SEO for 40 Education Keywords

I run an education-services website that serves the Indian market. I already have a list of 40 high-intent leads keywords and I need those terms to climb onto page one of Google India so they start bringing in steady organic traffic and, more importantly, qualified leads for my courses and programs.

The site is live and indexed, but rankings are scattered across pages two to five. I need a seasoned SEO specialist who can audit the existing setup, refine on-page elements, build authority with quality Indian-focused backlinks, and track progress transparently. The end-goal is simple: stronger keyword positions that translate directly into enrolment enquiries.

Key deliverables
• Baseline audit with actionable fixes (technical, on-page, content gaps)
• Month-by-month optimisation plan targeting the 40 keywords
• Ethical link-building and citation strategy aimed at Indian SERPs
• Performance reports that show ranking movement, traffic uplift, and lead conversions

Please outline your proposed approach, the tools you prefer (Ahrefs, SEMrush, Search Console, etc.), and realistic timelines for visible ranking improvements.