Knowledge Base
Plain answers for service businesses on websites, local search, AI search, tracking, software and automation. Written by the people who do the work.
Websites
What a service business website needs to bring in calls, and how to rebuild one without losing what works.
Service area pages: how many you need and how to write them without getting penalized
How many town pages a service business needs, what to put on each one, and why copies with only the town name swapped break Google’s spam rules.
Website redesign checklist: how to rebuild without losing rankings
A website redesign checklist for service businesses: what to record first, how to map redirects, what to check at launch and what to watch afterwards.
What a contractor website needs to make the phone ring
What a contractor website needs to get calls: tap-to-call on mobile, a page per service and town, real job photos, honest reviews and tracking from launch.
Local SEO
How Google Maps and local search actually work, what moves them, and how long it really takes.
Google Business Profile categories: a list and how to choose
A list of Google Business Profile categories for service businesses, plus how to choose your primary and secondary ones and change them safely.
Getting more Google reviews without breaking Google’s rules
How to get more Google reviews by asking every customer the same way, what Google’s rules forbid, wording you can copy, and how to reply to bad reviews.
Why your business isn't showing up on Google Maps (and how to fix it)
The real reasons a service business isn’t showing up on Google Maps, how to check where you actually show up, and what to fix first. No ranking promises.
How long does local SEO actually take? An honest timeline
An honest local SEO timeline for service businesses: what happens in each stage, what to measure along the way, and the sales pitches to walk away from.
Noindex, robots.txt and other ways sites accidentally hide from Google
A leftover noindex tag, a robots.txt that blocks everything, a wrong canonical: how sites hide from Google by accident, and how to check each one.
AI search (AEO)
How ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI answers find and cite businesses, and what you can do about it.
How to check whether ChatGPT recommends your business
How to check what ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google’s AI answers say about your business, record the results and fix wrong details.
What is llms.txt, and do you need one?
What llms.txt is, a complete example file, whether ChatGPT and Google actually read it, and how to add one to WordPress or Next.js.
Structured data for AI search: what it does and doesn’t
What structured data is, which types a local service business needs, what Google says about AI answers, and how to test your markup.
What is AEO, and how is it different from SEO?
AEO makes your business easy for ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI answers to find and cite. How it overlaps with SEO, where it differs, how to check.
Tracking
Knowing which marketing produced each call, form and booked job.
Software
Custom software, stalled builds, and owning what you pay for.
AI and operations
Where AI and automation actually help a service business, measured by the work they remove.
Automation
Workflows, chatbots and follow-up that take repetitive work off your team.
How AI Automation Can Transform Your Small Business
Practical ways automation can take repetitive tasks off your plate, speed up your replies, and give your team time back.
Why Lead Response Time is Your Biggest Competitive Advantage
Firms that contacted leads within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to reach a decision maker. Here is how to reply faster.
n8n vs Zapier vs Make: Which Automation Platform is Right for You?
A plain comparison of the three main automation platforms, with recommendations for different kinds of businesses.
Calculating the ROI of Workflow Automation
A practical framework for working out whether an automation is worth building, using your own numbers.
What Should You Automate First? A Prioritization Framework
Not every automation is worth building first. Here is how to find the ones that will matter most for your business.
Automating Customer Service Without Losing the Human Touch
How to let AI handle routine questions while keeping a real person one click away for everything else.
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