How I Grew My SEO for "Video Production Boston" and "Video Marketing Boston" And How You Can Too
If you're reading this, chances are you're a business owner, creative, or entrepreneur who knows SEO is important but has no idea where to start.
That was me a year ago.
I run Bunker Hill Media, a video production company in Boston, and while we knew we created high-quality video content, we weren’t ranking in Google searches for “video production Boston” or “video marketing Boston”—and that was a problem.
We had been in business for about 3 years at this point and had a portfolio that could stand on it’s own legs. I didn’t feel like we needed referral clients anymore - I really felt like someone should be able to come to our website and book our services (or at least teach out) through what they saw on our site. I was frustrated that no mater how great our content looked the only clients we were booking were through word of mouth. I knew that we could pull in more work if we got more traction on google so I made a commitment to doing that. Overall, we had an amazing portfolio, great client testimonials, and a strong reputation offline, but Google didn’t know we existed.
Over the last year, I took a self-taught, AI-assisted, and hands-on approach to SEO, using everything from ChatGPT, free versions of SEMrush and Screaming Frog, Reddit SEO communities, and strategic backlinking to drive real, tangible business results.
And it worked.
We now:
Rank higher than ever for our top industry keywords.
Receive inbound leads every single week from organic search.
Book real, paying clients just from Google searches.
Have built a scalable SEO strategy that keeps growing.
So, if you're a business owner wondering how to get started with SEO, I’m here to break it down step by step—exactly how I did it, what worked, what didn’t, and how you can do the same. I do want to emphasize that this is what has worked for our video production company. I also have to admit that I do think that it’s pretty important that you really focus on a great portfolio that shines online before you dive into daily (and I mean daily) SEO work.
1. Learning SEO from Scratch: The Basics That Mattered Most
When I started focusing on SEO, I didn’t even know what an H1 tag was.
I had zero formal training in SEO. No agency. No consultant. Just Google, Reddit, and a lot of trial and error. I think it’s pretty critical that you understand what SEO is. Reading articles like this will be helpful - and I’d suggest that you read a lot more that just that one linked there.
I started where most beginners do:
I Googled things like “SEO basics for beginners.”
I lurked in the Reddit SEO community and read through detailed posts from people explaining how they optimized their own sites.
I watched free YouTube tutorials on SEO.
I experimented on my own website, seeing what worked and what didn’t.
What I Implemented First (The SEO Basics That Matter)
These were the first key changes I made, all of which are free and beginner-friendly:
H1, H2, and H3 tags matter – Search engines need a clear hierarchy of information, so I learned how to properly structure my blog titles and subheadings.
Meta descriptions help CTR – I made sure every blog and service page had a compelling, keyword-rich meta description to encourage clicks. I still update these all the time. I try different things and see what works and what doesn’t work.
Optimizing images for SEO – I started resizing images, compressing them, and adding alt text to help Google understand them.
Internal linking works – I connected related pages on my site to boost SEO and keep visitors engaged longer.
Google Business Profile optimization – I fully optimized my Google Business Profile (more on that later).
Speed and mobile-friendliness – I tested my website’s speed and optimized images and fonts to ensure it loaded quickly on mobile.
This was foundational SEO, and any business owner can do this themselves.
2. Writing SEO-Optimized Blogs (With the Help of AI)
Once I got the basics down, I knew that publishing high-quality content consistently was the next step. And since last March I have written over 80 REALLY GOOD BLOGS!
While I’d love to take all the credit this is where AI came in to really kick my ass into gear and save the day.
Many people think AI is really taboo and spits out robotic, generic content, but that’s not how I used it. Instead, I worked with ChatGPT to enhance my writing process, generate drafts, and streamline research—but every blog was still rewritten and personalized by me.
How I Used AI to Scale My Blog Strategy:
The first thing I did was take all the copy from our website at the time and tossed it into a ChatGPT project. From there I went back and fourth with it for hours answering questions about our business. From there it was able to learn more about who we are, what we do and what my tone of voice is.
I provided ChatGPT with my list of target keywords, including “video production Boston” and “video marketing Boston.”
Every time I am ready to write a new blog, I ask ChatGPT for 5 blog ideas that will help boost SEO. It spits out five great ideas and then I select one and have it generate a first draft.
I take the copy, rewrite it and personalize every draft, adding:
Real examples from Bunker Hill Media projects.
Case studies.
Links to relevant pages.
I optimized each post with:
Internal links to other blogs and service pages.
Keyword-focused meta descriptions.
A clear call to action (CTA).
The result:
Over 80 blogs written in one year.
A steady stream of organic traffic.
A well-structured website with highly relevant content.
Honestly, I’ve grown a really awesome relationship with writing blogs. It takes me about 5-20 minutes depending on what I’m writing about - but really it’s changed the game for us.
3. Trying SEMrush, Screaming Frog & Google Search Console to Dial It In
Once I had a content strategy in place, I needed data-driven insights to improve rankings.
That’s where SEMrush (free version), Screaming Frog (free version), and Google Search Console came in.
How I Used SEMrush for Free
Keyword tracking – I monitored how we ranked for “Boston video production” over time.
Competitor analysis – I checked what other video production companies in Boston ranked for.
SEO audits – I ran site audits to find technical errors and missing metadata.
How I Used Screaming Frog for Free
Site crawl – This tool scanned my website like Google does to find:
Pages missing metadata
Duplicate content
Slow-loading images
Honestly a whole lot of other things - this has been a really valuable tool for me.
Broken link checker – It helped me find and fix broken links.
How Google Search Console Has Helped Us Along The Way
One of the most powerful tools in our SEO strategy has been Google Search Console (GSC). Unlike tools like SEMrush or Screaming Frog, which provide general SEO insights, GSC gives us real, first-hand data from Google itself—showing exactly how people are finding our website, what they’re searching for, and where we have room to improve.
Just today, we exported and analyzed months' worth of Google Search Console data, and the insights were invaluable. I exported data to analyze:
Keywords with impressions but low CTR (so I can tweak meta descriptions).
Which blogs drive the most traffic (so I can create similar content).
New SEO issues flagged by Google.
4. Backlinking & Industry Partnerships: How I’m Building SEO Authority
SEO isn’t just about writing content—it’s about building authority.
One of the biggest game-changers for our SEO was backlinking. And to be honest, I’m still new at this because it’s really a step that you can’t just do on your own. This has involved a lot of cold calling and emailing to potential partners.
Instead of spamming links, I built relationships with other video production companies in different cities and:
Created guest blogs about each other.
Exchanged high-quality backlinks.
Got listed in Boston business directories.
This not only helped SEO but also formed genuine partnerships.
5. Investing in Local SEO with Sheila Grace
Beyond general SEO, we worked with Sheila Grace to strengthen our local SEO presence. This has been an integral step in our success and I’d honestly put it up there with just the basics. Hiring a company like SheilaGrace to help solidify your listings online is a game changer and I’d recommend their services to anyone looking to start taking SEO seriously.
Key Local SEO Improvements We Made:
Optimized our Google Business Profile.
Posted Google Business updates weekly.
Asked happy clients for Google reviews.
Got listed in local directories.
The result:
We rank higher in Boston searches.
We now get form submissions from local businesses weekly.
Final Thoughts: If I Can Do It, You Can Too
A year ago, I knew nothing about SEO—but through AI, research, and strategic content, we grew our rankings, got more leads, and built a sustainable SEO strategy.
The best part? You can do it too.
Start small, stay consistent, and use AI to your advantage. The results will follow.
Want to collaborate on a guest blog and build your SEO? Reach out—we’re always looking for great industry partners.
