Methodology
A method that turns SEO into a predictable process
SEO isn't a list of disconnected tasks or a black box. It's a process with phases, deliverables and decisions you can follow at any time. This is how we organise every project, from the first call to the quarterly review.
Why a method
The difference between doing things and making progress
Many SEO projects fail not for lack of effort but for lack of order: content is published before indexing issues are fixed, links are built to pages that don't convert, or the site is redesigned without a redirect plan. Each action is reasonable on its own; together they cancel each other out.
Our method sets a logical order: first understand the business and the market, then secure the technical foundation, and only then scale content and authority. Each phase produces concrete deliverables that feed the next, and every decision is documented so you can see why we do what we do.
- Logical order: foundation before scale
- Concrete deliverables at the end of each phase
- Documented, reviewable decisions
- The same method for classic SEO and AI search
The phases
Seven phases, from research to continuous improvement
Phases 1 to 4 are concentrated in the first months; phases 5 to 7 become a repeating cycle. On smaller projects some phases are compressed, but none is skipped.
1. Discovery and goals
We start with the business: what you sell, to whom, at what margins, in which markets and languages, and what a good result means for you. We review the site's history, previous campaigns and any available sales or enquiry data.
The outcome is an explicit agreement on goals and metrics. Without it, every later report is open to whatever interpretation suits the reader.
Activities
Outputs
- Goals and KPIs document
- Inventory of access and tools
2. Market, competition and demand
We measure real search demand in your markets and analyse how your competitors gain visibility, both on Google and in AI assistants' answers to the key questions in your sector.
We group searches by intent (informational, comparative, transactional, local) and by stage of the buying journey, and estimate how much of that demand is attainable within a reasonable timeframe.
Activities
Outputs
- Demand map by intent and stage
- Competitor and gap analysis
3. Technical and content audit
We crawl the site as a search engine would and review indexing, architecture, internal linking, JavaScript rendering, performance and Core Web Vitals, structured data, multi-language set-up and accessibility for AI crawlers.
In parallel we assess existing content: which pages pull their weight, which compete with each other, which should be updated, merged or retired.
Activities
Outputs
- Audit report with prioritised issues
- Content inventory with recommended action
4. Strategy and roadmap
We turn the diagnosis into a plan. Each initiative has a goal, an owner (us, your team or your developer), an effort estimate and a place in the sequence based on its impact and dependencies.
The roadmap usually covers one quarter in detail and the following two in outline. It's a living document that we revise every three months.
Activities
Outputs
- Quarterly roadmap
- Target architecture and URL map
- Editorial calendar
5. Technical implementation
We fix or specify technical improvements. Where we have CMS access, we implement directly; where the site depends on a development team, we write clear tickets with acceptance criteria and validate each change before and after release.
Critical fixes (indexing, redirects, rendering errors) go first, because they determine how everything else performs.
Activities
Outputs
- Change log
- Site validated after each release
6. Content and authority
We produce and optimise content according to the calendar: service and category pages, topic clusters, comparisons, guides and answers to frequent questions. Each piece draws on your company's real expertise and is structured to be easy to understand and to cite.
At the same time we build authority: mentions and links in relevant media, a consistent brand entity and, for local businesses, the business profile and reviews.
Activities
Outputs
- Published, optimised content
- Mentions and links earned
- Consistent entity data
7. Measurement, learning and adjustment
We track progress against the agreed KPIs: conversions and their sources, clicks and impressions, visibility by search group and presence in AI answers for a fixed set of questions.
What works gets expanded; what doesn't gets analysed and corrected. This cycle feeds the next version of the roadmap.
Activities
Outputs
- Monthly report
- Roadmap updated every quarter
First 90 days
How a project gets started
A typical example of the first three months of a monthly engagement. Exact timings depend on the size of the site and on the availability of access and of your technical team.
| Period | What we do | What you receive | What we need from you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days 1–30 | Kick-off meeting, access, analytics set-up or review, market and demand research, crawl and technical audit. | Goals and KPIs document, verified conversion tracking, first critical findings. | Access to Search Console, Analytics, CMS and Business Profile; a point of contact; time for the initial interview. |
| Days 31–60 | Audit completed, strategy and roadmap, content architecture, first high-priority technical fixes. | Prioritised audit report, quarterly roadmap, editorial calendar, first monthly report. | Sign-off on priorities; coordination with your developer if you have one; review of briefs. |
| Days 61–90 | Ongoing technical implementation, first new or refreshed content, authority work begins, AI visibility baseline. | Changes released and validated, new content, second monthly report and first quarterly review. | Feedback and approval of content; subject-matter input for pieces; business data for measurement. |
Cadence
A working rhythm you can anticipate
Weekly
Progress updates on current work through the agreed channel (email, Slack or Teams) and a shared task board. If there's an urgent issue, we flag it the same day.
Monthly
A written report and a 30–45 minute meeting to discuss it: results, work done, lessons learned and the plan for the following month.
Quarterly
A strategy review with management: KPI progress, which initiatives to expand or drop, and an updated roadmap.
What our reports look like
A good report answers three questions in this order: what happened to the business?, why? and what are we doing next? That's why our monthly reports open with conversions and their sources, continue with the indicators that anticipate them and finish with the work done and next month's plan.
- Business results: enquiries, calls, bookings or sales attributable to organic search, with their trend and any measurement limitations (cookie consent, offline conversions and so on).
- Visibility: clicks, impressions and average position by relevant groups of searches, not by individual keywords picked to make the chart look good.
- AI search: presence and citations of your brand in the main assistants' answers for a fixed set of questions, reviewed periodically. It's a sample-based measurement and we present it as such.
- Technical health: indexing status, new or resolved issues and Core Web Vitals.
- Work done and next steps: what's been delivered, what's pending and who it depends on.
Alongside the report, you have permanent access to a Looker Studio dashboard connected to your own data sources, so you can check progress whenever you like.
Tools
We work on top of the search engines' own tools, which are the most reliable data source: Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, Google Business Profile and Looker Studio. We complement them with crawlers such as Screaming Frog, competitive and link analysis platforms such as Ahrefs or Semrush, performance tools such as PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse, and structured data validators. Tools don't make decisions for us: their data are estimates and we always cross-check them against your own accounts.
Communication
You have a dedicated contact who knows your project and coordinates all the work. They don't change from one week to the next or make you repeat the background. We adapt to your channels and hours, work in English and Spanish, and document every important decision in writing so your team can refer back to it.
When third parties are involved, such as your design agency, your developer or your content team, we coordinate with them directly if you prefer. We write clear specifications, review changes before they go live and validate them afterwards.
What changes with AI search
The method is the same, but some phases include specific work. In research, we sample assistants' answers to the key questions in your sector and analyse which sources they cite. In the audit, we check whether AI crawlers can access your content and whether it can be understood without executing JavaScript. In content, we prioritise clear structure, precise definitions, original data and authorship signals. And in measurement, we add citation tracking. We explain this in more detail under Generative Engine Optimization and in our guide how to appear in ChatGPT and AI Overviews.
Questions
Common questions about the methodology
Can I commission just one phase, such as the audit?
Yes. The audit can be commissioned as a standalone project, with its report and roadmap. Many companies use it so their own team can carry out the recommendations. See our engagement models.
Do you need access to my CMS?
It isn't essential, but it speeds things up considerably. Without access, we specify the changes and your team implements them. With access, we apply the agreed fixes directly and log everything.
What if another agency manages my website?
We work with them. We send clear technical specifications, review changes in a staging environment where one exists and validate the result after release.
When will I start to see results?
Critical technical fixes can show an effect within weeks. Solid growth in organic traffic usually takes several months, depending on competition and your starting point. We explain this with data from your case in the proposal, without promising rankings.
Related
Related
Engagement models
How to work with UrbanElevate: SEO audits, monthly retainers, projects, consulting by the day and Google Ads management. How our proposals work.
SEO audit
SEO and AI search audit: technical, content, authority, local SEO, visibility in ChatGPT and AI Overviews, and measurement, with a prioritised action plan.
Manifesto
Our manifesto: twelve principles on SEO and AI search. Business before algorithm, content that earns citations, measuring what pays and no shortcuts.