The Playbook

Straight talk, no jargon.

31 plays and counting — what things cost, what they're worth, and when they pay for themselves. Written for owners, not developers. New plays added every week.

CONVERSIONWhy Your Website Gets Traffic But No CallsVisitors without phone calls means a conversion problem, not a traffic problem. The five leaks that turn Chicagoland visitors into bounces —→TRUSTThe 5 Website Mistakes That Make a Business Look ClosedA 2021 copyright, a dead Instagram embed, last winter's hours — the small website details that quietly tell Chicagoland customers a business→THE SPRINTWebsite-in-a-Week: What Actually Happens Day by DayThe exact seven-day schedule behind the Website-in-a-Week sprint: what happens each day, what's needed from you, and why speed doesn't mean →BUYER'S GUIDEHow to Read a Web Design Quote (And Spot the Padding)Line-by-line: what belongs in a web design quote, what's padding, and the three questions that make an inflated quote deflate on the spot.→STRAIGHT TALKDIY Website Builders: When They're Right, When They Rob YouThe honest case for Wix and Squarespace, the point where DIY starts costing more than hiring, and how to know which side of the line you're →CARE PLANSThe $78 Question: What Website Care Actually CoversWhat a website care plan actually does month to month, the disasters it quietly prevents, and when you genuinely don't need one.→LOCAL SEO 2026Local SEO in 2026: What Changed, What Still WorksAI answers, review signals, and profile activity moved local SEO in 2026 — but the fundamentals still decide who gets the call. The current →OWNER'S GUIDEBefore You Fire Your Web Guy: A Fair ChecklistSometimes the developer deserves it, sometimes the brief was the problem. A fair checklist for deciding — and how to leave clean if it's tim→SITE OF THE MONTH — #003Site of the Month #003: The Restaurant Trapped in a PDFTeardown of a composite Chicagoland restaurant website: a phone-hostile PDF menu, no online ordering path, and photos doing all the work alo→SITE OF THE MONTH — #004Site of the Month #004: The Mechanic Google Can't FindTeardown of a composite auto repair shop site: invisible on local search, services buried in one paragraph, and trust signals hiding in a dr→SITE OF THE MONTH — #005Site of the Month #005: The Gym That Hid Its PricesTeardown of a composite gym website: hidden pricing, a trial buried three clicks deep, and a schedule PDF from last season. Fixes ranked by →SITE OF THE MONTH — #006Site of the Month #006: The Dentist Frozen in 2019Teardown of a composite dental practice site: no online booking, insurance mystery, and a homepage announcing a hygienist who left. Fixes ra→WHAT SEO COSTSWhat SEO Actually Costs in Chicagoland — and When It's Worth Paying ForReal 2026 numbers, what's inside legitimate retainers, and the promises that should make you walk.→THE 15-MINUTE SELF-AUDITThe 15-Minute Website Self-Audit (Do It Tonight, No Tools Needed)Five checks any owner can run alone: the stranger test, phone speed, call path, proof, and what Google sees.→SITE OF THE MONTH — #002Site of the Month #002: The Landscaper Nobody Could CallGreat photos, invisible phone number, zero town names. Five fixes, ranked by revenue.→WHAT A WEBSITE REALLY COSTSWhat a Website Really Costs in Chicagoland (2026 Straight Talk)Real numbers for Chicagoland business websites in 2026: what drives price, what agencies charge, and the questions to ask before you pay anyone.→7 SIGNS YOU'RE BLEEDING ON BUSYWORK7 Signs Your Business Is Bleeding Money on BusyworkSeven concrete signs a business is overpaying for repetitive work — and what automating each one typically saves per year.→AI ADS: TEST TEN, PAY FOR ONEAI Avatars & UGC Ads: The Cheapest Ad Testing That's Ever ExistedHow AI avatars and UGC-style creative let small businesses test ten ad angles for less than one traditional shoot.→SITE OF THE MONTH — #001Site of the Month: The Teardown Series BeginsEvery month I publicly tear down one Chicagoland business website — what's costing it visitors, what I'd fix first, and what it teaches every other local business. Nominate a site, including your own.→LOCAL SEO, THIS WEEKThe Local SEO Checklist Every Chicagoland Business Can Run This WeekA practical, no-jargon local SEO checklist: Google Business Profile, reviews, on-page basics, and the local signals that decide who shows up first.→10 QUESTIONS THAT SAVE YOU THOUSANDS10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring Any Web DesignerThe ten questions that expose whether a web designer will deliver — and the answers that should make you keep walking.→SPEED IS MONEYWhy Your Website Loads Slow — and What Every Second Costs YouThe real reasons small business websites load slowly, what slow speed does to rankings and sales, and the fixes that matter most.→THE FREE 30-MINUTE UPGRADEGoogle Business Profile: The Highest-ROI 30 Minutes in Local MarketingHow to set up and actually use your free Google Business Profile — the listing that decides who gets found in Chicagoland local search.→WHERE ONLINE STORES LEAK MONEYThe E-Commerce Mistakes Quietly Killing Small Store SalesThe checkout, product page and trust mistakes that cost small online stores most of their would-be orders — and the fixes.→GOOGLE'S NATIVE LANGUAGESchema Markup in Plain English — and Why Google Rewards ItWhat schema markup actually is, why it helps local businesses get found, and how to know if your site has it.→REBUILD OR REFRESH?Website Redesign vs. Refresh: Which One Do You Actually Need?How to tell whether your site needs a full rebuild or a focused refresh — and the signs that point each way.→PLAY BEATS PITCHWhy Interactive Tools Beat Brochure Websites at Winning LeadsCalculators, quizzes and games hold attention, earn links and capture leads while static sites get skimmed. Here's the mechanics.→EMAIL: THE QUIET CLOSEREmail Sequences That Sell Without Feeling Like SpamAutomated email flows that nurture leads and recover lost sales — what to send, when, and how to keep it human.→THE SELF-RUNNING BACK OFFICEWhat an Automated Back Office Looks Like (Built by a Finance Guy)How small businesses automate bookkeeping, invoicing and payroll admin — and what it saves — from a builder with a finance degree.→DIY VS. CUSTOM, NO SPINWix, Squarespace & DIY Builders vs. Custom: The Honest ComparisonWhen DIY website builders are genuinely the right call, when they quietly cost more than custom, and how to decide.→REVIEWS: THE SYSTEMHow to Collect Reviews That Actually Rank You (and Close Customers)A working system for getting steady Google reviews: when to ask, how to ask, what to do with rough ones, and why velocity beats volume.→

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