SEO & website performance
Small business SEO that fixes causes, not scores
Search work for small businesses is mostly unglamorous: make sure Google can index the site, make it fast on a phone, give every service its own page, answer the questions customers ask before they call, and measure the result. We do that part properly and skip the parts that only look like progress.
We don't patch sites we didn't build. If your WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, or custom site is the problem, we rebuild it as a site we can stand behind — fast, search-ready, and easy to manage. The first thing you get is an honest read on whether a fix is worth it or whether a clean rebuild is the better use of your budget.
Diagnosis
Why a small business site usually isn't showing up
In practice it's almost always one of these five, and they need completely different fixes. Guessing wrong wastes months.
The pages aren't indexed
Google can't rank a page it hasn't stored. Blocked robots rules, a missing or wrong sitemap, canonical tags pointing at the wrong URL, or content that only appears after JavaScript runs will all keep pages out of the index entirely.
One page is doing six jobs
A single 'Services' page listing everything you do gives search engines one weak signal instead of six specific ones. Businesses that split services into real pages almost always pick up traffic the combined page never could.
The words don't match the search
Owners write in their own vocabulary — 'residential solutions' — while customers type 'ac repair near me.' The page can be excellent and still never appear for the phrase people actually use.
It's unusable on a phone
Slow loads, tiny tap targets, phone numbers that aren't tappable, and popups over the content. Google measures real mobile experience, and so does the customer standing in a parking lot deciding who to call.
The competition is simply older
Sometimes the site is fine and the businesses ranking above it have fifteen years of history and hundreds of links. That's a strategy problem, not a technical one, and we'll tell you when that's the situation.
The work
What we actually do
Crawlability & indexing
Robots rules, sitemaps, canonical tags, and redirect chains — making sure search engines can reach and correctly attribute every page that matters.
Core Web Vitals
Largest Contentful Paint, interaction responsiveness, and layout stability, fixed at the cause: image weight, render-blocking assets, and third-party scripts.
Site structure
A page per service and per location, internal links that connect them, and breadcrumbs so both people and crawlers understand the hierarchy.
Structured data
Organization, Service, FAQ, and Breadcrumb schema so search engines can read what the page is about rather than infer it.
On-page fundamentals
Unique titles and descriptions, one H1 per page, descriptive alt text, and headings that reflect what the page actually says.
Measurement
Search Console and analytics configured properly, with conversion tracking, so improvement is something you can see rather than something we assert.
Local search
For businesses that serve a place
If customers find you by searching for a service near them, local search is where most of the opportunity is — and it's largely a matter of consistency and detail.
- A complete, accurate business profile with correct categories and service areas.
- Identical name, address, and phone details everywhere they appear.
- Pages that speak to the specific places you serve, written for people rather than crawlers.
- A review process that asks at the right moment and responds to what comes back.
- Location and service data marked up so search engines read it unambiguously.
How the work goes
In this order, for a reason
- 01
Audit
Crawl the whole site: status codes, canonicals, indexation, titles, headings, structured data, internal links, page speed on real mobile conditions. You get the actual findings, not a scored PDF.
- 02
Fix what's broken
Indexation and crawl problems first, because nothing else matters while pages are invisible. Then speed, mobile usability, and the on-page fundamentals.
- 03
Give each service a page
Structure the site so every service you actually sell has its own page, its own title, and its own internal links pointing at it from places that make sense to a reader.
- 04
Write the pages that answer real questions
The handful of pages customers need before they call — pricing, process, what's included, what goes wrong. Written from how the work actually goes, not from a keyword list.
- 05
Measure and keep going
Search Console and analytics configured, conversions tracked, and a baseline recorded before changes so improvement is a number rather than a claim. Then repeat on what the data shows.
Related
Where this usually leads
- A contractor whose website loaded slower than a phone call
What a real speed and structure problem looks like, and what we changed.
- When SEO isn't the fix and a redesign is
Some sites can't be optimized into working. Here's how to tell.
- Ongoing website maintenance
Technical SEO upkeep is part of the monthly maintenance plan, not a separate retainer.
What we won't do
No guarantees, no filler, no lock-in
- We won't guarantee rankings — organic placement isn't for sale.
- We won't buy links or publish content written only for search engines.
- We won't report on impressions while conversions stay flat.
- We won't hold your Search Console, analytics, or business profile hostage.
Questions
SEO questions
How long before SEO work shows results?
Technical fixes like page speed and crawlability show up in weeks. Ranking and traffic changes generally take three to six months, longer in competitive markets. Anyone promising faster is guessing.
Can you guarantee a first-page ranking?
No, and neither can anyone else honestly. Search engines don't sell placement in organic results. What we can do is fix the things that verifiably hold a site back and measure what changes.
Why isn't my business showing up on Google?
Usually one of five things: the pages aren't indexed at all, the site has one page trying to cover six services, the content doesn't match what people actually type, the site is too slow or unusable on a phone, or the business is genuinely newer and less established than everything currently ranking. The first step is finding out which, because the fixes are completely different.
How long does it take a new website to show up on Google?
Indexing usually happens within days to a few weeks once the site is crawlable and submitted in Search Console. Ranking for anything competitive takes considerably longer. Being indexed and being visible are two different milestones.
What is local SEO?
Work aimed at the searches that include a place or an implied place — "plumber near me." It centers on a consistent business listing, consistent name/address/phone details, location-relevant pages, and reviews.
Do I need to publish blog posts constantly?
Only if the posts answer questions your customers actually ask before buying. Publishing filler on a schedule does very little. A handful of genuinely useful pages beats fifty thin ones.
Do you do SEO for sites you didn't build?
No. We only do ongoing SEO work on sites we build and manage, because the results depend on a foundation we can control. If your existing WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, or custom site needs help, we'll look at it honestly and tell you whether a rebuild is the right move. If it is, we recreate it better — and then handle the ongoing search work.
What does SEO cost?
Technical SEO is already included in every site we build and in ongoing website maintenance. Larger standalone projects — a full technical audit and remediation on an existing site, or a content build-out — are quoted based on the site's size and condition after we've looked at it.
Tell us what's not working
Send us your site and the searches you wish you showed up for. We'll tell you what's realistically in reach.