Designer and writer Donna sits down with Dave Lertola to find out what local business owners get wrong about websites, SEO, and why some businesses grow while others stay stuck.
I sat down with Dave Lertola recently for the same reason I sat down with Tom. I wanted to understand what's actually happening out there, from someone who talks to local business owners every single day.
Dave is REK's Operations and Client Relations partner. He's based outside Philadelphia and handles most of our prospect calls and client intake. Tom Klingebiel, our Head of Marketing and Growth, and Dave took over REK together back in October. Tom is the strategy guy. Dave is the one on the phone and keeping everything running smoothly. And after months of those conversations, he's noticed some very clear patterns.
I asked him to walk me through what he keeps hearing.
I Asked Him: What's the Most Common Thing You Hear from a Prospect Who Already Has a Website?
Dave didn't have to think long on this one.
"The story is almost always the same," he said. "Customers aren't finding them online. The phone isn't ringing the way they expected. So they've decided they need a new website."
That's when he has to slow things down.
"A new website alone won't change your lead volume," he told me. "If your current site isn't generating calls, a redesign isn't going to fix that without a strategy behind it. What most of these business owners are dealing with isn't a design problem. It's a visibility problem. And visibility is an SEO problem, not a website problem."
He said that conversation happens on almost every first call he takes. And it tells him something important about how most business owners think about their website.
So I Asked: What's the Question You Hear Most Early in a Call?
Dave laughed a little at this one. He's clearly heard it a thousand times.
"It's usually some version of: 'I've heard of this SEO thing but I'm not totally sure what it is. I just know I need more business.'"
He said that's actually a really honest answer, and he respects it. But when he hears it, he already has a pretty good picture of where the business is.
"What it usually means is they've been running their business for a while on word of mouth and referrals. Their website exists, but it's functioning more like a digital brochure. Something to show people they're already talking to, not a tool that's out there finding new customers."
When he asks about it directly, it gets confirmed almost every time. They built a website years ago, maybe had someone set up some basic SEO, and then moved on. The site has been sitting there ever since.
"And while they've been busy running their business," Dave said, "their competitors have been building visibility. That's the gap. It's fixable, but only if the business owner understands what actually creates online visibility and commits to doing it consistently."
Then I Asked: What Actually Separates the Businesses That Are Growing from the Ones That Are Stuck?
This is where Dave got specific. After months of these calls, he's landed on a pretty clear framework.
"The ones that are growing have three things working for them," he said. "The ones that are stuck are usually missing at least two."
First, they have a real website built to generate leads, not just describe their services. "There's a difference between a site that looks good and a site that's structured to show up when someone searches for what you do in your city."
Second, they have a consistent mechanism for fresh, relevant content. Search engines and AI platforms both reward businesses that stay active and up to date. "A site that hasn't been touched in two years is being outpaced every day by competitors who are adding content, updating pages, and staying visible."
Third, and Dave said this one comes up constantly, they're generating reviews. "For local businesses, reviews are one of the most powerful visibility signals you have. If someone searches for a plumber or a tattoo shop or an attorney and your Google Business Profile has 12 reviews from three years ago, they're clicking on the competitor with 200 recent ones. Volume matters. Recency matters. The businesses with a consistent process for asking satisfied customers to leave a review are the ones ranking at the top."
"If you're missing any of those three," he said, "that's where the work starts."
Finally, I Asked What He Wishes Business Owners Understood Before They Started Shopping for an SEO Company
Dave has an analogy for this that I hadn't heard before, and I think it's the clearest explanation of SEO I've come across.
"SEO is like a 401K," he said. "You invest consistently every month, the results compound, and over time you build real equity. The longer you do it, the stronger it gets."
Google Ads, he said, work differently. "They're more like renting an apartment. While you're paying, you're there. The day you stop, you're out and you have nothing to show for the money you spent. No equity. No compounding. Just presence while the check clears."
He's not against paid ads. "Both have a place. If you need leads right now, paid search makes sense while your organic presence builds. But if you're only running ads and never building visibility, you're on a treadmill. The moment you stop spending, you disappear."
The business owners who understand that distinction, he said, make better decisions. They invest in SEO earlier, they stick with it longer, and they end up in a much stronger position because of it.
"It's not complicated," Dave said. "It just takes consistency and a partner who actually knows what they're doing."
After talking to Dave, I get why he's so good at these calls. He doesn't oversell it. He just explains it in a way that actually makes sense. That 401K analogy alone probably closes more deals than any pitch deck ever could.
Donna is the Designer and Writer at REK Marketing & Design, a custom web design and local SEO agency founded in 2003. REK serves local businesses of all kinds, from law firms and tattoo shops to contractors and landscapers, across Florida, San Diego, Philadelphia, and beyond.
Dave Lertola's business partner Tom Klingebiel shares his take on where AI search is headed in 2026 here.
Have questions about where your website stands? Call us at (407) 500-0102 or visit rekmarketing.com.