So you’re working with an SEO agency what do you get from your SEO agency in terms of deliverables? After all you’re paying them to help your website grow, get more traffic and convert visitors into customers.
Over 53% of all website traffic comes from organic search, it’s the number one channel for online visibility and engagement that an SEO agency wants to maximize.
To make sure you’re on the same page let’s break down the essential SEO deliverables that top agencies provide so you know what to expect and can measure the value of your investment.
What is an SEO Deliverable?
An SEO deliverable is the specific tasks, services or outputs provided by an SEO agency as part of their strategy. These deliverables are designed to improve your website’s search engine rankings, user experience and overall digital presence.
They’re tangible results from your agency’s work and should align with your business goals and expected outcomes.
These deliverables include things like keyword research, on-page optimisation, content creation, backlink building and detailed performance reports.
They are the building blocks of an SEO strategy and provide a clear roadmap of the work being done on your site.
1. Website Audit: The Starting Point
A website audit is the foundation of any SEO campaign. This involves looking at your website’s current performance, identifying what’s holding you back and what to improve. The SEO agency will look at technical factors such as:
- Site speed
- Mobile responsiveness
- Broken links
- Crawl-ability
- Duplicate content
Why it matters: A full audit helps you identify critical SEO issues and is the blueprint for your strategy going forward. It’s like a health check-up for your website.
Pro Tip: If your website hasn’t had an audit in the last year, it’s time for one. Regular audits are important because search engine algorithms are always changing and keeping up with those changes means your website will stay optimized for performance. According to semrush you should do two or more SEO Audits per year.
2. Keyword Research and Strategy
Next is keyword research—a vital part of any SEO campaign. A good agency will do in-depth research to find the best keywords for your business.
They’ll also:
- Find high-search, low-competition keywords
- Group keywords by intent (informational, transactional, navigational)
- Look at competitor keywords and gap analysis
Why it matters: Knowing which keywords will drive traffic—and convert—is key. With the right keyword strategy your website will rank for search terms that bring relevant users to your site.
Pro Tip: Don’t just target high-volume keywords—go after long-tail keywords as well. These keywords may have lower search volume but they tend to attract more qualified traffic that’s ready to convert. Long-tail keywords convert better than short-tail ones, with an average conversion rate of around 36%. That’s because they target more specific search intent, attracting users who are closer to making a decision.
3. On-Page Optimization
On-page SEO is about tweaking the content and structure of your website’s pages to rank well on search engines. Nearly 100% of page-one organic results use their target keyword in the page’s title tag or H1 (the main heading), highlighting the fundamental importance of this on-page element.
Expect deliverables like:
- Optimizing title tags and meta descriptions
- Header tags (H1, H2, etc.)
- Keyword density without overstuffing
- Internal linking
- Content recommendations
Why it matters: Search engines use your page structure and content to understand what it’s about. On-page optimization is the quickest way to boost your rankings.
Pro Tip: Make sure your title tags and meta descriptions are optimized for SEO and users. Craftable titles can increase your click-through rate from search results.
4. Content Strategy and Creation
Great content is the foundation of SEO success. Your agency will provide a content strategy that aligns with your business goals. Content marketing leaders experience 7.8 times more site traffic than non-leaders, suggesting that a well-executed content strategy significantly amplifies results.
This could include:
- Blog posts
- Landing pages
- Product descriptions
- Infographics and videos
- Resource guides
Why it matters: Content is not just for ranking—it’s for engaging and educating your audience. By offering valuable content, you can improve user experience, build trust and conversions.
Pro Tip: When creating content, think about the user’s intent. Whether they’re looking to solve a problem, learn something new or buy something, your content should address their needs directly and comprehensively. Surprisingly 99% of all search terms can be grouped into just four intent categories: informational, navigational, commercial and transactional.
So every time someone types something into Google, they’re doing it with a purpose—and understanding that purpose is the secret sauce to creating content that gets clicks. Whether they’re just curious, ready to buy or somewhere in between, knowing the intent behind a search can make or break your SEO strategy.
Read more about Writing Great SEO Content.
5. Link Building and Backlink Strategy
Backlinking is a long term SEO strategy that increases your website’s authority. A professional SEO agency will create a link building strategy that includes:
- Identifying high authority domains for backlinks
- Reaching out to influencers or bloggers for guest posts
- Analyzing competitor backlink profiles
- Creating shareable content that naturally attracts backlinks
Why it matters: Search engines like Google see backlinks as votes of confidence. A strong backlink profile means your website is trusted and will improve your rankings over time.
Pro Tip: Focus on quality over quantity when building backlinks. A few links from high authority sites can have a much bigger impact on your rankings than many links from low quality sources. Link building is one of the trickiest—but most important—parts of SEO. Although backlinks aren’t in Google’s top 3 ranking factors anymore, they still carry weight. In fact 93.8% of link builders say quality matters more than quantity when it comes to getting results.
Read more about Link Building for SEO – From Novice to Expert Techniques
6. Technical SEO Improvements
Technical SEO is about optimizing your website’s backend to make it search engine friendly. Technical SEO is not only important to Google but also to visitors to your website. In fact, the probability of a bounce increases by 32% as page load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds.
Expect to get:
- Site speed optimization (e.g. image compression, JavaScript optimization)
- Schema markup implementation
- Fixing broken links and redirect issues
- Optimizing robots.txt and sitemap
Why it matters: Technical SEO is important so search engines can easily crawl, index and understand your website. If the tech side is neglected all the great content and keywords won’t matter much.
Pro Tip: Site speed is more important than ever for both SEO and user experience. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to find opportunities to speed up—users and search engines love fast loading websites.
Read more about The Role of Technical SEO in Website Performance
7. Local SEO (If Applicable)
If you have a physical location or a local service area, local SEO is a must.
Expect:
- Optimizing your Google My Business profile
- Building local citations (mentions of your business on other websites)
- Collecting and managing reviews
- Local keyword optimization
Why it matters: Local SEO ensures people in your area can find your business when they search for what you offer. It’s a key strategy for driving foot traffic and local conversions.
Pro Tip: Make sure your business is listed consistently across all local citation sites (like Yelp, Yellow Pages, etc.). Inconsistent info across the web can confuse search engines and hurt your local rankings. 88% of people who do a local search on their smartphone end up visiting a store—usually within 24 hours. Local SEO isn’t just about visibility—it’s about action. When someone searches locally on their phone, they’re often ready to visit, call or buy right now. That 24-hour window means businesses that show up in local search results have a huge opportunity to convert high-intent users into real customers almost immediately.
Read more about how to improve your Local SEO Rankings – A Full Guide
8. Regular Reporting and Analytics
Transparency is key when working with an SEO agency. Expect to get monthly or quarterly reports that include:
- Traffic and ranking updates
- Organic search growth
- Conversion metrics
- Return on investment (ROI) tracking
- Recommendations for next steps
Why it matters: Regular reporting so you can track progress and see the results of your investment. This keeps your SEO agency accountable and allows you to adjust the strategy if needed.
Pro Tip: Ask for detailed reports that show both data and insights. Understanding not just the numbers but what they mean and how they impact your business goals will help you make better decisions.
9. Ongoing Optimization and Adaptation
SEO is not a one-and-done project. Your agency will monitor your site’s performance and adapt the strategy based on algorithm changes, competition and industry shifts. This could include:
- Refining your keyword strategy
- Updating content to stay fresh and relevant
- Implementing new technologies or features to improve user experience
Why it matters: Search engines update their algorithms frequently. An adaptable SEO strategy means your site stays competitive in a constantly changing digital world.
Pro Tip: SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Optimize your content and strategy especially after major algorithm updates. Adaptation is key to beating your competition.
What are Extras to an SEO Agency?
While an SEO agency offers many essential services, some services might be considered “extras” or add-ons to the basic SEO package.
These extras are customised to your needs and can help boost your site’s performance even more. Here are some of the most common SEO extras you may see:
Social Media Marketing
Many SEO agencies offer social media marketing as an add on to help increase brand visibility and engagement which complements SEO. This can include creating content, posting and engaging with your audience on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
Websites with active social media profiles experience up to 31% more organic traffic compared to those without.This shows the indirect role of social media in driving traffic, which search engines use as a signal of content value.
Social media doesn’t directly boost your search rankings but it does pull its weight when it comes to SEO. By expanding your brand’s reach, driving more traffic to your site and even helping you earn backlinks social media can quietly strengthen your overall SEO behind the scenes.
Paid Search Campaigns (PPC)
Running paid search campaigns like Google Ads or social media ads is another extra often recommended to work alongside SEO. These campaigns increase visibility through paid channels, drive immediate traffic while SEO delivers long term results.
An interesting statistic says that owning the first ad position can drive around 2.1% to 5% of clicks, while the first organic position can drive 27.6% to 45.44% of clicks.
Advanced Competitor Analysis
Going beyond basic keyword research some agencies offer competitor analysis. This includes monitoring competitors backlinks, content strategy and keyword rankings, giving you valuable insights into how to outsmart the competition.
Content Marketing (Beyond SEO)
SEO agencies usually create content for ranking and keywords, but some may offer additional content services like video production, podcasts or long form content that aligns with your overall marketing goals.
Websites with video content are 53 times more likely to rank on Google’s first page due to the increased time users spend on these pages. Another statistic shows that search results featuring videos drive a 157% more organic traffic compared to those without.
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
Some SEO agencies may offer CRO as an add on, to help you improve your website’s ability to convert visitors into customers. This involves tweaking call to action buttons, forms and page layout for better user experience and higher conversion rates.
Branding and Design Services
In addition to SEO, branding services like logo design, branding guidelines and website redesign may be considered extras. These are to improve your brand identity and make sure your website is not only optimized for search engines but also looks good and user friendly.
Advanced Link Building
Basic link building is part of most SEO packages, but advanced link building like getting high quality, authoritative backlinks through guest blogging or partnerships may be an extra.
Local SEO and Google My Business Optimization
Local SEO like optimizing your Google My Business profile, local citations and targeting geo specific keywords may be an extra if you have a local business.
Reputation Management
If your agency offers reputation management services this would be an extra. This could be addressing negative reviews, generating positive feedback and improving your overall online presence. Nearly 82% of consumers say that negative reviews make them less likely to engage with a company.
International SEO
If you’re targeting an international audience some SEO agencies offer international SEO as an extra. This is optimizing your website for multiple languages and countries so you’re targeting the right audience in different regions.
FAQ’s
How long does it take to see results from SEO?
SEO is a long term investment. You can see noticeable results in 3 to 6 months but significant improvements in rankings and traffic may take up to a year depending on competition and the strategy.
What is the most important SEO deliverable?
There’s no single most important deliverable as all aspects of SEO work together to improve rankings. But on-page optimization, keyword research and content strategy are fundamental to get the best results.
Do I need SEO even if my website looks good?
Yes! Even if your website looks great SEO is crucial to make sure it ranks well in search engines. A well designed website is only effective if it can be found by your target audience.
Can I do SEO on my own?
While DIY SEO is possible it can be complex and time consuming. Working with an SEO agency ensures you’re using the best strategies and staying up to date with the latest best practices. We did an article about this earlier. comparing Inhouse SEO VS SEO Company – Which is better?
Conclusion
Knowing your SEO deliverables is important to set clear expectations with your SEO agency. From core services like website audits and keyword research to extras like advanced link building and reputation management, knowing what’s included in your package helps you get the most value.
SEO is a long term process that requires teamwork and consistency. By working with your agency and knowing your deliverables upfront you can make sure strategies are aligned to your business goals and get better rankings, more traffic and long term growth.
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