Blog
Notes on the problems I keep running into, written for the person who has to decide what to do about them. Mostly local search, increasingly AI search, occasionally the question of who to hire.
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AEO
Does the business you're buying show up in AI answers?
A repeatable test: ten prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google, a simple score, and what to do about a business that does not appear.
3 min read
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ETA
Branded vs. non-branded: how much is just its name?
How to estimate how much of a target's search traffic is people typing its name, and what that split means for the deal.
3 min read
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AEO
What an AEO-ready service page looks like
Seven things a local service page needs so that a person, Google and an AI answer can each tell what you do, where, and how to reach you.
3 min read
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ETA
Reviews slow down before revenue does
A business's review pace is a leading signal. How to pull a target's review timeline in five minutes, and what the shape of it can tell a buyer.
4 min read
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AEO
AEO for local service businesses
A practical guide to getting named when someone asks an AI assistant for a plumber, cleaner or electrician nearby.
3 min read
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ETA
Diligence lead flow in 30 minutes, before the LOI
Five checks a searcher can run on any local service business, with a time budget for each and what the result means for the deal.
4 min read
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Local SEO
What is the Google map pack, and how do you get into it?
The three businesses shown above the ordinary results for a local search, and the three factors that decide who gets a place.
3 min read
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Local SEO
NAP consistency and local citations
What name, address and phone consistency means, why it still matters, and how to check and fix your listings.
3 min read
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AEO
The difference between SEO and AEO
SEO earns a place in a list of results. AEO earns a place in a written answer. What changes, and what stays the same.
4 min read
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Local SEO
What is a Google Business Profile?
The free listing that puts your business on Google Maps and in local search results, and what to put in it.
3 min read
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ETA
The cheapest ranking lever in a service business acquisition
Most established trades businesses are set up as service area businesses on Google. For a buyer, that setting is often the whole lead ceiling.
3 min read
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AEO
How ChatGPT decides which local business to recommend
AI answers are assembled from the sources Google already reads: your profile, your reviews, and pages that answer the question plainly.
5 min read
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Hiring
How to pick a Bay Area SEO consultant
What to ask, what a good answer sounds like, and the three things that predict whether an engagement will pay for itself.
6 min read