White label local SEO is a simple arrangement: a specialist does the local SEO work for your clients, and you sell it under your own agency’s name. You keep the client relationship and set your own price. They handle the Google Business Profile, citations, on-page work and reporting, in your branding, without ever speaking to your client unless you want them to.
I’ve been on the specialist side of this for a long time, and I currently work quietly behind marketing agencies, ad buyers and photographers who sell websites and SEO but don’t build them in-house. Here’s how white label local SEO works, what should be included, and what to agree before you take on a partner.
Who white label local SEO is for
- Marketing agencies that sell local SEO but don’t have a local specialist on the team, or have more work than their team can handle.
- Paid ads specialists whose clients ask “what about SEO?” and who’d rather offer it than lose the account to someone who does.
- Web designers whose clients want to rank after launch.
- Photographers and videographers working with local businesses, who are often asked about Google Business Profiles and websites.
The common thread: you have the client relationship and the trust. You need someone reliable to do the specialist work behind you.
What’s usually included
Agree the scope client by client, but a typical white label local SEO package covers:
| Area | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Verification, categories, services, description, photos, posts and ongoing upkeep |
| Reviews | A review link and process for your client, plus reply templates |
| Citations | Building and cleaning up listings so the name, address and phone match everywhere |
| On-page | Service and location pages, titles, internal links and structured data |
| Local links | Earning links from relevant local and industry sites |
| Reporting | Monthly reports in your branding, tied to calls, direction requests and leads |
Some partners stop at SEO. I also build and fix WordPress websites, which matters because a weak site is often what’s holding a local business back.
How the arrangement works day to day
Access: clients own their accounts
Google is clear that only profile owners control who has access to a Business Profile, and can change permissions at any time. So the right setup is:
- Your client owns their Business Profile, Search Console, analytics and website.
- Your agency is added as a manager.
- Your white label partner is added as a manager too, or works through your agency’s access.
No shared logins and no partner-owned profiles. If a client leaves, there’s nothing to untangle.
Communication: through you
Your partner talks to you, not your client. Requests, questions and approvals go through your team. A good partner gives you written updates you can forward or rework in your own words.
Reporting: in your brand
Reports go out with your logo and your name. They should show the work done and the results that matter to a local business owner: calls, direction requests, website clicks and leads. Google itself says businesses have a right to know how their profile is performing, so make sure your reports actually show it.
What to agree before you start
A short written agreement saves a lot of awkward conversations later. Cover:
- Scope per client. Exactly what’s included each month, and what costs extra.
- Turnaround. How quickly your partner replies and delivers. I reply within one business day.
- Confidentiality. Your partner doesn’t contact or market to your clients.
- Account access. Clients own everything; partner access is removed when the work ends.
- Reporting format and timing. What you get, when, and in what format.
- Pricing. Fixed prices for agreed scopes. Google’s own advice to businesses is to get an agreement that clearly details services and costs, and the same applies between you and your partner.
Rules your partner must follow
Your client’s profile carries your agency’s reputation, so the work has to follow Google’s guidelines. Google lists warning signs of less reputable third parties, and a partner should avoid all of them:
- Guaranteeing rankings. Google says third parties can’t promise or directly influence rankings in Search or Maps through any special means.
- Claiming to work for Google. Nobody in a white label arrangement does.
- Lack of transparency about what’s being done and how the profile is performing.
- Shortcuts like keywords stuffed into the business name, fake reviews or bulk spam links, which can get profiles suspended.
How to price white label local SEO
Price from the scope, not from a round number. For each client, know:
- What your partner charges for the agreed work.
- How much of your own time goes into account management, calls and reporting.
- What the client is realistically worth to you over a year.
For a sense of the wider market, my guide on how much local SEO costs covers survey data and what drives the price. My own white label work is quoted per client at a fixed price, so your margin is predictable.
Why work with a Philippines-based partner
Time zones work in your favour. The Philippines is ahead of the US and UK, so work you request at the end of your day is often moving by the time you’re back. I schedule my working hours to overlap with my partners for calls. My guide on outsourcing SEO covers time zones, communication and what to ask any outsourcing partner.
I’ve worked in SEO and WordPress development since 2013, including 9.5 years at a dental marketing agency. I know what it’s like to work inside an agency, to someone else’s deadlines and standards, because that’s where I spent most of my career.
Getting started
If you’re an agency, ad buyer, web designer or photographer looking for a white label local SEO partner, the easiest first step is a single client. Send me the details, I’ll come back with questions and a fixed quote, and you can see how the arrangement works before committing to more. Start at my home page to see my work, or tell me about the client and choose “Agency partnership”.
For the basics your clients will be asking about, my local SEO guide for small businesses is a good one to share.
