Introduction
If you provide services to businesses and people searching “best SEO agency near me,” then preparing an SEO questionnaire is essential. An SEO questionnaire is a collection of questions you ask your clients or prospects to understand their objectives before working on an SEO strategy for them. You could inquire about your client’s
- Business background and history
- Access to resources
- Technical information
- Business Strategy
- Goals and objectives
- Team and Backup
- Content Management
- Business Challenges
- Budget and Expectations
- Design and maintenance
If you are a local SEO expert curating an SEO questionnaire can be beneficial in many ways.
- It can help you save time that you would have otherwise spent on personal interviews or phone calls with your client
- It ensures that you don’t miss the point and end with a dissatisfied client after working on the project for months.
- It leaves a good impression and communicates your value to the clients so that you can grow your business.
27 Must Ask Questions in your SEO questionnaire
According to SEO expert Columbus, here are 27 questions that you must ask your new clients. These questions will give you access to all the information you need from your clients to craft perfect SEO strategies for them
1. What does the company do?
When your clients describe their businesses to you, it becomes easier for you to select the right keywords for targeting.
2. How are they different?
It is essential to know what factor/quality sets them apart from similar businesses to create the perfect marketing content.
3. What part of the demography would you like to target?
It will let you know their ideal customers so that you can measure success on Google Analytics.
4. Who are your prime competitors?
Knowing about the competitors will tell you how competitive the niche is and help you create backlink profiles.
5. Is your business only an Online one?
If the business is exclusively online one like SaaS, e-commerce, or digital products and services, you should set up a campaign that fits it.
6. Does the business operate locally?
If the business taps into the local customer base, you should create a campaign keeping in mind the local customers.
7. Does the business have multiple locations?
It will help you serve multi-location businesses like chains and franchises better who might search “SEO company near me” with local SEO services.
8. Have you worked with any SEO company before?
It will tell you what your clients have done previously, and you will work more efficiently. For example, if the on-site optimization was done correctly, you could focus on other things.
9. Has your website previously been penalized by Google?
It will not only help you evaluate your client’s website, but will also give you an idea of the issues you need to work on.
10. What type of CMS do you use?
Know what sort of CMS the clients use to simplify on-site optimization. Remember to ask this to people searching “SEO agency near me” on the internet.
11. Is your designer or developer in-house?
If there are structural or design changes required for SEO, the process becomes more accessible with an in-house designer.
12. Do you have access/Can you gain access to the following resources:
- Google Analytics
- AdWords
- Search Console
If yes, are you willing to share it?
Know if they have access to these valuable free tools by Google and if not, ask them to get it.
13. Do you own other domain names?
Remember to ask this question to people who might be searching “digital marketing agencies near me” on the internet so that you can combine SEO efforts.
14. Have you built backlinks before?
Ask this so that you can evaluate previous backlinks based on their current objectives and see if it works for them.
15. Do you have any idea about the keywords you would like to target?
Ask your clients if they have any idea about the keywords they would want to focus on to assist your research.
16. Has your website content been optimized for SEO?
Check if the website content has been optimized for SEO or if you have to work on it.
17. Are there branding guidelines for your company?
Know the branding guidelines like logos, color scheme, or fonts for optimizing the website.
18. Is there a specific writing style you want?
It will help you establish the right tone for the website’s content that will suit your client’s marketing strategy.
19. How much do you understand the process of SEO?
It will give you an idea about what and how you need to talk to your client to develop and harbor a clear concept.
20. What SEO results and KPIs do you want?
It helps you to establish the ideal goals and also measure the amount of success. The tools you are using for organic growth and the KPIs you set will define the quality and reach of the business.
21. What is your expected time frame for SEO results?
SEO is a long-term process and the time varies depending upon several factors. Know about your client’s expectations.
22. How do you want the reports?
If you are helping your clients with organic growth, you should generate reports to prove your workmanship. Ask your clients the way in which they would like to get the reporting. Also, ask if they want it monthly, weekly, or bi-weekly.
23. What is your budget for SEO?
It is crucial to get to know about your client’s budget so that you can set the scope of your work.
24. Are you willing to get your website redesigned if necessary?
Sometimes a website needs to be redesigned to enhance the user experience. Ask if the clients are up for it.
25. Do the changes need to be legally approved before implementation?
Get to know if creative ideas can be restricted due to bureaucracy and legalities.
26. What are the different roles and responsibilities in your team?
Know about the various responsibilities of people and their roles to know how the business works.
27. Do you need website maintenance? If yes, how frequently?
It will help you create an idea of the scope of maintenance that your clients expect.
If you are satisfied and quite happy with the answers to these questions, you can go ahead with this company and seek their services as a new client.