Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)
- FAQ, HowTo & Article schema
- Question-led content structure
- Featured snippet & AI Overview capture
- Concise, chunkable answers
- Speakable markup
Face-to-Face Available · Exeter
PPC, AI Search & Technical SEO Consultancy · Exeter
Commercial
Velocity.
In Exeter.
Your agency manages the account but never thinks about your market. One senior operator owns PPC, AI search and technical SEO for mid-market businesses across Devon, face-to-face in Exeter, from audit to invoice, and builds the commercial edge that decides who dominates 2027.
Verified Infrastructure Partners
PPC Consultancy in Exeter
The Exeter PPC consultancy
The Exeter PPC consultancy
built around profit.
Mid-market businesses in Exeter keep encountering the same failure from local PPC agencies and SEO agencies: technically active accounts, commercially adrift results. Account managers rotate. Junior staff run the work. Nobody holds the full picture.
PPC means paid, auction-based advertising across Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Meta and LinkedIn, where the cost lands only on a click and is judged against profit rather than vanity metrics. The Crane Consultancy works as a senior-led PPC and SEO consultancy, not an agency, with one practitioner holding the entire Exeter engagement: paid search, paid social, server-side tracking, technical SEO and the commercial logic tying them together. One test governs every decision: does this compound your profit?
Exeter is the commercial and professional-services capital of Devon, anchored by a Russell Group university, a cathedral-city retail core and a substantial tourism trade. It functions as the economic hub for a wide and largely rural catchment, drawing custom from market towns and villages spread across the whole county. The result is a market far larger than the city's own population suggests, and one whose demand sits well outside the centre.
A county that does its shopping across a hundred miles of lanes cannot be reached with a Google Ads account tuned for the city centre, and the budget leaks straight into that gap. Every Exeter engagement is mapped to the real geography of Devon demand, with paid-search radius targeting and local SEO that follow where the searches actually originate rather than concentrating spend where the office happens to sit. The senior practitioner who builds that map is the one who runs it, on site when the work calls for it.
Exeter's real market is a hundred miles of Devon lanes, not the city centre, and an account tuned to the postcode leaks budget straight into that gap. The edge is mapping spend to where the searches actually originate, with radius targeting and local SEO built for a dispersed rural county rather than a dense urban core. The senior practitioner who draws that map runs the account, on site when the work calls for it, which a remote bench reading a city template never manages.
AI Search Optimisation in Exeter
Win the AI search era
Win the AI search era
in Exeter.
By 2026, search has stopped ending at ten blue links. Buyers in Exeter now put their questions to Google AI Overviews, to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot, and act on a single synthesised answer. If your business is not named in that answer, a competitor is.
This is the discipline that decides whether large language models can read, trust and cite your business, and it is engineering rather than content. It divides into Answer Engine Optimisation, AEO, which wins direct answers and AI Overviews, and Generative Engine Optimisation, GEO, the entity and authority signals that earn a recommendation by name. In Exeter, most sites lose on weak entity signals, broken schema and pages an AI cannot tell apart from any other.
The practice treats this as core engineering. Structured data, an entity graph the model can follow, machine-readable content, an llms.txt file and disciplined crawl and speed hygiene are built so an answer engine cites you rather than guesses around you. For an Exeter business heading into 2027, that is the line between visible and invisible.
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)
- Entity graph & knowledge signals
- E-E-A-T & verified authorship
- Citation likelihood
- Brand sentiment & share of voice
- Consistent NAP & identifiers
Machine-Readable Foundations
- Schema.org structured data
- Open Graph & card integrity
- llms.txt & semantic HTML
- Core Web Vitals
- Crawl-budget & indexation hygiene
SEO Consultancy in Exeter
Revenue-first technical SEO
Revenue-first technical SEO
for Exeter businesses.
Rankings are not revenue, and most Exeter SEO agencies confuse the two. Here, technical SEO, server-side tracking and conversion architecture exist to feed the paid-media stack and the profit it returns, never to run as a vanity exercise beside it.
Paid Media
- Google Search & Shopping
- Microsoft Advertising
- Meta (Facebook & Instagram)
- LinkedIn B2B Acquisition
- YouTube & Display
- Amazon Performance Ads
Technical SEO
- Technical Site Audits
- Core Web Vitals
- Schema & Structured Data
- Crawlability & Indexation
- AI Crawl Readiness
- On-Page Optimisation
Commercial Intelligence
- Server-Side Tracking
- Attribution Modelling
- Conversion Rate Optimisation
- Advanced Data Analytics
- Bespoke Reporting
Data & Automation in Exeter
Turn Exeter data
Turn Exeter data
into decisions.
Plenty of Exeter businesses sit on more data than they act on and do more by hand than they need to. The practice closes both gaps.
Good media is only as honest as the data under it, so the practice builds that data first: trustworthy measurement, profit-first dashboards, and automation that clears the manual drudgery. For an Exeter operation, AI goes to work where it genuinely sharpens a decision, from Claude and Gemini to custom internal tools, and nowhere it does not.
Analytics & Measurement
- GA4 & Server-Side Tracking
- Consent Mode v2
- Attribution Modelling
- Revenue & Pipeline Dashboards
- Conversion Rate Optimisation
Automation & Integration
- Workflow & Task Automation
- CRM Integration (Zoho, HubSpot)
- API & Systems Connection
- Spreadsheet & Reporting Automation
- Lead Routing & Sync
AI in the Business
- AI Workflow Integration
- Claude & Gemini Deployment
- Document & Content Automation
- Custom Internal Tools
- Practical AI Adoption
Exeter Sector Experience
PPC and SEO for Exeter
PPC and SEO for Exeter
across every sector.
The Met Office headquarters, the university and Exeter Science Park give the cathedral city a data and research weight that pulls trade from across Devon.
The practice works with mid-market businesses in Exeter and Devon across the following sectors. The practice accepts B2B lead-generation, B2C and full omnichannel e-commerce work.
Professional services, retail, education and tourism serving a wide rural catchment, a market far larger than the city's population and mostly outside the centre.
Professional Services
- Paid Search & Shopping
- Paid Social
- Technical SEO
- Server-Side Tracking
Retail
- Paid Search & Shopping
- Paid Social
- Technical SEO
- Server-Side Tracking
Education
- Paid Search & Shopping
- Paid Social
- Technical SEO
- Server-Side Tracking
Tourism
- Paid Search & Shopping
- Paid Social
- Technical SEO
- Server-Side Tracking
Historical Execution
Proven at global scale.
Proven at global scale.
Applied in Exeter.
Behind the practice stands a founder who architected the LUSH Cosmetics global digital transformation across sixteen markets, and the forensic discipline that programme demanded is what every Exeter engagement gets, regardless of scale.
One practitioner.
Every channel. Every week.
Nic Crane · Founder
A decade engineering profit at scale.
Architect of the LUSH Cosmetics global digital transformation across sixteen markets, recognised by Welocalize as Best Global Client Team. Former Paid Media Enablement and Commerce Lead at Adapt and Head of Paid Media at Navigate, leading programmes across attraction, conservation and tourism portfolios. The track record spans B2C and B2B, from global retail to lead generation and full omnichannel e-commerce.
Most recently engaged as Digital Data and Analytics lead through the Everywhen brand launch, securing data integrity across a migration spanning Towergate Insurance and forty other brands. A power user of HTML, CSS, JavaScript and GTM, now applying that technical depth to AI search optimisation: structured data, entity signals and the machine readability that decides visibility in Google AI Overviews and answer engines. Meta Certified Media Buying Professional. Google Partner. Amazon Ads Partner.
The practice is based in Bath and Bristol and travels to Exeter and across Devon for face-to-face client sessions.
The senior mind that wins the work is the senior mind that does the work.
PPC Agency vs PPC Consultancy in Exeter
Why Exeter businesses leave
Why Exeter businesses leave
PPC agencies for senior consultancy.
The typical Exeter PPC agency and SEO agency model has a structural flaw: the senior practitioner who wins the pitch is not the person who runs the account. A junior sits between your budget and the expertise you contracted.
The Crane Consultancy travels to Exeter for face-to-face sessions when the engagement calls for it. But proximity is never used as a substitute for expertise. Forensic data, disciplined capital deployment and a single undivided senior mind holding the Exeter account are what drive results. At roughly 68 miles from the practice's base in Bath and Bristol, Exeter sits comfortably within reach for face-to-face sessions whenever they add value.
Operating Standards
What every Exeter engagement
What every Exeter engagement
guarantees.
Every engagement runs on four standing commitments, each a deliberate departure from how agencies typically operate.
i.
You own everything.
Every ad account, tag manager, analytics property and dashboard sits under your ownership. Always. We do not gatekeep your data.
ii.
No bait-and-switch.
The senior named on the proposal is the senior who does the work. No handover to a junior. No silent reassignment after the contract signs.
iii.
Live, not laminated.
Performance dashboards updated frequently. No vanity PDFs assembled the night before a quarterly review.
iv.
Direct line to the founder.
WhatsApp access to Nicholas, not a ticket queue. Ask the difficult question on a Sunday if you need to.
Results first.
The reviews follow.
Nic helped fill in the missing pieces on a complex data, attribution and privacy project, unearthing a series of unknown issues in the data stack and laying out a plan to remedy them that rolled out successfully. I would recommend Nic and The Crane Consultancy for their technical expertise and thorough understanding.
I have worked with Nic for several years and his attention to detail is second to none. He is extremely knowledgeable and very attentive, offering solutions and proactive in his suggestions.
Nic is an expert in his field, offering insight and reporting with real value, tailored to our needs.
In the two months since starting to work with Nic, I have been so impressed by his technical understanding across analytics and digital advertising. He has completely overhauled our data so we can see in detail what is happening and make better decisions, and reviewed all of our existing campaigns, which are already performing better. I cannot recommend Nic highly enough.
Nic manages our PPC campaigns with professionalism and expertise. He takes the time to understand our business, its objectives and the challenges we face, and is proactive in identifying opportunities to maximise results and return on investment.
Questions from Exeter Businesses
PPC and SEO in Exeter:
PPC and SEO in Exeter:
common questions.
Are you a PPC agency or PPC consultancy in Exeter?
The Crane Consultancy is a consultancy, not a PPC agency, and the difference is structural: one senior practitioner owns every Exeter engagement from the first audit through to ongoing optimisation. No junior account managers, no team rotations, no handover documents. You deal with the founder, Nicholas Crane, throughout.
Do you offer face-to-face PPC and SEO consultancy in Exeter?
Yes. The practice travels to Exeter and across Devon for face-to-face client sessions. All Exeter engagements include full remote capability as standard: direct WhatsApp access to the founder, live performance dashboards and video sessions.
What makes The Crane Consultancy different from an Exeter PPC agency?
Most Exeter PPC agencies and SEO agencies operate the same model: a senior practitioner wins the pitch, junior staff run the account. The Crane Consultancy removes that structure entirely. One senior practitioner, with a track record including the global digital transformation of LUSH Cosmetics across sixteen markets, holds every Exeter engagement. The person who audits the account is the person optimising bids, reviewing technical SEO and reporting to the board every week.
What PPC and SEO services does The Crane Consultancy offer in Exeter?
The practice offers PPC consultancy across Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Meta, LinkedIn, YouTube and Amazon, alongside AI search optimisation, technical SEO, and a data and automation layer spanning GA4 and server-side tracking, Consent Mode v2, marketing and revenue dashboards, CRM integration, attribution modelling, conversion rate optimisation and AI-assisted workflow automation. All services are delivered by one senior practitioner to Exeter businesses, anchored to a single profitability model rather than managed as separate channel siloes.
Can you help my Exeter business appear in AI search and Google AI Overviews?
Yes. This is a core part of the practice. Buyers in Exeter increasingly ask Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot for recommendations and act on a single synthesised answer. The Crane Consultancy builds the technical foundations that let those systems read, trust and cite your business: structured data and schema, a coherent entity graph, machine-readable content, an llms.txt discovery file and fast Core Web Vitals. This is the discipline of AI search optimisation, made up of Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO).
What is AI search optimisation, and how is it different from SEO?
Traditional SEO wins rankings in a list of links; AI search optimisation wins visibility inside AI-generated answers, in Google AI Overviews and in models like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. It splits into Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), which earns the direct answer, and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), the entity and authority signals that get you recommended by name. For Exeter businesses it is technical architecture, not a content mill, and it runs alongside PPC and technical SEO in every engagement.
Can you help my Exeter business with analytics, automation and AI?
Yes. Alongside paid media and search, the practice builds the data and automation layer beneath them: GA4 and server-side tracking, Consent Mode v2, marketing and revenue dashboards, CRM integration, and workflow automation that removes manual work. Where it adds a genuine edge, practical AI is put to work inside the Exeter business, from Claude and Gemini to bespoke internal tools. The aim is the same as everything else here: better decisions, made faster, on numbers you can trust.
Beyond Exeter
Senior PPC, AI Search & Technical SEO consultancy
Senior PPC, AI Search & Technical SEO consultancy
beyond Exeter.
Exeter sits within a wider region the practice serves both in person and remotely. If your business is closer to one of the following, the same senior-led PPC, AI search and SEO consultancy applies there too.
PPC, AI Search & Technical SEO Consultancy in Torquay
Devon · 18 miPPC, AI Search & Technical SEO Consultancy in Taunton
Somerset · 28 miPPC, AI Search & Technical SEO Consultancy in Plymouth
Devon · 36 miPPC, AI Search & Technical SEO Consultancy in Cardiff
South Wales · 55 miPPC, AI Search & Technical SEO Consultancy in Newport
South Wales · 64 miPPC, AI Search & Technical SEO Consultancy in Swansea
South Wales · 65 mi
About The Crane Consultancy in Exeter
The facts, plainly stated.
The Crane Consultancy provides senior-led PPC, AI search optimisation and technical SEO consultancy to mid-market businesses in Exeter, Devon. It is a trading name of Crane Consultancy Limited, registered at Companies House under number 15526285, VAT number GB466677439, founded in 2024. The practice operates from Bath and Bristol, with a registered office at 45 Albemarle Street, Mayfair, London W1S 4JL. It travels to Exeter for face-to-face sessions and delivers the rest remotely.
Every Exeter engagement is held by one senior practitioner, the founder Nicholas Crane, from audit to invoice, with no account manager rotations and no junior handovers. Services include PPC across Google, Microsoft, Meta, LinkedIn, YouTube and Amazon; technical SEO; Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) for visibility in Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot; server-side tracking; and conversion rate optimisation. Nicholas Crane is a Google Partner, Stape Partner and Amazon Ads Partner, and led the LUSH Cosmetics global digital transformation across sixteen markets.
Exeter Mandates
Start with a conversation.
A proper conversation with the person who would do the work. Tell me where you are and what you're weighing up, and you'll get an honest read on what I'd change, what I'd leave alone, and where the real upside is. No pitch, no rush.
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