Free template
An SEO plan says which searches you want to show up for, which pages will answer them, and what you will do each week. This template has the six parts a small business needs, a 90-day roadmap and a filled-in example. Copy any part into Google Sheets or download it as a CSV. No sign-up.
At a glance
| Part | What it is for |
|---|---|
| 1. Plan brief | One page that says what the plan is for. Fill it in first; every later choice is checked against it. |
| 2. Baseline | Today's numbers, so day 90 has something to be compared with. Write them down before you change anything. |
| 3. Keyword list | The searches you will go after. Score each 0-3 on three questions, add the scores up, and work from the top. |
| 4. 12-week content calendar | One row per page you will publish or fix. Service pages first, then posts that answer what your buyers ask. |
| 5. Technical checklist | The basics that stop Google from finding or showing your pages. Most take minutes to check. |
| 6. Monthly review | Fifteen minutes once a month. Compare with the baseline and decide one thing to change. |
One page that says what the plan is for. Fill it in first; every later choice is checked against it.
| Field | Your answer | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Business | A two-van plumbing company in Columbus, OH | |
| What you sell (the 3 that make money) | Water heater installs, drain cleaning, emergency repairs | |
| Who buys | Homeowners within 25 miles; landlords with 2-10 units | |
| Local or national | Local | |
| The one goal for the next 90 days | More calls for water heater installs from Google | |
| How you will count it | Calls tagged "Google" in the job log + Search Console clicks | |
| Hours per week you can give it | 3 | |
| Who does the work | Owner writes; nephew updates the website | |
| 3 competitors you see on Google | List the businesses that show up for your main service | |
| Budget (money, tools, help) | $0 tools; free Search Console and Business Profile |
Today's numbers, so day 90 has something to be compared with. Write them down before you change anything.
| Metric | Where to find it | Today | Day 90 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clicks from Google (last 3 months) | Search Console > Performance | |||
| Impressions (last 3 months) | Search Console > Performance | |||
| Searches that brought a click | Search Console > Performance > Queries | |||
| Pages indexed | Search Console > Indexing > Pages | |||
| Leads or sales from Google search | Your own count (calls, forms, orders) or Google Analytics | |||
| Calls and direction requests (local) | Google Business Profile > Performance |
The searches you will go after. Score each 0-3 on three questions, add the scores up, and work from the top.
| Keyword | Service it leads to | Monthly searches | Fit (0-3): would this searcher buy from you? | Winnable (0-3): do small sites rank in the top 10? | Demand (0-3): enough searches to matter? | Score (add the three) | Page that should rank (existing or new) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
One row per page you will publish or fix. Service pages first, then posts that answer what your buyers ask.
| Week | Target keyword | Title | Page type | Links to (which service page) | Status | Published URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | ||||||
| Week 2 | ||||||
| Week 3 | ||||||
| Week 4 | ||||||
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| Week 12 |
The basics that stop Google from finding or showing your pages. Most take minutes to check.
| Check | How to check | Status | Fix / who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site is verified in Google Search Console | search.google.com/search-console | ||
| XML sitemap is submitted | Search Console > Sitemaps | ||
| Your important pages are indexed | Search Console > URL Inspection, one page at a time | ||
| No important page is set to noindex | URL Inspection shows whether indexing is allowed | ||
| Every page has its own title and meta description | View each page's title in the browser tab, or crawl the site | ||
| Every page loads over HTTPS | Look for the lock icon; check that http:// redirects to https:// | ||
| Pages work on a phone | Open each key page on your own phone | ||
| Core Web Vitals pass | PageSpeed Insights, or Search Console > Core Web Vitals | ||
| No broken internal links | A crawler such as Screaming Frog (free up to 500 URLs) | ||
| Each service has its own page | Compare your services list with your site menu | ||
| Name, address and phone match everywhere (local) | Compare your site footer with your Google Business Profile |
Fifteen minutes once a month. Compare with the baseline and decide one thing to change.
| Month | Clicks | Impressions | Leads from search | Pages published | What moved | What to change next month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | ||||||
| Month 2 | ||||||
| Month 3 |
Roadmap
How to work the plan once it is filled in, at about three hours a week.
Example
A made-up two-van plumbing company in Columbus, Ohio. Its brief is the Example column in part 1 above. Here are its first five keywords, scored. The search numbers are invented for the example; look up your own in a keyword tool.
| Keyword | Service it leads to | Monthly searches | Fit (0-3): would this searcher buy from you? | Winnable (0-3): do small sites rank in the top 10? | Demand (0-3): enough searches to matter? | Score (add the three) | Page that should rank (existing or new) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| water heater installation columbus | Water heater installs | 300 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | Existing: /water-heaters |
| tankless vs tank water heater | Water heater installs | 1,500 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | New post |
| how long does a water heater last | Water heater installs | 2,000 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | New post |
| emergency plumber columbus | Emergency repairs | 800 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | Existing: /emergency |
| how to unclog a drain without a plunger | Drain cleaning | 5,000 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | Skip: DIY readers rarely call |
What the scores tell this plumber: improve the two service pages first, because those searchers are ready to call. Then write the two water-heater posts and link both to the water-heater page. Skip the DIY drain search: plenty of people look, but they are trying not to hire anyone.
The part most plans stall on
Most small-business SEO plans stop at part 4, because writing a post every week is the hard bit. Segeo picks topics from live search trends, checks them against your existing posts so nothing repeats, writes each post in your business's voice, and publishes one to your website every day. It works with WordPress, Wix, Shopify and Git-based sites, from $89 a month.
FAQ
A written list of which searches you want to show up for, which pages will answer them, what you will publish or fix each week, and how you will tell whether it worked. It turns "do more SEO" into tasks with dates.
Six parts: a one-page brief with one goal, today's numbers, a scored keyword list, a content calendar, a technical checklist, and a monthly review. That is what this template holds.
The strategy is the why: who you want to reach and which searches matter. The plan is the what: the pages, fixes and dates. The roadmap is the plan laid out on a timeline, like the 90-day roadmap on this page. A small business can keep all three in one sheet.
There is no fixed number, and Google does not publish one. A new page has to be crawled and indexed before it can rank at all. Watch Search Console impressions first, because they usually move before clicks do, and judge the plan on the trend across months, not week to week.
Yes. This template is built for an owner with a few hours a week. Search Console and Google Business Profile are free, and the technical checklist can be done without a developer for most sites.
As often as you can keep up. A steady pace you can hold for months beats a burst that stops. If writing is the part you will not get to, Segeo publishes a post to your site every day for you.
Yes. There is no sign-up and no email. Copy any section into Google Sheets or Excel, or download it as a CSV file.
One engine. Your blog and your Instagram, every day.