Leave with an evidence-seeking customer profile with explicit disqualification rules.
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 ideal customer profile
- Describe the organisation and the workflow you serve.
- Identify a buying trigger that can be observed or confirmed.
- List the people affected and their different needs.
- Write qualification and disqualification criteria.
- Compare the profile with actual conversations and revise unsupported assumptions.
Worked example
These entries are illustrative planning material, not research findings or customer results. Keep the structure and replace the content with verified details.
| Organisation and workflow | a business owner with traffic but few enquiries; investigate a recent example of the problem: important product pages attract poorly matched searches. |
|---|---|
| Observable trigger | A recent incident involving this problem: important product pages attract poorly matched searches. Ask for an actual example. |
| Users, sponsor and approver | User: the person doing the work. Sponsor: a business owner with traffic but few enquiries. Approver: confirm rather than infer from title. |
| Fit signals | The buyer wants a prioritised set of pages and search tasks tied to the offer; they can provide the inputs needed to audit one product section and implement a small agreed set of fixes. |
| Disqualifying conditions | Pause when the desired scope exceeds the offer or the buyer cannot satisfy this dependency: the development team can implement only a few changes this month. |
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 a salesperson use the profile to decide who to investigate and who to exclude?
- 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 | Demographic labels or company size alone do not establish a need. |
|---|---|
| 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
Write your own version below. Notes are saved on this browser when local storage is available. Use Download to keep a separate copy; avoid adding confidential information on a shared device.
Example: a business owner with traffic but few enquiries; investigate a recent example of the problem: important product pages attract poorly matched searches.
Example: A recent incident involving this problem: important product pages attract poorly matched searches. Ask for an actual example.
Example: User: the person doing the work. Sponsor: a business owner with traffic but few enquiries. Approver: confirm rather than infer from title.
Example: The buyer wants a prioritised set of pages and search tasks tied to the offer; they can provide the inputs needed to audit one product section and implement a small agreed set of fixes.
Example: Pause when the desired scope exceeds the offer or the buyer cannot satisfy this dependency: the development team can implement only a few changes this month.
Review your work
Tick only what you can support with your answer or practice. This is a reflection checklist, not an automated assessment.
Questions about this resource
How do I adapt this for my seo agencies business?
Replace the audience, offer and evidence with your actual information. Begin with a recent buyer conversation about why important product pages attract poorly matched searches, then check which assumptions match your business.
Is the filled example ready to publish?
No. It is a working example. Verify claims, permissions, prices, current capabilities and any customer information before using it externally. Do not invent search volumes, positions or guaranteed indexing dates.
What should I do after completing the worksheet?
Use it to make one decision or have one focused conversation. The intended output is an evidence-seeking customer profile with explicit disqualification rules. Set a review date and update it when the evidence changes.
Illustrative business worksheet. No customer results, market rates, traffic volumes or performance benchmarks are implied. About these resources.