Page-one rankings on 38 buyer-intent keywords

The Problem

A 14-person M&A advisory firm ranked for 6 informational keywords driving 1,100 monthly visits and 4 inquiries per quarter. Money pages had generic boilerplate and zero internal linking from supporting content.

Budget Parameters

SEO retainer: $5,500/mo. Content production: $3,200/mo (4 long-form pieces). 6-month total: $52,200. No paid media.

Technical Steps Executed

1. 1

   Built a 42-keyword topical map clustered around "sell my [industry] business" intent — bottom-funnel, low monthly volume, high commercial value.

2. 2

   Rewrote 3 money pages around message-match: headline = exact query, sub-headline = outcome, proof block above the fold.

3. 3

   Published 24 supporting articles (avg 2,400 words) linking up to money pages with descriptive anchor text.

4. 4

   Acquired 18 contextual backlinks from industry associations, podcast guest appearances, and 2 HARO wins.

5. 5

   Added FAQPage and ProfessionalService schema with explicit areaServed and knowsAbout properties.

Week-Over-Week Timeline