/ Service 02 · SEO cleanup
Website SEO cleanup
A website can look fine and still be hard to find. We audit how search engines see your site, fix the content and technical problems holding it back, and show you exactly what changed.
A good fit for
- Sites that look fine but rarely show up in search
- Businesses that recently launched or moved a website
- Owners who aren’t sure what their last developer set up
- Service businesses that want to be found locally and beyond
What the cleanup covers
- 01
Search audit
A page-by-page review of how search engines see your site, written up with the findings ranked by impact.
- 02
Content improvements
Clearer page titles, descriptions, and headings, plus pages for the services and places people actually search for.
- 03
Technical fixes
Canonical URLs, the sitemap, structured data, broken links, slow images, and anything stopping pages from being indexed.
- 04
Before-and-after report
A plain-language record of every change, so you know what was done and why.
How the audit works
Crawl every page
We go through the site page by page: titles, descriptions, headings, links, images, redirects, the sitemap, and robots.txt.
Check how Google sees it
With access to your Google Search Console, we check which pages are indexed, which are left out and why, and which searches you already appear for. Without it, we work from a public crawl.
Compare with what customers search
We list the services and places you want to be found for, and check whether a page on your site clearly answers each one.
Rank the findings
You get a written list of problems, each marked by how much it matters and how much work it takes to fix. Nothing changes until you’ve seen it.
Words that match what people search
- 01
Titles and descriptions
Every page gets a title that names what it offers and a description short enough not to be cut off in results.
- 02
One page per service
A clear page for each service you sell, so each can show up for its own searches instead of sharing one page.
- 03
Location and service area
Where you’re based and where you work, stated plainly on the pages where it matters, for local and wider searches.
- 04
Headings that say something
Main headings that describe the page rather than only a slogan, with a sensible order underneath.
- 05
Answers to buyer questions
Short guides and questions-and-answers that cover what people ask before they buy, linked to the pages they lead to.
- 06
Internal links and image text
Links between related pages, and alt text that describes images for screen readers and search engines.
The setup underneath
- 01
Indexing problems
Pages accidentally hidden from search, conflicting index and noindex signals, and broken or misdirected links.
- 02
Canonical URLs
Each page pointing search engines to its own address, so no page claims to be a copy of another.
- 03
Sitemap and robots.txt
An up-to-date sitemap submitted to Google, and crawler rules that only keep search engines out of the places they should stay out of.
- 04
Structured data
Behind-the-scenes descriptions of your business, services, and location that search engines use to understand and display your pages.
- 05
Link previews
Titles, descriptions, and images that show correctly when your pages are shared on social media and in messages.
- 06
Speed and mobile
Oversized images, slow-loading pages, and layouts that break on phones.
What we fixed on this website
- 01
A slogan for a title
The homepage title was “Digital work, handled simply.” It now names the services: websites, short-form video, and ad creative.
- 02
A description that got cut off
The homepage description ran to 211 characters, so search results would have cut it short. It’s now under 160.
- 03
Pages claiming to be the homepage
The privacy and error pages shared the homepage’s preview title and address, and the error page sent both index and noindex. Each page now describes itself.
- 04
Image descriptions that never arrived
Project pages had alt text for their preview images that wasn’t reaching the page. It now does.
- 05
No page for each service
Every service shared one homepage section. Each now has its own page, title, and questions.
- 06
Little for search engines to read
We added structured data for the studio, its services, its Boulder base and nationwide service area, plus project images in the sitemap.
What you get
- A written audit with each finding ranked by impact and effort
- A fixed-price scope listing the fixes you choose
- The fixes, made on your site
- Step-by-step instructions for anything we can’t change directly, like settings on your website platform
- Your sitemap submitted to Google Search Console
- A before-and-after summary of every change
How pricing works
- 01
A price for the audit first
Tell us about your site and your budget range in the project form. You get a written price for the audit before we begin.
- 02
Fixes quoted from the findings
After the audit, you choose which fixes to make. They’re listed in a written scope with a fixed price, and nothing starts until you agree.
- 03
What changes the price
The number of pages, how much content needs rewriting or adding, what your site is built on, and whether we can make changes directly.
Common questions
Something else on your mind? Email hello@pinebox.studio.
How soon will I see results?
Search engines need to revisit your pages before changes show, which usually takes days to a few weeks, and rankings can take longer to settle. Nobody can promise you a position in Google, and you should be wary of anyone who does.
Do you need access to my website?
Not for the audit: we can review your site from the outside, though access to Google Search Console tells us much more. To make fixes ourselves we need access to your site or its code. Otherwise, we give you step-by-step instructions.
My site is on Squarespace, Wix, or WordPress. Can you still help?
Usually, yes. Hosted website builders limit some technical settings, so the audit tells you which fixes are possible on your platform and which would need a different setup.
Should I redesign my website instead?
Not always. If people find your site but leave because it’s hard to use, a redesign helps more. If it works well once people arrive but few arrive, start with an SEO cleanup. Our guide on redesigns versus SEO cleanups walks through the signs.
Do you work with businesses outside Boulder?
Yes. We're based in Boulder, Colorado, and work with businesses across the United States. Projects run remotely, so where you're located doesn't change how we work together.
Worth reading first
Guide · 6 min read
Does your website need a redesign or an SEO cleanup?
If people find your site but leave, it needs a redesign. If they’d stay but never find it, it needs an SEO cleanup. Here’s how to tell which you have.
Guide · 7 min read
What affects the cost of a small business website?
Pages, content, features, and whether you’re starting fresh or redesigning. What drives the price of a small business website, and where you can save.
/ Next step
Have something in mind?
Tell us what you need, your budget, and your timeline. A rough idea is fine.
Start a project