People also ask: Has AI ruined search?
In my last post I tried to give a top level view of how AI may impact local businesses who rely on local search. Today I’m looking at the issue from the opposite lens. As the pesky section that appears ubiquitously on Google search engine results page (more on that gripe later) might put it:
People also ask: Has AI ruined search?
Now there are two major ways that could possibly have a negative impact on a user’s experience with a search engine — the quality or accuracy of the results and how results are displayed on the SERP. It appears that since Google at least has been tailoring their results to be driven by AI, there is a degree of trouble with both. (more…)
What does AI mean for local search?
Amidst all the buzz and controversy surrounding AI, I get this question often. And the answer is: Directly, probably not so much. Indirectly, maybe more than you think.
I know this sounds like a typical non-answer that you might get from some marketing types, but the answer is driven by the distinction between local search and general search, and the synergy between the two. (more…)
Getting traction for your new business
I hear this often from new small business owners. I’ve opened my business, launched my new website to support it and — crickets! So here are some of the most important factors in getting seen and gaining traction for your new business.
The reality is that most local small businesses are competing in a parity product or service environment. And while it’s undeniably important to have a unique selling proposition or a point of differentiation, to get a foothold you need to excel in three key areas — credibility, visibility and reputation. (more…)
How to Get More Google Reviews? Just ask
I don’t mean this to sound flippant, but it’s actually that simple. And this simple effort is the single most effective thing you can do to improve your Google local listings position in search results and on the map. So the question is, how to ask? Here are a few ideas. (more…)
Customer Generation Tool Kit
This topic came up in an online business networking thread and also with other local business owners that I’ve spoken with, and it’s no surprise. Not only is generating leads and business an enduring concern for all businesses everywhere, but this time of year — with school back in session and money drying up — is when a lot of businesses start to feel the pinch of slowing activity. (more…)
On Memorial Day Muddled Messaging
Yes these American holidays can be real confusing, especially between now and Labor Day Weekend (a topic of a similar post here). The common thread of course is some kind of patriotic feeling, flags, barbeques and yes, mattress sales.
So if you’re communicating as a business, does it really matter if you thank the troops for their service on Memorial Day as if it were Veteran’s Day or theme your promotions as if the last Monday in May was the Fourth of July? I think it does.
Clarity in your messaging says a lot about your business and the thought you put into what you do and how you serve your customers. So if Memorial Day is about remembering service men and women that made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, then when if you want to reference the holiday, then that’s what you talk about. Thanking current men and women in the military for their service is muddled messaging. As is Happy Memorial Day; that’s like saying happy memorial service.
Unless of course you’re in the mattress business. Then you know what to talk about.
Make it a Real New Year for your Business
I tried to avoid slipping into a New Year’s resolution theme with this because a) it’s been done to death and b) we all know what happens to New Year’s resolutions by February. Still the start of the calendar year is always a great time to refocus on what you need to do to be successful and grow your business in 2023. So here are a few tips:
1. Turbocharge local search
You’ll notice that I don’t use passive words like position, setup or even optimize. If you’re a local public-facing business with a physical location and you don’t do this, you might as well skip the rest of this post and save yourself some time. (more…)
Local search is search
I’ve had many clients come to be for search engine optimization recently and what strikes me is how so many of them still view SEO through the lens of 2009. What I mean by that is that they’re trying to rank high for certain keywords in general search to get some traffic, without any local geographic overlay while competing against thousands for businesses. And for many of us long-suffering Jacksonville Jaguar fans should know, that’s the recent equivalent of the Jags beating Tom Brady in the Super Bowl — four years in a row.
A lot has changed since Google came on the scene, heck my iPhone now has more computing power than my 2003 Mac. And search has gotten more sophisticated too, in the more intelligent answers it gives to people’s queries and most importantly, where they’re looking for answers. So these days search is driven primarily by local search, and performance in local search means ranking high on the map. The tag line for this site — putting your business on the map — was not put there by accident. (more…)
Direct Mail Primer
The USPS will probably be heartened to learn that I’m getting more and more inquiries regarding physical direct mail — you heard right, the old fashioned stuff made of paper that arrives in your mailbox and delivered by an actual mail carrier. Just like late great folk singer John Prine, the singing mailman!
So I thought now would be a good time to publish here information I posted in a business forum: (more…)
It’s Small Business Week Again
Yes it’s small business week again, brought to you by the SBA. Like many other designated days, weeks or awareness months, Small Business Week is designed to bring awareness to the need to support small local businesses. Small Business Week has grown over the last 50 years out of a Presidential Proclamation and like many of those proclamations, it’s the kind of sentiment that we call can agree and feel good about. The problem, of course, is that there’s a big difference between a feel-good concept and getting people to change their buying behavior, which is really what the week is supposed to be about. (more…)
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