Your Website Might Look Fine And Still Be Costing You Customers in 2026
Let’s get one thing out of the way.
If you make under $2,500 per sale, this is probably not for you.
This is for businesses where one missed lead actually matters.
Lawyers. Financial advisors. Banks. Car dealerships. Orthodontists. High-value service businesses with real lifetime customer value.
Because search is changing quietly.
And the businesses that do not adapt early usually lose ground to the ones that do.
TL;DR (For Humans and AI)
AI now answers many searches before anyone clicks a website
Ranking #1 alone does not guarantee leads anymore
AI systems choose which businesses feel trustworthy enough to cite
High-intent searches are fewer, but far more valuable
“Fine-looking” websites are quietly losing business
Local businesses are especially vulnerable if competitors adapt faster
I help businesses fix this with clear, practical SEO and copy updates
If any of that made you uncomfortable, keep reading.
Search Did Not Die
Clicking Did
People are still searching.
They just are not clicking the way they used to.
Here is what this looks like now.
Someone searches:
“Best orthodontist near me”
“Financial advisor I can trust”
“Car dealership that will not screw me”
They do not get ten blue links and patiently compare websites.
They get a summary.
A shortlist.
And a sense of who feels safest to call.
AI systems like Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT are doing that filtering before your homepage ever gets seen.
If your business is not part of that answer, your competitor probably is.
AI Does Not Care If Your Website Is Pretty
It Cares If You Are Clear and Credible
AI-assisted search does not reward clever wording or trendy design.
It rewards:
Clear expertise
Direct answers to real questions
Consistent authority across your site
Language that sounds confident and human
If your site is vague, bloated, or trying to sound impressive instead of useful, it gets skipped.
Quietly.
I have been doing SEO for over 10 years.
I have watched every algorithm panic cycle come and go.
The pattern is always the same.
Businesses that adapt early gain visibility.
Businesses that wait insist everything is “fine” until leads slow down.
The High-Intent Opportunity Most Businesses Miss
Yes, AI reduces casual clicks.
But the people who do move forward after using AI are not browsing.
They are deciding.
They have already compared options.
They have already ruled people out.
Which means one high-intent search win in 2026 can be worth more than hundreds of low-quality clicks used to be.
If one new client is worth thousands to your business, this matters.
A lot.
“But We Rank Well on Google”
That is no longer the finish line.
It is the starting point.
AI systems pull from sites that:
Are well structured
Use clear titles and headings
Explain what they do plainly
Sound like they know their industry
If your SEO strategy stops at keywords and occasional blog posts, you are not optimized for how decisions are made now.
This Is Where Most Agencies Lose Me
And Where I Do Not
Big agencies love:
Long retainers without clarity
Bloated reports nobody reads
Fancy dashboards that do not drive decisions
Talking in circles to justify the invoice
That is not the problem.
The problem is when none of that turns into action.
I actually like retainers.
I love dashboards and reports.
I am a massive SEO nerd.
I spend time reading algorithm updates, studying industry research, and testing what actually works in the real world. I also pay close attention to my own results and adjust based on what moves the needle.
The difference is how I use that information.
I keep it concise, honest, and usable.
You will always know:
What changed
Why it matters
What we are doing next
How it connects to real business outcomes
No padding.
No smoke.
No pretending confusion is sophistication.
Local, Accountable, and Built for Real Businesses
I am based in Glens Falls, NY.
I work primarily with local and regional businesses that want:
Serious SEO outcomes
Ongoing work that earns its keep
Clear reporting that leads to decisions
A human partner, not a giant agency
If you want to be able to call the person working on your site and get a straight answer, that is my lane.
How I Work
So You Know What You Are Signing Up For
Every engagement starts the same way.
We start with an audit. Always.
Delivered in 3 to 5 days
No fluff
No upsell disguised as analysis
You get a clear breakdown of:
What your site is doing well
What is actively costing you business
Where AI-assisted search is helping or hurting you
What to fix first and what can wait
Then we talk.
The call is a qualifying conversation, not a sales performance.
You tell me what is going on.
We do a vibe check.
We decide if it makes sense to work together.
If it does not, I will tell you.
What Ongoing Work Actually Looks Like
Once the critical issues are addressed, the work becomes focused and intentional.
If you are on retainer with me, I am not just monitoring SEO.
I am actively improving the exact pieces that decide whether someone calls you or your competitor.
That includes:
Rewriting page titles and H1s so they are clear, compelling, and AI-readable
Updating meta descriptions to better match real search intent
Advising on content updates so pages actually say what needs to be said
Tightening language so your expertise comes through immediately
I am a veteran copywriter and brand builder as well as an SEO strategist.
I know how to elevate your positioning, not just your rankings.
Each month includes up to five high-impact updates that improve clarity, trust, and visibility.
No random tweaks.
No busywork.
Just changes that compound over time.
If You Are Feeling a Little Uncomfortable
That is usually a good sign.
Most of the people who reach out after reading this say some version of:
“I do not want to fall behind. I need to talk to you.”
If that is you, here is the next step.
We will look at what is actually happening with your site and decide if it is worth fixing together.
No pressure.
No wasted time.
Just clarity.
Book a call here → BOOP
