I wrote earlier in the week about some of the basics and biggest local ranking factors from the recent annual Whitespark study. I always recommend taking a deep dive into their study because they do a great job with it, but I also like to try to provide easily digestible headlines for the small business [...]
Sometimes we get too far down our own silo in our industries to remember to address some of the basics. I will have a discussion with a client or prospect that will ask a question that reminds me once again that they don't dig into the weeds of this stuff every day. Whitespark just came [...]
With some of the changes that have happened from Google in recent months, I want to help make sure we all keep our eyes on the right prize. I've written many times about measuring the right things to make the right decisions. With recent Google algorithm updates, small and locally focused businesses may see shocking [...]
You work hard at what you do. You are successful because you have a passion and love for what you offer. The hard part is all of the other stuff that comes with running your business. The accounting, the HR, and the other stuff. And of course the marketing. How do you decide what works [...]
This is an update of a content article I wrote in 2021. Interestingly, I used the word "helpful" related to your content, which ended up being the name of the big Google update in 2022. You know your market better than anyone. Sometimes we overthink and get stuck when it comes to content creation [...]
This is just a quick warning for small business owners who are looking at SEO strategy for 2023. Each year in December, I start to analyze the different tools I use for helping my clients with digital marketing. Do I stick with the same trusted toolbox or try new things. Once I start looking at [...]
Recently, Joy Hawkins from Sterling Sky published a study showing some correlation between the length of a review and how long it showed up on your business profile. That is just one reason to try to get a fuller story from your reviewers. Review management is growing in importance as all facets of reviews become [...]
I wrote this post in 2018 to help people understand the many fake reviews out in the community. Research has shown that people have figured it out. A post I wrote touched on the study showing the benefit of asking and responding to reviews. This post was written all the way back in early 2018, [...]
I have seen a lot of ads in 2022 for services that talk about focusing only on the Google Business Profile (formerly known as GMB) for small business success. I wanted to chime in on how this can be misleading for a few reasons and to generally avoid these services and focus on what truly [...]
I may be a little too close to the review world, but each time I hear a radio ad come on that talks about how many five-star reviews they have, it makes me cringe. For one thing, there is no mention of how many 1-star reviews they have or even 2 stars. There is no [...]
