SEO for Derby Counsellors, Without the £1,500 Agency Bill
Most counsellors in Derby are losing six or seven calls a week to competitors who simply rank higher on Maps. Same skills. Same prices. Different visibility.
No agency overhead · no account managers · no upsells
Derby: Why Google Decides Who Gets the Calls
The counsellor customers in Derby are split roughly in half between long-term residents who already have someone they trust and newer residents (or younger ones) who Google for everything. The newer half is who you want, and Google is the only way to reach them.
In Derby, the catchment for counsellors includes Littleover, Chellaston, Mickleover, and the wider DE area. Calls for relationship issues and anxiety and depression make up the bulk of what comes through the door.
How Local SEO Actually Works for You
For counsellors working Derby (especially around Darley Abbey and Normanton), this is the unflattering bit nobody warns counsellor owners about. Most counsellors in Derby are invisible for the urgent searches that bring jobs. Specifically: a real website hosted on Vercel (loads in under two seconds anywhere in the UK), a Google Business Profile run weekly with new posts and photos, automatic review request texts after every job, and a monthly report that shows ranking changes in plain English. That's the system.
For counsellors in Derby, the version of this we run looks like weekly Google profile updates with photos from real counsellor jobs, four blog posts a month written for the searches counsellors customers actually use, and a monthly performance report you can read on a phone.
If you are a counsellor, you already know the bread and butter: self-esteem issues and anxiety and depression, with bereavement support when the season turns. Adults experiencing anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, or workplace stress, which means counsellors need to be findable when those exact searches happen.
What Most Local Owners Get Wrong
For counsellors working Derby, the picture looks like this. Most counsellors in Derby are losing work to a handful of competitors with better-ranked Google listings. Most owners blame the economy when their phone goes quiet. The actual cause is almost always the same: a competitor with a better Google listing has taken your spot in the local 3-pack. That's it. That's the fix.
Real Clients We Already Run
Across the counsellors we have spoken to in Derby, the same pattern keeps coming up. The counsellors ranking in the top three of Google Maps for Derby get most of the calls. Honest signal-to-noise: we charge real money to seven real UK businesses. We do not have free trials, partner programmes, affiliate links, or fake testimonials. Everything we do is paid for by people running their own trades businesses.
Next Step: A Free Audit
Honest framing: the audit is free because it costs us about 30 minutes of automated checks plus 10 minutes of a real human looking at the results. We do that because most owners don't trust marketing pitches anymore (rightly), and a real audit is the only way to start a useful conversation.
The Three Things That Move the Needle
Local SEO and Google Business Profile
We do not pretend SEO is mysterious. It is mostly: clear keyword research, then doing the obvious work consistently, then measuring it. The agencies that overcomplicate it do so to justify the price. We just do the work and bill £199/month.
Missed-Call Text-Back
The maths on missed-call text-back is simple: most callers do not leave a voicemail, but most do read text messages. So the auto-text catches the calls voicemail loses. For an average UK trade that is 10-15 saved calls a week.
Review Automation
The reviews bit is fully automated: a text goes out after each job with a direct link to your Google review page. Customers tap once and they are typing the review. About one in three actually leaves one, which is roughly five times the industry average.
What It Costs
Flat fee: £199 once + £199/month. Less than £6.70 a day. After three months you can cancel any time and the website stays yours. No exit fees, no transfer admin charges, no nonsense.
Setup
£199
One-off. Covers your website. Yours to keep forever.
Monthly
£199/mo
Less than £6.70 a day. One job from Google pays for the month.
What's included every month
- Website (included in setup fee)
- SEO management
- AEO management
- Google Business Profile management
- Website updates included
- Monthly performance report
- 4 blog posts per month
- Missed call text back
- Quote follow-up automation
- Review automation
Frequently Asked
What does it actually cost?
It is £199 a month plus a one-off £199 setup. Less than £6.70 a day. One job from Google pays for the month. Cancel anytime after the first three months.
What do you actually do every month?
Specifically: build and host your website, run your Google Business Profile weekly, set up review automation, set up missed-call text-back, write four blog posts a month, send a monthly report. That is the full list.
Do I need to do anything technical?
If you can text us a logo and a few photos of your work, you have done your bit. Everything else, including the boring technical stuff like SSL certificates and search console setup, is on us.
What if I already have a website?
We work with what you have got. If your current website is broken or slow, we rebuild it. If it is fine, we keep it and just sort out the SEO and Google profile. Your domain stays the same either way.
How long until I see results?
Honest answer: anyone who guarantees specific numbers is lying to you. We can guarantee the work gets done properly. The missed-call text-back system pays for itself the first time you save a job. SEO results take longer, usually three to six months for meaningful movement.
Can I cancel?
After three months you can cancel any time, no notice period, no exit fees. The website is yours to keep. We transfer the domain and the site to whoever you want.
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Get a Free Audit
Send us your business name and town. We'll send back a real audit of your Google listing, your website, and your top three local competitors. Same day, no sales call.