Abstract duotone composition representing SmartLogic SEO's five-step method

How we work

The method, not a pitch.

Five steps, repeated every month for retainers, once for one-off deliverables. Here's exactly what each one contains.

The five-step method

  1. 01

    Crawl & audit

    Full technical crawl, log/Search Console review where available, Core Web Vitals and indexation baseline.

    2–4 business days, depending on scope

  2. 02

    Diagnose

    Findings mapped to root cause, not just symptoms; every issue tied to its actual impact on traffic or revenue, not just its severity score.

  3. 03

    Plan

    A written scope: what gets fixed or built, in what order, and by when — agreed with you before work starts.

  4. 04

    Execute

    Retainers: we implement directly, with clear ownership per fix. One-off audits: you receive a fix list your own developer can act on without a second meeting.

  5. 05

    Report

    A written monthly report plus a call: what changed, what we measured, what's next. No dashboard you have to log into and interpret yourself.

What a report actually contains.

  • Organic sessions & indexed-page trend
  • Core Web Vitals scores by template
  • Ranking movement on tracked queries
  • Technical issues opened vs. closed that month
  • What shipped: briefs, fixes, outreach placements
  • AI-answer citation checks, where in scope

Delivered as a written PDF report plus a call (30–60 minutes depending on tier), every month for retainers.

Onboarding: the first 30 days

Days 1–2

Kickoff & access

Analytics, Search Console, and CMS access requested; priorities confirmed.

Days 3–10

Baseline

Full technical crawl and audit run against your site as it stands today.

Days 11–15

Findings review

A call to walk through what we found and agree the prioritised plan.

Days 16–30

First fixes ship

The first round of work goes live; your first monthly report is scheduled for day 30.

Frequently asked questions

Usually one call (30–60 minutes depending on tier) plus whatever time it takes to grant initial access. We don't need a weekly stand-up to work.

The report states exactly what's blocked and why. Retainers can absorb some of this variability; one-off audits hand you a self-contained fix list regardless of your dev team's speed.

Both. The monthly report is the summary; you also get standing access to the tracked metrics behind it (Search Console, Analytics, or a shared sheet, depending on what’s practical for your setup).

Tell us — retainers run monthly with a 3-month initial term, then 30 days' written notice. See /legal/refund/ for the full terms.

See the method in your own report, not a slide deck.