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SEO and local search

Nobody finds you when they search

It is usually one of seven things. Here is which one, how to tell, and what each costs to fix.

Email me Call me starting at $1,000

Palm Beach Gardens, and across Palm Beach County, Broward County and the Treasure Coast. Anywhere by video.

In short

Nobody finding you is a symptom, not a cause. It is usually one of seven things, and they are different problems with different fixes. Checking which one it is takes a morning. Guessing at it costs months. Below is what to look at, in the order worth looking, and you can run most of it yourself before you call anyone.

Where to look first

It could be any of these

Work down the list. Each one has a check you can run today. Where a fix belongs to a different piece of work, the link goes there instead of here.

Google has not indexed your websiteSearch site:yourbusiness.com in Google. If nothing comes back, Google does not have your pages at all, and no amount of keywords will change that.This is what the SEO audit starts with
You have no Google Business Profile, or it is unverifiedSearch your business name in Google Maps. If it is missing, unclaimed, or shows a competitor, the map results are closed to you.Google Business Profile setup
Your name, address and phone are different in different placesOpen three directories you are listed on. Compare them word for word, including Suite against Ste. Google reads mismatches as separate businesses.Listings cleanup, included there
There is no page for the thing people search forLook at your own menu. If someone searches the service and you have no page named for it, there is nothing for Google to rank.Structure and pages, part of the audit
Fewer reviews than whoever is above youSearch the term you want and count the reviews on the top three. Compare that to yours.A system that asks for reviews
The site is slow, or it breaks on a phoneOpen your site on your phone using cell data rather than wifi. Count how long the first thing takes to appear.Speed and mobile fixes
Nothing is being measured, so nobody can tellCheck whether Google Search Console is connected. Without it, you are guessing at what Google sees.Tracking and reports
Starting price

$1,000 is where this one starts

Not a fixed price. What it actually costs depends on the list on the right, and you get that number in writing after a short call, before anything begins.

The starting price covers

The audit, written down, with what to fix in order

What adds to it
  • Doing the fixes
  • Number of pages
  • New pages
  • A site that cannot be edited
What it is

SEO is the work of making a website easy for a search engine to read, and worth showing to someone who searched. Two halves. What the machine can reach, and whether a person gets what they came for.

Local SEO is the same work aimed at searches with a place attached, said or unsaid. Someone typing plumber from their kitchen is doing a local search without typing the town.

For a business serving Palm Beach County, most of the searches that turn into money are local ones. That is where the work goes first.

Why it matters

Search is the one place a customer arrives already knowing what they want. They typed it. The work is being present at that moment.

What this does not do is promise a position. Rankings are not for sale, by me or anyone. What is in your control is whether Google can read your site, whether your details agree with each other, whether a page exists for what you sell, and whether someone landing on it stays.

Those four things are the whole job.

Scope

What is included, and what is not

Included
  • A crawl of the site, showing what Google can and cannot reach
  • The seven checks above, run properly and written down
  • Your current position on the searches that matter, screenshotted and dated
  • The same for the three businesses above you
  • Titles, descriptions and headings rewritten on your existing pages
  • Structured data added so Google reads the business, hours and area
  • Google Search Console connected, or checked if it already is
  • A written list of what to fix, in the order worth fixing
Not included
  • A ranking, a position, or a number of visitors. Nobody can sell those
  • New pages or new sections. That is web design, quoted separately
  • Writing the content itself. That is copywriting, priced per word
  • Backlink buying or link schemes. They put the site at risk
  • Ad spend. Ads are a separate service
  • Ongoing monthly work unless you want it
What moves the price
  • How many pages the site has
  • Whether it can be edited, or is locked to whoever built it
  • How many directories carry wrong details
  • Whether the site was penalized before
  • How many locations or service areas
Working together

How this one runs

More on how working together works.

Questions
How long until it works?

Changes to a Google Business Profile can show within days. Changes to a website usually take weeks to months, because Google has to recrawl and then decide. Anyone giving you a date is guessing.

Can you guarantee first page?

No, and neither can anyone else. Google does not sell positions. What is sellable is the work, and the work is what you are quoted for.

Do I need SEO if I have a Google Business Profile?

They do different jobs. The profile competes in the map results. The website competes in the ordinary results and is also what an AI assistant reads when someone asks it a question. Most businesses want both, and the profile is cheaper to start with.

Can I do this myself?

The seven checks above, yes, and it is worth doing. Fixing what they turn up is where it gets technical. If you run them and everything passes, tell me and I will say so rather than sell you an audit.

What if my website cannot be changed?

That happens, usually when whoever built it holds the account. Worth finding out before spending anything. The ownership audit answers it for $450.

Do you work with businesses outside Palm Beach County?

Yes, by video. In person covers Palm Beach County, Broward County and the Treasure Coast.

Related
Tell me about it

Send me the details

Four lines. Your answers arrive with the page you were reading, so I know what this is about before I call.

What is this about?

Pick at least one. More than one is fine.

or call ___ ___ ____

Got it.

I will look you up before I reply, so the first call is about your situation and not about basics.

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In person across Palm Beach County, Broward County and the Treasure Coast. Anywhere by video.

I will search for your business

Seven searches on Google, Maps and an AI assistant. Screenshots, dated. No charge and no call needed.

Where else should I look?

Fill in the ones you have. Handle or link, either is fine.

No newsletter, no list. You get the screenshots either way.

Got it.

I will run the searches and send you what comes back, with the dates on them. If anything looks urgent I will say so.

Get a quote

Four lines. I read every one myself.

What is this about?

Pick at least one. More than one is fine.

I reply within one business day.

Got it.

I will look you up before I reply, so the first call is about your situation and not about basics.