Buyer Guides
How to buy AI and growth services. Plain numbers.
Costs, audits, pricing models, and conversion math, written for Vancouver owners who want to spend smart, not get sold. For how AI search and SEO actually work, see The Field Guide.
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AI Implementation
What an AI agent actually costs, and what it does
Real cost ranges, real examples, no buzzwords. What AI agents do in a working business, and how to know if one will earn its keep in yours.
May 2026 · 8 min read
Costs & Scope
6 guidesWhat things cost
How much should a Vancouver business spend on Google Ads?
A practical way to set a Vancouver Google Ads budget from economics, click costs, conversion rates and sales capacity.
August 2026 · 9 min read
What things cost
What a custom website costs in Vancouver
A practical 2026 Vancouver website cost guide: realistic price bands, what belongs in a quote, and how to compare proposals that seem to describe different products.
August 2026 · 8 min read
What things cost
What custom admin platforms cost
A 2026 planning guide to the cost of internal portals and admin software, including discovery, migration, permissions and ownership after launch.
August 2026 · 10 min read
What things cost
What SEO costs in Vancouver and what should be included
A 2026 guide to Vancouver SEO pricing, deliverables, measurement and the difference between a bounded sprint and an open-ended retainer.
August 2026 · 9 min read
What things cost
ChatGPT Ads in Canada: what businesses need to know in 2026
Canada is one of nine countries where OpenAI's Ads Manager is open. What that means in practice, who actually sees the ads, what you need before you can run one, and what nobody can honestly tell you yet.
August 2026 · 8 min read
What things cost
How much do ChatGPT Ads cost in Canada?
There is no published Canadian cost per click, and anyone quoting one is guessing. What is documented: the three pricing models, how daily budgets actually work, and how to size a first test.
August 2026 · 8 min read
Build & Platform Decisions
6 guidesBuild decisions
Build, buy or integrate: when custom software makes sense
A decision framework for choosing custom software, an off-the-shelf product or an integration without turning preference into strategy.
August 2026 · 9 min read
Build decisions
Build vs buy for AI implementation
How to choose between a packaged AI product, a custom workflow and a mixed architecture based on differentiation, data, risk and exit cost.
August 2026 · 10 min read
Build decisions
Custom CMS vs WordPress, Wix and generic page builders
A candid comparison of custom content management systems, WordPress, Wix and page builders, including maintenance, portability, cost and the cases where custom is unnecessary.
August 2026 · 9 min read
Build decisions
What a custom CMS is, and when you do not need one
A plain-language guide to content models, editorial workflows and the point at which a custom CMS becomes unnecessary product development.
August 2026 · 8 min read
Build decisions
ChatGPT Ads vs Google Ads: where should Canadian businesses spend?
Not a winner-takes-all comparison. What each channel is genuinely good at, the audience limitation nobody mentions, and how to decide without moving budget off something that works.
August 2026 · 8 min read
Build decisions
When a website rebuild is actually necessary
A decision framework for repairing, redesigning or rebuilding a business website without buying a new platform for a problem that lives elsewhere.
August 2026 · 8 min read
Audits & Diagnosis
2 guidesHow we work
The 7-day audit: what's in it, page by page
The page-by-page breakdown of what's inside the 7-day audit document, and five ways clients have used it after the engagement ended. A companion reference to the /audit landing page.
May 2026 · 3 min read
Audits
What a real SEO audit should contain
The evidence, diagnoses and prioritized actions that separate an implementable SEO audit from a branded crawler export.
August 2026 · 9 min read
Business Economics
1 guideOwnership & Contracts
2 guidesBuying AI services
Fixed-price vs. retainer: how to buy AI services in 2026
Why monthly retainers became the default, and why most operators are better off without them. An honest comparison from an operator who has bought, sold, and run both models.
May 2026 · 6 min read
How to buy
What ownership of source code, data and infrastructure means
A plain-English ownership checklist for websites and software: copyright, repositories, data exports, cloud accounts, credentials, domains and the practical ability to leave a vendor.
August 2026 · 9 min read
If you want answers about your specific business
Start with the 7-day audit.
7 business days. A real document. Yours to keep, whether you hire us or not.