01Framework
ROC Search Growth Framework
Seven phases to decide what gets done first in search, why, and how it gets verified. It isn't a promise of timelines or outcomes — it's the order in which decisions get made.
Phases
Measurement feeds Research
Phase 07 doesn't close the process: it returns new evidence to phase 01. Every iteration starts with more data than the one before.
Phase 01
Research
Phase question
What is the real problem, and what evidence supports it?
The business context, search demand, actual competitors and available data are documented before any action is proposed.
What gets decided
- Market demand and competition
- Available data (Search Console, analytics, crawl)
- Initial problem hypothesis
Conceptual model
02Decision logic
How work gets prioritized inside the framework
The seven phases (research, technical foundation, search intent, authority, visibility, conversion and measurement) are the visible execution of a simpler decision framework: prioritize by potential impact, required effort and available evidence, and measure every change before scaling it.
How work gets prioritized
Every initiative is evaluated on three axes before it enters the work plan.
| Criterion | What is evaluated | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Impact | Search volume, commercial value of intent and pages affected | Fixing indexing on the main category vs. a single isolated blog post |
| Effort | Technical complexity, engineering dependencies and estimated work | Changing a meta tag vs. redesigning the URL architecture |
| Evidence | How well the hypothesis is backed by data (Search Console, crawl data, log analysis) | A confirmed traffic drop in GSC vs. a hunch with no data |
What happens in each block
- 01Research and technical foundationThe real problem is defined with existing data, and the search system's ability to read the site is confirmed before investing in content.
- 02Intent and authorityQueries are mapped to pages, and the missing trust signals for competing in that space are identified.
- 03Visibility and conversionPrioritized work is executed in verifiable batches, with success criteria defined before each one starts.
- 04MeasurementChanges are reviewed against the baseline, and that evidence flows back into the research phase.
Common mistakes this framework avoids
- Running technical SEO work before confirming the problem is actually crawling/indexing, not content or demand
- Prioritizing by ease of execution instead of real commercial impact
- Shipping large changes without a data baseline to measure the effect afterward
- Treating international SEO as a literal keyword translation exercise
How progress is measured
Progress is measured against each site's specific baseline: organic visibility on prioritized pages, indexing status, and business signals when analytics access is available (qualified traffic, assisted conversions). No specific rankings or timelines are promised because they depend on factors outside any consultant's control: competition, algorithm changes and the client's own internal decisions.
Related resources
Go deeper into the areas where this framework is applied most often.
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