SEO Agency Proposal Template: Tier-Based Pricing That Scales

Most SEO agencies face a proposal problem that templates alone can't solve: pricing consistency.

You have a few service tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold). You customize them per client. But every time you build a proposal, the numbers are slightly different because you're manually recalculating.

This template shows the structure you need, and then how to make it consistent using rules instead of manual recalculation.

Unlike Shopify projects (fixed deliverables + timeline), SEO retainers are ongoing and variable. Your pricing model usually looks like:

Bronze Tier: Monthly SEO monitoring + basic optimization = $2,000 Silver Tier: Bronze + technical SEO + content strategy = $5,000 Gold Tier: Silver + competitive analysis + monthly strategy calls = $10,000

But in reality, it's never that simple:

• "What if the client also wants PPC auditing?"
• "What if they're on a 6-month vs 12-month commitment?"
• "What if they want a custom reporting dashboard?"
• "What if they're a startup vs an established brand?"

Every proposal is slightly different, and every account manager calculates slightly differently.

A good SEO proposal should:

• Show the client you understand their situation
• Clearly explain what's included at each tier
• Make pricing transparent (no hidden add-ons)
• Set expectations for results and timeline
• Establish how scope changes work (change orders)

A proposal should NOT:

• Promise specific rankings or traffic (you can't control that)
• Commit to undefined hours or deliverables
• Hide pricing behind tiers that clients have to guess about
• Leave room for scope creep

Here's the structure that works:

[2-3 paragraphs summarizing what you learned about the client]

Include:

• Current state (traffic, rankings, on-page gaps)
• Opportunities you've identified
• Why they're losing to competitors

[2-3 paragraphs explaining your methodology]

Include:

• Your process (discovery, strategy, implementation, reporting)
• Why this approach works
• Timeline expectations

[Clear breakdown of what's included in each tier]

Bronze Tier: $2,000/month

• Monthly site audit and optimization recommendations
• Keyword research and strategy (10 core keywords)
• On-page optimization (10 pages per month)
• Monthly reporting and strategy call

Silver Tier: $5,000/month

• Everything in Bronze, plus:
• Technical SEO audit and fixes
• Backlink analysis and outreach campaign
• Content strategy and 2 guest posts/month
• Bi-weekly strategy calls

Gold Tier: $10,000/month

• Everything in Silver, plus:
• Competitive intelligence and quarterly strategy review
• Advanced technical implementation support
• Weekly strategy and optimization calls
• Custom dashboard and automated reporting

[Optional services clients can add to any tier]

• PPC audit and strategy: $500/month
• Content calendar creation: $1,000/month
• Social media integration: $800/month
• Local SEO (if applicable): $1,500/month

[Clear, transparent pricing table]

Item	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Monthly Investment	$2,000	$5,000	$10,000
Add-on: PPC Audit	+$500	+$500	+$500
6-month commitment	-10%	-10%	-10%
12-month commitment	-15%	-15%	-15%

[When they should expect to see results]

Include:

• Month 1-3: Foundation and audits
• Month 3-6: Implementation and early results
• Month 6+: Optimization and continuous improvement

[How to handle scope changes mid-contract]

Include:

• Request format (email, form, meeting)
• Approval process
• Pricing for additional work ($[rate]/hour or fixed scope additions)

[What you'll do, what they need to do]

We will:

• Conduct monthly audits
• Provide strategic recommendations
• Implement on-page optimization
• Deliver monthly reports

You will:

• Provide access to Google Analytics and Google Search Console
• Implement technical changes we recommend (or let us do it)
• Review monthly reports
• Attend strategy calls

[What's explicitly out of scope]

Not included:

• Content writing (unless specified in add-ons)
• Design and development changes
• PPC campaign management (separate service)
• Social media management

[How to say yes]

Include:

• "Reply with any questions"
• "Let's set up a 30-min kick-off call"
• "We can start as soon as [date]"

Here's the manual version:

1. Account manager opens last proposal
2. Changes client name, dates
3. Decides which tier (Bronze/Silver/Gold)
4. Looks up add-ons (PPC audit? Content?)
5. Manually calculates: Base price + add-ons - discounts = total
6. Applies commitment discount (6 months? 12 months?)
7. Recalculates again to double-check
8. Review for consistency
9. Spend: 45 minutes - 2 hours per proposal

Here's what happens with rules-based assembly (RuleDox):

1. Answer a form: Tier? Add-ons? Commitment length?
2. RuleDox calculates: $5,000 (Silver) + $500 (PPC) - 10% (6-month) = $4,950
3. Proposal generates in Google Docs with all sections, pricing, and terms
4. Review (2 minutes of tweaks)
5. Spend: 10-15 minutes per proposal

For an agency doing 15 proposals per month:

• Manual: 15 × 90 min = 22.5 hours/month
• Rules-based: 15 × 10 min = 2.5 hours/month
• Time saved: 20 hours/month = $1,000-2,000/month in labor

If you're using RuleDox (or building your own template), define rules like:

IF Tier = Bronze, THEN base price = $2,000
IF Tier = Silver, THEN base price = $5,000
IF Tier = Gold, THEN base price = $10,000

IF PPC audit is selected, ADD $500
IF Content calendar is selected, ADD $1,000

IF Commitment = 6 months, APPLY 10% discount
IF Commitment = 12 months, APPLY 15% discount

TOTAL = (Base price + add-ons) - discount

Once you build these rules, you answer a form:

• Client: [Name]
• Tier: [Bronze/Silver/Gold]
• Add-ons: [Check boxes]
• Commitment: [6 months / 12 months / month-to-month]

And the proposal generates with all pricing calculated correctly. Every proposal is identical in structure and pricing logic. You eliminate manual calculation errors.

Agency: 18 proposals per month, 3 account managers.

Problem: Different AMs price the same tier differently.

• AM1 prices Silver at $4,950 (applied discount)
• AM2 prices Silver at $5,000 (no discount yet)
• AM3 prices Silver at $5,100 (mistyped)

Inconsistency causes client confusion ("Why did this proposal cost more?") and margin leakage (some are underpriced by 10%).

Solution: Build rules-based pricing.

• All AMs answer the same form
• All proposals calculate the same way
• Every Silver tier = $5,000 (before discounts)
• Every Silver with 6-month commitment = $4,500
• Zero inconsistency

Result:

• No pricing errors (saves 2-3 hours per month of corrections)
• Faster proposals (1.5 hours per proposal → 15 minutes)
• Team confidence (junior AMs can generate proposals without review)

1. Overpromising results — "We'll get you to #1 for your keywords" (you can't guarantee rankings)
2. Vague deliverables — "Ongoing SEO optimization" (what does that mean?)
3. Hidden pricing — "Pricing varies based on complexity" (give them tiers)
4. No change process — "Scope changes will be handled as they come up" (define the process upfront)
5. Wrong tier structure — "We have 10 tiers" (3-4 is usually enough; more confuses clients)
6. No exclusions — Clients think everything is included, then get upset when you say "that's extra"

• You're doing 5+ SEO proposals per month (time savings matter)
• You have repeating tier structures (Bronze/Silver/Gold)
• You want pricing consistency across your team
• You want to stop manually recalculating per proposal

• If you do custom hourly retainers (not tier-based): Keep the structure but replace "Tier" section with hourly rate × hours
• If you sell project-based SEO (not retainers): See how to write a scope of work instead
• If you want beautiful proposal design: Consider Proposify + use this structure in their template

1. Copy this structure — Use it as your SEO proposal template
2. Define your tiers — Bronze, Silver, Gold (or your own)
3. Calculate your add-ons — What services are optional?
4. Set your discount rules — What discounts for commitment?
5. Test with 3 proposals — Does it work? Adjust as needed
6. If you do 10+ proposals/month — Consider rules-based assembly (like RuleDox) to eliminate manual calculation

• RuleDox vs Proposify — If you want to automate this template with rules
• How to Write a Scope of Work — Same principles apply to SOWs
• RuleDox vs PandaDoc — If you're considering document platforms