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SEO proposal scorecard

Score up to three SEO providers against the same questions and see who has answered what.

By Antoine Martin, Founder, Web Marketing International.
Published 4 November 2026. Last reviewed 4 November 2026.

Short answer

Enter Yes, Partly, No or Not asked yet for each question and each provider. The score is the share of points earned on the questions you have answered, so a provider is not marked down for a question you have not asked yet.

How to use it

Rename the three columns after the providers you are comparing, then work down the list after each call. Choose Not asked yet for anything you have not put to that provider. If I am one of your three, score me the same way. The questions are drawn from Google’s guidance on hiring an SEO[1], its starter guide[2], its spam and content guidance[3][4], Search Console’s permission levels[5] and the UAE Government’s licence verification channels[6].

The scorecard

Providers you are comparing

Who you contract with

Can the provider show a current UAE licence for the entity that will sign your contract? Deal-breaker

Check it on an official channel rather than relying on a certificate the provider sends.

Promises

Does the provider avoid guaranteeing a ranking or a position? Deal-breaker

Google says no one can guarantee a number one ranking.

Does the provider give a realistic timeframe and say that some changes take months to show?

Google says some changes take effect in hours and others could take several months.

Method

Is the proposal based on an audit of your own site rather than a template?

Look for findings that could only apply to your pages.

Does the proposal list deliverables for each month, and who does each one?

Anything described only as ongoing optimisation needs a definition.

Does the provider explain how it earns links without buying links for ranking purposes? Deal-breaker

Google treats buying or selling links for ranking purposes as link spam.

Is content planned for readers first, with someone accountable for accuracy?

Google advises against content made primarily to gain search rankings.

Access and ownership

Will your business stay the Owner of your Search Console property? Deal-breaker

Only owners can add or remove users.

Has the provider asked only for the access it needs at this stage?

Google suggests read access only while an SEO is offering an audit.

Measurement

Has the provider agreed in writing what success means, such as pages, queries and actions?

Agree it before work starts.

Can you check every reported figure against accounts your business owns?

If you cannot trace a figure, you are trusting a summary.

Evidence

Did the provider show previous work and explain what it did?

Method as well as outcome.

Does the provider have experience in your industry and in your country or city?

Ask for specifics, not a list of logos.

The proposal

Does the proposal state what is included, what is excluded and the minimum term?

A blank on exclusions is a decision left until later.

Are fees and VAT stated clearly, with any third-party costs shown separately?

So that quotes can be put on the same basis.

Results

Provider A
No answers yet0 of 15 questions answered. Score = weighted points / maximum points for the questions answered.
Provider B
No answers yet0 of 15 questions answered. Score = weighted points / maximum points for the questions answered.
Provider C
No answers yet0 of 15 questions answered. Score = weighted points / maximum points for the questions answered.

A score only compares the answers you entered. Treat any deal-breaker as decisive, and do not compare two columns until you have asked both the same questions.

How the score works

  • Yes earns the full weight of the question, Partly earns half, No earns nothing.
  • The score is points earned divided by the maximum points for the questions answered. If you answer two questions weighted 3 and 2, with Yes to the first and Partly to the second, the score is (3 + 1) / 5, which is 80 percent.
  • Questions marked as deal-breakers show a warning if the answer is No. Treat that as decisive.
  • The weights are my judgement, not a standard. Read them as a guide to what I think matters first.

The scorecard runs in your browser and stores nothing you type. It cannot tell you whether an answer is true, so verify anything that matters and take professional advice on the contract.

What to do with it

Go back to the two highest-scoring providers with the questions still marked Not asked yet. The method is in how to choose an SEO agency in Dubai, and the proposal checklist behind the card is in what an SEO proposal should contain. For a concrete document to compare against, I offer a free SEO audit.

Sources

  1. Google Search Central, Do You Need an SEO? Tips for Hiring an SEO. Accessed 4 November 2026.
  2. Google Search Central, SEO Starter Guide: The Basics. Accessed 4 November 2026.
  3. Google Search Central, Spam policies for Google web search. Accessed 4 November 2026.
  4. Google Search Central, Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content. Accessed 4 November 2026.
  5. Search Console Help, Managing owners, users, and permissions. Accessed 4 November 2026.
  6. UAE Government portal (u.ae), Verify business licences. Accessed 4 November 2026.