The approach
SEO starts before the
first line of code
Most sites get their SEO bolted on afterward — which is exactly why it rarely works. A site that ranks is one that was designed to rank: strategy first, then the build, then the patient long game that actually moves the needle. Here's how that goes.
Know your strategy first
Before a single page is built, we settle the question that shapes everything else: are you a local business or not? It's the single biggest fork in your marketing strategy.
If you're local, your website becomes an adjunct to your Google Business Profile — the map pack is where your customers actually find you, and the site's job is to reinforce it. If you're not, the game is topical authority and reach. Same craft, very different playbook — and we don't want to discover that halfway through the build.
Pick your keywords
You know your customers better than any tool does. So we start with what's already in your head — then pressure-test it against reality.
Start with your instinct
The terms in your head are likely 80% of what you need — you know what your customers care about and how they describe it.
Check your competitors
Look at who's already ranking. Any gaps worth filling? Any terms they own that you should be competing for?
Weigh search popularity
Real search volume, and how local vs. global your demand is, decides which terms are worth building around — and which aren't.
Pick your keywords, and we architect the site around them — service and area pages cross-referenced against the terms that actually bring you business.
Bake the SEO into the build
The easy wins are non-negotiable: the modern technical structures search engines expect, correct on every page from day one —
- Core Web Vitals & page-load speed
- Meta descriptions (your SERP snippet)
- Canonical URLs
- Structured data & clean markup
The list goes on — and you don't have to take our word that it's done. The same checks we run on every build are the ones our free tool runs on any URL, live.
But here's the honest part: getting all of that right is table stakes. It's helpful and necessary — but it's not what gets you ranked. For that you need backlinks or topical authority, and those are earned, not configured.
The long game
"Long-term consistency beats short-term intensity."
Architect for your keywords and follow best practice, and you've set yourself up well. But rankings take time — usually months, not weeks. So the SEO game changes shape: it becomes a game of monitoring and tweaking. Checking in monthly. Making sure the site still matches your intent and that you're trending the right direction.
It isn't glamorous. But this is the part where attentiveness compounds — Google gives you the tools to see exactly which searches you show up for and where you rank, and steady refinement against that data is what pays off.
That's what an ongoing plan is for: someone watching the numbers with you, month over month, so the investment you made in the build keeps working.
Start with where you stand
Run the free on-page check to see your current footing, or get in touch and we'll talk through your strategy before anything gets built.