If you follow my blog and newsletters, you definitely have heard me warn against the dangers of letting Google run your Google Ads campaigns. Performance Max campaigns are another example of a "black box" type ad spend where Google takes your ad dollars and spends them in a way that you have less and less [...]
On the heels of a recent Semrush study on the importance of reviews for local rankings, I wanted to update this post on local ranking factors. It is now more important than ever to bake reviews into your process. I recommend digging into the study but it shows that the median top-ranking business had 16% [...]
Google Ads can be a powerful tool for businesses to get found when potential customers or clients are searching for what they have to offer, but there is a lot of danger in setting up your ad campaigns if you don't know how to avoid the traps Google has set up for you. The problem [...]
I recently did a post on the importance of understanding how to use SEO tools. Though there are a lot of helpful tools out there, many position themselves as the answer to your SEO needs, but a tool is only as good as the person using it, and if you don't have SEO knowledge, they [...]
Links are often the most misunderstood part of SEO for small business owners trying to compete in this confusing environment. With recent studies showing inbound links still being a huge part of ranking success, I still have many talks with business owners that think if you just insert keywords on your pages and in your [...]
This is a basic but important post to show you how to start (enable) or stop (pause) y0ur Google Ads campaigns. I have helped many small business owners set up campaigns and often I am asked how to turn them on or off. If you have had a consultant build a campaign for you, which [...]
It seems like we are always chasing the newest gadget or whistle that Google offers for its paid advertising program. It seems not too long ago we all had to convert the old text ads into new, expanded text ads. Truthfully, I still run into a couple of accounts each month from someone who is [...]
I had the absolute pleasure this morning to present to the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce about all things search, including SEO, Google Ads, GMB, and more. We had a nice group of around 50 pack into the networking room on 44th street in midtown Manhattan to walk through the important aspects of search. [...]
At a recent local search conference I learned more about the amazing Google Data Studio tool, which is free and though has a little bit of a learning curve, can do an amazing job at combining a lot of that important information from different sources into one spot. One of the problems I was having [...]
Joy Hawkins recently posted about a find from Dave DiGregorio that posts were beginning to show up in the standard 3-pack of GMB local search results. Once again, showing Google is paying attention and using them. Even more, it gives your listing more space in the results and stands out a bit over your competitors. [...]
