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Article · Finding clients
How to sell a fixed-price SEO audit online: offer, checkout, delivery
A fixed-price audit is a defined job a small business can buy without signing a retainer. How to scope it, write a sales page that promises only what you control, collect what you need after payment, deliver it, and build the checkout on systeme.io.
The short answer: sell a fixed scope, not an outcome. State the pages and reports, a turnaround that starts when you have access, what the buyer must provide, and refund terms you wrote. Leave out ranking promises; Google says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking, and the FTC expects proof for claims before the ad runs. On systeme.io, one funnel with a sales page, an order form with a one-time price and a thank-you page with intake questions covers it. Its terms cap free accounts at US$10,000 in lifetime sales.
Define the audit before you price it
What to put in an SEO audit describes five parts: a three-line summary, ranked fixes, the evidence, an owner for each, and a "not a problem" list. A fixed price works only when you can say in advance how much of the site you will look at, and when the clock starts. Google's page on hiring an SEO says an audit should give "realistic estimates of improvement, and an estimate of the work involved." State both as things you can check: the effort for each fix and what it changes, such as a page that can now be indexed, not a ranking forecast.
| Scope item | Example wording |
|---|---|
| Site and pages | One website, one Search Console property, up to [10] pages that bring in calls, bookings or sales, chosen with you after you order |
| Reports | Manual actions, Security issues, Page indexing, Sitemaps, Core Web Vitals; URL Inspection on each chosen page |
| Deliverable | Summary page and findings table, with an effort estimate per fix[, plus a [30]-minute call] |
| Turnaround | [7] business days from the day I have access and your intake answers |
| Not included | Making the fixes, content, links, monthly reporting, ranking or traffic forecasts |
Write an honest sales page
Google's hiring page says "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google," and warns about SEOs that guarantee rankings, claim a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit." Keep all three off the page; see phrases to avoid.
Put every block of this template in the page body, near the price, not only in a terms popup.
A fixed-price SEO audit for [type of business] in [area]
What you get: a written audit of one website: a one-page summary, up to [ten] fixes ranked by impact and effort with the evidence and who should do each, and a list of things in Search Console that look wrong but are fine.
Turnaround: [7] business days after I have Search Console access and your intake answers. I confirm the date by email when the clock starts.
What I need from you: Search Console access as a Restricted user (you never share a password), answers to a few questions after checkout, and replies within [two] business days.
Not included: making the changes, content, links or monthly reporting. I can quote for those separately.
What I do not promise: rankings, traffic or leads. The audit lists problems I can show you and the work to fix them.
Price: [US$ amount], paid once. Refunds: [your terms, below].
Not a fit if: [your site is not live yet / you need the fixes made this month].
Questions first? [email] or [booking link].
For a free call first, see a booking page for discovery calls.
Refund terms, written by you
No source here sets them for you. Write them plainly and apply them to every buyer.
- Before I start: until I have your access and answers, cancel within [14] days of purchase for a full refund.
- If access is not possible: full refund.
- If I miss the date: you choose: wait, or a full refund.
- After delivery: no refund; if you find a factual error within [14] days, I correct it.
To ask, email [address] from the address you ordered with.
systeme.io's refund article says partial refunds are not supported and a refund needs enough funds in your payment gateway balance, so terms built on full refunds fit it.
Truth-in-advertising basics for the page
The FTC's Advertising FAQ's: A Guide for Small Business says advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive, and that ad claims on the internet must be truthful and substantiated.
| The FTC guide, paraphrased | On an audit sales page |
|---|---|
| An ad is deceptive if it is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably, and the claim is material. | Describe the scope and turnaround you actually deliver; update the page when they change. |
| Advertisers need a reasonable basis, objective evidence, before the ad runs. A money-back guarantee is no substitute. | Back every number on the page with a record, or cut it. |
| Implied claims need proof too. | "Find out what is holding you back on Google" implies an outcome. Say what you check. |
| Fine print cannot contradict other statements; disclosures must be clear and conspicuous. | Exclusions and refund terms sit in the body, near the price. |
| Endorsements must reflect honest and, for consumers, typical experience; "Your results may vary" is not enough. | Quote only real clients, with permission, about the audit itself, not exceptional traffic gains. |
A plain-language summary of FTC business guidance, not legal advice. It covers US federal guidance only; state rules and the rules where your buyers live may add requirements.
Intake questions
Ask after payment, and only what you need to start.
- Website address, and the Search Console property you use, if you know it.
- Which pages bring in calls, bookings or sales? Up to [10].
- What do you sell, in which area, and which two or three competitors do you see in search?
- Any redesign, new host or new domain in the last 12 months?
- Has anyone done SEO work on the site? What, and when?
- Who can change the site: you, a developer, an agency?
- Anything you already know is broken or worrying you?
Access, not passwords. Google's hiring page tells owners to grant only read access to Search Console at this stage, not write access; its permissions page gives a Restricted user "simple view rights on most data": it can view all reports, but URL Inspection is fetch-only and it cannot submit sitemaps. Only an owner adds users (Settings, Users and permissions, Add user), and email groups cannot be added. Adapt the access email template, asking for Restricted instead of Full.
Delivery and follow-up emails
The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide treats content that confirms or completes a transaction the recipient already agreed to as transactional, and a mixed message as commercial if the subject line suggests an ad or the transactional part is not mainly at the beginning. Keep emails 1 and 2 about the order. Email 3 asks for more work, so treat it as commercial; see what US law expects in each email.
Email 1: order received (day 0)
Subject: Your SEO audit order: two things I need to start
Hi [first name],
Thanks for ordering the SEO audit for [website]. To start, I need (1) Search Console access as a Restricted user for [your Google Account email]: in Search Console, Settings, Users and permissions, Add user; and (2) your answers to the intake questions [on the page after checkout / here: link].
The [7]-business-day turnaround starts the day I have both, and I will email you the date then. If you change your mind before then, within [14] days of ordering, reply and I will refund you in full.
[Your name]
[Business name] · [phone]
Email 2: delivery
Subject: Your SEO audit for [website]
Hi [first name],
Your audit is [attached / here: link]. Start with page 1: the summary and the fixes in order. Each fix names who should do it. It covers [reports and pages], viewed on [dates], and is not a forecast of rankings, traffic or leads.
Reply with questions until [date]. You can remove my Search Console access at any time under Settings, Users and permissions.
[Your name]
Email 3: one follow-up offer (about two weeks later)
Subject: An offer: help with the fixes from your audit
Hi [first name],
If you want help making the changes from your audit, or tracking them each month, I offer [scope] for [price]. Reply "proposal" and I will send a one-page outline. If not, no reply is needed; this is my only email about it.
[Your name]
This email is an advertisement for [business name]'s services. [Business name], [street address, registered PO box or private mailbox]. To stop marketing emails from me, reply "stop".
For the outline, use the SEO proposal template. Templates only: fill every bracket with your own details.
Build it on systeme.io
| Free plan item | As listed | For this offer |
|---|---|---|
| Sales funnels | 3 | Uses one |
| Automation rules | 1 | Optional; see step 6 |
| Transaction fees | 0% on every plan | Check your processor's own fees |
| Lifetime sales | US$10,000 (terms) | Then 3 days to upgrade, or payment pages stop accepting new sales |
| Affiliate badge | Cannot be removed | Label it; see step 7 |
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Connect a payment gateway
The help pages document Stripe and PayPal. Profile picture, Settings, Payment Gateways, Connect next to one.
Stripe: log in or create an account, select your business's country and type, verify your personal information (required to activate payments), then Authorize access to this account. Payment pages need Email and First Name fields.
PayPal: needs a Business account. Log in, Allow, Return to systeme.io, and wait for your Merchant ID; then set the instant payment notification URL in PayPal as article 132 shows. Order forms need email, first name and last name.
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Create the funnel
Sites, Sales funnels, Create; a Name, Domain and Currency. Sell creates an order form and a thank-you page; Custom starts blank. The help articles cited here do not cover reordering steps, so with Custom, add them in this order with + Add step: Sales page, Order form, then Thank you page from the Sales category.
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Set up the order form and price
First create a buyer tag: CRM, Tags, Create, a Tag name such as "audit-buyer", Save. On the order form step, under Choose offer type, pick Digital product. Of the resources an order form can deliver, a tag fits a service: after a successful payment, the customer is assigned it.
Product and price: the plus icon next to Digital Product adds a resource; enter a Digital product name, pick your tag, then the plus icon to set up the price plan and Create a new one. Fill in the display names and statement descriptor, choose One-time payment, enter the amount, set the tax behavior, Save, then the main Save.
Then in the funnel's Funnel settings, tick Credit card or debit card and/or PayPal, Save. For full terms on the order form, article 365 has you edit the terms text under Settings, Payment settings and add it as a popup (Popups, +).
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Write the sales page
Open the sales page step, Edit page, paste your copy. Add a Button, open its settings and choose Next step URL, which takes the visitor to the next step in the funnel: the order form, if you added the steps in that order. Click it on the live page to check.
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Optional: cap how many you sell
On the payment page, + next to Sales Limit; enter how many you can deliver and a Funnel step to redirect to once the sales limit has been reached, such as a "booked up" page in the same funnel. You get an email near and at the limit. The article does not mention a reset, so change the number by hand.
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Put the intake questions on the thank-you page
The Survey element works on sales funnel pages. Drag it onto the thank-you page, settings, Edit survey questions, Add question; tick Open-ended answer for free text, then BACK. The Final step email field is required because it links answers to the contact, so ask buyers to use the email they paid with. Answers show under CRM, Contacts, the contact, Surveys.
To send email 1 automatically: the payment page's Automation Rules tab, Add rule, trigger New sale, action Send email, Save rule. Help articles 294 and 140 do not say whether a rule made on a funnel step counts toward the free plan's one rule.
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Label the badge
systeme.io calls it an affiliate badge; Free plan users cannot remove it. If it can earn you a commission, add near it: "The systeme.io badge on this page is a paid link. I may earn a commission if you sign up through it." The FTC's endorsement FAQ says "Paid link" right next to an affiliate link should be adequate, and closer is better. Free-plan emails also end with a "Sent with systeme.io" affiliate link; label it as in this footer template.
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Test, and know how to refund
On the order form step, View funnel step, fill it in and submit; it appears under Sales, Transactions. The help article says a test purchase may incur fees, suggests a low price such as $1, and notes that Stripe's Services Agreement prohibits testing in Live Mode with real payment method details. Read your processor's testing rules first.
To refund: Sales, Transactions, filter, the three dots, Refund, confirm. An invoice with a negative amount appears, which you can send as proof.
For the sending domain and email footer on the same account, see Part B of the walkthrough.
Before you share the link
- Scope, turnaround, buyer duties, exclusions, price and refund terms sit in the page body, near the price.
- No ranking, traffic or revenue promises, stated or implied; every number has a record behind it.
- A gateway is connected, a payment method ticked, and the order form has the required fields.
- Buyers get the tag, the thank-you page shows the intake questions, and the badge and email line have a paid-link label.
- You made a low-price test purchase and know where to refund it.
If the buyer hires you for the fixes, follow the after-delivery steps.
Sources
- No guaranteed #1 ranking, estimates in an audit, read access, red-flag claims: Do you need an SEO? (Google Search Central)
- Restricted user rights, adding and removing users, email groups: Search Console users and permissions (Google)
- Deception, substantiation, implied claims, fine print, guarantees, endorsements, internet ads: Advertising FAQ's: A Guide for Small Business (FTC)
- Transactional content and mixed messages: CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business (FTC)
- Paid-link labels: FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking (FTC)
- Free plan limits, transaction fees, Startup price (as listed on 29 October 2026): systeme.io/pricing; lifetime sales limit: terms and conditions
- Stripe: article 225; PayPal: article 132; Funnel settings: article 307
- Funnels: article 147; sales page: article 287; thank-you page: article 321; buttons: article 170
- Order form: article 252; price plans: article 153; tags: article 303; terms: article 365
- Sales limit: article 1747; survey: article 1398; email after a sale: article 294; rules in the funnel editor: article 140
- Test purchase: article 151; refunds: article 259; affiliate badge: article 286; "Sent with systeme.io": article 2008