How to read an SEO proposal in twenty minutes
The four sections that matter, the language that should worry you, and a printable checklist you can take into the meeting.
Available as a PDF on request — ask us for a copy.
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Guides & Resources
Practical, jargon-free guides written for owners who are about to spend money on search marketing.
Library
Nine guides we hand to clients
These are the documents behind our advisory calls. Each one is written to be read once and acted on, not bookmarked and forgotten.
What SEO actually costs in the United States in 2026
Real retainer bands by business type, what each band buys, and why the cheapest tier so often costs more in the end.
Available as a PDF on request — ask us for a copy.
Bing and Microsoft Advertising: the traffic most agencies ignore
How to verify your site in Bing Webmaster Tools, submit a sitemap, and read the reports without a specialist.
Available as a PDF on request — ask us for a copy.
Local SEO for multi-location businesses
Location page templates that are not doorway pages, review operations, and listing hygiene across dozens of branches.
Available as a PDF on request — ask us for a copy.
Nine questions that expose a weak agency
The questions we ask on every reference call, and what a good answer sounds like.
Available as a PDF on request — ask us for a copy.
Technical SEO debt: the audit checklist we use
Crawlability, indexation, page experience, structured data and internal linking, in the order we check them.
Available as a PDF on request — ask us for a copy.
How to leave an SEO agency without losing your assets
Content ownership, analytics access, redirects and the handover list to demand before your last invoice.
Available as a PDF on request — ask us for a copy.
Content clusters explained for business owners
Why one long page rarely wins, and how topical grouping actually maps to how people search.
Available as a PDF on request — ask us for a copy.
Reading your own analytics: the five reports that matter
A short tour of GA4 and Bing Webmaster Tools for owners who do not want to become analysts.
Available as a PDF on request — ask us for a copy.
Free tools we recommend
You can verify a lot yourself, for nothing
- Bing Webmaster Tools — verify your site, submit your sitemap, and see the queries Microsoft's network sends you.
- Google Search Console — indexation coverage, query data and page experience signals.
- PageSpeed Insights — field data for Core Web Vitals, which affects real users before it affects rankings.
- Your own CRM — the only place you can see whether search traffic turned into revenue.
If an agency cannot walk you through those four sources on a screen share, that tells you something useful before you sign anything.
Not sure which SEO company fits your budget?
Send us your website, your target markets and your monthly budget. We reply with a free three-vendor shortlist, the questions to ask each one, and the red flags to avoid.
Request my free shortlistOr call +1 704 499 9678 — Monday to Friday, 9:00–18:00 CT.