Acceptance of Circumstances, accountability, AEO, AI Search, Being Found on Google, brand promise, community involvement, competitive advantage, Customer Service, good will creation, keeping up with trends, lead generation, Memorability, Objectives Setting, organic SEO, reputation management, sales, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, staying current, strategic planning, target audiences, Target Marketing, traditional marketing, Understanding Your Environment, User experience

Your Best Chance Of Appearing In AI Overviews? Being The Best

After reading this Linked post by Eli Schwartz, a very well-respected and well-known SEO expert, about how to appear in Google AI Overviews, the above slogan came to me. I wanted to give credit where credit is due and share how I was inspired. It all makes great sense and is in keeping with what we, as a fellow SEO expert, has been sharing in recent months, i.e., if you want a search engine to declare you as the best, or indicate less directly that your organization is the best or one of the best in its field and geography by mentioning your organization’s name or sharing a link back to your site (known as a citation), then your organization has to earn that “best” title.

We’ve already discussed ways your organization can send signals to AI engines that you are trustworthy in a number of recent blog posts, and that includes getting rave reviews from happy customers. But, ultimately, the way to get those reviews is becoming a company whose products, services, and customer service is unmatched by competitors, by demonstrating your commitment to the community/communities you serve, and by making sure you’re an “employer of choice.”

Why I’ve Got The Experience and Knowledge To Speak To What Makes An Organization An Outstanding One

Having worked since I was a teenager and until my mid-50’s for employers (and served in a number of manager and director roles), and now, for the past 12 years run a marketing agency that has successfully served more than 150 clients and received public-facing accolades (reviews), compliments and appreciation from clients, I believe I’ve got the background and experience to speak to what makes an organization stand out from competitors, and therefore, be considered “the best.” You can learn more about my corporate marketing and marketing agency background on my Our Principal and History website page.

As a life-long marketer I feel so strongly about how many of the attributes below influence an organization’s success that I’ve written about many of the below in past blog posts!

What Does It Take For Your Organization To Be The “Best” In Your Industry and Geography?

  • Treat your employees well.
    • Offer them opportunities to learn and take on new and larger roles.
    • Take the time to listen to and consider employee’s ideas to improve work productivity or process, or the products and services you offer.
    • Offer tangible and intangible benefits that they value and/or need.
    • Celebrate personal and organizational milestones and successes.
    • Offer financial incentives where, if the company does well, the employee does well.
  • Deliver exceptional, world-class service each and every day at every point of contact (EPOC) with customers. As a marketing professional with more than 35 years of experience I know first-hand how important good customer service is to success. Not only when it comes to assisting customers/clients of your organizations, but handling inquiries and leads that come into your organization respectfully, effectively, and on a timely basis!
  • Offer solid, reliable products and services that meet client expectations and needs at a reasonable, fair price.
  • Give back to your community/communities.
  • Always keep an eye on business and daily life changes and how they impact your clients — whether they be businesses or consumers — and how you can make their lives easier or respond to a challenge they are facing.
  • Always be evolving and considering what new innovative product or service you can offer.
  • Educate. Educate. Educate — make sure staff and leaders have time to stay in the know on industry changes and national, regional, and local happenings and anything else that could negatively or positively impact how they and your business does their work or the products and services you offer. Ensure they can learn from both internal and external experts. To support all of this, designate times of the week as meeting-free and learning time!
  • Encourage out-of-the box thinking by all staff and leaders!
  • Treat your clients and customers like family.
  • Take the time to walk in your clients’ and customers’ shoes. Check out this blog post about the importance of walking in your customers’ shoes.
  • Show both your clients and customers appreciation regularly. A small “thank you” goes a long way!

I’ll likely add new features and characteristics to the above list as they strike me, but I think any organization that achieves the aforementioned will succeed at being top in their field, in their particular geography!

Acceptance of Circumstances, AEO, AI Search, competitive advantage, differentiation, Discussion Forums, keeping up with trends, lead generation, Making Connections, marketing best practices, Marketing Planning, nextdoor, online advertising, pull marketing, push marketing, relationship building, reputation management, sales, Search Engine Optimization, SEM, SEO, social media, social media strategy, social media voice, staying current, strategic planning, target audiences, Target Marketing, Understanding Your Environment

Looking For An Additional Way To Be Found Online? The Answer Might Be Right Next Door.

Read on to learn about both free and paid opportunities to create awareness of your organization and its products and services on the Nextdoor social media platfform!

And, keep in mind, that while your organic/free presence may only reach local consumers and businesses, your organization can purchase online advertising that can be served up to businesses and consumers throughout the U.S. And, you can choose the city or state location of individuals to whom you want your ad served up!

Free Promotional Opportunities On Nextdoor.com

If you or your organization is not familiar with, and maintaining an organic/free business page on the social media platform geared toward sharing community news and event — nextdoor.com — you are likely missing out on a free and easy way to create awareness of your organization’s products and services locally. Once you set up a business page — something our digital marketing team can help you with — and provide documentation to nextdoor.com to verify your business is legitimate, fans of your organization can start posting recommendations/reviews to your page. Plus, you can start posting updates to your nextdoor.com business page the way you do to other forms of social media and to your Google My Business Profile.

This an image that is a print screen of what our digital marketing agency's (Results Communications & Research's) business page looks like on nextdoor.com. The image shows our logo, a description about our business, plus an image that says "SEO."

Paid Advertising/Promotional Opportunities On Nextdoor.com

In addition, nextdoor.com offers the opportunity to run display ads (image ads) that are similar to ads that you can run on other social media platforms, like Instagram or Facebook, or on discussion-forums like Reddit. We are currently testing this advertising vehicle for our own business, as well as for a client’s business, and will be sure to provide updates on our experience with the tool and the results it does or doesn’t deliver!

With answer-engine use (think ChatGPT, Google AI modes, etc.) on the uptick, it can be much harder to be found online by relevant searchers. So, maybe it’s time to get creative, think outside the box, and consider this “push” marketing activity, in addition to “pull” ones that you’ve relied on in the past. Learn more about the difference between pull and push marketing and why, particularly, with the introduction of AI, you’ll want to create and implement both a push and a pull marketing strategy.

Need Help With Setting Up A Nextdoor Business Page Or Nextdoor Paid Advertising Campaign?

Reach out today to schedule a complimentary discussion about whether or not your organization would benefit from an organic and/or paid advertising presence on Nextdoor and how we can help!

Acceptance of Circumstances, accountability, brand promise, community involvement, Facebook, fundraising/development, good will creation, Marketing Planning, online presence, relationship building, reputation management, social media, social media strategy, social media voice, Understanding Your Environment, warriors, fighters, doing good, giving back, paying it forward

Filter-less Facebook

Over the last five years, I’ve spent less and less personal vs. business time on Facebook — whether it be posting my own updates, or reading friends’ and family members’ posts. I still use Facebook to promote my digital-marketing-agency clients and to promote my own business, Results Communications and Research.

And, I’m going to continue to use Facebook to promote my various fundraising walks and community causes I’m involved with. Why? Because that was the original intent of “social” media – to share beneficial/helpful information that would make the world a better place.

What I Don’t Like About Using Facebook From A Personal Vs. Business Standpoint

What bugs me most about Facebook is this: there’s no way for personal vs. business posters to apply a filter. Let’s face it, you wouldn’t do any of the following related to a text or e-mail you send a friend or family member, or when talking with them via Facetime, Zoom, or in-person:

  • Mention you just had lunch with your mom or played golf with your dad if they recently lost their mother or father
  • Talk about an extravagant vacation to someone who either can’t afford one or whose circumstances don’t allow them to travel, such as someone who is a caregiver to an ill spouse, child, or other family member and has no flexibility to travel; they could also be unable to travel because of illness or disability
  • Share photos of a new baby or grandbaby with someone who is struggling to conceive or adopt, or who just had a miscarriage, or maybe even with a childless friend who always wanted to be a parent
  • Share photos of a romantic date with or a gift from a significant other with a friend you know is lonely on the day in-question or on holidays like Valentine’s Day or New Year’s Eve, e.g., someone who doesn’t enjoy being single or who just lost a spouse or a significant other
This is a gray rectangular image that runs horizontally and has a gray background and says in bold turquoise or black letters "always stay humble & kind" - Lori McKenna and contains the logo of our digital marketing agency, Results Communications & Research.

You get the picture!

So, if we’re connected on Facebook personally vs. following each other’s businesses, expect to see me on Facebook even less than you have in past years, except for the fundraising and community-cause promotion reasons above. And, of yeah, I’ll probably be celebrating Celtics victories or ranting about losses, and promoting my favorite local musical artists.

Given the inability to “filter” who sees your various personal posts — as well as to know what is going on in each and every Facebook connection’s life at any point in time, I encourage those who continue to post regularly on Facebook to ask themselves if they’d be better supporting their friends and family if they held off on posting about certain topics that might cause a sub-set of their friends and family discomfort, sadness, anxiety or envy on any given day vs. posting about things that might lift them up!

Using Facebook For Business Purposes

Of course, the above need to be careful and kind when posting on Facebook applies to businesses and organizations too. Need help developing a Facebook organic posting or paid advertising strategy that won’t offend your customers or prospective customers? Reach out today!

Acceptance of Circumstances, AEO, AI Search, Being Found On Bing, Being Found on Google, competitive advantage, keeping up with trends, nextdoor, online presence, organic SEO, Reddit, reputation management, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, social media, staying current

What Does Crowdsourcing Have To Do With Being Found Online and SEO? A Real Lot.

When someone “crowdsources,” their objective for doing so could be to obtain knowledge, services, or goods from a large group of people (often strangers). But, for the purposes of this blog post about being found online and SEO (search engine optimization), we’ll be focusing on the seeking out of opinions and experiences (knowledge) of others to reach a decision about something. The decision one may be trying to make might be similar to one of the following, or something all together different:

  • What type of sneakers should I buy if I plan to train for a marathon?
  • I’m thinking I’m going to buy this particular brand type of sneakers. Am I making a good/the right choice?
  • What local roofing company should I hire to replace my old roof?
  • What local estate planning lawyer should I engage to help me execute a comprehensive estate plan?
  • What stretches or exercises work best for improving a bad hip?
  • What’s a good recipe to make if you need to feed a large crowd?
  • What’s the best private elementary school near me?
  • I’m planning on holding an event at this particular venue. What are both the good and bad things I should know about it?
  • Where should I take my out-of-town guests to dinner in Boston’s North End?
  • Should I take this job offer or job interview with this particular employer?

We’ll also be focusing on knowledge crowdsourcing platforms vs. the knowledge crowdsourcing that one may conduct, or believe they are conducting (since information spit back by AI search tools is not always accurate), by simply posing a question like “who is the best family lawyer in Boston?” to an AI/answer engine like ChatGPT or Google AI Mode.

This is a rectangular image that runs vertically that has a gray background and reads in dark turquoise letters "Crowdsourcing = please, please, please share your knowledge, experience, and recommendations with me!" and includes our digital marketing agency's logo, plus the image of a young man wearing a plaid shirt and who has short dark hair and wide eyes and who is holding his hands together with a sad mouth as if he is pleading, plus the image says at the bottom, "is your organization capitalizing on this trend?"

Knowledge Crowdsourcing Platforms and SEO

As SEO experts, we keep hearing and reading over and over again that, when making a decision about which organizations’ online content to serve back in response to a searcher’s query, AI search engines/answer engines/chatbot engines are looking for signals that an organization is creditable and reputable, and where do they get those signals from, in addition to testimonials and other signs of credibility that are on the organizations’ own websites (think badges of associations your organization belongs to, certifications you’ve achieved, and backlinks from other organizations, including press/media/PR backlinks)? From platforms where people post recommendations in areas of the platform specifically designed for sharing recommendations and/or in the comments section in response to other users’ posts requesting recommendations from or posing questions to other users.

You can learn more about what’s been deemed “E-E-A-T” and how AI search engines look for signs of “Experience-Expertise-Authoritativeness-Trustworthiness in this “The Role Of E-E-A-T In AI Narratives: Building Brand Authority For Search Success” blog post from Search Engine Land.

Examples Of Crowdsourcing Platforms

  • Yelp – reviews of restaurant and other local business — such as contractors and personal services (think nail and hair salons)
  • Nextdoor – neighborhood social media platform
  • Reddit – discussion forum
  • Quora – discussion forum
  • Google My Business Profile Of Specific Organization (Google Reviews section)

Implications Of Crowdsourcing For Your Business/Organization

So, what are the implications of crowdsourcing for your business or organization?

  • Since some individuals seeking knowledge to support a decision they want and need to make go directly to a crowdsourcing platform to get information, you’ll want to have a positive presence on as many of the larger crowdsourcing platforms mentioned above as possible, and as appropriate for your particular industry. For example, Yelp might not make sense for your particular type of business.
  • If there are particular platforms that individuals use to recommend/rate businesses in your particular industry, you will want to ensure a favorable presence there, as well.
  • And, implementing what’s outlined in the two bullets above should provide plenty of positive trust and authority signals to search engines to encourage them to share your organization’s online content.

How To Show Up Favorably/Positively On Crowdsourcing Platforms

We mentioned above that your organization should show up favorably/positively on crowdsourcing platforms, but unfortunately what that looks like depends on the nature of the platform itself and the industry within your organization operates, and that’s why we encourage you to set up a complimentary discussion with us about how to use the current crowdsourcing trend to your specific organization’s advantage. But a common, over-arching way that all organizations can show up favorably/positively on crowdsourcing platforms is simply to encourage their customers to share positive information about them in online locations beyond the Google reviews section of their Google My Business Profile, i.e., on Yelp, Reddit, Quora, nextdoor and relevant industry crowdsourcing platforms. And, ultimately, all of this is about reputation management!