About

I'm JohnPaul Williams II. I run J Williams Designs, a web design and local SEO agency in the San Francisco Bay Area. We've worked with more than 150 local businesses - contractors, law firms, med spas, and the kind of service companies that are excellent at their trade and invisible on Google.

I started this site because most local SEO advice online is written by people who've never actually moved a business into the map pack. It's recycled, vague, and usually ends in a "book a call" wall before it tells you anything useful. I wanted the opposite: write down what I actually do for clients, in the order I do it, with the real numbers attached.

Everything here comes from hands-on work. When I tell you a Google Business Profile got suspended for a keyword-stuffed business name, it's because I've filed the reinstatement. When I break down what local SEO costs in San Francisco, it's from quoting and delivering it every week. When a tactic stops working - and they do, Google changes things - I update the post instead of leaving you with advice from three years ago.

I'm not anti-agency; I am one. But I think you should understand what you're paying for before you pay for it. Some of you will read these guides, do the work yourself, and never need me. Good. That's the point. The rest will at least know enough to hire well.

If you run a Bay Area service business and you're tired of being outranked by competitors with worse work and better Google presence - start with the checklist. Then fix one thing this week.