Download Our FREE SEO SOP Toolkit For Your Business
About 46% of content marketers and business owners believe that SEO leads to success in content marketing. They’re right, SEO works. But getting results isn’t always easy as it sounds.
That’s why we created our free SEO SOP toolkit. It includes 10+ step-by-step guides that helped us grow our business to seven figures and beyond.
These proven systems cover everything you need to boost your SEO and improve your online presence. Best part? It’s 100% free.
Download the toolkit below and start using smart, simple SEO strategies today!
What you'll get
Here’s a short glimpse of what our free SEO SOP toolkit offers for your business:
- 10 SEO Concepts You Must Understand
- High Level SEO Strategy & Process
- How to Research Your Competition for SEO
- SEO Keyword Research Process
- How to Steal Blog Article Outlines from 1st Page SERPs
- Blog Article On Page SEO Checklist
- SEO Blog Writing Process w/ ChatGPT & AI
- SEO Internal Linking Process
- Monthly SEO Analytics Strategy
- SEO Backlink Strategy
- Quarterly SEO Audit Checklist
Premium SEO Resources (Bonus)
What you'll learn
Get access to priceless SEO templates in this section. With tools to help with every stage of an SEO campaign. Including keyword research, on-page SEO, monthly reporting… and even a client proposal with service contract.
7+ Resources
- 120+ SEO Checklist
- Keyword Research Template
- On-Page SEO Template
- SEO Strategy Template
- SEO Audit Checklist
- SEO Audit Template
- SEO Strategy Template
What Are SEO SOPs?
SEO SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) are step-by-step processes that standardize how SEO tasks are executed.
Instead of reinventing the wheel every time you run keyword research, optimize a page, or build links, SOPs provide a repeatable system that ensures consistency, saves time, and improves results.
With SOPs, you can:
Train new team members faster
Delegate SEO tasks without losing quality
Scale campaigns without confusion
Avoid costly mistakes
At TenexSEO, we use SOPs daily to keep projects efficient, whether we’re optimizing a single blog post or scaling SEO for enterprise clients.
Why SEO SOPs Are Important
SEO isn’t just about creativity, it’s about process. Without structure, tasks get missed, quality varies, and scaling becomes nearly impossible.
Here’s how SOPs help different groups:
Agencies: Maintain quality across multiple clients
In-house SEO teams: Ensure everyone follows the same playbook
Freelancers: Save time and avoid errors by working systematically
Businesses: Build scalable processes that don’t rely on one person
Core SEO SOPs You Can Use Today
We’ve broken down the essential SEO SOPs every team should have. Each includes step-by-step processes and downloadable templates.
Keyword Research SOP
Find the right keywords that match your audience’s intent.
Key Steps:
Define your target audience & goals
Collect seed keywords (products, services, industry terms)
Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner
Analyze search intent (informational, navigational, commercial, transactional)
Group & cluster keywords using the Hub & Spoke model
Prioritize keywords based on search volume, difficulty, and relevance
Save in a master keyword sheet
On-Page SEO SOP
Optimize individual web pages for higher rankings and better user experience.
Checklist:
Optimize title tags & meta descriptions (include focus keyword)
Place primary keyword in H1 and variations in H2/H3
Use internal links to related content
Add external authoritative links
Optimize images (alt text, compression, lazy loading)
Improve readability (short sentences, bullets, headings)
Add schema markup where relevant
Publish & test page on Google Search Console
Technical SEO SOP
Ensure your website is technically sound and crawlable.
Key Steps:
Run a site crawl using Screaming Frog or Sitebulb
Check indexing issues in Google Search Console
Fix crawl errors, broken links, and redirect chains
Optimize Core Web Vitals (page speed, CLS, FID, LCP)
Implement a mobile-first design
Use HTTPS & ensure all pages redirect properly
Submit updated sitemap to Google
- Re-run technical checks monthly to catch new errors
Content Writing & Optimization SOP
Create content that ranks on Google and converts traffic into revenue.
Key Steps:
Research topic clusters & keyword intent
Build an outline around target keywords
Follow E-E-A-T guidelines (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
Write clear, scannable content with bullet points & short paragraphs
Add visuals, screenshots, or charts to increase engagement
Link to related internal & external resources
Optimize content for featured snippets (use Q&A format)
Publish and request indexing in GSC
Link Building SOP
Acquire high-quality backlinks that boost authority.
Key Steps:
Identify link opportunities (guest posts, resource pages, HARO, niche edits)
Vet websites by domain authority, traffic, and relevance
Create linkable assets (guides, case studies, infographics)
Personalize outreach emails (no mass blasts!)
Track outreach & responses in a spreadsheet or CRM
Monitor new & lost backlinks with Ahrefs
SEO Reporting SOP
Track SEO performance and prove ROI.
Key Steps:
Gather data from Google Search Console, GA4, Ahrefs, SEMrush
Create monthly reports with:
- Organic traffic growth
Keyword rankings
Conversions & leads
Backlink profile updates
Share insights, not just numbers—what worked, what didn’t, next steps
Send to stakeholders on a consistent schedule
Frequently Asked Questions
A documented step-by-step process for completing SEO tasks consistently.
They help teams work faster, reduce errors, and scale campaigns effectively.
Write down your process in clear steps, organize into checklists, and standardize across your team.
Yes, SOPs make SEO easier for beginners by providing a clear roadmap.
Absolutely. Every professional SEO agency uses SOPs to maintain quality and scale across clients.
Yes, SEO agency SOPs are quite different from the SOPs of product companies. Their core similarity is the provision of clear and defined processes for company operations.
The differences between the 2 SOPs lie in their focus, goals, and the nature of their respective industries. For instance, SOPs are required in manufacturing companies to achieve uniform performance and produce high-quality products.
While an SEO SOP has similar goals, the technicalities of a product company’s SOP will not apply to this industry and vice-versa. However, both SOPs intend to standardize processes in their respective fields.
Because the rules in SEO are fast-changing, you must update your SOPs regularly. You can start by updating them every quarter at the minimum.
Should there be any significant changes, like a major update in Google’s search algorithm, that can impact your SEO operations, you must revise the SOP as needed.
While Google rarely reveals the specifics of its core updates, analyzing how they have impacted your website’s visibility can provide valuable insights for improvement.
Parting Words
That concludes our complete guide on everything related to SEO SOPs. From the different categories that SEO SOPs encompass to the best ways to train your team on using them, we’ve covered the essentials to help you develop and implement effective SOPs.
At TenexSEO, we believe that effective SEO is at the heart of every marketing strategy, and a successful strategy goes beyond documenting SEO SOPs.
We offer monthly SEO services that are well-suited for your business so you can drive traffic and generate targeted leads through organic search. Or perhaps you’re looking for a fractional SEO partner to scale your business. If so, let’s work together!