Michelle Weick - Localsearch

17/09/2026

I dropped into Peards Albury this morning — genuinely one of my favourite places to visit when I’m in Albury.

There’s so much to it — the café, gift shop and homewares, nursery and landscape supplies — but Peards has never felt like just a business. It’s an experience.

George actually left an impression on me more than a decade ago, long before we ever worked together. Back then I was simply a customer, but the exceptional service he gave us that day stayed with me.

And what I love is that, all these years later, somehow George has managed to duplicate himself throughout the business. He’s incredibly hands-on and genuinely cares about the people who walk through the door — and you feel that same warmth and level of service from his team. You’re made to feel welcome and looked after.

And then there’s the food! Whether it’s coffee, morning tea or lunch, it’s seriously good — the kind of place you go intending to grab something quickly and end up wanting to stay.

For the past 12 months or so, I’ve also had the pleasure of working with Peards Albury as one of their marketing partners, which makes dropping in now even more special. And from what I saw today, there are some pretty exciting things happening there too.

Some businesses impress you because of what they sell. The really special ones stay with you because of how they make you feel.

Peards manages to do both.


❤️

16/09/2026

Word of mouth hasn’t stopped working. We’ve just stopped needing to ask as often.

Ten years ago, if you needed a builder, mechanic, accountant, hairdresser or almost any local business, you’d ask around. You’d ring family, talk to friends, ask the neighbour — and eventually you’d have a few names to choose from.

Today, we can do all of that research in minutes.

We search. We look at websites. We read reviews. We look at recent work. And often, we’ve already formed an opinion about a business before we ever make contact.

That shift didn’t happen overnight. It happened gradually — which is probably why it’s been so easy for some really good, long-established businesses to miss.

Your reputation still matters enormously. Your years in business still matter. And word of mouth is still incredibly powerful.

But being chosen now starts with being found.

And once they find you, what they see online needs to give them a reason to take that next step and contact you.

Same goal. Different world.

14/09/2026

It snowed in Shepparton this morning.

Not really. But I came round the corner on my walk and the entire footpath was white. Blossom, the whole lot of it, sitting on the concrete like it had come down overnight.

I stay at the Parklake whenever I'm here. Same window, same coffee, meetings back to back most of the day. Somewhere along the way it stopped being a hotel and started being an office with a lake view.

Shepparton does this every September and I love being here this time of year.

Back again in a few weeks. Hoping the trees hold on.

Shepparton

03/09/2026

Every website should be able to answer one question in the first three seconds: why you instead of the place down the road?

For Australia's Most Wanted Wheels and Tyres in Bathurst, the answer was easy — wheels, tyres and servicing, same workshop, same team, one visit. So that's the headline, not a paragraph about how long they've been doing it.

Site went live today!

Australia’s most wanted wheels and tyres Bathurst

31/08/2026

Gary already had a website that looked good. He rebuilt it anyway — because looking good and being found are two different jobs, and he wanted the site working as hard as his guards do. He came to Localsearch after seeing what it had done for other local businesses.

Sharp to look at, and built to be found by the venues searching for exactly what they do. We don't make you pick one.

Fastsec Security Shepparton based since 2015, now 50+ licensed guards across northern Victoria and southern NSW. Pubs and clubs, festivals, concerts, construction sites, shopping centres and mobile patrols. Licensed in both Victoria and NSW, so border towns like Echuca-Moama and Albury-Wodonga are one call. ASIAL members, and winners of Excellence in Customer Service at the 2025 SPC Business Excellence Awards. Big credentials for a regional business, and worth being easy to find.

Nice work Gary and the team.
BE FOUND.

com/p/Fastsec-Security-61558206742348

31/08/2026

Another Wagga website live 🚛

Riverina Load'N'Go — rubbish removal for homes and businesses, single loads through to full site clean-ups. Plus small demolitions and handyman work, so one team can clear it, pull it down and put the new one up.

White Card certified, $20 million public liability, and Darren sits on Wagga Wagga City Council's contractor selection panel.

Riverina Load n Go

Nice work Darren. BE FOUND.

26/08/2026

26/08/2026

I dropped a Tap to Review card into a client today. Just hours later they'd written this — I read it twice because it made me laugh both times 😂

Most businesses find asking for reviews awkward. Kenny Auto Repairs & The Exhaust Specialists — just made it the funniest thing on my feed.

And the card does the rest. Customer taps their phone on the counter, lands straight on their Google reviews. No searching, no stuffing around.

Which matters more than people think — reviews are proof. They're the reason someone new rings you instead of the shop down the road, and they genuinely affect how you show up when people search locally.

Read it. Follow them. And next time they squeeze you in when they probably shouldn't have — TAP IT 👉

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ WE LOVE A GOOD REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

And because apparently we’re needy and like being told we’re doing a good job… we’ve made it even easier 😂

We’ve now got this fancy little TAP TO REVIEW thingy sitting on the front counter.

Paid your bill? 👉 TAP IT

Happy with the service? 👉 TAP IT

Wade made your car sound mint? 👉 TAP IT

Mel squeezed you in when she probably shouldn’t have? 👉 DEFINITELY TAP IT 😂

Had a laugh with us while you were here? 👉 You know what to do.

Just tap your phone on it and it’ll take you straight to our Google reviews — no searching, no stuffing around.

Reviews honestly make a HUGE difference to a small local business like ours. They help new customers find us, trust us, and most importantly… give us something nice to read amongst the chaos 😂

And hey — we’re not just fishing for the 5 stars either. If there’s something we could've done better, constructive criticism is always taken on board. We’re constantly learning, changing and trying to do better… even if getting Wade and the boys to admit they could possibly improve on something may require a full workshop meeting and supporting evidence. 😂

So next time you’re standing at the counter while Wade & the boys are out the back solving the world's problems, talking absolute rubbish and occasionally fixing a car…

⭐️ GIVE IT A TAP! ⭐️

We promise to love you forever.

Unless it’s a 1-star review. Then the machine is clearly broken. 😂😂

20/08/2026

I'm really happy to announce we've just launched the new website for Shepp City Carpet Cleaning, servicing the Goulburn Valley.

Building a website can be a daunting thing to take on when you're already flat out running a business. That's the part we take off your plate — we handle the build, the words, the images and the technical side, and you get to keep doing the work you're actually good at.

It's been great working with the team at Shepp City to bring this one to life. It showcases everything they do in one place, and I've got no doubt it's going to bring them a whole lot of new work.

Social media is a great way to get your name out there — but it only reaches the people already following you. A website works on everyone else: the ones searching at 9pm, the ones comparing three businesses before they pick up the phone, the ones who've never heard of you. That extra layer is what takes a business to the next level.

Shepp City Carpet Cleaning Shepp City Carpet Cleaning

14/08/2026

One of my visits in Albury today was to one of our long-term clients, Robinsons Sign Makers.

As I pulled up, I looked at the sign on the side of their building and thought — WOW, now THAT is a sign!

I’m pretty sure Mars can see it. 😂
And knowing these guys, they’re probably already working on the signage for the spaceships anyway!

I see a LOT of tradies in my job, which means I see a lot of utes, vans and trucks too.

And every now and then I’ll see one where the signage is so faded you can barely read it anymore.

I could almost guarantee those ones weren’t done by Robinsons.

Because something people may not realise is there really is a difference in the quality of signage and the materials used. Go cheap and you could be replacing it again in a few years. Use quality materials in the first place and it’s a very different story.

And that’s one thing I know about Robinson’s — they don’t skimp on the quality.

Always good to catch up with robinsonssignmakers