A long-term partnership with Academic Scholarly Books in Bloomington, Indiana
Some client relationships are defined by a single project. Others are defined by time.
My work with Joe Grant of Academic Scholarly Books falls squarely in the second category. We’ve been working together since 2008, through platform changes, hosting migrations, Google’s many evolutions, and the full arc of what it means to have a small business presence on the web.
Joe runs a used and academic book buying operation in Bloomington. His tagline is simple: “We Buy Books.” His business depends on people finding him when they have books to sell, which means his website isn’t a brochure. It’s a lead source.
Where It Started
In 2008, Joe needed a website. I built him a custom HTML site for academicscholarlybooks.com, hand-coded, clean, and built to be found. That was the foundation. From there, the work evolved naturally over the years: SEO, social media marketing, Google Analytics setup, Google Workspace administration, and ongoing hosting management.
Early results were encouraging. By 2011, organic traffic to the site had increased 81% in a single month, a direct result of SEO and social media work we were doing together. Joe noticed. He sent me an email that month just to say so.
What the Work Actually Looks Like
Over eighteen years, the scope has shifted with the times, but the core has stayed consistent: keep Joe’s digital presence working, keep it visible, and translate the technical complexity of the modern web into plain English so he can focus on running his business.
That has meant different things at different moments:
Web development. The original custom HTML build eventually evolved as the web did. Ongoing updates, content additions, and site maintenance have been a constant.
SEO and search visibility. I’ve managed Google Search Console for academicscholarlybooks.com for years, monitoring coverage issues, forwarding and interpreting performance reports, and making adjustments when Google’s systems flagged problems.
Google Analytics. I set up and managed analytics tracking across both his sites, forwarded monthly reports, and updated his settings as platforms changed, including navigating the transition to GA4.
Google Workspace. Joe’s business email runs through Google Workspace. Over the years, his account has been suspended multiple times due to inactivity or billing lapses. Each time, I’ve stepped in to sort it out before it affected his operations. I also serve as a secondary admin on the account, which means I receive critical alerts that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Hosting and SSL management. Joe’s sites are hosted on Namecheap, which is cost-effective but requires more active management than larger managed hosting providers. SSL certificates in particular need regular attention, and when renewal notices arrive, they tend to look alarming if you don’t know what you’re looking at. Joe forwards them to me. I handle them.
Technology advisory. Over the years I’ve shared tools, flagged relevant changes in Google’s advertising products, recommended hardware, and helped Joe evaluate options, from Amazon seller tools to search engine alternatives. None of that shows up on an invoice, but it’s part of what the relationship provides.
What Makes This Relationship Work
Joe is technically capable in the ways that matter for his business. He knows books. He knows buyers. He does not particularly enjoy navigating hosting dashboards or deciphering SSL expiration notices, and he’s refreshingly candid about that.
What he needs is someone he trusts to handle the technical side, someone who will come by when something needs to be done in person, explain what’s happening without condescension, and be reachable when something looks wrong.
That’s the relationship we’ve built. It’s informal, reliable, and grounded in eighteen years of consistent follow-through.
“Can you do this for me when you have time?”
Joe Grant, Academic Scholarly Books
That kind of trust doesn’t come from a single successful project. It comes from showing up, year after year, and doing what you said you’d do.
What This Looks Like for a Client Like Joe
Academic Scholarly Books is a local niche business in a competitive category. Joe isn’t trying to scale nationally. He’s trying to be the person Bloomington residents call when they have a library to sell. That means local search visibility matters enormously, and so does having a site that stays up, stays secure, and stays findable.
Namecheap hosting keeps his costs down. Active management keeps his site running. Ongoing SEO work keeps people finding him. And having a trusted point of contact means that when something breaks or changes, Joe doesn’t have to figure it out alone.
That’s the model. It’s not complicated. But it requires consistency, communication, and genuine care about the client’s success, not just their next invoice.
Still Going
As of early 2026, Joe and I are still working together. There’s an SSL certificate coming due this spring on academicscholarlybooks.com. We’ll handle it the same way we’ve handled everything else: he’ll flag it, I’ll take care of it, and the site will keep running.
Eighteen years in, that’s still the job. And I’m glad to do it.
David Martin Design has served small businesses, nonprofits, and community organizations in Bloomington, Indiana since 2004. If you’re looking for a long-term partner for your web presence, not just a one-time vendor, let’s talk.