Digital Operations

The digital side of your business needs a clear owner.

Most local businesses juggle a web designer, an SEO company, an IT person, and a pile of logins, and none of them talk. Digital Operations is the alternative: your website, hosting, SEO, automations, and the systems behind them, brought into one accountable operating relationship and improved month after month.

Start a conversation Or call (847) 496-0013

Not IT. Not marketing. Not software. Digital Operations.

Digital Operations is the ongoing work of keeping a business's connected digital systems reliable, useful, measurable, and improving. Not a generic marketing retainer, not outsourced IT for every device in the office, not a pile of software subscriptions: one studio responsible for how the customer-facing digital operation works together.

The problem

Nobody owns the whole picture.

When the work is split across vendors who don't talk, the gaps between them are where the business leaks.

You've got a web person who doesn't do SEO, an SEO company that can't touch the site, an IT guy for email and not much else, and four invoices that don't add up to one plan. When something breaks or stalls, everyone points at someone else. Digital Operations gives the whole thing one accountable owner, so it actually moves.

What it covers

One studio, the whole digital operation.

The same work the service pages detail, owned and run as one system instead of sold as parts.

Website & UX

Design, build, and redesigns. The marketing site and the pages that turn a click into a call.

Local growth & SEO

Google Business Profile, service-area pages, reviews, and reporting that shows which towns produce work.

Automations & AI

Missed-call text-back, follow-up, and lead routing. The busywork runs on software, not memory.

Integrations & CRM

The tools you already pay for, wired into one system, so a lead is captured once and nothing gets retyped.

Hosting, security & care

Fast hosting, SSL, patches, backups, and monitoring. The site stays fast, safe, and online.

Business systems & dashboards

Portals, scheduling, quote and job tracking, and the internal tools that replace the spreadsheet.

What we manage

The systems behind the business.

Most businesses already have the tools. They've just never been cleaned up, configured, and wired together.

Website & CMS

WordPressWebflowShopifySquarespaceNext.js

Site edits, content and structure cleanup, mobile UX, Core Web Vitals, form testing, and technical SEO.

Hosting, domains & security

CloudflareVercelWP EngineKinstaAWS

DNS and SSL, migrations, backups and recovery, uptime monitoring, security hardening, and documented access.

Google & local SEO

Business ProfileSearch ConsoleGA4Tag Manager

Profile cleanup, service-area pages, metadata and schema, review flow, call and form tracking, and plain reporting.

Email & workspace

Google WorkspaceMicrosoft 365DriveSharePoint

Account setup, SPF/DKIM/DMARC deliverability, shared inboxes, calendars, file structure, and on/off-boarding.

CRM & follow-up

HubSpotGoHighLevelJobberHousecall ProAirtable

Pipeline setup, contact cleanup, intake forms, lead routing, email/SMS sequences, and reporting dashboards.

Quotes, invoices & payments

QuickBooksStripeSquareJobberServiceTitan

Payment links, quote and invoice flows, deposits, checkout testing, and admin workflow documentation.

Automations & alerts

ZapierMaken8nTwilioSlack

New-lead alerts, form routing, missed-lead recovery, follow-up reminders, webhooks, and error monitoring.

Analytics & reporting

GA4Search ConsoleLooker StudioCallRailClarity

Event and conversion tracking, call and form tracking, monthly KPI summaries, and an owner-level operating report.

Devices, access & light IT

Password managersMFA / 2FAWorkspace adminSecurity keys

Not general managed IT: hardware, networks, and employee help desks stay with a dedicated IT provider. THICKRIM coordinates with them where the systems meet.

How it works

Audit, stabilize, then run it.

The same beat as a real operations team: understand it, get it solid, then keep improving it.

Audit & plan

We map what you have, what it costs, and where the money is leaking, then hand you a prioritized plan.

Stabilize

Fix what's broken and get the basics handled, before anything new gets built on a shaky foundation.

Operate & improve

One retainer, one number to call, and steady improvement month after month, with plain reporting.

The shift

Before and after it has an owner.

Before

The domain sits in an old employee's account.

The site is slow on mobile.

Forms go to one inbox, when they work at all.

Analytics are installed but tell you nothing.

The CRM has no clear pipeline.

The Google profile lists outdated services.

Nobody knows if the backups run.

The owner is project manager for every small fix.

After

Domains, DNS, hosting, and access are documented.

The website runs on a managed improvement queue.

Forms are tested and routed to the right place.

Analytics show calls, forms, and booked work.

CRM workflows are clear and followed.

Local SEO runs to a plan.

Backups and uptime are monitored.

The owner has one number to call.

The operating rhythm

Monitor. Maintain. Improve. Report.

The repeatable monthly beat once the foundation is stable.

Monitor

Website availability, forms and lead delivery, backups, security alerts, performance, integrations, and automation failures. The things that can't be left to chance.

Maintain

Platform updates, content changes, technical cleanup, backup verification, listing corrections, and routine troubleshooting. The work that keeps it stable.

Improve

Each month's capacity goes to the highest-value approved priorities: a service page, a lead form, a follow-up sequence, a workflow fix.

Report

Work completed, system status, open risks, and the next priorities, written so an owner can read it without decoding a marketing dashboard.

The managed digital department

What you get on the retainer.

One bill, one point of responsibility, and a digital operation that gets better instead of older.

One studio across design, development, SEO, hosting, and automations

One number to call, and a real person who knows your system

A monthly plan and reporting tied to calls and quotes, not vanity traffic

Hosting, security, backups, and the queue of small fixes, handled

Continuous improvement, not a project that ends at launch

You own the domain, the accounts, and the work, in writing

Packages

Three ways to run it.

Plans are scoped to your systems and priced after the audit. You get a real number before you commit.

Essential Operations

The foundation, handled

Stability, safety, and a real person to call.

Website care & managed hosting
Updates, backups & uptime
Basic security review
Small site edits & form testing
Access documentation
Monthly support queue

Growth Operations

Foundation + visibility

Everything in Essential, plus the website and local search improved every month.

Local SEO improvements
Google Business Profile support
Service & landing page updates
Analytics & conversion tracking
Lead-routing improvements
Monthly performance summary
Priority improvement queue

Full Digital Operations

The whole department

Everything in Growth, plus the full digital stack under one roof.

CRM & pipeline support
Automation improvements
Email/SMS follow-up workflows
Workspace & account support
Vendor coordination & tool consolidation
Reporting dashboard improvements
Internal process documentation
Deeper monthly planning

Start with an audit Or call (847) 496-0013

Clear responsibility

Defined support is better than unlimited support.

Every agreement names the systems covered, the monthly capacity, the support channels, and the response targets.

Digital Operations is not an unlimited request plan. Monthly capacity goes to a prioritized queue, and the retainer also reserves availability: monitoring, coordination, planning, and reporting keep running whether or not you file a request. Larger projects, redesigns, and new systems get their own scope.

Treated as critical

The public website is down.

The website appears compromised.

Primary lead forms are failing.

Checkout can't process orders.

Rides the queue

Content edits and small changes.

Cosmetic issues and polish.

Ranking movement and reporting questions.

Promotions and new functionality.

Good fit

Built for businesses with real activity and unclear digital ownership.

Often a strong fit

An established website with regular inquiries.

Multiple vendors touch the digital system.

The owner personally coordinates technical work.

Leads arrive through several channels.

Technical work is reactive, not planned.

Reliability and continuity matter to the business.

Probably not the fit

You need one occasional edit, not an operation.

The lowest monthly price is the main priority.

A capable internal digital team already owns this.

Access and ownership can't be documented or consolidated.

FAQ

Questions worth asking.

Is this just a hosting and care plan?

No. Care keeps the site running. Digital Operations runs the whole digital side: the site, SEO, automations, integrations, and the systems behind them, improved month after month, not just kept online.

Can you work with the website I already have?

Usually, yes. We start by auditing and stabilizing the site you've got: hosting, forms, tracking, and access. We only recommend a rebuild when the current site is actively holding the business back, and we say so plainly.

Do you replace my current vendors?

Usually we replace the patchwork: the separate web, SEO, and IT vendors who don't talk to each other. Sometimes we work alongside one you want to keep. Either way, the outcome has one owner.

Do I have to hand you everything at once?

No. Most businesses start with an audit or one problem, then fold more in as it earns its keep. You can start small and grow the scope.

Can you sort out our logins and access?

Yes, and it's usually one of the first things we fix. We identify the accounts that actually matter, document who owns what, roll out a password manager and MFA, and clean up stale admin access, so the business isn't one departure away from being locked out.

Is this overkill for a small business?

It's the opposite. A small business is exactly who can't afford full-time web, marketing, and IT hires. Digital Operations is one retainer that does the job of all three, sized to you.

Is this an IT service?

No. We handle workspace admin, access documentation, and email authentication within the agreed scope. Device support, networking, hardware, and advanced cybersecurity belong with a managed IT or security provider, and we coordinate with them where the systems meet.

Can you guarantee rankings or more leads?

No responsible provider can guarantee search rankings, lead volume, or revenue. We improve the website, visibility, measurement, and follow-up systems that influence those outcomes; results also depend on your offer, market, pricing, and reputation.

What does it cost?

A monthly retainer scoped to what you actually need, set after a short call and an audit. You get a real number before you commit to anything. Start on the contact page.

Start the conversation

Bring us the thing that's slowing you down.

Tell us what you're trying to fix. We'll scope the right first move, and you'll hear back within one business day from the person responsible for reviewing and scoping the work, not a sales rep.

Start a project

Prefer to talk? (847) 496-0013 · or email contact@thickrim.com