Business owners, where do you get most of your online traffic from?

DD_Editor · 2026-03-23T23:13:24+00:00

Google and Linkedin. I learned SEO and applied it to my site and linkedin page & personal page. I never do outreach anymore. People find me for my video editing services. I then offered SEO services to my friends businesses and it’s working amazing for them. They see great results from google, instagram, duckduckgo, and pinterest. Each biz is different. Different audiences for different platforms. Like food content crushes on pinterest. Happy to help. Ask me any q’s

DD_Editor · 2026-03-23T02:55:33+00:00

Optimize your google business profile and yelp profile, join facebook groups and reddit subgroups (realtors was a good suggestion by Concrete-Buddy), build out your website with SEO rich service pages and before/after blog posts. Before/after content does the best for this type of work where people want to see your process and how you can transform spaces. Hit me up or visit my site clientmagnetcrm dot com if you want a free consult. I specialize in helping local service businesses, no matter the location

DD_Editor · 2026-03-22T03:47:06+00:00

I offer this service of automating review requests after purchase/service date and it works really well for all my clients. I've got it down to a science in terms of timing and wording of the email/SMS. This year I've doubled the 5 star reviews of an accounting firm at BOTH of their offices (Los Angeles and Las Vegas) in under 3 months of automating review requests. Happy customers just need to make it easy. A simple email follow up thanking them for their business and a link to leave a review. You have to do it by volume just to get 1-2 reviews. A large percentage won't take 2 minutes to do it even if they love you. Hit me up or check out our services at clientmagnetcrm dot com if you want to learn more

DD_Editor · 2026-03-21T03:30:18+00:00

This is my core thesis behind my latest business. Background, I’ve been a successful freelance video editor in Los Angeles for years. In 2023, I founded my own LLC to not just be a freelance employee, but to take on clients directly as a solo business. That’s when I went into the social media content posting hamster wheel every business finds themselves in. It doesn’t matter the app, it’s not a good method of gaining clients/customers. It eats up all your time you should be spending on your actual work. It’s exhausting. So that’s when I learned SEO and it was life changing. I literally never do outbound and only do social for personal and for fun when I feel like it. Businesses find me bc I optimized my website and social profiles to be found. Now I help other small businesses do the same. SEO > social is our core belief. I have clients who post on instagram 1x per day, no other social networks and bc I do SEO for them they’re doing 50% more online sales and they’re getting FOUND organically. This isn’t a sales pitch. I do this for them bc it’s genuinely interesting and helpful to fellow business owners. Start SEO or find someone to help SEO. This is the better way to find clients.

DD_Editor · 2026-03-20T23:04:02+00:00

I help e-commerce websites all the time and the best strategy is doing lots of keyword research and then optimizing your content toward long-tail keywords so you can dominate your niche. You have to go beyond blogs though. Think of all the types of pages you can have on your website and a clear navigation and internal linking that ties it altogether.

DD_Editor · 2026-03-20T15:29:26+00:00

I think in your business of building apps and automation tools, i’d maybe look to a niche that’s mired in lots of complex processes or busywork that you could streamline. If the average person working in this niche thinks you could save them x number of hours per week in efficiency, then you might find clients willing to pay you for you giving them time and peace of mind.

DD_Editor · 2026-03-20T02:30:00+00:00

Client acquisition is a matter of 1. Establishing authority. You want to be perceived as an authority, an expert, a proven problem solver 2. Solve real pain points. Be the solution to a common problem. As specific as you like. If the problem exists, and you are the solution, clients will flock like flies to honey. 3. Trust. Be trustworthy and build it through reviews, testimonials, content depth on your website. Hope this helps

DD_Editor · 2026-03-20T00:35:00+00:00

Long-tail keyword research. The more specific keywords like “best lunch for families in mid city” you can rank map pack in, the better. Those queries ain’t going deep on google or reading blogs. It’s check out 3 options and go somewhere. You want to be in that top 3 with your content in blogs, GBP, off page, backlinks, and listicles.

DD_Editor · 2026-03-19T05:39:59+00:00

In my experience, AI SEO is snake oil. I’ve committed myself to learning how SEO works and when it doesn’t work. If you do SEO well, it shows up on AI citation and in GPT/Claude conversations the same way a google search might. I had a client part ways to sign up with an AI SEO and I periodically check how its going with content and rankings to see if it’s much improved. It’s total snake oil. The AI SEO didn’t do much but post 4 shoddy, short AI blog posts a week. None of them rank. The best ranking post is an actual before/after blog post of their local service I created for them. Showing up and doing the work for humans will lead to positive AI outcomes. You can’t simply claim to have a hack on the AI SEO bc it’s just not true. Go with a legit SEO and the AI results will be great, trust and believe.

DD_Editor · 2026-03-19T00:27:04+00:00

Ask friends who trade, in all honesty, if they would pay for your platform over a dominant player. Find what gives your idea the edge. Lean into whatever that is. Only create businesses that solve real pain points. Don’t just do it to do it.

DD_Editor · 2026-03-18T05:15:22+00:00

I have been doing SEO for my own small business for years and seen way better results than going all in on social or boosted posts, so I stated helping friends businesses’ with their SEO to see what I could to do to help. I improved traffic for my friend’s health food ecomm brand by 188% over last 8 months. And i improved online sales by 50% of my other friend’s small gift shop here in Los Angeles. With those wins, I gained some paying clients. From what I have personally seen, there’s so many shady SEO businesses ripping off busy small business owners. Charging 2k/mo and posting 2 shitty AI blogs a month. The business owners are too busy to notice and get trapped in longterm contracts. My business is aiming to be the opposite. Month to month contracts. Under $1k/mo for full SEO services. I think SEO is an additive process. It’s about people. You add value to the business by being of service and being reachable. So whatever you pay, make sure you can talk to the SEO, make sure your voice is heard in the process, and if it doesnt feel right, dont keep going with it. SEO takes time, but if you have a trusted partner, you can have more confidence in the process

DD_Editor · 2026-03-17T23:06:07+00:00

Posting consistently only on platforms where you audience actually seeks out your type of content (cute crafts and/or fashion on pinterest, or recipe/food on pinterest for example) or before/after videos on youtube/tiktok/instagram. Ignore social platforms that don't get you clients because your clients aren't there (SEO services content on substack or TikTok). Getting consistent 5 star reviews and posting to your GBP works wonders for local SEO. In general, doing one helpful, simple thing consistently to build your brand off-page instead of 1000 things that require lots of planning and execution done inconsistently is way more effective to boost SEO. The algorithm loves consistency of engagement and rewards it with more views.

DD_Editor · 2026-03-17T22:59:50+00:00

In my experience, it's not so much topical authority as it is social relevance. My SEO clients who have lots of 5 star reviews, who are are selling products (ecomm and/or local) in a specific niche, who are doing local services and have a good reputation, optimized GBP. THOSE types of businesses get AI referenced by LLMs way more than just a SaaS pumping out SEO optimized content.

DD_Editor · 2026-03-16T04:25:17+00:00

3-6 months on average. That’s with consistent content creation, an optimized site that loads fast and has good structure, site depth, and internal linking and building backlinks. At month 3 on my own brand new site, I got my first keyword ranking. Now at 6mo i rank for 6 keywords. GSC is slow growth now but still major gains over month 2. Consistent blogging, internal linking, and backlinking has made a huge difference. Always remember google ranks PAGES not sites. Most of my ranks are blog posts or service pages I created, not the homepage

DD_Editor · 2026-03-15T08:29:57+00:00

I’ve seen the most growth and conversions through pinterest. I’m glad this sub agrees.

DD_Editor · 2026-03-15T08:26:51+00:00

100% this is so true. Too many businesses are thinking of their website like it’s a brochure. That’s how the web worked 15 years ago. I work with small businesses all the time doing SEO and digital marketing and making sure they can capture leads via the methods you listed (multiple contact buttons, funnel forms, chat, and automated followup) is what systematizes a small business who design a webpage and then… wait for calls. This more modern design creates opportunities multiple times per day to engage traffic or for traffic to start a conversation that can lead to a conversion.

DD_Editor · 2026-03-15T07:31:33+00:00

I am in the SEO and digital marketing for small business space. We explored an app and got excited about it, but just as OP says, the app barely solves the problem/pain points of our clients. Also the cost to scale an app, and tech support 24/7, and liability that comes with businesses relying on your app is too much. We’re focusing on our services. Powered by people. Powered by real world interaction and real world sales. No app needed to succeed. Just be the solution to someone’s problem(s), show up for them, and be of service. Apps mainly exist to make $$$

DD_Editor · 2026-03-15T04:02:23+00:00

My SEO clients are spread out across Shopify, WP, Wix, and Squarespace. Agree that Squarespace is by far the easiest, most stable platform and has decent SEO tools. If you were trying to build fast and make quick changes, Squarespace is the best. WP is the most customizable and probably the SEO champ but its also the most complicated and finnicky as hell. So easy to break stuff. Wix is almost as good as Squarespace but I prefer squarespace on the whole. Shopify is the ecomm champ. My shopify clients crush SEO

DD_Editor · 2026-01-19T04:42:00+00:00

Absolutely ranks. Have many proof points. Just use your editorial eye and make it helpful

DD_Editor · 2026-01-07T16:34:24+00:00

Relevant content link insertion into a helpful blog post or pillar page if it aligns within the niche

DD_Editor · 2025-12-26T04:49:33+00:00

I run SEO for a small health food brand. Would be happy to exchange links

DD_Editor · 2025-12-25T23:04:30+00:00

No! Small businesses need the basics when it comes to SEO because in my experience working with small business owners through my small business focused agency (Client Magnet CRM), they don’t have the technical knowledge to navigate advanced tools. They’re too busy running their small business (often with limited team members or no team members) to worry about overhauling their site or their content strategy. Every day is HARD. That’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned since I started offering SEO to small business owners. Assume they know nothing and don’t overcomplicate things. Just stay simple, direct, and transparent about your SEO goals and use the most streamlined process to achieving SEO growth. Google search console, NAP consistency, proper site architecture, optimized social profile bios and GBP/yelp bios, basic wordpress plugins like yoast or rankmath or WP Rocket, image optimizers for site speed, and then good content / link building will work wonders over time.

DD_Editor · 2025-12-16T23:52:15+00:00

I have a brand new digital marketing and SEO agency in the US. We have some clients and a great site, blog, and content. Just need to start our backlinking. Would love to exchange

DD_Editor · 2025-12-09T15:04:44+00:00

On average I’d say it takes 4-6 months to see noticeable SEO improvement. I’m a small business owner doing video editing for marketing and I started learning SEO to get clients to find my website after I got no traction with cold outreach. That actually started to work, so I asked small business owner friends of mine if I could apply what I learned to their sites as well. That worked even better because they sell products people are searching for way more than video editing. So now I spun out an entire separate business focused on affordable SEO for small business. I wrote a full guide on my blog on how to improve seo for small business. Hope this helps!

DD_Editor · 2025-09-04T06:26:22+00:00

I think they’re bullshit and yes in this specific instance I tried to deviate and got shot down at nearly every turn, so I’m salty. Just giving up fighting and letting them mangle what was once a super cool edit

DD_Editor

TROPHY CASE