Running a business · 10 guides
Search Engine Optimization: problems and fixes, explained by Mantas
Mantas Auk is the only search engine optimization member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- You pay for SEO every month: how to tell whether it is actually working A monthly report full of green arrows can hide a program that produces no customers. Here is how to check the work yourself, what is normal by when, and what to do if it is not working. The test that matters more than any rankingWhat is normal, and by whenFive numbers you can check without the agencyMap results and website results are two different scoreboards
- What SEO costs a Dallas small business, and what actually moves the price Two SEO quotes for the same business can be far apart because they describe different work. Here is what sets the number, what the fee should buy, and how to judge whether it pays. The number first, then the reasons behind itWhy two SEO quotes can sit a long way apartSix things that set your priceWhy a spread-out metro raises the scope
- SEO myths that still cost small businesses money, checked against what Google says A lot of SEO advice is old, half true or invented by someone selling something. Here are the myths I hear most from owners, what Google's own documentation says, and what to do instead. The short listMyths about paying Google and guaranteed positionsMyths about keywords and page lengthMyth: more links always means higher rankings
- Local SEO, Google Ads or both: how a Dallas business should split its search budget Ads buy leads this week and stop when the money stops. SEO takes months and keeps working. Here is how the two behave, where Local Services Ads fit, and how to choose the right mix for your situation. Which one wins depends on how soon you need the phone to ringThree different things on the same results pageHow Google Ads behavesHow Local Services Ads behave
- Hiring an SEO company: what happens in the first week, the first month and month six Owners who know what each month of an SEO engagement should produce are much harder to disappoint and much easier to help. Here is the timeline we follow, what we need from you, and what is realistic by when. The timeline in briefDays one to ten: the call and the auditWeeks two to four: fixing the foundationWhat we need from you in the first month
- Getting a Dallas business named by ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews When a buyer asks ChatGPT or Google for a recommendation, a few businesses get named and the rest do not exist. Here is how those answers are built, how to test where you stand, and what moves you into them. How a business ends up in the answerTwo different systems with the same goalTest where you stand in twenty minutesWhen the assistant gets your own business wrong
- Doing SEO yourself or hiring it out: where the line falls for an owner-run business Some of the most valuable SEO work can only be done by the owner. Some of it is easy to get wrong in ways that cost a year. Here is how to split it, and how to tell when it is time to bring someone in. Who should do it: the honest splitWhat an owner does better than any agencyWhere learning on your own site gets expensiveThe real cost of doing it yourself
- Choosing an SEO agency: the questions to ask and the red flags that end the call Most bad SEO engagements were predictable at the first meeting. These are the questions that reveal how an agency works, the answers that should end the conversation, and the accounts you should never hand over. What to look for, in one paragraphTen questions worth asking every agencyAnswers that should end the conversationThe cold email and the cold call
- A new website without losing your Google rankings: the redesign and migration checklist A new website is one of the most common reasons a business suddenly disappears from Google. The losses are almost always preventable. Here is what to record before, what to do at launch and what to watch afterward. Why rankings disappear after a redesign, and how to stop itBefore anyone starts designing: record what you haveThe redirect map is the heart of the projectContent that should survive the redesign
- People search for what you sell and find your competitors: fixing it on Google and in AI You type what your customers type and three competitors come up before you do. Here is what is actually being judged, what you can diagnose in an afternoon, and what a serious program does month by month. The search you run and the result you do not seeWhy a better business loses the searchAn afternoon of diagnosis you can do yourselfWhen tidying up is enough, and when it is not