THE PUNCH LIST / 21 STRAIGHT ANSWERS
The questions owners search, answered straight — with the list of what to do.
A punch list is what still has to be done before the job is finished. Each post here takes one question you have probably typed into Google, gives the straight answer, then the punch list — in the order we would do it. Written by the person who does the work, for the trades we work with.
SEO / 8 posts
Getting found on Google.
The map pack, reviews, rankings that dropped, links that look wrong, and how long any of it takes.
SEO / 8-minute read
How do I check for toxic backlinks, and what should I do about them?
Where to see every link to your site, the four patterns that can earn a manual action, what to do about each this week, and how to build the disavow file right.
Read the answer
SEO / 5-minute read
How do I get my business into the Google map pack?
The three things Google says decide the map pack — relevance, distance, prominence — translated into what to do on the profile, the site and the reviews.
Read the answer
SEO / 5-minute read
How do I get more Google reviews — and what do I do about a bad one?
The ask that works — same day, by text, with the direct link — the reply routine, what Google’s policy forbids, and the calm way to answer a one-star review.
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SEO / 4-minute read
Why isn’t my website showing up on Google?
The nine reasons a site is missing from Google, from most to least likely — not indexed, blocked, too new, too thin, too slow — and the five-minute test.
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SEO / 5-minute read
How long does SEO take to work?
What moves in the first weeks, what takes a quarter, what takes a year, and why — for a local service business, with the signs it is working before the calls.
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SEO / 5-minute read
Why did my Google rankings drop, and how do I find the cause?
The one-hour diagnosis — was it the site, the profile, Google or a competitor, in that order — with the report to open for each. Most drops are not penalties.
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SEO / 5-minute read
How do I tell if an SEO company is a scam?
The guarantees, the calls “from Google,” the vanity-phrase report, the site you never own — twelve red flags, the questions that expose them, the honest way.
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SEO / 13-minute read
Is a competitor sabotaging my SEO, and what do I do about it right now?
How competitors play dirty — spam links, fake reviews, profile edits, copied pages, a hack, drained ad clicks — how to catch each fast, and what to fix first.
Read the answerAI search / 2 posts
The engines that answer.
What the four disciplines mean, what an engine cites, and whether a blog is still worth writing.
AI search / 6-minute read
What is the difference between SEO, AIO, AEO and GEO — and which ones matter?
The four disciplines of search in the AI era, defined in a sentence each, how they stack, and which ones a local business should spend on this year.
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AI search / 5-minute read
Does my business need a blog?
A blog of generic articles does nothing for a local business. Pages that each answer one customer question do a great deal. What to write, and what to skip.
Read the answerAds / 3 posts
Buying the calls.
Google Ads, Local Services Ads and Meta ads — which first, what each is for, and how they work together.
Ads / 5-minute read
How do Meta ads and Google Ads work together for a local business?
Meta ads put your real work in front of homeowners who are not searching yet; Google Ads catch them the day they are. How the two connect and how to measure it.
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Ads / 5-minute read
Should a small business start with Google Ads or SEO?
Ads produce calls this week and stop when the money stops; SEO takes months and lasts. Three questions decide which to start with — the usual answer is both.
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Ads / 5-minute read
Are Google Local Services Ads worth it for contractors?
How Local Services Ads differ from Google Ads — the Google Guaranteed badge, pay per lead, what decides the rank — when they pay off and when they burn money.
Read the answerYour website / 4 posts
The site itself.
Slow pages, traffic that never calls, the rebuild question, and whether to build it yourself.
Your website / 4-minute read
Why is my website slow, and does it actually matter?
The six things that make a small business site slow on a phone, Google’s thresholds for fast, why speed is mostly a conversion problem, and what to fix first.
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Your website / 5-minute read
Do I need a new website, or can I fix the one I have?
The seven tests that decide it — speed, phones, structure, control, security, platform, brand — when a fix is right, when a rebuild is, how to keep what ranks.
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Your website / 5-minute read
Why does my website get traffic but no calls?
Either the wrong people are arriving or the right people cannot act. How to tell which in Search Console, the ten conversion fixes in order, the monthly test.
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Your website / 5-minute read
Should I build my own website with Wix or Squarespace?
When a builder is the right call, what it will not do for a local business — speed, structure, the AI-search basics, ownership — and how to leave without loss.
Read the answerLeads & follow-up / 2 posts
After the phone rings.
Shared-lead marketplaces, and the system a two-truck company needs to stop losing the ones it gets.
Leads & follow-up / 5-minute read
Are Angi, Thumbtack and HomeAdvisor leads worth it?
How the shared-lead marketplaces work — one inquiry sold to several contractors, paid for whether or not you win — when they make sense, and the alternative.
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Leads & follow-up / 5-minute read
Does a small contractor really need a CRM?
A CRM is the list of everyone who asked, what they wanted and what happened next. Why a two-truck company loses jobs without one, and how to start in a week.
Read the answerThe long version / 10 guides
When a term needs the full definition.
The posts are the short, practical answers. The guides are the long ones: what AI SEO is, how each engine decides whom to name, what llms.txt is for.
FAQ / Answers
About The Punch List
Why is it called The Punch List?
A punch list is what a contractor calls the list of what still has to be done before a job is finished. Every post here takes one question owners search, gives the straight answer, and then the punch list: what to do about it, in order. It is written for the trades we work with, in their words.
Who writes these posts?
Michael Blair, the founder of Nashville’s Web Design, who builds and runs every layer of the work the posts describe — the sites, the local and AI SEO, the ads and the automation — for clients and for the company’s own Middle Tennessee trade sites, where the methods are tested first. Every post carries the date it was last updated.
Can I do what the posts say myself?
Yes — that is how they are written. Most punch lists can be worked through by an owner in an afternoon, and the free scan and the free AI answer check on this site show you which items apply to you. When you would rather have it done, each post says what we would do and how to start.
How are the posts different from the guides?
The guides are the long definitions: what AI SEO is, how each engine decides, what llms.txt is for. The posts are shorter and practical: one searched question, one straight answer, one list of things to do. The posts link to the guides wherever a term needs the long version.
Three free checks / One a month each
Start with the checks. Each one is a punch list of its own.
The same checks we run before quoting a job. Each is free, asks for no email, and the result is yours whether you hire us or not.
Free / Scan your website
85 checks on your site.
Technical SEO, speed on a phone, structured data, AI search readiness and whether the page turns a visitor into a call — every finding with its fix, a PDF and its own link.
Scan a siteFree / Ask Google’s AI
Does the AI name you?
Google’s AI Mode asked for the best business of your kind in your city, live, and read for your name — then the map at your own address and your profile against the pack.
Run the checkFree / Check your links
How many of your links fail the rules?
Every site linking to yours read by the backlink audit’s written rules — how many fail outright, how many are borderline, the reasons, five examples, and a PDF.
Check the linksNEXT STEP
Rather have the punch list done than read it?
Tell us your trade and your city. Before we call, we check what Google and the AI engines say about you, so the first conversation is about what is actually on your list.
Social & video / 2 posts
Being seen before the search.
Why an owner is a local influencer now, and what YouTube and Shorts do for a trade.
Social & video / 6-minute read
Why does my business have to be a micro-influencer now?
Customers, Google and the AI engines all favor a business with a known face and real work on camera. What to post, where, how often, and the rules.
Read the answerSocial & video / 5-minute read
Should my business have a YouTube channel — and are Shorts worth it?
What a YouTube channel does for a local business that Facebook cannot, why Shorts are the cheapest way in, what to film, and how it feeds the site.
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