So you’ve prospected a new client, or a potential client has expressed interest in getting your services. You’ve got one foot in the door, so to speak. All you need to do now is to ask the right questions — a crucial step during what is called the client intake process — to establish what would hopefully be a mutually beneficial and lasting SEO relationship.
The right questions can help you, as the search marketing consultant, understand the client’s business and its status, then establish a goal, develop targeted strategies, and manage expectations. This is a process that consultancy firms like SEOReseller employ to ensure that the branding and growth — and ultimately the conversion — of the client’s website are achieved.
How do you get your first SEO client on-board with your services? To begin, here are some essential questions you should ask during the client intake process:
All about the business and the website
In any partnership, one of the first things you need to know is the business. What is it about? What is the mission and goal? What makes it unique? These questions should be in your SEO intake form:
- What is your business about?
- Who is your target audience?
- What is your unique value proposition?
- Who do you consider as your Top 3 competitors?
- How do you brand your business?
- What does your brand stand for?
- What is your business goal?
Before going further into the consultant-client relationship, it is important to know the current numbers and SEO strategies employed by your potential client. This will form the basis of your future marketing and optimization game plan.
- How long have you had the website?
- Are you doing any SEO activities and campaigns at the moment?
- Are you presently doing Pay-Per-Click campaigns?
- What are your current conversion rates?
- Are you using social media to support your website?
- Do you do offline marketing? What are these exactly?
Objectives and Expectations
Knowing what the client wants to achieve in employing your services — to drive traffic and improve their conversion — and setting their expectations can save you from arguments and disappointments later on. Include these questions in your SEO questionnaire:
- What are the keywords do you want to target and rank for?
- What metrics are you tracking?
- What are your success criteria for an SEO consultant or agency?
- How often do you want to get reports?
- What do you expect from us?
Available Resources
It is important to know that your prospective client will have the resources needed to execute whatever SEO strategies you will recommend. Resources will also define the timeframe and priorities of the projects during the implementation period.
- Do you have your own web designers? Have you tried outsourcing web design?
- Do you have in-house SEO specialists?
- Do you have a pool of copywriters?
- Do you have your own web developers?
- Can you provide access to your Google Analytics?
- Can you provide access to a company email account?
Checklist
Beyond knowing these questions, an efficient SEO consultant will and should do some research on his or her own. Here is a short checklist of what you need to discover about your future client before creating a proposal:
- Explore and read their blog (if they have one)
- Read any press releases they’ve published
- If client has a lead generation form, try it out and see how it feels to be a potential lead for your client
- Find out how the brand is doing online by setting up web alerts or using Topsy or Mentions
- Do a Google search of the top executives of the company
- Research the top competitors
Streamlining client intake using your web design, social, or local SEO questionnaire makes it easier to qualify and close leads – prospects whom you can build a connection and nurture a relationship with as your agency grows. Our Project Managers are available to guide you intake a new SEO client, so sign up or login to your Agency Dashboard.
