A cloud cost optimization checklist
A practical list of idle resources, leftover licenses, and other costs worth a second look.
Try the free Cloud Bill Check → The team
Anna Wood
Co-Owner and Creative Director
Leads social media strategy, content, Google Business Profiles and brand photography.
Let's talk about your business.
Resources
Free tools, plain-English guides, and study guides for small businesses and IT pros.
Free tools
Marketing checks
Email, website, social media, and Google Business Profile checks.
See marketing checks →
IT & cloud checks
Cloud spend, Microsoft 365 licenses, identity, and security checks.
See IT & cloud checks →
Marketing Checkup
Enter your website and get one free report on your site, email, social, business profile, reviews, and search readiness.
Run the Marketing Checkup →
IT and Cloud Checkup
Enter your domain and get one free report on email security, licenses, sign-in security, SOC 2 readiness, and cloud cost, plus an IT plan estimate.
Run the IT and Cloud Checkup →
Review link and QR code card
Get a direct review link, a printable QR code card, and a ready-to-send email or text. Not a Google product.
Get a review link and QR code card →
Accessibility Quick Check
See the top homepage fixes in plain English. A quick check, not a legal opinion or a compliance certificate.
Run the Accessibility Quick Check →
Review Reply Writer
Get two or three review replies that stick to what the review says. They do not invent facts or offer compensation.
Write replies →
What’s my IP address
See this visit's address, address type, reverse name, and browser. It does not show your name or a street address.
See your IP address →
AI Use Policy Generator
Get a draft AI use policy for your industry, data, tools, and staff size. Review it before use; not legal advice.
Write the draft →
Phishing Email Checker
Check a pasted message for authentication headers, mismatched addresses, lookalike links, and urgent payment language. An estimate, not proof it is safe.
Check a message →
Guides & articles
Cloud & IT
How to reduce Microsoft 365 license costs
Spot unused, duplicate, and oversized licenses before you renew.
Try the free M365 License Check →How to find stale accounts in Entra ID
Look for unused accounts, leftover guest access, and too many admins.
Try the free Entra ID check →How to spot common cloud security gaps
What to look for in public storage, open admin ports, old access keys, and logging.
Try the free Cloud Security Quick Scan →A SOC 2 readiness checklist
Gaps to review as you get ready for SOC 2. This is a readiness guide, not an audit or certification.
Try the free SOC 2 Readiness check →Small business marketing
How to run a small business marketing checkup
Review your website, email setup, social media, Google Business Profile, and reviews in one pass.
Read the guide →How to check SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records
The records that help mail systems trust messages from your domain.
Try the free Email Health check →A social media marketing checklist
A short list of profile basics, posting habits, and signs your social media is working.
Try the free Social Media Self-Assessment →A website marketing checklist
What to check on speed, search visibility, and the basics that help visitors take action.
Read the guide →How to improve your Google Business Profile and reviews
A look at your profile's completeness, photos, hours, and review replies.
Try the free GBP & Reviews Check →Which plan does my small business need?
A few honest questions about what's working, what isn't, and which kind of help might fit.
Try the free Plan Estimator →Marketing services
Local Presence
Get Google profile care, with the option to ask every customer and reply to every review. An estimate, not a Google service.
Local SEO and AI search visibility
Improve local pages and AI search visibility with setup and a monthly check. This does not promise rankings or mentions in AI answers.
Conversion tracking setup
Get analytics, tags, and call and form tracking set up. Not an ad platform. An estimate, not a guarantee.
Accessibility review
Get a review of up to 15 pages. Readiness help, not legal advice and not a compliance certificate.
IT services
Microsoft 365 security hardening
We tighten MFA, admin roles, sharing, auditing, and backups.
Incident response plan
We write a plan covering contacts, backups, logs, and roles.
FTC Safeguards readiness
We help covered firms get ready. Not legal advice or a certification.
AI use policy
We set rules for AI tools, data, labels, and licensing.
Security questionnaire answering
We answer vendor, customer, or insurance questionnaires. A very long one is quoted separately. Not a certification.
Windows 11 readiness
We count computers still on Windows 10, or that cannot run Windows 11, and estimate extended-update cost next to a move.
Hurricane and outage continuity plan
We cover offsite backups, restore tests, a contact tree, power or internet failover, and working from home.
Intune and Autopilot device setup
We set up devices after a check of licenses, device count, operating systems, and personal devices.
Cloud migration readiness
We review office servers, applications, data, licenses, internet, and backups before a move. Not a cloud vendor’s review.
Fractional IT and security lead
We provide a lead who owns IT, security, vendors, and after-hours problems.
External vulnerability scan
A passive look at the certificate and the main security headers. A signed authorization is required before any paid scan.
CMMC Level 1 readiness
Readiness help for small defense contractors. Not a certification or an assessment, and not legal advice. No government affiliation. Blue Heron is not a C3PAO or certified CMMC assessor.
PCI self-assessment help
We help with the self-assessment questionnaire that likely applies. Not a QSA or an ASV, and not a certification. No affiliation with the PCI Security Standards Council or any card brand.
Domain and DNS watch
A free check of domain, SSL, and email-record expiry from public records.
Network and Wi-Fi assessment
A check of router age, guest Wi-Fi, firmware, dead zones, and backup internet, onsite in Central Florida, remote elsewhere.
Microsoft 365 care
Get help with Microsoft 365 users, licenses, mailboxes, and sharing, plus a monthly security score. Not a Microsoft service.
Email authentication fix
Get a public DNS check of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, plus a monthly watch. An estimate, not a guarantee.
Small-cloud care
Get monthly, read-only care for Azure or AWS, with an optional one-time cleanup. An estimate, not a guarantee.
Study guides
The team
Anna Wood
Co-Owner and Creative Director
Leads social media strategy, content, Google Business Profiles and brand photography.
Let's talk about your business.
IT certification study guides
Scott’s study guides and cheat sheet packs for IT certifications, on Gumroad.
See Scott’s study guides →Want a second opinion? Book a Free Audit