Work example: vanley.ca

The starting point

A new courier business serving Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph needed three things from day one: a website that explains the service clearly, an easy way for businesses to ask for a quote, and to show up on Google and Bing when people nearby search for a courier.

The website

We designed and built the site from scratch, by hand, with no page builder. It's made for phones first, because most people look up a local service on their phone. The home page says in one line who the service is for and where it runs, with the hours and a quote button right below.

The quote form asks only what a courier needs to price a job: pickup and drop-off, how often, when, and any extra stops. Requests go straight to the business inbox. A map shows the core area at a glance, with longer runs on request.

Speed was part of the build, not an afterthought. There are no heavy scripts at page load, the map loads only when someone scrolls to it, and the chat button loads after the page, so it opens quickly even on a phone.

Pages built for search

We built 16 pages around the way people actually search for a courier:

• Nine service pages: scheduled courier, same-day, after-hours, parts, medical, pharmacy, dental lab, legal documents and Kitchener to Toronto. Each one answers the questions that kind of customer asks.
• One page for each of the four main cities, written for that city, not copied and renamed. We stopped at four on purpose: more near-identical city pages tend to hurt a site rather than help it.
• Three practical guides, on setting up a scheduled courier route, on what proof of delivery should include, and on the questions to ask before hiring a courier.

Every page has its own title and description, written to match real searches, and the details search engines read behind the scenes. We keep adjusting the wording as Google shows which searches the site appears for. For example, when Google started showing the site for "medical delivery", the medical page was reworded to use those words.

Google, Bing and listings

• The Google Business Profile was set up and verified, showing the service area instead of a street address.
• Google and Bing are both set up, and every new or changed page is sent to them so they pick it up quickly.
• The business is listed on the main business directories, all with the same name, hours and website.
• A daily check confirms which pages Google has picked up and follows up on any it hasn't, and a weekly check re-tests speed and the phone layout.

The website assistant

A chat button on every page answers visitors' questions about areas, hours and what can be carried. It only answers from the site's own information. It never gives prices; for a price it sends people to the quote form or to call or text. Chats aren't saved.

See it for yourself

Everything on this page is live. Visit vanley.ca, try the quote form or ask the assistant a question. To see what we'd do for your business, read about our website design packages and local SEO services.