SEO Quick Start Guide
Everything you need to know to get your local SEO campaign up and running with Merlino Marketing — from your initial audit to your first keyword ranking improvements.
At a glance
We'll walk through the Merlino Marketing onboarding process — from your free site audit to keyword strategy setup and your first month milestones.
Request your free SEO audit
The fastest way to get started is to request a free SEO audit from Merlino Marketing.
- Navigate to our contact page and submit your website URL and business details.
- Our team will analyze your current rankings, technical health, and local presence within 48 hours.
Let's see an example of the type of insights we uncover:
If you're an agency looking to white-label our SEO services for your clients, we offer agency partnership programs with custom pricing and dedicated support.
Review your custom SEO strategy
After the audit, our team builds a custom SEO roadmap for your business. This includes target keywords, competitive analysis, and a month-by-month plan for ranking improvement.
To review your strategy with our team:
Your first 30 days with Merlino Marketing
To confirm your campaign is on track, review your onboarding dashboard. The dashboard acts as a health check on your SEO campaign — it shows technical fixes completed, keywords being tracked, and initial baseline rankings.
To find your client portal login, check the welcome email from our team. You'll see something like client.merlinomarketing.com/dashboard; your specific credentials will be included.
# Checking your campaign baseline
market="New York City"
keyword="YOUR_TARGET_KEYWORD"
curl -sS \
"https://rankings.merlinomarketing.com/baseline" \
--user "client:${apikey}" | jq -rIf everything was set up correctly and your onboarding is complete, your dashboard will show your initial keyword positions and a clear path to page one.
Campaign status overview
Below is a summary of the campaign stages every Merlino Marketing client moves through:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
Active | Your campaign is live and running. Keywords are being tracked and optimizations are ongoing. |
Paused | Campaign is temporarily paused. No active work is being performed. |
In Review | Your strategy is being reviewed and updated based on new data or market changes. |
Onboarding | Initial audit and setup phase. Your campaign will move to Active within 2 weeks. |
To confirm your campaign status, log into your client portal or reach out to your dedicated account manager at Merlino Marketing.
Search engine optimization is the backbone of sustainable online growth. Without it, your business remains invisible when potential customers in New York City search for your services.
Merlino Marketing specializes in local SEO for NYC businesses across all industries — from restaurants and retail to law firms, medical practices, and home service contractors.