MODULE 01Objective. Understand what an owned SEO asset is, how value is created and what realistically takes months rather than days.
Topics
- Digital assets versus freelance work versus agency services
- Where SEO revenue actually comes from: leads, affiliate, listings, ads, subscriptions, asset sale
- Time, cost and risk expectations for a first project
- Choosing a scope you can finish alone
Assignment
Write a one-page business definition for your first project: model, audience, budget, time available.
What you keep
A short project brief you will reuse in every later module.
Materials
Project brief worksheet · Cost and time planning sheet
Objective. Learn a repeatable way to judge whether a niche has commercial search demand you can realistically serve.
Topics
- Demand, intent and query shape: informational versus transactional
- SERP reading: who ranks, what page type wins, how strong the incumbents are
- Estimating the value of one enquiry, and who pays for it
- Geography and operating complexity: licensing, seasonality, fulfilment
- Monetization paths available in the niche
- Designing a cheap MVP test instead of a 200-page build
Assignment
Score three candidate niches against your own criteria and pick one with written reasons.
What you keep
A completed niche comparison sheet and a decision note.
Materials
Niche research worksheet · SERP observation log · Enquiry value estimator
Objective. Plan and build a small, fast, genuinely useful site — platform-neutral concepts, one practical demo.
Topics
- URL and page hierarchy that mirrors search intent
- Service, location, comparison and article page types
- Writing original content with AI assistance and human editing
- A practical build demonstration using Lovable (optional tool, not a requirement)
Assignment
Publish a five-page MVP site with a working contact path.
What you keep
A live MVP website and its page map.
Materials
Page-type templates · Editorial review checklist · Starter build prompts
Objective. Ship a site that crawlers can read and users can trust, verified rather than assumed.
Topics
- HTML rendering, status codes, redirects and custom 404s
- Canonicals, indexing directives, sitemap and robots.txt
- Metadata, headings, internal links and image handling
- Structured data used only where it is factually true
- A launch QA pass you actually execute
Assignment
Run the full QA checklist on your MVP and fix every failure you find.
What you keep
A completed QA log with before/after notes.
Materials
Advanced launch QA checklist · Indexing troubleshooting sheet
Objective. Convert organic traffic into enquiries and turn enquiries into a revenue model you can operate.
Topics
- Local and commercial search intent, and the page types that serve it
- Forms, call paths, qualification questions and disclosure
- Pay-per-lead, exclusive leads, rank-and-rent, retainers and hybrid models
- Affiliate, directory, premium listing, subscription, advertising and commission models
- Pricing, delivery, disputes and honest partner communication
Assignment
Draft a lead delivery and pricing proposal for a hypothetical partner.
What you keep
A partner-ready one-page offer and qualification script.
Materials
Lead qualification script · Partner outreach framework · Pricing model comparison
Objective. Observe search performance across several websites and separate measured data from interpretation.
Topics
- Impressions, clicks, CTR and average position: what each one can and cannot tell you
- Reporting delays, sampling and comparison windows
- Setting up the educational Radar toolkit for your own properties
- Using AI to propose questions and investigation priorities for human review
Assignment
Produce a weekly review of one property: three observations, three hypotheses, one action.
What you keep
A completed performance review note.
Materials
Radar setup guide · Analytics spreadsheet · Review template
Objective. Keep a portfolio of sites organised: status, tasks, costs, notes and review cadence.
Topics
- Portfolio inventory: domain, niche, model, status, launch date
- Task and content pipelines per site
- Expense and renewal tracking
- Review rhythm and decision logs
Assignment
Set up the workspace template and load every project you own.
What you keep
A populated portfolio workspace.
Materials
Notion portfolio template · Review cadence guide
Objective. Expand only where validated demand and usefulness justify more pages or more projects.
Topics
- Deciding between deepening one site and starting another
- Evidence that a page cluster deserves expansion
- Content operations when you are the only operator
- When to stop, consolidate or retire a project
Assignment
Write an expansion plan with explicit stop conditions.
What you keep
A scaling plan tied to measured data.
Materials
Expansion decision sheet · Content operations planner
Objective. Use AI where it saves real time, with human verification where accuracy matters.
Topics
- Tasks worth automating and tasks that must stay manual
- Fact-checking and editorial responsibility
- Handling personal data carefully in any automated flow
- Building small reusable workflows instead of fragile mega-prompts
Assignment
Document one workflow you automated and the checks you kept.
What you keep
A workflow description with review gates.
Materials
Workflow design worksheet · Verification checklist
Objective. Leave with your own plan: what you build next, with what budget, measured how.
Topics
- Allocating time and money across projects
- Risk management: algorithm changes, single-client dependency, platform risk
- Deciding when an asset is worth selling
- A twelve-month personal operating plan
Assignment
Complete your independent portfolio action plan.
What you keep
A written action plan you own and control.
Materials
Action plan template · Risk review sheet