Free guides

Phone not ringing like it should? Find your problem below.

Pick the problem that sounds like yours. Every guide here is free to read, no email needed, written for owners in plain words.

Start here:

Not sure your website is helping at all? Why your website isn't getting traffic
Happy customers, but no new reviews? How to ask for reviews
Scared of wasting money on ads? Do this before you pay for ads

Jump to: Home services and trades · Cars · Food and drink · Beauty, health and fitness · Professional services and more · Budget and website costs · Ad and video costs · Google, maps and reviews · Social media and ads · Video · Website · Guías en español

Your trade

Home services and trades

Home services marketing
Any trade: earning trust, winning urgent calls, getting reviews and repeat work. Links to each trade's guide.
HVAC marketing
Slammed in the first heat wave, quiet in between? The seasonal calendar and maintenance plans that fill the gaps.
Plumber marketing
Losing the emergency call to someone else? Winning that search, steady reviews, and the lead-platform math.
Electrician marketing
Urgent jobs and big projects need different plays. Your license is a trust signal, so show it.
Roofing marketing
Homeowners lump you in with storm chasers? How to be the roofer they find before the leak.
Pest control marketing
The 2am panic search, the discretion customers want, and recurring plans as the real business.
Contractor marketing
People don't trust contractors until you prove it. The free foundation and the photos that sell jobs.
Landscaping marketing ideas
Win a neighborhood, not one yard: before-and-afters, density and seasonal timing.
Getting cleaning clients
New clients don't trust a cleaner yet. Earn it with before-and-after proof and land recurring contracts.
Painting company marketing
Losing bids? The estimate is the moment of truth, and proof-of-work photos win it.
Moving company marketing
Customers are scared of movers. Reviews that answer the fear and quotes that don't dodge.
Pool service marketing
Want a full route? Recurring accounts are the prize, and proof you're reliable wins them.
Junk removal marketing
The urgent search goes to whoever answers fast. Speed as the product, prices without games.
Handyman marketing
Gaps in the calendar? A reputation for showing up and repeat clients fill it.
Tree service marketing
Big-ticket jobs need trust first: credentials up front and ready before storm season.

Cars

Used car dealer marketing
Cars sitting on the lot? Buyers shop from their phone before they visit.
Car lot websites in Spanish
Spanish-speaking buyers on your site? Of 40 car-lot home pages we could read, 36 showed no Spanish.
Auto repair shop marketing
Drivers don't trust shops. Plain-talk content, honest reviews, and being found the day the car breaks.
Auto detailing marketing
Booked out or empty? Before-and-after content and the mobile-vs-shop math.
Car wash marketing
Want steady volume? Memberships as the model, and the truth about location.

Food and drink

Mexican restaurant marketing
Food video, reaching customers in two languages, and community roots big chains can't fake.
Food truck marketing
If they can't find the truck, they can't buy. Your location and schedule are the product.
Coffee shop marketing
Want regulars, not one-time visitors? Becoming the daily habit, and the regulars math.
Bakery marketing
Want to sell out the case? The 6am content advantage and orders as the growth lever.
Catering marketing
Slow event calendar? The tasting, the photos, and corporate accounts that keep things steady.
Winery marketing
Tastings aren't the whole business. The story only you own and the club as the real engine.

Beauty, health and fitness

Salon marketing ideas
Empty chairs? The free foundation, posts that actually book, and the ideas that waste money.
Barbershop marketing
Fill the chairs with the work people can see, and make rebooking the engine.
Nail salon marketing
Keep chairs full with close-up content and standing appointments.
Spa marketing ideas
Clients come once and don't come back? Gift cards, calm content and memberships that bring them back.
Med spa marketing
New clients need to trust you first: credentials in plain sight, then memberships.
Massage therapy marketing
Gaps in the book? Trust, a specialty, and a rebooking rhythm.
Tattoo shop marketing
Not enough bookings? Clients pick from your portfolio, so show the healed work.
Dog grooming marketing
Fill the book with transformation photos and rebooking.
Gym marketing ideas
Members gone by February? Retention, real proof and community.
Personal trainer marketing
Need more clients? Proof over physique, and keeping the ones you have.
Chiropractic marketing
Skeptical patients? How care plans and trust fill the schedule.
Dentist marketing
Open chairs? Trust signals that fill them, and recall as the real engine. No cringe.

Professional services and more

Law firm marketing
Afraid an ad breaks bar rules? Ethics first, then where clients find lawyers now.
Real estate marketing ideas
Win listings with a personal brand that outlasts each sale.
New real estate agent tips
First year and no listings yet? Where clients actually come from.
Daycare marketing
Parents need to trust you. The tour is the close and a waitlist is proof.
Florist marketing
Busy on holidays, slow between? The occasion calendar, weddings and standing accounts.
Photography marketing
Not enough shoots? Pick a niche and let the portfolio do the selling.
Hiring a marketing agency in Napa
Thinking about an agency? What Napa owners should know before signing.

What it costs

Budget and website costs

How much to spend on marketing
Not sure what to spend? The three questions that set your number.
Marketing budget calculator (free tool)
Budget bands from your revenue, and how many customers a month it must bring to break even.
How much does a website cost?
$0 to $50,000+. How to know which number applies to you.
Website cost calculator (free tool)
Scared of a surprise quote? Ranges for DIY, freelancer and agency builds.
Website redesign cost
When a redesign is worth it, when it isn't, and the question to ask before paying.
Landing page cost
Builders, freelancers and the monthly-fee trap, plus when you don't need one.
Online store cost
Shopify to custom, the monthly math, and the lighter option small sellers miss.
Website maintenance cost
Paying every month for upkeep? Which parts are real and which are rent.
SEO cost
Retainers vs one-time work, and what an SEO package should include in writing.
How much does a logo cost?
From $5 marketplaces to five-figure agencies. What a small business really needs.
Social media manager cost
Freelancer, agency or in-house, and when not to pay for it at all.

Ad and video costs

How much do Google ads cost?
You set the budget. What moves the price of a click, and how to check yours before you spend.
How much do Facebook ads cost?
Budgets, what drives the price, and a common mistake that wastes ad money.
How much do Instagram ads cost?
What moves your cost, and when Instagram beats Facebook.
Yelp advertising cost
Got a call from Yelp sales? What ads cost and what to ask before signing.
How much does a videographer cost?
Hourly, day rate or per project, and when you don't need one at all.
Commercial video cost
Solo shooters to production companies, and the AI-assisted middle path.
Event videographer cost
One shot at your event. Pricing, and the questions that protect it.
Drone video cost
Rates, the FAA license that separates pros, and when drone shots earn their cost.

Getting found

Google, maps and reviews

How to ask for reviews
Happy customers leave without a review? Asking is allowed. Incentives are not.
Review QR poster (free tool)
A printable 'scan to review us' poster for the counter. No signup, nothing uploaded.
Responding to bad reviews
A bad review stings. What to say, what never to say, and how the reply wins future customers.
Changing your business name on Google
Renaming your business? A big name change makes you a new business on Google, and the reviews stay behind.
Getting customer testimonials
Nobody asks, or somebody fakes. The ask, and the FTC rules on fake and paid reviews.
Writing your business description
Google profile description still empty? What you do, for whom, where, and why you.

Your content

Video

Video marketing for small business
Never made a video? What to make first.
Promo video for a business
What it should say, what it commonly costs, and why one true point beats polish.
How long should a promo video be?
Losing viewers in 3 seconds? Length by platform.
Restaurant promo video
Pretty footage that brings nobody in? Ideas that actually bring diners.
Real estate video
Listing and agent videos, what they cost, and the piece that's easy to skip.
Wedding videographer in Napa
Costs in Napa Valley and the questions that weed out the disappointments.

Website

Do I need a website?
Almost always yes. Here's the real reason.
What we found checking 257 local businesses
In Napa and Solano counties, 52 had no website and our scanner couldn't open 37 more.
Why is my website not getting traffic?
Nobody visits your site? The fix, in order.
How often to update your website
Facts right away, proof monthly, and a yearly once-over.
Wix vs a custom website
When Wix is right, when custom wins, and the lock-in question to ask first.
Restaurant website design
Hungry customers leaving your site? The five things it must do.
Restaurant menu design
Hard-to-read menus cost orders. Layout, prices, and a digital menu machines can read.

Don't see your problem?

Email alejandro@ojedaworks.com and tell me, in one line, what isn't working: the phone, the reviews, the website, the ads. I'll write back myself and tell you where I'd start. Prefer Spanish? Guías en español.