Can I shoot straight with you? If someone quoted you four figures for “keyword research” on a local service business, you got hosed a little. Doing keyword research for a local business doesn’t take an $1,200 agency line item or a $199/mo subscription to Ahrefs or Semrush. It takes about 90 minutes, two tools that […]
Category: Local SEO
How to Rank for ‘Near Me’ Searches and Win Local Customers
Someone in your town just pulled out their phone and typed “plumber near me.” They are not researching. They are not comparing five options over two weeks. They have a burst pipe, a clogged drain, or a water heater that quit, and they are going to call one of the first businesses they see. That […]
Why Your Google Business Profile Isn’t Showing Up (and How to Fix It)
You pulled up your phone, typed your service and your city into Google, and scrolled. And scrolled. Your competitors are right there in the little map with the three listings. You are nowhere. If you have ever asked why is my Google Business Profile not showing up, you are not imagining it, and you are […]
How to Get Your Business on Google Maps (and Show Up When Customers, and AI, Go Looking)
Can I shoot straight with you? The single most valuable patch of real estate on the internet for a local business is about the size of a credit card. It's the little map with three businesses pinned to it that pops up when someone searches for a plumber, a medspa, or a roofer near them. […]
AI SEO Tools for Small Business: The 5 That Actually Move Rankings
Can I shoot straight with you? Most "AI SEO tools for small business" are GPT in a wrapper with a $99/mo price tag. You sign up. You generate 47 meta descriptions in an afternoon. You feel like a wizard. Six months later your rankings haven't moved an inch. I've been running SEO for service businesses […]
SEO for Plumbers: How to Get Found by Customers Who Need You Now
When a pipe bursts at 7am, nobody opens a notebook and starts carefully comparing plumbers. They grab their phone, type “plumber near me,” and call one of the first three names they see. That’s the whole ballgame. SEO for plumbers isn’t about ranking for clever blog posts or stuffing your homepage with keywords. It’s about […]
What Is Local SEO? A Plain-English Guide for Service Businesses
Picture two plumbers on the same street. Same trucks, same skill, same fair prices. A pipe bursts three blocks away, and the homeowner does what everybody does now: pulls out a phone and types “emergency plumber near me.” One of those plumbers shows up in the top three results with 140 reviews and a “call” […]
How to Write a Blog Post That Actually Ranks (for Non-Writers)
Can I shoot straight with you? The reason your blog isn’t bringing in leads has nothing to do with how good a writer you are. Most business owners think learning how to write a blog post for SEO means becoming a better writer. It doesn’t. It means following a structure. The owners who rank aren’t […]
SEO for a Brand-New Website: What to Do in the First 90 Days
You just launched your website. It looks great. The photos are sharp, the copy finally says what you do, and you hit publish feeling like you crossed a finish line. Then you Google your own business name and your site barely shows up. You search the service you actually sell and you are nowhere. Page […]
How to Track Your Keyword Rankings (Without Paying for Tools You Don’t Need)
Can I shoot straight with you? You do not need a $149-a-month rank tracker to figure out how to track your keyword rankings. I know that is not what the software companies want you to hear. Every SEO tool on the planet wants to sell you a glowing dashboard with little green arrows. Most owners […]
