01 / DEMAND
Do buyers search this way?
We check search opportunity, intent, and the words customers actually use. If demand is missing, a high ranking can still produce nothing.
Skyler Malley · SEO Expert & Consultant · Denver
Search should make the phone ring.
I’m Skyler Malley. Born and raised in Denver, I’ve built my businesses here over nearly two decades in search. I’ve built thousands of websites, led thousands of SEO, PPC, and digital marketing campaigns, and helped Denver businesses generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
My experience spans major web projects for national brands and SEO strategies for local businesses—from home services to law firms.
The point of view
A ranking is a means to an end. The customer is the point.
You can have a beautiful website and still be invisible. You can rank for a phrase that brings no buyers. You can publish another blog while the real problem is that the page has not earned enough authority. The activity may look like progress; the phone can stay quiet.
I start with the question clients actually care about: Will this help the right people find you, choose you, and become customers? That means understanding how buyers search, building a page that answers their needs, earning the authority to compete, and making the next step easy.
My method
Four questions connect search to revenue.
A ranking report can tell you what moved. These questions tell us whether the work is moving the business—and what to fix when it isn’t.
02 / AUTHORITY
What would make this page competitive?
Content helps a page answer the query. Relevant links and authority help it compete. More publishing is not the answer when authority is the gap.
03 / CONVERSION
Why should a visitor choose you?
The page has to make your value clear, address real concerns, and make calling or requesting information easy.
04 / OUTCOMES
Are the right leads coming in?
Rankings and traffic help diagnose performance. Qualified calls, leads, and revenue show whether the strategy is working for the business.
Experience, earned over time
I learned this by doing the work.
I’ve spent more than 15 years learning, testing, and improving the work because clients depend on it to grow. I started by helping my dad’s print-broker firm compete with SEO and paid search. Later, I worked on programs for businesses with more than 5,000 locations and helped build LocalV, software for creating and managing location pages at scale. That experience shaped how I work today.
2008
I started working in search
My early work in web design showed me that a site has to be visible before it can help a business. It also has to persuade once someone arrives.
2009
I started Firestarter SEO in Denver
Born and raised here, I built the company in the city I call home. Firestarter has grown across SEO, local search, PPC, and conversion optimization, while some client relationships have lasted more than a decade.
TODAY
I keep testing new methods
Search platforms, customer habits, and tools keep changing. I test new approaches in campaigns and update the processes my teams use when the evidence supports a change.
3 days
One recent AI-search observation
Testing what changes
What happened when we tested AI search
We started testing how industry list articles affect what AI tools say about companies. After a home-services client appeared in relevant list articles on high-authority sites, ChatGPT named the business among the leading companies in its field within three days. I’m keeping the client and prompt private. That result gave me a reason to test the same sources and prompts again.
That was one client result. It does not guarantee the same timing or outcome for another business.
The work I lead
The companies and projects I lead.
I lead Firestarter SEO and several projects focused on Denver search, local visibility, web design, paid search, franchise search, and AI search. Here’s what each one does.
OPERATING COMPANY
Firestarter SEO
The Denver agency I founded in 2009. The team works across SEO, local search, PPC, and conversion strategy.
Visit Firestarter SEODENVER SEO
Denver SEO Pros
I’m testing my Denver SEO approach here. Read how I evaluate search opportunities and campaigns in my SEO consulting approach.
Visit Denver SEO ProsLOCAL SEARCH PROPERTY
Best Local Denver SEO
This site covers Google Business Profiles, Maps, and local search. Read how I approach local search and Maps.
Explore Best Local Denver SEOWEB DESIGN
The Denver Web Design Company
I focus on websites that bring in the right visitors and turn them into customers. Read my approach to website strategy and conversion.
Visit the web design sitePAID SEARCH PROPERTY
Denver PPC
This project covers Google Ads, landing pages, and paid acquisition in Denver. Read how I evaluate PPC campaigns.
Explore Denver PPCFRANCHISE SEARCH PROPERTY
Franchise SEO Company
This resource draws on my work with franchises and multi-location businesses. Read my approach to franchise search.
Explore Franchise SEOAI SEARCH RESEARCH
SOURCE HQ
I use this project to research how AI tools find and describe companies. See how I test AI search visibility.
Explore SOURCE HQCOLORADO GEO PROPERTY
Colorado GEO
This project tracks generative engine optimization and AI search in Colorado. Read how I approach AI search.
Explore Colorado GEODenver search
I’m testing a Denver SEO strategy on my own site.
Denver SEO Pros is my Denver search project. I’m choosing terms customers use, building pages for those searches, and working to earn the authority needed to compete. I’ll judge the effort by qualified inquiries and business results, not rankings alone.
My agency is Firestarter SEO, founded in 2009. For a closer look at my Denver-focused SEO work, visit Denver SEO Pros. I also connect this work to local search through Best Local Denver SEO and to conversion-focused web design through The Denver Web Design Company.
Frequently asked
Common questions
A few answers about my experience and approach.
Who is Skyler Malley?
Skyler Malley is a Denver-based SEO strategist and digital marketing consultant. He founded Firestarter SEO in 2009 and has led strategies across SEO, local search, PPC, and conversion optimization.
What does an SEO consultant look at first?
I check how customers search, whether enough people are looking, which page should answer the query, and what it will take to compete. Then I connect the work to calls, leads, and sales.
What does a digital marketing expert focus on?
I focus on qualified calls, leads, and sales. Rankings and traffic help explain how people find the business; conversion and follow-up determine what happens next.
Why do you focus on links as well as content?
Content helps a page answer the search. In competitive markets, the site also needs authority. If links are the gap, publishing more articles won’t solve it.
What does your SEO work measure?
Rankings and traffic help diagnose visibility. The business outcomes are qualified calls, leads, and revenue—and whether the site turns searchers into customers.
How can I work with you?
I lead Firestarter SEO. If you’re exploring SEO or digital marketing support, use my contact page to start the conversation.
Let’s talk
Need search to bring in better customers?
Send me your website and tell me what you want to improve. I’ll read your note and get back to you.