# SEO audit quote comparison

Meridian · Editable buyer worksheet · September 14, 2026

Use the same questions and required deliverables when requesting quotes. Blank cells mean not yet confirmed, not included or free. This worksheet is not a quotation from Meridian.

## 1. The decision the audit should support

Website:
Business question or symptom:
Priority page groups and templates:
Approximate URL count and excluded properties:
Languages and markets:
CMS / rendering / recent releases:
Available Search Console, analytics and crawl evidence:
Internal implementation owner and capacity:
Required date and reason:

## 2. Compare written proposals

| Item to confirm | Provider A | Provider B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Date, currency, quote expiry and tax treatment | | |
| One-off audit fee or recurring commitment | | |
| Exact question and included audit types | | |
| Page groups, templates, languages and sampling | | |
| Data/access assumptions and exclusions | | |
| Human investigation and evidence for findings | | |
| Priorities, responsible owners and acceptance checks | | |
| Readout, handover format and delivery date | | |
| Implementation work included, if any | | |
| Internal hours by role; agreed estimate basis | | |
| Tools or other external costs | | |
| Retest scope, rounds, timing and fee | | |
| Out-of-scope changes and approval process | | |
| Total external cash cost | | |
| Estimated internal time value (separate from cash) | | |
| Unanswered questions and next action | | |

## 3. Compare the whole task

Total planned effort cost = audit fee + implementation cash costs + internal time value + retest fee + other agreed costs.

Do not count the same implementation or retest twice when it is already included. Internal salary allocation is not automatically an additional cash payment. Record cash and time separately.

Fictional arithmetic only: $1,200 audit + 18 internal hours at $60/hour + $300 retest = $2,580, comprising $1,500 external cash and $1,080 internal time value. This is not a market rate, customer quote, Meridian price or effort forecast. Taxes, tools, exchange costs and new scope are excluded; add them when applicable.

## 4. Accept the agreed work

- [ ] Included page groups and exclusions match the proposal.
- [ ] Findings separate observed facts, hypotheses and unknowns.
- [ ] Priority recommendations contain evidence, an owner and a test.
- [ ] The team can access and reuse the handover files.
- [ ] Implementation and retest responsibilities are confirmed.
- [ ] Unresolved questions have a written next action.

Do not mark an audit complete by a promised ranking increase. Technical acceptance, subsequent search performance and business results are separate observations.

Article: https://withmeridian.org/blog/seo-audit-cost
Scope: https://withmeridian.org/services/seo-services/technical-seo-audit