00Primer · 35 min
Before You Start: How HTTP Works
The six steps between typing an address and seeing a page, and the status codes the server answers with. Its own short course; about 35 minutes.
1The ten modules
Goal. Relaunch the site on WordPress with Rank Math so that a Richmond business searching for managed IT services, IT support or cybersecurity finds one clear Hermetic page and a matching Google Business Profile.
Done when. The launch checklist in module 09 is complete, every old address redirects, and the monthly review in module 10 has run once.
Part 1
Plan
The primer, where the site stands, and the page map every later module builds on.
01Module · 40 to 75 min
How Search Works and Where We Stand
The three searches that bring a client to an MSP, how a results page is built, what a plugin does and does not do, and what the current site sends Google: 139 pages, 148 posts, 105 archives, Yoast.
02Module · 40 to 75 min
The Page Map
One page per search. Services by location, which of the 139 pages to keep, merge, redirect or hide, URL rules, and the spreadsheet the redirects are built from.
Part 2
Set up Rank Math
Install and import, the general settings, titles and meta, and the sitemaps.
03Module · 40 to 75 min
Install, Setup Wizard and the Yoast Import
Back up, install, deactivate Yoast, import its data, answer the wizard with Hermetic's values, and choose the modules.
04Module · 40 to 75 min
General Settings
Links, images, breadcrumbs, verification codes, robots.txt, llms.txt, and the 404 and redirect defaults.
05Module · 40 to 75 min
Titles, Meta and the Knowledge Graph
Title and description templates for every page type, the homepage rewrite, organization details, and which archives stay out of Google.
06Module · 40 to 75 min
Sitemaps, Search Console and Analytics
A sitemap with only the pages that should be found, submitted to Google and Bing, with search data flowing back into WordPress.
Part 3
Optimize
One page done properly, then the local signals for a Richmond MSP.
07Module · 40 to 75 min
Optimizing a Page
The meta box on the managed IT services page: focus keyword, snippet, the tests that matter and the ones to ignore, schema, FAQ, internal links, and a checklist for every service page.
08Module · 40 to 75 min
Local SEO for a Richmond MSP
Google Business Profile and the website saying the same name, address and phone, the LocalBusiness schema, the contact page, and the decision on the 13 city pages.
Part 4
Launch and after
Redirects and the launch checklist, then the monthly routine.
09Module · 40 to 75 min
Redirections, 404s and the Launch Checklist
Every old address sent to its new one, the 404 log, the pre-launch table, launch day, and the first two weeks.
10Module · 40 to 75 min
After Launch: Improving and Circling Back
The 148-post audit, the 57 tourism pages, blog cadence, the PRO decision, and the monthly review routine.
2Decisions the course leaves to Jeff
- Which cities Hermetic actually serves and wants pages for, including whether Virginia Beach and Lynchburg stay (modules 02, 08).
- Which phone number is the primary for Google: the sales line or the customer line (module 08).
- Real opening hours for the profile and the schema (module 08).
- What to do with the 57 tourism and city-guide pages: delete, redirect or hide (module 10).
- Whether to buy Rank Math PRO, and when (module 10).
- Who owns the Search Console property and the Google Business Profile today, and getting owner access back from the agency if needed (modules 01, 06, 08).