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Article · Finding clients
A checklist lead magnet for SEO consultants, built on a free plan
A one-page self-check a business owner can finish alone, an opt-in page that says exactly what happens next, a confirmed sign-up and a short follow-up. Then the setup on systeme.io's free plan.
The short answer: keep the checklist short enough to finish in one sitting, with free tools the reader already has. On the opt-in page, say what they get and how often you will email, and ask them to tick an empty consent box. Confirm the address before you send anything, put the file in the first email, and stop after a few follow-ups. On systeme.io's free plan, that fits in one "Build an Audience" funnel, one email campaign and one automation rule.
What the checklist is for
An owner who is not ready to hire anyone may still want to know where their site stands. A self-check gives them something to do today and, if they sign up, permission for you to email them about it. Be honest about its limits: it finds obvious gaps, it is not an audit, and it does not predict rankings. It is the "something useful in exchange for an email address" from getting the next client. For a longer, five-lesson format, see a free mini-course for SEO prospects.
- One page, about ten items, each a yes or no the reader can answer without you.
- Free tools they already have. For a local business: Google Search Console and their Google Business Profile.
- Where to look and what a pass looks like: the report name and the exact label they should see.
- No score. A percentage suggests a precision the checklist does not have.
- A plain last line: what to do with the "no" answers, and that they can reply for help. No deadline, no discount.
A hypothetical example: the local business SEO self-check
Rewrite each line for the businesses you serve, and walk through every step in your own accounts before you publish.
| Check | Where to look | A pass looks like | If not |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. You can open your site in Search Console | The property selector | Your site is listed. A Domain property covers all subdomains and both http and https. | Ask whoever built the site. A new Domain property is verified with a DNS record. |
| 2. A sitemap is submitted | Sitemaps report | Status "Success" | "Has errors" or "Couldn't fetch": click the row for details. |
| 3. Home page and main service pages are in Google | URL Inspection: paste each full address into the bar at the top | "URL is on Google". That means the page can appear in results, not that it will. | "URL is not on Google": the result's Page indexing section says why. |
| 4. No key page is in the not-indexed list | Page indexing report, "Why pages aren't indexed"; click a row for its URLs | No service, location or contact page listed. Duplicates here are usually fine; Google says not to expect every URL indexed. | Note the reason; the Source column shows whether you can likely fix it. |
| 5. No manual actions | Manual actions report | A green check mark | A Google reviewer found pages that break its spam policies. Fix every listed page before "Request Review". |
| 6. No security issues | Security issues report | A green check mark | It covers hacked content, malware and social engineering. Fix every issue, then "Request Review". |
| 7. Your Business Profile is verified | Your Business Profile | You can edit the business info, such as name and hours. | A "Get verified" button means Google could not complete verification. Verify again, with another method if one is offered. |
| 8. Name, hours, phone and website are current | Business Profile, "Edit profile" | Name matches your signage; special hours set for holidays; website is the full address with https://; service area lists where you work. | Edit, then "Save". Google reviews changes before they go live. |
| 9. The primary category says what the business is | "Edit profile", category | The first category is the primary one. It completes "This business IS a ..." and is as specific as the list allows. | Change it. Do not add categories just as keywords. |
| 10. Recent reviews have replies | Business Profile, "Read reviews" | Each recent review has a reply. | Select the Reply icon, write, then "Reply". Replies are public and checked by Google first. |
End the page with what the answers mean. Copy and edit the brackets:
What your answers mean. A "yes" on every line means these basics are in place. It does not mean the site will rank for any particular search. Each "no" is a specific thing to look into, starting with the report named in that row. If you want a second pair of eyes on your "no" answers, reply to the email this checklist came with.
[Your name], [business name], [city, state]. Checked against Google's help pages on [date].
Save it as a small one-page PDF with a plain file name, such as local-seo-self-check.pdf.
The opt-in page: say exactly what happens next
Before anyone types an email address, the page tells them what they get, how often you will email, and who you are. The consent box starts empty and is required. A link to your privacy notice sits next to the button. For a short notice you can adapt, see a short privacy notice template.
Headline: The local business SEO self-check
Sentence: Ten yes-or-no checks you can do yourself in Google Search Console and your Google Business Profile. One page, nothing to buy.
What you get: The checklist as a PDF, by email. Then up to four short emails over about two weeks: tips for using it, how I work, and one offer. Then nothing more, unless you reply.
Checkbox (empty): Yes, email me the checklist and up to four short follow-up emails from [your name], [business name]. I can unsubscribe at any time.
Button: Email me the checklist
Small print: First you will get an email asking you to confirm your address. Click its link within 24 hours and the checklist follows. [Privacy notice]
Leave off: a pre-ticked box, the word "audit" (the reader does the work), any number about traffic or leads, countdown timers, and a newsletter they did not ask for.
What US email law asks of the follow-up
The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide covers commercial email, meaning messages whose primary purpose is to advertise or promote a product or service, and says there is no exception for business-to-business email. From its list:
- "From" and "Reply-To" details must identify you, and subject lines must match the content.
- Disclose clearly that the message is an ad. The guide says the law leaves a lot of room in how you do this.
- Include a valid physical postal address.
- Explain clearly how to stop future emails. Honor opt-outs within 10 business days, and keep the opt-out working for at least 30 days after you send.
This covers US law only and is not legal advice; the FTC guide, listed under Sources, has the full list.
Confirm the address before you send anything
With double opt-in, a new sign-up gets one email with a confirmation link and nothing else until they click it. A mistyped address, or one typed by someone else, gets only that email. systeme.io's help page on list bombing (bots flooding a form with addresses) recommends it. On systeme.io, all emails and automations wait until the contact confirms, and contacts who do not confirm within 24 hours are deleted.
Use the thank-you page to explain that step:
Almost done. Check your inbox for an email from [sender name] asking you to confirm your address, and click the link within 24 hours. The checklist arrives in a separate email after that. Nothing there? Check your spam folder, or go back and check the address you typed.
Keep your own record of consent: a dated copy of the opt-in page and checkbox wording each time you change them. systeme.io's consent records, per its help page, come from order forms and upsell pages, not opt-in forms.
Deliver the file in the first email
systeme.io's help pages describe three ways to send a file to a new contact:
- Attachment in the campaign's first email. The help page lists the attachment option for the classic editor only, and switching editors loses what you wrote. Because emails wait for confirmation, only confirmed contacts get the file.
- Download link on the thank-you page, using a Text element and the link icon's file upload. Anyone who submits the form gets the file before confirming the address.
- A "Send email" action in a rule on the opt-in page, with attachments up to 5 MB. The follow-ups still need the campaign, so delivery and follow-up end up in two places.
On the free plan, the first fits: one campaign holds the delivery email and the follow-ups, and one rule starts it.
Follow up, then stop
Send only what the opt-in page promised. A hypothetical plan to match the copy above:
- Shortly after they confirm: "Your local SEO self-check", with the PDF attached and one line on how to use it.
- A few days later: "If check 3 was a no", on reading the URL Inspection result.
- About a week in: "Replying to reviews, in plain words", with two example replies.
- About two weeks in: "Last email about the checklist", with an offer to look at their "no" answers on a call and a clear line that no more emails will follow.
For full email templates, timing and what each one needs under US law, see follow-up emails for SEO prospects. When someone becomes a client, the onboarding checklist and the Search Console reporting setup take over. For the call offered in the last email, see a booking page for SEO discovery calls.
Build it on systeme.io's free plan
As listed on systeme.io's pricing page on 29 October 2026, the free plan needs no credit card, does not expire, and includes one custom domain and unlimited emails sent, plus the limits below. Paid plans are listed at $17 (Startup), $47 (Webinar) and $97 (Unlimited) per month, billed monthly.
| Item | Free plan, as listed on 29 October 2026 | This build uses |
|---|---|---|
| Sales funnels | 3 | 1 ("Build an Audience") |
| Email campaigns | 1 | 1: delivery plus follow-ups |
| Automation rules | 1 | 1: form submitted, start the campaign |
| Contacts | 2,000 | One per sign-up; unconfirmed ones are deleted after 24 hours |
| Branding | Affiliate badge on pages and a "Sent with systeme.io" line in emails; neither can be removed on the free plan | Both appear in this build |
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Authenticate your domain and set the footer
systeme.io says domain authentication is mandatory to send emails. In Settings, Emails, Domains, follow the link to authenticate your domain and add the three CNAME records and one DMARC record it gives you. The domain needs a live website, and domains of personal email providers cannot be authenticated, so send from an address on your own domain. Then contact systeme.io support, as the help article instructs, and confirm your sender address. On the same settings page, tick Display "Unsubscribe from campaign" link and put your name and postal address in Footer text. systeme.io describes the "Sent with systeme.io" line as an affiliate link; if it can earn you a commission, say so in the footer.
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Create the funnel
Sites, Sales funnels, Create. Enter a name, select your domain, choose a currency and pick Build an Audience, the type meant for growing an email list. It comes with an opt-in page and a thank-you page.
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Build the form
Open the opt-in page with Edit page. From the Form section, drag a Form input and set its Input type to email; the form needs at least one email field. Add a Checkbox element with your consent wording and set it to mandatory. Add a Text element linking to your privacy notice.
Add a Button and set Action when button clicked to Submit form; the help pages say this is required for sign-ups to reach your list and for form rules to fire. With a mandatory checkbox, visitors then cannot move on until they tick it. Under Do you want to redirect users after contact registration?, choose To the next step. Preview and check that the box starts empty.
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Turn on double opt-in
Click the gear icon on the button and tick Do you want to enable double opt-in on this form? It is set per form. To edit the confirmation email: Settings, Emails, the Double opt-in section, Edit confirmation email. Say who you are and what they signed up for.
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Write the thank-you page
Open the thank-you step with Edit page and paste the "almost done" text. Do not put the file here.
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Write the campaign
Emails, Campaigns, Create; name it, choose the sender and Save. Open it and click Create for each email. Write the delivery email in the classic editor and attach the PDF. Activate each email from its menu (..., Activate), choosing in This email will be sent after which email it follows and setting the Delay.
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Create the one rule
Automations, Rules, Create. Trigger: Funnel step form subscribed, then select your opt-in page. Action: Subscribe to campaign, then your campaign. Click Save rule.
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Test with your own address
systeme.io's help pages suggest registering on your own opt-in page. Check that the form will not submit without the tick, that the confirmation email arrives, that the PDF arrives after you confirm, that the footer shows your postal address and the unsubscribe link works, and that the email count on the page matches the campaign.
For domain authentication and the email footer in more detail, see Part B of the walkthrough.
Sources
- Property types and the property selector: Search Console Help, add a website property
- Sitemap statuses: Search Console Help, Sitemaps report
- URL Inspection labels: Search Console Help, URL Inspection tool
- "Why pages aren't indexed" and coverage expectations: Search Console Help, Page indexing report
- Manual actions and review requests: Search Console Help, Manual Actions report
- Security issue categories: Search Console Help, Security issues report
- Verification, editing access and the "Get verified" button: Business Profile Help, verify your business
- Editing info, primary category and edit review: Business Profile Help, edit your profile; category choice: Business Profile Help, categories
- Replying to reviews: Business Profile Help, read and reply to reviews
- Commercial email, business-to-business email, header, subject line, ad disclosure, address and opt-out rules: FTC, CAN-SPAM Act compliance guide
- systeme.io free plan limits, no card, no expiry and paid prices (as listed on 29 October 2026): systeme.io/pricing
- systeme.io funnel types: article 147; form, button action, redirect and 24-hour deletion: article 1602; checkbox: article 324; thank-you page: article 321
- systeme.io double opt-in: article 271; list bombing: article 3990; consent records: article 11433
- systeme.io file delivery: article 340 (page link), article 280 ("Send email", 5 MB, testing), article 367 (campaigns, attachments, delays)
- systeme.io rule trigger and action: article 284
- systeme.io badge and footer on the free plan: article 286, article 2008; domain authentication, record checks, support contact and sender confirmation: article 316, article 272