Google Sheets and Google Cloud Automation Expert For Hire For Bespoke Projects

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If you are a business owner looking for a Google Sheets expert or an App Script automation engineer who works with Google Docs, you are in the right place.

This report details the capabilities of Shaun Anderson, a 20-year veteran digital strategist and proven automation engineer with over two decades of experience building systems that solve complex business problems.

The core service proposition is the transformation of inefficient, error-prone, and costly manual business workflows into streamlined, reliable, and proprietary automated systems, all using Google Cloud.

This is achieved by leveraging the security and power of a client’s own Google Accounts ecosystem, primarily through Google Apps Script integrated with familiar tools like Google Sheets, Google Docs, Google Forms, Google Drive and Gmail – together operating in the Google Cloud.

For any business, the benefits are tangible and significant: radical increases in productivity, measurable reductions in operational costs and manual errors, enhanced data security through complete ownership, and the creation of a lasting, scalable competitive asset that is not dependent on recurring Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) fees.

This service is not about buying a temporary tool; it is about commissioning a permanent solution.

This report will substantiate these claims by analysing Shaun Anderson’s extensive portfolio of existing automation tools.

While developed for the demanding field of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), these products serve as irrefutable proof of a more fundamental and universally applicable skill set: the ability to architect and engineer robust, bespoke automation solutions for any business process.

His work in SEO is the evidence; business-wide efficiency is the outcome.

Profile of the Architect: Shaun Anderson, Hobo Web

To understand the value of a bespoke solution, one must first understand the architect.

Shaun Anderson’s professional history and philosophy provide a clear indication of the quality, reliability, and strategic thinking embedded in his work.

A Career Rooted in Systems and Process

Shaun Anderson’s career in the digital space spans over two decades, beginning in 1999 within a Glasgow advertising agency.

His early roles combined creative, development, and analytical responsibilities, including graphic design, accessible website development, and early SEO consultancy.

This diverse foundation demonstrates a holistic understanding of digital systems, how they are built, how users interact with them, and how they drive business results.

This perspective is critical for an automation architect, who must see beyond mere lines of code to the business process being optimised.

In March 2006, he purchased and founded the domain and brand Hobo on https://www.hobo-web.co.uk, and since 2007, has served as Head of SEO and primary content creator and editor of the Hobo website.

This long-term commitment and leadership role underscore a career built on stability and deep expertise, serving thousands of businesses from small enterprises to large corporations with millions of web pages.

A Philosophy of Transparency and Trust

A defining characteristic of Anderson’s work is his well-documented “white hat” SEO philosophy.

This approach is defined by a strict adherence to Google’s established guidelines, prioritising transparency and long-term quality over short-term manipulations.

This commitment is a direct proxy for the kind of automation solutions he builds.

A business investing in custom automation needs a system that is robust, reliable, and built to last, not a brittle hack that will break with the next API update.

His philosophy of working with the rules of a complex system like Google, rather than trying to simply exploit it, is precisely the mindset required to build sustainable business automation.

This methodical approach is further evidenced by his role as the writer and editor of the Hobo SEO Blog.

His in-depth, authoritative articles, often exceeding 5,000 words, demonstrate a deep, process-oriented approach to problem-solving – a critical trait for a software automation architect tasked with deconstructing and rebuilding a core business workflow.

Industry Acclaim and Testimonials

Anderson’s expertise is not self-proclaimed; it is widely recognised by his peers in the digital marketing industry.

His work has garnered powerful testimonials from respected leaders.

Cyrus Shepard, a well-known SEO expert, described his SEO checklist template as “absolutely killer/comprehensive” and “better than 99% out there”.

The late Bill Slawski, a revered figure in the SEO community, endorsed Mr. Anderson’s practical knowledge, distinguishing it from theoretical advice.

Joshua Hardwick of the leading SEO software company Ahrefs noted that the Hobo blog is “almost certainly one of the best single-author SEO blogs out there,” highlighting the depth and quality of the content.

Further testimonials refer to him as an “absolute SEO genius” whose insights are “highly sought after by some of the most intelligent people in the industry”.

This third-party validation from industry authorities provides a strong foundation of trust and credibility.

The Portfolio: A Masterclass in Google Cloud Automation

Reputation establishes trust, but a portfolio of working products with nearly a thousand paid users demonstrates tangible skill.

While Shaun Anderson’s software suite is marketed to the SEO industry, a deeper analysis reveals it to be a compelling series of case studies in business process automation.

Each tool deconstructs a common business challenge and solves it with elegant, robust code within the Google ecosystem.

Case Study: The Hobo SEO Dashboard – A Centralised Data & Reporting Engine

• The Business Problem: Agencies and in-house managers often oversee dozens, or even hundreds, of websites. Manually tracking performance, aggregating data from different sources, and creating regular reports is a monumentally time-intensive, costly, and error-prone process.
• The Automation Solution: The Hobo SEO Dashboard in Google Sheets is a sophisticated robotic system that lives entirely within a user’s Google Sheets environment. It automates the entire reporting workflow by seamlessly integrating with multiple, disparate data sources. It connects directly to the Google Search Console API to pull live performance data and is engineered to process exported data files from other SEO tools, like the SEO Spider, directly from Google Drive. The system then automates the analysis, generating “Winners and Losers” reports and SEO priorities, to highlight performance shifts and populate comprehensive audit documents. The final step is also automated: a built-in bulk mailing system can distribute these customised reports to a list of clients on a pre-defined schedule.
• Demonstrated Capability: This tool is a clear demonstration of mastery in complex data integration, API expertise, scheduled automation using complimentary time-based triggers, and the engineering of a complete, end-to-end workflow that transforms raw data into client-ready intelligence.

Case Study: The Hobo Socialbot — An External Communications Hub

• The Business Problem: Managing a consistent and strategic presence across multiple social media platforms is a repetitive, manual task that drains creative and strategic resources.
• The Automation Solution: The Hobo Socialbot in Google Sheets is a secure social media command centre built within a single Google Sheet.  It solves the problem by securely connecting to the APIs of external platforms like X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook, and Bluesky. Crucially, it uses the client’s own developer keys, ensuring that all data and authentication credentials remain private and under their control.  All content planning, scheduling, and platform selection occurs in a simple, centralised “Vault” tab within the Google Sheet. The system is also intelligently designed to respect the API rate limits of each platform, preventing spammy behaviour and ensuring the user maintains a “good citizen” status.
• Demonstrated Capability: This product showcases expertise in secure, multi-platform third-party API integration, user-centric design that prioritises simplicity, and the construction of robust, rule-abiding external communication tools.

Case Study: The Hobo EEAT Tool — A Streamlined Document Generator

• The Business Problem: Businesses operating one or multiple websites or brands often need to generate consistent, legally compliant policy documents (e.g., Privacy Policy, Terms of Service). This is typically a tedious, manual copy-and-paste task prone to inconsistency and error. The law demands it, advertising standards demand it, and Google E-E-A-T demands it.
• The Automation Solution: The Hobo EEAT Tool in Google Docs is an elegant example of “data-merge” automation that connects Google Sheets and Google Docs. The user inputs unique business data (company name, address, contact details) into a structured Google Sheet. With a single click, the script automatically copies a master Google Doc template and then performs a “find and replace” operation at scale, systematically populating the template with the user’s specific data from the Sheet. The result is a finished, customised, and consistent document, generated in seconds, instead of days or weeks.
• Demonstrated Capability: This tool proves proficiency in cross-application automation between Google Sheets (as a structured data source) and Google Docs (as a templating engine and output format). This is a foundational skill applicable to countless document-based business workflows, such as invoicing, contract generation, and personalised mailings.

Case Study: The Hobo Robot — A Vision for Integrated Business Systems

• The Business Problem: Core business functions – marketing, content management, email communication, analytics – often operate in disconnected silos, leading to duplicated effort and strategic misalignment.
• The Automation Solution: The Hobo Robot concept represents the culmination of these automation skills. It is positioned as a central “brain” that orchestrates individual tools into a single, cohesive, and autonomous system. It is designed to integrate WordPress content management (via the Hobo WP Agent in Google Docs), social media scheduling (Socialbot), SEO reporting (Dashboard), and email newsletter automation into a unified workflow, all managed from within the Google Cloud environment.
• Demonstrated Capability: This demonstrates high-level systems architecture thinking. It shows the ability not just to build discrete tools that solve individual problems, but to design and integrate a full suite of applications into a holistic business operations solution.

The portfolio, viewed as a whole, shows a clear progression of mastery – from simple document automation to complex data aggregation, to external API communication, and finally to integrated systems architecture.

Tool Name	Core Business Function	Key Google Technologies Utilised	Core Automation Principle Demonstrated
Hobo EEAT Tool	Automated generation of policy documents	Google Sheets, Google Docs, Apps Script	Data-Merge & Document Generation
Hobo SEO Dashboard	Automated multi-client SEO reporting and analysis	Google Sheets, GSC API, Google Drive, Apps Script, Gmail	Complex Data Aggregation & Scheduled Reporting, and Automation
Hobo Socialbot	Centralised multi-platform social media scheduling	Google Sheets, Apps Script, External APIs (X, FB, etc.)	Complex Multi-Platform API Communication and Automation
Hobo Robot	Integrated, autonomous marketing & business system	All of the above, plus WordPress API integration	Integrated Systems Orchestration and Automation

 

The Technology Platform: Unlocking Business Potential with Google Apps Script

Shaun Anderson’s chosen platform for building these powerful solutions is Google Apps Script.

Understanding this platform is key to understanding why his service is so uniquely suited for businesses looking to improve efficiency without overhauling their existing infrastructure.

What is Google Apps Script? The Low-Code Powerhouse for Business

Google Apps Script is a rapid application development platform that integrates seamlessly with the Google Workspace tools that businesses already use and trust every day, such as Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, and especially Google Sheets.

It is the connective tissue that allows these applications to talk to each other and to the outside world.

Key benefits of this platform include the fact that there is nothing to install – the code editor is in the browser, and the scripts run on Google’s secure servers.

It uses modern, industry-standard JavaScript, and it is completely free to use with any standard Google account.

This dramatically lowers the barrier to entry for creating powerful, custom automation, as it leverages existing software and employee familiarity.

Google is crying out for developers to use it!

From SEO Tools to Business Solutions: Transferable Skills

The principles demonstrated in the Hobo Web portfolio are directly transferable to virtually any business process.

The automation logic is universal.

For instance:

• The same skill used to pull Google Search Console data into a report can be used to pull sales data from a third-party CRM into a daily financial summary sheet.
• The logic that generates a Google Doc report from a template can be used to generate a PDF invoice from a template and email it to a client.
• The process that schedules social media posts can be adapted to schedule and send reminder emails for upcoming subscription renewals or overdue tasks.

Illustrative Use Cases: Automating Your Business with Google Sheets & Docs

Moving beyond the existing portfolio, this expertise can be applied to solve a vast range of common business challenges:

• Automated Invoicing: Imagine a Google Sheet where you list completed jobs. A custom menu item could allow you to select a row, automatically generate a professional PDF invoice from a Google Doc template, and email it directly to the client, all in one click.
• Custom CRM & Lead Management: A script can be connected to your website’s contact form. When a new lead is submitted, it can be automatically logged in a Google Sheet, assigned to the next available sales representative based on a rotating schedule, and a follow-up task can be automatically created in that representative’s Google Calendar.
• Inventory & Order Processing: For an e-commerce business, a script can connect to the Shopify or WooCommerce API. When a new order is placed, it can automatically decrease stock levels in a master inventory Google Sheet. If stock for an item falls below a certain threshold, it can automatically trigger a notification email to the purchasing manager.
• Automated Financial Reporting: A script can be set to run every morning at 6 AM. It could pull data from various departmental budget sheets, consolidate the information, calculate key performance indicators, populate a dashboard template, and email a link to the updated report to the executive team before they start their day.
• HR & Employee Onboarding: When a new employee’s details are added to a master HR sheet, automation can be triggered. This script could automatically create their new company email account, share a folder of necessary onboarding documents from Google Drive, and schedule their first week of orientation meetings in Google Calendar.

These examples illustrate how custom automation within the familiar Google environment can enhance, rather than replace, the systems a business already has in place.

The Strategic Imperative: Bespoke Automation vs. Off-the-Shelf Software

For any business considering automation, the primary decision is often between a pre-built, off-the-shelf SaaS product and a bespoke solution.

While the former offers immediate gratification, a deeper analysis of long-term strategic value reveals a compelling case for commissioning a custom-built asset.

The Illusion of Off-the-Shelf Savings

Off-the-shelf software is appealing due to its low upfront cost and instant deployment.

However, this initial affordability can be misleading.

The true cost is revealed over time through the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

Recurring monthly or annual subscription fees, per-user pricing that effectively taxes growth, and extra charges for essential and sometimes totally unnecessary) “Premium” features accumulate year after year.

These perpetual operational expenses can ultimately far exceed the one-time investment required for a bespoke solution.

The Core Advantages of a Bespoke Solution

A custom solution engineered by Shaun Anderson offers fundamental strategic advantages that off-the-shelf products cannot match:

• Perfect Process Fit: Off-the-shelf software forces you to adapt your business processes to the tool’s rigid structure. A custom solution is the opposite; it is meticulously designed to match your company’s unique, optimised workflow perfectly, thereby maximising efficiency instead of creating friction.
• Full Ownership & Control: With a custom script built for you, your company owns the intellectual property outright. You are not dependent on a vendor’s unpredictable product roadmap, sudden pricing changes, or the risk that they might be acquired or go out of business. You have total and permanent control over your critical business systems.
• Superior Scalability: A bespoke solution is built with your growth in mind. You will never hit a feature wall or be forced into a disruptive and costly platform migration because you have outgrown a generic tool’s limited capabilities.
• Enhanced Data Security: This is a paramount advantage. With a custom solution built within your Google Workspace, your sensitive business data remains within your own secure, encrypted Google Cloud environment. It never has to pass through a third-party vendor’s servers, mitigating a significant vector for data breaches and simplifying compliance.
• A Unique Competitive Advantage: A custom-built automation that streamlines a core part of your business becomes a proprietary asset. It is a source of efficiency and a strategic advantage that your competitors cannot simply replicate by subscribing to the same SaaS product. This transforms an operational process into a capital asset.

Comparison Factor	Bespoke Solution (Built by Shaun Anderson)	Off-the-Shelf SaaS Product
Customisation & Process Fit	100% tailored to your exact workflow. The tool adapts to you.	Limited. You must adapt your workflow to the tool.
Initial Cost	Higher one-time investment.	Low monthly/annual subscription.
Long-Term Cost (TCO)	Minimal to no ongoing costs. A capital investment.	High and accumulating due to perpetual subscription fees. An operational expense.
Data Ownership & Security	You own the tool. Data remains secure within your Google account.	The vendor owns the code. Data is processed on third-party servers.
Scalability & Future-Proofing	Built to scale with your business. Infinitely adaptable.	Limited by the vendor’s feature set and pricing tiers.
Vendor Dependency	None. You have complete independence.	High. You are reliant on the vendor’s viability, support, and pricing.
Deployment Time	Longer requires a development cycle.	Instant.
Competitive Advantage	Creates a proprietary, non-replicable efficiency asset.	None. Any competitor can buy the same tool.

 

The Service Offering: Commissioning a Custom Automation Solution

Engaging Shaun Anderson is an investment in building a proprietary business asset, engineered by a proven expert with two decades of experience.

The service is designed to deliver compounding returns in efficiency, productivity, and strategic advantage for years to come.

Service Definition

The expert Google Cloud engineering and automation service offered is Bespoke Business Process Automation, architected and engineered by Shaun Anderson.

This involves the design and construction of custom solutions within a client’s Google Cloud environment to solve their most pressing operational challenges, from data processing and reporting to workflow management and systems integration.

The Engagement Process: A Collaborative Partnership

To ensure the final product perfectly aligns with the client’s needs, the engagement follows a structured, transparent, and collaborative process:

1. Initial Consultation: A no-obligation discussion to understand your unique business challenges, identify pain points in your current workflows, and explore your strategic automation goals.
2. Process Analysis & Scoping: A deep dive into your existing operational processes to map out inefficiencies and bottlenecks. This stage precisely defines the requirements and desired outcomes for the custom solution.
3. Bespoke Costing & Proposal: Following the analysis, a detailed proposal is delivered. This document outlines the full scope of work, key deliverables, a projected timeline, and a fixed, one-time project cost for the entire build.
4. Agile Development & Deployment: An iterative development process begins, featuring regular check-ins and demonstrations. This agile approach ensures the solution is being built correctly and allows for feedback and refinement along the way.
5. Handover & Documentation: Upon completion, the final, fully functional and tested script is deployed into the client’s environment. This handover includes clear, comprehensive documentation on its use and maintenance, empowering the client to manage their new asset.

Call to find out more

To begin the conversation about building your business’s next competitive advantage and transforming your operational efficiency, please contact Shaun Anderson for an initial consultation.