Field notes & essays.
Working notes, lessons, and the occasional opinion — from building websites, software, and AI systems for real businesses.
The full archive.
Every post, in chronological order.
Local SEO for Service Businesses: How to Rank in Your Service Area
A practical local SEO guide for service businesses. Rank in your service area with Google Business Profile, location pages, citations, schema, and reviews.
SEO-Friendly Website Redesign Checklist for Small Businesses
A practical website redesign checklist for small businesses that need a better site without losing rankings, leads, or the pages that already work.
Custom Client Portal for Service Businesses: What to Build Before You Buy Software
A practical guide for service businesses deciding whether they need a custom client portal, an off-the-shelf portal, or a simpler client workflow first.
AI Automation Workflows for Service Businesses: What to Automate First
A practical guide to choosing the first AI automation workflows for a service business, with examples for leads, follow-up, reviews, quoting, and admin.
Core Web Vitals in 2026: Page Speed Strategies That Move Rankings
What Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS) mean in 2026, why Google uses them as a ranking signal, and the page speed fixes that actually move small business rankings.
Schema Markup for Small Business Websites: A Practical Guide
A practical guide to schema markup for small business websites. Which schema types matter most, how to implement structured data, and how to test it.
Conversion-Focused Landing Page Design: Patterns That Actually Convert
Concrete landing page patterns that help small businesses turn more visitors into leads, including hero clarity, single CTAs, social proof, and form design.
Mobile-First Design: Why Your Mobile Site Decides Whether You Get the Sale
Most service business websites lose mobile visitors before they reach the contact form. Here is what mobile-first design actually means and what to fix first.
Website Trust Signals: 12 Things That Increase Conversions Without Redesigning
A practical checklist of website trust signals small businesses can add to an existing site to increase conversions without a full redesign or rebuild.