SEO for architects: getting a practice found without wrecking a beautiful website

What do clients search for before they hire an architect?

Fewer "architect near me" searches than you would think, and many more questions. A homeowner planning an extension types "do I need an architect for an extension", "how much does an architect cost", "planning permission for a two storey extension" and "architect [town]", often weeks apart. A developer or a business types the type of building and the town. Each of those is a chance to be found by somebody who is not yet comparing practices.

The practices that win those searches are rarely the most famous. They are the ones whose websites answer the question in plain English and then show a finished project that looks like the reader's plan.

Why do architecture portfolios struggle to rank?

Because search engines read words, and most portfolios are images. A project shown as twelve full-screen photographs and a one-line caption gives Google almost nothing to match against a search. The same images, often several megabytes each, also make the page slow on a phone, which costs you readers before it costs you rankings.

Neither problem requires a plainer design. Write a few hundred words for each project, describe what each image shows in its caption and alt text, and serve images in modern formats at the size the screen needs. Our guides to website speed and to when animation earns its keep cover the technical side, and our web design service is built around exactly this: design-led sites that still load fast.

What should an architecture project page include?

The brief, the constraints, the decisions and the outcome. Here is how a hypothetical one might run. Title: "Two-storey side extension to a Victorian semi, Tunbridge Wells". The brief: a family needing a fourth bedroom and a kitchen that opens to the garden. The constraints: a conservation area, a neighbour's right to light, a tight budget. The decisions: why the brick was matched, why the roof was kept below the ridge. The outcome: planning approved first time, built in nine months, with photographs captioned to describe what each shows.

Add the budget band if the client is happy to share it, and a quote from them. That page can rank for the project type and the town, and it answers the questions a similar client would otherwise have to ring you to ask.

Is the word "architect" protected on a website?

Yes, and that includes the parts of a website visitors never see. The Architects Registration Board's title protection policy says that "Section 20 of the Act makes it a criminal offence for an individual to use the title 'architect' in business or practice" if they are not on the Architects Register. It lists where misuse commonly happens, including business names, advertising and "websites (including URLs and metadata)", as well as social media and online listings.

For a registered practice, that protection is an advantage worth showing: put your ARB registration on the site and link to the register so a client can check it. For a design practice that is not registered, it is a constraint to respect in page titles, descriptions, web addresses and profile categories. If in doubt, read the ARB's policy before you write the titles.

Why is planning knowledge your best content?

Because it is what clients ask first, and you know it better than any generic article. "Do I need planning permission for an extension?" has a factual starting point: the Planning Portal says a single-storey rear extension under permitted development cannot extend beyond the rear wall of the original house by more than four metres for a detached house, or three metres for any other, with larger extensions possible through prior approval outside designated land.

What only you can add is the local layer: which of your councils is strict about rear extensions, how conservation areas in your town are handled, how long applications are taking, what usually gets refused. A page per council you work with regularly, written from experience, is useful, hard to copy and exactly what a homeowner in that area is searching for.

Which pages should an architecture practice have?

A page for each kind of work you want more of: house extensions, new homes, loft and barn conversions, listed building work, commercial and community projects. Each one should explain your approach to that kind of project, typical fees or how fees are worked out, how long the stages take, and link to two or three finished projects of that type.

Add a plain page on fees and stages. "How much does an architect cost" is one of the most common questions homeowners ask, and a practice that explains how its fees work, even without a fixed number, stands out from the many that say nothing.

Do the Google Business Profile and directories matter?

Yes, for "architect [town]" searches in the map results. Use your studio's real address, choose Architect as the primary category if you are registered, add photographs of finished work and ask every client for a review. Google says "more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking." Keep your name, address and phone number identical across the profile, your website and the directories you use, including RIBA's practice directory if you are a chartered practice. Our Google Business Profile guide covers the rest.

What does it cost?

Writing project pages costs time, and it is time well spent. A design-led website built to rank starts from £1,495 with us, our website copywriting is from £195 a page if you would rather not write them yourself, and local SEO is from £695 a month. Every price is on the price list, and a free SEO audit (normally £495, free for a limited time) shows what is holding a site back.

Builders you work with may find our guide to SEO for builders and construction companies useful, and agents selling the homes you design have one on SEO for estate agents.

Questions architects ask about SEO

How do architects get clients online?

Publish written project pages rather than image-only galleries, add a page for each type of work you want, answer local planning questions from experience, show your ARB registration, and keep a complete Google Business Profile with steady reviews.

Is SEO worth it for an architecture practice?

For most residential and small commercial practices, yes, because clients research for weeks before they choose and a good project page keeps working for years. Practices that win all their work through competitions or frameworks need it less.

Can I call myself an architect on my website?

Only if you are on the Architects Register. The ARB's title protection policy says misuse commonly happens on websites, including in web addresses and metadata, so unregistered designers should keep the title out of page titles, descriptions and profile categories.

How long does SEO take for an architect?

Profile changes and reviews can move map results within weeks. Project pages and planning guides usually take two to four months to settle in the normal results, and each new project page adds to what the site can be found for.