Month one is done. This is the first data update in the series documenting the process of taking 1418.co.uk from zero search visibility to ranking on page one of Google for “Cumbria SEO” within six to eight months.
The short version: more happened in month one than expected. The numbers are still modest but the direction is right and one metric in particular moved significantly. More on that below.
What happened in May
Here is the full work log for month one:
- May 5 — confirmed GA4 tracking was working correctly on the new build
- May 6 — published the first blog post: the site diary launch post
- May 7 — migrated from classic hosting to Git push via Netlify. Significant technical improvement — the site now deploys automatically on every push to GitHub rather than via manual file upload. Also linked Search Console to the new setup
- May 12 — only the homepage was indexed at this point. Manually submitted indexing requests for all other pages via Search Console
- May 15 — published the second blog post: hacked WordPress sites. Submitted the site to Bing Webmaster Tools
- May 27 — published the third blog post: SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Tweaked homepage meta description and body copy after Google was pulling page content instead of the meta description in search results
A relatively light month by design — the priority was getting the foundations right before pushing harder on content.
The Google dance
One thing worth documenting honestly: the first blog post disappeared from search results for around ten days before coming back.
This is called the Google dance — new content often appears briefly in the index, drops out while Google evaluates it more carefully, then returns. It is completely normal behaviour, particularly for newer domains that Google has not yet built strong trust signals for. It is not a penalty, it is not a technical problem, and it resolves on its own.
Worth knowing about if it happens to you.
Search Console — month one
The headline numbers for May: 7 clicks, 2,260 impressions, average position 54.5, CTR 0.3%.
Starting from effectively zero indexed pages at the beginning of the month, getting to 2,260 impressions is a solid start. The site is being seen. Average position 54.5 means it is appearing on pages five or six on average — a long way from page one, but the trend line is clearly climbing as the month progresses.
The per-page breakdown tells a more interesting story.
The SEO page is the standout: 1,505 impressions and 0 clicks. That sounds like a bad result but it is actually encouraging. Google is showing that page frequently — it considers it relevant — but it is ranking too low to earn clicks yet. That is a page to watch closely over the coming months as authority builds.
The hacked WordPress post is performing well for content published less than two weeks before the end of the month: 431 impressions and 2 clicks. That confirms the topic choice was right — people are actively searching for it.
The site diary launch post picked up 338 impressions and 1 click, which is reasonable for a niche topic.
Google Analytics — month one
43 active users in May, up from 11 in the baseline period — nearly four times the previous figure. The vast majority is still direct traffic, with 2 referrals from google.com.
One thing to note: average engagement time has dropped to 1 second, which looks alarming but is almost certainly skewed by the old page title still showing in some sessions — “Cumbria SEO & Web Design Services | 1418” is appearing alongside the previous title in the top pages report, suggesting some users are hitting a cached or transitional version of the page and bouncing immediately.
There is also a “Page Not Found | 1418” entry showing 3 visits. These are likely old WordPress URLs that no longer exist on the new build. Worth setting up 301 redirects for the most common old page paths to avoid losing any residual link equity.
AEO score — the headline result
This is the number that moved most significantly in month one.
| Baseline (May 4) | Month 1 (June 3) | |
|---|---|---|
| Site Health | 86 (B) | 100 (A) |
| AEO Score | 38 (F) | 70 (C) |
| llms.txt | Missing | Present |
| Sitemap | 6 URLs | 9 URLs |
| Schema | ProfessionalService, WebSite | Blog, BlogPosting, LocalBusiness |
Site health to 100. AEO score from 38 to 70 — F to C in one month. Every technical check is now green: llms.txt present, sitemap showing 9 URLs, robots.txt confirmed, schema now covering Blog, BlogPosting, and LocalBusiness.
The AEO improvement is directly attributable to specific work: adding llms.txt, launching the blog with properly structured posts, and the expanded schema coverage. These are not vanity metrics — they reflect how well the site is structured for AI-powered and answer-led search experiences.
The target is to get the AEO score into the 80s by month three.
What month two looks like
The focus for June is content. Three posts are planned — this site diary, an SEO/AEO topic post, and a web design post. The SEO page is the priority to watch — 1,505 impressions with no clicks means there is visibility without conversion, and more content around those topics should help the page climb.
The 301 redirects for old WordPress URLs are also on the list.
The next update will be at the start of July with June’s data.
1418 provides web design, SEO and AEO, hosting and email, and website maintenance for businesses in Cumbria. This blog documents the process of building search visibility from the ground up.