Notes from the desk
Practical pages for Alberta businesses. We cite public pricing and local-search research. We do not invent assistant citation rates.
AI visibility · Local
Can ChatGPT find your Alberta business?
Assistants guess when a homepage never says the city, the work, or the phone number. A live URL scan shows that. A company-name score does not.
· 7 min
Local SEO · AI Overviews
Maps still convert when AI Overviews show up
AI Overviews now sit on about half of US queries and they cut organic CTR. For local Alberta businesses, the map pack is still the cash register.
· 6 min
Services · Strategy
Rebuild the site, or add a knowledge layer?
If people can already quote and book, you may only need schema, /llms.txt, and a service map. If they cannot, a brochure retrofit will not save the funnel.
· 6 min
This week · Local search · Google
This week: AI Overviews beat the map pack on many local queries
Whitespark’s local-search study puts AI Overviews on 68% of their query set and the map pack on 39%. Google also lets some owners manage a Business Profile inside Gemini. Here is what that means in Alberta — and what it does not.
· 7 min
Pricing · Alberta
What a website costs in Alberta in 2026
Calgary quality shops quote in the $8,000–$20,000 band. Template stores start near $2,000. Here is how we price an agent-ready site without racing either extreme.
· 8 min