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Canada and USA edition SEO · Google Maps · AI search

The Awkward Media SEO Blog

SEO tips for business owners, reported like the news.

What this is

SEO (search engine optimization) is the work that puts your business at the top when customers search for what you sell. This blog shows you how it works on Google, on Google Maps and in AI answers like ChatGPT.

Zarrar Rasool, founder of Awkward Media

Who writes it

Edited by Zarrar Rasool, who founded Awkward Media 13 years ago, with the team that does the work for clients every day.

Our standard

Every claim is sourced, every story is dated, and the proof comes from real client results.

Latest stories

Front page. Search it, or read by section.

A recreated phone screen of Google results for best seo agency toronto, with most results tagged agency-owned, beside the figure 16 of the top 19 results Pricing and HiringOctober 13, 2026

The Best SEO Agencies in Toronto: Pricing, Results and Who Each Is For

The best SEO agency in Toronto, by the evidence: 11 firms compared on published prices, contracts, guarantees and results you can check yourself. Read the story A recreated Google profile card with a review count of 4,651 struck through and replaced by 63, beside a list of why Google reviews disappear: a bug, the filter, or a change to the profile Local SEO and Google MapsOctober 12, 2026

Why your Google reviews disappeared, and how to get more that stick

Why Google reviews disappear, which ones come back, the Google rules many honest owners break, and how to get more reviews that stick. Read the story Google's help text on fixing suspended or disabled profiles, stamped SUSPENDED, beside Google's 2025 figures: more than 13 million fake profiles removed, more than 292 million reviews blocked or removed, and one appeal per decision Local SEO and Google MapsOctober 12, 2026

Your Google Business Profile got suspended. Now what?

Google removed more than 13 million fake Business Profiles in 2025, and real businesses get caught in the same net. What a suspension means, the one appeal you get, and how to make it count. Read the story Google's Local Services Ads phone listing beside a bar chart from one garage door company's analytics: paid search 46 percent of visitors and 6 enquiries, organic search 16 percent of visitors and 16 enquiries Local SEO and Google MapsOctober 12, 2026

Google Local Services Ads vs SEO: what you pay for, and what you keep

Google sells its top boxed listings with one line: you only pay for customers. What counts as a customer, what a lead really costs, and why the places under the ad matter more. Read the story A phone showing Google's AI Overview for the search how much does a new roof cost in houston, answering $8,500 to $22,000 above every website, with source cards from Houston roofing companies AI SearchOctober 12, 2026

Google now answers before anyone clicks. What that means for your business.

Google's AI now answers before anyone clicks. What the click studies show, what we found in real local searches, and what to do so your business is the answer. Read the story Painting of a bakery owner sitting alone after closing, reading a phone, with one hollow grey star above it and many small gold stars glowing behind Local SEO and Google MapsOctober 12, 2026

The bad Google review you can't remove, and what to do instead

Most bad Google reviews can't be removed. What Google takes down, why courts rarely help, the 2024 fake-review ban, and what actually protects your rating. Read the story

No stories match that yet. Try another section, or .

On the desk

The first five stories are being written now.

While you wait, our free guides and checks answer the questions business owners ask us most.

Free guides and checksSee client results

The sections

SEO tips by topic. Pick the search you want to win.

Each section opens its stories on this page and links to the service that does the work for you.

01 / Local SEO and Google Maps

Into the top three on Google Maps, in more towns.

Your Google Business Profile (the free listing on Maps), your reviews and the towns you serve.

Read the section →Local SEO service

02 / AI Search

Named when customers ask ChatGPT.

How ChatGPT, Google’s AI answers, Gemini and Perplexity choose which businesses to recommend.

Read the section →AI SEO

03 / SEO

How Google ranks a website, and what moves it.

Your pages, the other websites that link to you, how fast your site loads and the fixes behind the scenes.

Read the section →Organic SEO

04 / Industry Playbooks

What works in your trade.

The searches your customers type, season by season, from roofers and plumbers to law firms and surgeons.

Read the section →All industries

05 / Pricing and Hiring

What SEO should cost, and who to trust with it.

Fair prices, the questions to ask an agency and the red flags to walk away from.

Read the section →SEO pricing

Our standards

Four rules for every story.

Written so a business owner can act on it the same week, and so anyone can check every word.

See the results behind the advice →

  1. 01

    Written by the people doing the work

    Every story carries its author’s name, role and record. No ghostwritten filler.

  2. 02

    Every claim has a source

    Google’s own guidelines, public data or a client’s own screenshots. If we can’t back it up, it isn’t in the story.

  3. 03

    Dated, and updated

    Each story shows when it was published and last checked, so you know the advice still holds.

  4. 04

    Steps you can use this week

    The short version up top, plain words throughout, and a clear next step at the end.

Our SEO guarantees

The tips are free. When we do the work, two promises come with it.

Guarantee 01

20days

If you don’t see visible improvement in your key metrics within the first 20 days, we refund $200 on top of returning your payment for that period.

What we measure: your traffic, what that traffic is worth, how much authority your site and its pages carry, and how many other sites link to you, against the day we start.

Guarantee 02

60days

If your qualifying keywords aren’t on the first page of Google within 60 days, we keep working for free until they are.

What counts: at least one high-value search for your business on page one of Google.

No long-term contracts. Results keep you here. Paperwork doesn't.

Your next step

Rather we did it? Page one in 60 days.

A free 30-minute strategy call on Google Meet. We search your services the way your customers do, from your city, and show you who is winning them and why.

Bring with you

Your websiteYour main serviceTowns you serveCompetitors you see
  1. 01

    We search your market live

    The way your customers do, in the towns you serve.

  2. 02

    We show who's above you, and why

    On Google, on Maps and in the AI answers.

  3. 03

    You leave with a road map

    Yours to keep. If we can help, we'll invite you to work with us.

For established businesses doing at least $20,000 a month.

Straight answers

The blog, answered.

01 Who writes the Awkward Media blog?

Zarrar Rasool, who founded Awkward Media 13 years ago, writes and edits it with the team that does our clients' SEO every day. Every post shows who wrote it and when it was last updated.

02 What does the blog cover?

Five topics: SEO, local SEO and Google Maps, AI search, industry playbooks, and pricing and hiring an agency. Use the topic filters above the posts to see one at a time.

03 Can I use these SEO tips without hiring an agency?

Yes. Every post is written so you can act on it yourself. If you'd rather we did it, each post links to the service that does the work, and you can book a free strategy call.

04 How do I know the advice works?

Every claim in a post comes from a source we name: Google's own guidelines, public data, or a client's own ranking screenshots. Our client results are on our case studies page.

05 Can I suggest a topic?

Yes. Send it through our contact page. When enough business owners ask the same question, it becomes a post.

06 Do you work with businesses in Canada and the US?

Yes. We rank established businesses across Canada and the United States, on Google, on Google Maps and in AI answers.

07 What does SEO cost if we hire you?

Organic SEO for one business usually runs between $1,497 and $5,000 a month, with no long-term contract. If your qualifying keywords aren't on the first page of Google within 60 days, we keep working for free until they are.