Date: 2026-08-21 9:00 AM EDT Granola: 69c2260a-db99-4be0-90f5-0f091358b1f2
Attendees
- Michael Houck (Rye Valley)
- Geo (geo@megaphonestudio.com - Lore SEO lead)
- Jodi Frank (Culineer, founder - jodi@culineerapp.com)
Summary
First substantive strategy call with Culineer, a local food/farm discovery app prospect for Lore. Geo walked Jodi through a full SEO and GEO audit. Michael presented a 3-pronged engagement structure (technical SEO, content production, link building) at ~$2,500 over 3 months. No contract signed yet; proposal to follow by email. Target kickoff: week of August 24 (Michael unavailable Wednesday 8/26).
About Culineer
- App connecting consumers to local farms and food producers
- Original model: CRM for farmers to retain customers (low uptake - farmers skeptical of unproven ROI)
- Current pivot: build consumer audience first, list farmers, prove demand before monetizing
- Monetization TBD: premium features, paid tier, or strategic ad partnerships (not ad-heavy)
- Product: UX overhaul underway, separate dashboards for consumers, farmers, and markets
- Vision: grassroots platform to reshape how people engage with local food
Audit Findings (Geo)
Technical issues (most urgent):
- Metadata outside the homepage is too generic (example: producers page title is “Producers, Culineer”)
- Heading tags and metadata need keyword-specific rewrites across all pages
- Many pages likely de-indexed after a Google update (thin content sweep, May/June traffic drop)
- Need Google Search Console access to confirm indexing health
Content gaps:
- Recipe pages drive some traffic but won’t monetize; local/near-me and produce-specific searches are the real target
- AI crawlers (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity) need richer content; thin listings aren’t enough
- Keyword research will span Google, AI query data, and “near me” / location-based searches
Link building gap:
- Example: ranking position 9 for “Stolz Farm Plainsborough NJ” (720 searches/month) yields only 7 clicks
- Authoritative backlinks with targeted anchor text will push rankings up and increase AI citation frequency
Proposed Engagement Structure
- Technical SEO foundation (metadata, schema, indexing) - Geo manages Search Console directly
- Content production (keyword-driven blog and landing pages)
- Link building (press releases and new outreach capabilities)
Budget discussed: ~$2,500 over 3 months ($1,000 / $750 / $750 tiered). Jodi will handle page-level changes herself using Claude/Cursor; Geo provides doc + spreadsheet with exact metadata and optimization instructions per page.
Action Items
| Owner | Action |
|---|---|
| Michael | Send detailed engagement proposal over email; CC Geo to fill in gaps |
| Jodi | Review proposal and confirm scope; decide which parts to delegate vs. handle internally |
| Both | Target kickoff call week of 2026-08-24 (not Wednesday 8/26 - Michael unavailable) |
Notable Excerpts
Jodi on Culineer’s mission:
“I really want to make a difference and make this thing work and change the way people engage with food. And if we can do that… this platform, as we grow and expand and make it what people can benefit from and farmers and so forth, it can be the Grassroots engine that gets people to get what they want without worrying about all that nonsense.”
On current state:
“I’m a sales and marketing person. I taught marketing for years, but I don’t actually execute on these things. So there’s big blind spots in how to make it work.”
On her willingness to do hands-on work:
“I mean, I’m willing to do the groundwork and do as much as I have to because I don’t have a budget. But I need a little bit of insight as to how to do it well.”
Full transcript in Granola (id: 69c2260a-db99-4be0-90f5-0f091358b1f2)