The Avant guide
Better websites.
Clear answers.
Websites, Google, and useful free tools from Google. A starting point for Puget Sound and Washington business owners.
Website basics
A website that earns its place.
Why does my business need a website?
A website gives people a place to understand your services, see your work, and contact you. It can answer common questions before a call and turn a referral into an inquiry—even when you’re busy on a job.
Is a social media page enough?
Social profiles help people discover you. A website gives you a dedicated place for your services, portfolio, and contact options, with your own domain and a clearer path from interest to inquiry.
What should a good small business website include?
Start with clear services, the area you serve, real examples, genuine testimonials, and easy ways to call or send an inquiry. Make it readable on a phone and keep the information current.
Google & local visibility
Help the right people find you.
How does Google find and understand my website?
Google discovers pages through links and sitemaps, crawls their content, and may add them to its search index. Clear text, useful pages, and accessible links help explain your business. Publishing alone doesn’t guarantee indexing or rankings.
How can I check what Google sees?
Verify your website in Google Search Console. Use URL Inspection to check a page’s indexing status and inspect its available crawl information. The performance reports show search queries, impressions, and clicks.
What can I do for local SEO without paying for ads?
Describe your services and service area clearly. Keep your business details consistent, maintain an eligible Google Business Profile, add genuine work photos, and ask customers for honest reviews. Relevance, distance, and prominence all affect local results.
Do I need to show my home address?
You don’t need to publish a home address on your website. For Google Business Profile, eligible businesses that visit customers can hide their address and show a service area. Online-only businesses generally aren’t eligible for a profile.
Can anyone guarantee first place on Google?
No. Search results vary, and Google doesn’t sell higher organic rankings. Focus on a useful website, accurate business information, and steady improvements rather than a guaranteed position.
Learn more from Google: How Search works · Local visibility · Profile eligibility
Start free
Three free Google tools.
Understand your search visibility, check your site’s speed, and manage your local presence.
Google Search Console
See how your site appears in Google and check indexing.
Visit official site ↗PageSpeed Insights
Check mobile and desktop performance and find improvements.
Visit official site ↗Google Business Profile
Manage your presence on Search and Maps if your business is eligible.
Visit official site ↗A quick website check
Six things to get right.
- Say what you do and where you serve.
- Make calling and sending an inquiry easy.
- Check the site on your phone.
- Show real work and genuine customer feedback.
- Keep contact details and service information current.
- Check Search Console after publishing.
Is Avant’s website draft really free?
Yes. Every business can request a free website draft. Tell us what you do and review a design before deciding whether to move forward.
Is there an upfront website cost?
Yes. Website builds have a one-time setup cost. It varies with site size and included integrations, so we provide an individual quote instead of displaying a fixed price. Basic website maintenance is $150/month thereafter.
What happens to inquiries after someone contacts me?
A CRM can keep their details, conversations, and follow-up together. Avant’s contractor CRM is $300/month for access, with help getting started. Additional tools and integrations are scoped around your business.
Free website drafts for every business
See your next website.
Then decide.
Tell us about your business. We’ll help you take the next step.
Get my free website draft