How We Work

Our SEO process - no black box, six clear steps, reports you can actually read.

Our SEO process is built so you know exactly what we’re doing, when we’re doing it, and what it means for your phone and your calendar. Most agencies won’t show you this. We publish it - because the process is the proof.

Our Process Step by Step

The exact five-step method we run for every client

The same process that put a San Francisco service business in the Top 3 in 82 days, and had a Hayward accountant hiring staff to keep up with calls in 136 days. Five steps. Same order. Every time.

01
Step 1
Keyword Research

We find the 15–20 searches your best customers are actually typing into Google. Not guesses. Not broad terms that pull irrelevant traffic. The specific phrases that bring qualified calls - people ready to hire, book, or buy. Most agencies skip this or rush it. We don't move to step two until this foundation is solid.

02
Step 2
Fixing Legacy Data Issues

Your site has history. Old addresses, duplicate listings, inconsistent business-name formats, broken links, missing schema - all of it tells Google your business is unreliable. Google rewards clarity. We audit and clean this up before we touch anything else. It's not exciting work. It's essential work.

03
Step 3
On-Page Optimization

Once your technical foundation is clean, we optimize your existing pages. Title tags, headers, meta descriptions, internal linking, page structure - all aligned to the keywords your customers are using. Not keyword stuffing - sending Google the right signals on every page so your site earns its ranking.

04
Step 4
New Content

Google rewards businesses that answer the questions their customers are asking. We create new targeted pages and posts built around your keyword research - content that positions you as the clear answer in your market. Fresh, useful content builds trust with readers and with Google crawlers. Those goals reinforce each other.

05
Step 5
Citation + Link-Building Campaign

Citations are consistent business listings across directories and local databases. Links are other websites pointing back to yours. Both tell Google: this business is legitimate, local, and trusted. We build these systematically - no shortcuts, no link farms. This is the step that separates a site that ranks for 60 days from one that holds and compounds over time.

Month-by-Month

SEO isn’t slow - but it doesn’t skip steps either

You’re right to be frustrated by vague timelines. “Results in 3–6 months” is how agencies dodge accountability. Here’s what’s actually happening inside those months.

Months 1–3
Foundation

Keyword research is complete. Legacy data is cleaned. On-page work is done. Your site is signaling correctly for the first time - maybe ever. Don't expect a ranking jump yet. This phase is load-bearing - the reason the next phase works.

Months 4–6
Content + Citations

New content is publishing. Citations are live and spreading. Google is starting to connect the dots. You'll see your first page-1 keywords appear. The phone starts warming up. Not flooded - but the direction is clearly right. This is where skeptics become believers.

Month 7+
Compounding

New content ranks faster because your domain authority is growing. Keywords you ranked for in month 5 are climbing. New keywords appear without us targeting them directly. One month you realize you're getting four calls where you used to get one.

Reporting & Communication

You’ll never wonder what we’re doing

That’s a promise we keep with every client. Every month, you get a report you can actually read. Not a wall of data exports. Not a screenshot of rankings with no context. A plain-English breakdown of what we did, what moved, and what’s next.

If something isn’t working, you’ll know. If we need to adjust the strategy, we’ll tell you why before we change anything. You’ll hear from us before you have a reason to email us.

Monthly report includes
Ranking changes across your target keywords
Traffic trends in plain language
Exactly what work was completed that month
What's scheduled for the following month
Any wins worth celebrating - called out specifically
Proof the Process Works

Three campaigns. Same five steps.

These aren’t projections. Real campaigns using the exact process above.

San Francisco service business
Top 3
82 days

Buried - page 2 and beyond for every keyword that mattered. Same five steps. The number that mattered: the phone started ringing.

Hayward accountant
#1
136 days

Rank 20+ for every meaningful keyword. Invisible. Same five steps. Outcome: they hired employees to keep up with the new demand.

Richmond District practice
Page 1
<4 mo

No page-1 presence, depended entirely on word-of-mouth in a neighborhood where trust is everything. Page 1, consistent local discovery.

Picture your next 90 days

Foundation laid. First page-1 keywords appearing. Your phone doing something it hasn’t done in a while - ringing with people who already found you, already trust you, and are ready to hire. That’s what the timeline above looks like when it runs.

Proudly based in San Francisco
SEO & web design for businesses across the Bay Area