Writing
Honest notes on web & search.
Plain-spoken essays on web design, SEO, and building sites that actually get found — from someone who’d rather tell you the truth about your website than sell you a guarantee nobody can keep.
How to Choose a Web Designer You Can Actually Trust
Most people hire a web designer the way they’d pick a lock in the dark — by feel, and hoping. Here’s how to actually vet one, and the answers that should send you running.
Read the article→Do You Actually Need to Blog for SEO? An Honest Answer
“Just start a blog” is the advice everyone gives and few can justify. Sometimes it’s your best move. Often it’s a treadmill that ranks for nothing. Here’s how to know the difference.
Read→What Makes a Website Look Professional (and Not Cheap)
You can feel when a website looks cheap, even if you can’t name why. It’s almost never the budget — it’s a short list of specific details. Here’s the list.
Read→Is a Website Redesign Worth It? How to Tell Before You Spend
A redesign can transform a business — or waste a budget making something new that works worse. Here’s how to tell which one you’re about to buy, and how to keep your rankings through it.
Read→How Long Does It Take to Build a Website? A Realistic Timeline
“A few weeks” is the answer everyone gives and nobody can keep. Here’s what actually drives a website timeline — and the one thing that delays projects more than any designer ever does.
Read→How Much Should a Website Cost? An Honest Breakdown
“It depends” is the honest answer, but it’s also a cop-out. Here’s what actually drives the price of a website — and roughly what to expect at each tier.
Read→How to Write Website Copy That Actually Sells
Most website copy is about the business. The copy that actually sells is about the customer. Here’s how to make that switch — and why it changes everything.
Read→Custom Website vs. Template: Which Is Right for Your Business?
A template isn’t a failure and custom isn’t always worth it. The right answer depends on one question most people skip: what is this website actually for?
Read→Your Google Business Profile Might Matter More Than Your Website
For a lot of local businesses, the free Google profile quietly out-earns the website — and most owners leave it half-empty. Here’s how to fix that.
Read→5 Signs Your Website Is Quietly Costing You Customers
The worst website problems are the invisible ones — no error message, no complaint, just visitors quietly leaving. Here’s how to spot the leak before it drains you.
Read→Web Design vs SEO: Which Does Your Business Actually Need First?
People ask me to choose a side — pretty site or ranking site. It’s the wrong question. What actually matters is the order you build them in.
Read→Why “Mobile-First” Isn’t Optional Anymore
Most of your visitors are on a phone — and so is the version of your site Google grades. If your site was designed on a desktop and shrunk to fit, you’re probably losing both.
Read→Should You Build Your Own Website? An Honest Answer
The drag-and-drop builders are genuinely good now — good enough that for some businesses, DIY is the right call. For others it’s a false economy. Here’s how to tell which one you are.
Read→What Is Local SEO, and Does Your Business Actually Need It?
If your customers are nearby, local SEO is probably the highest-leverage thing you can do. If they’re not, it’s a waste. Here’s how to tell which you are.
Read→How to Tell If Your SEO Is Actually Working
SEO is slow and easy to fake — the perfect place to quietly waste money. Here’s how to tell whether yours is actually working, and the vanity numbers that fool people into thinking it is.
Read→Why I Won’t Promise You the #1 Spot on Google
The fastest way to spot someone who’ll waste your money is a guarantee of the #1 spot. Nobody controls the algorithm — and the ones who say they do are telling on themselves.
Read→Why Your Beautiful Website Isn’t Getting Any Traffic
You paid for a beautiful site and the traffic never came. That’s not bad luck — it’s usually one of five specific, fixable reasons. Let’s find yours.
Read→Do You Actually Own Your Website? The Question Nobody Asks
A lot of business owners pay for a website they don’t actually own — and only find out when they try to leave. Here’s how to check before it’s a problem.
Read→What Actually Makes a Website Fast — and Why It Decides Whether You Get Found
“Make it fast” gets said a lot and explained rarely. Here’s what speed actually means, what quietly wrecks it, and why it’s one of the few SEO levers fully in your control.
Read→Got a question I haven’t written about?
If there’s something you’re trying to figure out about your site or your search presence, ask. A straight answer is free.