Awkward Media
The downtown Raleigh skyline at blue hour seen across the lawn at Dix Park, with the towers lit up and big oaks on either side

SEO company in Raleigh, ranking businesses from Brier Creek to Garner

Raleigh SEO agency. Page one of Google in 60 days.

If your qualifying keywords aren’t on the first page of Google within 60 days, we keep working for free until they are. You see the first improvements in 20 days. Month to month, with our prices published.

30 minutes on Google Meet. For businesses doing $20k a month or more.

roofer raleigh
Illustration: how a listing climbs into the Google Maps top three. Not a real search result.

4.8

on Google, from 199 reviews

4.6

on Trustpilot, from 55 reviews

Top 5%

SEO agencies in the world, by Mayple

17 yrs

ranking businesses in the US and Canada

As seen in and rated on

USA Today LA Weekly Clutch TopSEO UpCity
  • roofer raleigh
  • dentist north hills
  • personal injury lawyer raleigh
  • plumber cary
  • tree removal north raleigh
  • mold removal raleigh
  • family lawyer raleigh
  • pest control wake forest
  • ac repair raleigh
  • movers raleigh

Why Raleigh businesses lose the call

1.6 million people. Three counties. Three spots on the map.

Metro Raleigh is home to about 1.6 million people across Wake, Johnston and Franklin counties, from Wake Forest down to Clayton and west to Cary and Apex. The typical household here earns $102,144 a year, about 25 percent more than the national figure, so a new customer is worth more here than in most of the country. When a summer storm drops an oak on the roof or the AC quits in a heat wave, people pick up a phone and search, and Google answers with three businesses on the map and ten links below it. If you aren’t in those spots, the job goes to someone who is.

Source: US Census Bureau 2024 American Community Survey via Census Reporter

The top three take the calls.

Most people pick from the three businesses Google shows on the map. Fourth place still has a listing, but far fewer people ever see it.

Google Maps is local. Metro Raleigh is three counties.

Google favors businesses close to the searcher. Ranking in North Hills doesn’t mean you show up in Brier Creek, Garner or Cary.

Two dates, in writing.

First movement by day 20. Page one in 60 days, or we work free. And our prices are on the website.

Our guarantees

Page one in 60 days, or we work free.

Read both guarantees

Where Raleigh customers look

Three places. One plan for all of them.

Search “roofer Raleigh” on your phone. First comes a map with three businesses, called the Map Pack. Under it sits Google’s normal list of websites. And on more and more searches, Google writes a short answer of its own at the very top, called an AI Overview, that names a few businesses by name.

Each of the three is won a little differently. The map leans on your Google Business Profile and how close you are to the person searching. The normal list leans on your website: its pages, its speed on a phone and the sites that link to it. The AI answers read both, plus what the rest of the web says about you.

What an SEO company does about it

An SEO company does the work that puts you in all three places, for the searches people in Raleigh make when they’re ready to hire. In plain words: we fix your website so Google can read it, write a page for every service and town you serve, run your Google listing, get trusted sites to mention you, and send you every ranking each month so you can search it yourself.

That’s why we’re a full-service agency. SEO services for the normal results, local SEO and Google Business Profile optimization for the map, AI SEO for the answers, and ecommerce SEO and national SEO across the US for businesses that sell beyond the Triangle.

1. The Map Pack

Google Maps logoroofer raleigh
1

Competitor A

★★★★★ · North Raleigh · Call

2

Competitor B

★★★★★ · Cary · Call

3

Competitor C

★★★★★ · Garner · Call

4

Your business

Not shown. Nobody scrolls this far.

2. The normal results

Google logo

competitor-a.com

Roof Repair & Replacement in Raleigh, NC

your-site.com

Page two. Nobody clicks this far.

3. The AI answers

Google AI Overview icon

AI Overview

ChatGPT logo

“For roof repairs in Raleigh, homeowners often call Competitor A or Competitor B…”

An illustration, not a real search. The job is to move you from the dashed lines into the named spots.

Raleigh search, month by month

Storms. Heat. Moving day. Each with its own rush.

We pulled twelve months of Google search volume for Raleigh. Roofing searches swing from 260 to 3,600 a month, nearly fourteen times as many in the busiest month as in the quietest. Personal injury lawyers run from 390 to 3,600 and mold removal from 110 to 880. Dentists see 1,900 to 4,400, landscaping 210 to 880 and movers 1,000 to 1,900. Whatever the season, the businesses already in the top three when demand spikes are the ones that take the work.

Roofing

searches a month

260 to 3,600

Dentist

searches a month

1,900 to 4,400

Personal injury lawyer

searches a month

390 to 3,600

Mold removal

searches a month

110 to 880

Landscaping

searches a month

210 to 880

Movers

searches a month

1,000 to 1,900

Each chart is scaled to its own busiest month, shown in green. Source: Google Ads search volume for Raleigh, North Carolina, last twelve months, pulled October 2026.

Rank before the storms.

Roofing searches climb nearly fourteen times over in the busy months, then fall away. Rankings take weeks to build, so roofers, tree crews and restoration companies need to hold the top three before the storms come, not chase them. Our 60-day page-one guarantee gives you a date to plan around.

North Hills and Cary are their own markets.

Google Maps shows a different top three in North Hills, Brier Creek and Cary from the one it shows downtown. People search from where they live, so we track the neighborhoods and towns your customers live in, not only the city name, and show you where you stand in each.

No bill for every click.

Ads charge you for every click, and the price climbs when everyone bids after the same storm or in the same busy season. A page-one ranking keeps bringing in leads without a per-click bill.

Two arborists cutting up a fallen oak that came down across a wet North Raleigh street and onto a brick ranch house, with a bucket truck and tall pines behind

July 28, 2026 in Raleigh

One night of storms. Trees down across North Raleigh.

Storms tore through Wake County on the night of July 28, 2026. At the peak, more than 11,000 people lost power, and Duke Energy lost a transmission tower near Cedar Hills Park. Trees blocked East Millbrook Road near Six Forks, both ends of Pinecrest Road and Valley Drive, and Ray Road closed between Strickland and Lynn roads. Tree services, roofers, electricians and restoration crews all got the calls at once. Even in a normal year, tree removal searches in Raleigh run from 170 a month to 480, and roofing from 260 to 3,600. When the next storm hits, people search, and they call the businesses Google shows first.

Source: WRAL

Get in the top three before the next storm

Our results

SEO results you can search. North Carolina first, then across the US.

Just a few of the businesses we rank on Google, on Google Maps and in AI answers, from a moving company in Asheville to stores that sell across the country. Every card is a crop of the real screen, competitors and all. Look at the search, then look at who’s first.

How to read a card: the quoted words are the exact search a customer typed. “Before” is where the business ranked when we started, from our rank tracking. “Now” is the position in the screenshot.

Google search

Google’s normal results

The list of websites under the map. Many came from outside the top 100, where nobody sees them.

Swipe sideways for more →

Google result 1: Covers in Play for Swimming Pool Enclosure in Trenton

Google search · Trenton

Covers in Play

for “Swimming Pool Enclosure in Trenton”

Before

Not in top 100

Now

#1

The first unpaid result for the exact search.

Google result 1: Lux Skin & Lasers for Skin tightening treatment Margate City

Google search · Margate City

Lux Skin & Lasers

for “Skin tightening treatment Margate City”

Now

#1

The first unpaid result for the exact search.

Google result 1: Hideout Boutique for Laser Tattoo Removal

Google search · Fort Myers

Hideout Boutique

for “Laser Tattoo Removal”

Before

Not in top 100

Now

#1

The first unpaid result for the exact search.

Google result 1: Super Fabrications for fence builder hillsboro

Google search · Hillsboro

Super Fabrications

for “fence builder hillsboro”

Now

#1

The first unpaid result for the exact search.

Google results for UNC hat with The Game Caps third, above New Era and Amazon

Google search · Ecommerce

The Game Caps

for “UNC hat”

Before

Page 5

Now

#3

A small store above New Era and Amazon for the hat the Triangle wears. Read the case study.

Google result 1: Pathways Dental Clinic for Same Day Emergency Dentist in NE Calgary

Google search · Calgary

Pathways Dental Clinic

for “Same Day Emergency Dentist in NE Calgary”

Before

Not in top 100

Now

#1

The first unpaid result for the exact search.

Google result 1: Pathways Dental Clinic for sedation dentist in calgary

Google search · Calgary

Pathways Dental Clinic

for “sedation dentist in calgary”

Before

#4

Now

#1

The first unpaid result for the exact search.

Google result 2: Pathways Dental Clinic for NE Calgary Dental Services

Google search · Calgary

Pathways Dental Clinic

for “NE Calgary Dental Services”

Before

Not in top 100

Now

#2

Result number 2 for the exact search, shown in the screenshot.

Google result 2: Pathways Dental Clinic for sedation dentists calgary

Google search · Calgary

Pathways Dental Clinic

for “sedation dentists calgary”

Before

#5

Now

#2

Result number 2 for the exact search, shown in the screenshot.

Google result 4: Pathways Dental Clinic for restorative dentistry

Google search · Calgary

Pathways Dental Clinic

for “restorative dentistry”

Before

Not in top 100

Now

#4

Result number 4 for the exact search, shown in the screenshot.

Google result 7: Pathways Dental Clinic for Orthodontics in NE Calgary

Google search · Calgary

Pathways Dental Clinic

for “Orthodontics in NE Calgary”

Before

Not in top 100

Now

#7

Result number 7 for the exact search, shown in the screenshot.

Google result 1: Everything Mortgages for Mortgage north york

Google search · Toronto

Everything Mortgages

for “Mortgage north york”

Now

#1

The first unpaid result for the exact search.

Google result 3: Everything Mortgages for Newmarket mortgage broker

Google search · Ontario

Everything Mortgages

for “Newmarket mortgage broker”

Now

#3

Result number 3 for the exact search, shown in the screenshot.

Google result 4: Everything Mortgages for Scarborough mortgage broker

Google search · Toronto

Everything Mortgages

for “Scarborough mortgage broker”

Now

#4

Result number 4 for the exact search, shown in the screenshot.

Google result 1: Noble Protection Dogs for Executive Protection Dogs Edmonton

Google search · Edmonton

Noble Protection Dogs

for “Executive Protection Dogs Edmonton”

Now

#1

The first unpaid result for the exact search.

Google Maps

The Map Pack and the Maps list, from North Carolina out

The box of three businesses with a map, and the full list people see when they tap it. HVAC, fencing, law, septic, furniture and more.

Swipe sideways for more →

Google Maps rank grid for local movers around Asheville, NC, every point showing Asheville Area Movers first or second

Google Maps · Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville Area Movers

for “local movers”

Every point

1st or 2nd

Each green dot is one spot on the map where the search was run. On the August 2023 grid, every dot shows them first or second.

Google Maps results for cedar fencing company with Mae Fence Company at position 1

Google Maps

Mae Fence Company

for “cedar fencing company”

Before

Not shown

Now

#1

Top of the Maps list, below any ads.

Google Maps results for vinyl fence installation Fulton with Mae Fence Company at position 1

Google Maps

Mae Fence Company

for “vinyl fence installation Fulton”

Before

Not shown

Now

#1

Top of the Maps list, below any ads.

Google Maps results for black aluminum fence with Mae Fence Company at position 1

Google Maps

Mae Fence Company

for “black aluminum fence”

Before

Not shown

Now

#1

Top of the Maps list, below any ads.

Google Maps results for cedar fence installation Fulton with Mae Fence Company at position 1

Google Maps

Mae Fence Company

for “cedar fence installation Fulton”

Before

Not shown

Now

#1

Top of the Maps list, below any ads.

Google Maps results for aluminum fence installation Fulton with Mae Fence Company at position 1

Google Maps

Mae Fence Company

for “aluminum fence installation Fulton”

Before

Not shown

Now

#1

Top of the Maps list, below any ads.

Google Maps results for cedar fence installation with Mae Fence Company at position 1

Google Maps

Mae Fence Company

for “cedar fence installation”

Before

#4

Now

#1

Top of the Maps list, below any ads.

Google Maps results for motorcycle accident attorney Dedham with Law Offices of Jason M. Ranallo at position 1

Google Maps

Law Offices of Jason M. Ranallo

for “motorcycle accident attorney Dedham”

Before

#10

Now

#1

Top of the Maps list, below any ads.

Google Maps results for car accident attorneys near me with Law Offices of Jason M. Ranallo at position 1

Google Maps

Law Offices of Jason M. Ranallo

for “car accident attorneys near me”

Before

#10

Now

#1

Top of the Maps list, below any ads.

Google Maps results for car accidents lawyer with Law Offices of Jason M. Ranallo at position 2

Google Maps

Law Offices of Jason M. Ranallo

for “car accidents lawyer”

Before

#5

Now

#2

Number 2 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for slip and fall lawyers near me with Law Offices of Jason M. Ranallo at position 2

Google Maps

Law Offices of Jason M. Ranallo

for “slip and fall lawyers near me”

Before

#9

Now

#2

Number 2 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for personal injury lawyer Pikesville with Law Offices Alex Poberesky at position 2

Google Maps

Law Offices Alex Poberesky

for “personal injury lawyer Pikesville”

Before

#13

Now

#2

Number 2 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for septic cleaning near me with BEELER at position 2

Google Maps

BEELER

for “septic cleaning near me”

Before

#12

Now

#2

Number 2 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for luxury watch buyers with Boise Diamond Ring & Coin at position 2

Google Maps

Boise Diamond Ring & Coin

for “luxury watch buyers”

Before

Not shown

Now

#2

Number 2 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for AC repair with Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating at position 1

Google Maps

Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating

for “AC repair”

Before

#13

Now

#1

Top of the Maps list, below any ads.

Google Maps results for heating services with Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating at position 1

Google Maps

Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating

for “heating services”

Before

#11

Now

#1

Top of the Maps list, below any ads.

Google Maps results for HVAC repair with Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating at position 2

Google Maps

Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating

for “HVAC repair”

Before

#16

Now

#2

Number 2 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for HVAC installation with Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating at position 2

Google Maps

Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating

for “HVAC installation”

Before

#14

Now

#2

Number 2 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for mini split installation near me with Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating at position 2

Google Maps

Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating

for “mini split installation near me”

Before

#14

Now

#2

Number 2 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for air conditioner maintenance near me with Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating at position 2

Google Maps

Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating

for “air conditioner maintenance near me”

Before

#11

Now

#2

Number 2 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for air conditioning repair services with Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating at position 3

Google Maps

Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating

for “air conditioning repair services”

Before

#10

Now

#3

Number 3 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for AC installation with Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating at position 3

Google Maps

Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating

for “AC installation”

Before

#14

Now

#3

Number 3 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for aluminum fence installation Cleveland with Mae Fence Company (Cleveland) at position 2

Google Maps

Mae Fence Company (Cleveland)

for “aluminum fence installation Cleveland”

Before

#16

Now

#2

Number 2 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for cedar fence installation Cleveland with Mae Fence Company (Cleveland) at position 3

Google Maps

Mae Fence Company (Cleveland)

for “cedar fence installation Cleveland”

Before

#15

Now

#3

Number 3 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

Google Maps results for luxury furniture stores with Candace & Basil at position 1

Google Maps

Candace & Basil

for “luxury furniture stores”

Before

#10

Now

#1

Top of the Maps list, below any ads.

Google Maps results for luxury dining tables with Candace & Basil at position 2

Google Maps

Candace & Basil

for “luxury dining tables”

Before

#12

Now

#2

Number 2 in the Maps list, competitors and all.

AI answers

Named by Google’s AI Overview and ChatGPT

The written answers at the top of Google and in ChatGPT. They name a few businesses. These are ours.

Swipe sideways for more →

Google AI Overview for Bridge Loans for NonProfits naming B Generous

Google AI Overview

B Generous

for “Bridge Loans for NonProfits”

Now

Cited

Linked as one of the sources beside Google’s written answer.

Google AI Overview for Separation Lawyers in Mabton naming Skyview Law

Google AI Overview · Mabton

Skyview Law

for “Separation Lawyers in Mabton”

Now

Named

Named in the first line of Google’s written answer, 16 miles away in Yakima.

ChatGPT answer recommending Modernistic for best carpet cleaning company in Michigan

ChatGPT

Modernistic

for “Best carpet cleaning company in Michigan”

ChatGPT’s answer opens with one “Recommended Company”: Modernistic.

ChatGPT answer listing Skyview Law first for divorce lawyer mabton wa

ChatGPT

Skyview Law

for “divorce lawyer mabton wa”

First of the three firms ChatGPT lists, with its phone number.

More stories, with the full numbers: our SEO case studies, including Covers in Play, The Game Caps, Go Pro Plumbing, Heating and Air and Angkorscape. Or read what our clients say.

How we measure

Your ranking, from Brier Creek to Southeast Raleigh.

Google Maps doesn’t show everyone the same results. Someone searching in North Hills sees a different top three from someone in Brier Creek, Southeast Raleigh or over in Cary. So we don’t check your ranking from one spot. We run your searches from a grid of points across Raleigh and every town you serve, and you get that map back every month: green where you’re in the top three, red where you aren’t yet. Then we go after the red.

  • A grid, not a guess

    Your real position from dozens of points across the region.

  • Fixes aimed at the gaps

    City pages, listings and links for the places you don’t win yet.

  • Check it yourself

    Every search we report, you can type into Google.

Illustration of a grid ranking check over Raleigh. Each dot is one search location and the number is where the business shows on Google Maps from there.

How Google picks the top three

The Raleigh map pack. Three things decide it.

Google says its local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence. Here is what each one means for a Raleigh business, and what we do about it.

Wake Forest
Rolesville
Durham
Brier Creek
North Hills
Knightdale
Morrisville
Cary
Downtown Raleigh
Chapel Hill
Apex
Garner
Holly Springs
Fuquay-Varina
Not to scale
A sketch of the Triangle, with a business in downtown Raleigh at the centre. The inner ring is where the map usually favours it first. Each ring further out is won town by town, with pages, listings and mentions for that town.
01

Relevance

How well your listing and website match the search. A roofer whose profile lists “roof repair”, “roof replacement” and “storm damage”, with a page for each, matches more searches than one that just says “roofing”.

02

Distance

How far your business is from the person searching, or from the town they name. You can’t move your address, so we win close to home first and then reach further out with town pages and local mentions.

03

Prominence

How well known your business is. Google builds this from many signals: links from other sites, your details on directories, your website, your reviews, and how people engage with your business. Reviews are one visible, countable part of it, not the whole picture.

Metro Raleigh is home to about 1.6 million people across Wake, Johnston and Franklin counties, so the business closest to one customer is far from the next. That is why a single listing rarely covers the whole metro on its own, and why we plan the Triangle town by town. Want the deeper version? Read how we expand your Maps radius or our guide to getting your Google Business Profile right.

How our Raleigh SEO works

Day 1 to page one.

  1. Day 1

    Audit and the plan

    We search your services across Raleigh and the towns around it, map who holds the top three and page one, and fix what’s broken on your Google Business Profile and website. We agree your qualifying keywords in writing.

  2. Day 20

    First movement

    Listings cleaned up, service and city pages live, reviews coming in. If you don’t see visible improvement in your key metrics within the first 20 days, we refund $200 on top of returning your payment for that period.

  3. Day 60

    Page one

    If your qualifying keywords aren’t on the first page of Google within 60 days, we keep working for free until they are. Links and mentions from Raleigh and North Carolina websites are building behind the scenes.

  4. Day 61 and on

    Top three, then more

    We push for the top three on the map, add searches and cities, work to get you named in AI answers, and report every ranking each month so you can check it yourself.

What our Raleigh SEO services include

Eight jobs. We do all of them.

Every plan, every month. Every job aims at one thing: your phone ringing from the three spots Raleigh taps first on Google Maps.

Book my free strategy call
  1. 01

    Google Business Profile

    We pick the right categories, list every service, add real photos of your work and post regular updates, so Google has everything it needs to show you for the right Raleigh searches.

  2. 02

    Google reviews

    We set up an easy way for happy customers to leave a review and reply to every one. Reviews are one of the signals Google weighs, and they’re what people read before they pick up the phone.

  3. 03

    Local listings

    Your name, address and phone number, matching on every directory Google checks, from US business directories to the big data providers that feed maps, apps and voice assistants.

  4. 04

    Website fixes

    Faster pages, a site that works on every phone, and behind-the-scenes labels that tell Google what each page is about, so nothing on the technical side holds your rankings back.

  5. 05

    Service and city pages

    A real page for each service and each area you serve, from Brier Creek to Garner, written for the people searching there. No city-name swaps.

  6. 06

    Links and mentions

    Google ranks the businesses other websites vouch for. We earn mentions from Raleigh and North Carolina news and community sites, associations, suppliers and partners. No spam, no link farms.

  7. 07

    AI answers

    We work to get your business named when people ask Google’s AI or ChatGPT who to hire in Raleigh. Included in every plan, never an add-on.

  8. 08

    Monthly reporting

    Every ranking, every month, with the searches listed and the ranking grid attached, so you can check any of it on Google yourself.

Is SEO dead now with AI?

No. It pays off in more places. The same work, four screens.

Google’s AI Overview and ChatGPT build their answers from websites, listings and what the web says about a business. So the work that ranks you on Google is also what gets you named in the answers.

Google’s normal results

Your pages, your speed, the sites that link to you

Google Maps

Your Google Business Profile, your listings, your reviews

Google’s AI Overview

Reads the same pages, listings and mentions

ChatGPT

Reads what the web says about you, by name

One set of work feeds all four: clear pages, consistent details, and trusted sites naming you.

What we do for AI answers in Raleigh

  • Answer the real questions. Your pages answer what customers ask, in their words: price, timing, areas served, what happens next.
  • Match your details everywhere. Same name, address, phone and services on your site, your Google profile and every directory.
  • Get named by trusted sites. Local news, associations, suppliers and partners that mention your business by name.
  • Check the answers each month. We ask Google’s AI and ChatGPT the questions your customers ask about Raleigh and report who gets named.

AI answers come with every plan. See Google AI Overviews SEO, ChatGPT SEO and answer engine optimization for the full method.

Industries we rank in Raleigh

Roofers, dentists, lawyers. The searches Raleigh runs on.

Roofing: 260 to 3,600 searches a month

Roofing, remodeling and exteriors

Gutter cleaning runs 260 to 720 searches a month and window replacement 170 to 320. Mae Fence is #1 on Google Maps for “black aluminum fence”, measured 20 miles out, up from not ranking at all.

Plumber: 880 to 1,300 a month

Heating, cooling and plumbing

Electricians run 320 to 720 searches a month and AC repair 140 to 720. Pest control adds 390 to 1,000 more. Non-Stop Air Conditioning and Heating holds all 8 of its tracked searches in the Google Maps top three.

Dentist: 1,900 to 4,400 a month

Dentists and clinics

Cosmetic dentistry adds 110 to 590 and med spas 70 to 590. Grand Oaks Orthodontics went from 203 ranking searches to 818 in 90 days.

Personal injury lawyer: 390 to 3,600 a month

Law firms

Family lawyers see 590 to 1,300 searches a month and immigration lawyers 210 to 480. The Law Offices of Jason M. Ranallo went from #10 to #1 on Google Maps in 20 days.

Movers: 1,000 to 1,900 a month

Moving and storage

Storage runs 140 to 390 searches a month. Asheville Area Movers, here in North Carolina, went from 222 searches ranking on Google to 988.

Landscaping: 210 to 880 a month

Landscaping and outdoor living

Tree removal runs 170 to 480 searches a month and deck builders 50 to 260. In Seattle, Angkorscape is the first unpaid result on Google for “luxury landscape design”, and Google’s AI answer names them for “luxury landscape designers”.

Mortgage broker: 70 to 720 a month

Mortgage and real estate

Real estate agent searches run 70 to 170 a month. Everything Mortgages is the first unpaid result on Google for “mortgage refinancing for renovations Toronto” and “2nd mortgage Toronto”, and a source in Google’s AI answer for the renovation search.

Don’t see yours?

We’ll search your service in Raleigh, live, on the call.

Book my free strategy call

Search figures: Google Ads data for Raleigh, North Carolina over the last twelve months, pulled October 2026. Ranges run from the quietest month to the busiest.

Town by town

SEO across the Triangle. Each town is its own market.

Google shows different businesses in each part of the metro. Here is how we plan the areas Raleigh businesses ask us about most.

Swipe sideways for more →

Downtown and Glenwood South

Offices, restaurants, bars and the professional firms around the Capitol. Searches here are short and urgent: “lawyer downtown Raleigh”, “dentist near me”. Your listing has to be complete and close.

North Hills and Midtown

A busy shopping and office district on the Beltline. Clinics, med spas, salons and financial firms compete for the same few blocks, so the profile, photos and service pages decide who gets the tap.

Brier Creek and northwest Raleigh

Near the airport and Research Triangle Park, with a lot of newer homes and offices. Home services and family practices win here with a service-area setup and a page that names the area.

Cary

West of Raleigh and large enough that Google treats it as its own market. A Raleigh listing alone rarely shows there. Cary gets its own page, its own search targets and its own proof.

Apex and Holly Springs

Growing towns southwest of Raleigh, full of homeowners who search for roofers, landscapers, HVAC and plumbing by town name. We target those town-name searches directly.

Durham

Home of Duke University and its own city, with its own top three. Businesses that serve both cities need separate pages and separate tracking for Durham searches.

Chapel Hill

Home of UNC. Medical, legal and student-heavy services dominate the searches. If you serve it, it needs its own page, not a mention at the bottom of your Raleigh one.

Morrisville and RTP

Between Raleigh and Durham, beside the airport and Research Triangle Park. B2B services, IT firms and clinics compete for searches from people who work there.

Wake Forest and Rolesville

North of Raleigh, mostly residential and growing. Home services, dentists and family law win with a page for the town and reviews from customers who live there.

Garner, Knightdale and the east side

South and east of the city. Trades and service-area businesses based here can often reach the whole east side of the metro once their listings and pages point that way.

Fuquay-Varina

The southern edge of Wake County. A smaller town than Raleigh, where a business that names it on its pages and listings is up against a shorter list of rivals.

Statewide and online

Selling across North Carolina, or online? Then the map matters less and the normal results matter more. That’s national and ecommerce SEO: category pages, product pages and links that rank you everywhere you ship.

Serving other parts of the Southeast too? See our pages for SEO in Charlotte and SEO in Atlanta, or multi-location SEO for businesses with more than one branch.

Areas we serve around Raleigh

Every corner of Raleigh. And the whole Triangle.

Downtown, Glenwood South and the Warehouse District are packed with law firms, clinics and agencies chasing the same few spots. North Hills, Five Points and Cameron Village run on walk-in trade and near-me searches. Brier Creek, Wakefield, North Raleigh and Southeast Raleigh are full of families who need a plumber, a roofer or a dentist close to home, and Cary, Durham and Wake Forest are markets in their own right. Google shows different businesses in each one, so each one gets its own plan.

Inside Raleigh

  • Downtown
  • Glenwood South
  • Warehouse District
  • Oakwood
  • Mordecai
  • Boylan Heights
  • Five Points
  • Hayes Barton
  • Cameron Village
  • Oberlin
  • NC State
  • Midtown
  • North Hills
  • Crabtree
  • Stonehenge
  • Brier Creek
  • North Raleigh
  • Wakefield
  • Falls River
  • Lake Johnson
  • Southeast Raleigh

Around Raleigh

  • CaryWest
  • MorrisvilleWest
  • ApexSouthwest
  • Holly SpringsSouthwest
  • Fuquay-VarinaSouth
  • GarnerSouth
  • ClaytonSoutheast
  • KnightdaleEast
  • WendellEast
  • Wake ForestNorth
  • DurhamNorthwest
  • Chapel HillWest

How much does SEO cost in Raleigh?

Real numbers. Before the call.

Google Maps starts at $1,497 a month. Google rankings start at $2,697 a month. Both go up for multiple locations, multiple websites and complexity. Your exact price depends on how much of Raleigh and the Triangle you want to win and how strong the sites above you are.

Google Maps

$1,497+

a month. Higher for multiple locations, websites and complexity.

Google rankings

$2,697+

a month. Higher for multiple locations, websites and complexity.

Start with one, or run both.

Start with Google Maps or the normal Google results, or run both. AI answers come with every plan. A Raleigh plumber who wins jobs from the map box often starts with Maps. A firm that sells across North Carolina, or a store that ships nationwide, starts with Google rankings.

What moves the price

  • Locations. A second branch in Cary or Durham needs its own profile, pages and local work.
  • Websites. Two sites are two sets of pages, fixes and links.
  • Complexity. A national store with thousands of products is more work than a ten-page service site. So is a market where the sites above you are very strong.

Comparing SEO quotes

Line them up on four things, not just the monthly number: how long the contract runs, what is promised in writing, who does the work, and what the report shows. Ours: month to month, two guarantees, a full team, and a monthly report by email. More on how our SEO pricing works. Pricing one consultant instead? See how much an SEO consultant costs.

Get my exact number

Our SEO guarantees

Your Raleigh rankings, dated before storm season. Day 20 and day 60, in writing.

Guarantee 01

20days

If you don’t see visible improvement in your key metrics within the first 20 days, we refund $200 on top of returning your payment for that period.

What we measure: your traffic, what that traffic is worth, how much authority your site and its pages carry, and how many other sites link to you, against the day we start.

Guarantee 02

60days

If your qualifying keywords aren’t on the first page of Google within 60 days, we keep working for free until they are.

What counts: at least one high-value search for your business on page one of Google.

No long-term contracts. Results keep you here. Paperwork doesn't.

Awkward Media vs a typical Raleigh SEO company

Same searches. Better odds.

Awkward Media

The usual agency deal

First results

Visible improvement in 20 days, or $200 back on top of that period’s payment

Map Pack movement in four to six months

Page one

Page one in 60 days, or we work free.

No date in writing

Price

Google Maps from $1,497+ a month. Google rankings from $2,697+.

A quote form or a budget dropdown

Contract

Month to month

Often 6 to 12 months

Proof

Client names and rankings you can search yourself

Logos with no results, or none at all

Local pages

A page for each area you serve, Brier Creek to Southeast Raleigh

One page with the city name swapped in

Rank tracking

A ranking grid across Raleigh and the towns you serve, every month

One position, checked from one spot

AI answers

Included in every plan: Google’s AI answers and ChatGPT

An add-on, or missing

Who it’s for: Raleigh businesses doing $20,000 a month or more, with the crew to take on more work.

Why we cap it: Very limited spots left for the month of October. We put a cap on clients we can take in to keep our promises.

Ten things to check this week

Your Raleigh SEO checklist. Free, and yours to keep.

Whether you hire us or not, these ten checks show where you stand. Most of them cost nothing but an hour of your time.

Swipe sideways for more →

  1. 01

    Search yourself, from where your customers are

    On your phone, in a private window, search your main service plus “Raleigh”. Then try it with “Cary” and “near me”. Write down who holds the top three each time.

  2. 02

    Pick the right main category

    On your Google Business Profile, the main category should be the exact thing customers search for, such as “Roofing contractor”, not a broad one.

  3. 03

    List every service

    Add each service you offer to your profile and give each one a sentence. Google can only match you to work it knows you do.

  4. 04

    Fill in your hours and areas

    Set opening hours, holiday hours and the areas you serve. Businesses that travel to customers can hide their address and list areas instead.

  5. 05

    Add real photos of real jobs

    Photos of your team, your vans and finished work in Raleigh neighbourhoods. Stock photos tell Google and customers nothing.

  6. 06

    Ask every happy customer for a review

    Send a direct link the same day the job is done, and reply to every review, good or bad. Reviews are one signal among many, but they’re the one customers read first.

  7. 07

    Make your details match everywhere

    Your business name, address and phone number should read exactly the same on your website, your Google profile, Yelp, the BBB and every directory.

  8. 08

    Give each service its own page

    One page per main service, with the town in the heading, real prices or price ranges where you can, photos and the questions customers ask.

  9. 09

    Check your site on a phone

    Open your website on your phone on a slow connection. If it takes more than a few seconds or the call button is hard to find, fix that first.

  10. 10

    Get named by local websites

    Suppliers, partners, associations, sponsors and local news. Each site that mentions you by name with a link tells Google you’re a real Raleigh business.

Want every step written out? Read our local SEO guide for small business, or get a full SEO audit of your site. Reviews going missing? Here’s why Google removes reviews.

Your next step

See who's ahead of you in Raleigh.

A free 30-minute strategy call on Google Meet. We search your service in Raleigh, live, and show you who holds page one and the top three spots on Google Maps, why, and what it takes to pass them.

Bring with you

Your websiteYour main serviceTowns you serveCompetitors you see
  1. 01

    We search your market live

    The way your customers do, in the towns you serve.

  2. 02

    We show who's above you, and why

    On Google, on Maps and in the AI answers.

  3. 03

    You leave with a road map

    Yours to keep. If we can help, we'll invite you to work with us.

For established businesses doing at least $20,000 a month.

FAQ

Raleigh SEO, answered.

What Raleigh business owners ask us before they hire an SEO company.

Book my free strategy call
01 How much does SEO cost in Raleigh?

Google Maps starts at $1,497 a month. Google rankings start at $2,697 a month. Both go up for multiple locations, multiple websites and complexity. Start with Google Maps or the normal Google results, or run both. AI answers come with every plan. Every plan is month to month. Where you land depends on your service, how many parts of Raleigh and the Triangle you want to win and how strong the businesses above you are. You get your exact number on the free strategy call.

02 How long does SEO take in Raleigh?

You should see the first improvements within 20 days. If you don’t see visible improvement in your key metrics within the first 20 days, we refund $200 on top of returning your payment for that period. If your qualifying keywords aren’t on the first page of Google within 60 days, we keep working for free until they are.

03 Is SEO worth it for a small business in Raleigh?

Yes, if you’re already doing $20,000 a month or more and want more of the same work. Ads charge you for every click, and the price climbs when everyone bids after the same storm or in the same busy season. A page-one ranking keeps bringing in leads without a bill for every click, and our guarantees put dates on it: visible improvement in 20 days, qualifying keywords on page one in 60.

04 What does a Raleigh SEO company actually do?

Eight jobs, all done for you: we set up and run your Google Business Profile, grow your Google reviews, fix your local listings, fix your website so Google can read it, build a page for each service and area you serve, earn mentions on trusted websites, get you into AI answers, and show you every ranking each month so you can check it on Google yourself.

05 Have you ranked businesses in North Carolina?

Yes. Asheville Area Movers is a moving company in Asheville, NC. On our rank grid for “local movers”, every point on the map showed them first or second. The Game Caps also climbed from page five to #3 for “UNC hat”, above New Era and Amazon.

06 Do you work with businesses outside Raleigh, like Cary, Durham or Wake Forest?

Yes. Google treats Cary, Apex, Durham, Chapel Hill and Wake Forest as their own markets, so a business that serves them gets its own pages and search targets for each. We track the searches your customers actually type in each town and show you where you stand in every one.

07 How do I choose an SEO company in Raleigh?

Ask every agency three things: what will move in 20 days, what will be on page one in 60, and what happens if it isn’t. Then ask for client names and rankings you can search yourself, and a price. We answer all of it in writing, and we’re rated 4.8 on Google from 199 reviews.

08 How do you optimize a Google Business Profile in Raleigh?

We choose the categories that match what your customers search, list every service, add real photos and post regular updates, and keep new reviews coming in with a reply to each one. Reviews are one of the signals Google weighs. Then we make sure your name, address and phone number match on every directory Google checks, so it trusts your Raleigh location.

09 My business is in North Hills, Brier Creek or downtown. Can I rank across Raleigh too?

Yes. Google Maps favors businesses close to the person searching, so you win your own neighborhood first. Then we build a page for each part of Raleigh you serve, check your ranking from a grid of points across it, and point your listings and mentions at the areas where you aren’t in the top three yet.

10 My work is seasonal. When should I start SEO?

About two months before you need the calls. In Raleigh, roofing searches climb from 260 a month to 3,600, mold removal from 110 to 880 and landscaping from 210 to 880. Personal injury lawyers see anywhere from 390 to 3,600. Rankings take weeks to build, so the businesses that start early are the ones in the top three when the rush arrives.

11 How do I reach you from Raleigh?

Call our US line on +1 619 558 3888, 9am to 5pm Eastern, the same hours as Raleigh, or book a free strategy call. Every strategy call runs on Google Meet, and we check your rankings from Raleigh itself, neighborhood by neighborhood, so you see what your customers see.

12 Can I rank in Raleigh and Cary at the same time?

Yes. Google shows different businesses in each, so each town gets its own pages and its own search targets, and a second location gets its own Google Business Profile. Mae Fence Company, for example, ranks #1 on Google Maps at 20 miles for “Vinyl Fence Installation Fulton”, up from not showing at all.

13 Do you build backlinks for Raleigh businesses?

Yes. Google ranks the businesses other websites vouch for, so we earn mentions and links from Raleigh and North Carolina news and community sites, business associations, suppliers and partners. No spam, no link farms and nothing that could get your website penalized.

14 Can you get my business into Google’s AI answers and ChatGPT?

AI SEO is included in every plan, and it works to get your business named when people ask Google’s AI or ChatGPT who to hire in Raleigh. Super Fabrications in Reston, Virginia is named in Google’s AI Mode for fence gates and recommended by ChatGPT, and Angkorscape is named in Google’s AI Overview for “luxury landscape designers”.

15 Am I locked into a long contract?

No. Every plan is month to month, and results keep you here, not paperwork. We work with established businesses already doing $20,000 a month or more. Very limited spots left for the month of October. We put a cap on clients we can take in to keep our promises.

16 What does an SEO company do?

An SEO company gets your business found on Google when people search for what you sell. In practice that means fixing your website so Google can read it, writing a page for every service and town you serve, running your Google Business Profile, getting other trusted websites to mention you, and checking every month where you rank. A good one tells you up front what will move and when, and shows you the rankings so you can check them yourself.

17 Is SEO dead now with AI?

No. People still search Google for local businesses every day, and its AI answers draw on the same websites, listings and reviews that rank in the normal results. So the work that ranks you on Google now also gets you named in Google’s AI Overview and in ChatGPT. It pays off in more places than before, not fewer.

18 How much does an SEO service cost?

Google Maps starts at $1,497 a month. Google rankings start at $2,697 a month. Both go up for multiple locations, multiple websites and complexity. Agencies price in very different ways, so ask any company what is included, how long you’re tied in and what they promise in writing. Ours is month to month, AI answers come with every plan, and both guarantees are in writing.

19 What is local SEO, in plain words?

Local SEO is the work that puts your business in front of people searching in your area. In Raleigh that means the map with three businesses at the top of Google, the normal list of websites under it, and the short answers Google’s AI now writes above both. Our Local SEO page, linked just below these questions, explains the whole job step by step.

20 What is the difference between Google Maps rankings and normal Google rankings?

Google Maps rankings decide which businesses appear in the map box and in the Google Maps app. They depend a lot on your Google Business Profile and how close you are to the person searching. Normal Google rankings are the list of websites under the map, and they depend more on your website: its pages, its speed and the sites that link to it. Most Raleigh businesses need both, which is why we offer each and a plan that runs both.

21 How does Google decide who shows in the Raleigh map pack?

Google says it looks at three things: relevance (how well your listing matches the search), distance (how far you are from the person searching) and prominence (how well known your business is). Prominence is built from many signals: reviews, links, mentions across the web, your website and more. We work on every one of them, not just one.

22 Do Google reviews decide my ranking?

No. Reviews are one signal among many. Google weighs relevance, distance and prominence, and prominence comes from links, listings, your website, reviews and how people engage with your business. We count reviews because they’re public and easy to compare with the top three, but the plan always goes well beyond collecting more of them.

23 Can you guarantee the #1 spot in Raleigh?

Google decides the order, so instead of a promise about one spot we put two dates in writing. If you don’t see visible improvement in your key metrics within the first 20 days, we refund $200 on top of returning your payment for that period. If your qualifying keywords aren’t on the first page of Google within 60 days, we keep working for free until they are.

24 What are key metrics and qualifying keywords?

Key metrics: your website traffic, what that traffic is worth, your site’s authority and the number of sites linking to you, agreed before we start. Qualifying keywords: the searches we agree on together on your strategy call.

25 What happens on the free strategy call?

It takes 30 minutes on Google Meet. We look at where you rank in Raleigh today for the searches that bring you work, show you who is above you and why, and tell you what we would do first. You leave with the plan and your exact price, whether you hire us or not.

26 Who is this for?

For established businesses doing at least $20,000 a month. Ranking work puts you in front of more people searching for what you do, and a business needs the team and the trade behind it to turn that attention into jobs.

27 Which industries do you work with in Raleigh?

Mostly businesses that live on calls and booked jobs: roofers, HVAC and plumbing companies, dentists and clinics, law firms, movers, landscapers, mortgage brokers and real estate, med spas, contractors and home services. We also rank ecommerce stores and national brands across the US.

28 Do you only do local SEO?

No. We’re a full-service SEO agency: normal Google rankings, national SEO, ecommerce SEO, local SEO and Google Maps, and AI search. A Raleigh business that sells across the state or online gets a plan for that too.

29 Do I need a page for every town I serve?

If you want to show up in that town, usually yes. A page that names the town, describes the work you do there and shows proof from local jobs gives Google a clear reason to show you to people searching in Cary, Apex or Wake Forest. Each page has to be written for that town, not copied, or it won’t help.

30 I serve customers at their homes and have no shop. Can I still rank on Google Maps?

Yes. Businesses that go to the customer can hide their address on Google and list the areas they serve instead. Google still uses your real address to judge distance, so we help you win close to home first and then reach further with town pages, listings and mentions.

31 My last SEO company didn’t get results. What would you do differently?

We start by checking what was done and what is holding you back, so we don’t repeat it. Then we put dates on the work in writing: visible improvement in your key metrics within 20 days, and page one in 60 days, or we work free. You see every ranking each month, so nothing hides behind a report.

32 How do I know the work is happening?

Monthly report by email: rankings, Analytics and the work done. Every ranking in it is one you can search on Google yourself.

33 Will SEO help my Google Ads?

It works beside them. Ads stop the moment you stop paying, while rankings keep bringing visitors without a charge for each click. Many Raleigh businesses keep ads on their busiest services and use SEO to win the searches where clicks are getting expensive.

34 Do you build websites?

We fix and build pages on the website you have so Google can read it and customers call: service pages, town pages, speed and mobile fixes. If your website needs a full move or rebuild, our website migration service moves it without losing the rankings you already have.

35 Is my website too old to rank?

Usually not. Most older sites rank once the pages are clear, fast on a phone and written for the searches people make. We check it on the strategy call and tell you plainly whether it needs fixes or a rebuild.

36 How do you get my business named by ChatGPT?

ChatGPT and Google’s AI read what the web says about you. We make sure your website answers the questions customers ask, your details match everywhere, and trusted sites mention you by name. Then we check the answers each month for the questions your customers ask about Raleigh.

37 What is an AI Overview?

It’s the short written answer Google now shows at the top of many searches, above the normal results. It often names a few businesses and links to the sites it used. Getting named there is part of every plan.

38 Do you work with new businesses that just opened in Raleigh?

We work with established businesses doing at least $20,000 a month, because ranking work needs a business with the team and the trade behind it. If you’re not there yet, our guides and blog explain how to start.

39 Can you help if my Google Business Profile is suspended?

Yes. We find out why Google suspended it, fix the cause and file the request to reinstate it. Our blog post on suspended profiles walks through the steps.

40 Do you work with law firms in Raleigh?

Yes. Law firms are one of our main industries. Jason Ranallo’s firm is #1 on Google Maps for “Motorcycle Accident Attorney Dedham”, up from #10, and Skyview Law is named by ChatGPT when people ask for a lawyer in its area. Our law firm SEO page has the details.

41 Do you work with roofers and home service companies in Raleigh?

Yes. Roofers, HVAC, plumbing, fencing and other home services make up a large part of our work. Non-Stop Air Conditioning & Heating went from #13 to the top of the Google Maps list for “AC Repair” at 5 miles, below the ads. Our roofing, HVAC and plumbing pages show how.

42 Do you work with dentists and clinics in Raleigh?

Yes. Pathways Dental Clinic is the first unpaid result on Google for “Same Day Emergency Dentist in NE Calgary”, up from outside the top 100. Our dental SEO page shows the full plan for practices.

43 Can you rank an online store or a business that sells across the US?

Yes. That’s national and ecommerce SEO: category pages, product pages and links that rank you across the country rather than one city. Covers in Play went from outside the top 100 to the first unpaid result on Google for “Swimming Pool Enclosure in Trenton”.

44 Will you work with my web developer or in-house team?

Yes. We can make the changes ourselves or hand your developer a short, copy-and-paste list of what to change. Either way you see what was done in the monthly report.

45 How do I check where I rank in Raleigh myself?

Search on your phone in a private window, from where your customers are, and note where you appear on the map and in the list. Results change from street to street, so one search only shows one spot. We check from a grid of points across Raleigh and the Triangle and send you every position in your monthly report.

46 How fast can we start?

Book the free strategy call. If we’re a fit, we agree your plan, your price and your qualifying keywords on that call, so the work can begin straight after it.

47 Do you work with mortgage brokers and real estate in Raleigh?

Yes. Everything Mortgages is the first unpaid result on Google for “Mortgage North York” and “mortgage refinancing for renovations Toronto”, and a source in Google’s AI answer for the renovation search. Our mortgage broker SEO page shows the plan for lenders, brokers and agents.

48 Do you work with med spas and cosmetic clinics in Raleigh?

Yes. Lux Skin & Lasers is the first unpaid result on Google for “Skin tightening treatment Margate City”. Our med spa SEO page explains how we rank treatments town by town.

Your trade, your city

SEO for your trade. In Raleigh and beyond.

Every trade searches differently and every city has its own top three. Pick your industry to see how we’d plan it in Raleigh, or see the other cities we rank businesses in.