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Digital Marketing Insights

More than 20 years of digital marketing experience, distilled into practical advice.

You’ll find articles covering SEO, websites, UX, email marketing and social media in the archives. Today, my focus is Google Ads, with practical insights drawn from auditing and managing real accounts.

Prioritise Big Impact Changes: Where to Focus When Small Wins Don’t Move the Needle

Prioritise changes that will have impact on your Google Ads performance

This is part of a series on the Low Data Google Ads Optimisation Framework. Start with the flagship post for the full picture. There’s a certain type of Google Ads optimisation that feels productive but achieves almost nothing on a low data account. Tweaking a bid adjustment by 5%. Shuffling ad copy variants that have … Read more

Preserve the Signal: Why Less Structure Means Better Results for Low Data Google Ads Accounts

Preserve the signal in your Google Ads account

This is part of a series on the Low Data Google Ads Optimisation Framework. Start with the flagship post for the full picture. Here’s a piece of Google Ads advice that sounds completely wrong until you think it through: if you’re managing a low data account, stop segmenting. I know. Everything we’ve been taught says … Read more

The Low Data Google Ads Framework: How to Optimise When You Don’t Have Enough Data

Low Data Optimisation Framework for Google Ads

Google’s advice assumes you’re running big accounts. Upgrade to PMax. Switch to smart bidding. Migrate your DSA campaigns to AI Max. It all sounds great — until you realise it’s built for advertisers with large budgets, high conversion volumes, and plenty of search traffic to feed the machine. Most of us aren’t managing those accounts. … Read more

Mastering Smart Bidding in Google Ads: What Marketers Need to Know

Smart bid strategies

Bidding strategies in Google Ads have evolved significantly. The days of constantly adjusting keyword bids manually are largely behind us. Today, Smart Bidding offers a more intelligent and automated way to get results, powered by real-time data and machine learning. In this post, we’ll look at what Smart Bidding is, how it works, the main … Read more

Before You Launch: 5 Questions to Test Your Website’s Lead-Readiness

Is your website lead ready?

Launching a new website is exciting – the design’s fresh, the copy’s polished, and everything looks ready to go. But looks can be deceiving. If your goal is to generate leads (and not just compliments), you need to go beyond appearances. Before you hit publish, ask yourself these five questions to make sure your site … Read more

Google Ads Keyword Match Types: What’s Changed and What You Need to Know

Being number one in Google - what it actually means

Updated: March 2025 One of the quickest ways to start generating traffic to your website is through Google Ads. You can create ads that appear at the top of search results when people search for your chosen keywords. Simple, right? In theory, yes. But one of the most common mistakes we see when inheriting underperforming … Read more

Converting Cold Leads with a Strategic Email Outreach: A Guide for Freelancers and Consultants

Email Outreach for Freelancers

As a freelancer or consultant, finding new clients can often feel like a hustle. While referrals and word-of-mouth can be reliable, expanding your client base requires proactive outreach. But reaching out to cold leads effectively demands strategy – you need to balance persistence with respect and show genuine value. Here’s our guide on creating a … Read more

Content Idea Generator

Content ideas generator

Struggling to come up with ideas for content on a regular basis? It’s probably the biggest barrier for marketing teams and business owners, preventing them from being consistent in their content creation. So, here are some prompts to get you started and get the creative juices flowing! Content Marketing Prompts Events What upcoming events (conferences, … Read more