What Should Be in Your SEO RFP?

Updated 08/31/2022

Search engine optimization (SEO) has long been an integral part of digital strategy. But businesses cannot settle for the same humdrum SEO strategies. SEO continues to evolve, so companies must update their SEO strategies to compete with new algorithms, search engine changes, and the rise of mobile search and voice search.

For larger businesses, identifying and executing the correct SEO strategies can be especially difficult. Enterprise-level companies are more likely to have complex technical challenges that make SEO difficult and investors who expect all SEO activities to have clear, tangible benefits.

For many larger businesses, strong SEO strategy means hiring an SEO firm. Enterprise-level buyers should find an SEO firm by drafting an SEO request for proposal (RFP). In this article, companies can learn what to include in their SEO RFPs.

Looking for an SEO company? Check out Clutch’s list of top SEO agencies. Then filter by budget, location, and services offered to find the perfect partner for your project. 

What is an SEO RFP?

An SEO RFP is a request for proposal specifically for search engine optimization services.

Generally, a request for proposal is a document that publicly announces a project, describes the project, and solicits bids from contractors or other services providers. 

When companies are looking to hire external service providers, they release an RFP. Then, potential service providers bid for the project by developing a proposal that includes how they would tackle the project, what would be provided, and the cost. If accepted, they are hired to complete the project.

Why Do You Need an SEO RFP?

An SEO RFP is a great way to find new, talented, and knowledgeable service providers.

Ultimately, this helps decision makers understand what service providers are able to offer, so company leaders can make informed decisions. By gathering proposals from various SEO agencies, they’re able to compare companies head-to-head.

Because the RFP contains detailed project information, vendors that apply are able to provide details about their SEO strategies and how they would work to meet the client’s goals.

Additionally, decision makers will feel more empowered during the process because of the proposal they’ve acquired. These proposals will include the information about the resources they have, the budgets they offer, and their experience from their proposal. As a result, this simplifies the process of searching for and selecting a vendor.

What Should Be in an SEO RFP?

• Company information and current SEO strategy
• Project summary
• Budget
• Timeline
• Communication expectations

Company Information and Current SEO Strategy

Including company information and current SEO strategy is important to creating a strong SEO RFP.

Potential service providers need to know information about your company in order to accurately respond to a request for proposal.

In particular, your SEO RFP should include:

• The size of your company
• Demographic information about your customers
• Your company’s total revenue and business forecast.

Erica Garman, director of marketing at Titan Growth, an SEO and PPC agency says that RFPs are a way to analyze vendors' strengths and weaknesses.

"The goal of an RFP should be to gain a good understanding of the techniques and resources an agency would use to produce results," Garman said. "it’s critical that the RFP works to uncover each agencies’ strengths and weaknesses."

The more relevant business information you provide in your RFP, the better and more specific the SEO project proposals you receive will be.

In addition to general business information, businesses should include their current SEO strategy in an SEO RFP. Aspects of a current SEO strategy include:

• The budget for SEO
• Whether the company focuses on organic or paid search results
• Keyword research
• Analytics and reporting
• Content strategy
• Technical SEO capabilities

Your business’s SEO RFP will be stronger if service providers have an understanding of your current capabilities and strategy.

Overall, having an RFP with detailed, comprehensive information about your business and its SEO strategy will help your company find the best possible SEO service provider.

Project Summary and Goals

Having an accurate project summary is essential to any request for proposal and especially SEO RFPs.

You’ll want to outline your SEO-and-SEM-related business goals as well as how they fit into your overall digital marketing strategy. You should clearly identify the target audience for any SEO campaigns related to your business. Be sure to also call out what sort of SEO services you’re interested in; for example, enterprise SEO, link building, local SEO, or ecommerce SEO.

Wherever possible, outline specific tasks and subtasks so that potential service providers will know precisely what a project entails. Have tangible goals, such as where your site should rank on a specific search page or how many new visitors will reach your site in the third quarter.

With accurate expectations and clear goals in an SEO RFP, your business is more likely to elicit strong project proposals.

SEO Budget

Setting and outlining a budget is simple and essential. Any service provider needs to know what they will be paid to render services.

"Including budget is critical to help your competing agencies narrow down options that align maximally with your needs, and to keep a tight and efficient overall RFP process," said Laurel Stewart, director of marketing at Victorious, a global SEO agency.

If possible, indicate what your budget is for specific SEO subtasks. For example, your business may have a larger budget for technical SEO services than for keyword research or content marketing. Establishing a detailed budget will help vendors submit an SEO proposal that is catered to your company’s financial expectations.

SEO Timeline

At the heart of any business process is deadlines. By providing potential vendors a clear timeline, your business’s SEO RFP will attract the best possible service providers.

Some SEO firms won’t be able to complete a brief project with tight deadlines, while others struggle with longer-term SEO goals. Be honest about whether you expect to need services rendered for a month, a year, or more.

Communication and Point of Contact Expectations

Without solid communication, business projects don’t work. That’s especially true when companies elect to outsource to a different service provider. When creating an SEO RFP, make sure that you list proper points of contact and detail your communication expectations.

For example, some businesses may want to hear from the selected SEO vendor every day or week. Others may want to hold standing monthly meetings for updates. Some may even want the SEO vendor to act as a short-term, contract member of the regular staff. Whatever your preferences and expectations for communication, outline them in your SEO RFP.

Similarly, your procurement team should call out any relevant metrics and KPIs that should be tracked throughout the engagement. Be sure to note the format and frequency in which metrics deliverables should be provided to stakeholders. Note that while many stats relevant to SEO such as conversion rate can be found in easily-accessible tools such as Google Analytics, some stats may require more advanced software to track which may increase the cost of your engagement.

Additionally, because web design can directly affect SEO rankings, be sure to indicate your expectations for communication with your web development team to any responding SEO companies. Will your team be communicating with them on the SEO firm’s behalf or should the firm be expected to communicate directly with developers themselves?

Ensure That Your SEO RFP is Accurate and Comprehensive

Whether you need help boosting your keyword rankings or improving your technical SEO, submitting a strong request for proposal will help attract the best possible service provider.

When business write an SEO RFP, they should include:

• Company information and current SEO strategy
• Project summary and goals
• SEO budget
• SEO timeline
• Communication preferences and expectations

With a strong SEO RFP, your business will see rising SERP results and revenue.