Our Approach → Client Selection

We Turn Away More Clients Than We Take On. Here Is Why.

A short client roster is not a constraint. It is how we protect the results of the businesses we do work with. Fewer clients means more focus, faster execution, and better outcomes for everyone on the list.

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Our qualification model
Updated April 2026
8 min read
<15 Active clients at any one time
100% Of clients pass qualification first
4 Defined ideal client profiles

Selectivity is not positioning. It is how we ensure every engagement produces results worth talking about.

Our Qualification Model

Four Criteria. All Four Must Pass.

Before any engagement begins, every prospective client goes through a qualification process. It is not a formality. If any of these four criteria fail, we do not proceed.

There must be a revenue goal attached to the search programme. Traffic targets and ranking milestones are secondary measurements, not primary objectives. We build sprint scope around commercial outcomes: pipeline contribution, revenue from organic, reduced paid dependency, or market share in a specific category.

If the brief is "we want to rank for these keywords", we will push back and ask what those rankings are expected to produce commercially. If the answer is unclear, we are probably not the right fit yet.

  • Revenue or pipeline target linked to the programme
  • Clear commercial problem search growth should solve
  • Willingness to measure success in revenue, not just traffic

There needs to be a single decision-maker on the client side who owns the commercial outcome and has authority to approve work. Programmes run by committee slow down every phase of the sprint. Programmes where accountability sits with a junior contact produce diluted results.

We ask to meet the commercial decision-maker in the discovery call. If that is not possible, it tells us something important about how the engagement would run.

  • Named commercial owner on the client side
  • Authority to approve content and technical changes
  • Availability for monthly touchpoints and the sprint QBR

Content production is the longest phase of every sprint. It requires a functional review and approval process on the client side. Businesses that have no process for reviewing content, or where approval requires three internal sign-offs with a two-week turnaround, cannot execute a sprint at the pace the model requires.

We do not produce content that bypasses your team. We need a working relationship with whoever owns the voice, the brand standards, and the product knowledge.

  • A defined content approval process and a named reviewer
  • Turnaround of five working days or less for content review
  • Access to subject matter expertise for specialist topics

Organic search builds in layers. The first sprint lays foundations: technical health, hub architecture, and the start of content authority. Significant revenue impact typically compounds most visibly across sprints two and three, as Google evaluates new content and link authority accumulates.

If the expectation is dramatic results within thirty days of launch, we will say so clearly in the discovery call rather than sign the contract and disappoint you later.

  • Understanding that foundations precede compounding growth
  • Commitment to the full 90-day sprint, not a 30-day trial
  • Appetite for a second sprint where the evidence supports it
Ideal Client Profiles

The Four Types of Business We Work With Best.

Our track record sits across four categories. These are not the only businesses we work with, but they are the ones where the model produces the most consistent outcomes.

01
E-commerce Businesses

Trading online at scale with untapped organic potential. Category pages, product content, and comparison terms that currently send paid budget to Google instead of capturing it through search. The sprint model suits e-commerce well because the commercial outcomes are directly measurable.

  • Revenue above £1M trading online
  • Significant paid search spend with organic underperforming
  • Category or product keyword gaps vs. direct competitors
02
B2B SaaS Companies

Six to eighteen month sales cycles where content quality and topical authority directly influence pipeline quality. Decision-makers research extensively before engaging. Ranking well for high-intent comparison and category terms at the right moment compounds into significant pipeline over time.

  • ACV above £5,000 with a defined sales cycle
  • Strong product but limited content authority vs. competitors
  • In-house team that can support subject matter content
03
Professional Services Firms

Legal, financial, consulting, and specialist advisory businesses where trust signals and depth of content are the primary ranking differentiators. Authority is built through demonstrating expertise consistently, and the sprint model is well suited to producing that content at pace and scale.

  • Regulated or trust-intensive sector
  • Subject matter experts available to contribute to content
  • Clear practice areas or service lines to build hubs around
04
Growth-Stage DTC Brands

Direct-to-consumer brands with proven product-market fit and a heavy reliance on paid acquisition that is eroding margins. The goal is to build organic channels that reduce CAC over time. These engagements tend to have the sharpest commercial accountability, which suits the sprint model well.

  • Profitable on paid with margins being squeezed by CPCs
  • Strong brand story that translates to content authority
  • Commercial owner who understands organic takes time to compound
Who We Decline

Who We Say No To.

Saying no is not personal. It is a recognition that the model would not work and the engagement would produce results neither party would be proud of.

Businesses expecting results in 30 days

Technical and content foundations take six to ten weeks to produce visible movement. If your timeline requires results before the content is indexed, organic search is not the right channel for this moment.

Businesses without a content approval process

Content that sits in a queue for three weeks does not compound. If there is no named reviewer or defined approval turnaround, the sprint cadence breaks and both parties are frustrated.

Agencies seeking white-label work

We work directly with the businesses whose commercial outcomes we are accountable for. White-label arrangements add a layer between us and the metrics that matter. That layer consistently produces worse results.

Businesses primarily interested in vanity metrics

If the brief is traffic volume or keyword position as ends in themselves, we are not a good fit. Every metric we track connects to a commercial outcome. Programmes built around impressions do not benefit from the way we work.

Businesses with no decision-making clarity

When four people need to approve a meta description, no sprint cadence survives. We ask who owns the commercial outcome in the first call. If that question does not have a clear answer, the engagement will struggle.

Sectors we cannot represent with integrity

Some regulated categories require domain expertise we do not have. We will not run a sprint in a sector where we cannot credibly evaluate the content we produce. Intellectual honesty about our limits is part of how we protect results.

Why It Matters

The Cost of a Mis-Fit Engagement.

Most agencies take on work they should not. The monthly retainer model makes this easy to rationalise: another client covers another line of payroll. The cost of that decision is diffused across a roster of clients who all get slightly less than they deserve.

We have made this mistake. In our early years, we took on clients whose internal structure was not ready for the pace we work at. The results were underwhelming. The relationship became transactional. The case studies we were left with were not ones we were proud to publish.

The qualification model exists because of those experiences. A declined prospect costs us a contract. A mis-fit engagement costs both sides considerably more: months of effort, a damaged track record, and a client whose opinion of search marketing is worse than when they started.

Common Questions

Questions About Working With Us.

How do I know if we are a good fit for Viaduct Generation?

The clearest indicator is whether you have a commercial goal attached to search growth, not just a traffic target. Good-fit clients come with a revenue problem or a growth ambition and want search to contribute to solving it. If the primary motivation is ranking for its own sake, we are probably not the right agency for where you are right now.

What does the qualification process involve?

We run a short discovery call before any engagement starts. We ask about your commercial objectives, internal team structure, content approval process, and timeline expectations. If the fit is there, we produce a Search Growth Blueprint and propose a sprint scope. If it is not, we say so clearly and explain why. The call is typically 30 to 45 minutes.

Can we reapply if we are turned down?

Yes. If the issue is timing, resource, or internal readiness rather than a fundamental mismatch, we will tell you what would need to change. Some businesses come back six months later in a better position and we take them on. We keep a short list of companies we have declined but would consider under different conditions.

How many clients does Viaduct Generation take on at once?

We keep the active roster under fifteen clients at any one time. This is a deliberate constraint, not a capacity limitation. Fewer clients means more focused work, faster response times, and better results. When we are at capacity we operate a waitlist. We will tell you honestly if that applies when you get in touch.

Do you work with businesses outside your four stated ICPs?

Occasionally, yes. The four ICP profiles represent the categories where our track record is strongest and our process fits most cleanly. But if a business outside those categories passes our qualification model and presents a clear commercial case for search growth, we will consider it. The profiles are a guide, not a strict filter.

Our Approach Hub

More From Our Approach.

Pillar Page
Our Approach Overview

The full picture: sprint model, AI tools, attribution, and why we keep the client roster small.

View pillar →
Spoke 01
The 90-Day Sprint Model

Six phases, fixed scope, and a QBR at the close of every sprint cycle.

Read more →
Spoke 02
How We Use AI in Client Work

The specific tools and the clear line between AI acceleration and human strategy.

Read more →
Spoke 03
Revenue Attribution: How We Model It

Multi-touch attribution, CRM integration, and making organic search accountable.

Read more →
Qualification Takes 30 Minutes

Find Out If We Are The Right Fit.

A discovery call covers your commercial goals, current search performance, and whether our model is the right tool for the problem you are trying to solve. No pressure, no pitch deck.

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