Reckoning Tattoo: local SEO and a clearer booking experience

The studio wanted people searching nearby to find them, then land on a site that says plainly who does the tattooing, what he specializes in and how to book. Once I dug in, the biggest problems weren't really "SEO" at all: session lengths that didn't match what was actually booked, a free consultation that never said it was free, and a booking page that didn't tell a first-timer which option to pick.

I went through the site, the booking flow and what Search Console and the Google Business Profile were showing, then sorted it all into five piles: search visibility, wrong or unclear service info, how the portfolio was presented, local business details, and booking friction. The owner got a visual audit report with my recommendations, and we worked through them together. I used AI tools to help spot the SEO gaps, then adjusted what they suggested and filled in what was still missing.

I rewrote page titles and descriptions to say what the studio does and where, in the words people actually search: Katy, Texas, Polynesian tribal, black and grey realism. "Geometric" became "tribal," the owner's preferred term.

I also wrote alt text for the portfolio photos based on what's actually in each one, fixed heading levels on Events and in the footer, and took Loyalty and My Rewards out of the menu, since they weren't helping anyone book.

On their Google Business Profile, I checked that the services listed match what the studio actually offers, and set the site's booking page as the preferred booking link.

The owner sent 119 photos. I gave each one a number that never changed, so "swap 078 for 092" always meant the same two photos, and built a visual review deck so the owner could approve, swap, crop or cut any of them.

The Artist page went from 27 photos to 14: 12 the owner approved, plus two recent projects. The homepage got a three-photo Featured Work section, renamed from the awkward "Portfolio / Selected tattoos."

The booking page now tells you which option to pick: a free consultation if it's your first tattoo or a cover-up, or a half or full day if you already know your idea and placement. Rob can still refine and sketch the design before he starts.

• Session lengths match what's actually booked: a half day is 3 hours and a full day is 6, not the old 3–4 and 6–8 hour ranges.
• The consultation card says it's free. Wix hides a $0 price, so the caption does the work.
• Deposit, cancellation and rescheduling terms are written out in plain language and match the owner's policy.
• The booking location shows the studio's name and suite instead of just "Katy Freeway."

I tested booking on desktop and in Wix's phone preview, all the way to the payment summary, without submitting a booking or charging anyone.

Not every problem was the studio's, lol. Moving the Black Friday promo into its own section left a big empty gap on the homepage, and a custom Book Now button first bounced back to the service list. I caught both while checking my own changes, fixed them and re-checked the live site. The images below put earlier versions of my work next to what's live now. They're not the site as I found it.

Everything on this page is live, and I checked it by hand. What I can't tell you yet is whether it brought in more bookings. I don't have a fair before-and-after comparison, so I'm not putting numbers on it.

• Search clicks and impressions for Katy tattoo searches, compared over matching periods
• How many people who open Book Online go on to pick a service
• Whether first-timers choose the consultation like the page suggests
• Still on my list: the Events page needs a real web address and its own description
• Whether Google's Book online button now sends people straight to the booking page