The SEO RFP CEOs Use To Grow Pipeline

SEO RFP template

I like to anchor the whole process with a simple, no‑fluff SEO RFP template in a Google Doc or Word file, paired with a scoring spreadsheet in Sheets or Excel. Together, those two documents become your control panel for picking an agency, not just another stack of PDFs that gathers dust.

This kind of template works best for B2B service companies doing roughly 50k to 150k in monthly recurring revenue. You have real growth targets, real sales cycles, and no time to explain your world from scratch to every vendor. The template keeps all the key information in one place so every agency answers the same questions, in the same format.

That does a few things for you:

• It saves many hours of back‑and‑forth emails.
• It cuts down on micromanagement because the rules are clear up front.
• It pushes agencies to be accountable, since they must show numbers and methods, not just nice slides.

If you imagine the first page, it is not a glossy brochure. It is a clean sheet with your company overview at the top, a short list of goals, and a scoring table on the side. Nothing fancy - just a tool that lets you make a confident call.

A practical SEO RFP template usually includes a company and project overview, growth goals and success metrics, scope of work and requirements, a standard pricing table, and clear evaluation criteria with scoring rules. Once that frame exists, every proposal plugs into the same structure, which makes it much easier to compare and choose without feeling buried in detail.

What is an SEO request for proposal?

An SEO request for proposal is a structured document I send (or recommend sending) to potential agencies when the goal is a serious, long‑term SEO program, not a one‑off fix. It asks them to lay out their strategy, specific deliverables, timelines, and pricing in enough detail that you can judge who is most likely to grow your pipeline.

For B2B service companies, that usually means retainers in the 3k to 15k per month range, or high five‑ to six‑figure projects that run for 6 to 24 months. Typical examples include IT services, consulting, SaaS, agencies, or any complex service where sales cycles are measured in weeks or months, not minutes.

Inside a typical company, several people touch the SEO RFP. The CEO or founder cares about revenue, margin, and risk. A Head of Marketing or Growth leader owns the day‑to‑day work. A RevOps or Sales leader sees the full funnel and how leads convert. Sometimes Procurement or Finance joins if the budget crosses a set threshold. The document forces this group to agree on goals, budget range, and expectations before agencies ever enter the conversation. That alignment alone prevents a lot of pain later.

Here is a quick example I see often.

A B2B SaaS company has grown to about 100k MRR mostly through paid search and outbound. Cost per lead keeps rising. Sales keeps asking for better‑fit leads. The CEO knows they need a stronger organic engine, but the last agency spoke only in rankings and traffic, not pipeline.

Instead of taking another random pitch, the team drafts an SEO RFP. They define targets, gather baseline numbers, and agree on what success looks like. Then they send that document to a short list of agencies. The conversation shifts from "Here is our menu" to "Here is how I plan to help you hit those specific goals."

RFP for SEO services vs RFQ and RFI

People often mix up RFP, RFQ, and RFI. They sound similar, yet they solve different jobs.

For search work, an RFP for SEO services is the document you use when you want an agency to propose a strategy and then execute it. An RFQ is better when you already know exactly what you need and only price and terms differ. An RFI is for early research when you are still testing whether SEO even belongs in your growth mix. If you need more depth on how to structure a request for information, there are dedicated guides that cover that process.

Here is a simple comparison.

Most serious B2B SEO partnerships benefit from starting with an RFP, not an RFQ. When the goal is pipeline, not just fixing broken title tags, you are buying thinking, collaboration, and ownership of results, not just a bundle of tasks.

A common mistake I see is sending a two‑page RFQ for what is actually a multi‑year SEO retainer. Agencies then race to the lowest price, under‑scope the work, and you end up six months later with soft results and a lot of finger‑pointing. A structured RFP reduces that risk by making expectations and constraints clear before anyone signs.

When to use an SEO RFP

You do not need a full SEO RFP for everything. Sometimes a short statement of work is enough. But there are clear moments when the extra structure pays off.

I recommend using an SEO RFP when:

• Your SEO budget is in the 3k to 15k per month range, or the project runs into high five or six figures.
• You are planning a site redesign, domain change, or platform migration that could move organic traffic up or down in a big way.
• Your current SEO agency is underperforming and you want a clean, repeatable way to avoid the same outcome.
• You want to reduce dependence on paid acquisition and build an organic inbound pipeline that feeds sales with better‑fit leads.
• Several internal stakeholders need to agree on goals, KPIs, and what "good" looks like before you bring in partners.

There are also different flavors of SEO RFPs in B2B services. A full‑funnel B2B SEO program focuses on traffic growth, MQLs, SQLs, and pipeline from search, and benefits from extra context such as ACV, sales cycle length, target industries, lead qualification rules, and CRM structure. A technical SEO plus migration RFP focuses on protecting and growing traffic through a new site build or platform change; it should spell out your current and future tech stack, page counts, international setup, dev resources, and launch timing.

A content‑led SEO RFP emphasizes content strategy, keyword research, and ongoing publishing, so I include details on content resources in‑house, subject matter experts, review process, and brand voice. Thought leadership and digital PR RFPs focus on expert content and authority building for a niche audience and need clarity on spokespeople, PR rules, risk tolerance for opinions, and target publications. International SEO RFPs focus on entering new countries through search and should specify languages, local competitors, hosting setup, hreflang considerations, and any legal or compliance issues.

If you are clear on which type you are running, agencies can respond with relevant experience instead of generic plans.

SEO RFP process

A good SEO RFP process feels structured but not heavy. It gives agencies enough context to do their best work while keeping decision‑making simple on your side. I like to think of it in three main phases.

Preparation

Plan on roughly two weeks for this phase, especially if more than one leader is involved.

First, define goals in business terms. Set targets like "Increase qualified demo requests from organic by 40 percent in 12 months" or "Grow search‑sourced pipeline to 300k per quarter." Rankings and traffic are useful, but I treat them as supporting metrics, not the main goal.

Second, gather baseline metrics. Pull data from Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, and your CRM or data warehouse. Capture current organic sessions, conversions, assisted pipeline, close rates, and average deal size. The more accurate your baseline, the easier it is to judge whether proposed plans and targets are realistic.

Third, agree on budget and decision criteria. Decide on a budget range, deal‑breakers, and a short list of what matters most. For many B2B teams, a strong track record in similar funnels and an ability to tie SEO to revenue matter more than the lowest price.

Finally, build a shortlist of agencies. I recommend aiming for four to seven that understand B2B services and your type of sales cycle. Too many, and you overload your team; too few, and you limit your options.

Assign one internal owner for the SEO RFP. That person keeps everyone on track and prevents "decision‑making by committee" from dragging on for months.

Management

Once the document is ready, you move into managing the live process. This often runs for two to three weeks.

Send the RFP with clear dates for key moments: when questions are due, when you will share answers, and when proposals must arrive. Centralize questions by asking agencies to send them to one email address or form. Then answer them in a shared document that all bidders can see. That keeps the process fair and saves you from repeating yourself.

During this phase it is tempting to schedule many one‑off calls. To protect your team’s time, I usually suggest one group Q&A call plus the shared question log. A good agency should be able to work with that level of access and clarity.

You want to be responsive, but you do not need to be on call for every small query. The RFP itself should carry most of the detail.

Closing

When responses land, you move into evaluation and selection. This phase usually takes one to two weeks.

Log every proposal in your scoring spreadsheet as soon as it arrives, noting who sent it, when it arrived, and any obvious strengths or gaps. Have each evaluator score independently first using your agreed criteria, then meet to compare notes. From there, shortlist two or three finalists for live presentations and deeper discussion.

Use those sessions to test thinking, chemistry, and honesty about risk, then negotiate terms once you have a clear front‑runner. A simple way to picture the whole SEO RFP process is as a timeline: about two weeks to prepare, two to three weeks for responses, and one to two weeks for evaluation and selection. Roughly five to seven weeks from idea to signed contract - without you needing to manage every email.

How to write an SEO RFP

Writing an SEO RFP does not have to mean a 40‑page document. For most B2B service companies, a focused 8‑ to 15‑page brief is more than enough, as long as it covers the right areas. In practice, I build around eight core pieces: an invitation to bid and executive summary, a business and project overview, vendor requirements, scope and terms, pricing structure, timeline and milestones, evaluation criteria, and mandatory questions, plus an optional example or scenario to make things concrete.

Invitation to bid and executive summary

Start with a one‑page summary at the front.

Describe the project name and a short description in plain language. Spell out high‑level goals in business terms - for example, "Increase qualified demo requests from organic by 40 percent over 12 months while keeping lead quality equal to or better than paid search." Explain why you are issuing this RFP now: new growth targets, a site relaunch, or a need to replace an underperforming agency.

Include a rough budget range and expected contract length. This page should let an agency leader read it and quickly decide whether the opportunity fits their strengths.

Business and project overview

Next, help agencies understand your world so they can design a realistic plan.

Explain what your company does and who you serve. Clarify whether you are primarily services, SaaS, an agency, or a hybrid, and outline your main ideal customer profiles and target account types. Summarize your commercial model: average contract value, typical deal sizes, and sales cycle length.

Then describe your current marketing mix - paid search, paid social, outbound, events, partnerships, content, or anything else that feeds pipeline. Finally, outline current SEO efforts: in‑house team or past agency, what has worked, what has not, and where you feel stuck. The goal is not to impress anyone; it is to give enough context so a strong agency can see the levers they would pull.

Vendor requirements

Here, you set the bar for who should respond.

I usually define the type of B2B SEO experience required, ideally with service‑based or SaaS models similar to yours. If your market is niche or regulated, call out any helpful industry or vertical experience. Note minimum expectations such as years in business or minimum engagement size if those matter to you.

Describe the expected team structure on the agency side: who would be on your account day to day, who leads strategy, and who executes. Clarify which tools and stack matter - GA4, Search Console, HubSpot, Salesforce, marketing automation, data tools, and any dashboards you rely on. Finally, spell out expectations around ownership: your company should own all content, logins, and assets created during the engagement.

This section quietly filters out vendors who are not ready for your level of complexity.

Scope, specifications, and terms

Now you describe what you want done, and under what conditions.

Outline the activities in scope, such as technical SEO audits and issue‑resolution support, on‑page optimization and content structure, keyword and topic research, content strategy and (if relevant) content production, as well as digital PR and authority building. Include reporting, forecasting, and regular planning sessions if those are important.

Explain your channels and tech stack so agencies can see how SEO fits into the larger system: your CMS, CRM, analytics tools, and any product or data platforms that matter. Note any compliance rules, security concerns, or legal review steps that affect how content is published and changed.

Then summarize commercial terms: desired contract length, ideal start date, invoicing rules, and notice periods. You do not have to predict every task, but you should define boundaries and expectations so there are no big surprises later.

Pricing structure and template

Price comparison is where many selections go wrong. One proposal lists hourly rates, another lists monthly retainers, a third mixes both. To avoid that, I suggest including a simple pricing template in your RFP and asking every agency to use it.

For example:

When everyone fills out the same structure, you can compare total investment and what is included without mental gymnastics.

Timeline and milestones

Set clear timing expectations so agencies can plan realistic resourcing.

State your target start date and any hard deadlines, such as a site relaunch or product launch. Outline major milestones: onboarding and discovery, first technical audit delivery, strategy presentation, first batch of optimizations and content going live, and regular review points such as quarterly performance reviews.

Also describe how delays will be handled. If, for example, your dev team cannot ship fixes within a month, clarify what that means for targets, reporting, and how you will adjust expectations together.

Evaluation criteria

Spelling out how you plan to judge proposals makes the process feel fair and reduces debate later.

One model I like assigns 30 percent weight to strategy and thinking, 20 percent each to B2B experience and evidence of results, and 15 percent each to reporting and collaboration approach and to price and value. You can adjust the numbers, but keeping the list short and weighted helps.

State any must‑haves, such as no guarantee of specific rankings, a minimum level of relevant experience, or clear data on past revenue impact. Agencies then know how you will decide and can focus their proposal on what matters most.

Mandatory questions for agencies

Finish your SEO RFP with a short list of questions every agency must answer. This is where you build accountability into the process from day one.

I like to ask for at least one B2B client example where they grew organic‑sourced pipeline, with starting point, actions, and results expressed in concrete numbers. I also ask how they connect SEO activity to MQLs, SQLs, and closed‑won revenue in practice, not just in theory.

It is useful to ask about risk and resilience: what main risks they see for a company like yours and how they would manage them, how they handle situations where results lag behind plan, and how they approach link building and digital PR for B2B without putting your brand at risk.

You can also add internal notes for your team inside the template - prompts such as "Pull last 12 months of organic data from GA4 here" or "Sales director to review this section" - so everyone knows what they need to contribute.

A practical SEO RFP example for B2B services

To make this more concrete, imagine a 90k MRR SaaS company selling to HR leaders.

They might set a goal to grow search‑sourced pipeline from 150k to 250k per quarter in 18 months. The context: heavy spend on paid search, organic traffic flat for a year, and high dependence on branded queries. The scope: full‑funnel SEO covering technical health, new landing pages for high‑intent terms, and ongoing content focused on HR pain points. The main constraints: a small in‑house content team, long legal review cycles, and product updates every quarter.

An agency receiving that SEO RFP can quickly see whether they can win and, if so, how they would run the engagement.

How to evaluate SEO proposals

Once your SEO RFP is out, proposals start landing in your inbox. This part can feel messy unless you bring a clear scoring model and a simple way to compare.

Score and compare SEO proposals

Start by turning your evaluation weights into a numeric model. For example, you might weight strategy and approach, B2B experience, proof and case studies, reporting and collaboration, and price and value, using the percentages you defined earlier. For each proposal, score every category on a scale from 1 to 5, multiply by the weight, and sum the numbers. You end up with a total score that reflects both quality and fit, not only price.

To make this work in practice, set up a basic spreadsheet with rows for each agency and columns for every scoring category, plus extra columns for notes and follow‑up questions. Have each stakeholder score independently first. Then meet as a group to compare scores and talk through outliers. This blunt but simple method keeps the process grounded in facts rather than in who had the slickest slide deck.

What a strong B2B SEO agency looks like

As you review, you will see clear green flags and red flags. I look for the following positive signs:

• They talk in terms of pipeline, revenue, and payback period, not only traffic.
• They are honest about ramp‑up time and the fact that SEO compounds rather than explodes overnight.
• They show sample reports and dashboards that connect SEO work to CRM data.
• They bring specific B2B case studies, with numbers that can be checked.
• They explain their process in plain language and welcome questions.

On the other side, warning signs include:

• Guaranteed number‑one rankings or a fixed traffic number without seeing your data.
• Refusal to explain how they build links or promote content.
• Vagueness about what is actually included each month.
• Little or no experience with B2B funnels or your kind of sales cycle.
• Resistance to any measurement beyond "more sessions."

A strong response may also push back gently on weak parts of your scope. If your goals and budget do not match, for example, they should say so and suggest trade‑offs. That kind of honesty is usually a good sign, not a bad one.

Run finalist presentations well

For your two or three finalists, schedule live presentations with the key people who will work with the agency. I want at least the CEO or founder, the marketing or growth leader, and someone from Sales or RevOps in the room, and sometimes Finance if the spend is large.

Ask each agency to start by walking through their understanding of your situation, then their proposed plan. Use the time to probe how they will work with your team and any existing vendors, what they need from you during the first 90 days, how they handle experiments that fail, and how they report on early leading indicators before revenue moves.

By the end of these sessions, your scoring model and your gut feel should point to the same partner.

A structured SEO RFP takes a bit of upfront effort, but it pays off for years. You get a clearer view of the market, better proposals, and a partner who understands that they are being hired to grow pipeline and revenue, not just rankings.

Done well, the process gives you shared expectations across your leadership team, agencies that speak your language and show real accountability, and a simple way to compare options without living in meetings. From there, your next moves are straightforward: finalize your template, fill in your business context and goals, agree internally on scoring, and share the SEO RFP with a focused shortlist of agencies under a firm but fair timeline.

That structure is what lets you step back from micromanaging tactics and stay focused on what you actually care about: growth, profit, and a search channel that keeps working long after ad spend pauses.