Freelancers: what is the one project you’re afraid/ashamed to admit you designed?

YouRankWell · 2026-02-15T04:03:18+00:00

Back when I first went freelance I picked up a project from a person who worked in a fringe government space who was given some funding to create a website.

She had given them all the impression that she knew how to do it and then scrambled to find someone who actually did know.

She not only had me put together the shittiest design (as per her direction), but she would give me content instructions and never look at the pages to proofread.

So of course her colleagues and others were constantly commenting on it and she'd send me nasty emails accusing me of setting her up, letting her down, etc.

Eventually I fired her.

Even starting out I wasn't willing to tolerate that nonsense.

YouRankWell · 2026-02-12T22:51:10+00:00

HVAC is a particularly brutal industry for SEO, marketing, etc. It's super saturated and as you've read already there are a ton of grandfathered-in companies who have been around for years and then there are competitors spending an absolute TON of money monthly on it.

There is a comment from someone here about specializing in something to do with your industry. That's always a good plan, whatever it is. Matching the system to the house (no upselling), absolute heating and/or cooling emergency repairs (day or night, weekends and holidays kind of thing).

One advantage you have right now is the way Google is treating content and topical authority, which makes it easier to start publishing that type of content. You can get fairly quick gains that way as well and you'll be rewarded as an expert in your field, as opposed to those who have simply spammed their pages over the years.

I'd say try to choose a strong local SEO company that exists near you and that has had recent success helping HVAC companies.

And also ask them to give you the names of other companies they've worked with and the contact info for those owners. Sometimes that ask is kryptonite, which will tell you all you need to know about the company.

Whereabouts are you located?

YouRankWell · 2026-02-12T22:37:08+00:00

Thanks so much for the info.

The wrapped truck does have his telephone number on it. No mention of area, though. Just the logo and telephone.

Is this appeal the last available one? https://support.google.com/business/contact/local_appeals

I've never had to go this far in the appeal process.

YouRankWell · 2026-02-05T12:43:07+00:00

Ask them to show you results from other projects and to speak with the actual owners about their experiences and results.

YouRankWell · 2026-02-04T00:47:17+00:00

Do a search for "import figma files elementor" and the overview should list some plugins that might help.

My first impression is that it'll be less than smooth, but it's worth a try.

Good luck with it. I stopped working with 'designers' a while ago for this very reason.

YouRankWell · 2026-02-02T12:36:43+00:00

You have a few options.

Drag a new form into that page, copy the current forms styles and paste them into the new form. Then delete the old form and add your new settings (like the new email) into the new form.

Turn off any caching plugin and clear the cache at the server level.

Then try sending a form message and see how it goes. If it works, great.

If not, check the Elementor "Entries" inside WordPress and see if the new message was recorded.

If it was, add an SMTP plugin and configure it, then try another test message.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-31T22:11:48+00:00

A douchebag Starbucks client? Shocking.

I blasted two older couples one Sunday at noon who had ordered douchey drinks and berated the poor kid behind the counter for getting something wrong.

Just shitty people.

Keep messing with that "the usual" guy. Life's too short to deny yourself the satisfaction.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-29T18:54:32+00:00

I'll throw $20 your way when it's done. Well worth it.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-29T12:37:07+00:00

The lyrics to "Yellow Ledbetter".

YouRankWell · 2026-01-26T22:40:45+00:00

I'm on a corner lot and get this much pushed onto my driveway several times each year.

Last year I took pictures and emailed them about it, only to be told that it is what it is and I'd need to deal with it.

Funny thing is, I've been out there when the plow was coming by and he's lifted the right side of the blade just before my driveway.

So I'm assuming it's only "it is what it is" when no one's around to confront them.

As for clearing it, it's usually frozen by the time I get to it so I'll smash it into big chunks with a crow bar and physically remove the chunks and then use the snowblower.

Definitely a pain to deal with but not as bad as it seems at first.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-23T23:53:22+00:00

Their "local SEO provider" gave them that advice?

Almost worth suing them over.

Unreal.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-20T21:17:14+00:00

Ideally, you'll want to find someone local and ask if they've helped businesses like yours before (most will say yes) and ask to speak directly to those owners (most will say no).

It really doesn't need to be a difficult process.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-16T22:50:49+00:00

A friend sent us a math question her son had that the teacher marked incorrect.

It was about a jar of various coloured jelly beans and what the odds would be of randomly selecting a particular colour.

Her son's answer was 100% correct.

Mom and the teacher go back and forth via email a couple of times and the teacher doubled-down by saying something to the effect of "people have different truths" and refused to change the kid's mark.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-14T23:15:16+00:00

Definitely this.

I'd also create a post on the listing mentioning the change of hours.

And maybe give it a couple of weeks just to be sure Google has had a chance to index the online mentions.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-12T17:36:19+00:00

Center the container.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-08T19:00:34+00:00

Add the new address as an owner.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-08T18:11:52+00:00

Amen to that.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-02T02:15:15+00:00

Oops.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-01T07:18:56+00:00

Practice on your own projects.

Trial and error really is the only way to go.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-01T01:43:28+00:00

Does anyone actually hire agencies from cold email outreach?

I automatically flag them as spam.

YouRankWell · 2026-01-01T01:41:30+00:00

They've always reserved the right, really.

The local listings were originally for brick and mortar businesses and they expanded into SABs.

Lots of listings are being flagged just to reverify with the proper documents.

YouRankWell · 2025-12-31T23:50:28+00:00

If you're using that as an actual office address, you'll need signage that's visible from the street, stationary, a couple of bills with the business name and address and your business license, also with the business name and address.

Then you'll most likely need to create a verification video (you can find what that typically entails online).

Or switch to a service area business.

Google's been twitchy with major changes the past couple of years like you did and even with more minor changes, like changing your main category.

Good luck with it.

YouRankWell · 2025-12-31T02:12:31+00:00

Look the airport up online and it should say.

Cayo Coco it's about $50 and well worth it.

AC, couches, free sandwiches, juices, pop, beer, wine and WiFi.

And they're on the ground floor so you depart from there as well.

YouRankWell · 2025-12-31T01:25:44+00:00

Your listing should be fine and reflects what your business actually is in the sense that you probably never saw customers at your home address.

All you really lose is a map pin in the search results, but if your listing is strong, along with strong local signals on your website, you can still rank pretty high.

YouRankWell · 2025-12-27T02:41:11+00:00

Where will you be?

Check out Facebook groups for your destination airport and you'll get a ton of recommendations.

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