By Surinder Ahitan · Slough · Farnham Common · twenty years in SEO and websites I build websites for UK trades, and the follow-up that turns the enquiries into booked work. I grew a service brand from 1 location to 9 in 6 years the same way. I write what I'd want to read myself, short letters, plain English, real numbers. So if you find one useful, let me know what you'd like me to write next.
For the longer bio, the CoLaz story, and where I'm based, head to the about page.
Every letter I've published, newest first.
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GUIDES · 15 August 2026
Checkatrade alternatives, and whether it is worth it at all
A straight comparison of the UK trade directories, what actually separates them, and why the honest answer for most trades is not another directory.
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GUIDES · 15 August 2026
What Checkatrade costs a tradesman, and what you actually get
A straight look at what Checkatrade membership costs, why nobody can quote you a single figure, and how to work out whether it pays for your trade.
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TACTICAL-SEO · 13 August 2026
What is backlink? A straight answer for business owners
The plain-English answer to what is backlink: how Google reads a link, what separates a useful one from a worthless one, and how to check the ones you already have.
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TACTICAL-SEO · 11 August 2026
Backlink buy: how to judge an offer before you spend anything
The buyer's-side view of paying for links: the five tiers of the market, how to read a seller's offer in five minutes, what the data says it costs, and the UK disclosure rules nobody mentions.
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TACTICAL-SEO · 6 August 2026
Backlink purchase: what really happens when you buy links
The honest version of the buying-links question: what Google does with paid links now, what they cost, why the UK adds a second problem, and the slower thing that works.
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TACTICAL-SEO · 4 August 2026
How to create a backlink (and which ones are worth creating)
The honest answer to how to create a backlink: three types you can place yourself, five steps for earning the ones that count, and the ones to avoid.
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INDUSTRY-PLAYBOOKS · 30 July 2026
SEO for vets: the owner's playbook for a UK practice
A plain-English playbook for UK veterinary practice owners: the RCVS advertising rules that shape your keywords, the CMA price-list order arriving in 2026, and the local SEO work that turns searches into booked appointments.
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SEO-FUNDAMENTALS · 28 July 2026
SEO on a single page website: what works and what breaks
A one-page site can rank for one thing in one town. Here is how far SEO on a single page website really gets you, and the trigger to split it up.
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SEO-FUNDAMENTALS · 23 July 2026
SEO technical work explained: what it means and what to fix first
The phrase 'seo technical' gets used to mean everything and nothing. Here is the plain version: what it means, what an audit checks, and what to fix first.
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INDUSTRY-PLAYBOOKS · 21 July 2026
Link building for law firms: what actually moves the needle
Most firms go hunting for new links before claiming the ones they are already entitled to. Here is the order that actually works, plus the SRA rules that generic link advice ignores.
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INDUSTRY-PLAYBOOKS · 16 July 2026
How to get more electrical work
Most electricians don't have a Google problem. They have a hygiene problem. Here's the order I'd fix it in, and why most agency advice misses the mark.
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TACTICAL-SEO · 14 July 2026
Blog SEO: what to fix first when nobody's reading your posts
Most blog SEO advice is padding. Here's the short, ordered version that actually gets posts found, from someone who grew a business on SEO alone.
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TACTICAL-SEO · 9 July 2026
SEO tips worth your time: what to fix first and what to ignore
Most SEO tips are noise. Here's the short list that actually moves rankings, ordered by impact, plus the blog-SEO basics and the advice you can skip.
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TACTICAL-SEO · 7 July 2026
Technical SEO: a no-fluff guide to what actually moves rankings
Most technical SEO advice is backwards. Here is the order I actually work in: get Google crawling and indexing first, then speed, canonicals and mobile.
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SEO-FUNDAMENTALS · 2 July 2026
SEO tips that actually move the needle for a small business
Most SEO tips lists are noise. Here are the few fundamentals that actually shift rankings for a small UK business, and the advice worth ignoring.
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TACTICAL-SEO · 30 June 2026
Backlink building seo: a no-fluff guide for owners
What actually works in backlink building for SEO: where links sit in the wider picture, which ones count, what to build first, and the honest timeline to expect.
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TACTICAL-SEO · 25 June 2026
On-page SEO and off-page SEO: a no-fluff guide to what comes first
On-page SEO and off-page SEO explained without the jargon: what each one covers, which one to fix first, and the honest timeline for a local service business.
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TACTICAL-SEO · 23 June 2026
Link building: the no-fluff guide for owners who want booked work
What actually works in link building for a local service business: which links count, what to build first, what to ignore, and the honest timeline to expect.
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TACTICAL-SEO · 18 June 2026
AI in SEO: what actually works, and what's just noise
A plain-English guide to AI in SEO for small business owners: what these tools are genuinely good at, where they quietly cost you, and the one thing to fix first.
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INDUSTRY-PLAYBOOKS · 16 June 2026
Small business SEO marketing: where the booked work comes from
Where small business SEO marketing actually pays back: the local pack and Google Business Profile, service pages mapped to real buying intent, and the trust signals that move local rankings.
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GUIDES · 11 June 2026
How much does SEO cost in the UK in 2026: the honest answer
A plain-English guide to UK SEO pricing in 2026: the real monthly bands, what each one actually buys you, the industry survey data, and the red flags that mean you're being overcharged.
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INDUSTRY-PLAYBOOKS · 9 June 2026
SEO for estate agents in the UK: how to win the vendor before they call the big names
Why estate agent SEO is won on local-pack queries and a handful of vendor-side pages, not by fighting Rightmove. A practical UK playbook from an operator's point of view.
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INDUSTRY-PLAYBOOKS · 4 June 2026
How to get more work as a tradesman
Most trades don't need a better website. They need a finished Google Business Profile, a page per town they cover, and a steady drip of real reviews. Here is the order I'd do it in.
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INDUSTRY-PLAYBOOKS · 2 June 2026
SEO for restaurants in the UK: get found by hungry people nearby
Most restaurant SEO is won on the Google Business Profile, not the website. Here is the plain-English playbook for UK restaurants: menu, photos, reviews, hours, and the trust signals that move local rankings.
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INDUSTRY-PLAYBOOKS · 28 May 2026
SEO for solicitors in the UK: how UK law firms win local search
A peer-to-peer SEO playbook for UK solicitors: where the booked work actually comes from in Google, the SRA constraints to respect, the service pages every firm should build, and the trust signals that move local rankings.
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INDUSTRY-PLAYBOOKS · 26 May 2026
SEO for accountants in the UK: the practice owner's playbook
A plain-English SEO playbook for UK accountancy practices: where the booked work actually comes from in Google, the service pages every firm should build, and the trust signals that move local rankings.
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GUIDES · 21 May 2026
Google Business Profile setup: a step-by-step for UK service businesses
A step-by-step Google Business Profile setup guide for UK service businesses in 2026: pick the right primary category, pass video verification, and turn a verified profile into a ranking one.
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INDUSTRY-PLAYBOOKS · 20 May 2026
SEO for dentists in the UK: a practice owner's playbook for 2026
A plain-English 2026 SEO playbook for UK dental practice owners: the GDC and ASA rules you cannot break, the local-pack mechanics that actually drive new patients, and the website work that pays back.
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GUIDES · 20 May 2026
What is local SEO? A guide for UK service-business owners
A plain-English guide to local SEO for UK service businesses: what the local 3-pack actually is, how Google decides who shows there, and what to do (and not do) about it in 2026.
If you want me to look at your specific site and tell you what's broken, that's twenty minutes in my calendar and it costs you nothing. Book a call. Tell me what's going on.