What is white-label SEO? How it works, what agencies keep, and the risks

What is white-label SEO?

White-label SEO is search engine optimisation that one company does and another sells under its own brand. An agency sells SEO to its client and sets the price; a specialist provider does the work behind the agency, unbranded, and the client deals only with the agency. The term comes from manufacturing, where one company makes a product and another sells it under its own label.

A hypothetical example. A web design agency builds a site for a dental practice, and the practice asks for SEO. The agency has no SEO specialist. It sells a monthly SEO retainer at its own price, briefs a white-label provider, and gives the provider access to the practice’s Search Console, analytics and website. The provider does the audit, the fixes and the content. Each month the agency checks the work and sends the practice a report with the agency’s logo on it. The practice never hears the provider’s name.

1. 1Client buysThe client signs with the agency and pays the agency
2. 2Agency briefsScope, goals, deadlines and account access go to the provider
3. 3Provider worksAudit, fixes, content and links, unbranded
4. 4Agency checksQuality review before anything reaches the client
5. 5Client receivesReports and deliverables under the agency’s brand

Three parties, two contracts. The client’s contract is with the agency, and the agency’s contract is with the provider. That structure is what makes the agency responsible for everything the client receives, including work the agency did not do itself.

White-label SEO vs reseller, outsourcing and referral

White-label SEO differs from the arrangements it is often confused with in two ways: whose brand the client sees, and who the client contracts with. In white-label, the client sees only the agency and contracts only with it. The terms are used loosely across the industry, and providers sometimes use “white-label” and “reseller” for the same thing, so ask any provider what they mean.

Arrangement	Client contracts with	Whose brand the client sees	Who sets the client’s price	Who talks to the client
White-label SEO	Your agency	Yours only	You	You
SEO reseller programme	Your agency	Yours, often with the provider’s sales material behind it	You, usually from the provider’s price list	You, with the provider’s sales support
Outsourcing (disclosed)	Your agency	Yours, with the subcontractor named	You	Mostly you; the specialist may join calls under their own name
Referral	The provider	The provider’s	The provider	The provider; you may earn a fee
In-house hire	Your agency	Yours	You	You or your hire

In practice, the line between white-label and a reseller programme is how much of the selling the provider does. A reseller programme often comes with a price list, sales decks and sometimes a provider on sales calls under the agency’s name. A white-label arrangement leaves pricing and selling entirely to the agency. Neither is better; the question is whether you want help selling or only help delivering.

Disclosed outsourcing is the honest middle ground some agencies prefer: the work is still sold and managed by the agency, but the client knows a specialist is involved. It is worth considering when the specialist’s name adds credibility, or when the client’s contract with you requires consent before you subcontract. For a business deciding whether to outsource its own SEO at all, outsourcing SEO or hiring compares the costs.

What white-label SEO providers actually deliver

A white-label SEO provider can deliver most of what an in-house SEO team does: audits, keyword research, on-page and technical work, content, link building, local SEO and reporting. Some providers sell all of it as monthly packages; others sell single services, such as links or audits, to agencies that do the rest themselves.

Service	What you should receive	What to watch for
SEO audit	A prioritised list of issues with the pages affected and the fix for each	A tool export with a logo on it: hundreds of rows and no order of work
Keyword research and topical map	Keywords grouped into pages, with search intent and which page targets which group	Keyword lists with no mapping to pages, so two pages end up competing
On-page optimisation	Changed titles, descriptions, headings and schema, listed page by page	Changes you cannot see in a before-and-after list
Technical fixes	Fixes made, or tickets your client’s developer can act on	Fixes that need CMS access nobody agreed to give
Content	Briefs, and articles written to them, in the client’s voice	Generic articles that could sit on any competitor’s site
Link building	A list of every link: the page, the site, how it was earned	Package counts such as “30 links a month” with no named sites
Local SEO	Google Business Profile work and citation updates, listed by platform	Changes made to a profile the client does not control
Reporting	A monthly report in your template, measured against a baseline	Reports that list activity and never compare results with the start

The column that matters is the last one. The weakest white-label work tends to share one trait: it looks like activity but cannot be checked. An audit with no order of work, links with no named sites and reports with no baseline all let a provider look busy without showing results. Ask for the version you can check.

Reporting is where white-label shows

The report is the deliverable your client sees every month, so it carries more of your brand than any other piece of work. It should be in your template, measured against where the client started, and written so you can explain it on a call without the provider. How to create an SEO report people read covers the structure, the metrics and the commentary that make a report worth sending.

How a white-label SEO engagement works, step by step

A white-label SEO engagement runs in eight steps, from the sale to the monthly review. The steps are the same whether the provider does one audit or a year of retainer work.

1. Sell the work. Agree the scope, the goals and the price with your client. Do not promise results the provider has not agreed to deliver.
2. Sign the partner agreement. A mutual NDA and the terms below, before you share the client’s name.
3. Brief the provider. What you sold, the client’s goals, their competitors, deadlines, and anything the client is sensitive about.
4. Give access. The access each piece of work needs, from accounts that stay owned by the client or your agency.
5. Set the baseline. Record traffic, rankings, leads and the state of the site before anything changes, so every later report has something to compare against.
6. Deliver. The provider does the work and sends it to you, unbranded or in your template.
7. Check before it goes out. Someone at your agency reviews every deliverable before the client sees it.
8. Report and review. A monthly report to the client, and a monthly review with the provider of what to do next.

Which access to give, and at what level

Access is easy to get wrong, because the quickest option is to let the provider set up the accounts. Keep ownership with the client or your agency and give the provider user access at the level the work needs.

• Search Console. Google’s help page describes owners, full users and restricted users: a full user can view all the data and use tools such as URL Inspection and sitemap submission, but cannot add or remove users. Full user is enough for SEO work. If someone ever held owner access through a verification token, Google warns that a removed owner can re-verify unless you delete their tokens.
• Google Analytics 4. Google lists five roles from Administrator to Viewer. A provider that only reads data needs Viewer or Analyst; one that creates key events or audiences needs Marketer. Keep Administrator, which can manage users, inside your agency or the client’s team.
• The website. An editor or developer account named for the provider, not a shared login, so it can be removed without changing anyone else’s password.

What white-label SEO costs, and what your agency keeps

White-label SEO costs an agency the provider’s wholesale price, plus the agency’s own time on the account and the fees on the client’s payments. What the agency keeps is the client’s price minus all three. A sum that compares only the client’s price with the wholesale price overstates the margin.

There is no public survey of wholesale prices, and providers price very differently: per deliverable, per month, or per link. What is published is retail. In Ahrefs’ poll of 439 SEO service providers, agencies charged $3,209 a month on average, freelancers about $1,348, and the most common retainer band was $501 to $1,000 a month, charged by 20.4% of respondents. Your price sits somewhere in that range depending on your market; the wholesale price has to leave room under it for your own work.

Enter your own numbers. The calculator counts your own time and fees, which a price-minus-wholesale sum leaves out.

What your client pays you a month$What the provider charges you a month$Your own hours on the account a monthWhat an hour of your time costs$Payment and processing fees%The gross margin you want%

Your full cost a month

$2,048

Wholesale + your hours + fees

What you keep a month

$1,203

Gross margin

37.0%

Profit as a share of the price

Markup on your cost

58.7%

Profit as a share of what it cost you

Price for the margin you want

$3,421

(Wholesale + your hours) / (1 – fees – target margin)

Hypothetical defaults: the retail and wholesale figures are my own published SEO retainer prices, the hours, rate and fees are examples. Change any number.

With the defaults, the client pays $3,250 a month. Your full cost is $1,650 wholesale, plus 6 hours at $50 ($300), plus 3% fees ($97.50), which is $2,047.50. You keep $1,202.50 a month: a gross margin of 37.0% and a markup on your cost of 58.7%. The gap between price and wholesale alone is $1,600, so leaving out your own time and fees would have overstated what you keep by about a third.

The last line works backwards: to keep a 40% margin after your time and fees, you would need to charge (1,650 + 300) / (1 – 0.03 – 0.40) = $3,421 a month. The same formula is in the resold-service mode of the markup calculator, which also converts between markup and margin.

Count the hours honestly

The hours line is where white-label margins disappear. Briefing the provider, checking deliverables, rewriting a report into your voice, joining the client’s monthly call and chasing access all take time, and the time grows when the client is demanding. Track it for the first three months on each account before deciding whether the price works. If your hours keep rising, the problem is usually the brief or the provider, not the client.

Price from the work, not from the provider’s list. The guide to setting an SEO budget works through costing SEO from the hours and deliverables it needs, which is the same exercise from the client’s side of the table.

The risks of white-label SEO, and how to manage each

The main risks of white-label SEO all come from the same fact: your agency’s name is on work you did not do. The provider’s methods, its access to your client’s accounts and its contact with your client are all risks your agency carries.

The risks of white-label SEO, and what to do about each

IfThe provider builds links by buying them or through networks of sites made to sell links

ThenAsk for every link by page and site, and put the method in the contractGoogle’s spam policies list buying or selling links for ranking purposes as link spam. The penalty lands on your client’s site, and the client blames your agency.

IfThe provider promises rankings

ThenWalk awayGoogle’s own guidance on hiring an SEO is that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. A provider that promises one is telling you something about everything else it says.

IfThe provider owns the client’s Search Console or analytics

ThenKeep the client (or your agency) as owner and give the provider user accessWhen the relationship ends, an owner can keep or remove access. A user can be removed in a minute.

IfThe provider approaches your client

ThenA non-solicitation clause, and delivery that never names the providerUnbranded reports and no direct contact remove the chance; the clause removes the incentive.

IfQuality slips after the first few months

ThenCheck every deliverable before it goes out, and compare reports against the baselineYour brand is on the work. A review step is the only way to catch a problem before your client does.

IfThe provider stops working, or you stop working with it

ThenHold every document, login and report in your own systems from day oneA clean handover clause matters less if nothing important ever lived only in the provider’s account.

The first risk is the one that does the most damage. Google defines link spam as creating links primarily to manipulate search rankings, and its examples include buying or selling links for ranking purposes, exchanging goods or services for links, and using automated programs or services to create links. Link packages sold by quantity, with no named sites, are the place to look first. If a penalty follows, it lands on your client’s site.

The second is easy to spot. Google’s own guidance on whether you need an SEO says that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. A provider that offers one has told you how it sells, and your client will hold you to the promise.

The white-label SEO agreement: clauses that protect your agency

A white-label SEO agreement should cover eight things: scope, confidentiality, non-solicitation, unbranded delivery, ownership of the work, account access, methods and how the arrangement ends. A provider’s standard terms are written by the provider, so read them for what is missing as much as for what is there.

A white-label SEO partner agreement, clause by clause

1ScopeThe provider will deliver the services listed in each statement of work, for the client named in it, by the dates in it.

Why it mattersOne statement of work per client stops scope creeping across accounts and makes each invoice checkable.

2ConfidentialityEach party keeps the other’s confidential information, including client names, data and pricing, confidential during the agreement and after it ends.

Why it mattersA mutual NDA, signed before you share the first client’s name. Your client list is the asset you are protecting.

3Non-solicitationThe provider will not solicit or accept work from the agency’s clients, directly or indirectly, during the agreement and for an agreed period after it.

Why it mattersWithout it, the provider learns who your clients are and what they pay, and has no reason not to approach them.

4Unbranded deliveryDeliverables carry the agency’s branding or none. The provider will not contact the agency’s clients unless the agency asks it to.

Why it mattersThis is what makes the arrangement white-label. Write it down rather than assuming it.

5Ownership of workOn payment, everything produced for a client belongs to the agency, which may pass it to the client.

Why it mattersAudits, content and reports have to be yours to hand over, or a client who leaves you can be left without them.

6Accounts and accessSearch Console, analytics, the CMS and any ad or business profile accounts stay owned by the client or the agency. The provider gets the access the work needs and gives it up at the end.

Why it mattersOwnership decides who controls the account when the relationship ends.

7MethodsThe provider will not use paid links, link networks or any practice described in Google’s spam policies, and will list every link it builds.

Why it mattersThe risk of a penalty sits with your client and your reputation, not the provider’s. The clause makes the method checkable.

8Ending itEither party may end the agreement with notice. The provider hands over all work in progress, documents and logins within an agreed number of days.

Why it mattersPlan the exit before you need it. A client may leave you, or you may need to change provider mid-retainer.

An illustration of the clauses to look for, not a contract and not legal advice. Have a lawyer review the agreement you sign.

Two of these deserve a closer read. The non-solicitation clause should name a period after the agreement ends, because the risk is highest when a relationship has just ended. The methods clause is the only one that protects your client’s site rather than your business, and it is the easiest one to leave out.

How to choose a white-label SEO provider

Choose a white-label SEO provider by asking to see work you can check: named links, a sample report, the people who will do the work and the terms for leaving. The provider guides that rank for this topic recommend checking reviews and case studies, but a provider’s published reviews were chosen by the provider. The answers below are harder to fake.

Questions to ask a white-label SEO provider

1. 01How do you build links? Can I see the last ten you built and the sites they are on?
   Listen forNamed sites, real pages, a method you could explain to your client: digital PR, outreach, content people link to.

   Walk away ifThey talk only in package counts and domain metrics, or will not name a single site.
2. 02What does a report look like, and what does it measure against?
   Listen forA sample report with results compared to a baseline, and commentary on what to do next.

   Walk away ifThe report lists hours spent and tasks done, and never says whether anything improved.
3. 03Who will do the work on my client’s account?
   Listen forNamed people, with their experience, and one contact you deal with directly.

   Walk away ifAn account manager relays your questions to a team you never meet.
4. 04What access do you need, and who owns the accounts?
   Listen forUser access to accounts that stay in your client’s or your name.

   Walk away ifThey want to own Search Console, analytics or the client’s Google Business Profile.
5. 05What happens if my client leaves, or I want to stop?
   Listen forA notice period, and a handover of everything they have made.

   Walk away ifLong minimum terms with no handover, or work that stays in their platform.
6. 06Will you sign a mutual NDA and a non-solicitation clause before I name a client?
   Listen forYes, without hesitation.

   Walk away ifThey hesitate, or want to see the client list first.
7. 07What results can you promise?
   Listen forNo promised rankings: a plan, a baseline and what they will report against it.

   Walk away ifA guaranteed position or a guaranteed traffic number.

Start small. Brief the provider on one client, or one audit, before moving a retainer across. The first piece of work tells you more than any sales call: how well they followed the brief, how much checking it needed, and how long it took you to make it fit to send.

Many of the same tests apply to any outside SEO team, white-label or not. Choosing a SaaS SEO agency has a weighted scoring sheet for comparing candidates after the same conversation with each.

When white-label SEO is the wrong choice

White-label SEO is the wrong choice when the agency cannot judge the quality of the work it is selling, when there is enough steady work to hire, or when a client would be better served by a referral. Each of those has a better answer.

Is SEO a service your clients ask for repeatedly?

Yes

Is there enough steady work to keep a full-time specialist busy?

Yes

Consider hiring. Steady volume makes an employee cheaper per hour than a provider, and the knowledge stays in your agency.

No

White-label it. You pay for the work you sell, and the cost rises and falls with your client list.

No

Is it a one-off request from a good client?

Yes

Refer it. Send the client to a specialist you trust and keep the relationship for the work you do well.

No

Say no. Selling a service you cannot judge the quality of puts your reputation in someone else’s hands.

A rule of thumb, not a formula. Many agencies start by white-labelling and hire once volume is steady.

The first case matters most. An agency that cannot tell a good audit from a poor one cannot check the provider, and the review step that protects its brand becomes a formality. Someone at the agency needs enough SEO knowledge to read a deliverable critically, even if they never do the work themselves. Reading an audit for whether it orders the fixes and explains the cause, as set out in the SEO audit checklist, is a good test of that knowledge.

Should you tell your clients you use white-label SEO?

Whether to tell clients about a white-label provider is the agency’s decision, and the answer is mostly in the client’s contract. If the contract restricts subcontracting or requires you to name the people handling the client’s data, the provider is not a secret you can keep.

Where the contract allows it, a middle course is to say you work with specialist partners without naming them. The awkward case is a client finding out by accident, such as a provider’s name in a document’s properties, an unfamiliar email in the account access list or a report that is plainly not in your voice. If you keep the provider out of sight, check those details before anything goes out.

If you would rather the client knew, disclosed outsourcing in the table above gives you most of the benefit with none of the risk of being found out. My own white-label terms allow either: unbranded work under your name, or joining a call as part of your team.