Plain-English guides for Richmond businesses.
Real answers about websites, Google rankings, and marketing — no jargon, no sales pitch disguised as advice. Written by Jake Chaney, founder of RVA Digital Works. Updated .
How to show up in ChatGPT & AI search
AI is the new search. Here's how to get your Richmond business recommended by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI — a plain-English guide to GEO/AEO.
Read the guide → August 11, 2026 · 6 min readHow much does SEO cost in Richmond, VA?
What local SEO really costs in Richmond in 2026 — one-time setups, monthly retainers, and the cheap-SEO red flags to avoid — plus how to tell if it's working.
Read the guide → August 11, 2026 · 6 min readWix vs. a custom website: which is right for your Richmond business?
Wix and Squarespace vs. a custom-built site — honest trade-offs on cost, speed, SEO, and ownership, and when each one makes sense for a Richmond business.
Read the guide → July 8, 2026 · 6 min readHow much does a website cost in Richmond, VA?
Real 2026 pricing for small business websites in Richmond, VA: DIY builders, freelancers, and agencies compared — plus the ongoing costs nobody mentions.
Read the guide → July 8, 2026 · 7 min readHow to get your business to show up on Google Maps
A practical 7-step guide to getting your Richmond, VA business into Google Maps and the local 3-pack — profile setup, categories, and reviews.
Read the guide → July 8, 2026 · 6 min readWhy isn't my website showing up on Google?
Six reasons your small business website isn't showing up on Google — and how to diagnose and fix each one, from indexing problems to weak local signals.
Read the guide →What these guides help you do
Most advice about websites and Google is written to sell you something, or buried in jargon only a marketer understands. These guides are the opposite: the same plain answers I give Richmond business owners on the phone, written down so you can act on them yourself.
If you're deciding whether to build or rebuild a site, the cost guide breaks down what DIY builders, freelancers, and agencies actually charge in the Richmond market in 2026 — plus the ongoing costs nobody warns you about. If you already have a site but customers can't find you, the Google visibility guide walks through the six most common reasons a small-business site stays invisible, and how to diagnose each. And if you rely on walk-in or local trade, the Google Maps guide shows the exact steps to land in the local 3-pack, where most clicks go.
Every figure and example reflects the Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield market specifically — because "it depends" isn't an answer, and national averages rarely match what a local shop actually pays or competes against.
Why these guides exist
Who writes these guides?
Every guide is written by Jake Chaney, founder of RVA Digital Works — a web design and local SEO business in Richmond, Virginia. No ghostwriters, no AI content farms.
What topics are covered?
Website costs and how to hire a builder, Google Business Profile and Google Maps rankings, diagnosing why a website doesn't show up on Google, and digital marketing basics for small businesses.
Is the advice Richmond-specific?
Yes — pricing figures, competition levels, and examples reflect the Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield market. The fundamentals apply anywhere, but the numbers are local.
How often are the guides updated?
They're reviewed and refreshed as pricing, Google's rules, and the tools change — each guide shows its own publish and update dates. Search and AI move fast, so outdated advice gets corrected rather than left up.
Do I have to hire you to use this advice?
No. The guides are written to be genuinely useful on their own, whether you do the work yourself or hand it off. If you'd rather have it handled, that's what RVA Digital Works does — but the advice stands alone.