FAQ
Questions, answered.
Straight answers about our services, pricing, process, and what it is like to work with ThisCom. Can't find yours? Ask us directly.
34 questions
Getting started
We are one team for everything a growing business needs online: SEO and local search, paid ads, social media, email, web design and development, creative, and custom software. You get one partner who owns the outcome instead of five vendors who each own a piece. See the full list on our services page.
Link to this answerYes. We have focused on small and medium businesses since 1999. That is the whole company, not a segment of it, so our playbooks, pricing, and pace are built around SMB realities rather than enterprise overhead.
Link to this answerNo. Many of our clients start with a single location, a small team, and a limited budget. We scope the work to the stage you are at and focus first on the few changes that will make the biggest difference.
Link to this answerWe work across B2B and SaaS, e-commerce and retail, home services, legal and finance, health and wellness, education and tutoring, travel and hospitality, restaurants and food, real estate, professional services, non-profits, and multi-location brands.
Link to this answerRequest a free consultation or send us a message. We start with a conversation about your goals and usually an audit of what is running today, then come back with a clear plan and a real number before you commit to anything.
Link to this answerWe are based in Los Altos, CA, and work with clients across the United States and internationally. Our team is mostly remote and spread across time zones, so we are open to national and international projects.
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Pricing & engagement
It depends on scope. Every engagement is sized to your goals and budget, and you get a real number after one conversation. No proposal with three tiers designed to push you toward the middle one.
Link to this answerYes. The first consultation is always free with no obligation. If you request a free audit, a person on our team reviews your website or business presence manually and replies with practical recommendations, not a generic report.
Link to this answerYes. Some clients start with a single project such as a new website, an SEO audit, or an MVP, and add more later. Because one team handles everything, adding a service later does not mean onboarding a new vendor.
Link to this answerMost of our clients did. We usually start with an audit of what is running now. If your current setup is working, we will tell you and you keep it. If it is not, we will show you where and why.
Link to this answerYes. We are happy to sign an NDA before discussing your project. Several of the products on our work page were built under NDA and white-label arrangements.
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Process & reporting
Four stages: discovery, where we learn your business and customers; strategy, a clear plan with channels, timelines, and success metrics; execution, where we launch, test, and iterate; and scale, where we double down on what works. See a full example on how we work.
Link to this answerOnboarding typically takes days, not weeks. Once the plan is agreed, we get access to your accounts, set up tracking, and start on the highest-impact work first.
Link to this answerIt depends on the lever. Paid campaigns can start driving traffic almost immediately and produce useful data in the first month. Local listings and SEO fixes can show movement within weeks, while SEO and content compound over six to twelve months. We tell you which lever we are pulling and when to expect what, before you sign.
Link to this answerYou get one dashboard and plain-English monthly reviews that connect spend to pipeline. The reporting is written so you can forward it to your leadership or your accountant without translating it.
Link to this answerWe are. Strategy, creative, development, and analytics sit under one roof, so when something underperforms there is no other vendor to point at. We find the cause and fix it.
Link to this answerWe reply within 24 hours, usually the same day.
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Ownership & data
Always. Your ad accounts, analytics properties, domain, and code are in your name from day one. If you ever leave, you leave with the whole asset.
Link to this answerYes. Because the accounts are yours, you have full access at all times. We work through shared dashboards so you can see exactly what we see.
Link to this answerYour information is never shared or sold. It is used to respond to your request and deliver the work. Details are in our privacy policy.
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Marketing & SEO
SEO and content, local search and listings, Google and Bing Ads, paid social on Meta, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube, social media management, and email and lifecycle marketing. See digital marketing for details.
Link to this answerYes. Local visibility is often the fastest win for a small business. We set up and optimize your Google Business Profile, listings, and citations, improve photos, hours, and menus or service details, and put a review strategy in place.
Link to this answerGEO, or generative engine optimization, means preparing your content to be referenced in AI-driven results such as AI search answers. It builds on solid SEO: clear structure, useful content, and good citations. We include it in our SEO & GEO services.
Link to this answerNo, and you should be careful with anyone who does. Search engines control rankings. What we commit to is the work: fixing technical blockers, improving content, earning quality links, and reporting honestly on rankings, traffic quality, and conversions.
Link to this answerYes. We build automated flows such as welcome series and abandoned-cart emails, run newsletters and campaigns, and handle segmentation and deliverability. Our blog has detailed guides on each.
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Web & software
Yes. We design and build fast websites and landing pages focused on turning visitors into customers, with responsive layouts, CMS integration, and performance tuned for Core Web Vitals. See web development.
Link to this answerYes. We build software around your workflow: discovery, architecture, delivery, and long-term support. We also build and run our own products, so we work with the same tools we recommend. See custom software development.
Link to this answerYes. We help define the smallest release that proves the idea, build it on foundations that will not slow you down later, and iterate based on real usage. Our Scheduling App case study went from idea to 1,000+ users in six months.
Link to this answerMost of our web and product work uses Next.js, React, and Node.js, with services such as PostgreSQL, Stripe, Twilio, and Cloudflare, and OpenAI for AI features. We choose the stack that fits your project and your team.
Link to this answerYes. We set up and integrate online reservations and booking, payment processing, POS systems, loyalty and gift card programs, and analytics dashboards so your tools work together.
Link to this answerYes. Maintenance and support covers bug fixes and updates, monitoring, security patches, and feature enhancements, so your product keeps running smoothly and improving over time.
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About ThisCom
The people doing your work own the company. When your business grows, so does ours, and that alignment shapes how we work: we optimize for results you can see in your revenue, not vanity metrics.
Link to this answerSince 1999. Over that time we have served more than 500 clients and shipped more than 250 projects. Read more about us.
Link to this answerWe are always looking for talented people who care about small businesses. We are employee-owned and remote-friendly. See careers.
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Still have a question?
Talk to a person, not a chatbot. We reply within 24 hours, usually the same day, and the first consultation is always free.
- (408) 520-0464
- Los Altos, CA