Tariq M. Khan

I work with businesses across North America (US & Canada), the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand — any English-speaking market. All work is done remotely, so location is never a barrier. If your website is in English and you serve customers online or locally, I can help.

Local SEO is the process of optimising your online presence so customers in your area find your business when they search Google. That includes ranking in Google Maps (the "map pack"), showing up in "near me" searches, and ensuring your business information is accurate across the web. If you have a physical location or serve a specific area, local SEO is essential — it's how most people find a business before visiting or calling.

SEO is not a switch — it's a compounding process. Most clients begin seeing measurable improvements in local map pack rankings and organic traffic within 60–90 days. In more competitive markets or for technically complex sites, meaningful movement typically appears within 3–6 months. The honest answer: results depend on your competition, current site health, and the market. I'll give you a realistic forecast after reviewing your situation.

No — and any SEO consultant who does is misleading you. Google's algorithm is not something any individual controls. What I guarantee is rigorous, ethical, and methodical work based on Google's own guidelines — the same approach used by enterprise teams. My IT background means I go deeper into technical factors than most consultants, which consistently produces stronger and more durable results.

A Local SEO audit covers your Google Business Profile (completeness, categories, photos, reviews, Q&A), NAP consistency across the top directories, on-page signals (title tags, local keywords, mobile speed), and your map pack ranking position versus competitors. Every finding is delivered in a plain-English report with a prioritised action plan — not a generic checklist.

Ads and SEO serve different purposes. Google Ads gives you immediate visibility but stops the moment you stop paying. SEO builds compounding organic visibility that you own — it doesn't switch off when your budget runs out. For most local businesses, the best strategy is to use ads for immediate leads while simultaneously building SEO for long-term, lower-cost traffic. I focus on SEO, but I'll always give you an honest view of what makes sense for your situation.

Technical SEO intersects heavily with web infrastructure — server configuration, HTTPS, page speed, crawl budget, security headers, and structured data. Most SEO consultants are marketers first; they use tools but don't always understand why something is broken at the technical level. With 30+ years in enterprise IT — including network infrastructure, cybersecurity (CISSP, CISM), and large-scale system management across global organisations — I diagnose and fix technical SEO problems that others miss or misdiagnose.

I track results across several dimensions: keyword ranking improvements (where your pages appear in Google search results), organic traffic growth (via Google Analytics), Google Business Profile performance (map views, calls, direction requests), and conversion-related metrics (form fills, click-to-call, bookings). You'll receive regular reports with clear data, plain-English interpretation, and next-step recommendations.

To begin, I typically need: your website URL, access to Google Search Console and Google Analytics (read-only is fine), your Google Business Profile details, and a brief overview of your business, target customers, and main competitors. Don't worry if some of these aren't set up yet — part of what I do is get the fundamentals in place correctly from the start.

I work with local businesses and SMBs across a wide range of sectors — retail, professional services (law, accounting, consulting), healthcare, dental, hospitality, home services (plumbing, HVAC, landscaping), real estate, and eCommerce. My enterprise IT background also gives me a strong foundation for working with technology companies and SaaS businesses that need technical depth in their SEO strategy.

Yes. All monthly packages are month-to-month — no long-term contracts, no cancellation penalties. I operate on the belief that clients should stay because they're seeing results, not because they're locked in. I ask for 30 days' notice before cancellation so I can document and hand over everything properly.

We start with a Local SEO Audit ($300, one-time) — a complete diagnostic of your Google Business Profile and citation health that shows exactly what is holding back your rankings. From there, Implementation (from $400, one-time) handles all the fixes identified in the audit. Once your foundations are solid, Monthly SEO Management ($200/month) keeps your rankings protected and growing with ongoing monitoring, reporting, and GBP management. Most clients start with the audit and move forward from there.

AI is changing how people search — Google's AI Overviews (formerly SGE) now surface answers directly in results, which can reduce clicks on some queries. But local and service-based searches remain highly transactional: people searching "plumber near me" or "accountant in Austin" still click through to find a business to call or visit. Local SEO, Google Business Profile optimisation, and technical credibility signals (E-E-A-T) are becoming more important, not less. The businesses that invest in solid SEO fundamentals now are the ones that will be found in the AI era.

With an agency, your account is often handed to a junior analyst after the sale. With me, you work directly with the person who has 30+ years of enterprise IT experience and 10 SEO certifications. No handoffs, no account managers, no templated strategies. Every recommendation I make is specific to your business and backed by data — not recycled from a generic playbook. You also get the benefit of a consultant who can spot and fix technical problems that most marketing-focused agencies can't even diagnose.