What kinds of problems do you actually help with? +
The recurring ones: growth that has plateaued, marketing and agency spend that is hard to justify, a website or funnel that leaks, and the question of where AI genuinely helps versus where it is a distraction. I come in to diagnose what is really holding things back, set the strategy and the order to tackle it in, and stay close while your team or your agencies do the work.
How is AI going to change how customers find my business? +
A growing share of the buying journey now happens inside AI answers and assistants, before anyone reaches your site. People ask AI who the best option near them is, and it shortlists or skips you based on your data, content and reputation. I help you understand where you stand in that new layer of discovery and what to do so you keep showing up as it becomes the default. The Future of Search goes deeper on this.
We are experimenting with AI but it is a free-for-all. Where do we start? +
That is the most common situation I see: people using AI in scattered tools with no policy and no shared standard. The fix is turning it into something deliberate: the workflows, custom Claude skills, guardrails and a plain-language AI policy that lift productivity and speed up product work without adoption outrunning control. I advise on all of it because I have built it, and the aim is capability your team owns, set up so it lasts.
How do I know if our agencies and tools are worth the spend? +
This is where an independent senior voice earns its place. I pressure-test strategy, budgets and agency work, look at what the tools are actually returning, and tell you plainly where the money is working and where it is not. You keep your partners; you just have someone in your corner making sure the brief and the spend are right.
Do you sell SEO, paid media or AI search services? +
No. I do not sell SEO, paid marketing or generative AI search solutions, and I do not take on commercial contracts for money, because I am engaged commercially with an agency in my day-to-day role. My independent work stays strictly advisory: working closely with boards and leadership teams, typically charities and not-for-profits, with experience that spans every industry. I am open to contra arrangements, where value is exchanged in services rather than fees, when it is a genuine fit on both sides. If you need delivery, I can help you brief and oversee whoever does it.
I run a startup or a small in-house team. Is this relevant to us? +
Very. Smaller teams feel every wasted dollar and every wrong turn more sharply, and they rarely have a senior strategist to test thinking against. I work directly with founders and lean teams on the few moves that matter most right now, so limited time and budget go to the highest-value work first.
What does it look like for a charity or not-for-profit? +
The same senior counsel, offered pro bono. For mission-driven organisations I focus on the digital and AI decisions that grow donations and supporters, get you found at the moment people want to help, and free a stretched team from repetitive admin. If you lead a charity or not-for-profit, the calendar is open.
How do conversations usually start? +
Most begin with a focused read on where you stand online and in AI search, and a prioritised view of what to do next. From there it can stay a one-off, or become an ongoing advisory seat or a defined project, whatever fits the decision in front of you. The easiest first step is a short call.
Currently Organic Search Lead at BrightLabs.com.au