, fixed price, excl. VAT. [Areas covered, number of key pages, competitors reviewed.] Delivered as [report and walkthrough] on [date]. Price: [amount].
Part 2: monthly plans, excl. VAT, minimum term of [months].
- [Plan 1]: [counted deliverables per month]. [amount] a month.
- [Plan 2, recommended]: [counted deliverables per month]. [amount] a month.
- [Plan 3]: [plan 2 plus counted extras]. [amount] a month.
Longer commitment. [Discount, and the term it applies to.]
How we measure progress. [Measures, data source, reporting frequency.] We promise the work listed, not rankings.
What we need from you. [Access, named contact, approval time, developer time.]
Not included. [Developer work, extra copy, translations, ads, …]
Payment. Audit: [split]. Monthly fee invoiced [in advance / in arrears] on [day]. Payment within [number] days. Unused hours [do / do not] roll over.
After the minimum term. [Month to month, with notice period.]
Extra work. [Hourly rate] excl. VAT, agreed in writing first.
Acceptance. By signing, [client] accepts this proposal, the chosen plan and the terms of [your agency].
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. For your situation, ask a lawyer or accountant.
How Propozit helps
Propozit has an SEO engagement template, built as a monthly plan on a minimum term with an audit to start, and you can set your own standard for it: default products, texts in four languages, the schedule, deals and cases. In your price list the audit is a one-off item and the plans are monthly ones; in the deck the client picks a plan, the totals update as they choose, and one-off and monthly amounts stay apart. See how plan choices and live totals work.
Put the audit in as a fixed-price project and the three plans as monthly ones, then add a 12-month deal like the 5% in the sample, a VAT rate for this proposal and your extra-work rate. How Propozit works for marketing agencies shows one-off projects, monthly plans and hour bundles side by side. Once the client has picked a plan, they sign in the deck, drawn or typed, and both of you get a signed PDF. Propozit does not send invoices, so the monthly fee stays in your accounting tool.
Propozit is in early access and free to start.
Related
- Proposal templates by industry: what changes Keep one skeleton, change seven slots: a table for ten kinds of work and three priced samples in euros.
- How to write a retainer proposal (with a sample) The six terms every retainer needs, how to price it as three levels, a filled-in sample in euros and a template to copy.
- Marketing proposal template: structure and pricing Ten sections in client order, a labelled B2B sample with a retainer, a campaign and an hour bundle, and a template to copy.
Proposals your clients actually say yes to
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