(Local) SEO Client Questionnaire to Download and Use

[Linda Buquet]

PointBlank SEO did a great collaborative effort in putting several great SEO minds together to create a list of new client questions.

This is geared toward general SEO, but could be easily refined and expanded to add local SEO questions.

Those of you who have attended my training, received as a bonus, my client data worksheet which is what I use to flush out important NAP, location, category and industry data from new local search clients.
Put elements of these 2 docs together for a powerhouse new client questionnaire.

Questions & Checklist for New SEO Clients: A Collaboration

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. That’s why I decided to hunt down a few of the biz dev SEOs at one of the leading companies in our space: SEER Interactive.

This post is a collaboration between David Cohen, Shawn Cohen, John-Henry Scherck, Saurav Rimal and I.

We created a Word Doc (.docx download, .doc download, Google Drive) of the questions so it’s as easy as just hitting “Send” in your inbox to get the client info you need.

Head over to see all the great questions, download the Word doc, add all the Google+ Local specific questions needed regarding NAP and location - then incorporate it into your process.

What do you think?

 

[Phil Rozek]

That is an awesome list of questions. Jon is such a smart guy.

The only minor trouble is the length of the questionnaire; the client might feel like he/she just came back from a colonoscopy.

Here's my questionnaire specifically for local - which has taken me several years to refine. I send it to potential clients to gauge whether we're a good fit in the first place, whether local SEO is a good fit for their businesses, etc. I send a second questionnaire if/when we've actually started working together.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Yes I agree - too long. But still good to look at stuff like this to see if there are any Qs you want to incorporate in your own process.

Thanks for adding yours, perfect addition to this thread Phil!

 

[Colan Nielsen]

This is one of the things I love about this industry! The abundance of Knowledge Sharing

 

[Linda Buquet]

I remember talking to Miriam back when I was new in the business. She said something about the fact that local was unique because the leading pros were so open about sharing and helping one another as opposed to being private and competitive.

We're lucky to be in this industry.

 

[Nick.SEOSpark]

Thanks for the share. I remember reading this when it was published.

I've always liked Phil's questionairre for local clients as it covers the core factors that you need to know.

However, there is definitely a place for Jon's Q&A. If it's a super big client and they are paying a lot of money for a complex campaign, then that questionairre is ideal.

I'm also a really big fan of Jon Cooper's work (he's excellent). I'd also highly recommend his link building course here - It's so incredibly comprehensive and great value.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@Nick

I totally agree!

Which reminds me...

Here's the "part 2" questionnaire I send clients at a later stage:

http://bit.ly/121AJF7

The first one is just for determining the feasibility - the bare essentials I need to know in order to say whether it's a "go." Whereas this second one contains the stuff I don't need to know until money has changed hands and we're ready to start work.

 

[Linda Buquet]

A couple Google+ Local specific Qs that are in my questionnaire that I have not seen mentioned.

1) Is there any way you or someone else (webmaster or previous SEO) may have created another Google Place page in a different account? That's a violation and can cause problems, so please check.

2) I have not asked in the past but would ask today - Have you moved or changed names in the past 10 years? List previous names and addresses, if so.

3) Another thing I do is - zoom the map into their location and send them the close-up link and ask if their map marker is in the right place. Sometimes to us it may look fine but in reality is one building over or even a couple blocks off. Sometimes if we check it, the marker maps to the correct location on maps, BUT the base map layer is actually wrong. We would not know that if we'd never been there. Having the map marker in the wrong place can be a big deal to customers as well as to Google and sometimes clients don't even notice.

 

[Phil Rozek]

Those are keepers. Thanks, Linda!

 

[Colan Nielsen]

3) Another thing I do is - zoom the map into their location and send them the close-up link and ask if their map marker is in the right place. Sometimes to us it may look fine but in reality is one building over or even a couple blocks off. Sometimes if we check it, the marker maps to the correct location on maps, BUT the base map layer is actually wrong. We would not know that if we'd never been there. Having the map marker in the wrong place can be a big deal to customers as well as to Google and sometimes clients don't even notice.

This is a really great point, and one I bet is overlooked often. I for one am guilty of not always confirming with the client that it's in the EXACT correct spot.

Have you ever experienced a positive reaction, in particular with ranking, after correcting a map marker that was off by a LITTLE?

 

[Linda Buquet]

I have not done it that often. But I remember having buggy weirdness, then fixed map marker and it fixed the problem. Don't remember the details, just remember a few times fighting stuff, then finally realizing the map marker was off and moving it fixed things.

Also remember once, back in the old days, when we would try to force a merge by claiming dupes, strip them and wait for a merge. On some listings they would not merge even though NAP was the same. I realized the problem was that the markers were in different places. Aligned the markers and then they merged.

So not sure if it would help ranking or not. I think of it more as a data integrity and location trust issue.

But I also have seen lots of times where MM guys would say the marker was in the wrong place. It was on the building and should be in driveway in front of building. Or was in the intersection and should be in front of the building. I got the feeling it was important to have marker in just the right spot, but again if it directly affects ranking, not sure. I only know if it's in the wrong spot it can cause problems.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Thanks Linda

I have not done it that often. But I remember having buggy weirdness, then fixed map marker and it fixed the problem. Don't remember the details, just remember a few times fighting stuff, then finally realizing the map marker was off and moving it fixed things.

Also remember once, back in the old days when to try to force a merge - you would claim dupes, strip and wait for a merge. On some listings they would not merge even though NAP was the same. I realized the problem was that the markers were in different places. Aligned the markers and then they merged.

So not sure if it would help ranking or not. I think of it more as a data integrity and location trust issue.

But I also have seen lots of times where MM guys would say the marker was in the wrong place. It was on the building and should be in driveway in front of building. Or was in the intersection and should be in front of the building. I got the feeling it was important to have marker in just the right spot, but again if it directly affects ranking, not sure. I only know if it's in the wrong spot it can cause problems.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

After correcting the map marker for the business to the correct spot, do you think it would be wise to then go and send a Google Maps report to Google to tell them that they have the address pinned incorrectly in their database?

My thought is that even though you have corrected the map marker for the business to the correct spot, Google may still think that the address is located where it was pinning the business before the correction.

I feel like this extra step would really tighten things up and get rid of any further issues associated with the location of the map marker.

I have not done it that often. But I remember having buggy weirdness, then fixed map marker and it fixed the problem. Don't remember the details, just remember a few times fighting stuff, then finally realizing the map marker was off and moving it fixed things.

Also remember once, back in the old days when to try to force a merge - you would claim dupes, strip and wait for a merge. On some listings they would not merge even though NAP was the same. I realized the problem was that the markers were in different places. Aligned the markers and then they merged.

So not sure if it would help ranking or not. I think of it more as a data integrity and location trust issue.

But I also have seen lots of times where MM guys would say the marker was in the wrong place. It was on the building and should be in driveway in front of building. Or was in the intersection and should be in front of the building. I got the feeling it was important to have marker in just the right spot, but again if it directly affects ranking, not sure. I only know if it's in the wrong spot it can cause problems.

 

[gregorysmith]

Hi guys,

A resourceful thread here. I have found a "SEO Questionnaire" created by Jill Whalen and wanted to try and add some value to the thread, so thought I'd share it with you guys! Here it is.

I love Jills work, shes a thorough leader and will be missed.

Thanks to all of you guys for ALL of the effort you put into making our industry as amazing as it has become today.

Greg Smith

 

[Benjamin Beck]

Wow this is my first time seeing this. Thanks for sharing!