# SEO outsourcing — scope, ownership and handoff

Meridian · 2026-09-20 · Blank working template, not a contract or included service promise.
Companion guide: https://withmeridian.org/blog/how-to-outsource-seo

## 1. Decision and baseline

- Product / website:
- Reader, markets and languages:
- Buying path: self-serve / enterprise sales / both (separate paths)
- Current bottleneck and the decision this project must enable:
- Primary business event and its definition:
- Baseline, time window, source and missing data:
- Internal decision owner / subject reviewer / implementation owner:
- Proposed start, review and acceptance dates:
- Budget, currency, tax treatment and internal capacity:

## 2. Agree the work

| Work / target URL | Included output and boundaries | Delivery owner | Client input / access | Reviewer | Due date | Acceptance evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Research / page plan | | | | | | |
| Brief / complete draft (separate) | | | | | | |
| Design / code / CMS publication | | | | | | |
| Product events / sales handoff | | | | | | |
| Review / report / next queue | | | | | | |

## 3. Acceptance gates

- [ ] Query/task and current or new URL are identified with sources and dates.
- [ ] Draft answers the agreed questions and uses checked product facts.
- [ ] Examples are identified as customer evidence, internal work or illustrations.
- [ ] Complete writing, design, code, publishing and retest responsibility are each explicit.
- [ ] Published changes, links, language variants, mobile reading and next action are checked.
- [ ] Product or sales events are tested by their owner; missing data remains unknown.
- [ ] Delivery status and business outcomes are reported separately.

## 4. Changes and support

- Revision rounds / response window:
- Scope-change trigger, estimator and approver:
- Release dependency and impact of late approvals:
- Retest / support window and excluded work:
- Fee, payment dates, cancellation and unfinished-work handling:

## 5. Exit handoff

- [ ] Editable files and usage/ownership rights
- [ ] Keyword-to-URL map and evidence sources
- [ ] Release history, completed/declined/pending work
- [ ] Reporting definitions, observation windows and limitations
- [ ] Account ownership, access transfer and obsolete-permission removal
- [ ] Next recommended decisions and named owners

White-label projects also need end-client contact boundaries, confidentiality, report branding,
quality/rework rules, turnaround and margin terms. Complete these separately.