My 20-Hour Engagement

My Approach: A Partnership Built on Clarity and Strategy

This is my strategic approach to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and details how we can work together to achieve sustainable growth for your business. My philosophy is built on a foundation of transparency and a commitment to a long-term partnership, not a one-time transaction.

In an industry that can often feel complex and opaque, I believe in providing absolute clarity. To achieve this, I have moved away from confusing custom quotes and instead structure my services into focused, 20-hour blocks of work. This “productized” approach ensures that you know exactly what activities are being performed, what deliverables you will receive, and how your investment is being put to work. It transforms our engagement into a predictable, value-driven process.  

Before we explore the specific tasks, it is essential for our partnership that we align on the single most important principle of SEO: the critical distinction between “Execution Time” and “Time to Results.”

• Execution Time: This refers to the 20 hours of expert, strategic, and technical work I will perform, as detailed throughout this report. This is the direct input and the investment you are making.  
• Time to Results: This is the period required for search engines like Google to discover, process, and reward the improvements made to your website. This process is not instantaneous. Industry data and Google’s own guidance indicate that it can take anywhere from four to twelve months to see a significant and sustainable impact on your rankings and organic traffic. While initial positive signals may appear within three to six months, achieving a dominant position in a competitive market is a long-term objective.  

Understanding this timeline from the outset is the bedrock of a successful partnership. It prevents frustration and aligns our expectations toward a shared goal of steady, long-term growth. My commitment is to execute a high-impact strategy within the defined time; our shared commitment is the patience to see that strategy come to fruition.

Phase I – Building Your Digital Foundation: Measurement and Visibility

The first phase of our work is non-negotiable. It involves establishing the technical foundation that transforms your website from a static online brochure into a dynamic, measurable business asset. Without accurate data and proper configuration, all future SEO efforts are based on guesswork. This phase is about building the infrastructure for data-driven decision-making.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Measuring What Matters

Simply installing Google Analytics is not enough. A basic installation, often done in minutes via a plugin, will only provide you with “vanity metrics” like page views and user counts. While interesting, these numbers don’t tell you how your website is contributing to your bottom line.  

My work, which typically requires 1.5 to 3 hours, involves a strategic implementation designed to translate your specific business goals into measurable digital events. Do you want more leads through your contact form? More phone calls? More downloads of your product catalog? I will configure GA4 to track these specific actions. This process allows us to create a direct, measurable link between a marketing channel (like organic search) and a tangible business outcome (a new lead).  

This strategic setup includes:

• Creating your GA4 account and property with the correct time zone, currency, and data-sharing settings.
• Installing the tracking code correctly on your website, either manually or through Google Tag Manager.
• The most crucial step: defining and implementing tracking for 3-5 key business actions (e.g., contact form submissions, phone number clicks, email address clicks, PDF downloads).
• Marking these key events as official “conversions” so their value can be properly attributed in performance reports.
• Configuring filters to exclude traffic from your own employees, ensuring the data we collect is clean and accurately reflects genuine customer behavior.  

By the end of this process, you will have a powerful business intelligence tool that shows you exactly which parts of your website and which marketing efforts are driving real value.

Google Search Console (GSC): Understanding Google’s Perspective

Google Search Console is your direct line of communication with Google. It’s the diagnostic tool that tells us how Google sees and interprets your website, revealing critical technical issues that could be hindering your performance.  

A professional setup and initial analysis, requiring 1 to 1.5 hours, goes far beyond simple verification. My process includes:  

• Property Verification: Officially proving your ownership of the website to Google using the most appropriate method.
• XML Sitemap Submission: Generating a complete list of your website’s pages (a sitemap) and submitting it to Google. This acts as a roadmap, helping Google discover and index all of your important content more efficiently.
• Robots.txt Review: Performing a quick but critical check of a file called robots.txt to ensure you are not accidentally blocking Google’s crawlers from accessing important sections of your site.
• Initial Health Check: Conducting an initial analysis of the core GSC reports (Indexing, Performance, and Experience) to identify any major red flags, such as server errors (5xx errors), pages that are not being indexed, widespread “Not Found” errors (404s), or mobile usability problems.  

This setup provides an essential diagnostic baseline, allowing us to monitor your site’s health and performance directly from the source.

WordPress SEO Optimization: Configuring Your Engine for Success

For websites built on WordPress, a powerful SEO plugin like Rank Math or Yoast SEO is indispensable. However, simply installing the plugin and running the default “Setup Wizard” is insufficient to gain a competitive edge. The default settings are a starting point, not a complete solution.  

My work, estimated at 1.5 to 2.5 hours, involves a strategic configuration that customizes the plugin to your specific business needs. After completing the initial wizard in “Advanced Mode,” I perform crucial post-wizard configurations:  

• Title & Meta Templates: I will review and customize the templates that automatically generate your page titles and meta descriptions. This ensures they are optimized, compelling, and consistent across all content types (pages, posts, products, etc.).
• Social Media Integration: I will configure the OpenGraph and Twitter Card settings, which control how your content appears when it’s shared on social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and X, ensuring a professional and branded look.
• Strategic Indexing: I will make strategic decisions about which parts of your site should be indexed by Google and which should be ignored. For example, it’s often beneficial to “noindex” low-value pages like tag archives to focus Google’s crawling resources on your most important content.  
• Module Configuration: I will activate and configure necessary modules within the plugin, such as Schema (structured data), Redirections, and the 404 Monitor, to enhance your site’s technical SEO capabilities.

This detailed configuration turns your SEO plugin from a passive tool into an active, optimized engine working to improve your visibility.

Google Business Profile (GBP): Winning the Local Search

For any business with a physical location or a local service area—such as a restaurant, medical practice, or construction firm—your Google Business Profile is arguably your single most important and powerful SEO asset. A basic, incomplete profile is a missed opportunity. A meticulously and completely optimized profile is what generates visibility in the Google “Local Pack” and on Google Maps, turning local searches into paying customers.  

This is not a quick task. A comprehensive optimization requires 2 to 4 hours of focused, detailed work. My process goes far beyond simply creating the profile and includes:  

• NAP Consistency: Ensuring your Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) are entered with absolute precision and are consistent with the information on your website.
• Compelling Business Description: Writing a persuasive, keyword-rich description of your business (up to 750 characters) that appeals to both users and search algorithms.
• Strategic Category Selection: Carefully selecting the most accurate primary category for your business and adding up to nine relevant secondary categories to cover the full scope of your services.
• Detailed Services & Products: Adding your full list of services or products, each with its own detailed description and price (if applicable). This is a frequently neglected section that provides immense value.
• High-Quality Media: Uploading a portfolio of high-quality images, including your logo, a cover photo, interior and exterior shots of your location, team photos, and pictures of your products or services in action. An initial set of 10-15 images is recommended.
• Proactive Q&A: Seeding the Questions & Answers section by proactively adding 3-5 frequently asked questions and providing clear, helpful answers. This allows you to control the narrative and provide valuable information upfront.  

Many businesses have a sparse profile. By investing the time to complete every single section, we send powerful signals to Google that your business is active, legitimate, and provides superior information to users. This manual, detail-oriented work directly translates into a significant competitive advantage in local search results.

The following table summarizes the time estimates for this foundational phase:

Activity	Estimated Time (Hours)	Key Variables Affecting Time
Google Analytics 4 Setup	1.5 – 3	Website complexity (e.g., e-commerce vs. lead generation), existing use of Google Tag Manager.
Google Search Console Integration	1 – 1.5	The size of your website, whether a sitemap already exists.
WordPress SEO Plugin Configuration	1.5 – 2.5	Your familiarity with the platform, the quality of business information you provide.
Google Business Profile Optimization	2 – 4	The number of services/products to add, availability of high-quality photos and videos.

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Phase II – Crafting Your Strategic Blueprint: Data-Driven Planning

If Phase I built the solid foundation, Phase II is where I design the architectural blueprint for your SEO success. This phase is intellectually intensive and transforms raw data into a clear, actionable plan. Without this strategic direction, execution becomes chaotic and inefficient. This work ensures that every subsequent action we take is purposeful, targeted, and aligned with your business goals, preventing wasted effort.

In-Depth Keyword Research: Mapping Your Customer’s Journey

Professional keyword research is not about generating a massive, unusable list of thousands of terms from a software tool. It is a deep analytical process that seeks to understand the language of your customers and the intent behind their searches. For a typical small to medium-sized business website, this requires 4 to 6 hours of dedicated analysis. A curated list of 100 strategically mapped keywords is infinitely more valuable than a raw export of 1,000.  

My process involves several key stages:

1. Discovery & Seed Keywords: We begin with a conversation to understand your business, services, and ideal customers, which helps me identify a core list of “seed” terms.
2. Expansion & Competitive Analysis: Using professional SEO tools like Ahrefs or Semrush, I expand this list to include variations, synonyms, and questions. I also analyze the keywords for which your main competitors are already ranking.
3. Filtering & Prioritization: I then filter this expanded list based on relevance, monthly search volume (MSV), and keyword difficulty (KD), grouping the remaining terms thematically.
4. Search Intent Analysis: This is a critical step. For each group of keywords, I determine the user’s primary intent:
   • Informational: The user is looking for information (e.g., “how to fix a leaky faucet”).
   • Commercial: The user is investigating products or services (e.g., “best plumbers in [city]”).
   • Transactional: The user is ready to buy or take action (e.g., “emergency plumber near me”).
5. Keyword Mapping: Finally, I map these keywords to specific pages on your website. Transactional and commercial keywords are assigned to your core service or product pages (“money pages”), while informational keywords are used to identify opportunities for new content, such as blog posts or guides.  

The final deliverable is not just a list; it’s a strategic keyword map that will guide both the optimization of your existing pages and your future content strategy.

Comprehensive Competitive Analysis: Deconstructing Success in Your Market

To win in search, we must understand the competitive landscape. This analysis, requiring 5 to 8 hours, involves deconstructing the strategies that are already working for your top 3-5 organic competitors—who are often different from your traditional, offline competitors. The goal is to identify opportunities, avoid their mistakes, and establish a realistic plan of attack.  

My competitive analysis includes:

• Keyword Gap Analysis: Using specialized tools, I compare your website’s keyword profile against your competitors’ to identify valuable keywords they rank for that you currently do not. This reveals immediate content and optimization opportunities.
• Top Content Analysis: I identify the specific pages and blog posts that are driving the most organic traffic for your competitors. I analyze the format, depth, and angle of this content to understand what resonates with your target audience and with Google’s algorithms.
• Backlink Profile Analysis: I evaluate the overall authority of your competitors’ websites, as well as the quantity and quality of the backlinks pointing to them. This helps us calibrate the effort and timeline required to compete effectively.
• Summary On-Page & Technical Review: I conduct a high-level evaluation of your competitors’ site structure, meta tag usage, and site speed to identify any best practices we can adopt or weaknesses we can exploit.
• Synthesis & Recommendations: I consolidate all this data into a concise report that highlights your primary opportunities and threats, complete with actionable recommendations for our strategy.  

Content Strategy & Topic Clusters: Building Your Thematic Authority

Modern SEO success is built on establishing thematic authority, not just targeting individual keywords. The most effective way to do this is through the “Topic Cluster” model: creating a network of interconnected content around a central subject. This approach signals to search engines that you are an expert on that topic, while also providing a superior, organized experience for your users.

Developing the strategy for a single topic cluster is a distinct and highly valuable service that must precede mass content production. This planning phase requires 4 to 6 hours.  

My process for developing your first topic cluster strategy is as follows:

1. Core Topic Selection: Based on our keyword research and your business goals, we select a broad, relevant subject for which you want to be known as an authority.
2. Pillar Page Definition: I outline the structure for a comprehensive, long-form piece of content (the “Pillar Page”) that covers the core topic from a high level. This page will serve as the central hub for the entire cluster.
3. Cluster Content Identification: I then brainstorm and research 5 to 10 specific sub-topics that delve deeper into various aspects of the main subject. These will become the “satellite” articles that link back to the pillar page.
4. SEO Tool Validation: I use content optimization tools to validate these sub-topics, discover additional angles, and ensure our plan covers the questions real users are asking.
5. Editorial Calendar Creation: Finally, I structure this plan into a simple editorial calendar. This deliverable will include working titles for the pillar and satellite articles, their primary and secondary target keywords, and a logical publishing sequence.  

Clearly separating the strategy phase from the production phase is essential for long-term success. Many businesses jump straight into writing content without a plan, resulting in a collection of disconnected articles that fail to build authority. By investing these hours in planning before writing a single word, we ensure that every piece of content we create is part of a larger, cohesive strategy designed to achieve sustainable organic growth.

Phase III – Executing for Growth: Bringing the Plan to Life

With the technical foundation laid and the strategic blueprint designed, this phase is about the meticulous, hands-on execution that brings our strategy to life. This is where expert implementation makes the difference between a plan on paper and tangible results in search rankings.

The Technical SEO Audit: A Health Check for Your Website

A technical SEO audit is an in-depth diagnostic of your website’s health, designed to identify any issues that prevent search engines from efficiently crawling, understanding, and indexing your content. For a small website (under 100 pages), this is a comprehensive process that combines the efficiency of automated tools with the nuance of manual expert analysis, requiring  

6 to 11 hours to complete thoroughly.

My audit process is broken down into four key stages:

1. Automated Crawl (1 hour): I use specialized software like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs’ Site Audit to scan your entire website, simulating how a search engine crawler behaves.
2. Crawl Data Analysis (2 – 4 hours): I meticulously review the reports generated by the crawl to identify common technical issues, such as:
   • Crawl errors (e.g., 404 “Not Found” pages, 5xx server errors).
   • Redirect problems (e.g., redirect chains, incorrect implementations).
   • Missing, duplicate, or poorly optimized meta titles and descriptions.
   • Duplicate or “thin” content with little value.
   • Images missing descriptive alt attributes.
3. In-Depth Manual Analysis (2 – 4 hours): I then manually investigate aspects that automated tools cannot fully assess, including:
   • Verifying indexability using Google Search Console and advanced search operators.
   • Analyzing your URL structure and site hierarchy for logic and clarity.
   • Testing your site’s loading speed and Core Web Vitals performance.
   • Checking for mobile-friendliness across different devices.
   • Validating the implementation of structured data (Schema markup).
4. Reporting & Prioritization (2 – 3 hours): Finally, I synthesize all findings into a clear, actionable report. I prioritize each issue based on its potential impact on your SEO performance and the effort required to fix it, providing concrete recommendations for you or your web developer to implement.  

Local Citation Building: Solidifying Your Local Presence

For local businesses, citations—mentions of your Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) on various online directories like Yelp, Foursquare, and other niche or local platforms—are a fundamental ranking factor. They act as third-party verifications that confirm your business’s existence, location, and legitimacy to Google.  

While automated services exist, manual submission provides total control over the accuracy and consistency of your data, which is absolutely critical for local SEO success. Building 30 high-quality, relevant citations is a meticulous, time-consuming task requiring approximately 5 to 7.5 hours, based on an average of 10-15 minutes per submission.  

My manual citation building process includes:

• Directory Research (1 – 1.5 hours): I identify a curated list of 30-40 relevant directories, combining high-authority general platforms with directories specific to your industry and geographic location.
• Dedicated Account Creation: I create a new email address specifically for this purpose to manage all registrations and confirmations without cluttering your primary business inbox.
• Manual Submission Process: For each directory, I manually create an account, meticulously fill out every available field with 100% consistent NAP information, upload your logo and photos, and verify the listing.
• Status Tracking: I record every submission in a shared spreadsheet, noting the login details and the status of each listing (e.g., pending, live, requires verification), providing you with a complete record of the work performed.

This detailed, manual approach ensures the highest quality and consistency for your online business footprint, a key component of dominating local search.

High-Impact Content Production: The Anatomy of a 1,500-Word Article

The notion that high-quality, SEO-optimized content can be created in an hour or two is a pervasive myth. A well-researched, well-written, and perfectly optimized article of approximately 1,500 words is a significant undertaking. The industry consensus, reflected in my time analysis, indicates that this process requires 5 to 8 hours of expert work to execute properly. Investing this time ensures the final product has depth and value, avoiding the superficial “fluff” that neither users nor search engines appreciate.  

To justify this time investment, it’s important to understand the multi-stage process involved in creating a single strategic asset:

1. In-depth Research & SERP Analysis (1 – 1.5 hours): Before writing a word, I deeply research the topic and analyze the top 10 search results for the target keyword. This helps me understand the existing content, identify user expectations, and find gaps we can fill.
2. Detailed Outline Creation (30 – 45 minutes): I create a logical skeleton for the article, including all headings (H2s) and subheadings (H3s). This crucial step ensures the content flows logically and covers the topic comprehensively.
3. First Draft Writing (2 – 3 hours): This is the core content creation phase, where I focus on writing clear, engaging prose that addresses all the points laid out in the outline.
4. Editing & Revision (1 hour): I review the draft for clarity, factual accuracy, grammar, and style, polishing the text to ensure it is publication-ready.
5. On-Page Optimization & Publishing (1 – 1.5 hours): This final, technical stage is what separates standard content from SEO-optimized content. It includes:
   • Naturally integrating primary and secondary keywords.
   • Crafting a compelling meta title and meta description.
   • Optimizing all images (compressing, renaming, and adding alt text).
   • Adding internal links to other relevant pages on your site and external links to authoritative sources.
   • Implementing basic structured data (Schema), such as for an Article or FAQPage.
   • Creating a table of contents for easy navigation.
   • Final formatting and publishing on your website.  

This transparent breakdown demonstrates why quality takes time. When you invest in an article, you are not just buying words; you are investing in a strategic asset meticulously designed to rank, attract traffic, and engage your audience.

Your Custom 20-Hour SEO Packages: Tailored for Your Goals

Based on the detailed activities we’ve discussed, I have structured my services into five distinct 20-hour packages. Each is designed to solve a specific business challenge and deliver clear, tangible outcomes. This modular approach allows us to focus our efforts where they will have the most immediate and significant impact on your business.

Package A: The “SEO Quick Start” Foundation

This package is designed for businesses that are new to SEO or have never had professional work done before. The objective is to establish the essential technical and strategic groundwork, enabling proper data collection and creating an initial roadmap for visibility. It is the mandatory starting point for any long-term SEO effort.

Activity	Allocated Time (Hours)	Deliverable Description
GA4 Configuration	3	A functional account tracking 3-5 key events (e.g., form submission, phone call).
GSC Configuration	1.5	A verified property with a submitted sitemap and an initial report on indexing health.
SEO Plugin Configuration	2.5	An optimally configured plugin (e.g., Rank Math) for your business type, with meta tag templates.
Keyword Research	5	A strategic document with 50-100 relevant keywords, thematically grouped and mapped to key pages.
Competitive Analysis	4	A summary report on the keyword and content strategies of 2 main competitors, identifying opportunities.
Reporting & Consultation	4	Creation of a final report consolidating all deliverables and a meeting to present findings and next steps.
Total	20

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Package B: The “Local Market Dominance” Program

This package is specifically for businesses with a physical location or those serving a defined geographic area. The goal is to maximize your visibility in local search results and on Google Maps, driving foot traffic and attracting customers from your immediate vicinity.

Activity	Allocated Time (Hours)	Deliverable Description
GBP Creation & Optimization	4	A fully optimized Google Business Profile (description, categories, services, media, Q&A).
Local Keyword Research	4	A list of keywords with local intent (e.g., “service + city,” “product near me”), mapped to service pages.
Local Citation Building	6	Manual creation of 30 citations on relevant local and niche directories with consistent NAP.
Local On-Page Optimization	4	Optimization of 2 key service pages, including meta tags, content, and LocalBusiness structured data.
Reporting & Consultation	2	An activity report and a brief meeting to review the optimizations performed.
Total	20

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Package C: The “Content Authority” Foundation

This package is ideal for businesses ready to start building thematic authority and attract traffic through high-quality content. It combines strategy (creating a topic cluster plan) with execution (producing the first essential pieces of content), laying the groundwork for a long-term content marketing strategy.

Activity	Allocated Time (Hours)	Deliverable Description
Topic Cluster Strategy	5	Definition of a core theme, a pillar page, and 5-10 satellite articles, delivered as an editorial calendar.
Pillar Page Creation	10	Production of a comprehensive, fully SEO-optimized article (approx. 2000-2500 words) covering the core theme.
Satellite Article Creation	5	Production of one supporting, SEO-optimized article (approx. 1200-1500 words) that elaborates on a sub-topic.
Total	20

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Package D: The “Technical Audit & Strategy” Deep Dive

This package is intended for existing websites that are experiencing traffic stagnation or unidentified performance issues. It focuses on a deep diagnosis of technical problems and the creation of a prioritized, strategic action plan for remediation and future growth.

Activity	Allocated Time (Hours)	Deliverable Description
Complete Technical SEO Audit	10	A detailed report of technical issues (indexing, speed, structure, etc.) for sites up to 100 pages.
In-Depth Competitive Analysis	6	Analysis of the strategies of 3 main competitors (keywords, content, backlinks).
Action Plan Creation	2	A strategic document prioritizing remediation and growth actions for the next 3-6 months.
Reporting & Consultation	2	A detailed meeting to present the audit findings and the strategic action plan.
Total	20

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Package E: The “Content Production Sprint”

This is a pure execution package designed for clients who already have a finalized content strategy and keyword research. The goal is to efficiently produce a volume of high-quality, publication-ready content to accelerate the implementation of your existing strategy.

Activity	Allocated Time (Hours)	Deliverable Description
Article 1 Production	6.5	A fully optimized blog article (approx. 1500 words), including research, writing, editing, and on-page optimization.
Article 2 Production	6.5	A fully optimized blog article (approx. 1500 words), including the same comprehensive stages.
Article 3 Production	6.5	A fully optimized blog article (approx. 1500 words), including the same comprehensive stages.
Management & Reporting	0.5	Project management, communication, and final delivery of the articles.
Total	20

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Our Partnership and the Path to Sustainable Results

This entire report, and the transparent structure of the packages within it, serves as the first deliverable. It is a demonstration of the strategic thinking, clarity, and expertise you can expect throughout our partnership.

As we conclude, I want to reinforce the most important takeaway: SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. The 20 hours of work outlined in these packages represent a significant and impactful investment in your digital presence. However, the visible results of this investment will take time to materialize. As stated at the beginning, you should anticipate a timeline of four to twelve months to see significant, sustainable growth in your organic search performance.  

This modular package structure also provides a clear path forward. A new business, for example, would benefit most from a logical sequence: starting with Package A (the “SEO Quick Start”) to build the foundation, followed by Package C (the “Content Authority” Foundation) to begin building authority, or Package B (the “Local Market Dominance”) if local search is the priority. This approach allows us to build upon our success in a structured and efficient manner.  

Ultimately, the value you are investing in is not just the 20 hours of my time. It is the expertise, strategy, and efficiency with which I execute the work within that time. A 5-hour keyword research project in the hands of an expert yields an actionable strategic plan; the same task performed by a novice can result in a useless list of data. My goal is to maximize the value delivered in every hour we work together.  

By adopting this transparent, data-driven approach, we can build a strong, lasting partnership founded on mutual trust and a shared commitment to achieving measurable results for your business.