SEO is changing, which means that getting attention is more difficult
AI is already changing the world we live in across so many different medium. I have a ton of predictions in my head as to how, but today let’s focus on something that has been easy to manage and critical for many business over the past two decades or so. Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Thanks for reading The Firestarter Dispatch! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Current estimates about SEO are that search traffic volumes from Google have dropped 60%. There are a few reasons why. First, Google searches have dropped in favor of searches being done on ChatGPT, Perplexity and other AI engines. Second, Google has completely revamped the results from a number of “blue links” to giving an answer first. So people who were searching for an answer are no longer clicking through.
The above is affecting national and international companies the most. Those small businesses focused on Local Marketing have not quite been hit hard by this just yet. Although, there are more and more local searches are heading to AI engines over Google…so you need to be aware and adapt.
Here are some things that small, local businesses can do to adapt to the AI change and be found.
- Your business profiles matter. Not just your Google Maps profile, make sure that your Yelp, NextDoor, Apple, Facebook, et al. business profiles have all of your correct information and match the information on your website. A recent AI search I did for men’s grooming pulled sources from multiple areas, including Reddit, to source the feedback and rank order the results.
- Keep those profiles active. This is not set and forget, post at least once per week on these profiles and give updates and specials that you may be running.
- Make sure that you have fresh Customer Ratings. Customer ratings are more and more critical for what gets presented to local searchers. Note above where I mentioned that AI is looking at how the public perceives your business. It is looking at multiple sources to determine what to recommend.
- Stay active in Social Media Channels. Do not forget to put information out there for your business. Stay consistent, authentic and generous when posting on social media. As a local business, you need not be a viral sensation to succeed, but you should be “local famous.” Consider this…a viral post is usually something over 1 million views. That is less than 1% of the U.S. population. Consider that metric locally. If you live in a town of 50,000 people, 500 followers and views is a pretty solid start.
- Do not forget to ask for referrals. A Good referral program is one of the strongest lead generation tools that a small business can utilize. Ask for the referrals and even look to make it a game for customers to refer their friends. Offer merchandise or other gifts for people that refer more than one customer.Subscribed
One of the things I love about marketing is that it is constantly evolving. We happen to be in a fairly large sea change event with AI coming on so quickly. But reacting to these things need not constitute a panic. That is why we are here and our company tagline is “We Love marketing so you don’t have to.”
Our solution was designed for small business marketers to stay ahead of these issues. Come check it out.