How to Dominate AI Search Results: The New SEO Strategy Small Businesses Can’t Ignore
The way customers find businesses is fundamentally changing. While most business owners are still focused on traditional Google rankings, a small group of smart entrepreneurs has discovered something remarkable: according to a study by SEMRush, customers coming from AI recommendations are worth 4.4 times more than regular Google clicks. This isn’t just a minor shift […]
Why Your Marketing Tools Are Working Against Each Other (And What to Do About It)
Last week, I had a conversation with a local restaurant owner that perfectly illustrates a problem I see with almost every small business I work with. Sarah runs a successful café here in Montana, and when I asked her about her marketing setup, here’s what she told me: “Well, we use Square for payments, MailChimp […]
Why Your Website Traffic Is Declining (And What to Do About It)
If you’ve noticed your website getting fewer clicks lately, you’re not imagining things. Recent research reveals a dramatic shift in how people interact with search results, and it’s fundamentally changing the digital marketing landscape for small businesses. The Numbers Don’t Lie Multiple large-scale studies from 2025 paint a clear picture of what’s happening: Why This […]
The AI Search Revolution: How Local Businesses Can Dominate AI-Driven Discovery
The way customers discover local businesses is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Google’s aggressive push toward AI-driven search results, from AI Overviews to the new AI Mode, signals a seismic shift in how we need to think about local visibility. Meanwhile, ChatGPT’s browser mode and other AI platforms are creating new pathways for customer discovery that […]
Will AI Replace Digital Marketing Services? My Real-World Experiment
A question I get constantly from business owners is whether AI will eventually replace the services they provide. As someone who helps small businesses with digital marketing, I wonder the same thing about my own work. With tools like Claude Artifacts making it possible to build functional tools in minutes, I decided to put AI […]
5 Communication Failures That Cost Nonprofits Donors and Volunteers (And How to Fix Them)
Last year, I attended the annual fundraiser for a nonprofit I’ve supported for several years. I walked into that event expecting the usual energy and excitement; stories of impact, updates on programs, and that feeling of being part of something meaningful. Instead, I left feeling disconnected and confused. The organization hadn’t sent a single email […]
5 Ways Local Service Businesses Can Use AI to Win More Customers (And Keep Them Coming Back)
After attending Search Marketing Expo Advanced earlier this month, I’ve been flooded with questions my clients about one topic: artificial intelligence. The feedback from my recap insights has been incredible, but the most common question I’m hearing is this: “How can my local business actually use AI without breaking the bank or becoming too technical?” […]
3 Website Changes That Actually Drive More Customers
Your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your business. In today’s mobile-first world, that first impression happens on a smartphone screen while someone is scrolling through search results, looking for a solution to their problem. Whether you’re a service-based business owner trying to attract local customers, an online retailer competing for […]
SMX Advanced 2025 Recap: What Small Businesses Need to Know About the Future of SEO
SMX Advanced 2025 marked the first in-person SMX conference since early 2020, and it was worth the wait. Held in Boston, the event brought together some of the sharpest minds in search marketing to discuss how AI, structured data, and user-centric strategies are shaping the next generation of SEO. For small businesses navigating the evolving […]
Tourism SEO: How to Rank #1 When Customers Search From 1,000 Miles Away
How to Rank for Non-Local Travelers Planning Trips to Your Destination In the competitive world of tourism, having a strong online presence isn’t just helpful—it’s essential for attracting visitors to your destination. This is especially true for businesses near popular attractions like Glacier National Park, where most of your potential customers are planning their trips […]