Reported performance.
What organic search actually contributes once traffic, leads, revenue and brand versus discovered demand are reconciled against the available first-party evidence.
Due diligence,
evidenced.
Independent assessment for acquisitions, investments and exits where organic search carries material value. Establish what is real, what is durable and what transfers before the price is fixed.
A traffic chart is not diligence.
The question is not how much traffic the asset has, but how much value depends on it.
Discern reconciles reported performance with first-party search, analytics and commercial evidence. It tests where value is concentrated, what could interrupt it, and whether the capabilities behind it will survive the transaction.
What the work tests.
Five questions behind the headline number.
The scope follows the transaction, but every full diligence engagement answers the same five questions.
Durability.
Whether that performance is persistent or concentrated and exposed to technical weakness, competition, demand shifts, algorithmic change, AI-generated answers or other changes to search results.
Transferability.
What depends on people, accounts, content rights, tooling, data, suppliers or operating knowledge that may not transfer cleanly at completion.
Liabilities.
Which historic practices, links, content workflows, technical debt or unresolved claims could create cost, disruption or downside after completion.
Year one.
What it is likely to cost to preserve, transfer and verify the value already relied on, without using unverified growth opportunity to justify the price.
Scope and fees.
The right depth of diligence depends on the transaction.
Acquisition Screen
£2,500
Pre-LOI · 2–3 working daysExternal-data review with no target access. A concise decision note identifies visible red flags, material unknowns and the questions the seller should answer before full diligence.
SEO Due Diligence
From £9,500
Standard scope · usually 7–14 working days from accessFull review using available first-party, technical and commercial evidence, with a decision report, working register and readout.
Complex Due Diligence
From £15,000
Complex or multi-asset scopeFor multiple domains, brands or markets, material platform complexity, constrained timetables or transactions requiring deeper commercial reconciliation.
The transaction, decision, available access and timetable are reviewed first. You receive a written scope, access list, delivery date and fixed fee before work begins.
What you receive.
Decision material, not an SEO deck.
Enough detail to support the conclusion and the transaction, without padding an automated audit into a report.
Decision report.
A concise account of what the deal can rely on, the material risks, unresolved questions and implications for price, protection or the post-close plan.
Working register.
The source trail, evidence, findings, actions and unresolved questions behind the report. Each conclusion carries its grade and the limit of what it is allowed to support.
Readout and questions.
A working session for the deal team, plus the questions and evidence requests that should go back to the seller or management team.
Year-one opportunity is not used to justify the price. It is treated as cost until the evidence supports otherwise.
How the diligence runs.
The conclusion has to survive the evidence that could disprove it.
Define the claim.
The decision and the organic-search assumptions inside the investment case are made explicit before analysis begins.
Reconcile the sources.
Search, analytics, technical, operational and commercial evidence are aligned to the relevant timeline and scope.
Test the dependencies.
Concentration, durability and transfer risks are tested against competing explanations and the evidence available.
Grade the conclusion.
Observed, derived, estimated and inferred findings are separated so the deal team can see exactly what is known.
See the analysis behind the conclusion.
The sample shows the intended level of judgement, evidence and clarity, supported by an illustrative working register. It is not a universal template: the actual report follows the transaction and the questions the investment case depends on.
Open the sample reportQuestions. Answered.
Scope and access
What do you assess in SEO due diligence?
The work tests reported performance, durability, transferability, liabilities and year-one cost. Depending on the transaction, that can include traffic and revenue reconciliation, brand versus discovered demand, concentration, technical condition, historic changes, content and link dependencies, competitive pressure, algorithmic change, exposure to AI-generated answers, people and supplier reliance, what must transfer at completion and the cost of protecting the existing case.
Can you do useful work before an LOI or without target access?
Yes. The Acquisition Screen uses external evidence to identify visible risk, important unknowns and the seller questions that should precede full diligence. It is a screen, not a substitute for work using first-party evidence.
What access is required for full diligence?
Normally read-only access to Search Console and analytics, plus relevant technical records, release history, commercial reporting and information about the people, suppliers and systems behind organic performance. The precise list is agreed during scoping.
Do you put a value on the traffic?
Discern can reconcile organic performance with the commercial evidence supplied and test the assumptions on which value depends. It does not produce a speculative standalone traffic valuation or use unverified growth opportunity to support the purchase price.
Timing and working together
How quickly can SEO due diligence begin?
Availability is confirmed during the initial discussion. A standard engagement usually takes 7–14 working days once the scope, access and data are complete. A transaction deadline is agreed before work begins.
Can you work with our advisers, SEO agency or management team?
Yes. Discern can work alongside the deal team and its advisers, and can interview the target's internal or external search specialists. The role remains independent: Discern does not sell the implementation that may follow.
Can this be used for an exit?
Yes. Seller-side work can identify what a buyer is likely to test, strengthen the evidence supporting defensible claims, and separate issues that can be resolved from those that should be disclosed.
Is the work confidential and insured?
Yes. Contractual confidentiality and data-handling terms are supplied with the engagement scope, and Discern carries professional indemnity insurance appropriate to the work.
Does the transaction depend on organic search?
Send the domain, stage of the deal and decision deadline. A clear scope and fixed fee follow before work begins.
Discuss a case