SEO client onboarding questionnaire template

An SEO client onboarding questionnaire: the business, goals, customers, competitors, past SEO work, brand terms, approvals, and an access checklist.

How to use it: send it as a link after the contract is signed and ask the client to answer as comments on each section. Their answers stay attached to the questions, and you can see when they've opened it.

Example: the questionnaire Ridgeline Search sends every new client. Ridgeline is a fictional agency. Swap in your name and adjust the questions to how you work.

1. The business#

• In one sentence, what do you sell and to whom?
• Which products or services bring in the most profit, not just the most revenue?
• Which areas or countries do you serve? Any you want to grow into?
• Is anything seasonal? Which months are busiest and quietest?

2. Goals#

• What would make the next 12 months a success? Please give numbers if you can: leads, sales, bookings.
• How do you currently count a lead? (Calls, forms, bookings, walk-ins?)
• What is a new customer worth to you, roughly, in the first year?

3. Customers#

• Who is your best customer? Describe them in two or three lines.
• What do customers usually ask before they buy?
• What words do they use for what you do? (They are often not the words on your website.)

4. Competitors#

• Who do you lose work to most often?
• Which competitor's website do you wish you had, and why?
• Is there anyone you would rather not be compared with publicly?

5. History#

• Have you worked with an SEO agency or freelancer before? What went well and what didn't?
• Any past penalties, site moves, domain changes or redesigns? Roughly when?
• Have you bought links, or used any "SEO packages"? (It helps to know. No judgement.)

6. Brand and approvals#

• Brand names and misspellings people search for (we'll use these to separate branded from non-branded traffic).
• Who approves new pages, and how quickly can they usually reply?
• Are there claims you can't make (for legal, regulatory or medical reasons)?

7. Reporting#

• Who should receive the monthly report?
• Which day of the month suits you for a 30-minute review call?
• Is there a number your boss or board asks about every month?

8. Access checklist#

Please keep account ownership in your company's name. We ask for user access only.