Search, design, development and strategy.
Mark Excell is a digital practitioner based in Witney, Oxfordshire, offering technical SEO, Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), AI Overview Optimisation (AIO), Large Language Model Optimisation (LLMO), Search Experience Optimisation (SXO), web design, web development, UX design and business coaching. The work covers the full digital journey from search visibility through to user experience, conversion and strategic growth.
SEO, GEO, AEO, AIO, LLMO and SXO
Search has changed more in the last three years than in the previous ten. Ranking well in traditional results matters, but so does being cited by Google AI Overviews, appearing in featured snippets, and being represented accurately by ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude. Modern search strategy covers all of it. The disciplines below are not separate specialisms to be managed in isolation. They are connected parts of a single challenge: being found, understood and trusted by the people and systems that direct attention online.
Search Engine Optimisation
SEO
Technical SEO, on-page optimisation, keyword architecture and content strategy to drive sustainable organic visibility. Covering crawlability, Core Web Vitals, structured data, internal linking, meta data and the full technical audit process.
Generative Engine Optimisation
GEO
Structuring and writing content so that AI-powered answer engines such as Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and ChatGPT Search discover it, understand it accurately, and cite it in their generated responses. Entity definition, FAQPage schema, Speakable specification and llms.txt implementation.
Answer Engine Optimisation
AEO
Optimising content to appear in featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes and direct answer results in traditional search engines. Structuring content to directly answer specific questions in a format that search engines can extract and display without requiring a click.
AI Overview Optimisation
AIO
Specifically targeting Google's AI Overviews, the generated summaries that now appear above traditional results for a growing proportion of search queries. Content structure, entity clarity and schema markup optimised for AI Overview citation.
Large Language Model Optimisation
LLMO
Optimising how a brand, person or organisation is represented, cited and described by large language models such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Entity definition, structured data, authoritative content and consistent cross-platform presence.
Search Experience Optimisation
SXO
Combining SEO with user experience design to optimise the full journey from search query to conversion. Ranking well is only half the problem. The page a visitor lands on must also be fast, clear and well-designed enough to convert them.
Tools used
Google Analytics 4, Google Search Console, Google Tag Manager, Looker Studio, Ahrefs, SEMrush, Screaming Frog, PageSpeed Insights, Schema.org validator, Google Rich Results Test, Answer The Public
UX design, UI design and graphic design
Good design is not decoration. It is the difference between a website that converts and one that does not, between a brand that is remembered and one that is not. The approach draws on Google UX Design methodology and CalArts UX principles, combining research-led experience design with visual craft developed over two decades of commercial work.
User experience design
UX
Research, empathy mapping, information architecture, user journey mapping, wireframing and prototyping. Understanding the audience before designing for them, not after.
User interface design
UI
Visual design, typography, colour systems, component design and interaction states. Interface design that makes the UX rationale legible and trustworthy to the people using it.
Brand identity and graphic design
Graphic design
Brand identity systems, print production, digital campaigns and marketing materials. A background in physical print production informs digital graphic work that is more considered and more durable.
A collaborative process
The design process begins with brief building, often the most valuable conversation in the entire project, and involves the client at every meaningful stage thereafter. Clients who are involved throughout understand and own the outcome, which produces better work and faster sign-off.
Tools used
Figma, Affinity Suite v2, Adobe Creative Cloud, Wireframing, Prototyping, Usability testing
Web design and development
Technically better pages benefit users and search visibility simultaneously. Custom WordPress themes built from scratch, PHP and MySQL full-stack development, and front-end code written to perform from day one. No commercial theme shortcuts, no unnecessary bloat. Performance, security and accessibility built in from the start rather than retrofitted at the end.
Custom WordPress development
WordPress
Custom themes built from scratch to eliminate the bloat and security surface area that commercial themes introduce. Every theme contains exactly the code the project requires and nothing else. Faster, leaner, more secure and fully maintainable.
PHP, MySQL and Bootstrap 5
Full-stack
The right framework for each project is evaluated individually rather than applied by default. PHP and MySQL with Bootstrap 5 is the most common combination for WordPress projects. When a project calls for a different solution, that solution is chosen instead.
Core Web Vitals and performance optimisation
Performance
Lazy loading, caching, image optimisation and database query efficiency applied throughout the build rather than as a post-launch exercise. Strong Core Web Vitals scores from launch rather than working backwards from a slow site.
Security hardening and WordPress security
Security
SServer-level hardening reduces the exposure of the hosting environment before any application-level security is considered. Wordfence provides firewall protection, malware scanning and login security at the application level as standard on every WordPress installation.
Technologies
PHP, MySQL, WordPress, WooCommerce, Bootstrap 5, HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, Wordfence, Web accessibility (WCAG), Semantic HTML
Business and digital strategy coaching
For many clients over the years the relationship has grown beyond the immediate project. The combination of commercial experience, digital expertise and genuine curiosity about how businesses work means the conversations often extend into strategy, priorities and decisions that go well beyond a brief. That wider advisory role is available from the start of a relationship rather than something that develops by accident.
The coaching and mentoring service works with business owners, founders and senior managers as a trusted digital adviser. Whether the immediate challenge is a web platform decision, a search strategy question or a broader commercial challenge with a digital dimension, the starting point is always an honest conversation about what the business actually needs.
Digital strategy
Search strategy, content strategy, web platform decisions, analytics frameworks and the broader digital questions that business owners encounter and rarely have a trusted adviser to work through with them.
Business mentoring
Commercial planning, proposal writing, client relationships, pricing strategy and the practical challenges of running a business in a digital environment. Drawing on fourteen years of running a freelance consultancy across a wide range of client sectors.
Training and skills development.
One-to-one and small group training across SEO, web development and digital marketing for in-house teams, individuals and organisations who want to build capability internally rather than outsource it indefinitely.
How a project works
Every project is different. The process below is consistent. Skipping or shortening any stage tends to create problems that are more expensive to fix later than they would have been to prevent at the start.
Step 1
Initial conversation
A straightforward conversation about the project, the business context and what a good outcome looks like. No obligation and no sales pitch. The goal is to understand whether there is a genuine fit before either party commits time to a proposal.
Step 2
Brief building
A structured brief-building phase that establishes what the project actually needs to achieve, who the audience is, what the constraints are, and what success looks like in measurable terms.
Step 3
Strategy and proposal
A clear proposal covering scope, approach, timeline and what will be delivered. No vague deliverables and no moving goalposts. The proposal is a commitment on both sides rather than a starting point for negotiation.
Step 4
Delivery with collaboration
Work is delivered in stages with client involvement at key decision points. Clients who are involved throughout understand and own the outcome. The final result reflects a genuine collaboration rather than a supplier delivering a product.
Step 5
Review and iteration
Results are measured against the agreed success criteria. What is working is built on. What is not is addressed directly rather than quietly ignored. Many of the most productive long-term client relationships have started with a single contained project and grown from there.
Results that speak for themselves
The results below come from real projects. Numbers without context are meaningless, so each one is described with enough detail to make it credible and useful rather than impressive-sounding.
Sustained organic customer growth, four consecutive years
Global ranking improvement for The Recycler, from 1,150,000 to 229,000
Cost reduction on a legacy platform rescue and WordPress rebuild
Years of hands-on commercial digital experience
The development of the site was handled with complete competence and authority. Delivered on time, on budget and with an uncomplicated, expert smoothness that you do not always see in the world of websites. It was an excellent partnership.
Nick Morris, Wallis Agency
Mark's advice and guidance have seen our website rise in the global rankings from around 1,150,000 to 229,000. This is an absolutely incredible statistic to achieve with our limited budget and diverse audience needs.
Stefanie Unland, The Recycler
Common questions
A few things people tend to ask. If your question is not here, the contact details are in the footer.