Architecture practice SEO
On-Page SEO for Architects That Gives Your Photographs Something to Say
Your project photography does the persuading once a client arrives. The words around it decide whether they arrive at all - and on most practice sites, those words are missing.
- years in SEO
- 6+
- pages optimised
- 10,000+
- person doing the work
- 1
On-page SEO for architects, and the title rule behind every page
On-page SEO for architects is the work done on each page itself - titles, headings, project text, image descriptions, credentials and internal links - and for a UK practice it comes with a constraint no keyword tool will warn you about. Under the Architects Act 1997, only people on the ARB register may describe themselves as architects in business. A title tag reading 'Architects in Leeds | Smith Design' is a description of the business, and if nobody at Smith Design is registered, it is a problem that no ranking gain justifies.
Unregistered practices should build titles and headings around 'architectural designer', 'architectural design services', 'extension plans' and the project types themselves. Registered practices should do the opposite of hiding it: put 'architect' and 'RIBA Chartered Practice', where it applies, into titles, headings and the first paragraph, because it is a qualification clients look for and many competitors cannot claim.
In the US, state boards control the title and the rules vary, so I check what applies in each state where you practise before writing titles. Design-build firms need pages that cover both the design and the construction side, without implying that unlicensed staff are architects.
Key takeaways
- An architecture site needs distinct templates for project-type pages, project case studies, fee guidance, process pages and planning guides - not one portfolio grid.
- A project page that ranks explains the brief, the constraints, the planning route, the materials and the result in text, with the images captioned and described.
- Titles and headings must use the professional description the practice is entitled to: 'architect' only where a registered or licensed architect is involved.
- ARB registration, RIBA Chartered Practice status, state licences and AIA membership are trust signals that belong on the page, next to named people.
- Project pages should link up to their project-type page, and project-type pages down to their best projects, so authority flows to the pages that win enquiries.
What's included in my on-page SEO for architects
Most practice sites run on three templates: home, portfolio and contact. I specify six, each tied to a kind of search, and audit every existing page against them using the clusters from keyword research.
Project-type pages that own the commercial search for each kind of work
One per type of work you want more of - extensions, loft conversions, new builds, barn conversions, heritage, workplace fit-out. Each targets its commercial cluster and gathers the evidence in one place: projects, process, fees and FAQs. The anatomy further down shows the order, from the first screen to the second enquiry point.
- Title and H1 checked against the keyword map
- Best projects shown as captioned cards
- Planning and fee answers on the page
- Internal links from navigation, projects and guides
Case studies that prove the claims, written for the next client
One per completed or consented project worth showing. Each targets its own specifics - property type, constraint, area, material - and proves what the project-type page claims. The audit checks whether there is enough substance to rank: the brief, the constraints, the planning route, the materials and the outcome, with images that are named, described and captioned.
- Brief, constraints, planning route, materials, outcome
- Descriptive image file names, alt text and captions
- Links up to the project type and across to similar work
- Project lead credited by name
Fee and process pages organised around RIBA stages or US design phases
How you charge, what drives cost, and what happens at each stage. UK practices often structure this around the RIBA Plan of Work; US practices around schematic design, design development and construction documents. Searchers look for this page before they enquire, and a clear one filters out briefs that do not fit your budget range.
- How fees are calculated for each project type
- What pushes cost up or down
- A stage-by-stage description of the service
- A route from the fee page to an enquiry
Planning and regulation guides that hand readers to the right project type
Permitted development, planning applications, building regulations and listed building consent in the UK; zoning, variances and permits in the US. These pages own the informational searches. On-page work makes sure each one says who wrote or reviewed it, when it was last checked, and which project-type page is the reader's next step.
- Named author or reviewer on each guide
- Review date shown on the page
- A link to the matching project-type page
- Headings matched to the questions people search
People pages that show registration, licences and memberships accurately
Named architects and designers, their registration or licence where it applies, professional memberships, and what each person leads on. This is where the practice's expertise becomes visible to clients and search engines. Each profile is linked from the projects and guides that person worked on, and every credential is stated exactly as the register or awarding body records it.
- ARB, state licence, RIBA or AIA details checked
- Awards listed with year and awarding body
- Profiles linked from projects and guides
- Person schema matched to the visible profile
Location pages built on projects the studio has delivered nearby
Only where you have real projects and planning experience in an area. Each is built around those projects and the local planning context, not a template with the town name swapped. Which places deserve a page is decided in local SEO for architects, and the local guides that give the page substance come from the content plan.
- Local projects shown first
- Local planning context explained
- People who worked in the area named
- Thin town pages merged or removed
Experience
On-page SEO from someone who has done it many times
You work with me from the first call to the last report. No account managers, no hand-offs to a junior team.
Book a free call- years in SEO
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- client websites worked on
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More Architecture practice SEO
The other disciplines, written for architecture and design practices.
Keyword Research for architects
Project-type and planning searches mapped to pages, with the protected-title question settled first. UK 'extension' and US 'addition' vocabulary handled separately, scored by project value and catchment rather than volume.
Read moreTechnical SEO for architects
Image-heavy portfolios made fast without losing photographic quality. JavaScript galleries, template platform limits, duplicate project archives and Core Web Vitals on mobile fixed in priority order.
Read moreContent Strategy for architects
Planning, permitted development, zoning, building regulations, cost and process guides built around the project types you want, reviewed by your practice and grounded in your own projects.
Read moreLocal SEO for architects
Google Business Profile, Houzz and professional directories set up for a practice that works across a region, with location pages built on real local projects and planning knowledge.
Read moreOff-Page SEO for architects
Awards, design press, collaborator credits, professional directories and client reviews turned into links and consistent listings, within the protected title rules and without paid guest posts.
Read moreTitle, H1 and meta description patterns for different practices
Examples for different practice types. Each title leads with the project or service, adds the place or qualifier, and keeps the practice name short at the end.
| Page | Title tag | H1 | Meta description angle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project-type page, registered UK practice | House Extension Architects in Surrey | Practice Name | House extensions designed around how you live | RIBA chartered, planning experience with local councils, link to recent extension projects |
| Project-type page, unregistered UK practice | Extension Plans & Architectural Design | Practice Name | Extension design and planning drawings for Kent homeowners | What is included from survey to building regulations drawings, and how fees work |
| Project case study | Barn Conversion Under Class Q, Herefordshire | Practice | A Class Q barn conversion on a working farm | The brief, the planning route and the result, with photographs |
| US project-type page | Custom Home Architect in Austin, TX | Practice Name | Custom homes designed for Hill Country sites | Licensed architects, permit experience, recent homes, consultation offer |
| Planning guide | Do You Need Planning Permission for a Loft Conversion? | Do you need planning permission for a loft conversion? | The short answer, the exceptions, and when to get a lawful development certificate |
Class Q is the permitted development route for some agricultural buildings in England. Use it in a title only when the project genuinely went through that route.
Anatomy of a project-type page, top to bottom
Using a loft conversion page as the example. The order follows what a searcher needs to decide whether to contact you.
- 1
First screen
An H1 that names the project type and the area, one sentence on what makes your approach different, one strong photograph sized for fast loading, and a short enquiry route: 'Tell us about your loft'.
- 2
Proof directly below
Three or four loft projects as cards, each with a caption that says something useful - roof type, dormer or hip-to-gable, planning route - and a link to the full case study.
- 3
The answer to the obvious questions
Do you need planning permission, what about building regulations and party walls, how long does it take. Short answers on the page, linking out to your full guides.
- 4
Process and fees
What you do at each stage and how you charge for this type of project. Ranges or an explanation of what drives the fee are better than silence.
- 5
People and credentials
Who would work on the project, their registration or licence, and memberships. A named person is more persuasive than 'our team'.
- 6
FAQ and a second enquiry point
Five or six questions taken from real enquiries, then the form again for readers who scrolled to the end.
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A studio's project page before and after
The difference between a portfolio entry and a page that can rank. Same project, same photographs.
Before
- Title tag: 'Project 14 | Practice Name'
- H1: the house name, nothing else
- Twenty images in a slider, no captions, file names like IMG_4471.jpg
- One line of text: 'A sensitive extension to a period home'
- No link to the extensions page or related projects
- No mention of the planning route, the constraints or who designed it
After
- Title tag: 'Victorian Terrace Kitchen Extension, Bristol | Practice'
- H1 describing the project and its challenge
- Selected images with descriptive file names, alt text and captions
- Four to six hundred words: brief, site, planning, design decisions, materials, outcome
- Links up to the extensions page and across to two similar projects
- Project architect named, with registration and a link to their profile
The practice's experience and credentials, made visible
Clients choosing an architect are making one of the largest purchases of their lives, and they look for evidence of competence. Search engines look for much of the same evidence. Most practices have it and hide it.
On the page, that means named people with roles, ARB registration or state licence details where applicable, RIBA Chartered Practice or AIA membership stated accurately, awards with the year and the awarding body, and project pages that credit the people who worked on them. Each person should have a profile page that their projects and guides link to.
Guides about planning or building regulations should say who wrote or reviewed them and when they were last checked. Planning rules change, and a guide with a review date and a named reviewer is more trustworthy to a reader than an anonymous post from years ago.
Where SEO meets CRO
Every project page is a sales page in disguise
A visitor who lands on a barn conversion case study from search is often the best-qualified visitor you will get that month: they have a barn, a plan and a reason to read. Most project pages give them nowhere to go except the back button. A short line at the end - 'Planning a conversion? Tell us about your building' - with a link to a qualifying form turns the portfolio into a source of enquiries. I specify these on-page conversion points alongside the SEO changes.
Internal linking and structured data
The internal link pattern is simple and most sites get it backwards. Project-type pages are the pages you want to rank for commercial searches, so they need the most internal links: from the homepage, from navigation, from every relevant project and from every relevant guide. Individual projects link up to their project type and across to two or three similar projects. Guides link to the project-type page as the next step. Archive and tag pages, which many portfolio themes create automatically, should not be where the links point.
For structured data, I use real schema.org types only. ProfessionalService (a LocalBusiness subtype) for the practice, with address and contact details; Person for each architect or designer, with credentials described accurately; Service for each project type where it adds clarity; CreativeWork and ImageObject for project pages and their key images; BreadcrumbList across the site; and FAQPage where a page has a genuine FAQ. Design-build firms may also fit HomeAndConstructionBusiness. Schema describes what the page already says; it never adds claims the page does not make.
How on-page fits the wider plan
The templates and title patterns come from the clusters in keyword research for architects. Images, galleries and page speed are handled in technical SEO, because a well-written project page still fails if it takes too long to load on a phone.
Guides that the project-type pages link to are planned in the content strategy, and location pages follow the rules set out in local SEO for practices. The overview of all of it is on the architecture practice SEO hub.
Growth from real projects
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On-Page SEO in other industries
On-page SEO for Architects FAQs
How much text does on-page SEO for architects need on a project page?
Enough to explain the project to a prospective client: the brief, the site and its constraints, how planning was handled, the key design decisions, the materials and the outcome. That is usually a few hundred words. More is fine if it is useful. A single caption is not enough for the page to rank for anything.
Does alt text on project photographs matter?
Yes, for accessibility first and image search second. Describe what the image shows in plain language, such as a timber-clad rear extension with sliding glass doors onto a garden. Do not stuff keywords or repeat the same alt text across a gallery. Descriptive file names and captions help as well.
Can we put 'architect' in our title tags?
In the UK, only if the practice has architects on the ARB register and the description is accurate. Otherwise use architectural designer, architectural services or project-type wording. In the US, check the licensing rules in each state you practise in. Getting this wrong is a regulatory problem, not just an SEO one.
Should every project have its own page?
Projects that represent work you want more of should. Small or old projects that are not representative can be grouped or retired. Each project page should target its own specifics and link up to the project-type page, so the pages support each other rather than compete.
Which schema types suit an architecture practice?
ProfessionalService for the practice, Person for the architects and designers, Service for project types, CreativeWork and ImageObject for projects and images, BreadcrumbList for navigation, and FAQPage for genuine FAQs. There is no dedicated architect type in schema.org, so describe the practice accurately with these.
Should we show fees on our website?
I recommend showing at least how you charge and what drives the fee. Searchers are actively looking for this, and a clear explanation filters out enquiries that do not fit your budget range. Many practices worry about competitors seeing their fees; in practice, clients value clarity more than competitors value the information.
Find out what on-page SEO for architects would change on your project pages
Send me links to your three most important project-type or project pages. On a free 30-minute call I will go through what they say, what they miss and what I would change first.