SEO Retainer Statement of Work Template

Count everything. A deliverable a client cannot count is a deliverable a client can expand.

1. 2.1A technical SEO audit in month one and a monthly crawl with prioritized recommendations.
2. 2.2On-page optimization of up to 10 existing URLs per month (titles, meta descriptions, headings, internal links).
3. 2.3Up to 4 new articles per month of 1,200 to 1,800 words each, briefed from the agreed keyword plan.
4. 2.4Keyword research and a quarterly content plan.
5. 2.5Monthly report with rankings for up to 200 tracked keywords, organic traffic and conversions from the client's analytics.

Name what the engagement does not include. These are the lines your PMs will cite most often.

1. 3.1Implementation of technical fixes in the site's codebase, templates or CMS configuration.
2. 3.2Link buying, private blog networks and any tactic outside search engine guidelines.
3. 3.3Content beyond 4 articles per month, translations and multimedia content.
4. 3.4Paid search, social media and conversion rate optimization.
5. 3.5Guarantees of rankings, traffic or revenue.

Each article includes one revision round. On-page changes are presented as a change list for approval before publishing, with one round of edits.

Acceptance needs a measurable test and a window. Without both, delivery never formally ends.

1. 5.1Monthly deliverables are accepted on delivery of the monthly report unless the client raises a gap within five business days.
2. 5.2Articles are accepted on publication or seven days after delivery, whichever comes first.

Tie each dependency to a date so a late input has a known effect on the schedule.

1. 6.1The client grants CMS, Google Search Console and analytics access within five business days.
2. 6.2The client's developers implement technical recommendations, or the client purchases implementation hours.
3. 6.3Subject matter experts answer article questions within three business days.

Implementation work, extra articles or URLs, new markets or languages, and site migrations are changes. The agency replies with a change order or a monthly implementation block quote within two business days. Work starts after written approval.