SEO agency in Hampshire & Southampton: We fix your site before we write a word.
If people can't find you on Google, we work out why, fix your website and write the pages your customers are searching for. Each month we also check what ChatGPT and Google's AI answers say about you. Our studio is in Southampton.
Trusted by The Kirkmichael Arms, Summer Dreams, Fortunate Son and BeU Swindon
engineSearch engine optimisation for businesses people should be finding
SEO (search engine optimisation) is the work that moves your website up Google's free results. Done well, the people already searching for what you offer find you, and you don't pay for each visit.
It often stalls when the advice and the website sit with different companies. The report says the pages are slow, and the fix waits months for a developer. As an SEO agency in Hampshire that also builds websites, we make those fixes ourselves, then write the pages your customers are looking for.
Each month you see where you rank, what it brought in, and what ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews say about you.
What our SEO services cover
- 01
Technical SEO
Your site made fast and easy for Google to read, from page speed and broken links to the code that tells search engines what each page is about. Our own developers make the fixes.
- 02
On-page and content SEO
Pages, guides and menus written around the words people type, in your own voice.
- 03
Local SEO
Showing up when people search with a place in mind, like a town name or 'near me', with pages that answer them.
- 04
AI search
Clear answers and well-labelled pages, so ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews can understand your business and mention it.
Why your business doesn't show up on Google
When a website isn't being found, these are the problems we look for first.
- 01
It's slow on a phone
People leave slow pages, and Google takes speed into account. It's often the first thing we fix.
- 02
Google can't read it properly
Text inside images, broken links and pages with no clear title make it hard for Google to tell what you offer.
- 03
There's no page for what people search
If people look for 'private dining in Winchester' and you have no page about private dining, you're unlikely to appear.
- 04
Google isn't sure where you are
Your address, opening hours and the towns you serve should be clear on your site, and the same everywhere else they appear.
When people ask ChatGPT instead of Google
More people now ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews who to book, and get one answer instead of ten links. Those tools build their answers from pages they can read easily and trust.
Most of the work that gets you mentioned is the work that gets you ranked, so we do both together. On top of that, we write plain answers to real questions on your own pages, and keep the facts about your business the same everywhere they appear.
What we add for AI search
- 01
Answers on your own pages
The questions customers ask, answered in a few plain sentences that a tool can quote.
- 02
Structured data
Code that tells search engines and AI tools what your business is, where it is and what it offers.
- 03
Facts that match
Your name, address, opening hours and services the same on your site and everywhere else they appear.
- 04
A monthly check
Each month we check whether AI answers about your category mention you, and report what we find.
How we run an SEO campaign
Search performance
How a year of SEO work builds up
Move across the chart to see what happens each month, and switch the lines on and off above.
Found by young people at the moment they look for help
BeU Swindon is a free mental health service for young people, and few people searched for it by name. A worried teenager, a parent and a professional each type something different.
After building its new website, we researched those searches, fixed the technical faults, and wrote pages and posts for each group, aimed at searches like "mental health support Swindon teenagers".
What changed
- 01
Referrals from search
Self-referrals and parent referrals from unpaid search up 38.4% since launch.
- 02
Visits from search
Visits from unpaid search up 89.9%.
- 03
Seen and clicked
Shown in search results 340% more often, and clicks from people not searching its name up 219%.
- 04
Average position
Its average place in Google's results moved from 26th to 9th.
“The Place Beyond proved to be an exceptional partner on the BeU Swindon project. The creative work was outstanding, developing a distinctive identity that resonated with our audiences while remaining true to our values. Their SEO and social media strategy significantly enhanced BeU's visibility, improving discoverability, driving engagement and ensuring our messaging reached the right people through the most effective channels.”
More websites we've built and optimised for search
SEO FAQs
Our competitors appear in AI search but we don't. Can you help?
Often, yes. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews build their answers from pages they can read and trust. We add the code that describes your business, answer your customers' questions plainly on your own pages, keep your details the same wherever they appear, and check each month whether AI answers mention you. Most of that work helps your Google rankings too.
What does an SEO agency do?
An SEO agency helps your website appear higher in search results, so more of the right people find you without you paying for each click. That covers fixing technical faults on the site, writing pages for the searches your customers make, and local SEO for the places you serve. Then comes the steady monthly work that builds Google's trust over time.
Can you guarantee a page-one ranking?
No, and we'd be wary of anyone who does. Google decides rankings, and they move as competitors and Google's own rules change. What we can commit to is the work. You get a site with nothing technical holding it back, pages written for the searches your customers make, and a monthly report on what moved.
How long does SEO take to work?
Longer than ads, and how long depends on your site, your market and where you're starting from. In the first check we look for quick wins, such as pages that nearly rank already or faults that hold everything back, and fix those first. If you have an opening or a busy season coming, tell us the date and we'll be honest about what's realistic.
How much does SEO cost?
It depends on the size of your site, how many competitors want the same searches and how much new writing you need each month. We quote a monthly fee for that work, clearly and before you commit, and we don't tie you into a long contract. Every month you'll see what we did and what it brought in.
Do you do SEO for restaurants and wineries?
Yes. Most of our clients are high-end restaurants and premium drinks brands. People choose where to eat by searching for a place, a dish or an occasion, so your pages need those details, and your site needs to load quickly on a phone. For example, The Kirkmichael Arms' website traffic rose 45% in the three months after its new site and SEO campaign launched.
Do you work with businesses in Hampshire?
Yes. Our studio is in Southampton and we work with businesses across Hampshire. For a business with a place people visit, we concentrate on searches with a place in them, like a town name or 'near me'. We make sure your site tells Google clearly where you are, which towns you serve and what you do.
Can you do a one-off SEO audit?
Yes. An audit checks how fast your site is, whether Google can read every page and what's on them, and shows where competitors are beating you and why. You get a plain-English list of fixes in order of importance, which your own team can work through, or we can make them for you.
Is SEO included when you build a website?
The basics are. Every site we build is set up to be found from launch day, with fast pages, clean code and the labels search engines read. Ongoing SEO, the writing and steady work that moves rankings over time, is a separate monthly campaign we'd recommend once the site is live.
Ready when you are
Get found on Google.
Send us your website and tell us what you'd like to be found for. We'll reply within one working day and set up a free call to talk through how to get you there.
What happens next
- 1You'll hear back from us within one working day.
- 2We'll set up a free, no-obligation call with the people who'd actually do the work. Everything is made in-house.
- 3You get a clear proposal with scope, timeline and cost, usually within a week of our call.
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