Local SEO Growth for a Recruitment Agency

Background

This project began with a recruitment agency operating in highly competitive UK markets — primarily London, Birmingham and Manchester. Although they already had some visibility, their goal was ambitious:
Become the number one recruitment agency within their niche across all three major cities.

They had a decent foundation, but the local SEO landscape, especially in London, was extremely competitive. Achieving top positions would require a mix of technical improvements, entity strengthening and consistent local authority building.

Challenge

The agency faced three key challenges:

1. Intense competition in London and Birmingham from long-established recruitment brands.

2. Inconsistent local signals, including mixed citations and unclear entity information.

3. Under-optimised local pages, limiting their ability to rank at the very top for high-value location-based terms.

Although they were already ranking reasonably well, they weren’t dominating the Map Pack or consistently owning top local search positions. The client’s goal was not just “ranking well” — but becoming the leading, most visible recruitment agency in their target cities.

Strategy & What I Did

1. Citation Cleanup & Local Entity Repair

We began by cleaning up their NAP data across major business directories, local profiles and industry-specific listings. This built a more reliable and consistent local entity footprint — essential in competitive sectors.

2. Review Strategy & Trust Signal Strengthening

We introduced a structured review acquisition strategy, helping the brand grow high-quality, genuine reviews at a steady pace. This added strong trust signals, which are critical for both Map Pack performance and AI-driven ranking environments.

3. Rebuilding Location Pages for Local Relevance

Each target location page (London, Birmingham, Manchester) was rebuilt with:

• stronger content

• clear topical relevance

• localised value propositions

• better internal linking

• enhanced local schema

This allowed Google to better understand what they do and where they operate, improving both organic and map-based rankings.

4. Brand Mentions & Local Authority Building

We supported the brand by securing relevant, high-quality brand mentions within the recruitment and employment space. These weren’t generic backlinks — they were industry-specific citations that reinforced authority and credibility.

5. AI Search Visibility (Emerging Work)

More recently, the client was willing to explore broader opportunities in AI search visibility, including:

• early adjustments for Google AI Overviews

• improving brand clarity for Google AI Mode

• strengthening entity signals so the agency could be referenced more confidently in ChatGPT Search and Perplexity

This forward-thinking approach is uncommon in the recruitment industry and positions them extremely well for long-term visibility.

Results

Within the first 18 months, the agency experienced a major lift in local visibility — transforming from a solid performer into one of the most dominant recruitment brands across its target cities.

✓ 90%–100% Map Pack Visibility for Core Keywords

Across London, Birmingham and Manchester, the agency achieved near-complete visibility for its highest-value recruitment terms.
This positioned the brand at the very top of local intent searches in some of the UK’s most competitive markets.

✓ 30 → 270 Monthly Enquiries (Consistent Growth)

When the project began, the agency averaged around 30 enquiries per month.
Today, they receive approximately 270 enquiries per month, driven by stronger Map Pack positions, clearer local signals and improved landing page relevance.

This represents one of the largest enquiry increases achieved in the recruitment niche.

✓ Stronger Entity & Local Trust Signals

Through review growth, citation cleanup and consistent NAP improvements, the brand’s local entity became significantly more stable and recognisable.
Google now interprets who they are and where they serve with far greater accuracy, strengthening both local rankings and click-through performance.

✓ High-Quality Brand Mentions Supporting Local Authority

Targeted brand mentions and industry-relevant citations reinforced the agency’s authority, helping shift several competitive keywords into top positions across all three cities.

These earned signals also contributed to deeper trust from both Google and prospective clients.

✓ Early Improvements in AI Search Visibility

As AI-driven discovery expands, the brand has begun appearing more consistently within:

• Google AI Mode

• Google AI Overviews

• ChatGPT Search

• Perplexity

This is a direct result of clearer entity signals, improved content structure and increased brand authority within the recruitment space.

✓ Long-Term, Sustainable Local Dominance

With improved map visibility, stronger local relevance, consistent reviews and early AI search presence, the agency is now positioned as a leading recruitment partner across London, Birmingham and Manchester — with a growth trajectory that no longer depends heavily on paid channels.