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Local SEO And Website Advice For Service Businesses

Lessons from building websites and local rankings for service businesses, written for the person running the business rather than for other marketers.

8 articles published
Aug 2026 most recent
Written In-House by the person doing the work

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The archive

Hands holding a smartphone open to a local business’s recent Google reviews, with gold star ratings on screen

Aug 25, 20265 min read

From Invisible to Booked Solid: What Really Changes When Local Search Visibility Improves

A business either shows up in the first few results someone sees, or it doesn’t exist for that search. There isn’t much of a middle ground.

Carter Maloff

Illustrated calendar dial ringed by tow trucks, cranes and delivery vehicles, the ten logistics and response industries

Aug 10, 20266 min read

Logistics & Response: The Shared Calendar Behind Ten Industries

In January, tow trucks and storm-damage crews are running near their busiest stretch of the year. Limousine and event transport companies are living through their quietest.

An electrician working on a garage panel while a missed call lights up the phone on his toolbox

Trades & ConstructionAug 8, 20266 min read

What a Missed Call Really Costs a Trade Business

Trade businesses lose an average of $49,864 a year to calls nobody picked up. For heavier-ticket trades — HVAC, plumbing, anything with a major install attached — that number climbs past $99,000.

Hands holding a phone showing Google Maps with local business pins in warm window light

Local SEOAug 7, 20268 min read

Anatomy of a Google Business Profile: What Ranks You, What Doesn’t, and What Just Feels Like It Should

Three forces decide whether a business shows up when someone searches nearby, and only two of them are anyone’s to move. Below is a Google Business Profile, taken apart piece by piece.

Illustrated search results page with the number one position highlighted above results two to five

Local SEOAug 6, 20266 min read

The Real Cost of Ranking Outside the Top 3 in Local Search

Out of the same 3,000 monthly local searches, a business ranking #1 pulls in 1,245 customer interactions. A business ranking #10 pulls in 48.

One line branching into four paths that end in circles of different sizes, the value of different local leads

Lead GenerationAug 5, 20269 min read

What One Local Lead Is Really Worth

A locksmith callout costs about $32 USD to generate. A new dental patient costs about $85 CAD.

A small business owner at a cluttered desk reviewing a printed invoice beside a laptop spreadsheet

Pricing & Marketing CostsAug 3, 20265 min read

What Should You Really Pay Per Lead? A Benchmark By Industry

Cost per lead can run from $14 to over $500, and both numbers can be perfectly fair. That’s the part most pricing conversations skip.

A contractor’s mobile website with a request-a-quote button and call-or-text number, on a phone held in a workshop

Website DesignAug 2, 20269 min read

Is Your Website Losing You the Job? A 2-Minute Diagnostic

Somewhere in the last few months, a job went to someone else. Not because their crew was better, their price was lower, or their reviews outnumbered yours.

A business owner and a marketer standing at a desk, smiling over printed reports and notes

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