How to sell SEO: discovery, sizing, the proposal and the objections

How to sell SEO

To sell SEO, find out what a customer is worth to the prospect, look at their Search Console data, size what better search visibility would bring in, and write a proposal that shows the evidence, the work, the price and what you will not promise. The sale is easier when the numbers are the prospect’s own.

SEO is hard to sell for the same reasons it is hard to buy. The results take months, much of the work is invisible, and the prospect has often been told before that they will be on page one. The guides that rank for this topic, such as Nightwatch’s agency guide, rightly focus on leading with business outcomes. This guide adds the part that makes outcomes believable: using the prospect’s own data at every step.

It is written for agencies and consultants selling SEO to their own clients, including those who resell SEO a partner delivers. The arrangement behind that is covered in what white-label marketing is.

Step 1: qualify the prospect

Before preparing anything, check that SEO can do what the prospect needs. A prospect who needs leads next month, or who sells something nobody searches for, is not an SEO client yet, however keen they are.

Can they wait months for results?

Yes

Do they know what a customer is worth?

Yes

Size the opportunity and write the proposal. You can show value in their terms.

No

Work it out together first. Without a value per customer, the proposal rests on traffic alone.

No

Is there a technical problem stopping their pages being found?

Yes

Offer a fixed audit. Removing a blocking problem can help sooner than a long programme.

No

Point them to paid search. SEO is the wrong tool for the deadline they have.

A way to think about it, not a rule.

Qualifying is not only about saving your time. A client sold SEO they did not need will leave unhappy. The most useful thing a salesperson can say is sometimes “this is not the right tool for you”, followed by what is.

Step 2: ask the discovery questions

Discovery is where the sale is really made. The answers tell you what SEO is worth to the prospect, what has gone wrong before and whether the work can actually get done. Each question has answers worth hearing and answers that should end the conversation.

Discovery questions for an SEO sale

1. 01What does a new customer bring in, over a year or a lifetime?
   Listen forA number, even a rough one. It turns traffic into money and sets how much SEO is worth.

   Walk away ifNobody knows and nobody can find out. You will not be able to show value later.
2. 02Where do your customers come from today?
   Listen forA mix of channels, and some idea of which ones convert.

   Walk away ifThey want SEO to replace a channel that is failing for reasons SEO cannot fix, such as the offer or the price.
3. 03What have you tried in SEO before, and what happened?
   Listen forA clear story, good or bad, and access to what was done.

   Walk away ifLinks were bought or content was spun at scale, and they want more of the same.
4. 04Who will approve changes to the site, and how fast?
   Listen forA named person and a route to get changes live within weeks.

   Walk away ifEvery change needs a committee and a quarter. The work will stall.
5. 05Can we see Search Console and analytics before we price the work?
   Listen forYes. Read access is enough at this stage.

   Walk away ifThey refuse any access but want a guaranteed result.
6. 06When do you need to see a return?
   Listen forA timescale of months, with milestones along the way.

   Walk away ifNext month. SEO is the wrong tool for that deadline.

Ask for read access early

Asking to see Search Console before you price the work does two things: it lets you size the opportunity from real data, and it shows the prospect you will not guess. Google’s own advice on hiring an SEO is that a site owner should grant only read access to Search Console for an audit at first, not write access, so ask for the lowest level the work needs. Search Console’s permission levels run from owner to full user, which can view all data and take some actions, to restricted user, which has view rights on most data.

Step 3: size the opportunity from the prospect’s data

Size the opportunity with the prospect’s own Search Console figures: how often their pages already appear for the target queries, how often they are clicked, and what a click is worth to the business. Their data is harder to dispute than an industry average.

Enter the figures from the prospect’s own Search Console and sales numbers.

Monthly impressions for the target queriesCurrent click-through rate%Click-through rate you aim for%Visits that become enquiries%Enquiries that become customers%Value of a customer$

Extra clicks a month

500

Impressions x (target CTR – current CTR)

Extra enquiries a month

10.0

Extra customers a month

2.5

Extra value a month

$7,500

Customers x value

Hypothetical defaults. Take impressions and click-through rate from the prospect’s Search Console Performance report for the queries the work will target, and the enquiry rate, close rate and customer value from the prospect. Impressions can also grow; this model counts only better click-through on what the site already shows for.

With the defaults, 20,000 monthly impressions for the target queries, and a click-through rate that rises from 1.5% to 4%, give 20,000 x 2.5% = 500 more clicks a month. At a 2% enquiry rate that is 10 enquiries, at a 25% close rate 2.5 customers, and at $3,000 a customer, $7,500 a month. Every input is a number the prospect can check or supply.

Where the figures come from

Search Console’s Performance report gives impressions, clicks, average position and click-through rate for each query and page. Google’s help page on those metrics defines click-through rate as clicks divided by impressions and position as a relative ranking where 1 is the top. Filter the report to the queries the work will target, and use the last three months to smooth out a single odd month.

Why not industry click-through curves

Industry studies give average click-through rates by position. Backlinko’s analysis of about 4 million results found the #1 organic result had an average click-through rate of 27.6%, and Nightwatch’s guide cites Advanced Web Ranking’s figures. They are useful for a rough idea, but the real rate for a given query depends on ads, maps, AI answers and other features on the page. The prospect’s own current click-through rate for each query already reflects all of that, which is why it makes a better starting point.

Step 4: write the SEO proposal

An SEO proposal should lead with what you found, then show what it is worth, what you will do, what you need, how you will measure it, what it costs and what you will not promise. Seven sections, in that order, cover what a prospect needs to decide.

An SEO proposal, section by section

1What we foundThree to five findings from the audit, each with the evidence: the pages, the queries and the figures from Search Console.

Why it mattersFindings first shows you looked. Evidence the prospect can check is worth more than any claim about your agency.

2What it is worthThe opportunity, sized from the prospect’s own data, with the assumptions written out: impressions, click-through rate, enquiry rate, close rate, customer value.

Why it mattersAssumptions the prospect supplied are hard to argue with. Label it a projection, not a promise.

3What we will doThe work in order, by month, in units both sides can check: pages audited, fixes made, pages created, links earned and reported.

Why it mattersScope in countable units heads off many disputes. Avoid counts that cannot be delivered honestly, such as a fixed number of links.

4What we will need from youAccess at the right level, a named approver, and how quickly changes can go live.

Why it mattersGoogle suggests giving an auditor read access to Search Console at first. Name the user level you need.

5How we will measure itThe baseline, the metrics that matter to the business, and when they will be reported.

Why it mattersAgree the baseline before the work starts, or every later report is open to dispute.

6What it costsThe price, what it includes, the term and the notice period.

Why it mattersOne clear price beats a menu. Say plainly what is not included.

7What we will not promiseNo ranking guarantees. Results depend on competitors and on how quickly changes go live.

Why it mattersGoogle says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking. Saying so in writing builds more trust than any guarantee.

An outline to adapt, not a template to sign. Your proposal should match your own contract and the law where you work.

What to leave out

• Guarantees. Rankings depend on competitors and on Google. A guarantee is either broken or bought.
• Counts that invite shortcuts. A fixed number of links a month is hard to deliver without paying for links, which Google’s spam policies treat as link spam.
• Jargon without a reason. Every technical term in a proposal should be followed by what it means for the business.
• A long menu. Three options at most. More choice slows the decision.

How to price it

Price the work, not the projected value: the sizing justifies the price, it does not set it. For published benchmarks, Ahrefs’ poll of 439 SEO providers found agencies charged $3,209 a month on average. What each tier of a package should contain, and how to test a price against the hours behind it, is covered in the guide to SEO package pricing.

Step 5: handle the objections honestly

Most SEO objections are fair questions, and some are right. Answer them with the prospect’s data where you can, and when an objection is correct, agree with it and suggest what would work instead.

Too slow

What they say: “SEO takes too long. We need results now.”

An honest answer: Yes, SEO gains usually take months. If they need leads next month, paid search is the faster tool, and you should say so. What SEO can show early is the fixes that remove problems, such as pages that cannot be indexed, and the first movement in impressions for the target pages.

Tried it

What they say: “We tried SEO before and it did not work.”

An honest answer: Ask what was done and look at the data before answering. Sometimes the previous work was poor; sometimes the market or the site made SEO a weak bet. If it is the second, say so and do not sell it.

Just ads

What they say: “Why not just run Google Ads?”

An honest answer: Ads stop when the budget stops; organic traffic keeps arriving after the work is done. Many businesses need both. Compare the cost per enquiry from each over a year, not over a month.

AI search

What they say: “AI is replacing search.”

An honest answer: AI answers change which queries send clicks, so the opportunity sizing should use the prospect’s own recent Search Console data rather than old click-through curves. Being cited in AI answers depends on much of the same work: clear, accurate pages that answer the question.

Too expensive

What they say: “It costs too much.”

An honest answer: Go back to the sizing. If the work is worth less than it costs, they are right, and a smaller scope or a one-off audit may fit. Do not cut the price without cutting the work.

Answers to adapt in your own words. An objection that turns out to be right is a reason not to sell.

The guarantee question

Prospects often ask, directly or not, for a guarantee. The honest answer is Google’s own: no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google, and Google tells site owners to find someone else if an SEO promises first place. What you can promise is the work: what will be done, by when, measured against an agreed baseline, and reported every month. That is a promise you can keep.

Step 6: present the proposal on a call

Present the proposal on a call rather than sending it cold. A proposal read without you is judged on price; a proposal walked through is judged on the findings, which is where your work shows.

1. Recap what they told you. Two minutes on their goals, their customer value and what they tried before, in their words. It shows you listened and checks you understood.
2. Show one finding on screen. A real page, a real query, a real number from their Search Console. One concrete finding is more persuasive than ten bullet points.
3. Walk through the sizing. Change one assumption live, for example the close rate, so they see the model is theirs and not yours.
4. Explain the first 90 days. What happens in month one, two and three, and what they will see in each report.
5. State the price and the terms plainly. Then stop talking and let them respond.
6. Agree the next step before the call ends. A decision date, a second call with whoever else decides, or a no.

Follow-up

Send the proposal straight after the call with a short note: the one finding, the opportunity figure and the decision date you agreed. If the date passes, ask once whether anything has changed. A prospect who goes quiet usually has a reason; asking what it is gets you an answer or a useful no.

Performance-based SEO pricing, and its risks

Performance-based pricing ties the fee to results, such as rankings, traffic or leads. It sounds like the fairest way to sell SEO, and it is offered by some providers. It also creates incentives that work against the client, which is worth understanding before you offer it or compete against it.

• Paying for rankings rewards the wrong keywords. Ranking first for a phrase nobody searches, or one that never converts, earns the fee and helps nobody.
• Paying for traffic rewards any traffic. Visits from searches unrelated to what the client sells look good in a report and bring no customers.
• Paying for leads needs agreed attribution. Without a clear rule for which leads count as organic, every month starts with an argument.
• Results that depend on Google invite shortcuts. A provider paid only for movement has a reason to take risks with the client’s site, such as buying links, that the client would never approve.

If a prospect asks for performance pricing, a fairer middle ground is a fixed fee for defined work, with a review point at three or six months where both sides look at the results against the original sizing. It keeps the provider paid for the work and the client in control of the decision to continue.

Selling SEO that a partner delivers

If a white-label partner will deliver the SEO, the sale works the same way, with two extra steps: involve the partner before you quote, and make sure you can explain every part of the proposal yourself.

• Scope with the partner before you price. Send the prospect’s site and the request; get back what the work needs and what it costs you at wholesale. My SEO reseller programme includes this scoping step.
• Price from the wholesale cost, your time and fees. The gap between your price and the wholesale price is not all margin; your own hours and payment fees come out of it.
• Own the conversation. The partner can join a call as part of your team, but the proposal, the relationship and the answers should be yours.
• Keep the accounts in the client’s name. The partner gets user access; nobody but the client owns Search Console, analytics or the site.

How the arrangement works, what an agency keeps on a resold retainer and the contract clauses that protect it are set out in what white-label SEO is and how it works.

After the sale: keep it sold

The sale is not finished when the proposal is signed. An SEO client is resold every month by the report, and the first few months set the tone for whether they stay.

• Record the baseline on day one. Impressions, clicks, click-through rate and enquiries for the target pages, before anything changes.
• Show the first fixes quickly. Technical problems removed in the first weeks are visible progress while rankings move slowly.
• Report against the proposal. The same metrics, the same queries, the same baseline. A report that changes what it measures each month looks like it is hiding something.
• Revisit the sizing. After three months, update the opportunity model with real data and show the client where they stand against it.

A clear, honest report is the cheapest sales tool an agency has, because it is what turns a first contract into a renewal and a referral.

How to sell SEO to small businesses

Small businesses buy SEO for the same reasons as larger ones, but with less budget, less time and often a bad experience behind them. The method above still works; the emphasis changes.

• Lead with local search. For a business that serves a town or region, the Google Business Profile and local pages are often the quickest visible improvement.
• Keep the proposal short. Two pages, the opportunity in their numbers, one recommended option.
• Offer a fixed first step. A one-off audit with a roadmap costs less than a retainer and shows how you work.
• Use their language. Calls, bookings and enquiries, not impressions and authority.

Starting the agency that sells all this, from the paperwork to the first clients, is covered in how to start a marketing agency.