Prepared for Loyal · VP, Marketing
How dog owners and vets find Loyal today, and what I'd change first
James G. Stokes · October 20, 2026 · Resume and work
Loyal is building a category that doesn't exist yet. The people it needs, senior-dog owners and veterinarians, are already searching for answers. I spent an afternoon looking at loyal.com the way Google and AI answer engines do. Three things stand out.
What I found
Owners looking for senior-dog help don't find Loyal yet
In a search I ran today for "how to help my senior dog live longer," Loyal didn't appear. Independent blogs and newsletters filled the page. For "dog longevity drug," Loyal's own page came in fourth, behind a Substack post and news coverage about Loyal.
That gap matters most before approval. The owners who will ask their vet about LOY-002 are searching now, and someone else is answering them.
Fix: an owner-facing senior-dog health library. Answer-first pages on the questions owners already ask, reviewed by Loyal's veterinarians, each ending in a clear sign-up.
Search engines get thin, repeated signals
- No XML sitemap: /sitemap.xml returns a 404, and robots.txt doesn't point to one.
- No canonical tags on the pages I checked.
- At least six main pages reuse the homepage's meta description word for word.
- Five main pages (Products, For veterinarians, Blog, Clinical trials, About) have no H1 heading.
- The homepage title is just "Loyal," with no category words like "dog longevity."
Fix: one development sprint. None of this requires new content, and it lifts every page at once.
The structured data describes a 2021 website
Every page carries the same CreativeWork markup, last modified September 2021. The FDA-milestone posts, the pages journalists and AI tools quote most, have no Article markup naming the author, the date, or the veterinarian who reviewed them.
For a company whose credibility rests on regulatory milestones and veterinary expertise, those are the facts AI answer engines need spelled out to cite Loyal correctly.
Fix: Organization, Article, and FAQ markup, with named veterinary authors and reviewers on every health page.
My first 90 days
Days 1–30
Fix the foundation
Sitemap, canonicals, unique titles and descriptions, H1s, and structured data. Set a baseline in Search Console and track which AI answers cite Loyal.
Days 31–60
Own the owner question
Launch the senior-dog library: the first ten vet-reviewed, answer-first pages, built to be quoted, each with a sign-up.
Days 61–90
Bring vets in by search
Make the Learning Hub CE courses findable by the searches vets run. Report non-brand traffic, AI citations, and sign-ups monthly.
Why I can do this
I run this playbook today on my own dog brand. I handle the technical SEO myself, I build pages for AI-driven discovery, and I set the standards for health and genetics claims: sourced, legally defensible, and disclosed. That site has drawn 135,000 Google clicks from 168 countries in the past 16 months and ranks in the top five for its core breed searches. See the resume and the data.
Checked from public pages on October 20, 2026. Search results vary by location and person, so the rankings above are a snapshot, not a measurement. I'd confirm everything against Loyal's own Search Console on day one.
linkedin.com/in/jamesgstokes·james-stokes.com
Summary
Website, brand, and search leader with 15+ years building and running digital businesses, my own and clients'. I own websites end to end: roadmap, builds, technical SEO, AI-search visibility, conversion, and the brand standards that keep it all consistent. Built the organic search engine behind a premium consumer brand, and the SOPs and AI-assisted content pipeline that let a distributed team of VAs, contractors, and partners run it. Founded three brands from zero, led a nonprofit as executive director, and am completing an MBA in Marketing & Entrepreneurship.
Core Strengths
- Web: website ownership and roadmap, information architecture, WordPress (multi-site), Squarespace, Next.js/Supabase product builds, Adobe Commerce migration
- Search: technical SEO, AEO / AI-search visibility, FAQ and @graph structured data, content architecture, internal linking, Core Web Vitals
- Brand & content: brand standards, reusable templates, AI-assisted content workflows, creative direction and photography
- Growth: landing pages and conversion, A/B testing, multi-channel campaigns (web, email, social), post-purchase and retention programs
- Leadership: recruiting and directing freelancers, contractors, and partner teams; SOPs and operating cadences; nonprofit executive leadership
- Tools: Google Analytics, Search Console, Google Ads, Semrush, Ahrefs, Lighthouse, PowerBI, Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, Asana
Experience
- Own the website as a product: roadmap, information architecture, analytics, A/B testing, and a three-pillar content architecture (authority, conversion, commerce) on every page.
- Run the technical SEO program: cannibalization audits, 301 consolidation of duplicate URLs, FAQ and @graph structured data, tiered internal linking, and monthly Core Web Vitals checks.
- Built for AI-driven discovery: answer-first page blocks, quotable summaries, and FAQ schema designed to be cited by AI Overviews and answer engines.
- Codified a ranking SOP and a weekly SERP consolidation sweep executed by a distributed team of VAs and contractors.
- Built an AI-assisted content pipeline (research → copy → Canva design → voice → publish) and reusable brand templates, so one idea becomes on-brand web, email, and social assets without a designer in the loop.
- Led product builds of a multi-tenant client companion app (roles, authentication, trainer rubrics) and a genetics data explorer on Supabase.
- Set content-claims standards for health and genetics topics: sourced, legally defensible, with disclosure language on every sales surface.
- Launched Doodle School™, a post-purchase program that increased customer lifetime value and retention.
- Lead website strategy, WordPress and Squarespace builds, and SEO for client brands on $4,000–8,000/month retainers.
- Assemble and direct partner teams (SEO/PPC, development, design, video, and AI automation) against scoped deliverables, budgets, and deadlines.
- Plan and deliver multi-channel campaigns across web, email, and social for small and mid-market B2B and consumer clients; keep long-term retainers through measurable results and clear reporting.
- Lutz Family Farms Heritage Meats: built the direct-to-consumer brand and online store; managed SEO, email, and social.
Experience, continued
- Supported the enterprise website migration to Adobe Commerce.
- Built PowerBI dashboards for marketing and sales performance.
- Managed multi-channel campaigns, trade shows, and digital content.
- Led staff, operations, and fundraising; secured $200K+ in grants and sponsorships.
- Lead brand, visual identity, and photography for a luxury wedding studio.
- Embark Behavioral Health, Web Designer: designed and maintained WordPress sites for the parent organization and its satellite programs, keeping brand and navigation consistent across a multi-site network in a regulated healthcare category.
- New Visions Wilderness, Web Development Lead: led web development and site updates for the program's public website.
Education
Education & Community
- Home educator, 16+ years: homeschooling my ten children across elementary, middle, and high school.
- Track and field coach, Medford Area Senior High · 2025 – Present.
- Former Wisconsin substitute teacher (3-year license).
Quick Answers for Recruiters
The questions recruiters ask first, answered in one place.
What role is James Stokes looking for?
A fully remote, U.S.-based leadership role in website, brand, SEO and AI-search, or digital marketing, at the Director, Head of, or VP level.
Where is he based, and is he open to relocation?
Medford, Wisconsin, on Central Time. He is looking for fully remote work in the U.S. and is not relocating.
What does he do best?
He owns websites end to end: roadmap, information architecture, builds, technical SEO, AI-search visibility, conversion, and the brand standards that keep it consistent. He has done this for 15+ years as a founder and for client brands.
What is his SEO and AI-search (AEO) experience?
He runs the technical SEO program for Stokeshire Designer Doodles himself: cannibalization audits, 301 consolidation, FAQ and @graph structured data, tiered internal linking, and monthly Core Web Vitals checks. He builds pages for AI-driven discovery, with answer-first blocks, quotable summaries, and FAQ schema designed to be cited by AI Overviews and answer engines.
Has he led teams?
Yes. At Stokhaus Media he recruits and directs partner teams (SEO/PPC, development, design, video, and AI automation) against scoped deliverables, budgets, and deadlines. At Stokeshire he wrote the SOPs and weekly routines a distributed team of virtual assistants and contractors carries out. As Executive Director of Huey's Hideaway Children's Museum, he led staff, operations, and fundraising, securing $200K+ in grants and sponsorships.
Which platforms and tools does he use?
WordPress (including multi-site), Squarespace, Next.js and Supabase, Adobe Commerce (migration support), Google Analytics, Search Console, Google Ads, Semrush, Ahrefs, Lighthouse, PowerBI, Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, and Asana.
Which industries has he worked in?
Premium consumer and direct-to-consumer brands, including a designer dog breeding program and a heritage meats brand. Also behavioral health websites, B2B distribution (Kelley Supply, an enterprise Adobe Commerce migration), nonprofit, and education. He has set sourced, legally defensible content standards for health and genetics claims.
How does he use AI in marketing work?
He built an AI-assisted content pipeline (research, copy, Canva design, voice, publish) that turns one idea into on-brand web, email, and social assets, with reusable templates so content ships on-brand without a designer in the loop.
What is his education?
MBA in Marketing & Entrepreneurship, Concordia University Wisconsin (expected 2027). B.A. in Organizational Management & Leadership, Concordia University, St. Paul (GPA 3.92, High Distinction). Associate of Applied Science, University of Wisconsin–Marathon County.
How do I contact him?
Email jamesgstokes@gmail.com, call (715) 570-5718, or connect on LinkedIn.
Organic search reach · wisconsindesignerdoodles.com
Found by searchers in 168 countries
The Stokeshire site, whose SEO and AI-search program I run myself. Hover or tap a country for its numbers.
135K
clicks from Google search
12.3M
search impressions
168
countries sending clicks
Top 5
Google position for core breed searches
Top countries by clicks
Where it ranks on Google
Average Google position over the period. Non-brand searches only.
Source: Google Search Console, web search, Jun 20, 2025 – Oct 18, 2026. Countries with at least one click shown; small territories without a map shape are counted in the totals.