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Guides
Guides for small business owners
87 plain-English guides on getting found, trusted and contacted, with no jargon. Grouped by topic.
AI search
- AI Search Visibility Checklist for Local Businesses (2026)
- Does ChatGPT Recommend Your Business? How to Test It in 15 Minutes
- Google AI Overviews: What They Mean for Local Businesses
- How to Get Your Business Recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity
- Are You Blocking AI Search? A Small Business Guide to robots.txt and AI Crawlers
- Schema Markup for Small Businesses: The Only Types You Need
Ads
- Facebook and Instagram Ads for Local Businesses: A Practical Starter Guide
- Google Ads for Tradespeople: A Beginner's Guide That Won't Waste Your Budget
- 12 Google Ads Mistakes Small Businesses Make (and How to Fix Them)
- Google Local Services Ads in the UK: How They Work and Who They Suit
Choosing a marketing agency
- Best Marketing Agency for Electricians: How to Pick One That Gets You Jobs
- Best Marketing Agency for Estate Agents in London: How to Choose
- Best Marketing Agency for Plumbers and Heating Engineers: A Buyer's Guide
- Best Marketing Agency for Restaurants and Takeaways in London
- Best Marketing Agency for Roofers: What Good Help Looks Like
- The Best Marketing Agency for a London Small Business: How to Choose in 2026
- Best Marketing Company for Tradespeople in the UK: What to Look For
- 15 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Marketing Agency
- Marketing Agency Contracts: 10 Clauses to Check Before You Sign
- Marketing Agency Red Flags: 12 Warning Signs Before You Sign
- Marketing Agency vs Freelancer vs Doing It Yourself: Which Suits Your Business?
- Who Should Own Your Website, Domain and Google Business Profile?
Costs
- Google Ads Management Costs in the UK: Fees, Ad Spend and What's Fair
- How Much Does a Small Business Website Cost in the UK?
- How Much Does Digital Marketing Cost in the UK? 2026 Guide for Small Businesses
- How Much Does SEO Cost in the UK? 2026 Prices for Small Businesses
Getting more enquiries
- Contact Forms That Actually Get Filled In: 10 Fixes
- Checkatrade, Bark or Your Own Website? How to Work Out Your Real Cost per Job
- Missed Calls Are Costing You Jobs: How to Stop Losing Enquiries
- The 9pm Test: What Happens When a Customer Contacts You After Hours?
Local SEO and reviews
- Google Business Profile Checklist: 20 Things to Fix Today
- How to Get More Google Reviews (Without Breaking the Rules)
- How to Reply to a Bad Google Review: Templates for Small Businesses
- Local Citations in the UK: Name, Address and Phone Consistency Explained
- Local SEO for Small Businesses: How to Get Found by Customers Near You
- Location Pages for Trades: How to Rank in Every Town You Cover Without Spamming
Our ads, explained
- Before You Boost a Post or Run Ads: Four Things to Fix First
- Can the ASA Check Your Ad Before It Runs? Copy Advice Explained
- Do You Need a New Website, or Just Three Fixes? How to Decide
- Free Website and Google Listing Review: What We Check and What You Get
- Google Business Profile Chat Was Switched Off: What to Change on Your Website and Listing
- Four Google Business Profile Problems That Lose Jobs and How to Fix Them
- What Does a Homepage Mark-Up Cover? The Checks We Run on a Trade Website
- How a Two-Week Marketing Sprint Works, Day by Day
- How Do Customers Choose Between Tradespeople in Google Search Results?
- How Customers Compare Two Tradespeople's Websites Side by Side
- How Long Should a Tradesperson's Quote Be? Why Two Pages Get Ignored
- How Many Fields Should a Contact Form Have? Why Nine Is Too Many
- How Often Should a Tradesperson Post on Social Media?
- How to Ask a Customer for a Google Review: A Text You Can Copy
- How to Use Photos of Your Work to Get More Jobs
- Is Your Phone Number Tappable on Mobile? How to Check and Fix It
- Minimum Terms and Profile Ownership: Two Things to Check Before You Hire a Marketing Agency
- A Marketing MOT: What to Check on Your Website, Google Profile and Ads Each Year
- Paying a Marketing Agency and Can't See What They Do? What to Ask For
- Why Your Town Needs to Be Written on Your Website (Local SEO for Trades)
- The Read-It-Out-Loud Test: Is Your Homepage Putting Customers Off?
- Shared Leads: What to Do When Three Other Firms Get the Same Enquiry
- Stock Photos on a Trades Website: Why Customers Don't Trust Them
- A Ten-Minute Google Listing Fix: Real Job Photos In, Stock Photos Out
- Three Things That Changed on Google Business Profile: Chat, Fake Reviews and Agency Access
- What Should a Monthly Marketing Report Include? A One-Page Template
- What Does a Two-Week Marketing Fix Include? An Itemised Look
- What Does Marketing for a Local Business Actually Include? Five Things
- What Goes in a Quote Customers Say Yes To? A Template for Tradespeople
- What Makes a Customer Choose Your Business Online? Photos, a Price and Being Easy to Find
- What Matters Most on a Tradesperson's Website? A Ranked List
- What Should a Tradesperson Post on Facebook and Instagram?
- What Should the First Line of Your Homepage Say? A Formula for Local Businesses
- What Should a Tradesperson's Van Say? Copy It Onto Your Website
- Why Customers Pick the Tradesperson Whose Website Shows Photos and a Price
- Why Customers Say 'We Went With Someone Else' and How to Find Out Why
- Wrong Opening Hours on Google? How to Fix Them and Stop Losing Calls
Planning
- Branding for Small Businesses: What You Actually Need Before You Spend on Marketing
- The Small Business Marketing Funnel: From Stranger to Booked Job
- Online Presence Audit: A 30-Minute Checklist for Small Business Owners
- 25 Quick Wins to Improve Your Online Presence This Month
Rules and compliance
- UK Advertising Rules for Small Businesses: The CAP Code in Plain English
- Can You Call Your Business 'The Best' in an Ad? UK Rules on Claims Explained
- Email Marketing for UK Small Businesses: A Simple, Legal Way to Start
- Can I Text or Email My Customers? PECR Marketing Rules for UK Small Businesses
Social media
- Instagram Reels for Local Businesses: Ideas That Bring In Customers
- Social Media for Tradespeople: What to Post (and What's a Waste of Time)
Websites
- How to Write a Homepage That Gets Calls: Plain-English Tips for Local Businesses
- What a Small Business Website Needs in 2026 (and What It Doesn't)
- Website Launch Checklist: 25 Checks Before Your New Site Goes Live
- Is Your Website Too Slow? Simple Speed Fixes for Small Businesses
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