I actually don't do anything different than if a client wants a web site, a redesign, etc...
I develop a site level strategy ... And just a part of that is
SEO. Sometimes, just taking an existing site and fixing all the "mis-informed", stuff that was done previously as attempts at
SEO... Is more difficult and time consuming that "re-building"... But most of the time... Site structure ... File names, etc... We're never addressed in the original site build or pseudo-
SEO EFFORTS.
That being said, I think I've had one client in 10 years, that the site was "almost there"... And really only needed to focus on a content strategy... To get the search engines to actually start indexing it properly.
I think the worst thing about a client that ask for "
SEO HELP" only... Is the fact that you will probably have many hurdles just re-educating them as to what
SEO is.
SEO is a discussion I have with every client at one time or another... Not that they are asking for it... But they always seem to bring some "mis-informed" suggestions to the table.... About how
SEO should be done... Mainly in part to all the wrong information that is on the Internet about it, what it is, how to do this or that to ....
Sometimes it was their previous design person that mis-lead them... By charging them "extra" for
SEO.
My suggestion to you... Don't look at a job as "
SEO only"... If you do, you're following the same path that many of the "
SEO wannabe gurus" have already followed... Its better to look at the "whole site"... And determine what needs to be done "as a whole"... Or an
SEO STRATEGY...
This includes.... Where the site is hosted, how that impacts the site, content ( is there enough relevant content ?), what might be running in the background ? ( some black hat or grey hat efforts ), what has been done in the past ( link building/buying schemes )... And about a hundred other things that can effect if..
Sometimes a site has been so corrupted and marganilized by previous
SEO tactics... It really takes more effort that recover, than to just start with a clean slate ( new domain name, site, the whole works )...when I get a request for "
SEO ONLY"... Help, I do my research to find out ... As well as ask the client all the particulars about previous stuff... If the research warrants a possible recovery... I then work up a quote and timeline for recovery or clean slate scenarios...
Lets just say... If a site has been up over a couple of months ( sandbox period ), and you cannot find the site on google except by searching for the domain name... There's a reason for that.
And its a massive pain to recover a site like that.
Just my opinion though ... Sure there are tons of people that look at this differently than me.