A brand-new architecture website ranked #1 in a city of twenty million, in three months.
New websites usually take six to eight months just to reach page one. This one launched on December 20 and held the top organic result for “architect delhi” by March, with every step of the process shown to the client as we went.
A brand-new domain and a keyword that dwarfs New York.
Ranking a brand-new website is the hardest version of SEO. Google is rightly suspicious of sites that appear from nowhere, so a new domain usually needs six to eight months to reach page one, let alone the top position.
The keyword made it harder. “Architect delhi” draws about 5,400 searches a month. For comparison, the busiest architect search in New York City shows about 130. Delhi has roughly 2.5 times the population and, by Google's own numbers, far more competition.
We agreed to consult the firm step by step and hold nothing back: the client would see everything we did, and the result would prove the process triggers none of Google's spam signals.
Fundamentals, in the right order, with nothing hidden.
- Honest expectations. On day one we told the client national-scale keywords could take eight months or more and that we would pursue smaller wins in the meantime. That conversation is in the screenshots.
- Technical and on-page foundation. Clean site structure, fast pages, and titles, headings, and content built around the exact phrases people in Delhi use to find an architect.
- Local presence. A complete Google Business Profile so the firm appeared in the map pack alongside established practices.
- Authority, earned carefully. A steady program of relevant, non-spammy links. Aggressive enough to move a new domain, measured enough to raise no flags.
- Weekly tracking. Rankings and Search Console data reviewed with the client each week, so leads arriving from search could be tied to the work that produced them.
Mid page one in month two. Number one in month three.
By the end of month two the firm had cracked page one and was sitting in the middle of it. By month three it held the #1 organic position under the map pack for “architect delhi,” and leads were arriving from search for a business that had not existed online three months earlier.
Launch
Brand-new site goes live; expectations set with the client.
Foundation
On-page, technical, and local presence in place.
Page one
Mid page one for the target keyword.
#1
Top organic result; leads arriving from search.
If a website that did not exist in November can be #1 in one of the largest cities on earth by March, a local business with years of history behind it can move faster than it thinks.
Screenshots are taken from Google Search Console, Google search results, and our own correspondence. Client-identifying details are redacted where the client asked.
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