How to use these guides
Start with the guide that matches the decision in front of you. If you are comparing agencies, read the guide on choosing one before you read about costs. If you already have a website, the local SEO checklist shows what to check first.
Every guide names its sources, states what is known and what is not, and avoids promises about rankings. When a topic needs a closer look at your own site, the guide points to the service page and the free audit.
Which guide answers which question
Most readers arrive with one decision to make. This table matches common decisions to the guide that covers them and the service page that goes with it.
| Your decision | Start with | Related service |
|---|---|---|
| Whether a quote is fair | What Canberra businesses actually pay for SEO | Pricing |
| Which agency to hire | Hiring an SEO agency in Canberra | SEO consulting |
| What to fix on a local site | A local search checklist for ACT businesses | Local SEO |
| How to set up a business listing | Google Business Profile in Canberra | Google Business Profile |
| Whether to cover both sides of the border | Canberra and Queanbeyan local SEO | Areas we work in |
| How to be found by federal and ACT buyers | SEO for government suppliers | Government contractors |
| Whether AI tools will cite your site | AI search for Canberra businesses | AI search |
| Whether to build a page per suburb | Suburb pages in Canberra | Small business SEO |
How to judge any SEO advice, including ours
Google publishes guidance on using third-party SEO services and advice. It says good advice either labels claims as opinion based on data or experience, or backs them with official Google guidance. We try to meet that standard in every guide.
Signs of sound advice
- Claims are tied to named documentation you can open yourself.
- The writer says what is unknown and where results vary.
- Reporting comes from tools such as Search Console, which gives data straight from Google.
- The scope of work is written down before any money changes hands.
Signs to be careful
- A guarantee of rankings, citations or traffic.
- A score or dashboard said to use Google's internal metrics, which no outside tool can see.
- Claims that a service is approved by Google, which does not evaluate third-party services.
- Advice that cannot be checked against any source.
What to do before you read
A few minutes of preparation makes any guide more useful, because the answers depend on your own site and customers.
- Know your main service area: Decide whether you serve Canberra only, the wider ACT, or Queanbeyan as well, since that changes the advice.
- Open Search Console: If your site is not verified there, the checklist and AI search guides will point you to that first step.
- Collect customer questions: Keep a list of what people ask before they enquire, because several guides turn those questions into page priorities.
- Write down your budget limits: Having a ceiling and a timeframe in mind makes the cost and agency guides easier to apply.
If you would rather have us look at your site
Reading a guide is a good first step, but your site has its own problems. The free SEO audit is a review of your website with a plain-English list of priorities, and you can ask for one through the contact page.
If you already know the topic you need, the services overview and the AI search hub list every service we offer, and our process page explains how an engagement runs.
Sources and further reading
- Google Search Central: Guidance on using third-party SEO tools, services and advice: Good advice labels opinion or cites official guidance; third-party tools cannot see Google's ranking data or guarantee results; Google does not evaluate third-party services.