Milhan | Local SEO

Helping home service businesses get more qualified leads with Local SEO, Google Business Profile, and high-converting websites.

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

I've never really shared my SEO journey publicly.

I first discovered SEO back in 2016. I built a website that eventually ranked in Google's top 10 for some of its target keywords. Then life took me in a different direction, and I stepped away from SEO to focus on Forex trading.

Everything changed when ChatGPT launched.

For the first time, creating and scaling content became much more practical. That motivated me to get back into SEO, this time with a long-term plan.

Instead of chasing quick wins, I focused on building content websites from scratch, learning technical SEO, experimenting with Semantic SEO, and understanding how search engines actually work.

Over the next few posts, I'll share the websites I built, what worked, what failed, and what those projects taught me.

Those lessons are the foundation of why I'm now focused on helping local home service businesses grow through Local SEO. ☕️

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

@SEOG_AI Yea

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

A local HVAC company with 8 reviews is outranking a competitor with 47 reviews in local pack.

No fake reviews.

No spam.

No crazy backlink profile.

Just a better-optimized Google Business Profile.

I audited both listings.

Here's what I found.

Competitor A • 8 reviews • Ranking higher

Competitor B • 47 reviews • Ranking lower

If reviews were the only ranking factor, this wouldn't happen.

The differences were elsewhere.

→ Competitor A's primary category was HVAC Contractor.

Competitor B chose Air Conditioning Contractor.

That one change alone gives Google a different understanding of the business.

→ Competitor A linked a website.

Competitor B didn't.

Even if the website isn't perfect, it's still another place for Google to validate the business.

→ Competitor A had 27 services and 11 service areas.

Competitor B had 11 services and no service areas.

One profile tells Google exactly what it does and where.

The other leaves Google guessing.

→ Competitor A had fewer reviews...

...but they were recent.

Competitor B had plenty of reviews, but most were older.

One thing surprised me the most.

There are companies nearby with 3,000+ reviews.

None of them ranked above these two businesses.

Why?

Because they aren't actually located in this town.

Google cares a lot about proximity.

The lesson?

Most HVAC companies think Local SEO is about getting more reviews.

Reviews matter.

But they're only one piece of the puzzle.

I'd rather have a complete, well-optimized Google Business Profile with 20 reviews than a neglected profile with 200.

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

At the start of this year, my goal was to launch five websites.

Reality had other plans.

Because of work, I only launched two.

The first is a Pinterest focused food website.

Pinterest started sending traffic within the first month after publishing content. At the same time, I optimized every page for Google Search. It took longer, but Google traffic has started coming in as well.

The second is a local home service website. You can see a Microsoft clarity screenshot, I'm experimenting how things goes without Google's ecosystem and I only submitted it to Bing.

But funny enough 😂 Google still indexed and getting all the traffic from there alone.

It's only about 30 days old, and it's already receiving its first clicks from Google.

Seeing a brand new local website get indexed and generate early traffic is one of the reasons I'm excited to focus on Local SEO going forward.

Next on my list: building tool based websites and continuing to document the journey.

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

I've never really shared my SEO journey publicly.

I first discovered SEO back in 2016. I built a website that eventually ranked in Google's top 10 for some of its target keywords. Then life took me in a different direction, and I stepped away from SEO to focus on Forex trading.

Everything changed when ChatGPT launched.

For the first time, creating and scaling content became much more practical. That motivated me to get back into SEO, this time with a long-term plan.

Instead of chasing quick wins, I focused on building content websites from scratch, learning technical SEO, experimenting with Semantic SEO, and understanding how search engines actually work.

Over the next few posts, I'll share the websites I built, what worked, what failed, and what those projects taught me.

Those lessons are the foundation of why I'm now focused on helping local home service businesses grow through Local SEO. ☕️

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

Website #2

Launched: June 2025

Sold: January 2026.

This was my first serious attempt at applying Semantic SEO.

I was learning @KorayGubur framework, so I implemented as much as I could from day one:

• Built a proper topical map.
• Planned the URL structure and internal linking before publishing.
• Kept the website technically clean.
• Focused heavily on site speed.

The result?

The site attracted solid Google traffic, and Bing also became a meaningful source of visitors.

It wasn't perfect but it proved that good planning before publishing saves countless hours later.

That project gave me much more confidence in building websites that search engines understand.

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

Website #1

Launched: November 2024

Sold: November 2025 on Motion Invest.

This project taught me more than any course ever could.

The site grew steadily, then experienced a huge spike after I experimented with backlinks.

When those backlinks were removed, traffic settled back toward normal. Around the same time, Google's spam update hit, and the site declined further.

Instead of abandoning it, I focused on the fundamentals:

• Updated outdated content
• Removed duplicate pages
• Fixed technical SEO issues
• Improved overall site quality

The recovery wasn't instant, but it worked well enough that I was able to sell the website.

One lesson I'll always remember:

Shortcuts create volatility. Strong technical SEO and high quality content survive algorithm updates much better.

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

Website #2

Launched: June 2025

Sold: January 2026.

This was my first serious attempt at applying Semantic SEO.

I was learning Koray Tuğberk Gübür's framework, so I implemented as much as I could from day one:

• Built a proper topical map.
• Planned the URL structure before publishing.
• Kept the website technically clean.
• Focused heavily on site speed.

The result?

The site attracted solid Google traffic, and Bing also became a meaningful source of visitors.

It wasn't perfect, but it proved that good planning before publishing saves countless hours later.

That project gave me much more confidence in building websites that search engines understand.

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

Website #1

Launched: November 2024

Sold: 2025 on Motion Invest.

This project taught me more than any course ever could.

The site grew steadily, then experienced a huge spike after I experimented with backlinks.

When those backlinks were removed, traffic settled back toward normal. Around the same time, Google's spam update hit, and the site declined further.

Instead of abandoning it, I focused on the fundamentals:

• Updated outdated content.
• Removed duplicate pages.
• Fixed technical SEO issues.
• Improved overall site quality.

The recovery wasn't instant, but it worked well enough that I was able to sell the website.

One lesson I'll always remember:

Shortcuts create volatility. Strong technical SEO and high-quality content survive algorithm updates much better.

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

Website #2

Launched: June 2025

Sold: January 2026.

This was my first serious attempt at applying Semantic SEO.

I was learning Koray Tuğberk Gübür's framework, so I implemented as much as I could from day one:

• Built a proper topical map.
• Planned the URL structure before publishing.
• Kept the website technically clean.
• Focused heavily on site speed.

The result?

The site attracted solid Google traffic, and Bing also became a meaningful source of visitors.

It wasn't perfect, but it proved that good planning before publishing saves countless hours later.

That project gave me much more confidence in building websites that search engines understand.

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

Website #1

Launched: November 2024

Sold: 2025 on Motion Invest.

This project taught me more than any course ever could.

The site grew steadily, then experienced a huge spike after I experimented with backlinks.

When those backlinks were removed, traffic settled back toward normal. Around the same time, Google's spam update hit, and the site declined further.

Instead of abandoning it, I focused on the fundamentals:

• Updated outdated content.
• Removed duplicate pages.
• Fixed technical SEO issues.
• Improved overall site quality.

The recovery wasn't instant, but it worked well enough that I was able to sell the website.

One lesson I'll always remember:

Shortcuts create volatility. Strong technical SEO and high-quality content survive algorithm updates much better.

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

@CalebTrevinoSEO Can this get me top of sponsored content? 😂

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

@noahiglerSEO 😂😂😂 crazy

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

Everyone talks about responsive design.

Very few talk about responsive information architecture.

If 90% of your visitors are on mobile, your page should be designed for thumb scrolling, not desktop monitors.

Your first screen should answer three questions:

• What do you do?
• Where do you do it?
• How do I contact you?

Everything else supports those answers.

Make sure your website is highly responsive and loads under 2 seconds.

☕️

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

@noahiglerSEO Understood. Thanks

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

@noahiglerSEO Yea. I saw this happening with an Australian company. And that agency messed up with website code before leaving.

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

Most local business websites are built for page builders.

The best ones are built for browsers, users, search engines, and LLMs.

Websites aren't just being read by humans anymore. They're being interpreted by AI agents too. Clear semantic HTML makes that job easier.

Semantic HTML isn't "extra code."
It's how you communicate meaning.

✓ "<header>" defines the page header.
✓ "<nav>" tells crawlers where navigation lives.
✓ "<main>" points to the primary content.
✓ "<section>" groups related information.
✓ "<article>" marks standalone content.
✓ "<footer>" wraps up the page.

Then layer on:
→ A logical heading hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3)
→ Internal links that reinforce topical relevance
→ Schema where it actually adds value
→ Fast loading pages
→ Clear service and location entities

Every one of these helps search engines understand what the page is, why it exists, and how different pieces connect.

For local businesses, this matters more than ever.

As Google and AI systems rely on cleaner page structure and stronger contextual signals, websites with solid foundations will be easier to crawl, interpret, and trust.

Most agencies still sell "beautiful websites."

I'd rather build websites that communicate clearly. ☕️

#LocalSEO #TechnicalSEO #WebDevelopment

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

@BrianEDean Welcome back! I learned on-page SEO by reading Backlinko back in 2016. I still remember spending countless hours going through your articles and videos. Back then, no one could beat you in the SERPs for those topics.

[Milhan | Local SEO @milhan_mohammad]

🚨 Big change for home service businesses.

Google is moving Local Services Ads (LSAs) into Google Ads starting in August 2026.

What changes?

• The standalone LSA dashboard is going away.
• Budgets move from weekly to daily.
• Manual CPL bidding is being replaced by automated Target CPA.
• Campaigns with multiple service categories will use one blended Target CPA.

Why this matters:

If you mix high-ticket jobs (HVAC replacements, roofing, solar) with low-ticket service calls in the same campaign, Google's bidding may optimize for cheaper leads instead of your most profitable ones.

Before the migration:

✅ Export your historical LSA data.
✅ Review mixed-service campaigns.
✅ Consider separating high- and low-value services if you have enough lead volume.
✅ Make sure your Google Business Profile information is accurate.