Case Study: Salt Lake City Christmas Lights
Premium Green-Industry Lead Partner
From zero to $53K in Year One, then $139K in Year Two - built on owned demand.
I started Salt Lake City Christmas Lights for one simple reason: I didn't want to sell something I hadn't lived. This is what happened when I applied the same strategies I use for clients, to my own business, with my own money on the line.
Local search domination focus
Conversion-first web + SEO
Partnership model, not fluff
01
Websites that look good but aren't built for SEO
Nice design, but no real site hierarchy, weak service structure, and nothing that helps Google understand what you do or where you work.
02
Google Business Profiles with reviews but no visibility
Plenty of reviews, yet the profile barely shows up because the foundation was never set correctly.
03
Content that gets traffic but no calls
Blog posts and pages targeting cities you don't serve or keywords that will never convert into real jobs.
04
Thousands spent on "cheap SEO" that does nothing
Monthly deliverables with no prioritization, no strategy, and no measurable impact.
05
Agencies that feel like a black box
You're paying every month, but you don't know what's being done, why it matters, or how it ties back to growth.
We see this constantly
You're investing—but
not winning.
Built for serious landscaping operators who want one partner to run the system—visibility, trust, and conversion—without chasing gimmicks
Most of the time, SEO isn't broken.
It's just being done in the wrong order by people who don't understand your business or your market.
The Real Reason
Why I Built This Business
Before this, I had never relied on SEO for my own revenue. I had never dealt with seasonal demand swings, hired and trained field staff, implemented CRMs like Jobber, or felt the pressure of slow phones and fast payroll.
So I built a real home service business from scratch and used it as my proving ground.
I didn't want to sell something
I hadn't lived
This gave me a place to:
Test strategies without risking client accounts
Every decision I made - from naming to GBP setup to page structure, was on my dime, not someone else's
Experience the same constraints my clients face
Limited time, limited budget, no team, no shortcuts
Learn what actually works when money, time, and execution matter
Not theory. Not "best practices." Real outcomes in a real market with real competition
Websites that look good but aren't built for SEO
Nice design, but no real site hierarchy, weak service structure, and nothing that helps Google understand what you do or where you work.
Google Business Profiles with reviews but no visibility
Plenty of reviews, yet the profile barely shows up because the foundation was never set correctly.
Content that gets traffic but no calls
Blog posts and pages targeting cities you don't serve or keywords that will never convert into real jobs.
Thousands spent on "cheap SEO" that does nothing
Monthly deliverables with no prioritization, no strategy, and no measurable impact.
Thousands spent on "cheap SEO" that does nothing
Monthly deliverables with no prioritization, no strategy, and no measurable impact.
Everything I do for clients now, I've done for myself, and more. That changes the conversation.
01
Google Business Profile (GBP):
Get found where local buyers make decisions.
02
Local SEO + Service Pages:
Expand coverage for your services and service areas.
03
Reviews + Reputation
Build authority that increases rankings and close rate.
04
Conversion Path
Turn traffic into booked calls with clear structure and messaging.
Year One Results
Proof that SEO works but not instantly
In the first season, we hit solid numbers:
01
Revenue: $53,000
Strong first-year results for a brand-new business with zero brand recognition and no prior customer base.
02
169 Qualified Leads in ~60 Days
Mostly from yard signs, referrals, Meta ads, enough to keep the phones ringing through the install season.
03
43 Properties Serviced
~25% close rate, which is solid for a first-year operator still dialing in process and pricing.
04
Map Pack Visibility Achieved Without a Storefront
We optimized the GBP correctly, and ranked in the Map Pack across our service ares without a location tied to our GBP.
05
Strong Margins, But the Real Payoff Came Later
Year One proved the foundation worked. But the bigger lesson? The real compounding didn't kick in until Year Two - especially with SEO.
Year Two Results
This is what happens when you let SEO compound.
In the second year, everything stacked. Rankings improved across the metro. Reviews compounded trust. Brand searches increased. Lead count nearly 3X'd. Cost per lead dropped.
2025 Revenue & Lead Breakdown (Oct 15 to Dec 20th):
Website / SEO: $38,880 (124 leads)
Meta ads: $24,780 (96 leads)
Yard signs: $28,752 (160 leads)
Returning customers: $32,435 (37/39 customers returned)
Chat GPT: $1,311.98 (3+ leads)
Referrals and organic channels: Filled in the rest
Total:
$139,000+ in just over 2 months and 488 opportunities/leads generated
The key difference?
SEO took off. I wasn't paying for every call anymore. We had owned traffic, which came predictably and with force.
If you have a strong foundation, everything else will fall into place. Our SEO was the foundation everything else stood on.
Exact match naming strategy that gave us a head-start in the SERPs ands maps
Conversion focused website with the right structure and content
A location close to the customers we wanted to serve - wealthy, dense neighborhoods
Reviews reviews reviews - quality review generation that worked.
The SEO Stuff
What We Actually Did
I am a firm believer that it should never be SEO or paid ads/other channels. It should be SEO and paid ads/other channels. While SEO is a foundation that supports it all, these other channels proved successful and allowed us to grow our business much faster than we would have been able to with only one channel.
Meta Ads for early traction (expensive but useful)
Yard signs for cheap visibility
Social listening and local groups - Facebook, NextDoor, Reddit
Local partnerships and referrals
Every channel helped,
but SEO was the foundation everything else stood on.
Other Lead Gen
Paid Ads & Other Channels
next step
Get your free 90-day local SEO plan.
Book a quick call if you want to work with an SEO agency that walks the talk, and you're curious about what this would look like for your business.
On the call, we'll:
Review your market, services, service areas, and local competition
Show exactly what we'd do in the first 90 days, and why
Explain what matters, what doesn't, and where most operators get stuck
Give you a clear roadmap whether you move forward with us or not
If you want to take that plan and implement it yourself, that's fine.
If you want a partner to execute it properly, we can talk about that too.
Either way, you'll leave with clarity.
