Casey Dolan Consulting

08/26/2026

It's August in the desert, which means there are two kinds of business owners right now: the ones catching their breath before season, and the ones pretending season isn't ten weeks away.

I'm using the slow weeks to build the systems I'll be too busy to build in November — including, finally, an actual posting schedule for my own channels. The shoemaker is getting shoes. We'll see if they fit.

No link, no pitch. Just accountability in public.

08/18/2026

People sometimes ask what a $975 website actually gets them. Here's the honest answer: it gets you exactly this.

sophieannhinkson.com is the Website Essentials package as sold — one page, built properly. An author who needed something credible to put in front of literary agents and editors, and needed it quickly. Hero, about, featured work, publications in two languages, contact form. Blank domain to live site in about two weeks, nothing added, nothing hidden.

Fixed fee, includes the Avada theme license (which stays yours for the life of the site), and everything is in your name — site, hosting, domain, analytics. It's the right-sized option for a business that needs a proper front door before it needs a full house.

Details: caseydolan.com/checkup

08/13/2026

Most people who call me about a website have never hired a web designer before. Why would they have? Nobody hands you a checklist for it.

So after 20+ years of doing this around the Coachella Valley, I wrote the one I wish every client had before our first call - six things to sort out ahead of time. Do them and you'll get more accurate quotes, compare designers fairly, and spot a bad fit before you sign anything. Even if you never call me.

The short version: know what the site is actually for, gather a few examples you love (and a couple you hate), take an honest inventory of your content, set a real budget range, be realistic about timing, and know what to ask.

Full checklist here: https://caseydolan.com/before-hiring-a-web-designer/

08/06/2026

Most business owners I talk to already suspect something isn't working online. The phone is quieter than it should be, the site feels dated, they're not sure what actually comes up when someone searches. What they don't have is evidence.

That's what the Business Checkup is: a hands-on review of the four things that decide whether someone finds you, trusts you, and gets in touch — your website, your Google Business Profile, your search visibility, and your tracking. You get written findings sorted into fix now, fix soon, and honestly, leave it alone, with rough effort and cost for each — whether I do the fixing or someone else does.

It's $295, fully credited toward any project booked within 60 days. And if I go through all four and find nothing meaningfully worth fixing, I'll tell you so and refund the fee. I'd rather say that than invent work.

Details: https://caseydolan.com/checkup/

07/29/2026

New site just went live for Palm Springs Aesthetic, a concierge Botox practice here in the desert.

Clean, modern, a little bit of that Palm Springs feel. The kind of build where the design gets out of the way and lets the work speak.

Take a look: https://palmspringsaesthetic.com/

Concierge Botox · Coachella Valley A Stanford physician's approach to Botox. A house-call practice serving the Coachella Valley. Two decades of clinical and anatomical expertise behind every visit, delivered

07/29/2026

New site just went live for Palm Springs Aesthetic, a concierge Botox practice here in the desert.

Clean, modern, a little bit of that Palm Springs feel. The kind of build where the design gets out of the way and lets the work speak.

Take a look:
palmspringsaesthetic.com

07/21/2026

Four months since my last post. I spent the spring telling clients that consistency beats intensity, then went quiet on my own channels until July. Shoemaker's kids, no shoes, you know the story.

Here's what changed in local search while I was heads-down: AI answers now sit on top of nearly every search that matters, Google Maps keeps getting better at answering questions before anyone reaches your website, and your Google Business Profile is quietly doing more work than your homepage. If you haven't looked at any of that since spring, you're not behind — but the gap is real, and season is closer than it feels in July.

Full rundown on the blog: https://www.caseydolan.com/what-changed-in-local-search-2026/ And if your website also sat untouched for the first part of the summer, no judgment. So did mine.

Let's address the four months of silence on this blog. I spent the spring telling clients that consistency beats intensity, then walked back to my own website and didn't touch it until July. Physician, heal thyself. The client work got done, the shoemaker's kids went barefoot, and here we are.

03/13/2026

Google Maps is getting a pretty interesting upgrade.

Instead of typing something like “restaurant near me,” people can now ask Maps questions like:

• “Where’s a good brunch spot with outdoor seating?”
• “What’s open right now?”
• “Where can I get a quiet place to work?”

Google calls it Ask Maps, and it’s basically turning Maps into a recommendation engine powered by reviews, photos, and business info.

For local businesses, that means things like reviews, photos, and Google Business Profile updates matter even more.

I wrote a quick post explaining what’s changing and a few practical things businesses can do about it.

Read it here:

Google Maps has quietly become one of the most important marketing platforms for local businesses. People use it to find restaurants, compare service providers, check reviews, and decide who looks trustworthy enough to call. In many cases, they never even visit a website before making that decision....

03/03/2026

If you run a business in Palm Springs or anywhere in the Coachella Valley, you’ve probably heard someone say: “SEO is dead. AI is taking over.”

Relax.

People still search. They still compare. They still need someone to call when the AC dies in July. AI changes how answers are delivered. It doesn’t eliminate the need for clear, credible local businesses.

I put together a guide on how to position your website in the age of AI without chasing every shiny tool. If your site hasn’t been touched since 2019, this might be useful.

If you’ve heard someone declare “SEO is dead” lately, congratulations. You’ve witnessed a marketing industry tradition. Right up there with “email is dead” and “websites don’t matter anymore.” Here’s the truth: SEO isn’t dead. It’s changing. And AI is the reason people are pa...

02/18/2026

Google Ads get recommended a lot.

Sometimes they’re the right move.
Sometimes they’re just expensive.

In the Coachella Valley, things aren’t one-size-fits-all. Palm Springs behaves differently than Indio. Seasonal demand changes everything. Budget matters more than people admit.

I wrote a practical breakdown of when Google Ads make sense locally and when you’re better off strengthening your SEO first.

If you’ve been wondering whether to run ads, this will help.

If you run a business in Palm Springs or anywhere in the Coachella Valley, you’ve probably heard this at some point: “We should be running Google Ads. Everyone searches on Google.” That part is true. The part that gets skipped is whether Google Ads make sense for your business, in this market,...