+218%
organic clicks in 11 months
Tyler Waugh · Melbourne
Making sense of search.
Making it work for businesses.
I'm Tyler, Operations Lead and Senior SEO Strategist at EarlyBird.
Hands-on client experience. Practical support for our strategists. Clear priorities for growing businesses.
Previously StudioHawk. Now helping lead EarlyBird.
Clients I’ve worked with · StudioHawk & EarlyBird
Rosterfy
Eightcap
Glenvill Homes
Hey Bud
Fortress Games
The Print Bar
East West Engineering
Story House Early Learning
Work Boots Direct
QuickBooks
Mystic Party Entertainment
Selected results
Progress you can measure.
From the EarlyBird & StudioHawk client book.
+173%
organic clicks year on year, to a record month
Eyewear retailer
EarlyBird15.6 → 4.9
average Google position; +148% clicks year on year
Cosmetic clinic
EarlyBird9,442
clicks in a record month; +48% year on year
Beauty studio
EarlyBird27 → 9
average Google position; +45% clicks year on year
Custom apparel brand
StudioHawk+145%
organic clicks year on year
Logistics company
StudioHawkFrom clients
In their own words.
“Working with Tyler has been a game changer. He took the time to understand our brand, our goals, and the unique challenges of our niche. His SEO strategy was clear, targeted, and super effective — within just a few months, we started seeing a real boost in search rankings and traffic.”
“Cannot recommend highly enough! Masters of the ‘dark arts’ of SEO — huge improvements to our results and just keep continuing to deliver.”
Read two more client testimonials
“We had a great experience and the results showed! I would definitely recommend for your business.”
“Thanks Tyler and team, it has been great working together!”
Notes on search
Past / present / future
From finding a page to choosing a business.
Each stage adds to the last. The foundations remain, but the places people discover you—and the teams involved—keep expanding.
Past · the dominant model
Ten blue links.
Traditional SEO centred on earning visibility in search results and bringing people to a website. Crawlability, content, links and relevance shaped the work.
Read more
“Ten blue links” is shorthand: maps, ads and richer results were also part of the journey. But rankings and clicks gave us a familiar way to assess progress.
Present · SEO + AI SEO
A hybrid search journey.
Conventional results, AI Overviews, AI Mode and ChatGPT overlap. SEO foundations remain essential, while citations, visits and enquiries make attribution more complicated.
Read more
The SEO foundations still apply. Attribution is messier: being cited is different from earning a visit, and a later enquiry may not reveal every earlier interaction. I look at visibility, traffic and business outcomes together.
Future · my outlook
Discovery becomes a team sport.
I expect agents to curate more choices, with SEO increasingly integrated across brand, social, product and customer experience. This is my outlook, not a fixed timeline.
Read more
SEO becomes more integrated with brand marketing, social, product, content and customer experience. Those teams shape the reputation, information and actual offer an agent—or a person—can evaluate. This is a direction I expect, not a fixed timeline.
Further reading: Google's guidance on AI search · What today's agents can do. The future panel reflects my outlook.
About Tyler
I started on your side of the table.
I learned SEO running my own online store. It was how I found customers, so I had a good reason to work out what actually worked.
My four-plus years in search began with that store and include the past two and a half years across StudioHawk and EarlyBird. I now lead operations at EarlyBird alongside my work as a Senior SEO Strategist, with two other SEO Strategists and an offshore team of SEO Specialists who execute the work.
I've worked directly with 50 clients at StudioHawk and currently work with 30 at EarlyBird. Our EarlyBird team serves 90 clients in total; I lead operations across that portfolio, while each strategist manages their own accounts.
I support our strategists when they need help with SEO challenges, drawing on hands-on client experience. That mix of client work, problem-solving and running the delivery team shapes how I think about search.
More about my background on LinkedIn
- 4+
- Years in SEO, including my own store
- 80+
- Clients worked with directly
- 90
- Clients across the EarlyBird team
Working with EarlyBird
The work behind the growth.
SEO strategy and specialist execution for your business.
Local SEO
Help nearby customers find you when they’re ready to buy. Google Business Profile, local citations, location pages and review signals.
eCommerce SEO
Connect searches to products. Product and category optimisation, site architecture and technical work built around buying intent.
Technical SEO
Make your site easier to crawl, understand and use. Audits and fixes for indexing, site performance, structured data and architecture.
AI SEO
Help search engines and AI systems understand your business. Clear service information, useful answers, structured data and credible evidence of your expertise.
Content Strategy & Writing
Answer the questions your customers ask. Service pages, topic planning and useful content that makes your expertise easier to discover.
Link Building
Build relevant authority through editorial placements, industry directories and outreach. Focused on your market and competitors.
Working together
A clear next step.
Tell me about your business
Send an enquiry with your website and goals. I usually reply within one business day to arrange a conversation.
Work out the right fit
We discuss your starting point, priorities and budget, then agree the scope through EarlyBird before work starts.
Build, measure, refine
Your strategist sets priorities and works with our SEO Specialists to deliver the plan. Reporting and strategy sessions follow the cadence included in your plan.
Pricing
Find your starting point.
Monthly retainers. No lock-in contracts.
Each plan combines defined deliverables with a monthly allowance for ad hoc SEO work. Keyword research, blogs, backlinks where included, reporting and strategy sessions are separate deliverables. Technical fixes, on-page improvements and other strategy work use the ad hoc allowance, prioritised with your strategist; there is no fixed number of landing-page optimisations.
Basic
$879/month
AUD + GST · month to month
For a focused start with regular content and a small monthly SEO time allowance.
2 blogs + 30 minutes ad hoc / month · Quarterly strategy sessions
See all Basic inclusions
- Keyword research (10 terms) & 2 competitors tracked
- 2 blogs/month
- 30 minutes/month of ad hoc SEO work
- Essentials-level reporting & quarterly strategy sessions
Advanced
$1,299/month
AUD + GST · month to month
For regular content, link building and more time for SEO priorities.
2 blogs + 1 backlink + 1 hour ad hoc / month · Quarterly strategy sessions
See all Advanced inclusions
- Keyword research (15 terms) & 3 competitors tracked
- 2 blogs & 1 backlink/month
- 1 hour/month of ad hoc SEO work
- Detailed reporting + insights & quarterly strategy sessions
Premium
$1,899/month
AUD + GST · month to month
For more content, links and hands-on SEO time, with monthly strategy sessions.
3 blogs + 2 backlinks + 2 hours ad hoc / month · Monthly strategy sessions
See all Premium inclusions
- Keyword research (20 terms) & 5 competitors tracked
- 3 blogs & 2 backlinks/month
- 2 hours/month of ad hoc SEO work
- Deep-dive reporting & monthly strategy sessions
Not sure which fits? Tell us your priorities. We'll confirm the scope before you commit. Plans are delivered through EarlyBird, with an SEO Strategist and a team of SEO Specialists.
FAQs
Before you get in touch.
How long until I see results?
Most businesses start seeing meaningful movement within three to six months. Timing depends on your starting point, competition and the work involved. We’ll discuss realistic expectations for your business before you commit.
Can you guarantee I’ll rank #1 on Google?
No. Nobody can control Google’s algorithm. What I can offer is a strategy built around your business, clear priorities and honest reporting on progress.
How will I know it’s working?
Reporting covers the searches that matter to your customers, organic traffic and enquiries where tracking is available. We’ll agree what success looks like and review what’s working and what needs to change.
Who will I be working with?
You’ll work with an EarlyBird SEO Strategist, supported by our team of SEO Specialists who execute the work. I lead operations and support our strategists with SEO challenges and complex decisions. Your plan sets the reporting and strategy-session schedule.
What about AI search?
We consider how your business is understood across search engines and AI answers. Clear service information, useful content and consistent business details support that work. No one can guarantee that an AI system will recommend your business.
Is there a lock-in contract?
Plans are month to month, with no lock-in contract. We’ll discuss the scope and terms with you before any work begins. Sending an enquiry does not sign you up to a plan.
Is SEO worth it for a small or niche business?
It depends on demand, competition and the value of a new customer. The first conversation is about working out whether SEO makes sense for you. I’ll be upfront if EarlyBird isn’t the right fit.
EarlyBird enquiries
Let's talk about your business.
Share your priorities below. I'll reply to arrange a free strategy call, usually within one business day.
Here to connect professionally? ↓Enquiry received.
I'll reply to arrange a time, usually within one business day. Your call isn't booked yet.
If it's urgent, email me directly.
Opportunities & conversations
Hiring, collaborating, or working in search? I'd be happy to hear from you.
Melbourne · Available Australia-wide