The SEO discovery-call checklist

Most SEO discovery calls suffer from the same problem: the agency does too much talking. The seller has prepped findings and is eager to walk through them. The prospect, twenty minutes in, hasn't actually said much about their business.

Flip it. The job of the discovery call is to find out three things: (1) what they're trying to grow, (2) what they've tried, (3) what they can afford. Everything else — your audit findings, your methodology, the dossier — supports the conversation. The prospect's answers drive it.

Here are the twelve questions worth asking. Don't ask all of them in one call; pick six to eight and weave them through the conversation. The answers shape your proposal more than any audit will.

About their business

1. "What does your business actually sell?"

Sounds basic. It isn't. Local businesses often have multiple revenue lines (e.g., a plumber who does both emergency repair and bathroom remodels) with very different margins. Your SEO work should target the high-margin line, not the most-searched line.

2. "Who's your ideal customer?"

Specifically — demographic, geographic, what they spend per engagement. "Anyone with a plumbing problem" is a wrong answer. "Homeowners aged 35–60 in zip codes 92024 and 92025 with $5,000+ remodel projects" is the right one. The keywords you target should match this.

3. "How do customers find you today?"

Listen for: word of mouth, referrals, paid ads, organic search, GBP. Their answer tells you which channels are healthy and where the gap is. If they say "Google" and they're not ranking, that's the start of your pitch. If they say "referrals" and they want to scale, that's a different pitch entirely.

About what they've tried

4. "Have you done SEO before?"

If yes — what work was done, who did it, what happened, why did it stop. If they fired their last agency, find out why before you propose. The same outcome will happen to you if you don't address the underlying issue.

5. "What's your current website built on?"

WordPress? Shopify? Wix? A custom build by a freelancer in 2017? The platform constrains what you can deliver — and the price. Wix sites are harder to optimize than WordPress, custom sites are easier than both, and "I don't know" is a red flag.

6. "Have you ever bought ads on Google or Meta?"

Tells you their mindset on customer acquisition cost. If they've spent $5,000/month on Google Ads for a year, they understand attribution and ROI; you can talk numbers. If they've never bought a single ad, you'll need to teach the concept of marketing spend before you can sell SEO.

About goals and budget

7. "What does success look like in 6 months?"

Listen for specifics: "double our inbound leads", "rank #1 for [keyword]", "show up in ChatGPT". Vague answers ("more visibility, I guess") signal a prospect who isn't really ready to buy. Specific answers give you a target to back into your proposal.

8. "What's your monthly budget for marketing right now?"

Direct ask. Phrase it as "what's allocated, not what you'd spend if you had to". Most local businesses have a number even if they pretend they don't. If they refuse to share, you can offer a range: "Most clients in your stage spend $1,500–$5,000 per month across channels — does that sound reasonable, low, or high?"

9. "If we doubled your leads in 90 days, what would that be worth to you?"

Plants the math. Their answer (e.g., "another $20K a month") becomes your anchor for what your retainer is worth. You'll come back to this number in the proposal.

About decision-making

10. "Who else is involved in this decision?"

For solo operators, themselves. For partnerships and small companies, often a co-owner, spouse, or operations lead. If it's not just them, the dossier needs to land with the absent decision-maker too — that's why a clear PDF leave-behind matters.

11. "What's your timeline?"

"As soon as possible" sounds great but is meaningless. "We need leads by April for our busy season" is real. Real timelines help you compress your proposal cycle and price urgency.

12. "What's your gut concern about working with an agency?"

This is the most important question on the list. Ask it. Their answer is usually one of: (a) "it's a long-term commitment", (b) "I don't trust agencies — I've been burned before", (c) "I don't know how to measure if it's working", (d) "I can't afford to be wrong." Address their actual concern in your proposal. Don't address generic SEO objections.

What you do with the answers

The pattern becomes clear after a half-dozen calls. Prospects who answer the budget question with a specific number, can name an ideal customer, and have tried marketing before are retainer-ready. Pitch a 6-month engagement at the upper end of their stated range.

Prospects who can't name an ideal customer, haven't tried marketing, and won't share budget are project-ready. Pitch a small one-time fix (technical SEO sprint, GBP optimization) that delivers a quick win — that earns the right to pitch the retainer later.

Prospects who can't answer 8+ of these are not ready to buy from anyone. Don't waste the proposal cycle. Send the dossier as a goodwill artifact, follow up in 90 days.