Notes on local SEO.
From the field, since 2010.
Plain-English notes on what we're seeing in local search — GBP changes, AI Overviews, the trades' lead-economics shift. Written by Phil, fact-checked before publish.
Every note we've published.
Email Marketing for Local Business Websites — A 2026 Guide
How email fits into a local-business website strategy in 2026 — what to send, how often, which tools integrate cleanly, and when email beats every other channel for revenue per dollar.
READ →Pay-Per-Click Management for Small Businesses — A 2026 Guide
What pay-per-click management actually involves for a small local business in 2026 — Local Services Ads costs, Google Ads vs LSA, and when paid is worth it vs organic SEO.
READ →Social Media Marketing for Local Businesses — A 2026 Reality Check
Where social media actually moves the needle for local businesses in 2026, what to skip, and why Google Business Profile posts outperform Instagram for most service businesses.
READ →Web Payment Gateway Integration Guide — A 2026 Walkthrough
How to wire a payment gateway to your website in 2026 — Stripe vs Square vs PayPal vs QuickBooks Payments, integration patterns, security, and the fees nobody mentions upfront.
READ →Local SEO for Solo Plumbers in Eastern Iowa (2026 Edition)
If you're running a one- or two-truck plumbing operation in the Cedar Rapids–Iowa City corridor, here's the local SEO playbook that actually moves the needle in 2026 — and the one that wastes your money.
READ →Why HVAC Companies in Cedar Rapids Are Overpaying for LSA Leads
Local Services Ads CPLs in Cedar Rapids HVAC have crossed $50, with declining lead quality. Here's the math, why it's getting worse, and what most local HVAC operators are missing.
READ →The 2026 Google Business Profile Checklist (50 Items)
A complete, copy-paste-ready GBP optimization checklist for 2026 — all 8 sections, AEO/AI Overview implications, and the April 2026 policy compliance items most local businesses are still missing.
READ →Why We Don't Build on WordPress (Even Though Everyone Asks)
The vulnerability data, the Core Web Vitals math, the AI-crawler readability gap, and the offboarding promise — why every WMS site is built on Astro, not WordPress.
READ →Local SEO for Solo Attorneys: The 5 Pages Your Site Must Have
If you're running a solo legal practice, the difference between ranking and being invisible is structural. Five specific pages — built right, schema-marked, geo-targeted — do most of the work.
READ →Dental SEO in 2026: Why You're Wasting Money on PPC
Most dental PPC spend underperforms. Here's the math, the alternative, and how a $797/month organic local SEO program produces more new patients than $3,000/month in Google Ads.
READ →The Roofing Lead Cost Crisis: $90/lead, 30% Close Rate, and What to Do About It
Roofing has the highest LSA CPL of any major trade. The economics no longer work for non-storm-chase operators. Here's the alternative that does.
READ →Pest Control Local SEO: How Family Operators Beat the Franchises
Family-owned pest control operations can outrank Orkin, Terminix, and Aptive in their home metros. Here's the playbook, and what specifically the franchises get wrong.
READ →How to Audit Your Own GBP in 30 Minutes (Or Get Ours Free)
A 30-minute self-audit framework for your Google Business Profile. Run it; score yourself; decide whether you want to do the work or have us do it.
READ →AI Overviews Just Took Your Local Pack: Here's What Replaces It
AI Overviews now appear in 68% of local searches. The local pack moved below the fold on mobile. Here's how the rules of local SEO have changed in the last 18 months.
READ →Why We Don't Take Phone Calls (And Why Our Clients Love It)
Most agency phone calls are about the relationship — not the work. We deliver the work, send the report, take the email. Here's why the clients we serve prefer it that way.
READ →April 2026 Google Review Policy: What Changed, What to Stop Doing
Google tightened the rules on review-gating, incentivized reviews, and review-filtering at the device level. Practices that were borderline a year ago now risk profile suspension. Here's the audit you should run.
READ →Best HVAC Companies in Cedar Rapids 2026 (Ranked by GBP Visibility)
An objective ranking of Cedar Rapids HVAC companies by Google Business Profile visibility, review quality, and local-pack appearance. Updated quarterly.
READ →Cedar Rapids Trades Directory: Plumbers, Electricians, HVAC
A vetted directory of Cedar Rapids trade businesses, organized by specialty. No advertising, no pay-to-play — just our take on which local operators we'd actually call.
READ →How to Find Customers in Cedar Rapids in 2026
A non-marketing-jargon overview of where Cedar Rapids consumers actually look for local businesses in 2026 — and how a small operator can be in the right places without burning a marketing budget.
READ →Eastern Iowa Local SEO: Linn County, Johnson County, and the I-380 Corridor
What's specific to local SEO in the Cedar Rapids / Iowa City corridor — the metros, the satellite cities, the chamber-and-rotary referral economy, the keywords that actually convert.
READ →Send your URL.
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- GBP completeness score across 8 sections
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- Local pack visibility heatmap
- Three specific 30-day quick wins