What kinds of businesses does nanushi work with?

nanushi works with businesses of all sizes — from local cafes and retail shops to tech startups and established companies. If you need a website, web app, mobile app, or AI integration, nanushi can help.

How long does a project take?

A simple marketing website can be delivered in 1–2 weeks. A full web application or mobile app typically takes 4–12 weeks depending on scope.

Does nanushi build AI chatbots?

Yes. nanushi builds custom AI assistants and chatbots using Claude (Anthropic) and OpenAI. These can be integrated into websites, mobile apps, or internal business tools.

Where is nanushi based?

nanushi is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The team works remotely and serves clients globally.

What is a nanushi mission?

A mission is a 6-week collaborative React Native app-building challenge. Teams of developers work together to ship a real, production-quality mobile app.

local seo for ottawa small businesses: a practical guide

if you run a local business in ottawa — a restaurant, clinic, law firm, contractor, retail shop — local seo is one of the highest-return things you can invest time in. it's the difference between showing up when someone searches "electrician kanata" and being invisible.

this guide covers the practical steps, not the theory.

start with your google business profile

your google business profile (formerly google my business) is the single most impactful tool for local visibility. it controls what shows up in the map pack — those three local results that appear above the organic results for most local searches.

if you haven't claimed your profile, do it at business.google.com. if you've already claimed it but haven't touched it in a year, it needs a refresh.

what matters most:

accurate name, address, phone (nap) — must match exactly what's on your website and every other directory listing. even small inconsistencies (St. vs Street) can confuse google.
business category — be specific. "restaurant" is less useful than "japanese restaurant" or "sushi restaurant."
hours — keep them current, including holiday hours.
photos — businesses with 10+ recent photos consistently outperform those with generic or dated images.
posts — google lets you post updates, offers, and events. businesses that post regularly tend to rank higher.

get and respond to google reviews

reviews are a major ranking factor for local seo, and they're free. after every successful service or sale, ask your customer directly — a simple "if you have a minute, a google review really helps us" goes a long way.

respond to every review, positive and negative. google sees response activity as a signal of an engaged, legitimate business. for negative reviews, respond professionally and offer to resolve the issue offline. future customers read how you handle complaints as much as they read the complaints themselves.

optimize your website for local search

your website needs to signal to google that you serve specific areas. this means:

include your location in page titles and headings. "web design ottawa" is more specific than "web design." if you serve multiple areas — barrhaven, kanata, gatineau — create pages or at minimum mention them.

add a local schema markup. this is code in your website's html that explicitly tells google your business name, address, phone, and hours. most seo plugins for wordpress handle this automatically. on custom sites, it needs to be added manually.

embed a google map on your contact page. this reinforces your location and has a small but real positive signal.

make sure your nap is consistent across your site. if your address appears in the header, footer, and contact page, it should be identical each time.

build local citations

a citation is any mention of your business name, address, and phone number on the web. consistency across directories like yelp, yellow pages, foursquare, and industry-specific sites tells google that your business is real and established.

for ottawa businesses, also consider:

ottawa business directory listings
local chamber of commerce listings (ottawa chamber, kanata north tech association, etc.)
industry associations relevant to your sector

you don't need hundreds of citations. you need consistent, accurate ones on the major platforms.

get links from ottawa-area sites

backlinks — other websites linking to yours — are a core ranking factor. for local businesses, relevant local links carry more weight than generic ones.

practical ways to get them:

sponsor a local event or charity (you'll often get a link on their site)
be listed on neighbourhood business associations
offer to write a guest post for a local blog or news outlet
partner with complementary local businesses and link to each other

content that attracts local traffic

blogging about topics relevant to your local area brings in organic traffic that builds over time. a plumber in ottawa could write "how to prepare your pipes for an ottawa winter." a restaurant in the glebe could write "date night in the glebe: our favourite spots." these posts attract real searches and signal local relevance.

you don't need to publish weekly. one well-written, practical post per month adds up meaningfully over a year.

how long does this take to work?

local seo is not instant. a well-executed effort — claiming your google business profile, building citations, getting reviews, optimizing your site — typically starts showing results in 2–4 months. by 6 months, for most local businesses in ottawa, a consistent effort puts you visibly higher in map and organic results.

if you'd like help putting this into practice for your ottawa business, nanushi offers local seo audits and strategy alongside our web development work.