SEO Services in Ashford

Ashford has grown rapidly over the past few years, attracting new businesses, local start-ups, and even national brands looking to establish a strong presence in Kent. But with that growth comes competition – and when it comes to standing out online, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but an essential.

At Smart Web Agency, based right in the heart of Ashford, we’re helping businesses across industries improve their online visibility and generate leads through proper, honest, and effective SEO strategies.

Another advantage of being based in Ashford is the presence of major attractions like the Ashford Designer Outlet. With thousands of visitors passing through each week, it’s a hub of activity and opportunity. For local businesses, being optimised for searches like “things to do near Ashford Designer Outlet” or “places to eat near the outlet” can be a game-changer. We’ve helped clients tap into this footfall by creating targeted content, improving local SEO signals, and aligning their online presence with the kind of searches people are already making in the area.

Here’s a look at how we’re doing it – and how we can help your business, too.

What makes Ashford a unique place for SEO?

Ashford is home to a mix of businesses – from local cafes and leisure companies to ecommerce stores and B2B firms. That diversity means SEO strategies need to be tailored. For example, a local service like a plumber or salon needs strong local SEO with Google Business optimisation and location-specific content. Meanwhile, an ecommerce store based in Ashford but selling nationwide will need a broader, more competitive keyword strategy.

The beauty of being local ourselves is that we understand the landscape here. We know the nearby towns, what people are searching for, and how to optimise content that’s relevant for our area.

Keyword rankings – not just for Google anymore

We track keyword rankings for Google as expected, but we’re also keeping an eye on newer platforms like ChatGPT. As more people turn to AI tools for recommendations, ensuring your business appears in relevant results is something we’re already helping clients with.

So yes, whether someone is typing a search into Google or asking an AI assistant for the best places to go paintballing in Kent – we’re making sure our clients show up in both.

Meta data, robots.txt, and the stuff you don’t want to think about

A lot of SEO is invisible to the end user – but crucial for search engines. That’s where we come in. We take care of your site’s meta titles, descriptions, image alt text, robots.txt files, sitemap structure, schema markup and more.

It might sound technical – and it is – but that’s the stuff that often makes the difference between ranking on page 5 and ranking on page 1.

A success story: Delta Force Paintball

One of our proudest SEO wins was helping Delta Force Paintball improve their local rankings in Kent. They were struggling to appear on the first page for key search terms like “paintball Ashford” and “paintballing Kent”.

We started with a full SEMrush audit and fixed a number of technical issues on their website. Then we optimised their local SEO – including Google Business Profile, location-based content, and backlinks from relevant Kent directories.

Within a few months, they were ranking number 1 on Google for their main keywords. Traffic increased, bookings went up, and the client could see the impact almost immediately.

A free SEO audit – no strings attached

If you’ve ever wondered why your website isn’t showing up on Google, our free SEO audit is a great starting point. We’ll take a detailed look at your site and highlight key areas that need improvement – things like page speed, technical SEO issues, poor mobile performance, duplicate content, broken links, missing meta data, and more.

We use tools like SEMrush to run a full audit, but we don’t just throw reports at you. We take the time to explain what everything means in plain English, and what impact each issue might have on your rankings.

Let’s talk

If you’re a business in Ashford – or nearby – and want to improve your search presence, we’d love to chat. Whether you need a full SEO package, a quick audit, or just a bit of honest advice, we’re here for it.

Drop us a message, pop into our Panorama office, or book a call – and let’s get your website moving in the right direction.

SWA

Published on: March 24, 2025