SEO Has Changed. Why Are You Still Paying the Old Way?

• Much of it you can do yourself

  Google says: “If you run a small local business, you can probably do much of the work yourself.” Google Search Central, Do you need an SEO?

• Nobody can promise #1

  Google also says “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google”, and that it never accepts money to rank sites in its organic results. Google Search Central

• What agencies charge

  In Ahrefs’ survey of 439 SEO providers, the most common monthly retainer was $501–$1,000, and agencies averaged $3,209 a month. Vendor survey; averages lean high. Ahrefs (updated Aug 2024)

1. Module 1. What you’re paying for, and what you can do yourself

   • What an agency actually does for your money, and what you can do yourselfWhat SEO and paid-search agencies charge (from published surveys), what the work actually is, and what Google says a small business can do on its own.
   • How Google Search works: crawling, indexing and ranking, in Google’s wordsThe three stages every page goes through, why some pages never appear, and what that means for your to-do list.
   • SEO, paid search and AI answers: three ways to be found (and what each costs)Organic results, ads and AI features side by side: how each works, what it costs you, and how they fit together.
   • When DIY works, and when hiring help is worth itAn honest decision guide: your time, your market, your site, and how to hire well if you do.
   • Project: P1 Your agency vs DIY cost worksheet and time budget
2. Module 2. Keyword research without paid tools

   • Search intent: what people mean when they typeSort searches by what the person wants to do, so each page answers one kind of need.
   • Keyword sources that cost nothing: autocomplete, Search Console, Keyword Planner and TrendsFour no-cost sources of real search words, what each one can and can’t tell you, and how to avoid paying for a tool you don’t need yet.
   • Using AI to group keywords, without letting it invent numbersLet an AI assistant sort your list into topics and intents, while keeping every volume and fact from a real source.
   • Choosing your keywords: a short list you can actually winScore each keyword group on fit, intent and competition, and pick a short list for your first 90 days.
   • Project: P2 Your keyword plan
3. Module 3. Google Business Profile and local search

   • How local results work: relevance, distance and popularityWhat Google says decides who appears in the map results, and which parts of that you can influence.
   • Claiming and verifying your Business Profile, and the “Google listing” scamVerification is free and done through Google. How it works, and how to spot people who charge for it.
   • Reviews: asking, replying, and what’s not allowedHow to ask every customer for a review the right way, reply well, and stay within Google’s and the FTC’s rules.
   • A complete profile: name, categories, service area, hours, photos and postsFill in every part of your profile accurately, following Google’s guidelines, and keep it current.
   • Project: P3 Your local profile, completed and checked · WE3 Dana’s local profile fix (fictional)
4. Module 4. On-page SEO: titles, headings, images and structured data

   • Page titles and meta descriptions that earn the clickWrite a title and description for each important page, following Google’s guidance, and check how they show in results.
   • Headings and internal links: making each page easy to scan and findStructure pages with clear headings and link your important pages together with descriptive words.
   • Images: file names, alt text and placementHelp people and search engines understand your photos with descriptive file names, alt text and placement near related text.
   • Structured data for a local business, without codingWhat structured data is, what LocalBusiness markup describes, and how to add and test it safely.
   • Project: P4 Three improved pages
5. Module 5. Content that helps people, and AI used honestly

   • What Google means by helpful, people-first contentGoogle’s own self-assessment questions, turned into a checklist you can run on any page.
   • E-E-A-T and “Who, How and Why”: showing experience and earning trustWhat experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust mean in practice for a small business website.
   • Writing with AI: helpful drafts, not scaled content abuseHow to use AI to draft and edit content within Google’s guidance, and the line you must not cross.
   • Service pages and location pages, without building doorwaysHow to cover the services you offer and the places you serve with genuinely useful pages.
   • A content routine you can keep upA simple calendar of a few useful pages and updates, tied to your keyword plan and your busy seasons.
   • Project: P5 One page written with AI, checked, plus a 90-day content plan
6. Module 6. Technical basics with no-cost tools

   • Setting up Google Search Console, sitemaps and indexing checksVerify your site in Search Console, submit a sitemap, and read the Page indexing report.
   • Mobile-first indexing and Core Web Vitals, in plain EnglishWhy the mobile version of your site is the one that counts, and how to read Google’s page experience measures.
   • Robots.txt, noindex, canonical tags and redirects, without breaking your siteThe four controls that tell search engines what to crawl, index and treat as the main version, and when to use each.
   • Bing Webmaster Tools and IndexNow: the other search engineWhy Bing matters (including for Copilot), how to set up Bing Webmaster Tools, and what IndexNow does.
   • Project: P6 Your technical health check
7. Module 7. Links, mentions and AI answers

   • What links do, and how Google says to treat themWhy links from other sites matter, the difference between earned and paid links, and how to label links correctly.
   • Earning links and mentions from people you already knowPractical, honest ways a small business earns links: suppliers, associations, community, local press and useful resources.
   • Link schemes, PBNs and other things you’ll be soldThe link and ranking tactics that break Google’s and Bing’s rules, how they’re pitched, and how to say no.
   • AI Overviews, AI Mode and Copilot: what Google and Microsoft sayHow AI answers in search work from a site owner’s view, what helps you appear, and what to ignore.
   • Measuring search when clicks aren’t the whole storyHow AI features show up in your data, why clicks can fall while visibility holds, and what to measure instead.
   • Project: P7 Your link and mention plan, with AI visibility check
8. Module 8. Google Ads and Microsoft Ads on your own budget

   • How the Google Ads auction works, and what Quality Score really isWhy the highest bid doesn’t always win, what decides your ad’s position, and how to use Quality Score as a diagnostic.
   • Budgets: how Google charges, and how to cap your spendHow daily budgets, overdelivery and the monthly charging limit work, and how to set a budget you can afford to test.
   • Keywords, match types and negative keywordsHow broad, phrase and exact match differ, and how negative keywords stop you paying for the wrong searches.
   • Writing responsive search ads with AI, and matching landing pagesHow responsive search ads are built, how AI can help draft them, and why the landing page matters as much as the ad.
   • Conversion tracking: knowing which clicks become customersSet up conversion actions for calls, forms and purchases, so you judge ads on results rather than clicks.
   • Project: P8 Your first campaign plan
9. Module 9. Managing paid search: automation, rules and risk

   • The search terms report: your weekly 20 minutesRead the searches that actually triggered your ads, add negatives, and find new keyword and content ideas.
   • Smart Bidding, Performance Max and auto-applied recommendationsWhat Google’s automated features do, when they help a small account, and how to stay in control.
   • Microsoft Advertising: importing your Google campaigns to BingWhere Microsoft ads appear, how importing from Google Ads works, and what to check after an import.
   • Local Services Ads, location targeting and ad schedulesPay-per-lead ads for eligible service businesses, plus the location and schedule settings that stop wasted spend.
   • Ad policies, misrepresentation and trademarksThe Google Ads policies small businesses most often trip over, and how to write ads that are honest by design.
   • Account ownership and access: never get locked out of your own dataWho should own your Google Ads, Search Console, Business Profile, analytics and domain, and how to give others safe access.
   • SEO and ads scams: the red flagsThe scams that target small business owners around search and ads, including the AI-flavored ones, and how to respond.
   • If you’re in Australia or the UK: what changesThe same platforms with different regulators: where consumer-law rules on advertising and reviews live in Australia and the UK.
   • Project: P9 Your compliance, access and red-flags pack
10. Module 10. Measure, decide and keep going

    • Reading the Search Console Performance reportClicks, impressions, CTR and average position: what each means, and how to compare periods without fooling yourself.
    • Reading Google Ads numbers: cost per conversion and what to ignoreWhich ads metrics matter for a small business, how to calculate what a customer costs you, and when to stop or scale.
    • Google Analytics basics for a small businessSet up GA4 for the few things you need: where visitors come from and which actions matter.
    • Your monthly DIY search routineOne weekly check and one monthly session that keep your SEO and ads healthy, in about the time a retainer meeting takes.
    • When to hire a specialist, and how to hire for a projectRecognize the jobs worth paying for, write a clear brief, ask the right questions and keep control.
    • Project: P10 Your routine, dashboard and hiring brief
11. Module 11. Capstone: 30 days of doing it yourself

    • Baseline and goal (Modules 1–2)Record where you stand today and set one business goal for 30 days of DIY search work.
    • Three improved pages (Modules 2–5)Improve three key pages end to end: intent, title, description, headings, links, images, structured data and helpful, checked content.
    • Local profile, technical health and honest links (Modules 3, 6 and 7)Complete your Business Profile, run the technical health check, and start honest link and mention work.
    • Optional: a capped ads test, on your own budget (Modules 8–9)If ads suit your business, run one small, capped campaign for up to 30 days with tracking and weekly checks. If not, complete the plan and the access audit only.
    • 30-day review and your next 90 days (Module 10)Compare against your baseline, review honestly what changed and why, and plan the next 90 days.
    • Final assessment (40 questions)A 40-question assessment drawn from an 80-question bank, mostly scenarios, covering every module. Pass mark 80%; retakes allowed.
    • Project: Capstone rubric (self-assessed; results are not scored)

Course types, not named competitors. These are our general observations of each type, not a survey.