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Guides for UK Local Businesses

Plain-English guides on search visibility, reviews, websites and selling online.

• Google Business Profile suspended: How to find the cause and recover a suspended listing.
• How to appear in ChatGPT: What helps a local business show up in AI answers.
• Small business website cost UK: What a website costs and what to ask before you sign.
• Discount for Google reviews, UK rules: What Google and UK law say about rewarding reviews.
• Website not getting enquiries: Nine checks when visitors arrive but do not get in touch.
• Merchant Center products disapproved: Common causes of disapproved products and how to fix them.
• Is my SEO working: Seven signs that show whether your SEO is paying off.
• Local SEO audit cost UK: What a local SEO audit costs in the UK and what it should include.
• Why is my competitor above me on Google: Seven reasons a competitor outranks you, and how to check each.
• SEO or Google Ads first: How to choose between SEO and Google Ads for a local business.
• 90-day marketing plan: A step-by-step 90-day marketing plan for a local business.
• SEO vs AI search optimisation: What stays the same and what changes between SEO and AI search.
• Ranking first on Google vs AI recommendations: Why ranking first on Google does not guarantee an AI mention.
• Verification failed: Why Google Business Profile verification fails and what to try next.
• Video verification: What to film for a Google Business Profile video verification.
• Duplicate profile: How to find and remove a duplicate Google listing.
• Someone else controls my listing: How to regain control of a listing someone else owns.
• Service-area business: Address and service-area rules for businesses that travel to customers.
• Best UK business directories: The UK directories that are worth your time.
• What is NAP: What NAP is and why consistent details matter.
• Are paid directories worth it: When paying for a directory listing makes sense.
• Builder vs freelancer vs agency: How to choose between a website builder, a freelancer and an agency.
• Who owns your website: Who owns your domain, hosting, design, code and content.
• Website looks dated: redesign or fix: How to tell whether a dated website needs a redesign or a fix.
• Why is my website slow on mobile: The common reasons a website is slow on phones and how to fix them.
• Core Web Vitals in plain English: What Core Web Vitals are and how to pass them.
• What content a local business needs: The content a local business actually needs.
• How often to publish content: How often a small business should publish, and what matters more.
• Social media management cost UK: What social media management costs in the UK.
• Social media agency vs freelancer vs DIY: How to choose between an agency, a freelancer and doing it yourself.
• Which platform for your business: How to choose the right social platforms for your customers.
• Is social media bringing customers: How to tell whether social media is bringing customers.
• AI receptionist vs text-back vs answering service: How to choose between AI answering, text-back and a human service.
• What an AI receptionist cannot do: The limits of AI answering and when to use a person.
• AI receptionist cost UK: What AI call answering costs and what to compare.
• Missed-call text-back in the UK: How missed-call text-back works and what to check under UK rules.
• GA4 events for small business: Five events every local business should track in Google Analytics 4.
• Track phone calls from your website: How to count calls that start on your website.
• Why GA4 and Google Ads numbers differ: Why Google Analytics and Google Ads report different numbers.
• How fast to reply to a new enquiry: What the research says about reply speed and a realistic target.
• CRM for small businesses in the UK: What a small business CRM should do and how to start simply.
• Follow-up message templates: Copy and edit messages for enquiries, quotes and finished jobs.
• Email marketing for UK local businesses: A simple email plan for local businesses.
• Email vs SMS marketing: How to choose between email and text messages.
• UK rules for emailing and texting: UK points to check before emailing or texting customers.
• Why business emails go to spam: Why business emails land in spam and how to fix it.
• How to win back past customers: A simple plan to bring past customers back.
• How to get more Google reviews: How to ask for more Google reviews within Google and UK rules.
• How to respond to a bad Google review: How to reply calmly to a bad review, with examples.
• How to report a fake Google review: How to flag a review you believe is fake, and what UK law says.
• Review request templates: Copy and edit messages that ask for honest reviews.
• What results to realistically expect: Realistic timelines for local marketing and what no one can guarantee.
• How to spot a marketing agency that overpromises: Eight claims from marketing agencies that deserve a hard question.
• Google Merchant Center setup for UK sellers: How to set up Google Merchant Center as a UK seller.
• Missing GTIN in Merchant Center: What a GTIN is and how to fix a missing or wrong one.
• Price mismatch in Merchant Center: Why a feed price disagrees with your site and how to fix it.
• Merchant Center account suspended: Why an account is suspended and how to ask for a review.
• Sell on Google and social from one catalogue: How one catalogue can feed Google, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.
• Which sales channel to start with: How to choose your first sales channel.
• How to sell on TikTok Shop in the UK: How to open and run a TikTok Shop in the UK.
• TikTok Shop fees and requirements: What TikTok Shop costs and who can join.
• Is TikTok Shop legit and safe: The risks and checks before you sell on TikTok Shop.
• What a good monthly SEO report should show: What a monthly report should show and what to ask about it.
• Vanity metrics to ignore: Numbers that look good but do not show results, and what to track instead.
• Why GA4 and Search Console differ: Why clicks and sessions never match and which to trust.
• How much Google Ads cost in the UK: What Google Ads cost UK small businesses.
• Google Local Services Ads in the UK: How pay-per-lead ads work for UK service businesses.
• Google Ads not working: nine checks: Nine checks when ads bring clicks but no calls.
• How to choose a local SEO agency: Ten questions to ask any agency before you sign.
• Agency red flags: twelve warning signs: Twelve warning signs of a poor agency.
• Should you sign a 12-month marketing contract: What to check before agreeing to a long marketing contract.