SEO isn't about understanding keywords.
It's about understanding Google.

Most photographers focus on rankings, but when you understand how Google works, rankings become the result, not the goal.

That's the approach I use for my clients, and it's the approach that helped my wife build a photography business.

Meredith's Husband

Meredith's Husband

Certified Google Partner  

Meredith

My Wife (Meredith)

Owns her own business

I worked in SEO before I met Meredith.

When we met, she was an actress and photography was a side business. Like most photographers starting out, finding clients was the hardest part.

I knew how to help businesses grow with Google, and I knew the problem wasn't her photography. So I rebuilt her website the same way I would have for my clients.

Before long, Google was bringing her a steady stream of inquiries, and photography went from a side business to a full-time career.
About Me

My SEO Romance

I started working in SEO before it was even called SEO.
By 2012, SEO had become the fastest-growing areas of digital marketing. Reuters Business TV interviewed me to explain SEO and why it mattered to businesses.
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Back then, most had never heard of SEO. When I explained that I could help businesses rank higher in Google, many thought it sounded too good to be true. One person even looked me in the eye and said, "You're a con man."

It wasn't an unusual reaction at the time. Most business owners assumed Google's rankings couldn't be influenced. The idea that someone could change those rankings sounded too good to be true.

As SEO grew, much of the industry (including me) focused on helping websites rank as quickly as possible. For years, it worked.

Eventually, people realized SEO was real. It became an accepted part of marketing.

Then the industry changed. Google released several major updates in 2012, and I watched websites lose rankings almost overnight. Some belonged to former clients. Some belonged to current clients. Rankings that had taken months, and sometimes years to build disappeared in a matter of days.

I realized I didn't need a way to rank websites faster. I needed a way to build rankings that would last.
Instead of asking, "How do I rank this website?" I started asking, "What is Google trying to do?"

Instead of asking, "How do I rank this website?" I started asking, "What is Google trying to do?"

That question became the foundation of what I call SEIQ (Search Engine IQ), a framework built around understanding what Google is trying to accomplish, instead of trying to outsmart it.

That question became the foundation of what I call SEIQ (Search Engine IQ), a framework built around understanding what Google is trying to accomplish, instead of trying to outsmart it.

It's the same approach I still use today.

A few organizations I've worked with

Meredith's Husband

A Podcast is born

As my consulting career expanded, I found myself working with larger brands and marketing agencies. At the same time, I noticed something happening across the industry. The more experienced SEO consultants moved toward enterprise clients, leaving many small businesses to sort through shortcuts, outdated advice, and unrealistic promises on their own.

Meredith saw it firsthand. As a photographer, she'd come home with SEO advice she heard in her photography communities. Some of it was outdated. Some of it was simply wrong.

One day, while we were talking through another piece of bad advice, we decided to press record.

Meredith shared the episode with her photography community and asked if it would be helpful. The response was immediate. We called it Episode 1 of Meredith's Husband.

More than 200 episodes later, we're still separating what Google is actually doing from what people think it's doing.
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"My favorite podcast | "Empowering, fun & all around awesome | "So much Value! | "A fun way to learn about SEO. | "Helpful and easy to understand | Better than the cereal isle

My favorite podcast about SEO!

You know a podcast is doing something right when you get excited every time a new episode pops up in the Podcasts app. Meredith's Husband does ALL THE THINGS right, 
Liddyiowa

Can you imagine laughing during a SEO podcast about SEO?

I never thought someone could record a lesson about SEO in a way that not only informed but entertained me! 
JayeMcL

Great explanations, with practical advice

I love this podcast! Chris breaks down SEO in a way that is easy to understand and practical to apply. I always learn at least one thing after listening, 
VAPetTog

Can I hire you for my SEO?

It's the question I hear most often from listeners.

The answer is yes, although today, most of my consulting work is with marketing agencies on long-term projects. Because of that, my availability is limited, and my consulting engagements typically start at $5,000.
A New Approach to SEO
Over the years, I've made an obvious observation.
It's almost always in a business owner's best interest to learn to do SEO, either themselves or with their own team. The results are usually much better and last longer, compared to hiring someone to do it for them.

Nobody cares about your business the way you do. Nobody understands your clients, your work, or your goals the way you do. And SEO isn't something you finish. Every new page, blog post, service, or redesign is another SEO decision. The more you understand how Google works, the better those decisions become.

The businesses I've seen succeed over the long term aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest SEO budgets. They're the ones whose owners understand enough to make good decisions, ask better questions, and continually improve over time.
This is why I created the Mentoring Program.
Instead of doing SEO for you, I teach you to approach SEO the same way I do: by understanding what Google is trying to accomplish and using that understanding to make better decisions over time.

The goal isn't to make you dependent on me. It's to help you become confident without me.

The Mentoring Program

The mentoring program is my consulting process, adapted into a 12-week program for photographers and small business owners.

We use the same framework I developed through years of consulting. Together, we'll evaluate your website, identify what's holding it back, strengthen what's already working, and prioritize the changes that will have the greatest long-term impact.

Each week combines a short lesson with an AI workflow built around the Search Engine IQ (SEIQ) framework. AI helps organize information, surface opportunities, and speed up the work. You remain responsible for the strategy, the decisions, and the implementation.
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The Mentoring Promise

At the end of 12 weeks, you'll have a website built on a solid SEO foundation and the confidence to continue improving it on your own.

You'll know what to work on, why it matters, and how to make informed SEO decisions without relying on shortcuts, myths, or someone else to do the work for you.

I went from zero inquiries to half of my inquiries coming from Google.

I couldn't have done it without you!"

- Jenny, Little Branch Photography
Become an Insider

Stay Ahead of the Changes That Matter

Search is changing quickly, as AI becomes part of how people find businesses online.
The SEO+AI Primer is a free introductory video series that explains how AI is changing search, what those changes mean for your website, and where to focus your attention.

Get the AI+SEO Primer Now

Becoming an Insider gives you instant access to the Primer.

As an Insider, you'll also receive occasional updates whenever there are meaningful changes in search, along with practical guidance on what to do next.

Collaborate

Everything I do revolves around helping small business owners better understand search. If your audience includes photographers or small business owners trying to understand SEO and AI, I'd be happy to explore working together.
  • Appear on your podcast
  • Speak at your event
  • Lead a workshop or webinar
  • Explore a partnership
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