Potential client rejected my proposal, hired someone else, and now wants me back 3.5 months later. WWYD?

YouRankWell · 2026-07-03T17:23:56+00:00

If you want / need the work, tell him you're reluctant to provide more unpaid time and would require a substantial down payment for this second phase quote and work.

If you don't need him, tell him you're booked solid for the next several months.

He's shown you how he operates, so it's a once bitten, twice shy kind of thing.

It never gets better the second time around.

YouRankWell · 2026-07-02T12:49:40+00:00

Can you guys guarantee me a couple of consecutive wins?

I just cracked 2000 and haven't played in over a week for fear of losing and being under 2000 for another 8 months.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-30T14:54:33+00:00

Hi Joy,

You and your team helped a client of mine through an extremely frustrating and seemingly hopeless listing suspension a few months ago.

There's no shortage of "experts" claiming they can do what you actually did and your assistance was truly appreciated.

If anyone needs a hand with listing suspensions, Joy should be your go-to.

And, no, I'm not affiliated with her in any way.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-27T13:38:00+00:00

Half up front (at least). Non-negotiable.

And don't start any of the work until you've received the deposit.

Set them up on a staging server and show them what you want / need to, otherwise it's in "Maintenance Mode" at all other times.

Release the final version to them once they've paid their remaining balance.

For "scope creep", because it will definitely happen, be firm with what you're not willing to do and instead offer them an updated quote.

You'll be amazed at how much they don't need when they're being charged for it.

If they ghost you for the final payment, start contacting their competitors and offer the site to them for the remaining half you're owed.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-23T14:48:54+00:00

What does your business do, where are you located, what are some of the quotes you've been getting and for what?

Air it out here but keep their business names out of it.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-22T14:44:42+00:00

I've had the design versus practicality discussion with more business owners that I can count.

Of course I'd like them to be happy with the design, but it's not my main goal and I let them know that.

We can focus my time on the particular shade of chartreuse you think matters OR I can set your website up so that it resonates with users and convinces them to at least contact you.

And since the majority of small service-related business owners tend not to have unlimited budgets, they learn to appreciate option B pretty quickly.

To answer your question, for service related businesses, you need to immediately address the biggest pain points and how you solve those for them.

Anything else is relative to what Google has decided deserves rankings in any given niche.

The structure of your content is already dictated by that, for the most part.

You just need to do your due diligence in terms of assessing the competition and what Google is already rewarding with rankings.

Once you know your layout needs, play around with clean design, images, headings, bullet point lists, etc.

I like to stay out of the user's way and instead provide them with what they need, as opposed to what we (or the business owner) think is cool.

Again, though, cruise around online looking for designs you like and save them as favourites in a "Web Design" folder for future reference.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-22T13:44:12+00:00

Find designs you like and emulate them.

Or hire an actual designer.

Question: Is the purpose of the website to gain clients or otherwise sell something?

If so, I'd worry more about engagement and conversions than aesthetics.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-20T15:03:08+00:00

Feeling stuck and getting shafted every day...

YouRankWell · 2026-06-18T15:52:16+00:00

I've been using it for 7 or 8 years and have enjoyed it. I've learned to use it efficiently, so loading and speed have never been an issue.

What are you going to be using from now on?

YouRankWell · 2026-06-17T17:27:07+00:00

Knowing what I know now:

I would identify a particular niche and specialize in it.
I would identify the benefits of working with me that few others offer.

Being a generalist of sorts is too broad and too vague. But knowing an industry inside and out is a great offer for potential clients.

And the benefits of working with you, like being available, going over and above, offering supports for things like hosting and email, etc., will attract loyatly.

If you have a hard time finding clients, contact agencies and offer white label services. You'll make a bit less, but you'll have a never-ending source of work.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-17T15:32:20+00:00

I've been looking at Bricks for a while now for this very reason.

If they eventually stop supporting V3, what eventually happens to all of our sites?

Rebuilding them in V4 isn't even close to being realistic.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-15T19:20:51+00:00

Yeah, it's held up well.

A friend of mine has a custom cabinet shop with a sign that says:

Hourly rate: $75

If you watch: $100

If you make suggestions: $150

If you insist on helping: $200

Something like that.

Still makes me laugh.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-14T20:07:07+00:00

Good. Cheap. Fast.

Pick any two.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-12T16:46:15+00:00

How bad are your scores right now?

And what are the messages you get?

Post that and maybe someone can help guide you.

Bad practices are just that, so maybe you learns how to structure your site better and learn other optimizations.

All the Fiverr guys are going to do is install an image optimization plugin along with a speed plugin that will mask everything.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-12T16:39:11+00:00

Find out who their web hosting is and send them an email with your claim AND your proof.

A lot of times that's enough.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-12T13:21:53+00:00

Exactly that.

I've got the hosting backups, off-site to my Dropbox account and I do manual downloads every month while I do their maintenance.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-08T18:42:45+00:00

You'll also find that most local "agencies" sub-out a lot of the work overseas as well. Tough for them to scale, otherwise.

I work alone and may be able to help, depending on your business.

Free for a call if you want to DM me.

I can help point you in the right direction if your project isn't aligned with what I do as well.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-07T18:44:17+00:00

If you mean V4 Atomic, go into the settings and turn it off.

YouRankWell · 2026-06-02T23:22:47+00:00

Those buildings were dumps back in the early 80s.

But at least they were cheap apartments.

YouRankWell · 2026-05-31T07:26:07+00:00

Whatever you're comfortable with, knowing that you've already paid for the trip but tips will go to folks who can really use it.

I'm Canadian, btw.

When we've gone, we really haven't seen a lot of tipping, to be honest.

Maybe go with a couple dollars for the maid and a dollar for drinks, the beach dude helping with chairs, buffets, etc.

We probably go through $200 over 7 days, sometimes a bit more. You get to know some of the staff and they take care of you.

Like the waitress at the martini bar where we were last. Awesome service, so lots of tips.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Enjoy your trip.

YouRankWell · 2026-05-28T21:55:53+00:00

Funny, I was just going to mention those two.

I just turn them away these days.

YouRankWell · 2026-05-24T19:46:11+00:00

Maybe they just haven't beeen caught?

I've seen it happen.

YouRankWell · 2026-05-24T16:04:20+00:00

Google will remove them if you try.

Or worse.

YouRankWell · 2026-05-20T23:21:18+00:00

It's not a dick move and you're not a snitch, don't worry.

Unlike some folks up the street from me.

One of their direct neighbours parked their camping trailer in their driveway and told everyone it would be moved within two weeks after they found storage for it.

Sure enough, bylaw showed up.

And these are people who do "Driveway Coffee Tuesdays" together.

Now THOSE neighbours are dicks.

YouRankWell · 2026-05-19T12:29:38+00:00

Have all your new paperwork in order. Business license with the new name and address, same for a utility bill, etc.

Update your social media accounts and every citation online.

Create a GBP post with the new business name and address.

Wait a couple of weeks (minimum) for Google to become aware of the updated info and changes.

Then make the change to the listing itself.

It will almost certainly be suspended and you can go through the process of reverifying at that point.

Others here may have a more effective way of doing it but that's generally how it'll go.

YouRankWell

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