In this episode, Roy sits down with Tyler Henn, founder of Hennhouse Digital Growth Studio, a local SEO agency helping contractors and service businesses get found on Google Maps and now AI platforms. Tyler shares his journey from a UX design degree, to eight years at a car dealership, to a full-commission leap into roofing sales during a Georgia hailstorm, to finally building his own SEO agency from a single free website he offered a friend. They dig deep into how AI search actually works — why ChatGPT and Gemini essentially "Google it for you" when they don't already know an entity, why that makes online content about yourself something you have to actively build rather than wait for, and how easily that process can currently be manipulated. Tyler also breaks down his own podcast production workflow using Riverside and Metricool, his three-stage SEO funnel (using pizza as the running example), why he never lets clients respond to bad reviews, and the surprisingly common myth around using a home address for a Google Business Profile. A genuinely practical, wide-ranging conversation for anyone trying to be found online in 2026.
Timestamps
0:02 – Introducing Tyler Henn and Hennhouse Digital Growth Studio
1:14 – The story behind the "Henn House" name
2:19 – From UX design degree to eight years at a car dealership
6:xx – The leap into full-commission roofing sales during a Georgia hailstorm
10:20 – What happened when a free website he built got suspended over a home address
11:28 – A detour into bad UX design in big platforms like Zoom and LinkedIn
15:23 – Podcast hosting headaches, and why Tyler recommends Riverside
19:26 – How long Tyler's been podcasting and his target guest for the Hennhouse Podcast
21:15 – Comparing podcast hosting platforms and social scheduling with Metricool
25:40 – The real cost and ROI of tools like Metricool
28:42 – Why 27 subscribers is worth celebrating, not dismissing
30:14 – Whether the podcast has generated clients yet
34:06 – How ChatGPT and Gemini decide who to recommend, and why that data has to exist somewhere first
38:28 – Why LinkedIn and other platforms block their data from being scraped by AI tools
41:02 – Why Yelp reviews are so hard to fake, and why they're weighted so heavily by AI
41:50 – The danger of one bad, unrelated review swaying an AI recommendation
44:04 – Why you should never reply to a malicious review — report it instead
44:46 – Dynamic ad insertion and Roy's own struggles with podcast hosting platforms
46:04 – What actually happens when a client signs on with Tyler
52:08 – Why Tyler avoids traditional blog content and uses the search funnel instead
55:52 – Home addresses, PO boxes, and Google Business Profile rules
58:38 – Why chasing algorithm shortcuts backfires, and what actually wins long-term
1:01:47 – Where to find Tyler and the Hennhouse Podcast
About Tyler Henn
Tyler Henn is the founder of Hennhouse Digital Growth Studio, a local SEO agency that helps contractors and service businesses get found on Google, Maps, and AI platforms. With a background in user experience design, Tyler takes a practical, whole-picture approach to digital growth, connecting websites, content, local visibility, reviews, and brand authority. He is also the host of the Hennhouse Podcast, where he speaks with entrepreneurs and marketing leaders about what it really takes to grow a business online.
Connect with Tyler:
🌐 Website: https://www.henn.house/
🎙️ Podcast: The Hennhouse Podcast
🔗 About Your Host (Roy Coughlan)
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