Damian Jennings 
The Google Map Pack, the three local business listings that appear above organic results with a map, is the most valuable real estate in local search. When someone searches “plumber near me” or “wedding photographer Leeds”, those three spots capture a disproportionate share of clicks, calls, and actual business. The rest of the page exists, … Read more
Every few years someone declares SEO dead. Usually it coincides with whatever the new thing is, in 2011 it was social media, in 2015 mobile, in 2019 voice search, in 2023 AI. Now we have GEO, AEO, AIEO, and a rotating cast of acronyms designed to make you feel like the ground is shifting and … Read more
Reviews are the most powerful trust signal a local business has. More than your website, more than your social media presence, more than any ad you’ll run. When someone is deciding whether to spend money with you, they read what other people say about you. Most businesses leave this almost entirely to chance. They hope … Read more
We already covered why GEO is mostly noise. Now meet its cousin: AEO, Answer Engine Optimisation. Same energy, different acronym, equally overblown. AEO is the idea that search is shifting from keyword queries to conversational questions, and that you need a new optimisation discipline to capture the “answer engines”, voice assistants, featured snippets, position zero … Read more
Every conversation about content marketing for small businesses arrives at the same question eventually: where do I actually start? Blog? Podcast? Social media? YouTube? The answer usually depends on who you’re asking and what they’re trying to sell you. Here’s an honest take, having watched a lot of small businesses try (and mostly give up … Read more
Meta made $134 billion in advertising revenue in 2023. The majority came not from sophisticated brands with dedicated media teams, but from small and medium businesses who largely have no idea whether their ads are working. That’s not an accident. It’s a product design decision. This isn’t a “social media bad” screed. Meta ads, used … Read more
Most businesses put off email marketing for longer than they should. They’ll start once they have more subscribers, a better offer, or more time to do it properly. Meanwhile they’re not collecting addresses, not building a list, and handing a compounding advantage to whoever got started earlier. Starting is straightforward. You need an account with … Read more
Google Business Profile, still universally called Google My Business despite being officially rebranded in 2021, is Google’s free tool for controlling how your business appears in Search and Maps. It’s the listing you see when you search for a local business: the panel showing the address, phone number, hours, photos, and reviews. That’s it. Straightforward … Read more
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the latest thing the SEO industry has invented to make you feel like everything you knew is obsolete and you need to hire someone new. It is, with a few minor caveats, largely nonsense. Here’s the pitch: AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews are changing how people … Read more
Your email list is the only marketing channel you actually own. Social platforms change their algorithms, restrict reach, or disappear. Google updates its rankings overnight. But the people who’ve given you their email address — that relationship is yours. No platform can take it away. Email also delivers consistently strong returns. The average ROI on … Read more
