From Zero to Ranking: A Step-by-Step SEO Plan for Marketing Specialists Who Aren’t SEO Pros
Let’s be honest—SEO can feel like a minefield, especially if you’re not a specialist. But if you work in marketing, there’s a good chance you’ve been asked to “sort out the SEO” for a client at some point.
Whether you’re managing social media, running ads, or handling the general marketing strategy, it’s often expected that you’ve got SEO covered too. The problem? SEO is an entire discipline in itself, and hiring a specialist isn’t always in the budget.
That’s where The Milk It Hub comes in. It’s designed to give marketers like you the tools, insights, and support you need to make smart SEO decisions—without the overwhelm (or the price tag of an agency).
Here’s a step-by-step plan to help you get your clients ranking on Google, even if you’re starting from scratch.
Step 1: Understand What Your Client Wants to Rank For
Before you touch a single page or write a blog post, you need clarity: What is your client trying to be found for?
It sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many businesses aren’t clear on this. They’ll say things like “we just want more traffic,” but what you really need to know is:
What products or services are they selling?
Who is their target audience?
What locations do they serve (if any)?
What makes them different from competitors?
Use The Milk It Hub:
The Keyword Discovery tool in The Milk It Hub is frankly brilliant. You can type in a service or product and get a list of keyword ideas based on actual search data. It even breaks down difficulty levels, so you can avoid wasting time on keywords that are way too competitive, and it’ll also let you know if a competitor is already ranking for it.
Tip: Look for a mix of:
Core keywords (e.g. “garden landscaping London”)
Long-tail keywords (e.g. “affordable garden landscaping for small spaces”)
These long-tail ones are often less competitive and more likely to convert.
Step 2: Audit the Client’s Website (The Easy Way)
Once you know what keywords you’re targeting, it’s time to look at the site itself.
You don’t need to be technical to do this properly. In fact, The Milk It Hub takes care of the heavy lifting for you with its Website Health Check. This scan gives you a full report on what’s working and what’s holding the site back, like:
Broken links
Slow-loading pages
Missing or duplicate meta tags
Image issues
Page structure problems
You get a clear breakdown of what to fix, with guidance on how to fix it—even if you’ve never touched a line of code in your life.
Tip: Start by fixing the easy stuff—like having the correct page titles, missing meta descriptions or oversized images. Small wins add up quickly.
Step 3: Optimise the Website Pages (Without Breaking Anything)
This is where many non-SEO pros get nervous, but it doesn’t need to be complicated.
Using the insights from your keyword research and audit, start optimising key pages:
Homepage: Make sure it clearly states who they are, what they do, and where they do it.
Service pages: Each service should have its own page with relevant keywords and supporting content.
Meta titles and descriptions: These show up in search results, so make them compelling and keyword-friendly.
Headers (H1, H2, etc): Structure the content properly so Google and users can read it easily.
Use The Milk It Hub:
The On-Page Insights tool highlights keyword usage and provides a quick snapshot of where a page stands. It also gives suggestions for improvements, which is ideal if you’re not sure what “optimised” actually looks like.
Step 4: Create Helpful, Search-Friendly Content
You don’t need to become a full-time blogger, but content plays a huge role in SEO. If your client wants to rank, they need to create content that answers questions, offers value, and includes those all-important keywords.
A simple content plan:
Blog posts that answer common customer questions.
Guides or how-tos around their services.
Location-based content if they serve specific areas.
For example, if your client is a plumber in Manchester, a blog post titled “What to do if your pipes freeze in winter – Advice from Manchester Plumbers” targets a specific audience with real search potential.
Use The Milk It Hub:
With the Keyword Clusters feature, you can group related search terms and build out content topics that align with what people are actually searching for. It takes the guesswork out of content planning.
Step 5: Build Backlinks (Without Getting Spammy)
Backlinks (links from other websites to your client’s site) still matter - a lot. But building them doesn't have to be sketchy or complicated.
Start simple:
List the business on relevant directories (Yell, Google Business Profile, FreeIndex, etc.)
Reach out to local blogs or community sites.
Get listed in industry-specific directories.
Share content on social and ask partners to link to it.
Use The Milk It Hub:
The Backlink Monitor helps you track what backlinks your client already has—and which ones are helping their SEO. You can also monitor competitors to see where they’re getting links from.
Step 6: Track, Report and Repeat
SEO isn’t a “set it and forget it” job—but it also doesn’t need to consume your week. A quick monthly check-in is enough to make sure things are moving in the right direction.
Your client will also want to know what’s happening. That’s where clear, easy-to-read reports come in.
Use The Milk It Hub:
Track keyword rankings over time
Set your own hours to complete your strategy with the top actions to work on (no more overwhelm!)
Monitor site health scores
Generate client-friendly reports in a few clicks
You’ll be able to show the value you’re delivering, even if the results are still building.
You Don’t Have to Be an SEO Expert to Deliver Real Results
With tools like The Milk It Hub, SEO becomes less of a mystery and more of a manageable, repeatable process. You can support your clients with confidence, even if SEO isn’t your main skillset.
Just follow the plan:
Research keywords your client can realistically rank for
Fix technical issues and optimise the site
Create useful content based on real search data
Build a few backlinks
Track the progress and keep improving
You don’t need to know everything about algorithms or link juice. You just need the right approach—and the right tools.
Want to give it a go?
Try The Milk It Hub today and start turning your SEO “to-do list” into real, visible results—without needing to hire a specialist (or you can, cos that is an option too ;)
