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SEO and AEO.

Rankings you own, and a report you can actually read.

We do search work for UK businesses from a studio in the Brecon Beacons: technical fixes, content that answers real questions, and the local and AI-answer visibility that increasingly decides who gets found. The promise is simple. You will be able to verify everything we claim in your own Search Console, and every report separates branded search (people already looking for you) from non-branded (genuinely new demand), because blending them makes any agency look better than it is.

A search performance chart showing clicks and impressions over time

How do I know if my SEO is actually working?

Open Search Console yourself and filter queries containing your brand name. That is people who already knew about you. Now look at everything else. That second number is what SEO is supposed to grow.

If your reports have never shown you that split, ask for it. It is one filter and takes about a minute.

This is the single most useful check a business owner can run, and it costs nothing.

What is AEO, and does it matter yet?

Answer Engine Optimisation is being the source that AI assistants quote when someone asks a question in your category. It matters now, not later, because a growing share of searches end in an answer rather than a click.

Practically, it means clear question-led page structure, direct answers stated plainly near the top, real expertise, and clean technical markup.

Usefully, the same work makes your pages better for humans, so there is no trade-off.

A search engine home page open on a laptop

How long before SEO does anything?

Three to six months for meaningful movement on most sites, sometimes faster for technical fixes and local work, sometimes longer in competitive sectors.

Anyone promising page one in thirty days is either selling branded search back to you or about to do something that will cost you later.

The honest exception: if your site has a specific technical fault holding it back, fixing it can move things in weeks. That is repair, not magic.

[ The monthly report ]

One page. Plain English.

Every month you get one page: how it went in a sentence, searches split into branded and non-branded, what we did, what worked, what did not, and what is next.

Branded searches are people who already know your name. Non-branded are new people finding you. Only the second number shows whether SEO is working, so we never blend them.

Monthly search report

Example

Non-branded clicks up for the third month running. Branded steady, as expected.

Non-branded
New people finding you through search
48,900 impressions2,140 clicks
Branded
People searching for your name
6,200 impressions1,310 clicks

What we did

Fixed 23 pages that were blocked from Google. Rewrote the two category pages sitting on page two.

What did not work

The new FAQ page has not moved yet. Giving it another month before changing anything.

Next month

Write a delivery and returns guide. It is the most-asked question with no page answering it.

Example layout. The figures are illustrative, not from a client account.

[ Check it yourself ]

Three checks you can run today.

No login for us, no audit fee. Each takes a few minutes in your own account.

  1. 01

    Is SEO bringing in new people?

    Filter out every search containing your brand name. What is left is new people finding you. That is the number SEO should be growing.

    Where: Search Console › Performance › Add filter › Query, not containing your name

  2. 02

    Can Google see your pages?

    Look at how many pages are not indexed and why. A few is normal. Important pages in that list are worth fixing first.

    Where: Search Console › Indexing › Pages

  3. 03

    Do AI assistants mention you?

    Ask the question your customers ask most, in the way they would ask it. See whether you, or a competitor, comes up in the answer.

    Where: Google, ChatGPT or Perplexity, signed out

[ Where you get found ]

Search is more than ten blue links now.

  • Google search results

    The pages people click on for the questions and products in your field.

  • Google Maps and Business Profile

    For anyone searching for what you do, nearby.

  • AI answers

    Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity, which quote the clearest sources they can find.

  • Bing

    Smaller, but it also feeds some AI assistants, so it is worth getting right.

[ What's included ]

What you get.

  1. 01

    Technical audit

    Speed, indexing, broken pages, redirects and markup checked, with the fixes listed in order of impact.

  2. 02

    Search Console in your name

    Set up or checked in your own account, so you can see everything we report for yourself.

  3. 03

    Pages built around real questions

    A plan for the pages your customers need, structured so search engines and AI assistants can quote them.

  4. 04

    Local visibility

    Google Business Profile and local signals, where nearby customers matter to you.

  5. 05

    A one-page monthly report

    Branded and non-branded search reported separately, in plain English, with what we did and what is next.

[ How it works ]

From first call to first results.

  1. Start

    Discovery call

    Free. Bring your Search Console if you have it and we will look at it together.

  2. Month 1

    Audit and plan

    Technical audit, the branded and non-branded baseline, and a prioritised list of work.

  3. Months 2 to 3

    Fixes and first pages

    Technical fixes first, then the pages most likely to bring in new searches.

  4. Months 3 to 6

    Measure and adjust

    Most sites start to move here. Monthly reports show what changed and why.

[ Is it a good fit? ]

Who this suits, and who it does not.

A good fit

  • People already search for what you sell or do.
  • You can give it three to six months before judging it.
  • You, or we, can produce genuinely useful pages.
  • You want results you can check in your own Search Console.

Probably not right yet

  • You need sales this month. Ads are the faster route.
  • Nobody searches for your product yet because the category is new.
  • You want guaranteed rankings. Nobody honest can offer them.

[ Cost ]

What it costs.

SEO is part of our monthly Grow work, from £750 to £2,500 a month depending on scope. Some sites only need a one-off technical and content overhaul, which we quote as a fixed project.

See all pricing→

[ Examples ]

Some of the sites we've had a hand in.

See all our work→

[ FAQs ]

Questions people ask us

Is SEO still worth it now AI answers everything?
Yes, but the goal has shifted from being clicked to being cited. Assistants and search engines both pull from sources they can parse and trust, so the work is now about being the clearest, most credible answer to a real question. The good news is the same structural work serves both: plain answers near the top, question-led headings, genuine expertise, sound technical foundations. Businesses that ignore search entirely for the next two years will be very hard to find.
Do I need a monthly retainer for SEO?
Not always, and we would rather say so. Some sites need a one-off technical and content overhaul, then a light touch. Ongoing retainers earn their place when you are actively publishing, competing in a moving market, or running e-commerce where product and category pages keep changing. The test is whether you can see what the monthly fee bought. If a retainer ever becomes a maintenance charge on rankings that would hold anyway, we will tell you and we will stop it.
Can you guarantee a number one ranking?
No, and nobody honest can, because nobody controls the search engines. What can be promised is the work, the reasoning behind it, and full visibility of the results in your own accounts. Be wary of guarantees generally: they are usually either hedged in small print or achieved by targeting terms nobody searches for. Ranking first for a phrase with four searches a month is easy and worthless.
What does local SEO involve if I serve one area?
Google Business Profile done properly, consistent business details across the web, location-relevant pages that are genuinely useful rather than fifty near-identical town pages, and reviews handled honestly. For a business serving Brecon, Powys or mid Wales, local work often beats broad national SEO for return, because the searches convert. We will tell you on the call if local is where your money is best spent.

[ Related services ]

More ways we help you grow

[ Contact ]

Run the check, then let's talk

Open your Search Console, filter by your brand name, and book a free call to talk through what you find.

Book a discovery callinfo@descent.digital
James, Founder at Descent Digital

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