Meet James Gornall: websites, local SEO and AI help for Heywood businesses

Local business help: websites, SEO, content generation, lead generation and AI integration into your business. I can guide you, or I can do it for you.

Hello. I just wanted to introduce myself on camera, so people can put a face behind the business. I’m James. I started Collective Digital Media this month, October 2026, but I’ve been thinking about creating this business for ten years. I created the logo eleven years ago.

My first ever business was JG SEO and Marketing Consultancy, which I started after I left the army. So I’ve been working with SEO, websites, marketing, email, content generation and lead generation for well over ten years.

I’ve been experimenting with AI for four or five years, since I first started hearing about it, but nothing on the scale I’m doing now: I’ve been using AI full time for about a month. The main tools I use are Hermes Agent, Codex, ChatGPT and Claude Code. I’ve tried the cheaper models to save money, but it turns out you might as well use the best that’s available, because in the long run the cheap ones just cost you time.

With Collective Digital Media, it’s just me. I’ve been running boarding kennels for the last five to six years: seven days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day, no days off. I’ve missed every Christmas and every Boxing Day, because the holidays are the busiest times.

Because of the development around Heywood, with houses being built everywhere, I’m going to have to close the kennels. So I’m moving into businesses I’m truly passionate about, ones that don’t feel like work: Collective Digital Media, JG Fitness and The Dog Geezer.

With Collective, I’ll be doing local business help. If you’re unsure about websites, SEO, content generation, lead generation or AI integration, I can guide you or do it for you. I can set things up, show you where you’re going wrong and where you’re going right, and point you in the right direction.

The goal should be for every business to rank number one on Google. Ranking number one saves you a lot of headaches on advertising and content, because you get a steady supply of leads coming into your business for free: organic leads. So my number one goal with any business is to rank number one on Google, especially in your hometown. If you’re not ranking number one in your hometown, something is seriously wrong.

When I started at Hareshill Boarding Kennels five or six years ago, the first thing I did was buy a new domain. The old one was a mess and scattered, which is pretty common. So I bought a brand new domain, built the website and went to work on SEO. It took me about three months to rank number one in Heywood, and that was with WordPress. The site wasn’t that good; I built it purely to get the leads coming in. Once it ranked number one I pretty much left it alone, because the leads were coming in. Looking back, I should have spent a lot more time on the design, because it looked shocking. I’ve just given it a fresh spruce-up to keep it going, even though I’m closing the business.

So that should be the number one goal for everybody: rank number one on Google in your hometown. It’s the top priority for every business, and I can help you do that.

I’m not just going to tell you to rank number one on Google. I’m going to show you. I’ve set up three businesses in the last month, and I’m going to share the step-by-step journey of getting each of them to number one. I’m not ranking number one yet: it’s only been a month, and SEO is a long game. Collective Digital Media is up against SEOs and web developers, so that one might take longer, possibly six months. We’ll see how good my skills are. The Dog Geezer and JG Fitness shouldn’t take as long.

So this is a brief introduction to me and the services I offer. I wanted to put a face behind the business. If you’ve got any questions, however bizarre they sound, just contact me. I’ll do my best to help, and if I can’t, I’ll point you in the right direction. At first I’m going to help as many different businesses as I can, and in a year or two I’ll start narrowing it down to what people need the most help with. For now, ask me anything.

Just go to the website, fill in your details, send me a message about what you need help with, and I’ll get back to you. Thank you.