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It’s the little things…

One thing about me is I give myself a monthly budget of $200 to solve my problems. (Yes, this is a nod to the ‘one thing about me’ TikTok trend.)

What are the kinds of things I buy to solve my problems? For example, I am the world’s slowest coffee drinker… and I got a mug warmer for my desk, solving a small daily problem for all of $20. I felt lethargic, so I started working with a personal trainer. That kind of thing.

I’ve noticed that these little things add up to making a big difference in my day. And more than that, having this budget gives myself permission to try stuff. Like since trying and liking the results from personal training, I have since moved it to a permanent line item in my budget… at least until I can deadlift 300 pounds like all the #girlswholift on the internet (I’m at 145, so almost halfway there!)

Some stuff hasn’t worked: the retinol cream that did not make me look like the dewy influencer who recommended it, the bike seat cover I thought would make me like biking more… you get the idea.

But having things not be the solution is part of the process, too; not everything works, but you have to try it on a small scale to know.

This little improving things over time also works for online stuff. While there is likely not one magic online marketing bullet that will completely change everything (the gurus I review on my Youtube channel I’m sure would disagree), a series of small actions will make a difference in our online presence… and by extension our business, blog, or non-profit.

A lot of our recent clients have gone the ‘retainer’ route, where we keep track of their problems and slowly solve them month-to-month. Starting at $1,000/month, they have a marketing firm in their back pocket to help with some of those nagging marketing tasks they don’t want to do (we can help with website stuff too). (We also have worked with bigger retainer budgets too - that one is just a good starting point for a lot of small businesses.)

And the final reason for this budget is intentionally spending the $200 every month (or saving it up for a bigger splurge the next month) feels exciting and positive.

If you want to try this out (your amount of monthly money can be different of course), I highly recommend it. And if you’ve tried something that’s solved one of your problems, please reply! I believe you over a random influencer. :)

Nicole

Search, It Is A-Changin’

Bob Dylan isn’t the world’s best singer (and neither am I), but I want to link to a few changes in search engines that you might be interested in knowing about:

• 67% of searches don’t involve a click. (Ex: If you open Google and ask it for the phone number of your favorite restaurant, it will just tell you without you having to click on the restaurant’s website). We did a whole broadcast on it a couple of months ago if you want to learn more.

• Google made a pretty major update in August to prioritize useful content (versus content that prioritizes search engines). You know those generic blog posts that don’t tell you anything and were clearly written for SEO purposes? Yeah, those won’t work too well anymore.

• Google is unveiling a more visual search results page, pulling in things like images shared to Google Business, Youtube videos, etc.

• Google has not only begun indexing Instagram Reels and TikToks but is also experimenting with more visible search in general.

Want the TLDR of this? Here’s what you can do as a small business to combat these changes:

1. Find places where crucial business information is online (like your phone number, products you carry, etc.) - on your website and other websites - and make sure it is up-to-date. You might open Bing.com and type “What areas does YOURCOMPANYHERE service?” and find it is pulling a Yelp listing you haven’t updated since 2018.

2. If other people have worked on your website in the past who seemed a little sketchy, check it to make sure there isn’t keyword stuffing, article spinning, bad user experience, and other things going on with your website that could turn off real visitors and/or seems like you’re trying to ‘trick’ Google. Ask your website person to help (and if you need someone, contact us).

3. When you create short-form video content, make sure you turn on captions (and fix the wrong captions) and create some helpful content in your mix.

4. Make sure visual content on your website looks great and has alt text associated so it can come up in visual search. Add visual content to your social media updates too to make things like your Twitter posts and Google Business updates pop on the page when people search your brand.

5. Make sure you implement Google Analytics 4 soon so you can make sure it’s collecting data properly before Universal Analytics goes away.

In short, search is changing, but you can change with it.

Book A Consult With Us About GA4

This video was our most popular upload this month about fitness influencer turned Christian influencer Brittany Dawn. She fleeced a bunch of folks with a bogus fitness program and hasn’t been able to provide the court asking for it sales records from her website. This is all about why this is total BS from a tech standpoint.

Business Shoutout

The Stables At Windy Point is a relatively new barn-style venue that’s hosted a lot of great area events… and we’re going to help more potential wedding couples find this great spot to get hitched in upstate NY. We started by getting A LOT of footage at the St. Lawrence County Chamber’s annual dinner, so keep an eye on their social starting in November!

Check Them Out

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