Digital Marketing with Dave

05/26/2026

Your website shouldn't be sitting on a server in Texas. 🍁

Every site I build through DMWD Hosting lives on Canadian servers hosted by an award-winning Ontario company that's been running since 1995.

Canadian-owned. Canadian-hosted.

Built by a retired farm boy in Thamesford who just wants to help small businesses get found online.

$200 to start. $40/month after that.

No contracts. Ever.

Serving Southwestern Ontario — and anywhere else in Canada you happen to be.

👉 dmwdhosting.ca

05/25/2026

From zero online presence to Google Maps Top 3 in Thamesford. 🚜
Nate runs a one-man excavating operation out of Thamesford. No website, no Google listing, just word of mouth that was starting to dry up.

We built him a full site with 24 service area pages, schema markup, and got his Google Business Profile dialed in.

He's now showing up in the Maps pack for excavating searches across Oxford County.

That's what a $200 website can do when it's built right.

Check out his site 👉 https://natesexcavating.ca

Learn more 👉 https://dmwdhosting.ca

Know a trades person who needs a website? Tag them below! 👇

05/23/2026

05/21/2026

The 'About Us' page nobody reads (but Google does).

Real talk: Very few visitors actually click your 'About Us' page.

So why bother?

Because Google reads it. Carefully.

Your About page is one of the strongest signals Google uses to figure out:

• Who you are (real human, real business?)

• Where you are (specific location?)

• What you do (clear services?)

• How long you've been doing it (experience matters)

The 5-rule About page that ranks:

1. Use your real name and a real photo

2. State your physical location specifically

3. Mention how many years you've been doing this

4. List 2-3 specific things you specialize in

5. Include something personal — why you do this work

Google rewards realness. Generic 'we are a passionate team' filler doesn't help anyone.



https://dmwdhosting.ca

05/21/2026

Why your business needs "service area pages".

Quick SEO tip that most small business websites miss:

If you serve multiple towns or cities, you need a separate page for EACH one.

Example: a plumber in Thamesford who also serves Woodstock, Ingersoll, and London should have 4 service area pages not just one 'Service Areas' page listing them all.

Why?

Because when someone in Ingersoll searches 'plumber near me', Google looks for a page specifically about Ingersoll plumbing. A generic page that mentions 8 towns doesn't rank for any
of them.

Each service area page should include: the town name in the headline and URL, mention of
specific neighbourhoods or landmarks, the services you offer there, and a local angle (weather, common issues, etc.).

It's tedious. It's also the difference between getting found and being invisible.

How many areas do you service?

https://dmwdhosting.ca

05/20/2026

5 things that make Google trust your website.

Want to rank higher in local search?

Google uses signals to decide who to trust.

Here are 5 of the biggest:

1. Consistent NAP — Name, Address, Phone — exactly the same on your site, GBP, Facebook, directories, everywhere.

2. Mobile-friendly design — over 60% of local searches happen on phones. If your site looks bad on mobile, Google notices.

3. Fast load times — sites that take more than 3 seconds to load lose 40% of visitors. Google sees this and ranks them lower.

4. Real, original content — pages about your services, your area, your team. Not stock copy.

5. Customer reviews — especially on Google. The number AND quality of reviews directly affects local ranking.

Free audit tip: Type: yourdomain.com' into Google. You'll see exactly what Google knows about your site.

05/12/2026

One week in, here's what I'm seeing.

It's been a week of posting and chatting with local business owners.

The most common thing that keeps coming up:

'I'd love a website but I can't afford $3,000 right now.'

That's why I built my Local Business Starter package:

$200 to set up a real, SEO-optimized, Canadian-hosted website + $40/month for hosting and support.

It's not a watered-down version. It's the same technical quality I deliver to my premium clients minus the bells and whistles a brand new business doesn't need yet.

If you've been priced out of getting online, message me.

Even if it's just to chat about what's possible.

05/11/2026

What is 'schema markup' and why should you care?

I'll keep this in plain English, 'schema markup' is invisible code that tells Google and AI search engines (like ChatGPT and Perplexity) exactly what your business does, where you are, and what you offer.

Without it, search engines guess. Sometimes they guess right but far to often they don't.

With it, Google knows you're a plumber in St. Thomas with your specific services and hours. That helps you show up in the right searches.

Unfortunately, when I audit websites, I find a large number of sites have been built and don't include schema.

Every site I build includes it as a standard feature because in 2026, with AI search growing fast, schema is no longer optional.

Want to know if your site has your invisible code?

DM me or comment "CODE" below

05/07/2026

How to claim your Google Business Profile in 10 minutes!

Quick tip:

If you haven't claimed your Google Business Profile yet, you're probably losing customers to competitors who have.

Here's the 10-minute version:

1. Go to google.com/business and sign in with the Gmail account you want to manage it from

2. Search for your business name. If it shows up, click 'Claim this business.' If not, click 'Add your business.'

3. Fill in your category, address (or service area), phone, and hours

4. Verify by postcard, phone, or email (Google will tell you which option you have)

5. Add photos: Real photos of your actual work, not stock images.

Once verified, you should start showing up in local 'near me' searches. It costs you nothing. It takes 10 minutes.

Do it today.