Field notes

Notes from the trail.

Plain-English guides to the things we get asked about most — tracking, SEO, ads and websites. No vanity metrics, no jargon left unexplained.

01 / GA4 AUDIT

The GA4 audit checklist: 12 checks before you trust a single number

Most GA4 properties we open are quietly wrong — not broken, just wrong enough to mislead every decision built on them. Here is the exact checklist we run.

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02 / GOOGLE ADS AUDIT

The Google Ads audit: where wasted spend hides

Almost every Google Ads account we open is paying for clicks it never wanted. Here are the five places the waste hides — and how to check each one yourself.

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03 / CONVERSION TRACKING SETUP

Conversion tracking setup: get it right before a dollar is spent

Ad platforms optimise toward whatever you tell them a conversion is. Define it wrong — or wire it wrong — and every dollar afterwards learns the wrong lesson.

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04 / SERVER-SIDE TRACKING

Server-side tracking, explained in plain English

Browsers, ad blockers and privacy rules have quietly eaten a chunk of everyone’s analytics. Server-side tracking is the industry’s answer — here’s what it actually is, and whether you need it.

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05 / SEO-FRIENDLY WEB DESIGN

SEO-friendly web design: building a site Google can actually read

The most expensive website mistake isn’t ugly design — it’s a beautiful site that search engines can’t read. Here’s what to demand from any new build or redesign.

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06 / SMALL BUSINESS SEO SYDNEY

Small business SEO in Sydney: what actually moves rank

SEO has more folklore than any other marketing channel. Here’s what genuinely moves rankings for Sydney small businesses — and the busywork you can safely skip.

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07 / REAL ESTATE MARKETING SYDNEY

Real estate marketing in Sydney: a measurement-first playbook

Every Sydney agency pays the portals. The growth is in what you own: suburb authority, vendor search, and knowing — precisely — which marketing wins appraisals.

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08 / COOKIE COMPLIANCE AUSTRALIA

Cookie compliance in Australia: what your site actually needs in 2026

Australia’s privacy rules have finally caught up with your cookie jar. Here’s what’s actually required, what’s just cargo-culted from Europe — and what it does to your analytics.

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