Case study
Silver Solutions Logistics
A logistics website redesign that leads with what the company does best, with a simple quote request.
Read the Silver Solutions Logistics case study →howzit, South Africa
The SEO company in South Africa where you talk to the SEO
Local SEO, technical fixes and pages that answer what South African buyers search for. For B2B and service businesses. I do the work myself.
- good fit
- South African B2B and service businesses that sell something people already search for, and want inquiries from it, not just a ranking report.
- not a fit
- Anyone who needs leads by Friday. SEO compounds; it isn’t fast. If someone promises page one in 30 days, ask which keyword nobody searches.
Book a call no hard sell, promise
the problem
Page two is where South African leads go quiet.
Most businesses here have a website that looks fine and ranks for its own name. That’s it. Meanwhile the buyer in Durban searching for exactly what you sell finds a competitor with a worse service and a better Google Business Profile. Not a talent problem. A findability problem.
what I do about it
Fix the floor first, then build the rooms.
I start with the technical foundations: speed, structure and the errors Google trips over. Then pages for the searches your buyers actually type, and a Google Business Profile that earns its spot in the map pack. I report on inquiries, not impressions.
How I can help
pick one, or connect them all
- 01SEO and local search
Keyword research on buying searches, technical fixes, service and location pages, and Google Business Profile work for the map pack, as SEO marketing measured on inquiries. Monthly retainer, or a one-off audit if you’d rather start there.
- 02Web design with SEO built in
If the site itself is the problem, I rebuild it with SEO in the foundations. I did that for Silver Solutions Logistics, a South African freight company, quote calculator included.
- 03The Full Growth System
SEO, website, outbound and CRM follow-up run as one system, so the leads search brings in get a fast reply. Across client campaigns, $7.2M in pipeline.
What’s different about SEO in South Africa.
only true in South Africa
POPIA makes search the polite channel
Most direct marketing email to South African inboxes needs consent under POPIA. Search doesn’t. The buyer types, finds you and asks. It’s the one lead channel here that arrives with an invitation.
Most visits arrive on a phone
Around 60% of web traffic in South Africa is mobile (Statcounter, mid-2026). If your site crawls on a phone, Google notices, and so does the buyer reading it in a queue at Home Affairs.
Your time zone, no account manager
I’m in Cape Town, on SAST like you. Whether it’s SEO in Cape Town, Johannesburg or Durban, you talk to the person doing it, not a junior reading out a report they didn’t write.
What an SEO company actually does for a South African business
An SEO company gets your business found on Google by people who are already looking for what you sell. For most South African B2B and service businesses, that work falls into a handful of jobs:
- Technical SEO: speed, mobile, crawling and indexing errors
- Keyword research on the searches buyers make when they’re ready to hire
- On-page SEO: titles, headings, copy and internal links
- Service and location pages that answer one search each
- Local SEO: your Google Business Profile, reviews and the map pack
- AI search: pages clear enough for ChatGPT and Google’s AI answers to quote
- An SEO audit, if you want a list of fixes before committing to anything
- Monthly reporting on calls and inquiries
Here, one person does all of that: me. Where a job needs more hands, like a big batch of pages, I bring in a specialist writer or developer, and you still talk to me. You won’t meet an account manager, because there isn’t one.
How working with me works, step by step
- We talk for 30 minutes. I look at your site, your Google Business Profile and what you rank for today, and tell you what I’d fix first.
- You get a clear recommendation and a price before anything starts.
- I fix the foundations: technical errors, speed and site structure.
- I build or rewrite the pages your buyers should be landing on.
- I work on your Google Business Profile and local signals.
- Every month you get a short report on calls, forms and inquiries, and we put more effort into whatever is bringing them in.
SEO is a braai, not a microwave. The fire has to get going before anything cooks, and the people who keep opening the lid to check on it don’t eat any sooner. Early movement usually shows within a few months. Stronger results come after six.
Local SEO across South Africa
If your buyers search with a place in mind, like “commercial cleaning Sandton” or “freight company Durban”, the map pack often matters more than the website underneath it. Google says local results come down to relevance, distance and prominence (Google’s guide to local ranking).
You can’t move your office closer to every buyer. You can make your profile complete and accurate, earn real reviews, and back it up with pages on your site for the areas you actually serve.
Rule of thumb: build a city page only where you really work and have something true to say about that city. Ten copies of the same page with the city name swapped is the kind of shortcut Google spots, and it makes the whole site look thinner. That’s why I have separate pages for Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, each written for that city.
Showing up in AI search, not only on Google
More people now ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google’s AI Overviews before they click a link. Those tools build their answers from web pages, so the basics still apply. Google’s own advice for its AI features is to keep doing good SEO: helpful pages, a crawlable site and structured data that matches what’s visible (Google Search Central).
In practice I put a direct answer near the top of each page, use specific facts instead of adjectives, add schema that matches the page, and make sure AI crawlers aren’t blocked. Most of it is good SEO with tidier habits.
SEO vs. Google Ads for South African businesses
| SEO | Google Ads | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Months to build | Traffic from day one |
| Cost over time | Retainer; results compound | You pay for every click |
| When you stop | Rankings fade slowly | Leads stop the same day |
| Best for | Steady inquiries over years | Testing an offer, or filling a gap fast |
Plenty of businesses run both. Ads stop the day the card does, so if all your leads come from ads, you’re renting them. SEO is closer to owning.
What SEO costs in South Africa
I offer SEO as a monthly retainer, or as a one-off audit if you want to start smaller. Monthly work has a 3-month minimum, then runs month to month.
What changes the price:
- How much needs fixing on the current site
- How competitive your searches are
- How many services and areas you want to rank for
- Whether new pages need writing, or the existing ones just need work
You get the number on the first call or straight after, before any work starts. It won’t be buried on the last page of a proposal.
How to choose the best SEO company in South Africa
Whoever you hire, me or someone else, ask these before you sign:
- Who will actually do the work, and can I talk to them?
- What will you report on each month?
- Which searches will you target first, and why those?
- What’s the price, and what’s the minimum term?
- What happens if nothing has moved after six months?
Red flags: a guarantee of page one, a monthly report that’s all rankings and “impressions” with no mention of inquiries, and a price you only see after three meetings. (Nobody needs three meetings to tell you a number.)
When I’m the wrong SEO company for you
- You need leads this month. Try outbound lead generation or ads first.
- Your offer isn’t proven yet. Rankings can’t sell something nobody buys.
- Your site can’t turn its current visitors into inquiries. Fix that first with web design.
If none of those apply, you’ve got a real business and buyers already searching for it, which is a good place to start.
Want to know which of this your site actually needs? Book 30 minutes and I’ll tell you what I’d fix first.
people I’ve worked with
- All Med Search
- MedSpa DR
- CJ Stafford Construction
- Pinnacle Real Estate
- Mike K Realtor
- Silver Solutions
Related pages
if you’re comparing
Other places I do this
More in South Africa
Questions
What does an SEO company do?
It gets your business found on Google by people ready to buy. That means fixing technical issues, building pages for the searches buyers make, and improving your map listing. A good one reports on inquiries, not just rankings.
Are you based in South Africa?
Yes. I’m in Cape Town and work with businesses anywhere in the country. Every call is online, so Joburg, Durban and Gqeberha get the same service and the same time zone.
How much do SEO services cost in South Africa?
SEO is a monthly retainer, or a one-off audit if you’d rather start small. Monthly services have a 3-month minimum, then roll month to month. You’ll get a clear price on the call, before anything starts.
How long does SEO take?
Early movement within a few months, stronger results after six. Local search can move faster. Anyone promising page one in 30 days is targeting a keyword nobody searches.
How do I pick the best SEO company in South Africa?
Ask three questions. Who does the work? What will you report on? What happens if it doesn’t move? If the answers are “a team”, “rankings” and a long pause, keep looking.
Is SEO worth it for a small business in South Africa?
If people already search for what you sell, usually yes. It takes months to build, but the inquiries keep coming without paying per click. If nobody searches for it, put the money into outbound instead.
Can you guarantee first-page rankings?
No. Nobody controls Google, and a guarantee usually means the keyword is one nobody searches. I’ll tell you what’s realistic for your searches on the first call.
Do you only work with South African businesses?
No. Most of my clients are in the US, and I offer SEO worldwide. South African businesses get the advantage of the same time zone.
your move
Let’s get your South African business in front of buyers.
No pitch. No pressure. I’ll look at what Google sees when it visits your site and tell you what I’d fix first, whether or not we work together. And no 60-page audit afterwards. Nobody has ever read page 47.