Google Ads search terms report: what to check before changing keywords
Review the searches behind your ads, compare them with your services and choose what to investigate before changing keywords.
Read moreJC LABS BLOG
Practical advice about Google and local marketing.
Useful guidance on profiles, advertising and enquiries for Canadian local businesses.
Google Ads call assets: choose hours you can actually answer
Set call asset hours around someone who can answer. Check the campaign schedule, time zone and after-hours enquiry path separately.
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Google Ads conversions vs all conversions: which total matters?
A bigger conversion total does not always mean more leads. Check the actions behind it, then compare enquiries, suitable jobs and bookings.
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Should you disavow backlinks? Check before paying for cleanup
A toxic-link warning is a reason to check the evidence. Learn when Google recommends disavow and what to ask before approving backlink cleanup.
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404 or 301? What to do when a service page disappears
A missing service page needs a decision. Learn when to restore it, use a relevant redirect or leave 404, then check the links customers still use.
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Google Business Profile for trades: Should you hide your home address?
Work from home and visit customers? Check when to hide your address, set realistic service areas and review what customers see on Google.
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Google Ads financial services verification in Canada: What to prepare
Google plans financial-services verification for Canada in early 2027. Prepare your account records and handoff while Canadian instructions are pending.
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Google Ads learning status: when to wait or make a change
Check the enquiry path, record what changed and give the relevant outcomes time to arrive before adjusting again.
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Google Business Profile posts: turn job photos into useful updates
Use a real job photo to answer a customer question, then connect the update to a useful service page and enquiry route.
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Google Ads qualifying answers: what makes a lead worth following up?
A qualifying form answer is a starting point, not a booking. Choose useful questions and check which Canadian enquiries become suitable jobs.
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Google Ads location targeting: can your crew reach the job?
Match Google Ads locations to your real service area. Check Presence options, remote buyers and confirmed job locations before adding exclusions.
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How to reply to Google reviews without sounding scripted
Use the customer’s actual point, a detail you can verify and a realistic next step. Keep public replies and private follow-up connected.
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Local Services Ads follow-up: give every enquiry a next step
Keep LSA enquiries moving with one owner, a clear next action and a realistic response process. Separate Google lead status from confirmed bookings.
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How to set a Google Ads budget around the jobs you want
Build a Google Ads budget from job margins, close rates and crew capacity. A worked CAD example shows what to check before increasing spend.
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Google review extortion: a response plan for local businesses
Save the original demand, assign someone to coordinate the response and report through the right Google channel.
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Google Maps location looks wrong? Check before changing the profile
A map display problem deserves a factual check. Keep the public rendering, underlying business details and any claimed ranking effect separate.
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Google Ads multi-source conversions: check what the records mean
Matching records only helps when both sources describe the same event. Check the event, identifiers and values before allowing backend data to change reporting.
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Google AI calls: what Canadian businesses should know
Check the Canadian availability before changing your workflow. Clear service information and sensible enquiry handling are useful regardless of who calls.
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LSA access or profile-link problems: what to check first
Keep account access, profile linking and lead delivery separate while troubleshooting. Historical bug reporting does not establish the cause of today’s error.
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Google Ads booking buttons: check the route before the goal
Confirm the booking destination and partner connection before changing bidding goals. A generic appointment link does not establish partner-booking measurement.
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Google Business Profile Q&A: what Canadian owners can do
What Canadian owners can do about Business Profile questions, retired Q&A software access and answers customers need before booking.
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Local Services Ads in Google Ads: what Canadian businesses should prepare
The August 2026 rollout began with selected US advertisers. Canadian businesses should follow their own account notice and prepare records before their...
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A seasonal Google Business Profile routine for local trades
Seasonal demand changes what customers need to know. Keep the profile and the office working from the same service, availability and coverage information.
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AI search visibility: measure enquiries and booked work
A mention, a website visit and a booked job are different outcomes. Keep them separate so your AI search report helps you decide what to improve.
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Google Business Profile appeals: prepare the evidence before submitting
Google now accepts supporting files within the appeal workflow. Check the reason for the restriction and prepare the evidence before you submit.
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Google Business Profile maintenance: what to check weekly
Check the information customers rely on, respond to useful changes and give each task an owner. Regular maintenance helps keep your profile dependable.
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AI local search: a practical check for Canadian businesses
Check the facts an AI answer gives customers, then fix the profile and website information you can control. A practical starting point for Canadian businesses.
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Fake Google reviews: a guide for Canadian businesses
Build a fair review routine, document possible violations and respond to criticism without buying reviews or promising removals.
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Local Services Ads for Canadian contractors: costs and leads
A practical Canadian contractor's guide to Local Services Ads eligibility, valid leads, current credit rules and the cost of booked work.
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Google Business Profile tools for Canadian businesses
Which Google Business Profile tools can help a Canadian business, what each does and the account restrictions to check before you connect.
Read moreEarlier writing on business and leadership (21 articles)
The earlier collection remains available here.
The task you keep postponing may be worth fixing first
An overdue task is a clue to investigate, not automatic proof that it needs AI. Find out why it keeps slipping before choosing a fix.
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Write down how the work happens before automating it
A useful process map describes what happens on an ordinary day, including the missing details and handoffs that a demonstration can overlook.
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Give your business shared rules for using AI
A saved prompt can help with a task. Shared rules explain when to use it, what to check and who is responsible for the result.
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Before using an AI agent, define the work you are delegating
An AI agent needs a defined job and clear limits. Decide what it may read, change and send before connecting it to business systems.
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Make room for honest questions while your business learns AI
A person should be able to say they do not understand an AI result. Give the business a clear way to ask, check and learn before expanding a trial.
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Make the point clear before making the message longer
A useful message helps someone understand, decide or act. Give the reader the point early, then the detail they need to use it.
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Before adding another feature, check the problem it solves
A feature can be easy to build and still be the wrong addition. Ask what users are trying to do before expanding the product.
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After automating a task, decide what the saved time is for
Time saved can reduce pressure or make room for neglected work. Check whether the saving is real, then make a deliberate choice about what follows.
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Views are a starting point, not proof your content worked
An automated clip can attract views without proving business value. Decide what the content should help a customer do, then measure the relevant next step.
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Use AI where it helps, and keep checking the work
A useful AI skill is knowing how to direct and check the work. Start with a task you understand well enough to judge the result.
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Keep improving the reason customers choose your business
Your next improvement may come from a repeated customer question or a difficult handoff. Listen closely before committing to a technology project.
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Before buying another AI tool, fix one slow part of the business
A slow process deserves a closer look. Start with the customer or colleague waiting on it, then decide whether AI is part of the answer.
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Show the standard, then give people room to do the work
Finishing a task for someone can feel faster. Showing what good work looks like, then leaving room to try, is the harder habit I am learning.
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Before solving the problem, ask what is making it difficult
A difficult morning with my daughter reminded me to slow down before deciding why someone is stuck. The same question is useful at work.
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Steady leadership: explain the plan and invite the questions
A parenting and leadership conversation prompted me to rethink how I explain decisions. Clear expectations need room for honest questions.
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Practice makes progress: give useful work a fair test
“Practice makes progress” helped me think differently about learning. At work, it means making a useful attempt with clear limits and a way to improve.
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Leading by example starts with the rules you follow
My daughter notices when I ignore a rule I have set. At work, people notice the same gap between a standard and the way a leader behaves.
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What bedtime stories can teach you about explaining a plan
A story can help people follow a plan. Give them a clear situation, a reason to act and a practical way to recognise progress.
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The toddler test: make your business communication clearer
Repeated “why” questions are a useful test of an explanation. Try the same patience with a service page, customer email or project brief.
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Leadership and parenthood: leave room for the unexpected
A plan can be thorough and still meet a tired person on a difficult day. Leave room to adjust, and know how to repair what goes wrong.
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When stepping back helps people solve the problem
At a difficult strata meeting, the conversation improved when the people closest to the problem could speak directly. There is a lesson for work too.
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