SEO Proposal Sample

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Hey there.

You’re probably wondering wherethere’s a rat on your screen.

I’m not a developer.(Only four fingers.)

follow me!I’m a great guide toPortent’s story, though.

I’m smart... i dare say.

...Creative and curious... at last! The other side!

...a practical survivor...

...and a social animal. hey. yo.

Most important, I reallyunderstand value.

SEO requires all of these attributes.

Portent has ‘em.Clever, smart, creative people who makesearch a value generator for yourbusiness. Thats what it should be. Not a cost center. A value builder.

Portent Interactive is not:A design company, a creativeagency, or a search marketing firm. sniff (Please don’t call us those. It hurts our feelings.)

Portent Interactive is:A whole-brain internet marketing agency.

Portent started in 1995. whoa. 16 years in business. They must know a thing or two.

Their approach brings it all together -creativity, marketing and data - to makeyou successful. successful means helps your business grow. Not wins an award or makes visitors say oooooh, aaaaahhhh.

Key team membersWith really embarrassing baby pictures...

Ian LurieIan started Portent. He is the internetmarketing geek, with a blog, a book andoccasional speaking gigs on thesubject. (he’s bigger now)

Ian LurieIf you care about this kind of stuff, Ian’sbeen interviewed and/or written for theAtlantic, the Seattle Times, the PugetSound Business Journal, DirectMagazine, DM News and Visibilitymagazine...

Ian Lurie...he’s been a columnist onSearch Engine Land andSearch News Central...

Ian Lurie...He speaks at SES San Francisco, SMXStockholm, SMX West, SEMPDX Searchfest,Blogworld, Pubcon, WordCamp, the WSA,IMC Calgary, Ad::Tech, Emerging MediaConference...Actually, he never stops talking.

Ian Lurie...and, he wrote 4 sections of “WebMarketing for Dummies All-In-One”:- Web analytics- SEO- Social Media- Blogging & Podcasting (400 pages in all, not that he was counting)

Tracy BeachIs our COO and CCO (chief customerofficer). He’s the guy who makes sureyou’re happy with our work, day in and dayout.To stay on his good (he was a hairy child)side, say nice thingsabout the OaklandRaiders.

Tracy BeachIf you have any concerns in the courseof a project, contact Tracy. He’ll makesure things are on track, or that theyget back on track.(By the way, he’s not really a meerkat.He’s just camera shy. That’ll teach him.)

Elizabeth MarstenIs our Director of Search. She’s one of thebest SEM professionals in North America.Seriously. (and still loves Rainier Beer)She wrote the PPCsection of theDummies book, bythe way.

They’re All MarketersEveryone at Portent is cross-trained asa marketer.Because SEO is not a technical task. It’sa marketing strategy supported bytechnology.

To Do:☐ Visit the site: Portent.com.☐ Read our blog: Portent.com/blog.☐ Read the proposal that starts on the next page. thanks for reading!

What we’ll doThis is our proposal. It covers what we’ll do, how we’ll do it, and what it’ll cost.It does not include specific technical recommendations, or a list of things we’ve foundthat are problems on your site. We’ll get you more of that as we work.It does cover our process and how we approach SEO. Please let me know if youhave other questions.

Laying the groundworkSEO doesn’t matter if you ignore the fundamentals. The next few pagesoutline essential steps we take no matter what.

AnalyticsYou should know the value of a single visitor to your site. That knowledge drivesevery aspect of our campaign.We’ll work with you to build a list of conversions that matter and then put the toolsin place to track them. Ultimately, we want to calculate the value of an individualvisitor to your site.We’re a Google Analytics Authorized Consulting Partner. We also useCoremetrics, Omniture and HBX. We’ve added some new tools of our own, too.And we work with a variety of custom toolsets.As a company, we’re heavily data-driven. So we’ve created a lot of custom toolsto assemble, organize and track data.

AnalyticsWe track: • Organic search clicks; • Non-branded organic search clicks; • Paid search performance; • Rankings (obtained via proxy, no personalization); • Cost/visitor and conversion, by channel; • Chatter and sentiment; • Most important, the value of one click to your site. Without that, you can’t manage a smart campaign.

Analytics: DashboardWe’ll set up a semi-automated dashboard in Google Spreadsheets for you. Here’s asnapshot of the standard starting template:

Analytics: DashboardHere’s a search indexation dashboard:

Analytics: DashboardAnd, a fancier custom dashboard we built for a client.

ReportingBut more important, we’ll provide detailed explanations and recommendations, from real human beings, ona regular basis.We write plain-language reports that explain what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what we think should changeat the strategic level. We make these reports stuff you can take to your boss:

The keyword mapGood SEO strategies pay attention to the long tail: The many keywords that receivelow query volume but convert well and, taken in aggregate, can provide a huge trafficboost.Our keyword map is our guide: It maps specific phrases to clusters of pages, thenprioritizes them by opportunity gap, potential traffic, competition and work required. Italso drives category and site structure optimization.And, the keyword map is a peek inside your customers’ heads. We can use it todouble check all of our marketing decisions.

The keyword mapHere’s a quick look at a sample keyword map. Doesn’t look to exciting, I know, but itmoves online marketing from guess work to systematic campaigning. There’s atremendous amount of data that you can’t see - let me know if you’d like to talk moreabout our mapping process:

Onsite SEOThere’s a lot of hype around link building. But you control your site, and onsitefactors can have a huge influence on your rankings.We’ll review your site for:- Visibility- Relevance- StructureWe still have our search engine simulator, PythiaSEO, to help with these tests.

Onsite SEO: VisibilityThe data we collect with our search engine tester helps us improve sitevisibility. We need to get search engines to ‘see’ as much of your site aspossible.All of our other work - link building, site optimization, etc. - is basically worthlesswithout this ongoing work.

Onsite SEO: VisibilityThis is PythiaSEO. Say hi, PS: uh. hi.

Onsite SEO: VisibilityWe’ll analyze your server log files, too, checking for crawl issues and such.

Onsite SEO: VisibilityAs part of our work, we’ll also make recommendations for optimizing XML page,image and video site maps and your product feeds.Our crawler can even generate XML site maps for you, if necessary.

Onsite SEO: VisibilitySite performance is the final piece of the visibility puzzle. A faster siteencourages deeper crawls by the major search engines.It also has subtle effects on search rankings.We were one of the first companies to use performance analysis and ‘crawlefficiency’ improvement as SEO tactics. We started doing it in 2004. We know alot about how to ensure search engines find all of your stuff.

Onsite SEO: Site StructureAt the same time, we’ll continuously review and optimize site structure.Every page of your web site has authority it can pass to other pages, the sameway other sites can pass authority to you.Some folks call this PageRank. Doesn’t matter what you call it. We need tooptimize each site’s structure to pass this authority where and how we want it to.

Onsite SEO: Site StructureRemember PythiaSEO? Doesn’t say much, but it’s pretty dang smart. We use itto map internal site PageRank (real PR, not toolbar PR) and find ‘leaks’:

Onsite SEO: Site StructureFinally, we use the keyword map to determine where we need to interlink pagesand create new super-relevant ‘hubs’. All sites have content scattered aroundthat, if interlinked, can rank well for competitive long-tail or mid-tail terms.

Onsite SEO: Page StructureSearch engines look for certain cues to tell them the topic of a specific page.We’ll provide recommendations for capitalizing on all of those cues: Title tags,description tags and other page elements as necessary.This is where our copy editing team gets into the act: They’ll look at everythingfrom ALT tags and visible text to block optimization and semantic matching,providing edits for better readability and rankings.

Content StrategyContent affects both on- and offsite SEO, as well as PPC. Onsite, it addspages, depth and relevance. Offsite, it helps with link building by providing linkbait and material for syndication.We build our content strategy around the keyword map. The map tells us whichparts of the site need more relevant materials. It also helps show relativekeyword competitiveness.(Even if we aren’t writing for you, we’ll review what you write and provide tipsfor improving the ‘virality’ of your content.)

Content StrategyWe also use some natural language analysis, pulling together conversationsfrom around the web to see what folks are talking about most in your industry:

Content StrategyBut it’s not all data and number-crunching. Our awesome creative team will come upwith ideas for link- and buzz-generating content you can create and put on your site.

Offsite SEOOffsite SEO is about more than links. Social media is a direct ranking factornow, and reputation can have a long-term impact on your rankings, too.Offsite SEO means managing every aspect of how the world sees you, your siteand your brand. And building a sustainable campaign.

Offsite SEO: Basic LinksBasic link building includes directory submission to both free and premiumdirectories that continue to hold value after the Penguin update (ask us if you wantmore information).

Offsite SEO: Guest bloggingWe’ll look for sites that need content and are looking for bloggers.Then we’ll brainstorm ideas and send them on to you.Major players, like virgin.com, look for guest posts. They’re there for the taking.So do most industry associations - they’re out there constantly looking forcontent to fill newsletters, their own sites and special event sites.

Offsite SEO: Link sleuthingFew people like to do it, but link sleuthing is one of the best ways to build qualitylinks over time.For example: We’ll find bloggers and site owners who link to you incorrectly(broken link repair), mention you without linking, or link to similar content, andpolitely ask them to correct broken links or link to you.

Offsite SEO: Link baitLink bait can generate the highest-value link authority for your site. Webrainstorm and work with you on really compelling ideas that are likely to getrelated sites linking to you. Then we’ll produce and promote that content.Even if link bait doesn’t immediately generate high link growth, it pays off in thelong term. Over time, bloggers hungry for something to write about find yourpages and link to them. Here are a couple of Portent favorites:

Offsite SEO: Nice commentingWe find interesting posts relating to your industry and post good, usefulcomments. No “Nice post!” fakery - these are legitimate comments, with your URLin the ‘URL’ field.These build links. They also build relationships with bloggers, which helps uswith guest blogging and link bait.

Note: SEO ManagementHalf of SEO is execution: Making sure you do all the little things. So, we build a projectmanagement toolset right into PythiaSEO. It lets you keep track of individualrecommendations, and whether they’re complete:

Part 1.5: Social media“Social” media is so intertwined with search engine optimization that you can’tseparate them.So, we’ll always make recommendations to help you build a responsiveaudience. Those recommendations might include design, copywriting, how tohandle a complaint, or the next offer you can make to your fans and followers.We’ll help you build your Twitter & Facebook following, look at second-tier sitesfor niche opportunities, and use social media to help boost link growth.

Part 1.5: Social mediaI could go on for another 10 pages about social media. I won’t. Please don’t takethat as a lack of interest/experience. It’s more a case of hype fatigue. Socialmedia isn’t new, or groundbreaking.It’s people talking to each other.So it makes sense that it works.And really, SEO doesn’t work without it. So all our SEO bids include socialmedia recommendations.Our jobs, as marketers, is to connect you with those who most want to talk toyou.

Part 2: OptimizationWhat we won’t do is get lazy.We should always be stretching for a new, high-converting channel.Even if you hire us purely for SEO, we’ll devote some time to looking at youranalytics data from a higher level. We’ll give you recommendations to reduce‘bounce’ rate, improve conversion rate and strengthen your overall internetmarketing.If we find a new channel we think could help, we’ll point that out, too.

You may not always like us......but you will always trust us.We will, at times, make you uncomfortable.We’re inconvenient. We’ll tell you if some aspect of your site is hurting you. Wemay suggest pay per click ads that stretch your brand.That’s because we are very, very passionate about our clients. We wantBigorg to kick butt.We’re very nice about it. But we will rock the boat.

Bid (you looked here first, admit it)SEO and Social: OptionalAn SEO playbookPortent will write a one-time report that details an SEO plan for BigOrg.com,including changes and recommendations for your site refresh. The playbook givesyou the plan to execute everything we’ve detailed in this proposal. Then you go do it,or you can hire Portent to go ahead with it. Either way, you end up with a plan thatcovers both tactics and strategy.The Portent team will meet with you at the project start, to get an idea of goals, painpoints and your site plans.Then we’ll write a first draft plan.Then we’ll meet with you again to review.Then we’ll revise the plan.Then we’ll present the final version and train you and your team.

BidSEO and Social Step 2:The “we got this” option:Analytics, keyword map, reporting, calls every 2 weeks included.SEO: The basicsOnsite SEO: Site crawls and recommendations every 2 weeks.Content strategy: Article recommendations, editorial calendar and suggested pageedits.Offsite SEO: Competitive link & social media analysis. Basic link building; guest blogpost recommendations; link bait and building recommendations.Other: Quarterly reporting; access to PythiaSEO Logger

BidSEO and Social Step 2:The “Portent handles It” optionSame as the “we got this” option, but:Link sleuthing and link building beyond directory submission by Portent.Portent writes and promotes 2 link bait pieces per month for you.Portent writes one blog post per week for you.Portent performs nice commenting to build relationships with other bloggers for you.Portent helps you build Twitter/Facebook profiles via curation.Weekly calls (instead of every 2 weeks)

Essential statsPortent employees: 27Years in business: 17Investors: NoneBBB rating: A+

Now what?Give me a call, or send me an e-mail, and we can set up atime to review this proposal. It’s just that - a proposal. You canselect an option that fits, or tailor something. 206.575.3740 ian@portent.com

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SEO Proposal Sample

by Ian Lurie

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