6 complete guides · ~20,000 words of knowledge
Guides for small businesses.
Practice, not theory.
Six complete guides covering the areas I have worked in since 2018. Most run 4,000+ words, grounded in real projects, real numbers, a real process. The newest one (GDPR for 360° tours) fills a regulatory gap that competitors leave open.
In short
These guides replace 4 days of Googling. I wrote them from the perspective of a business owner making a decision, not from the perspective of an agency trying to sell something. That is why you will also find here: when it is not worth using my services, what mistakes competitors make, and what works for 0 PLN.
Local visibility
Local SEO 2026 for a small business
8 ranking factors with weights, a 6-month action plan, 7 common mistakes, DIY vs freelancer vs agency.
~25 min read · 14 related posts
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Website online
A website for a small business
8 must-have elements, WordPress vs static vs Wix, hosting and domain, who to hire, real 2026 prices.
~22 min read · 10 related posts
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Running a business
Custom systems instead of SaaS
When it pays to switch to a custom system, when it does not. ROI for 4 industries, 4 system types, the rollout process, step-by-step migration.
~26 min read · 13 related posts
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360° tours
360° virtual tour on Google Maps
What Street View Trusted is, who it makes sense for, how much it costs, what a session looks like, real ROI (Masala Wrocław case +25,000 views).
~22 min read · 10 related posts
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AI / new tech
AI in local marketing 2026
What AI actually changes: agency economics, AI Overviews, voice search, AEO. 7 areas + a 6-week plan + DIY/freelancer/agency stack.
~24 min read · 7 related posts
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360° tours · law
360° tours and GDPR, a lawyer for sensitive businesses
12 checkpoints before the session. Clinic, law firm, kindergarten, beauty salon. 4 general principles + industry checklists + legal liability.
~11 min read · the regulatory gap competitors do not fill
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Who each guide is for
I wrote each one with a specific decision in mind, the one you have to make in your business. Briefly: who it is for and what you will take away.
Local visibility
Local SEO 2026 for a small business
For the owner whose customers call saying, "I found you through friends," instead of "from Google." 8 Local Pack ranking factors, how to measure them with free tools, a 6-month action plan. Plus a NAP sheet you can copy, a list of the 7 most common mistakes competitors make (empty attributes, no posts, no Q&A), the Masala Wrocław case (position 6 → 2 in 4 months). After reading, you know whether to outsource it or do it yourself, and how much it should cost.
Website online
A website for a small business
For someone gathering quotes from three vendors and each one says something different (from 1,500 PLN to 25,000 PLN). What a website must have in 2026 (Core Web Vitals, mobile-first, schema.org), WordPress vs a static site with numbers: file size, hosting cost, hours of yearly upkeep. Plus 5 red flags that reveal an agency that will rip you off, and why Lokal360 packages (Business Card 1,299 PLN, Company 2,499 PLN, WP Migration 1,499 PLN) cost exactly what they cost.
Running a business
Custom systems instead of SaaS
For a business paying Booksy 130 PLN/month, Booking 18% commission, Restaumatic for reservations. Over 5 years that is 30,000 to 80,000 PLN. ROI tables for 4 industries (food service, beauty, accommodation, clinics), a break-even calculator, 4 case studies, the migration process step by step. Plus, plainly: when it is not worth it. If you have fewer than 50 reservations a month, SaaS is cheaper.
360° tours
360° virtual tour on Google Maps
For someone who noticed competitors have "virtual interiors" on Google Maps and they do not. Or who wants to understand why Masala Wrocław hit 25,000 views in 2 months at 6 groszy per view (vs 1 to 2 PLN in Google Ads). What an HDR session looks like, post-production, publishing to the profile, what the Google Trusted Photographer program is and when it pays off. A pricing table for Mini, Standard, Premium with panel counts and timing.
AI / new tech
AI in local marketing 2026
For someone hearing from customers "I found you on ChatGPT" instead of "on Google," while their agency stares back like they are crazy. 7 areas where AI is actually changing the economics of local marketing (AI Overviews, voice search, AEO, generative search). A 6-week rollout plan with specific tools (Claude, Perplexity Pages, llms.txt). 3 stacks: DIY for 0 PLN, solo+AI for 200 PLN/month, agency for 5,000+ PLN/month.
What is inside each guide
- AEO summary box, a short definition + prices + duration + who it is for (40 to 80 words)
- Table of contents with 8 to 9 sections
- Specific numbers, market prices, ROI from real projects, Google / BrightLocal / Whitespark statistics
- Step-by-step action plan, with a timeline (e.g. "Week 1 to 2: audit")
- Common mistakes, what most small businesses do, what to avoid
- FAQ with 10 to 12 questions, the most common customer concerns
- Cross-links to 10 to 14 blog posts that expand on individual topics
- An honest position, when it is not worth it, when DIY, when a competitor is the better choice
After reading, a free conversation
If, after reading, you have specific questions about your business, call or write. A 15-minute conversation, no pressure, a concrete assessment of whether my offer makes sense for your case.
Questions I get most often
Why guides, when you have a blog with 60+ articles?
The blog answers individual questions (how much a tour costs, how to avoid Booking commission). A guide explains the whole field. From "what even is this" to "what decision should I make in my situation." After the blog, you know WHAT, after the guide, you know WHY and WHEN. Each guide links to 10 to 14 posts that expand specific topics. Two different formats, one goal.
Why are they free? Competitors will use them.
A deliberate decision. Each guide takes 30 to 40 hours of work (4,000 to 5,500 words, specific numbers, sources). Competitors can copy them, but Google will punish them for duplicate content. They can paraphrase, but that is also 20+ hours. In practice: competitors read and leave, customers read and come back. Plus a filter for the first conversation. Whoever reads 4,000 words is seriously considering a decision, not just asking about price.
Did Igor write this or AI?
I wrote it personally. Claude AI helped me with research (BrightLocal, Whitespark statistics) and fact-checking (whether a specific tool costs what I remember). Every case study, every "from my practice" number, every "when not to" position is mine, verifiable. AI today is a standard part of every technical writer\'s work, but I do not publish AI slop (generalities, hallucinated statistics). The test: if you point out a number I cannot back up with a source, correct me. I will add the link or fix it.
Are these guides up to date?
I update them with every significant Google change (core updates quarterly, schema deprecations, Local Pack changes), GDPR changes and after new projects with specific numbers. The last modified date is on every guide, in the header. The last major revision: May 2026 (I added AI Overviews, AEO, voice search sections). The plan: refresh every 6 months plus ad hoc after major Google changes.
Is reading enough for me to roll out the changes myself?
Yes, if you have time and you are a bit technical. The action plans in the guides are written step by step, deliberately for DIY: Google Business Profile setup, schema.org JSON-LD, PageSpeed optimization. Each of these tasks takes 2 to 6 hours on your own, if you understand what you are doing. The real problem is not knowledge, it is time. If you run a venue and want to earn, putting 40 hours into SEO often does not make sense. That is when it pays to outsource.
How do I know this is not another "24 SEO secrets that make a difference"?
Check two things. First, specific numbers from my practice, e.g. the Masala Wrocław case +25,000 views in 2 months. Everything is public on the Google profile, type the venue name and verify. Second, the "when NOT to" sections in every guide. An agency will not write that, because it reduces the chance of a sale. Writing "for a microbusiness with fewer than 10 visits a month, a virtual tour does not pay" is a lack of conflict of interest. The rest is specifics, not buzzwords.
Drop me a line and I will tell you what I can do for your business
Website, your own booking system, a 360° tour, ongoing care, separately or together. I will call and tell you straight what makes sense in your case. No obligation.
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