> Plain guides to the questions businesses ask about search: why a competitor outranks you, what an audit covers, local SEO, AI answers and safe redesigns. - Canonical: https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/ --- # Work out where you stand. Each guide answers one question a business owner asks about search, with the checks to run and what the results mean. No sign-up, and nothing to buy to follow them. ## Topics A topic gathers the guides on one subject, in the order worth reading them. ### [AI search and answer engines](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/ai-search/) How ChatGPT, Google's AI features and other assistants find, read and cite a business, and how to see what they send you. 8 guides ### [Website platforms: fixing one, or leaving it](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/website-builders/) For sites built on Wix, Squarespace, Shopify or WordPress: why they load slowly, what each platform does and does not do for search, and what moving away involves. 24 guides ### [When a website is not doing its job](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/site-problems/) Traffic that falls, visitors who do not enquire, pages that load slowly or look wrong on a phone: how to find the cause before paying for a cure. 12 guides ### [Local search, Maps and reviews](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/local-search/) For businesses that win customers nearby: the Business Profile, the map results, and the reviews that carry both. 5 guides ### [When Google Ads is not working](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/google-ads/) Ads that do not show, clicks that do not convert and budget that disappears: how to read the account and find the cause. 6 guides ### [When a site is not showing on Google](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/not-on-google/) How to find out why a site or a page is missing from Google, by platform and by the status Search Console reports. 21 guides ## New websites ### [How to check your website speed, and what the numbers mean](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-check-your-website-speed/) The three numbers Google uses, where to read them for your site and a competitor's, and what usually fixes each. ### [A website launch checklist for search](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/website-launch-checklist/) Launch-day checks for indexing, titles, redirects, the sitemap, tracking and speed, and what to read in the first week. ### [How to choose a web design company](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-choose-a-web-design-company/) Three checks to run before you sign, the questions to ask, and the warning signs. - [New websites: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/website-design/) ## Redesigns and rebuilds ### [How to redesign a website without losing rankings](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/redesign-a-website-without-losing-rankings/) What to record before, what to keep, and the checks for launch day and the four weeks after. ### [Who owns your website and its domain, and how to check](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/who-owns-my-website-domain/) The three things that are owned separately, how to look each one up, and what a business should hold itself. - [Redesigns and rebuilds: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/website-redesign/) ## On-site SEO ### [Why a competitor outranks you, and how to check](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/why-a-competitor-outranks-you/) Five things to compare, page against page, with a free tool for each. ### [What a technical SEO audit covers](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/what-a-technical-seo-audit-covers/) The six areas an audit checks, and what a useful one hands back. ### [Hreflang explained: the right page for each country](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/hreflang-explained/) What the label does, when a site needs it, how to write the codes and the mistakes that make search engines ignore it. ### [How to find content your competitors have and you do not](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-find-content-gaps/) Four free ways to list what competitors are found for and you are not, and how to choose which gaps to close first. ### [Questions to ask before you hire an SEO agency](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/questions-to-ask-an-seo-agency/) Ten questions, what a good answer sounds like, and the warning signs to walk away from. ### [What schema markup is, and which types a business needs](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/what-is-schema-markup/) What it is, what it changes in search results, the types worth adding and how to test them. ### [How to write title tags and meta descriptions](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-write-title-tags-and-meta-descriptions/) What each line does, how long to make it, why Google sometimes rewrites it and how to check yours. ### [How to do keyword research with free tools](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/keyword-research-with-free-tools/) Four free sources of real search demand, and how to choose which searches to build pages for. ### [Is SEO worth it for a small business?](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/is-seo-worth-it-for-a-small-business/) Three conditions that make SEO pay, the cases where it does not, and a check to run first. ### [How to remove a page from Google search results](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-remove-a-page-from-google/) The fast temporary block, the three permanent methods, and why robots.txt is the wrong tool. ### [How to change how your website appears on Google](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-change-how-your-website-appears-on-google/) The five parts of a search result, what Google builds each one from, and how to change it. ### [How to get sitelinks in Google search results](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-get-sitelinks/) What sitelinks are, why they cannot be requested, what Google says helps, and how to remove one. - [On-site SEO: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/seo/) ## Brand and graphics ### [What a brand identity should include](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/what-a-brand-identity-should-include/) The parts of a complete identity, the files you should be handed, and five checks for whether yours is working. ### [Why your favicon is not showing in Google search](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/favicon-not-showing-in-google/) Google's requirements for a favicon in search results, the usual faults, and how long a fix takes. ### [What size should a logo be for a website?](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/what-size-should-a-logo-be-for-a-website/) The three forms of a logo a website needs, the right format for each, and why a logo looks blurry. - [Brand and graphics: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/brand-and-graphics/) ## Monthly care ### [How to share Search Console and Analytics access safely](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/share-search-console-and-analytics-access/) Add an agency as a limited user in two minutes, without sharing a password, and remove it when you like. ### [What a monthly SEO report should show](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/what-a-monthly-seo-report-should-show/) The figures that matter, what each one means, and how to tell a report that informs from one that fills pages. ### [How to add Google Analytics to your website](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-add-google-analytics-to-your-website/) Create the property, find the ID, add it to the platform, and confirm data is arriving. ### [How to see how much traffic your website gets](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-much-traffic-does-my-website-get/) Where to read the figures, why two tools disagree, and which numbers are worth watching. - [Monthly care: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/monthly-care/) ## Free competitor gap report The guides show how to check one thing at a time. To have the whole comparison done at once, name up to three competitors and we send you where each of them is ahead and what to change first. 1. Speed and technical health, side by side 2. On-page SEO and site structure 3. The content they are found for and you are not 4. Who holds the searches that matter in your market 5. A prioritised list of what to fix first [Request your free report by email](mailto:contact@hadalmedusa.com?subject=Competitor%20gap%20report%3A%20Guides&body=Website%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AWhere%20you%20compete%20(area%2C%20country%20or%20countries)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0ACompetitors%20to%20compare%20against%20(up%20to%20three)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AAnything%20else%20we%20should%20know%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A) - **Address** — contact@hadalmedusa.com - **Include** — your site; up to three competitors; where you compete