How would an SEO consultant rank your website in Google and AI search?
Most SEO advice is a list of tips. A good consultant works in a fixed order, and each step decides the next. Here is the order we use in every Mandalytics report, what matters most, and why, so you can do the same on your own site.
Key takeaways
- Purpose comes first. Know what the site offers and to whom. Every later choice depends on it.
- Pick searches you can win now. Look at who ranks today, not only at a difficulty score.
- Fix blockers before writing. A great page Google can't see earns nothing.
- Match what people want. One page, one search, one intent that fits what you sell.
- Good SEO is most of good AI search. Add clear answers and trust from other sites, and you're well on the way.
The short answer
A good SEO consultant first learns what the site is for, removes anything that blocks Google, then picks searches the site can win today and gives each one a page that fits what people want.
After that come trust from other sites, a check of what AI tools say about you, and a weekly rhythm of small fixes. Nothing magic, just the right questions in the right order. Reading this is already your first step.
The consultant's order of work
Each step decides the next
- 1UnderstandWhat the site offers, and to whom
- 2UnblockMake sure Google and AI tools can see it
- 3ChooseSearches it can win, with the right intent
- 4BuildOne strong page per search, then trust and repeat
1. What is the site for, and for whom?
Before looking at a single keyword, a consultant reads the site. Not the headings, which often say only "About", "What we do" or "Contact", but the text under them: the home page, the services or products pages, the about page. The goal is one plain sentence: we offer this, to these people, here.
That sentence becomes the filter for every later decision. A plumber in London and a web shop selling plumbing parts share a topic, but they need completely different searches. Ranking for the wrong one brings visitors who never call and never buy.
Every hour you spend later is aimed by this one sentence. Get it wrong and good work goes to the wrong searches. In Mandalytics, the report reads your page text first and writes this sentence before it suggests anything.
2. Is anything stopping Google from seeing the site?
Next comes a quick health check. These problems block everything else, so they come before any new writing:
- Pages hidden by mistake. A "noindex" tag left over from development keeps a page out of Google.
- More than one address. http, https, with and without www should all end on one https address.
- Dead ends. Links to pages that no longer exist waste visitors and links (see how to fix them).
- A sitemap that lists your real pages, so Google finds them all.
- AI crawlers let in, and the site set up in Bing, which ChatGPT leans on (see is your site open to AI? and why Bing matters).
The rule is simple: fix blockers before you write anything new. A great page that Google can't index earns nothing.
3. Does the site show up for its own name?
Search for the business name. Most established sites are already first, and then the home page heading should name the topic people search for, such as "Emergency plumber in London", not just the brand.
A new or small site that doesn't show up for its own name yet is different. There, putting the brand in the home page's main heading (the H1) helps Google connect the name to the site. Either way, other pages don't need the brand in their heading. Each page's main heading names its own topic.
Pick the searches you can reach today
The biggest searches sit at the top of the tree, where big brands already stand on tall ladders. The fruit within your reach is closer to the ground: specific searches where the pages ranking today are no stronger than yours.
4. Which searches can the site win right now?
This is where most sites waste the most effort. A tool's keyword difficulty score is a useful hint, but a consultant looks at the actual first page of Google for each search and asks: who ranks here, and could we be more useful than them?
The first page is full of big brands, national newspapers or giant shops.
- Their pages already answer the search well
- Thousands of sites link to them
- You'd need months before showing up at all
The first page has small sites, forum threads or pages that only half answer the search.
- Sites no stronger than yours
- Answers you could make clearer or more complete
- A real chance to reach the first page within weeks
Don't throw away searches a tool shows as zero or ten a month. Very specific searches are often typed by people ready to buy, and they're the easiest to win. Ten of them can add up to more customers than one big search you'll never reach.
Searches where you already show up on positions 4 to 20 are the very lowest fruit. Google already sees you as relevant, so a small improvement can move you up. See how to reach the top 3.
5. Does the search fit what you actually offer?
Every search has an intent, the reason behind it. A consultant checks that the reason matches the offer from step 1.
- Learn
- "how to fix a dripping tap". People want a guide.
- Compare
- "best boiler for a small flat". People want options side by side.
- Buy
- "buy brass tap washers". People want a product page.
- Find nearby
- "plumber near me". People want a map and a phone number.
The quickest test is to look at what Google already shows. If the first page is all guides and you sell a product, either write the guide that leads to your product, or choose another search. And give each search one page, so two of your own pages don't compete for the same spot.
6. How do you build a page that ranks?
Only now does the writing start. A consultant checks the same few things on every page, in order of impact:
- Title, main heading and first lines name the topic in the words people search for.
- The answer comes first, details after. Readers, Google and AI tools all read the top first.
- Real specifics: prices, steps, examples, photos you took yourself. Things a competitor couldn't copy unchanged.
- Clear headings that say what each section covers, instead of "Welcome" or "Our services" (see fix your headings in an afternoon).
- Links from your related pages, so visitors and Google can find the new page.
Meta descriptions and structured data help people click and help AI tools understand you, but they don't change your ranking on their own. Spend your first hour on the page itself. For more, see how to write pages people search for.
7. Do you serve customers in a place?
If customers visit you, or you visit them, a big share of your searches end on a map. A consultant then sets up the local basics before anything fancy:
- A Google Business Profile with the right category, opening hours, photos and a link to your site.
- The same name, address and phone number everywhere: your site, the profile, Bing Places and trusted local directories.
- Reviews from happy customers, answered by you.
A dentist in Los Angeles or a bakery in New York can win local searches with these alone. Online shops, blogs and software can skip this step.
8. How do other sites show they trust you?
Links and mentions from other sites tell Google and AI tools that real people vouch for you. A consultant starts where it's easy and honest: industry and local directories, partners and suppliers, a guest article, a local news story. A handful of good links beats hundreds of poor ones, and bought links can get a site penalised.
For AI search this matters even more. AI tools tend to name businesses they see mentioned in several trusted places, as explained in how AI tools decide which sites to name.
9. What do AI tools say about you?
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the questions a real customer would type: "where can I find a good plumber in London?", "what's the best ... for ...?". Note whether you're named, and who is named instead. Those other sites show you what the AI tools trust, and often where you could be mentioned too.
Then make your answers easy to quote: the key fact in the first sentence, your business name written out, numbers and sources where you have them. The good news, from Google itself, is that there are no special tricks for its AI answers. Good SEO is good GEO.
10. Measure, finish tasks and repeat
SEO isn't a one-off overhaul. A consultant works in a rhythm: a few tasks a week, check what moved, cross off what's done, pick the next most useful thing. Small, steady steps beat one big push followed by silence.
Celebrate along the way. Your first page-1 ranking, the first time an AI tool names you, the first customer who says "I found you on Google". Each one is proof the work is paying off.
What matters most, and why?
If you only have a few hours, spend them in this order:
- Purpose. A wrong target wastes all the work after it.
- Winnable searches. Effort goes where it can pay off this month, not in three years.
- Blockers. Nothing counts if Google can't see the page.
- Intent fit. The right visitors become customers. The wrong ones just leave.
- A local profile, if you serve a place.
- Everything else: polish, links, structured data. Worth doing, after the above.
Chasing one big keyword because the number looks impressive. Putting the brand in every heading. Rewriting meta descriptions to "boost rankings". Checking positions every day. None of these moves a small site forward.
Start this week: three steps
-
Write your one-sentence purpose
What you offer, to whom, and where. Read your own home page and services page as a stranger would. Does the text say it clearly?
-
Pick three winnable searches
Search each idea in Google. Keep the ones where the first page has sites no stronger than yours, and where the results match what you offer.
-
Fix one blocker, improve one page
Remove one thing that stops Google, then give one of your three searches a clear page with the answer at the top.
Mandalytics follows exactly this order for your site: it reads what you offer, checks for blockers, compares the real first page of Google with your site's strength, and asks AI tools about you. Then it sends up to five tasks, and ticks them off when they're done.
Start with your purpose sentence today. Every step after it brings you closer to more visitors, more customers and, in the end, more revenue.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to see results?
Fixes to blockers can show within days or weeks. New and improved pages usually take one to three months to settle in Google, and longer for competitive searches. Steady weekly work beats one big push.
Do I need to hire an SEO consultant?
Not to get started. The logic in this guide is the same one a consultant would use, and most of the work is writing and small fixes you or your team can do. A consultant is worth it for large sites, migrations or very competitive markets.
Is ranking in AI search different from ranking in Google?
Mostly not. Google says its AI features use the same index and quality systems as normal search. AI tools also look for clear answers and for your name on other trusted sites, so trust and clarity matter a little more.
Do I need to be number 1?
No. The top 3 gets most of the clicks, but moving from page 2 to page 1 is already a big step. Aim for the searches you can win first, then climb.
What if my niche has almost no search volume?
Keep those searches. Tools often show zero for very specific searches that real buyers still type every month. They are usually the easiest to win, and the people behind them know exactly what they want.
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