If you’ve noticed Google’s AI Overviews showing some questionable or flat-out spammy sites, you’re not imagining it. A recent antitrust court document gave us a peek under the hood at why that happens — and it comes down to how Google’s AI (Gemini) “grounds” its answers. Instead of using Google Search’s full ranking system (the […]
Blog
How to Build a Local Business Reputation That Gets You Shown in ChatGPT
If you’ve ever wondered why some local businesses get pulled into ChatGPT’s responses—and how your brand can be one of them—you’re not alone. At Whitespark, we’ve been digging into this question and have fresh data to share. The Premise When we asked ChatGPT why it highlighted certain businesses in local results, the first reason it […]
Google vs. ChatGPT: What the Numbers Really Mean for Small Biz Marketing
Ahrefs just rolled out a public dashboard that tracks referral traffic from Google Search and ChatGPT. It updates monthly and, while the data is still young, it’s already painting an interesting picture. The Early Numbers Looking at July, the sites tracked show: Google: 41.9% of total traffic ChatGPT: 0.19% of total traffic Month-over-month growth tells […]
The “SEO is Dead” Myth (And Why It Matters for Small Businesses)
You’ve probably heard it before: “SEO is dead.”It’s catchy. It gets clicks. But it’s not true. Search hasn’t died—it’s just grown up. The way people find businesses online has changed. The old SEO checklist (keywords, links, titles) worked for a simpler internet. Today, with AI baked into search engines, the game looks different. The rules […]
Why “Good Content” Isn’t Always Enough Anymore
Most business owners have heard the basics of SEO: Do keyword research Close content gaps Make sure your site is crawlable Show authority and expertise Those things still matter. But with AI now sitting between your customers and your website, the rules of the game have shifted. The big change? Retrieval. It doesn’t matter how […]
18 Proven Technical SEO Fixes That Can Boost Small Business Traffic
Many small businesses think of SEO as a “content and keywords” game—but technical SEO is often where the fastest wins happen. The fixes below come from real-world projects and have led to significant traffic, click-through rate (CTR), and conversion gains. 1. Optimize Image Thumbnails for Search Results For one ecommerce site, ensuring Google consistently showed […]
Stop Treating SEO Like a “Later” Task — It’s the Foundation for Everything
A lot of businesses are doing all the “right” marketing moves — nice website, active campaigns, social posts, ads running.But here’s the problem: SEO is still treated like a side project you get to after launch. That’s a costly mistake.SEO isn’t just a checkbox on your to-do list — it’s the infrastructure that powers your […]
Can Deleting Pages Actually Help Your SEO?
If you’re like most small business owners, the thought of deleting pages from your website probably makes you nervous. After all, more pages should mean more opportunities to get found in Google, right? Not always. Sometimes, less really is more. In fact, cleaning up weak or outdated content can boost your site’s overall quality, make […]
Before You Build It, Ask: Who’s Really Buying?
Starting a business is exciting—no doubt about it. You get the spark of an idea, your brain runs wild, and suddenly you’re imagining websites, logos, and late nights building something amazing. But here’s the real question: have you found even ten people who’d actually pay for it? That might sound small, but those first ten […]
What “Cannibalization” Means (in business)
Imagine you own an ice cream shop. You sell vanilla cones, and they do great.Then one day, you add cookies-and-cream cones. Suddenly, a lot of your vanilla buyers switch to cookies-and-cream.You didn’t really gain new customers—you just moved people from one of your own products to another. That’s product cannibalization. At first glance, this seems […]
