Local SEO That Moves the Needle for Small Businesses
From comprehensive audits to full engagements, every project I deliver is built from real data, honest findings, and a clear plan. Here's a look at the work.
Get Your Free SEO AuditThese case studies include full SEO engagements and comprehensive audits delivered to real clients. No stock screenshots, no made-up numbers. What you'll find here is exactly what was done, what was found, and what the results looked like.
Case Studies
A sample of the businesses I've worked with and the results we built together.
Weith Portraits
Weith Portraits is a private home studio in Wauconda, IL specializing in intimate and boudoir portrait photography. The studio launched the engagement on February 23, 2026 with zero organic clicks, 21 total impressions, and visibility for a single branded query. Over three months, the work built a complete technical, content, and local SEO foundation from scratch, producing confirmed first-page rankings for every primary target keyword by the engagement close date.
What We Built
- GSC connected, sitemap submitted, full Screaming Frog crawl documented at baseline
- Homepage title tag, H1, and meta description rewritten to target Lake County IL geography
- LocalBusiness and FAQPage schema markup deployed on homepage and standalone FAQ page
- Three blog posts written and submitted to GSC; one generated 83 impressions within 9 days of indexing
- GBP category changed to Portrait Studio, description optimized, 36 SEO-renamed photos uploaded
- 12 GBP posts published across a structured 5-week content schedule
Rankings at Close (June 5, 2026)
- 1st organically and 1st in the Map Pack for intimate portrait photographer wauconda il
- 2nd organically for boudoir photographer wauconda il and boudoir photography wauconda il
- 3rd organically for boudoir photographer lake county il
- 8th and 9th in the Map Pack for the two Wauconda boudoir queries
- 2nd in Google AI Overview for two target queries
Theatre Ariel
Theatre Ariel is Philadelphia's only professional Jewish theatre company, operating since 1990. Despite their unique and uncontested niche positioning, the organization was virtually invisible in both traditional Google search and emerging AI search platforms, a critical gap for an arts nonprofit that relies on community awareness to sell tickets and secure donations.
What We Found
- Google Business Profile unverified, cutting off access to 60–80% of potential local search traffic
- Only 1 Google review and 2 photos, with zero posts or Q&A activity
- 9 key pages (including the homepage) completely missing H1 tags
- 12 title tags over the 60-character limit, causing truncation in search results
- Zero schema markup sitewide, making the organization invisible to AI search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity
- No presence in AI search results despite being the only Jewish theatre company in Philadelphia
What I Recommended
- Verify and fully build out the GBP: categories, business description, 15–20 photos, Q&A, and regular posts
- Add H1 tags to all 9 affected pages with location-keyword-focused copy
- Rewrite 12 title tags to the 50–60 character optimal range
- Implement Organization and Event schema markup for AI discoverability
- Create a dedicated FAQ page structured for AI citation
- Launch a review generation strategy targeting 20–25 new reviews per month
Max was quick and thorough! I was amazed by the detailed report and actionable plans he provided us with. He was very communicative, easy to reach and delivered more than I even expected.
SpiderMeka Portraits
SpiderMeka Portraits is a Chicago-based professional photography studio specializing in personal branding, corporate headshots, and luxury portraits. The business also offers a unique camera confidence course called "Calm Before the Camera," giving it two distinct revenue streams. Despite 44 five-star Google reviews and a strong brand, SpiderMeka was completely absent from the local map pack and losing significant search traffic to competitors with higher review counts.
What We Found
- Completely absent from the Google Map Pack for every target keyword despite having 44 five-star reviews
- Zero schema markup sitewide; Google couldn't identify the business as a photography studio or the course as an educational product
- GBP showing "Closed" with a missing phone number and zero Google Posts ever published
- Targeting "Chicago headshot photographer," a keyword requiring 150–350 reviews to rank, rather than the more strategic and winnable "personal branding photography Chicago"
- Missing H1 on the team page; duplicate H1s on the course page
- 4 pages missing meta descriptions entirely
What I Recommended
- Shift primary keyword strategy to "personal branding photography Chicago," winnable with the current review count and a 60–90 day path to page 1
- Add LocalBusiness and Course schema markup to enable rich search results and AI discoverability
- Fix GBP immediately: add phone number, correct hours, rewrite business description with target keywords
- Launch review generation targeting 50–75 new reviews in 90 days to reach Map Pack competitive threshold
- Fix all H1 issues and add 4 missing meta descriptions
- Rewrite course page title tag and meta to focus on "overcome camera shyness," targeting the actual search intent
Council Resale
Council Resale is a nonprofit upscale thrift store in Berkley, MI, benefiting NCJW Michigan and serving the community since 1934. Despite strong customer satisfaction (4.1 stars) and a technically solid website, the store was sitting in 4th place in the local map pack for "thrift store near me," just outside the top 3 that capture 90% of clicks, and losing an estimated $5,400–$14,400 in annual foot traffic revenue to competitors.
What We Found
- Ranking 4th in the local map pack, one position outside the top 3 that gets 90% of clicks
- Google Business Profile unverified with less than 1% review response rate (1 response out of 112 reviews)
- Zero Google Posts ever published; no Q&A section, no owner engagement
- All 5 main pages completely missing H1 tags
- No meta descriptions on any page; Google was auto-generating search snippets from random content
- NAP inconsistencies across directories undermining local trust signals
- Zero schema markup sitewide
What I Recommended
- Verify the GBP and immediately begin responding to reviews to signal active engagement
- Upload 10–15 high-quality photos and publish the first 3 Google Posts in week one
- Add H1 tags to all 5 pages with location-specific, keyword-focused copy
- Write and implement meta descriptions for every page with location keywords and clear calls to action
- Implement LocalBusiness schema markup (ThriftStore subtype) in JSON-LD format
- Standardize NAP across all directories to one consistent format
- Launch in-store QR code and staff-prompted review generation targeting 20–25 new reviews per month
CLAAD Mechanical LLC
CLAAD Mechanical is a commercial and industrial HVAC contractor based in Broadview Heights, Ohio, specializing in boilers, chillers, and building controls. Founded in 2009, the company brings 200+ years of combined field experience and serves healthcare, municipal, and institutional clients, a depth of expertise most HVAC contractors cannot match. Despite a 5.0-star rating and ASHRAE and RSES membership, CLAAD was effectively invisible on Google. A site totaling just 1,477 words across 9 pages, zero meta descriptions, no schema markup, and an underdeveloped GBP meant that credentials that should command page one rankings were generating almost no inbound search traffic.
What We Found
- All 9 title tags formatted as "Page Name - CLAAD Mechanical LLC," with no service terms, no location, no search intent
- Zero meta descriptions and zero schema markup sitewide; Google had no signal to understand what the business did or where it operated
- Homepage missing its H1 tag entirely; 8 of 9 pages flagged as low content
- Entire site totaled 1,477 words, less than one competitive service page, with no dedicated pages for boiler service, chiller service, controls, or preventive maintenance
- GBP holding position 5 in the map pack with only 6 reviews; business hours missing; category set to "Heating contractor" instead of the broader "HVAC contractor"
- 3 oversized images (317KB, 275KB, 175KB) pushing LCP to 2.1 seconds and holding GTmetrix grade at B
- 404 broken link to an HVAC description PDF on the Employment page; 14 images missing alt text
What I Recommended
- Rewrite all 9 title tags with service terms and location, starting with the homepage: "Commercial HVAC Service | Boilers, Chillers & Controls | Broadview Heights OH"
- Write meta descriptions for all 9 pages and add an H1 to the homepage
- Implement LocalBusiness and Service schema markup via Rank Math, visible in Search Console within 7-14 days
- Build 5 missing service pages: Commercial Boiler Service Ohio, Chiller Service and Repair, Building Controls Service, HVAC Preventive Maintenance Contracts, and a Service Area page targeting Greater Cleveland
- Update GBP: add business hours, switch primary category to "HVAC contractor," add secondary categories, upload 20+ job and equipment photos
- Launch a systematic review request campaign targeting the 91-194 review range needed for map pack positions 1-3, a realistic 12-month target
- Compress 3 oversized images to push LCP below 2.0 seconds and achieve GTmetrix grade A
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