I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about AI search and whether it changes everything we know about SEO. So in this episode I’m breaking down something I think is worth understanding: the difference between being found on Google and being cited by AI. They’re not the same experience, and they don’t work exactly the same way. I walk through how Google finds and ranks your website, how AI search tools decide whether to reference you, and why the foundation for both comes back to the same thing and that is how credible and consistent your presence looks across the web.

I also bust a couple of myths that are floating around out there, because I almost fell for one of them myself.

If you’ve been wondering whether any of this actually matters for your small business, this episode is for you.
Enjoy the episode!

👉 For all the links and resources mentioned in this episode, check out the supporting blog post here.

👉 Stop second-guessing your to-do list and grab the Marketing Energy Matrix to focus on the tasks that actually get you results.

🧰 I love me a good digital marketing tool.This week’s recommended tool is Exploding Topics.

It’s a tool that discovers trends. There’s a paid version and a free version. I like it just for the informative nature of what’s trending as it goes across all kinds of industries. Like “dog food maker”. Apparently a big thing right now. Even Dash has one for making treats.

Peek inside my toolbox.

🎧 This week’s recommended podcast episode is The Real Reason You Procrastinate (It’s Not Why You Think) on All it Takes is a Goal with Jon Acuff. I like his episodes. They are short and to the point. I have a habit of procrastinating. I have a habit of overthinking. And I know the two are related. I loved the angle of this episode and what he boiled procrastination down to. I’m not gonna tell you because that would ruin the effect of listening to it. He also mentioned he has a new book called Procrastination Proof. I bought it and read it in two days. I took quite a few notes and know where I get hung. And am actively trying to keep one of his suggestions active in my head to work through my procrastination habit.

🗞️ Digital Marketing Takeaway

Digital marketing advice that doesn't require a dictionary.

Short enough to read. Useful enough to use. Every Wednesday.

About This Show

Created by Compass Digital Strategies, the Small Business Marketing Sweet Spot is a weekly podcast for service-based small business owners who want more website visibility, traffic, and leads. Hosted by Barb Davids, each episode covers the what, why, and how of SEO, content marketing, and digital strategy. Plus expert guest conversations on productivity, branding, and mindset. Because growing your business and loving your life aren't separate goals.

This one is a little different. I took the podcast on the road... well, on the trail... and went to Sedona with Sheila Kofahl, founder of And Then She Did.

Sheila leads women on guided hiking adventures. She handles everything: the van, the itinerary, the driving, the parking permits, even the daily briefings. You just show up, lace up, and let her take over. It's honestly the most appealing thing I've heard in a while.

But her story is the real thing. Sheila lost her home in the market crash, walked away from a 20-year marriage, and found herself answering a therapist's question she hadn't thought about in years: what do you actually like to do? The answer was hiking. Solo travel. Getting outside. And then she did.

We talked about the women who book these trips and why they come. Spoiler: it's usually not just for the hiking. Life transitions, empty nesting, grief, illness, fresh starts. The trail has a way of making room for all of it.

Enjoy the episode!

👉 For all the links and resources mentioned in this episode, check out the supporting blog post here.

Stop second-guessing your to-do list and grab the Marketing Energy Matrix to focus on the tasks that actually get you results.

🧰 I love me a good digital marketing tool. Peek inside my toolbox.

🗞️ Like newsletters? Digital Marketing Takeaway

About This Show

Created by Compass Digital Strategies, the Small Business Marketing Sweet Spot is a weekly podcast for service-based small business owners who want more website visibility, traffic, and leads. Hosted by Barb Davids, each episode covers the what, why, and how of SEO, content marketing, and digital strategy. Plus expert guest conversations on productivity, branding, and mindset. Because growing your business and loving your life aren't separate goals.

Stop losing visitors to "tab clutter" and accidental exits. Learn the golden rule of link settings of when to use "open in a new tab" and how it impacts your bounce rate and SEO. Plus, a quick tip on tracking your traffic attribution correctly.
Enjoy the episode!

👉 For all the links and resources mentioned in this episode, check out the supporting blog post here.

Stop second-guessing your to-do list and grab the Marketing Energy Matrix to focus on the tasks that actually get you results.

🧰 I love me a good digital marketing tool.This week’s recommended tool is Vizard.ai.
This tool is incredible! It’s so easy to use. It automatically creates short clips from long videos. And does a great job at it. Super simple editor to take out sections and add them. And easily add an outro scene to the end for branding.

Peek inside my toolbox.

🎧 This week’s recommended podcast episode isis not an episode but a Spotify audio book. Did you know they have them for paid users? I listened to Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer. Interestingly, maybe more to me than you lol, I tried to get the physical book. I thought it was in stock at teh local Barnes and Noble but then they texted and said they didn't have it. So ok, I guess I'll just get teh audio version then… which is funny because generally I like reading books vs listening to them. I can skip through parts faster. But this time, the audio seemed to be what I was doing. And it just happened I was going on a trip and I ended up listening to a large portion of it on the plane ride and my long drive from the airport to my destination. For someone who has been searching for how to let go, it is very timely. Now that I gave you that big ole backstory, you'd probably like to know what it's about. It's about a guy who stopped controlling his life and lived.

🗞️ Like newsletters? Digital Marketing Takeaway

About This Show

Created by Compass Digital Strategies, the Small Business Marketing Sweet Spot is a weekly podcast for service-based small business owners who want more website visibility, traffic, and leads. Hosted by Barb Davids, each episode covers the what, why, and how of SEO, content marketing, and digital strategy. Plus expert guest conversations on productivity, branding, and mindset. Because growing your business and loving your life aren't separate goals.

Tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are changing how people find businesses. But — and this is the part most people are getting confused about — your website still matters. A lot. AI doesn't rank pages the way Google does, but it still scans your content, reads your pages, and pulls from what you've got on it. So if your service pages are thin, your About page is vague, or your Google Business Profile is half-finished, AI is going to skip right past you.

I'm running a live virtual workshop on April 22, from 1-3pm PT on YouTube. So if you want to be in the room and get feedback on your actual website, here's your shot. And if you can't make it or you want to go through it on your own time, I'm also making a recorded version available. To watch the replay, you'll need to be on my newsletter list. I'm streaming iit live on YouTube so nobody had to sign up for anything, because frankly I just wanted to get it out to you without overthinking it. Working on my overthinking. LOL

🗞️ Replay for newsletter subscribers... Digital Marketing Takeaway

About This Show

Created by Compass Digital Strategies, the Small Business Marketing Sweet Spot is a weekly podcast for service-based small business owners who want more website visibility, traffic, and leads. Hosted by Barb Davids, each episode covers the what, why, and how of SEO, content marketing, and digital strategy. Plus expert guest conversations on productivity, branding, and mindset. Because growing your business and loving your life aren't separate goals.

I am fascinated at how NotebookLM is taking a lot of anguish out of my day. I wanted to get more clarity about some client calls and better understand how they come in to my world, and how they leave. Like what’s their “transformation”. Because a lot of what I do doesn’t transpire to immediate results. Here are 4 ways how I’m using NotebookLM for my business.
Enjoy the episode!

👉 For all the links and resources mentioned in this episode, check out the supporting blog post here.

Stop second-guessing your to-do list and grab the Marketing Energy Matrix to focus on the tasks that actually get you results. 👉 https://compassdigitalstrategies.com/digital-marketing-services/marketing-energy-matrix/

🧰 I love me a good digital marketing tool.This week’s recommended tool is AppSumo.

Speaking of tools, this is the grand daddy of the tools finders. It's been around for quite some time and offers a lot of lifetime offers on tools. Now, use at your own risk. One time I bought a "lifetime" offer app and then later they said, oh we're not supporting that anymore, we're in a new version and that doesn't apply to the lifetime offer. That said, I also know a lot of people who that didn't happen to. My TidyCal is one that successfully came from that. Tidycal is a calendar booking system.

Peek inside my toolbox.

🎧 This week’s recommended podcast episode is The Hidden Link Between Trauma and High Achievement in Women with Farya Barlas on the show Tried and True with a Dash of Woo.

I'm beginning to think when people use "high achiever" in their content, they mean workaholics. LOL Just my personal connection. I didn't get any actionable takeaways from this one but I enjoyed the conversation.

🗞️ Like newsletters? Digital Marketing Takeaway

About This Show

Created by Compass Digital Strategies, the Small Business Marketing Sweet Spot is a weekly podcast for service-based small business owners who want more website visibility, traffic, and leads. Hosted by Barb Davids, each episode covers the what, why, and how of SEO, content marketing, and digital strategy. Plus expert guest conversations on productivity, branding, and mindset. Because growing your business and loving your life aren't separate goals.

I sat down with a talented brand designer whose business had evolved, but her search rankings were still stuck years in the past. We dug into her data and realized she was accidentally attracting beginners instead of her new ideal, established clients simply because Google loved an old post she wrote back in 2017. It was such a powerful "under the hood" moment to see that even with a new URL resetting her progress, we could identify exactly which premium phrases Google was already considering her for. We focused on the long game of refreshing content to turn her website into a 24/7 salesperson that generates sustainable leads rather than just random clicks. It was a fantastic session that proved how taking a few hours to review the reasoning behind your data can replace guessing with a real strategy.
Enjoy the episode!

👉 For all the links and resources mentioned in this episode, check out the supporting blog post here.

Stop second-guessing your to-do list and grab the Marketing Energy Matrix to focus on the tasks that actually get you results. 👉 https://compassdigitalstrategies.com/digital-marketing-services/marketing-energy-matrix/

🧰 I love me a good digital marketing tool.This week’s recommended tool is Beaver Builder.

It's a website builder that sits on your WordPress. I really like the ease of use and the ability to add content blocks in various parts of the site. I have one in particular that is the notification bar at the top. It's not from an added plugin to make that happen.

Peek inside my toolbox.

🎧 This week’s recommended podcast episode is What's Working in Marketing (And What's Not) by The Marketing Millenials.

One of the things is using all caps as a subject line. Someone is testing it. And while I'm cringing at that idea, testing is always good.

🗞️ Like newsletters? Digital Marketing Takeaway

About This Show

Created by Compass Digital Strategies, the Small Business Marketing Sweet Spot offers an eclectic mix of episodes, all meant to help you find the sweet spot in your business. Each week, you'll hear the what, why, and how's of getting more visibility on your website for the goal of more traffic and leads, along with bonus episodes, some experiential from other business owners sharing their own sweet spot.

We talk about everything that influences creating an atmosphere around and inside you that you actually love because how you grow your business and how you move through your life are connected, and neither of them are linear.

I’m chatting with Heather Ferrari about the transformative power of an abundance mindset in business networking. We dive into why creating a supportive community for female entrepreneurs is essential for moving past the "salesy" hustle and finding a more meaningful way to grow together.

Enjoy the episode!

Connect with Heather Ferrari:⁠Instagram⁠⁠Website⁠⁠EventBrite⁠

👉 For all the links and resources mentioned in this episode, check out the supporting ⁠blog post here⁠.

Stop second-guessing your to-do list and grab the Marketing Energy Matrix to focus on the tasks that actually get you results. 👉 ⁠https://compassdigitalstrategies.com/digital-marketing-services/marketing-energy-matrix/⁠

🧰 I love me a good digital marketing tool. ⁠Peek inside my toolbox.⁠

🗞️ Like newsletters? ⁠Digital Marketing Takeaway⁠

About This Show

Created by Compass Digital Strategies, the Small Business Marketing Sweet Spot offers an eclectic mix of episodes, all meant to help you find the sweet spot in your business. Each week, you'll hear the what, why, and how's of getting more visibility on your website for the goal of more traffic and leads, along with bonus episodes, some experiential from other business owners sharing their own sweet spot.

We talk about everything that influences creating an atmosphere around and inside you that you actually love because how you grow your business and how you move through your life are connected, and neither of them are linear.

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): ⁠https://uppbeat.io/t/abbynoise/puncher⁠ License code: OEIJ8O6EGGPMSKBU