Articles by Adam at A9.
Adam plans and builds small-business websites and works across hosting, local SEO and paid advertising. These guides explain the same decisions used in day-to-day client work.
A9 is based in St Ives, Cambridgeshire. The work covers hand-coded websites by default, managed WordPress where it suits the brief, website care, Google Business Profile, local search and paid campaigns.
Adam writes from practical experience planning, building and managing websites for small businesses. The articles focus on clear decisions, realistic costs and work that can improve visibility, usability and enquiries.
Local SEO & Google Maps
How Much Does Local SEO Cost in the UK?
From DIY foundations to a focused monthly campaign, here is what local SEO should cost and what the fee should actually buy.
How Long Does Local SEO Take? A Realistic UK Timeline
Early signs can appear within weeks, but useful local SEO gains usually take months. Here is the honest timeline and what to measure.
Google Business Profile Suspended? What to Do Next
Do not create another listing or keep changing details. Check eligibility, gather real evidence and use the official appeal process once.
Which Review Site Should You Use? Google, Trustpilot, Feefo & More Compared (2026)
Google first, then at most one more platform that fits your sector. The full 2026 breakdown of costs, contracts and which reviews actually affect your Google ranking.
How AI Search and Google AI Overviews Are Changing SEO in 2026
AI answers are eating the top of the search results page. For local small businesses, the picture is less bleak than the headlines suggest.
How to Respond to Google Reviews (the Good Ones and the Bad Ones)
A calm, human reply to a one-star review sells you better than ten five-star reviews with no response. Here's how to handle both.
Schema Markup for Local Businesses, Explained in Plain English
Schema markup is just a label telling Google what your page is about. Here's which types a local business needs — and which ones are a waste of time.
How to Check If Your Website Is Ranking on Google (A Small Business Owner's Guide)
Googling your own business name tells you almost nothing about where you actually rank. Here are the free, correct methods — and what to do with the numbers once you have them.
How to Rank Higher on Google Maps in 2026
The Google Maps 3-pack is where most local enquiries are won or lost. Here's exactly what Google looks at in 2026 — and how to climb from position 10 into the top 3.
How to Get More Google Reviews (Without Buying Them)
Reviews are the single biggest local ranking factor after distance. Here's how to get more of them — without ever paying for a fake one.
Google Business Profile SEO in 2026 and How Local Businesses Can Rank Higher on Google
Your Google Business Profile is one of the strongest local ranking signals in 2026. Here's how Cambridgeshire businesses can use it to win more local enquiries.
Affordable Local SEO for Tradespeople (2026 Guide)
Plumbers, electricians, builders: what local SEO really costs, what's worth paying for, and the playbook that gets your phone ringing.
Performance & technical
Mobile-First Indexing Explained: Why Your Phone Experience Is What Gets Ranked
Google stopped caring about your desktop site years ago. If content is missing on mobile, as far as ranking is concerned it doesn't exist.
Why Your Website Images Are Probably Slowing You Down
The single most common reason a small business site loads slowly isn't hosting or code — it's a 4MB photo straight off a phone. Here's the fix.
Core Web Vitals Explained: LCP, INP and CLS in Plain English
Three initials decide whether Google thinks your site feels fast. Here's what LCP, INP and CLS really measure — and the fixes that actually shift them.
Are Divi and Page-Builder Themes Right for Your Small Business Website?
Divi and Elementor are fast and cheap to launch — that's real. Here's the honest trade-off: plugin bloat, speed drag, and the 'when your builder disappears' problem nobody talks about.
Static Websites vs WordPress, Wix and Other Dynamic Platforms
Static sites consistently beat WordPress and Wix on every metric Google cares about. Here's the technical breakdown.
Why Google PageSpeed Insights Matters for Small Business Rankings
Your PageSpeed score isn't vanity — it's how Google decides where you rank. Here's what it really measures and how to fix it.
Buying a website
Do You Need an E-commerce Website? WooCommerce vs a Simple Online Shop
Plenty of small businesses are sold a full e-commerce build when a simple order form would sell more with a tenth of the upkeep.
How Much Should a Small Business Budget for Marketing in 2026?
"How much should I be spending?" has no single answer — but there are sensible ranges, and a split that works for most small businesses.
Wisbech or St Neots: A Small Business Website Buyer's Comparison
Wisbech and St Neots businesses serve different catchments. Compare the local-search and website priorities before choosing a designer or brief.
Website Builder vs a Real Web Designer: What Wix and Squarespace Don't Tell Small Businesses
Wix and Squarespace are genuinely good for some small businesses. Here's when they aren't — and the total-cost-of-ownership comparison nobody in their marketing wants you to see.
What Does a Web Designer Actually Do? (And What You Should Expect For Your Budget)
"Web designer" means a dozen different things to a dozen different people. Here's what one should actually do for your small business — and what should already be set up for you on day one.
Do I Need a Website If I Have a Facebook Page? (Honest 2026 Answer)
A Facebook page is free and familiar — but is it enough on its own in 2026? Here's the honest side-by-side for small UK business owners.
How Much Does a Small Business Website Cost in the UK? (2026 Guide)
Quotes from £200 to £20,000 for the same brief? Here's exactly what UK small business website pricing should look like in 2026 — and where the value really is.
What Small Businesses in Cambridgeshire Should Look For in a New Website
From St Ives tradespeople to Cambridge startups, here's exactly what to demand from a new website — and the technical traps to avoid.
Paid advertising
Email Marketing for Small Businesses: Is It Still Worth It in 2026?
Email marketing is deeply unfashionable and still quietly outperforms most social media for small businesses. Here's the honest version.
Local Service Ads vs Google Search Ads: Which Is Better for Tradespeople?
One charges you per lead, the other per click. For a tradesperson, that difference changes everything about how you should budget.
Call Tracking: How to Know Which Marketing Is Making Your Phone Ring
If half your marketing budget is wasted, phone calls are usually where the evidence is hiding. Call tracking is how you find it.
Facebook and Instagram Ads for Small Businesses: A Beginner's Guide
Facebook and Instagram ads interrupt people who weren't looking for you. That's their weakness and, used properly, their biggest strength.
Google Ads Performance Max Explained: Is It Right for Your Small Business?
Google will push you towards Performance Max the moment you open an account. Here's when it genuinely works for a small budget — and when it quietly burns it.
Should Small UK Businesses Start With Google Ads or SEO?
Two of the most common questions we get from small business owners — and the honest answer is rarely 'just one'. Here's how to think about it.
Design & conversion
Website Redesign Checklist for UK Small Businesses
Redesign without losing useful pages, search visibility or enquiries. Work through this checklist before, during and after launch.
10 Signs Your Website Is Quietly Costing You Customers
A website rarely fails loudly. It just quietly loses people, one visitor at a time. Here are the ten symptoms worth checking today.
What Makes a Website Feel Trustworthy? The Design Cues That Win Enquiries
Visitors decide whether to trust you in seconds, and almost none of it is conscious. Here are the cues doing the deciding.
Website Copywriting: How to Write Content That Actually Converts
Most small business websites are written for the owner, not the customer. Swapping that around is the cheapest conversion improvement there is.
Responsive Web Design Explained: Why Your Site Must Work Perfectly on Every Device
'It looks fine on my laptop' is the wrong test. Here's what responsive web design actually means in 2026 — and why Google decides which version of your site to rank based on the mobile one.
What Makes a Good Website Design in 2026?
Good design is invisible — it gets out of the way of the visitor's task. Here are the non-negotiables that separate a website that converts from one that just looks nice.
Running & maintaining
GDPR and Cookie Consent for UK Small Business Websites
Most small business cookie banners are either wildly over-engineered or quietly illegal. Here's what the rules actually ask for.
Website Accessibility in 2026: What UK Small Businesses Actually Need to Know
Accessibility isn't a legal box-tick or a niche concern — it overlaps almost perfectly with plain good design. Here are the wins worth doing first.
Domain, DNS and Hosting Jargon Explained for Small Business Owners
Nameservers, A records, propagation. Here's what the words on your domain control panel actually mean — and which ones you should never touch.
How to Choose the Right Domain Name for a UK Small Business
Your domain is the one decision that's genuinely painful to reverse later. Here's how to pick one you'll still be happy with in five years.
Website Maintenance: What Should Be Included, and What Should You Pay?
Most small business owners have no idea what 'website maintenance' should actually cover — until something breaks. Here's what a real plan includes, and what it should cost in the UK.
How Much Traffic Does Your Website Actually Get? A Simple Guide for Small Business Owners
'Hits' hasn't been a real metric for 20 years. Here are the four numbers that actually tell you whether your small business website is doing its job — and how to find them.
How to Tell If a Website Is Secure (And Why So Many Small Business Sites Aren't)
A padlock in the address bar doesn't mean your website is safe. Here's the two-minute check every small business owner should run — and why so many sites quietly fail it.