How this guide is made
You should know who writes what you read and how it gets checked. Here is exactly how every page on this site is made and kept up to date.
Who writes it
I'm Bill Stilwell. I've spent 20 years building membership sites, and I'm building my own marketing company, SiteSmarty, by following this guide. Every page is written for business owners anywhere in the United States.
More about meHow pages are drafted
I use AI tools to help draft pages from a detailed outline and a strict style guide. Then I read every page, fix what needs fixing, and approve it before it goes live. Nothing is published without my review.
Where the facts come from
Anything that can change is checked against official sources before it's written. That includes:
- Google Business Profile Help and Google Search Central
- Bing Webmaster and Bing Places help, and Apple Business Connect help
- IRS.gov, SBA.gov, FTC.gov, DOL.gov, and other federal agencies
- State government websites, when a rule changes from state to state
Every page lists its sources and the date I checked them.
How pages stay current
- Each page shows the date it was last reviewed.
- When a rule, fee, or platform feature changes, I update the page and its review date.
- Pages about Google, Bing, Apple, and AI tools get checked most often, because those change fastest.
What this guide is not
This guide explains how things work. It is not legal, tax, or insurance advice, and it never promises rankings or results. For your own situation, talk to a licensed professional in your state.
Found a mistake?
If something is wrong or out of date, please tell me. Include the page link and what you found, and I'll check it and fix it.