Local SEO Basics
Local SEO guides that apply to every local business, whatever the trade: Google Maps, reviews, websites, service pages and AI search.
How to redesign your website without losing SEO: the checklist
For an owner changing sites or builders: what to save first, how to map old URLs to new ones, when redirects are needed, and what to check in the weeks after.
Safraz Alli·Oct 31, 2026Service page SEO: what goes on a page that gets the call
A section-by-section teardown of one service page: what each part is for, what the customer needs to see, and which parts help you rank at all.
Safraz Alli·Oct 31, 2026Website not showing up on Google? How to find the real cause
Four reasons a local business website stays out of Google, how to tell which one you have, and what each Search Console label asks you to do.
Safraz Alli·Oct 30, 2026Local SEO keywords: which ones should your business track?
A starter list of local SEO keywords by search type, how many to track, where to pull them from, and a worked 14-line list for one made-up business.
Safraz Alli·Oct 30, 2026How much does local SEO cost? What each price level buys
What a small business pays for local SEO, from named surveys and published price lists: what each monthly level buys, in hours, and the signs to walk away.
Safraz Alli·Oct 29, 2026Does your moving company website need your USDOT number?
The federal rule that puts "U.S. DOT No." on every mover's website and listing, the Ready to Move link, broker rules, and what Texas and California add.
Safraz Alli·Oct 21, 2026How to check your Google Maps ranking across your service area
A manual check with every personalization switched off, a nine-point grid you can run in a spreadsheet, what the paid tools add, and the log that makes it count.
Safraz Alli·Oct 17, 2026How much should a small business website cost in 2026?
Published prices read in October 2026: builders from $4 to $40 a month, agencies at $100 to $149 an hour, and the domain, hosting and email costs that keep coming.
Safraz Alli·Oct 16, 2026How to pick your Google Business Profile primary category
Pick your Google Business Profile primary category with Google's own "is a, not has a" test, see what the local top three chose, and change it without surprises.
Safraz Alli·Oct 15, 2026Are automated blog posts against Google's rules?
What Google's scaled content abuse policy actually says, what the penalty is, and how to tell whether the automated posts on your local business site cross the line.
Safraz Alli·Oct 13, 2026How long does local SEO take? What moves first
Google's own numbers on how long local SEO takes: profile edits in minutes, pages in weeks, the map pack in months. Six signs it is working before the calls come.
Safraz Alli·Oct 12, 2026Service area pages: what Google allows and what it calls spam
City pages are allowed. Copies with the town name swapped are doorway pages. Google's policy in its own words, a test for each page, and what belongs on one.
Safraz Alli·Oct 10, 2026How to ask for Google reviews without breaking the rules
Scripts for asking in person, by email and by text, checked against Google's review policy, the FTC's 2024 reviews rule and the consent law on text messages.
Safraz Alli·Oct 9, 2026Why you rank first at your shop and twelfth across town
Your Google Maps position is a map, not a number. What Google says about distance, how to read a ranking grid, and which of the fixes are documented.
Safraz Alli·Oct 8, 2026Does blogging help you rank on Google Maps?
Blogging doesn't move your Google Maps pin. Here is what Google's own pages say a blog can change, what it can't, and which posts are worth writing.
Safraz Alli·Oct 7, 2026How to show up when someone asks ChatGPT for a local business
What OpenAI and Google actually document about AI answers, what the rest of the internet is guessing, and the ten things a local owner can control.
Safraz Alli·Oct 6, 2026How many service pages should your website have?
There is no magic number. Sort everything you sell into emergencies, planned jobs and required work, then build one page per job you would quote separately.
Safraz Alli·Oct 5, 2026Do you need a website if you have a Google Business Profile?
A Google Business Profile is free and it wins the near-me search. What it cannot do, when it is genuinely enough on its own, and the smallest site worth building.
Safraz Alli·Oct 5, 2026Why your business isn't showing up on Google Maps
A diagnostic for owners. The reasons a business does not appear on Google Maps, in the order worth checking, and how to confirm each one.
Safraz Alli·Oct 4, 2026