Sterling Sky

Led by Joy Hawkins, a local SEO specialist active in the field since 2006, Sterling Sky is a small Canadian agency with a team of one to ten people focused specifically on local search. Rather than serving a single industry, the agency works across sectors such as personal injury law, dentistry, divorce law, car dealerships, lawn care, real estate, dermatology, and home care, positioning its approach around geo-targeting and proximity optimization for businesses that depend on ranking well in local map and organic results. Sterling Sky's core service is local SEO, which includes local SEO audits, Google Business Profile optimization and management, handling Google Business Profile suspensions, Google Local Service Ads (LSA), and pay-per-click campaigns, alongside broader digital and marketing strategy and social media marketing. The agency describes itself as testing-first, citing internal metrics of over 400 hours of testing in a year, more than 75 active tests at a given time, and over 1,000 completed tests used to inform its local search tactics. Reporting is structured around conversions and leads rather than rankings alone, with monthly reporting and regular client communication. Team members contribute columns to Search Engine Land, articles for Moz including the Local Search Ranking Factors study, and speak at industry events such as Pubcon, State of Search, and SMX, reflecting an emphasis on staying current with Google Business Profile and local algorithm changes.