Awkward Media

(00) Free resources

Get found first on Google and AI. Here's how.

Free guides and free checks for owners who want the phone to ring. Google Maps, Google results and AI answers, in plain English.

  • Every guide free
  • No form to start reading
  • Maps, Google and AI answers

(01) Start here

What's bugging you? Start there.

Pick the line that sounds most like your week. Each one points to the guide to read first and the free check to run next.

Your next customer: phone out, problem in front of them, picking from whoever Google and AI show first.
Google Maps

“I don't show up on the map when people search near me.”

AI answers

“I want ChatGPT and Google's AI answers to name us.”

Paying for SEO

“I pay someone for SEO and can't tell if it's working.”

Hiring an agency

“I'm about to hire someone and want to know what's fair.”

(02) Guides

The whole method. Nothing held back.

The same process we run for paying clients, written out step by step so you can follow it yourself or hand it to whoever looks after your website.

(03) From the blog

The SEO Blog. Reported like the news, sourced line by line.

Read every story →
Painted illustration of a plumber standing at a fork in the road, a parking meter on one side and a brick building he owns on the other GuidesOctober 30, 2026

SEO vs Google Ads: What a Click Really Costs in Your Trade (2026)

Google's own prices for 14 local searches, from $6 to $163 a click, set against what SEO costs and how fast each one works. Trade by trade. Read the story
Painted illustration of a small-town street at morning: two movers carry a new blank panel through a lime-green doorway while an old wooden sign is lowered from above, a brass plaque stays by the door, and a postman walks up with a bundle of letters. Case studyOctober 26, 2026

Website redesign SEO: we moved our own site, and Google showed us 51% more

We moved our own website in October. Google showed us 51% more often in the two weeks after. Every number, what worked and what slipped. Read the story
Painted illustration of a shop owner in a work apron crossing off days on a wall calendar in her plumbing supply shop, her phone silent on the counter beside a cup of coffee. GuidesOctober 21, 2026

How long does SEO take? Google's own timelines (2026)

Google's own estimates for 23 search steps, typical and slowest, checked against its help pages, our own site and real client timelines. Read the story
Painted illustration of a man in a sweatshirt and pyjama trousers on the bottom step of a brick basement at night, water on the floor below a dripping copper pipe, reading his phone by its glow. GuidesOctober 20, 2026

How to rank higher on Google Maps in 2026: what moves you up, and what holds you back

Why two customers five miles apart see different businesses on Google Maps, and the steps that move yours up, tested live in October 2026. Read the story
Painted illustration of a trades business owner at a wooden desk late in the evening, chin on hand, reading one of three paper proposals beside a calculator and a coffee mug, with a pegboard of tools behind him and a white work van under a streetlight outside the window GuidesOctober 17, 2026

How much does an SEO consultant cost in 2026? Real rates in the US and Canada

What an SEO consultant really costs in the US and Canada in 2026: hourly, monthly and project rates, where the numbers come from, and how to judge a quote. Read the story
Painted illustration of a small-city street at dusk: a woman on a bus-stop bench looks worried at her phone, a manila envelope on her lap, across from three brick law offices with lit windows, a faint green map pin floating over one of them Industry guidesOctober 17, 2026

Law firm SEO in 2026: how clients find a lawyer now, and how to be the one they call

Law firm SEO in plain words: how clients find a lawyer on Google, Maps and AI answers in 2026, and the steps that put your firm there. Read the story
Painted illustration of a small-town main street with a plumbing shop, a dental office, a bakery and a hardware store, a map floating above with one glowing green pin over the plumbing shop, and a woman on the pavement looking at her phone Local SEO and Google MapsOctober 16, 2026

Local SEO for small business: a step-by-step guide for 2026

How a small business gets found on Google, Maps and AI answers in 2026: how Google picks who shows up, and the steps that put you there. Read the story
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

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

On the desk

The first stories are being written now.

While you wait, our free guides and checks answer the questions we hear most.

(04) Where customers look

Four places. Be in every one.

When someone needs what you sell, they look in one of four places. Good work on your website and your Google listing now pays off in all four. Here's what each one is, and which guide covers it.

01

Google results

The normal list of websites under the ads. Still where a big share of people click when they're ready to buy.

Read: Is your SEO going nowhere?
02

Google's AI answer

The written summary Google puts at the top of some searches, with links to the websites it drew on.

Read: the AI search guide
03

Google Maps

The map with three businesses listed under it, shown for searches like “plumber near me”. Each one has a call button.

Read: Top 3 in 90 days
04

ChatGPT

People ask it for a recommendation the way they'd ask a friend. It names a few businesses and says why.

Check: would AI recommend you?

(05) Free checks

See who's beating you. Today.

Short checks you can run on your own business right now. Some you do yourself in a few minutes. Others are a free 30 minute look with our team.

What a check gives you

  • ✓Where your business shows up, and where it doesn't
  • ✓Which competitors customers find instead
  • ✓The first thing to fix, in plain words

(06) Before you hire anyone

Prices and promises. Out in the open.

Plenty of agencies make you book a call just to hear a price. Ours is on the page, along with exactly what we guarantee and the rankings we've already delivered.

(07) Plain English

No jargon. Ever.

Jargon is where bad agencies hide. Here's what the words actually mean for your business, so no report or sales call ever goes over your head again.

SEO
Short for search engine optimisation. The work that helps your business show up when people search for what you sell.
Map Pack
The three businesses Google lists under the map for a local search. Each has a call button and directions.
Keyword
The words a customer types, like “emergency plumber near me”. Rankings are measured keyword by keyword.
First page
The first page of normal Google results. Most people never go past it, so it's where the calls come from.
Citations
Listings of your business name, address and phone number on other websites, like directories. They help Google trust you're real.
Prominence
How well known Google thinks you are. It's built from many things: links to your site, listings, your website's content, reviews and more.

As seen in and rated on

USA Today LA Weekly Clutch TopSEO UpCity

Our guarantees

Page one in 60 days, or we work free.

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

Skip the reading? We'll check for you.

Book a free 30 minute strategy call on Google Meet. We'll go through where your business shows up today and who's beating you. For businesses already doing $20k a month or more.

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.

(08) Questions

Straight answers.

What owners ask us most, answered without the runaround.

Book my free strategy call
01 Are these guides really free?

Yes. Every guide opens in your browser and you can read the whole thing without filling in a form or paying anything.

02 Where should I start?

Start with the problem that costs you most right now. Missing from Google Maps? Read the Maps guide. Want ChatGPT and Google's AI answers to mention you? Read the AI search guide. Already paying for SEO and can't tell if it's working? Start with the five signs guide, or ask for a free second opinion.

03 Do reviews decide where I show up on Google Maps?

No. Google Maps ranks a business on relevance, distance and prominence. Prominence is built from many signals: links, listings on other websites, what's on your own website, how people engage with you, and reviews. Reviews are one input you can see and count, not the whole picture.

04 How much does SEO with Awkward Media cost?

Google Maps starts at $1,497 a month. Google rankings start at $2,697 a month. Both go up for multiple locations, multiple websites and complexity. There are no long term contracts.

05 What do you guarantee?

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

06 Who do you work with?

Businesses already doing $20,000 a month or more in their own revenue. Very limited spots left for the month of October. We put a cap on clients we can take in to keep our promises.