Business development. The work that makes a website earn its keep.
Most firms sell the site and disappear. The website becomes a brochure that nobody updates and nothing markets. Business development is the second half — the ongoing work of SEO, content, search presence, and strategy that turns a site into a working source of new business.
The site is the engine. Business development is the fuel.
A website launched and left alone tends to settle. Search results drift, content goes stale, the Google Business Profile starves, and the site that took six months to build becomes a brochure nobody updates. Business development keeps the site working as the asset it was built to be.
What stops happening without it
- Rankings stop improving and slowly slide
- The Google Business Profile drops in the local pack
- Content age signals start hurting on quality-conscious queries
- Competitors with active marketing pull ahead of you
- The site becomes a static reference instead of a working asset
- Lead volume plateaus or declines
What changes when it's running
- Rankings on existing terms climb, new terms come online
- Google Business Profile stays in the local pack with regular posts and reviews
- Content publishes on a monthly cadence — real content, not AI slop
- Conversion gets tuned based on actual analytics
- Monthly strategy adjusts based on what's working
- Lead quality and volume compounds over time
The monthly retainer covers four areas.
Local SEO
Google Business Profile optimization, local citations, review management, geo-targeted content, schema, and the technical SEO that keeps the local pack working. More on local SEO.
Content
Real content — service deep-dives, project case material, sector explainers — produced on a monthly cadence. Written by people who understand the work, not generated by AI.
Conversion
Analytics review, form optimization, CTA tuning, on-page improvements based on actual behavior. Small ongoing improvements compound.
Strategy
Monthly review call with you. What's working, what isn't, what to do differently next month. Real strategy, not a status report.
The monthly cadence.
Business development isn't a project that ships. It's an operating rhythm. Most engagements run on a six-month minimum because the work compounds — the first 60 days set the foundation, months three through six start showing real movement.
Month one
Audit and baseline. Where rankings sit, what the technical SEO looks like, what content gaps exist, what the competitive landscape is doing, where conversions are leaking. We document everything and set the 90-day plan.
Months two through six
The plan runs. Monthly content publishes. Local SEO work happens continuously. Analytics get reviewed. Strategy adjusts. You get a monthly call with us and a written summary of what was done and what's next.
Engagements start from $3,000 per month.
Pricing depends on the size of the site, the competitive landscape, content production volume, and the channels included. Standalone local SEO engagements start at a lower point ($1,500/mo) for clients who only need that component.
Most engagements run on a six-month minimum because the work compounds. We're not the right fit for buyers looking for a 30-day test of SEO.
For clients who also need a website rebuild, business development typically runs alongside the build and continues after launch. Web design projects start from $7,500.
Things buyers ask.
Is this just SEO with a different name?
SEO is part of it. Business development is broader — it includes content strategy, conversion optimization, Google Business Profile management, and monthly strategic review. A pure-play SEO engagement is available separately if that's the right scope.
How quickly will we see results?
Local SEO and Google Business Profile work can show movement inside 30 to 60 days. Organic ranking improvements on competitive terms typically take 90 to 180 days to show meaningful change. Content strategy compounds over six to twelve months.
If you're looking for marketing that produces leads in week one, paid acquisition is the channel — and we're not the right firm for that.
Do you do paid ads (Google Ads, Meta)?
Not as a primary service. We focus on organic and owned channels because they compound, while paid is a treadmill that stops the day you stop paying. For clients who want paid acquisition, we'll recommend specialists who do that work well and partner with them on landing pages and conversion infrastructure.
What if I just want a website, not ongoing marketing?
That's fine. Web design is also sold standalone. We'll build the site, hand off, and stay available if you need us later. Just understand that an unmaintained site is a depreciating asset, and most clients eventually want some form of ongoing development.
How does this compare to a marketing agency retainer?
Smaller scope, more focused. We don't run paid ads, social media management, PR, or brand campaigns. We do the work that turns a website into a sustained source of new business — SEO, content, conversion, strategy. The retainer is smaller than a full-service agency relationship because the scope is.
Who does the actual work?
We do. Content gets written by people who understand the work, not by AI generators. SEO gets executed by people who know the sectors. The monthly strategy call is with the same people doing the work, not a generic account manager reading from a deck.
Ready to make the site work harder?
Send a brief or call. We'll talk through what your site is doing, where it's leaking, and what an ongoing engagement would look like.