Case study interview and outline template for seo agencies
Use this case study interview and outline worksheet to document a real engagement with evidence, permission and a clear account of what changed. It is written for seo agencies and starts with an illustrative offer: a technical and content opportunity audit. Replace the assumptions with evidence from your own business before using the result.
Leave with a case study outline ready to populate with verified customer evidence.
Start with a real buying situation
For the worked example, the audience is a business owner with traffic but few enquiries. Their problem is that important product pages attract poorly matched searches. The desired practical outcome is a prioritised set of pages and search tasks tied to the offer.
The example is deliberately bounded: the development team can implement only a few changes this month. That condition should influence the promise, scope and next step rather than disappear from the marketing copy.
| Illustrative offer | a technical and content opportunity audit |
|---|---|
| Buyer question | Which enquiries should organic search bring, and which should it avoid? |
| Possible evidence | a sample audit entry connecting a query, page issue, proposed fix and measurement |
| Useful asset | a search intent to landing-page map |
How to complete your case study interview and outline
- Obtain permission for the specific material you plan to publish.
- Describe the original situation and constraints.
- Record the work performed and who contributed.
- Use verified results with definitions, dates and limitations.
- Explain what another buyer can learn without implying the same result is guaranteed.
Worked example
These entries are illustrative planning material, not research findings or customer results. Keep the structure and replace the content with verified details.
| Permission and scope of disclosure | Obtain the customer’s permission for names, quotations, screenshots and figures. This worksheet contains no actual customer result. |
|---|---|
| Starting situation | Document the original problem and constraint: important product pages attract poorly matched searches; the development team can implement only a few changes this month. Replace these illustrative prompts with verified facts. |
| Actions and responsibilities | Describe the actual work. Reference a technical and content opportunity audit only where it matches the agreed and delivered scope. |
| Verified result and measurement | Record qualified organic enquiries, separated from brand and support traffic only if measured; include the baseline, period, source and what else changed. |
| Lessons and limitations | Explain what the case can teach a buyer. Do not invent search volumes, positions or guaranteed indexing dates. State limitations and avoid attributing all change to one intervention. |
Review before using it
A useful operational measure in this example is qualified organic enquiries, separated from brand and support traffic. That does not automatically make it a marketing attribution metric. Define the source, period and owner before drawing conclusions.
- Can the customer verify the account, and are all numbers traceable?
- Check the delivery assumptions: Agree implementation ownership, reporting periods and what is outside scope.
- Use evidence rather than promises. Do not invent search volumes, positions or guaranteed indexing dates.
- Discuss the draft with someone who understands the buying situation. Start with: “Which enquiries should organic search bring, and which should it avoid?”
- If the next step is a trial, define its purpose. One possible starting point is to audit one product section and implement a small agreed set of fixes.
Common mistakes and a better review
Do not fill a missing fact with an impressive-sounding number. Mark it as an assumption, explain how you will check it and give that check an owner. A short, honest document is easier to use than an elaborate plan built on unknowns.
| Watch for | Do not turn an illustrative example into a customer success story. |
|---|---|
| A real buyer concern | Can you put us first on Google next month? |
| Useful response direction | We cannot guarantee positions. We can establish the baseline, fix the highest-impact issues and measure relevant visibility and enquiries over time. |
| Evidence to collect | The buyer’s own account, a sample audit entry connecting a query, page issue, proposed fix and measurement, and records relevant to qualified organic enquiries, separated from brand and support traffic. |
Your working sheet.
Make the exercise your own. Notes are saved in this browser when storage is available. Download a copy to keep; avoid confidential information on a shared device.
Example: Obtain the customer’s permission for names, quotations, screenshots and figures. This worksheet contains no actual customer result.
Example: Document the original problem and constraint: important product pages attract poorly matched searches; the development team can implement only a few changes this month. Replace these illustrative prompts with verified facts.
Example: Describe the actual work. Reference a technical and content opportunity audit only where it matches the agreed and delivered scope.
Example: Record qualified organic enquiries, separated from brand and support traffic only if measured; include the baseline, period, source and what else changed.
Example: Explain what the case can teach a buyer. Do not invent search volumes, positions or guaranteed indexing dates. State limitations and avoid attributing all change to one intervention.
Review your work
This is a reflection checklist, not an automated assessment.
Questions
How do I adapt this for my seo agencies business?+
Is the filled example ready to publish?+
What should I do after completing the worksheet?+
Illustrative business worksheet. No customer results, market rates, traffic volumes or performance benchmarks are implied.
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