ByWorking with a new SEO client can be challenging, but by asking the right questions you can lay a strong foundation. Here are 20 important questions you should ask your new SEO client so you can understand their needs and steer their SEO strategy in the right direction.
1. What is your company’s main objective?
When you ask your new SEO client what their company’s main purpose is, this question provides a lot of important information that helps guide your SEO strategy. Knowing a company’s main purpose lets you know its key goals—such as increasing sales, building brand awareness, or promoting a particular product or service. This information helps make your SEO plan more precise and targeted, ensuring that your strategy aligns with the client’s business objectives and marketing goals. It also helps you understand the company’s target audience, content and marketing direction, competitive analysis, and success metrics, allowing you to make SEO efforts effective and productive.
2. Who is your target audience?
When you ask your new SEO client who their target audience is, this question helps you understand the foundation of their marketing and SEO strategy. Identifying the right target audience allows you to better tailor your SEO activities to the needs and behavior of that group. Identifying the target audience helps you choose keywords and topics that are most relevant to your audience, allowing your website content and blog posts to be optimized with the keywords your audience is searching for. In addition, based on target audience information, you can customize website design and navigation to suit their likes and needs, improving user experience, reducing bounce rates, and increasing engagement.
You can set social media campaigns, email marketing, and other advertising strategies in the right direction according to the target audience. Identifying the target audience also helps you understand how effective your SEO strategy is and which areas may need improvement. Knowing the target audience’s demographics and psychographics (such as age, gender, location, interests, lifestyle) allows you to better target your SEO strategy. Understanding their buying behavior allows you to adapt your content and advertising strategies to their decision-making process. In addition, you can learn what your target audience’s main problems are and how your product or service can solve them, thereby creating useful and engaging content on your website. Identifying the target audience makes your SEO and marketing strategies more accurate and effective, leading to better results for your clients. This information connects your strategies directly to the audience’s needs and preferences, allowing you to run more effective and productive SEO campaigns.
3. What is the main goal of your website?
When you ask your new SEO client what the main purpose of their website is, this question helps clarify the priority and purpose of the website. This information is extremely important to guide your SEO efforts in the right direction. Understanding the main purpose of the website can determine the direction of your SEO strategy. For example, if the purpose is to increase sales, your strategy will focus on e-commerce-related keywords and product pages. If the main purpose of the website is to provide information, your content strategy will include blog posts, articles, and guides. Also, if the purpose is branding, the content will focus on presenting the brand identity and story. Similarly, based on the main purpose of the website, you can optimize the user experience (UX) and set up the website design and content accordingly. This makes your SEO strategy more targeted and effective, which aligns with the client’s objectives and brings positive results.
4. What are your SEO efforts currently?
When you ask your new SEO client what their current SEO efforts are, this question uncovers several important aspects that can help you craft your SEO strategy. It gives you information about the client’s current efforts, their strengths and weaknesses, and areas for improvement. By assessing current SEO efforts, you can learn what strategies they are using and their effectiveness. Also, you can identify which areas need improvement, providing a strong foundation for improving your strategy. In addition, it is important to know the extent to which the client’s current efforts are organized and coordinated with other marketing campaigns, giving your SEO strategy an organized and integrated approach.
Learning about existing SEO tools and techniques also gives you an idea of what tools the client is using and whether they are using the right tools. The answer to this question also helps you understand what success criteria the client has set for their SEO efforts, allowing you to incorporate their definition of success into your strategy. Based on this information, you can review existing efforts and understand which elements are working and which need improvement. Overall, gaining insight into existing SEO efforts helps you better define your strategy and make the necessary improvements and optimizations to meet the client’s objectives, making your activities more effective and productive.
5. How much traffic is your website getting?
When you ask your new SEO client how much traffic their website is getting, this question reveals several important aspects. Traffic information tells you the current state of the client’s website, its popularity, and the effectiveness of SEO efforts. Knowing website traffic information helps you set an initial benchmark against which you can assess the success of SEO results in the future. In addition, this information also shows from which sources the traffic is coming to the website—search engines, social media, referral sites, or direct visits. This helps you understand which channels are effective and which need more attention.
Traffic data also helps you understand user behavior, such as how long they stay on the website, which pages they visit, and what is the bounce rate. This information is helpful in improving the user experience of the website. Also, traffic data helps you assess the success of your SEO efforts and see if your strategy is going in the right direction. Traffic data also allows you to identify seasonal trends and other time-based changes, allowing you to schedule your SEO strategy more effectively. Overall, website traffic information provides an important basis for steering SEO and marketing strategies in the right direction.
6. Who are your main competitors?
When you ask your new SEO client who their main competitors are, this question provides crucial information to effectively develop your SEO strategy. Competitor information not only helps you understand the market situation but also helps you focus your strategy on aspects where you can get ahead of the competition. Competitor information can help you know where the client’s website and business stand in the market and what kind of SEO strategies their competitors are using. This can help you differentiate and improve your strategy.
Also, by analyzing competitors’ websites and content, you can know what keywords and topics they are focusing on, which can help you improve your keyword strategy and content plan. By identifying link-building opportunities and analyzing competitors’ UX and design, you can improve the user experience and design of your client’s website. Thus, obtaining key competitor information is an important step to improve your SEO strategy and get more effective results for clients.
7. Do you have an updated keyword list?
When you ask your new SEO client if they have an updated keyword list, this question plays a vital role in creating your SEO strategy. Keyword lists are a central part of SEO efforts and help increase your website’s visibility in search engine results. Knowing an updated keyword list is important because it helps you understand which keywords the client is currently focusing on and whether they need to be updated. It helps you assess the effectiveness of keywords, adjust the SEO strategy according to trends, and create new content and marketing strategies. If the client doesn’t have an updated keyword list, you can identify new and relevant keywords and incorporate them into your strategy. Having an updated keyword list makes your SEO strategy more accurate and effective, improving your website’s search engine rankings and driving more traffic and better user engagement.
8. How is your website’s technical health?
When you ask your new SEO client about the technical health of their website, this question is extremely important to your SEO strategy. The technical health of a website directly affects its search engine rankings, user experience, and overall SEO success. The technical health of a website determines how easily search engine bots can crawl and index your website. Technical issues, such as crawling errors or page speed delays, can negatively impact your rankings.
In addition, the website’s mobile friendliness, site architecture, navigation, and security, such as the presence of an SSL certificate, are also important. Paying attention to these aspects not only improves the user experience but also ensures the stability and security of your website. For example, if your website’s page speed is slow, you may need to focus on speed-improving techniques like image optimization and caching. Similarly, if the website is not displaying correctly on mobile, you need to work on mobile-friendly design and responsive layout. Gaining information about the technical health of the website is imperative to the success of your SEO strategy, ensuring that your website is strong from a technical perspective and can achieve better rankings and user experience.
9. How much content is on your website?
When you ask your new SEO client how much content they have on their website, this question reveals several important aspects that help guide your SEO strategy. The quantity and quality of content on a website is extremely important for SEO. The answer to this question helps you understand whether you have enough high-quality content that can improve search engine rankings.
More varied content allows you to target different keywords, increasing the website’s visibility and improving user engagement. Also, it is important to ensure that the content is unique, as duplicate content can negatively affect the website’s SEO ranking. It is also important to have a variety of content types, such as blog posts, guides, case studies, videos, and infographics, as this can attract your audience more. Based on this information, you can ensure that your website is ideally optimized for both users and search engines, which will improve your SEO strategy and increase the overall effectiveness of your website.
10. Do you have a blog or content creation plan?
When you ask your new SEO client if they have a blog or content creation plan, this question is crucial to making your SEO strategy more effective. A clear and well-thought-out content creation plan plays a key role in improving your website’s visibility, user engagement, and overall SEO performance. Regular blog or content creation brings fresh and relevant content to your website, which is a positive signal to search engines and can improve your site’s rankings. Regularly updated blog posts and content motivate users to spend more time on your website and engage with your content, increasing user engagement and satisfaction.
In addition, a good content plan gives you the opportunity to target different keywords and topics, making your site more searchable and diverse. High-quality and informative content establishes your brand as an expert, increasing trust and authority among your audience. Good content is not only shared by users but can also receive links from other sites, which supports your link-building efforts and increases your site’s authority. Thus, with a blog and content creation plan, you can take a strategic approach that increases your SEO success and website’s overall effectiveness.
11. Is there a specific product or service on your website that you want to grow?
When you ask your new SEO client if they have a particular product or service they want to promote on their website, this question is crucial to making your SEO and content strategy more targeted and effective. The purpose of this question is to understand which products or services are more important to the client and which should be focused on more. If the client has a particular product or service they want to promote, it helps you focus on the most important areas of their business, making your SEO strategy and content plan more precise. Additionally, this information helps you effectively plan related keywords, content strategy, link building, and promotion activities. This way, you can design the website for a better user experience and higher conversion rate, and create a stronger presence than competitors. Overall, focusing on a particular product or service can make your SEO and marketing strategy more effective and productive.
12. Do you want to focus on a particular region or geographic location?
When you ask your new SEO client if they want to focus on a particular region or geographic location, this question helps you tailor your SEO strategy to be local and targeted. Geographic targeting and regional focus can increase your website’s visibility and effectiveness in particular areas where you want to gain more presence and business. If you focus on a particular region, you can work on local SEO, which can help your website rank higher in search results in that area, and attract local customers. This allows you to create content and offers for the target audience of that region, which are more relevant to your business. Also, it helps you better understand the competition in that area and strengthen your presence there.
Through geographic targeting, you can develop more effective local marketing campaigns, such as local advertising, events, and promotional offers, which can attract customers from that area. In addition, you can create custom content and offers tailored to local trends, cultural elements, and user preferences for a particular geographic location. Based on this information, you can make your SEO and marketing strategy more targeted and effective, allowing you to better position your business in the areas where you want to achieve more success.
13. How many backlinks does your website have?
When you ask your new SEO client how many backlinks they have on their website, this question is crucial to effectively crafting your SEO strategy. Backlinks, or inbound links, play a vital role in increasing a website’s search engine rankings and overall credibility. Backlinks are a major ranking factor for search engine algorithms, and more high-quality backlinks can improve your website’s rankings because search engines consider them a sign of your site’s popularity and credibility.
When your website has links from other reputable and high-quality sites, it increases your site’s authority and credibility. With high-quality backlinks, you can attract new audiences and get referral traffic, which can increase your website’s overall traffic. In addition, backlinks also signal the quality of your content, helping search engines understand that your website’s content is valuable and relevant to users. Therefore, by analyzing the quantity and quality of backlinks, you can ensure that your SEO strategy is effective and moving towards improving your website’s search engine rankings. This information helps you create a strong link-building strategy and increase the overall effectiveness of your site.
14. Are there any particular design or user experience issues with your website?
When you ask your new SEO client if there are any particular design or user experience (UX) issues with their website, this question helps you better understand your SEO and website strategy. The design and UX of a website directly impact SEO and user engagement. A good design and user experience not only improve search engine rankings but also make it easier for users to navigate the site and engage with the content. If there are any navigation, loading speed, or mobile responsive design issues on a website, it can negatively impact user experience and reduce conversion rates. By understanding the problems and resolving them correctly, you can improve the site’s overall quality, which leads to both user satisfaction and business success.
15. How many pages are on your website and how are they organized?
When you ask your new SEO client how many pages are on their website and how they are organized, this question helps you gain a deeper understanding of the structure and organization of your site. The number of pages on a website and their arrangement affect SEO, user experience, and site functionality. If the pages on a website have a good structure and systematic planning, it makes search engine crawling and indexing easier and helps users easily access the information they need. The structure of a website, such as navigation menus, page hierarchy, and linking, ensures that all important pages are easily accessible and the user journey through the site is seamless. Understanding this information can help you improve the architecture of the website, which will improve the site’s visibility and also enhance the user experience.
16. Are there any predefined SEO reports or analytics setups on your website?
When you ask your new SEO client if they have any predefined SEO reports or analytics set on their website, this question helps to know if you already have a system of data tracking and performance analysis in place. A proper SEO reports and analytics setup ensures that you can measure your website traffic, user behavior, and the effectiveness of SEO efforts. This data helps you understand which strategies are working and which areas need improvement. If the website already has Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or any other analytics tool setup, you can quickly identify issues using the existing data and work towards improvement. If the setup is not in place, you may be advised to install it so that you can accurately track your SEO efforts and evaluate their success.
17. Do you have any specific baseline metrics you want to track?
When you ask your new SEO client if they have any specific baseline metrics they want to track, this question helps you understand what key criteria they are paying attention to for their website’s performance. Baseline metrics refer to the standards you use to compare your website’s current state and measure progress for future improvement. These metrics can be search engine rankings, website traffic, bounce rate, conversion rate, page load speed, and other important data points. If the client has already focused on certain baseline metrics, it helps you understand their priorities and goals, and you can tailor your SEO efforts in that direction. If there are no baseline metrics established, you can offer advice on which metrics are important to track and how they can be established to allow for proper evaluation and improvement of website performance.
18. Has there been any particular change in traffic during a specific period of your business?
When you ask your new SEO client if there has been any particular change in traffic during a specific period of their business, this question helps to know how any fluctuations in website traffic have been analyzed and what the possible reasons may be. This information helps you understand what factors may be behind the increase or decrease in traffic, such as seasonal changes, marketing campaigns, content updates, or technical issues.
If the client has noticed that traffic has increased during a particular period, it can help to identify and maintain the positive factors of traffic growth. Conversely, if traffic has decreased, it can be a signal to identify and fix potential problems.
For example, if your website has seen an increase in traffic especially during the holiday season, you can deduce that seasonal campaigns or special offers have influenced it. If there has been a sudden drop in traffic at another time, it may be necessary to investigate whether technical issues, lack of content, or a change in competition is the cause.
With this kind of information, you can better adjust your SEO strategy and better manage traffic trends in the future.
19. Do you have a budget set aside to work on an SEO?
When you ask your new SEO client if they have a budget set aside to work on an SEO, this question provides important information for planning and implementing your SEO campaign. Budget setting helps you understand how many resources are available and how comprehensive an SEO strategy you can implement.
SEO is a long-term investment that involves various activities, such as keyword research, on-page and off-page optimization, content creation, link building, and analysis. Setting a clear budget helps you ensure that you can properly carry out all the necessary activities and get the most out of your invested amount.
If the client has set a budget for SEO, you can prepare a proper plan based on that budget and prioritize the tasks according to their priority. For example, if the budget is limited, you can focus on priority tasks such as technical SEO and keyword research and gradually include other aspects.
If the budget is not set, you can give the client information about the cost of different aspects of SEO and advise them on how to set a proper budget. Without a solid budget plan, SEO efforts may have low chances of success, so budget setting is an important step that helps you take your SEO efforts in the right direction.
20. Do you have any special preferences or expectations for SEO?
When you ask your new SEO client if they have any special preferences or expectations for SEO, this question helps you figure out what they want to achieve from an SEO campaign and what specific goals or strategies they want to focus on. A client’s preferences and expectations are crucial to customizing an SEO plan to ensure that your strategy aligns with their business goals and marketing objectives.
The answer to this question may help you figure out if the client has a preference for a particular keyword set, target audience, content type, or particular SEO techniques. For example, they may want to focus on local SEO, or they may expect a greater focus on content marketing, such as blog posts or videos. Additionally, they may also expect a specific type of reporting, such as monthly progress reports or keyword ranking updates.
Based on this information, you can create a customized SEO strategy that meets the client’s preferences and expectations, making SEO efforts more effective and targeted. This ensures that your plan not only meets their current goals, but can also be adapted to their needs in the future.
Conclusion
Working with a new SEO client can be challenging, but by asking the right questions, you can lay a strong foundation. The 20 key questions you ask will not only help you understand the client’s needs but also guide your SEO strategy in the right direction.
The answers to these questions will help you clearly understand the client’s business objectives, target audience, website’s key goals, current SEO efforts, and technical health. This will help you identify the right keywords, plan content, and analyze competitors.
SEO is an ongoing process that is only successful with the right information and planning. The answers to these questions will make your SEO efforts more effective and targeted, giving your client better results. By discussing these key points with your client, you will not only be able to evaluate their current situation but also accurately formulate future strategies.
With such preparations, you will not only strengthen your SEO strategies but also take an important step toward a stable and successful partnership with your clients.
