Optimising
Assessed separately for SEO agencies in Melbourne and GEO agencies in Melbourne. Each category has its own score.
No. 1 of 9 in SEO agencies, Melbourne
Best suited to brands needing technical SEO depth.
Optimising is a Richmond agency that does SEO and AI search work only, founded by James Richardson in 2009. It suits Melbourne mid-size and national brands, particularly ecommerce, franchise and Shopify sites, that need technical SEO or migration support. Named case studies such as Chemist Warehouse and Jim's Mowing report specific organic gains, and B Lab lists it as a certified B Corp. The main caveat: no published pricing or contract terms, and its awards record is shortlist placings rather than wins.
Disclosure: Optimising is owned by our publisher, James Richardson. It holds position 1 as a featured placement. Its score comes from the same rubric and the same kind of evidence as every other business in this guide.
Worth considering for
- Focuses on SEO and AI search only rather than selling paid media alongside it [optimising.com.au]
- Detailed migration case study for Chemist Warehouse reporting 75% organic traffic growth after an 18-month replatform [optimising.com.au]
- Certified B Corp since October 2021 with a B Impact score of 100.2 [bcorporation.net]
- Monthly reports plus quarterly video walkthroughs covering rankings, organic traffic, conversions and AI visibility [optimising.com.au]
Check before booking
- No published pricing, minimum term or contract terms; ask for these in writing before signing.
- Awards record is finalist and shortlist placings only; no search award wins listed.
- No Clutch reviews, so independent feedback rests on 59 Google reviews.
- Small team (it entered the 25 or under employees category), so check who will run your account day to day.
- SEO only: businesses wanting paid search managed by the same agency will need a second provider.
- Not verified: Pricing, Minimum contract term, Shopify Plus partner status (business claim only), Australian Web Industry Association board roles, Press items listed on the credits page other than the B&T profile, Case study figures (self-reported).
How the score adds up.
Method v1 · SEO agenciesTotal: 87/100 (method v1). Points are rounded for display; the total is rounded once from exact values. Compare scores only within the same category. This is an editorial assessment, not a customer rating.
What the assessment is based on.
Website, ABR, B Lab directory, Google Business Profile, Clutch, APAC Search Awards shortlist and B&T coverage all loaded on 28 October 2026. Case study figures are self-reported.
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Google Business Profile rating 5 from 59 reviews
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Optimising website (Google reviews widget) rating 5 from 61 reviews (and 1 more)
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Clutch rating
clutch.co (opens in a new tab) -
Certified B Corporation, certified since October 2021, overall B Impact score 100.2 (and 1 more)
bcorporation.net (opens in a new tab) -
Shortlisted for Best Small SEO Agency (25 or under employees) at the APAC Search Awards 2025; staff member Ellie Handberg shortlisted for the Emerging Talent Award
apacsearchawards.com (opens in a new tab) -
ABN 11 138 826 552 (Optimising Pty Ltd) active from 12 Aug 2009, main business location VIC 3121
abr.business.gov.au (opens in a new tab) -
Trade press profile of founder James Richardson (B&T Melbourne Confidential)
bandt.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
Lists finalist placings (multiple years) at the APAC Search Awards, Semrush Australian Search Awards and Global Search Awards; no award wins listed (and 1 more)
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
Displays a Google Partner badge (relates to Google Ads, weak evidence for SEO) (and 1 more)
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Chemist Warehouse: SEO support through an 18-month commercetools migration; case study reports 75% organic traffic growth, 40% higher conversion rate and 27% more orders across three pharmacy brands (and 1 more)
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
Jim's Mowing: case study reports 47% organic traffic growth, more than 50,000 monthly organic clicks and Top 5 rankings for 'lawn mowing' across capital cities
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
Monthly reports plus quarterly video walkthroughs covering rankings, organic traffic, conversions and AI visibility
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab)
Research basis: desk research, checked 28 October 2026. No service was purchased or tested, and no first-hand experience is claimed.
No. 1 of 10 in GEO agencies, Melbourne
Best suited to brands wanting measured AI visibility.
Optimising is a Richmond-based, SEO-only agency that sells GEO as audits, campaigns and monthly AI visibility reporting, and it publishes original research on Australian AI search, including a 115-business AI traffic study. It suits Melbourne brands that want ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode visibility measured alongside their SEO. The main caveat is thin GEO outcome evidence: its one AI case study, Tourism WA, documents scope and baselines rather than measured results.
Disclosure: Optimising is owned by our publisher, James Richardson. It holds position 1 as a featured placement. Its score comes from the same rubric and the same kind of evidence as every other business in this guide.
Worth considering for
- Publishes original AI search data, including a study of AI-referred traffic across 115 Australian businesses that SmartCompany republished [optimising.com.au]
- Publishes an AI visibility audit price range of $5,000 to $20,000+ GST [optimising.com.au]
- Says outright that no agency can guarantee AI visibility, and lists the metrics it reports: citation rate, share of voice, sentiment and cited pages [optimising.com.au]
- Reporting combines Ahrefs Brand Radar data with its own prompt scraping across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Mode [optimising.com.au]
- Google rating of 5.0 from 59 reviews [google.com]
Check before booking
- Only one GEO case study is published, and its results are stated loosely ('100's citations') rather than as measured before and after figures.
- Small team (16 people named on its About page), so confirm which senior strategist will run your GEO work.
- No Clutch reviews, and no ABN or service terms on the website.
- Not verified: Tourism WA outcome figures, Shopify Plus Partner status, National AI Centre directory listing (directory site did not resolve), Ongoing GEO campaign pricing, Insurance.
How the score adds up.
Method v1 · GEO agenciesTotal: 81/100 (method v1). Points are rounded for display; the total is rounded once from exact values. Compare scores only within the same category. This is an editorial assessment, not a customer rating.
What the assessment is based on.
Service, research, case study, contact and pricing pages loaded, plus independent Google, Clutch, B Lab, ABR, APAC Search Awards and SmartCompany sources. GEO outcome claims are self-reported. Optimising is owned by 2c.au's publisher; assessed on the same evidence rules as the others.
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Google Business Profile rating 5 from 59 reviews (and 1 more)
google.com (opens in a new tab) -
Clutch rating
clutch.co (opens in a new tab) -
Google (widget on own site) rating 5 from 61 reviews
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
Certified B Corporation since October 2021, overall B Impact score 100.2
bcorporation.net (opens in a new tab) -
Shortlisted for Best Small SEO Agency (25 or under employees), APAC Search Awards 2025
apacsearchawards.com (opens in a new tab) -
Founder's AI traffic study republished in SmartCompany (24 Nov 2025) and opinion pieces on AI visibility measurement in Mediaweek (29 Jun 2026)
smartcompany.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
Shopify Plus Partner (preferred SEO vendor) (and 2 more)
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
ABN 11 138 826 552 registered on the ABR: Optimising Pty Ltd, VIC 3121, ABN active from 12 Aug 2009
abr.business.gov.au (opens in a new tab) -
Tourism Western Australia: two-stage AI readiness engagement with a 438-prompt tracking framework tested across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews, competitive citation tracking against Wikipedia and TripAdvisor, content templates for four page types and a 12-month roadmap
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
Australian AI Traffic Study: first-party GA4 data from 115 client businesses (Sep 2024 to Sep 2025, 24.8 million sessions), median AI sessions up 1,200% year on year (and 1 more)
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
Schema and AI visibility study (Oct 2026): reviewed published studies, audited four holiday park brands and surveyed 23 Australian SEOs; concluded there is no good evidence schema itself earns AI citations
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
SEO case studies with figures, e.g. Jim's Mowing 47% organic traffic growth, Chemist Warehouse 75%, adidas 80% (SEO, not GEO)
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
Publishes an AI visibility audit price range of $5,000 to $20,000+ GST (and 1 more)
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
Says outright that no agency can guarantee AI visibility, and lists the metrics it reports: citation rate, share of voice, sentiment and cited pages
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab) -
Reporting combines Ahrefs Brand Radar data with its own prompt scraping across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Mode
optimising.com.au (opens in a new tab)
Research basis: desk research, checked 28 October 2026. No service was purchased or tested, and no first-hand experience is claimed.
Something needs correcting?
If a fact here is wrong or out of date, send it to us with a link to evidence. Corrections are free and do not require a business relationship. A submission does not change a score by itself.