People usually search for a web designer. What they actually need is a local SEO Sherpa. That’s the short version of why this site is called Not a Web Designer. What Did You Google to Get Here? Most business owners are proud of their websites. They fill them with industry language, service lists, and the terms they use every day with colleagues. The problem is that real customers often search differently. A therapist might fill their site with clinical language and modality n

The foundation is built. The website is live. The Google Business Profile is optimized. Citations are cleaned up. Review systems are in place. Tracking is running. At this point most businesses make the same mistake: they treat the work as finished. It isn’t. Local visibility is not a one-time project. Search behavior shifts. Competitors keep updating. Listings slowly drift. Content goes stale. Review velocity slows down. Without steady attention, even a well-built system los

Once the website, Google Business Profile, and core citations are in place, the next step is putting practical systems around reviews and basic branding consistency. Reviews are one of the strongest influences on both local visibility and real customer decisions. Branding consistency helps the business feel coherent wherever it appears. Neither of these works well when they are handled randomly. This stage is about turning both into simple, repeatable systems. Why Reviews Nee

Once the website is live and the Google Business Profile is aligned, the next step is cleaning up the wider presence of the business across the internet. Most business owners only see the parts of their online presence they directly control — their website and their Google Business Profile. What they do not see is how Google is constantly collecting information from many other places and trying to assemble a coherent picture of the business. Understanding that process makes t

Once the structure and strategy are clear, the site gets built. This stage turns the recommendations and homepage foundation into a working website. It includes research-driven decisions, design and content work, technical setup, operational systems, client feedback, launch, training, and the tracking systems that make it possible to see what is actually working after the site goes live. Research That Shapes the Build Before and during the build, several research inputs guide

Once the homepage is solid, the rest of the site needs to be built with intention. Most local business websites fall apart after the homepage. They have a decent first page and then a collection of thin, underdeveloped pages that do very little for users or for search engines. Service pages with two short paragraphs. An About page that says almost nothing. A Contact page that is just a form. No real depth anywhere. That approach limits both visibility and trust. I build the s

The homepage is the most important page on the website. It is usually the first page a visitor sees. It is also one of the strongest signals Google uses to understand what the business does, who it serves, and whether it deserves to appear for local searches. When the homepage is vague, thin, or poorly structured, every other page on the site has to work harder to make up for it. I treat the homepage as the foundation. Everything else is built from it. Clarity Over Flash Most

After the joint audit, I put together a clear recommendation list. This is not a generic template or a long menu of every possible SEO tactic. It is a prioritized roadmap based on what we actually found during the audit and what matters most to the business. The goal is clarity: the owner should finish this step knowing exactly what needs to be done, why it matters, and in what order. How the Recommendations Are Built The list is shaped by two things at the same time: The tec

The first step is a joint audit and a fact-finding conversation. Most local businesses that struggle with visibility do not have one single dramatic problem. They usually have a collection of smaller issues that compound: an incomplete Google Business Profile, inconsistent information across the web, a website with weak structure, thin content, or a review profile that has gone quiet. These problems rarely announce themselves clearly. They just quietly limit how often the bus

Most people want to know what the work actually looks like before they commit. Here’s the full process I use, broken into eight clear steps. Each step builds on the one before it. The goal is simple: take a business from unclear or underperforming online visibility to a complete, working local system — and then keep it performing. This page is the overview. Each step also has its own deeper breakdown. 2.1 Initial Consultation & Joint Audit We look at everything together. I re

Most local businesses treat reviews and website updates as occasional tasks. They ask for a review when they remember, post something when they feel like it, and check their Google Business Profile only when something feels wrong. That approach quietly costs them. Profiles that go more than 30 days without meaningful activity often see measurable drops in impressions. Businesses that actively manage their Google Business Profile — including reviews, photos, and updates — cons

A lot of local business owners treat their Google Business Profile like a listing they set up once and then forget about. That approach quietly costs them visibility. The Google Business Profile is often the first thing a potential customer sees. It shows up in the map pack, in local search results, and on Google Maps. When the profile is incomplete, inconsistent, or poorly maintained, two things happen: Google trusts the business less, and real people get a weaker first impr

Most local business websites are built like digital business cards. They look decent. They have some photos. They list a few services. There’s a contact form somewhere. And then they sit there. That approach leaves a lot of performance on the table. I build the website as the operational center of the business, the place that organizes as many core activities as possible so the owner doesn’t have to jump between five different tools just to run the basics. What Most Local Web

Have you ever tried to find your own business on Google or Maps and couldn’t? That exact thing happened with Clear Water Plumbing in San Clemente. The owner had good intentions and was putting in effort, but when he searched for his own business, it was difficult to find — and potential customers were having the same problem. The issues weren’t caused by one single mistake. It was a mix of things working against him at the same time: Images on the Google Business Profile were

Most businesses come looking for a better website. What they actually need is a complete local visibility system. A nice-looking site by itself doesn’t bring customers. A Google Business Profile by itself doesn’t either. Citations, reviews, and content only become powerful when they are built to work together. I build that connected system. What the system includes The Website: I treat the website as the operational center of the business — not just a brochure. This means pro