SEO reseller onboarding checklist: what to agree before the first order
SEOReseller guide · Publishes · 3 min read
Short answer
Before the first white-label order, agree six things: your client's authorisation for the work, a brief template, report format and branding rules, a communication and escalation protocol, how client account access is granted and removed, and what happens when the partnership ends. Then run one small, real order and review it before scaling.
Key takeaways
- Get your client's written authorisation before commissioning work on their properties.
- A standard brief template prevents most scope misunderstandings.
- Decide whether the partner may ever contact your client. Usually: no.
- Plan offboarding on day one: client-owned accounts, revocable access, reports you keep.
This checklist is written from the agency's side: what you should have settled with your client and your partner before any work starts. It complements, but doesn't replace, whatever your partner's own onboarding requires.
1. Client authorisation
- Written confirmation that the client wants the work and owns the properties involved.
- Check your client contract for anything about subcontracting or confidentiality.
- Agree who on the client side can approve content, targets or profile changes.
2. A standard brief template
Fields every brief should have
- Service and quantity in units
- Client niche, market and language
- Target pages, locations or site sections
- Topics, competitors or sites to avoid
- Approval contacts and expected response time
- Deadline, and why it matters
3. Report format and branding rules
- Format: document, spreadsheet or both.
- Branding: unbranded, or with your logo applied by you.
- Anything that must never appear: partner names, internal notes, pricing.
- Status definitions both sides use, such as live, pending and replaced.
See what a white-label SEO report should include.
4. Communication and escalation
- One named contact on each side.
- Whether the partner may ever contact your client directly. The usual answer is no.
- How blockers are raised: when they happen, with options.
- Who to go to if something goes wrong and the usual contact can't fix it.
5. Access: granted by invitation, removed on time
| Service | Access usually needed | How to grant it |
|---|---|---|
| Link building | None | n/a |
| Local SEO | Business profile manager | Owner invites the partner as a manager |
| SEO audit | Optional Search Console read access | Owner adds a restricted user |
| On-site changes (if in scope) | CMS user account | Individual account, removed when done |
6. Offboarding, planned on day one
- Accounts stay owned by the client throughout.
- You keep copies of every brief and report.
- A list of access to revoke when work ends.
- What happens to live placements or listings after the relationship ends.
Then: one small order, reviewed
Run one real order and review it against the scope: clarity, communication, report quality, access handling. Keep, adjust or stop based on what actually happened. The partner selection guide lists what to look for.
To see how our own partnership is structured, read the SEO reseller program and how it works.
