SEO Checklist for Starting Work With a New SEO Provider

1. Current or past SEO Situation:

a. Have you implemented a previous SEO strategy? By yourself or from a provider?

b. Do you have concerns you may have been penalized by a search engine?

c. Other information you are able/willing to share regarding the strategy

2. Status of Your Website Infrastructure:

a. Do you have a CMS, if so what is it?

b. Would the SEO provider have access to site code?

c. Would FTP access be provided?

d. Overview of functionality (ecommerce, landing pages, CTAs, Forms)

e. Is Google Analytics installed and will access be provided early in the process?

3. Goals:

a. Leads or conversions

b. Traffic and traffic quality

c. Website Engagement

4. Your target audience:

a. Buyer persona if available (if not, typical demographic, interest information)

b. Your geographic reach or desired reach

5. Your competition:

a. Top 5 ONLINE competitors (These may not even be real competitors, but they consume valuable online real estate) and why they are better

b. Top 5 OFFLINE competitors and why they are better

c. Where you stand out from your competition

6. Keywords you think you want to focus on generating quality traffic with:

And Now, an SEO Checklist for Yourself

That should get you started! Your new SEO provider will likely have some other questions, but if you can collect some of this information for them in advance, they will be happy campers!