Local SEO services for Apex, NC small businesses.
AI-first SEO, content marketing, and Google Business Profile management for Apex businesses. Productized retainers from $1,500/month, month-to-month after initial commitment. Built and run from the Triangle.
$497/mo
Founding Member rate
4–6 mo
To first page-1 rankings
0
Long-term contracts
50 mi
From Apex to our office in Zebulon
Why Apex
Why Apex businesses need local SEO.
Repeatedly named one of America's best small towns to live in, with a meticulously maintained historic downtown and rapid family-oriented suburban growth feeding new businesses every quarter.
Apex (~75,000) is one of the most competitive local search markets in the Triangle. When a Apex resident searches for HVAC contractors, plumbers, gyms, salons, and local retail, they see a Google local 3-pack first — that's the box of three businesses with map pins, phone numbers, and review scores. 93% of local searches show that 3-pack, and the businesses inside it capture the overwhelming majority of calls and clicks. If you're not in the 3-pack for the queries that matter to your Apex business, you're invisible.
Getting into the 3-pack isn't luck. It's a function of: a complete and active Google Business Profile, consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) across local citations, location-specific content on your website (like this page), structured data Google can read, and review velocity. We do every part of that work, every month, for Apex businesses — for less than the cost of a single ad campaign.
"The local pack isn't a gift from Google. It's a system. Apex businesses that systematically work the signals win it. The ones that don't, get out-ranked by neighbors who do."
— Ryan Smeltz, Founder
What's included
Done-for-you local SEO for Apex businesses, every month.
Transparency
We tell you exactly what AI does and what humans review. Live Looker Studio dashboard between monthly reports — not a spin-doctored PDF. Month-to-month after initial commitment, no kill fees, no awkward calls. 30-day Performance Promise on retainers with existing site + GBP.
Value
$497 to $4,500 per month for what most Triangle agencies charge $2,500 to $8,000 per month to deliver. Founder-led, AI-native production, no middle-management markup. You get Ryan personally on every engagement — no offshore labor, no junior account managers.
Genuine Care
We pick clients we can actually help. We build content for the customer your business actually serves, not for a Google algorithm we're trying to game. If a service isn't right for you, we'll tell you.
Pricing
Pick the volume that matches your Apex business.
Productized retainers from $1,500/mo. Optional setup fees only on Local Authority ($750) and Multi-Location ($1,500). Cancel anytime through your account.
Local Anchor
Single-location service biz, $300K–$1M revenue
No setup fee · 3-month initial commitment
- 2 SEO blog posts/month (1,200–1,800 words, EEAT-compliant)
- Google Business Profile management (weekly post, photo refresh, Q&A)
- Review request automation + reply-to-every-review
- Citation maintenance (top 50 directories, NAP consistency)
- Quarterly AI search visibility audit
- Monthly performance report + 30-min strategy call
- Month-to-month after initial commitment
Local Authority
Established service biz, $1M+ revenue
+ $750 onboarding · 6-month initial commitment
- Everything in Local Anchor, plus:
- 4 SEO blog posts/month (vs 2)
- 2 service-page rebuilds per quarter
- Active link building — 2 quality placements/month
- AI search optimization (llms.txt, schema, brand-mention monitoring)
- Bi-weekly 30-min strategy calls
- Quarterly competitor analysis report
Multi-Location
Up to 3 locations (4+ quoted custom)
+ $1,500 onboarding · 12-month minimum
- Everything in Local Authority, plus:
- Per-location GBP management — full 54-item Local Authority stack per location (up to 3 locations)
- 6 SEO blog posts/month
- 4 active link placements/month
- Programmatic vertical × city pages
- Custom Looker Studio dashboard
- Weekly 30-min strategy calls
- Direct Slack/SMS access to Ryan
Industries
The Apex businesses we work best with.
We focus on local service businesses where SEO produces measurable revenue, not vanity metrics.
Plumbers
Emergency calls don't wait for SEO. We get you visible the day someone Googles "plumber near me."
Electricians
Service-area pages, license-board citations, the niche structured data Google wants.
HVAC Contractors
Seasonal demand swings hard. Content calendars built around peak-search months.
Gyms & Fitness
Members compare 4 gyms in 10 minutes. We make sure you're one of them.
Salons & Spas
Instagram alone won't rank you. Local SEO does. We do both.
Local E-commerce
Physical store + shippable products = a different SEO playbook. We know it.
How it works
Onboarding takes about 10 days for Apex businesses.
Same first-30-day cadence for every client, whether you're in Apex, Cary, or Raleigh.
01
Day 1
Onboarding kickoff
Quick kick-off call. We audit your Google Business Profile, pull baseline metrics, and map your top revenue pages.
02
Week 1
Strategy + setup
Keyword research, content calendar, technical fixes on your site, and your first round of GBP optimization land in your dashboard.
03
Week 2
First content live
First batch of human-reviewed blog posts publish, GBP weekly posts start, review responses go out. You see the work.
04
Month 2–3
First ranking lifts
Lower-competition queries start surfacing on page 1. Your dashboard shows climbing keyword positions, GBP calls, direction requests.
FAQ
Common questions from Apex business owners.
How much does local SEO cost in Apex?
Our productized retainers start at $1,500/month (Local Anchor), with Founding Member rate of $497/month for year one, then 20% off your tier (first 20 only). That's a fraction of what most Apex agencies charge (typically $1,500–$5,000/month). The math works because AI handles production at scale; humans handle strategy and your account directly. Month-to-month after initial commitment.
How long until I see ranking results in Apex?
Honestly: 4–6 months for first page-1 wins on lower-competition queries in the Apex market. 9–12 months for the meaningful, high-intent terms. Anyone promising you page 1 in 30 days is selling something that won't last.
Why isn't my Apex business showing up on Google Maps?
Usually one of: incomplete or unverified Google Business Profile, missing or inconsistent NAP across local citations, no LocalBusiness schema on your site, weak review velocity, or competing Apex listings with stronger signals. Our free audit identifies which of these apply to you.
Do you guarantee rankings?
No, and anyone who does is lying to you. Google's local algorithm has 200+ signals and changes constantly. What we guarantee is that we'll do the work — the right work — every month, and report transparently on what's moving.
What's the difference between local SEO and regular SEO?
Local SEO is what makes you show up when someone in Apex Googles "plumber near me" or "best salon in Apex." It's Google Business Profile management, local citations, location-specific content (like this page), and reviews. Regular SEO targets broad national terms. We lead with local because that's where Apex businesses actually win revenue.
Will my business show up in ChatGPT, AI, or Google AI Overview answers?
It can — and that's increasingly important. Roughly a third of US search now happens via AI assistants. We optimize for AI answer engines (GEO/AEO) using structured data, FAQ schema, and content patterns AI models cite. Our /ai-search-audit/ tool scores your AI-search readiness for free.
Are you really based in the Triangle, or is this a national agency with a Apex landing page?
Really based here. Founder Ryan Smeltz — a US Army veteran — lives in Zebulon, on the eastern edge of the Triangle, and runs the company from here with the AI production system he built. Our entire client base is within 50 miles. We chose to focus on the Triangle because we live here and know the market firsthand.
Free audit
See where your Apex business ranks today.
Run a free local SEO audit on your business in under 5 minutes. We'll show you what's working, what's missing, and what would change if you worked with us. No email required to start.