The work completed.
The URLs changed, the reason for those changes, what was checked and anything still unresolved. A report should make the implementation understandable.
A practical guide for business owners
Choosing SEO and AI search services on the Sunshine Coast.
Know what you’re paying to improve.
A proposal should help you understand the work, the cost and the next decision. You should be able to explain it after you close the document.
I’m Nick, the owner of Web Net Search in Nambour. This guide shows you what I would look for when comparing SEO support, including services described as GEO, AEO or AI search optimisation.
Take this into the conversationWhat will change, who will do it and how will I know?
Before comparing providers
Start with the problem you need solved.
Your business might need better local visibility, clearer service pages or help with a website that has grown difficult to manage. Another business may need an experienced person to implement work it already understands.
Write down the services you want to promote, the customers you can serve and the issue you can currently see. “Our main service gets impressions but few visits” is a more useful starting point than a request for a particular number of keywords.
If you visit customers, the local SEO guide for service businesses shows how to connect the work you want with actual coverage and useful enquiry details.
Choose the right kind of support
A project, maintenance or ongoing SEO?
These arrangements solve different problems. Compare what is included, who makes the changes and what happens when the agreed work is complete.
| Arrangement | When it can fit | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| A defined SEO project | A clear issue or group of pages: an audit, technical repairs, a content restructure or service-page improvements. | The pages and checks included, whether implementation is part of the fee, and the handover at completion. |
| SEO maintenance | A stable website needing agreed monitoring, smaller corrections and periodic review. | The tasks and frequency, what happens when a larger issue appears, and what would need a separate quote. |
| Ongoing SEO improvement | A business needing continued research, technical work, content development and review in a competitive market. | How priorities are chosen, how work is recorded, how progress is measured and how the arrangement can be reviewed. |
My pricing page explains the current starting options. A quote needs to reflect your site, the work involved and the access available.
Understanding the terminology
SEO, GEO and AEO: ask what the work involves.
These labels overlap. They can help describe a service, but the scope should still explain the actual website changes, evidence and measurement.
- SEOSearch engine optimisation
- Work to help search engines understand and discover useful website content, and help customers decide whether to visit and enquire.
- GEOGenerative engine optimisation
- A term used for work focused on visibility in AI-generated answers and recommendations.
- AEOAnswer engine optimisation
- A term used for work focused on how information is found and presented in answer-based search experiences.
Google describes optimisation for its generative AI search experiences as part of SEO. Its guidance says special AI schema is not required. A service proposal should explain the useful content, access or technical improvements behind its AI terminology. Read Google’s explanation of SEO, AEO and GEO.
For your business, I would focus on clear service information, original examples, consistent business facts, relevant links and access for the search systems involved. I would also establish what evidence is available to review progress.
Make AI work reviewable
Ask for the practical steps behind “AI visibility”.
A provider could identify unanswered customer questions, improve a service explanation, clarify the business behind a page or investigate crawler access. Those are concrete tasks that can be explained and checked.
For ChatGPT search, OpenAI recommends allowing its OAI-SearchBot crawler through robots.txt and hosting or CDN controls. Its search crawler is separate from its training crawler. Ask which access issue has actually been found before authorising changes. Check OpenAI’s crawler documentation.
When someone shows an AI citation, ask for the platform, question and date. Keep that observation separate from referral traffic and enquiries. A single answer does not establish how often your business appears.
Use this with a real proposal
Eight things to get clear before you commit.
Tick the items your written proposal answers. The remaining items become questions to take back to the provider. You can copy the questions or print the checklist.
Compare the whole scope
Put the prices beside the actual work.
Two proposals with the same monthly fee can include quite different work. One might provide recommendations for someone else to implement; another might include writing, code changes, checks and reporting.
Ask how the fee relates to your website’s size, its condition, the services being promoted and the competition. Confirm any setup cost, recurring charge, minimum term and notice requirement. Advertising spend, hosting and third-party software should be identifiable where they apply.
I explain my scope around the pages and tasks involved. If the website needs development or a rebuild, or you also want Meta Ads support, those decisions should be clear in the quote.
A report you can use
What changed, what happened and what comes next?
A useful report makes it possible to follow the work and question the next recommendation. I would expect it to distinguish these four things.
The search evidence.
Clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position, with meaningful page and query context. Compare equivalent periods and relevant country and device filters. A change in the mix of searches can change the averages.
The customer outcome.
Available evidence of suitable enquiries, quotes and bookings. Keep clicks, phone-button interactions, submitted forms and sales separate. Your feedback on lead quality belongs in the discussion.
The next priority.
A recommendation linked to the evidence, with the expected work explained. For AI search, distinguish observed mentions or citations from measured referral visits and customer outcomes.
Google’s Search Console performance guide explains its core search metrics. The practical SEO checklist shows how I review the website itself.
What working with me looks like
You can ask the person making the changes.
Web Net Search is owner-led. I handle the review, agreed implementation and reporting, and explain the decisions in plain English. You retain ownership of your website, domain, data and accounts.
I work with static HTML websites, WordPress and Elementor, including service websites with substantial content and complex URL structures. My work page shows the businesses and types of website work behind that experience.
The right starting point may be a focused service-content project, a technical review or wider ongoing SEO support. I recommend the scope after looking at your website and priorities.
Questions owners ask
Before you choose a provider.
Does an SEO audit include fixing the problems it finds?
Only if implementation is included in the agreed scope. An audit may provide recommendations for someone else to carry out. Ask which changes the provider will make, which require another developer, what is excluded and how the completed work will be checked.
Do I need separate SEO and GEO contracts?
The work often overlaps, so compare the tasks before comparing the labels. Clear service information, technical access, business facts and relevant links can support both conventional search and AI search experiences. Separate work may be justified by a specific research or technical requirement, but the proposal should explain that requirement and its cost.
Can a provider guarantee first place or AI citations?
No. A provider controls the work they carry out, not the decisions of Google or an AI search system. Ask for a defined scope, relevant experience and a clear way to review progress. A single screenshot of a ranking or AI answer does not establish ongoing visibility or customer enquiries.
Should an SEO proposal always include more pages?
No. The provider should first understand the pages you already have and the decisions they serve. Improving an existing page, correcting a technical issue or clarifying the enquiry route may be the priority. A new page needs a distinct purpose and enough accurate information to fulfil it.
What account access is needed at the start?
A first conversation can begin with the public website and a business brief. A deeper review may need appropriate access to Search Console, analytics or a business profile. Implementation may need website or hosting access. Ask what each permission is needed for, use the platform’s role-based access where available and retain ownership of your accounts.
How should I compare progress between reports?
Use equivalent periods and relevant page, query, country and device context. Keep the record of completed work alongside search metrics and available enquiry outcomes. For AI search, record the platform, question and date of an observed citation, and distinguish it from measured referral traffic or a booked job.
Can Nick implement the work as well as advise on it?
Yes. My services include agreed website implementation as well as review and planning. I work with static HTML, WordPress and Elementor. The quote identifies the pages and tasks involved, the access required, the checks included and any work that needs a separate scope.
Check the source
Platform guidance, without the sales layer.
These sources were checked on 22 October 2026. The checklist is my practical way to organise a buying decision; it is not a Google or OpenAI certification.
A sensible next conversation
Let’s make the scope clear.
Send me your website, what you want to improve and any questions about SEO or AI search visibility. I’ll explain where I can help and what the work would involve.