Hector Herrera · Digital strategist and systems builder
Writing
Essays and shorter notes on web systems, search, analytics, infrastructure and practical AI.
- Every web problem eventually becomes a systems problem Development, marketing, analytics, infrastructure and automation are one machine. Here is the working model I use to find the real problem and fix it for good.
- Ranking isn't enough: how to get cited inside AI answers What makes ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google's AI features pick a source, and the practical work that makes your site the one they cite.
- The lead that disappeared: following one click from ad to CRM Follow one paid click from the ad to the CRM and back to the ad platform, see where the source data quietly drops out, and use a checklist to keep it intact.
- AI as an operating layer, not a chatbot Most businesses add AI as a chat tab and stop there. The real value comes from weaving it into workflows as research, drafting, checks, routing and monitoring.
- Entity first: Google and AI need to know who you are Before content or links, search engines and AI tools need to know who you are. How to build one canonical home, consistent profiles and schema that connects them.
- Your form is a conversion system, not a contact box A lead form is logic, data capture, validation, spam defense and a handoff. How to design each piece so more real people finish it and the data stays useful.
- Scheduled AI agents with a human in the loop How I run scheduled AI agents on my own servers: scoped permissions, budgets, timeouts, health checks, a daily status report and a review queue before anything ships.
- Inspect the system before trusting the symptom A symptom tells you where it hurts, not what broke. A practical troubleshooting method for web problems, with common patterns and a step-by-step inspection checklist.
- What SEO taught me in one of the most expensive markets on Google Lessons from years of mesothelioma search about intent, trust, patience and compassion, and why shortcuts cost more in high-stakes markets than they ever save.
- GA4 and Tag Manager setups that answer business questions Start with the decisions a business needs to make, then design GA4 events and GTM tags around them, with naming rules, consent, testing and fewer dashboards.
- Using AI on real servers without losing sleep I use AI-assisted development on real servers daily. The habits that keep it safe: least privilege, staging, backups, reviewed diffs, vaulted secrets and real checks.
- WordPress or lean custom? The costs nobody prices in WordPress and lean custom stacks both work. The real choice comes down to who edits the site, who maintains it, and what it costs to own over years, not weeks.
- Content architecture beats content volume Publishing more pages rarely fixes a search problem. How pillars, clusters, internal links, pruning and a clear job for every page do more than volume ever will.
- Attribution when the sale happens off the website When leads close by phone, in intake, or through a signed agreement, the source has to survive every hop. How to carry it through and send real outcomes back to ads.
- Automate only what's stable enough to deserve it Automating a broken process just breaks it faster. How to tell when a workflow is ready for automation, how to monitor it, and how to choose between tools and scripts.
- What running my own business taught me about tech decisions Running my own e-commerce company changed how I judge technology. Cost, risk, upkeep, cash and time matter more than features, and someone has to own the outcome.
- City pages that aren't thin How to build city and local pages that actually help people, stay clear of Google's doorway page rules, and fit into a site structure that makes sense.
- Server-side conversions in plain English What server-side conversion tracking is, why browser pixels lost signal, how deduplication and hashing work, and when it's worth building versus when it's overkill.
- Measuring whether AI drafts are actually good The best quality signal for AI drafts is how much survives human editing. How to measure it per prompt version, plus the guardrails that keep drafts safe to review.
- Why I still run my own servers and mail I self-host web, DNS, SSL and mail because it teaches every layer and gives me control. It also has real costs, and plenty of businesses should not do it.
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