Frequently asked questions
What businesses need to know before starting
Is SEO worthwhile for small businesses?
SEO can be worthwhile when potential customers search for your services, suitable projects are commercially viable for your business, and you can invest over several months. Search demand, competition, order value and the quality of your website matter. HK-Build starts the potential check with your main service and target market. We assess the value of ongoing work through qualified enquiries and resulting orders, where these are recorded.
How do I choose a suitable SEO agency?
Compare written proposals by target market, specific deliverables, monthly scope, responsibilities and cancellation terms. Ask how enquiries are measured and how results are interpreted. References should show the work actually delivered; a published website alone does not demonstrate SEO results. With HK-Build, your domain, accounts and data remain yours. Scope and additional services are agreed in advance.
Should I start with SEO or Google Ads?
Once ads are approved, Google Ads can bring visitors for selected searches relatively quickly and requires a separate advertising budget. SEO develops organic visibility and generally takes more time. To choose a starting point, we compare search demand, click costs, competition and the suitability of your landing page. With a limited budget, one clearly defined service takes priority. Both channels should be judged by relevant enquiries and orders.
How can my website appear as a source in ChatGPT answers?
A website can appear as a source in ChatGPT answers that use web search when its publicly accessible content matches the question and can be found by search. Clear service descriptions, transparent costs, understandable answers and verifiable project examples help readers evaluate the offer. HK-Build checks technical accessibility and improves relevant content. Whether ChatGPT selects a page depends on the particular question and answer; a mention cannot be guaranteed.
Is the Local package right for my business?
Local is designed for businesses that want to build one agreed group of closely related services step by step in one city or region. Growth can cover the same target area, but includes several agreed service and topic areas and more monthly implementation.
What is the difference between SEO and GEO?
SEO improves organic discoverability in search engines. GEO makes content clearer, evidence-led and easier for AI-assisted search experiences to understand. Both rely on strong technical foundations, useful pages and credible information; there is no special AI markup that guarantees inclusion.
What happens each month?
Local includes one clearly scoped implementation per month. Growth and International include two clearly scoped implementations or one larger page or technical package. Before work starts, we define the affected URLs or areas, specific changes and acceptance criteria. You receive written documentation of the completed work and its status, an interpretation of the available data from authorised sources, and the next step.
Can Growth cover only one city such as Ingolstadt?
Yes. Local and Growth can cover the same target area. Growth is suitable when more services and search intents need coverage within that city, competition is stronger or more monthly implementation is required.
How is monthly delivery scoped?
One clearly scoped implementation could improve an existing service page against agreed acceptance criteria, resolve one defined technical issue, strengthen internal linking for one topic or complete one approved change to the Business Profile. A larger page or technical package could create a new service page or deliver one coordinated change across several pages. The exact scope is agreed in writing before work starts.
Does my website need to be rebuilt first?
Not automatically. If the technical foundation and existing pages can be improved sensibly, we work with the current website. If its limitations block the agreed goal, we explain that before the proposal; a rebuild is included only if stated in the written proposal.
What is free, and what does the €490 fee cover?
The free initial call only checks basic fit. The initial analysis, from €490 excl. VAT, provides a documented review of the website, target area, competition, services, search intents and measurement plus a prioritised 90-day plan. Changes to the website or profile start with the monthly package. Under the flexible option, the analysis is added once to the first monthly payment: Local starts from €989, Growth from €1,680 and International from €2,480 excl. VAT. After that, only the agreed monthly price applies. The analysis is included for the written scope in the 12-month option.
What determines the final monthly price?
The starting price may increase when more service and topic areas, new pages, more extensive competitor analysis and monitoring, additional target areas, further languages or larger technical changes are agreed. The monthly price, scope and additional costs are fixed in writing before work starts.
How quickly will results appear?
A fixed timeline would be misleading. The baseline, competition, implementation, content, demand and reprocessing by search systems all affect progress. We record starting values, completed work and the changes visible in data sources you have authorised us to access.
Do you guarantee rankings or citations in AI-generated answers?
No. Google and AI-assisted search platforms decide whether, when and where a page is shown or cited. We commit to the agreed work, transparent reporting and account ownership, not fixed positions. There is no ranking guarantee, AI-citation guarantee, lead guarantee or revenue guarantee.
Which access permissions are required?
Depending on scope, we need access you authorise to the website, Google Search Console, web analytics and possibly the Google Business Profile. Permissions are agreed in advance; accounts and data remain yours. External profile changes only happen after your approval.