(This is the 01/07/2025 issue of my newsletter – subscribe here)
Hey hey!
It’s 30+ degrees in the UK and nobody knows how to cope.
But while the rest of the country’s melting and debating whether it’s acceptable to wear shorts to the office, I’ve been celebrating landing a new contract, if not the job title.
Apparently I’m now a “fractional digital marketing manager” – which sounds like one of those wanky job titles I usually hate, but actually means I get to do what I should have been doing all along with the client I parted ways with recently. I’ll be coordinating SEO strategy across multiple departments for a mid-sized healthcare/ecommerce brand, making sure their website actually does the things it needs to do to make the business more money.
Instead of being told to “stay in my lane” and only focus on rankings, I’ll be working with in-house SEO, content writers, digital PR, paid ads, the dev team, UX specialists, and more.
It’s exactly what I was trying to explain to that client who kept shutting me down every time I wanted to look at conversion data or suggest UX improvements. This time, looking at the bigger picture isn’t overstepping – it’s literally the job.
What you’ll find inside
1 | Why AI search panic is costing you real money while Google still drives 99% of your traffic
2 | The free SEO tip that’ll actually increase your conversions (hint: it’s about where you put your calls-to-action)
3 | Why telling your SEO to “stay in their lane” is like hiring a plumber but not letting them check your water pressure
AI search hysteria vs actual data
I recently wrote about the AI search panic that’s gripping every business owner with a website, and the response has been… interesting Turns out, when you tell people that AI search drives less than 1% of traffic to most websites, they don’t want to hear it.
Digital marketing veteran Glenn Gabe set up awesome AI search tracking and found exactly what I suspected – ChatGPT, Perplexity, and all the other AI platforms everyone’s obsessing over are driving tiny amounts of traffic (for now). Meanwhile, Google continues to send the vast majority of visitors to most websites.
The worst thing? Most AI search prompts aren’t even commercial. People are asking AI to write their shopping lists, not looking for businesses to buy from. So not only is the traffic minimal, but it’s largely pointless for most businesses anyway.
Your free (not really an) SEO tip
Something I read recently stopped me in my tracks, because not only should it have been bloody obvious to me, but it’s something I say to clients all the time about their website’s main service pages, but haven’t mentioned to them about blog posts: stop putting your call-to-action only at the end!
Website strategy extraordinaire Beth Rawlins recently pointed out that in some cases only 30% of visitors read all the way to the end of blog posts. That means if your CTA is buried at the bottom, 70% of your readers never see it.
Beth recommends putting your main call-to-action in the first third of your post, then repeat it further down. Work it naturally into the text – it doesn’t need to be a massive button. Something like “This is exactly the kind of problem I help businesses solve. If you’re struggling with [relevant issue], you can book a free chat here.”
(You should sign up to Beth’s newsletter – it’s awesome)
Why website owners need to see the bigger picture
My other recent post was about a client who kept telling me to “stay in my lane” every time I pointed out conversion problems or suggested UX improvements. They wanted me to focus purely on rankings while ignoring the fact that their conversion rate was absolutely dire.
The way I see it is what’s the point of ranking number one if everyone who visits your site immediately thinks “sod this” and goes back to Google? SEO isn’t just about getting found; it’s about what happens after people find you.
When businesses treat SEO as a separate technical function instead of part of their overall strategy, they end up with brilliant rankings that drive loads of traffic to websites that convert nobody.
The businesses getting the best results are the ones that let their SEO experts see conversion data, user behaviour insights, and the bigger picture. Because bringing in traffic is only half the job.
What am I working on?
This week I’m juggling four completely different SEO projects, which is keeping things interesting. I’m writing SEO copy for a cleaning company, rewriting an online auction website, working on SEO for a small business finance app, and managing a full website and domain migration for a copywriter. Alongside my usual retainer clients of course – it’s a lot to juggle in this heat!
Each project reminds me why integrated SEO approaches work better than siloed ones. Simple changes like moving contact details above the fold or simplifying navigation can massively improve conversion rates and bounce rates. It’s all connected.
Need help with any of the above? You know where I am.
That’s it for now,
Always non-wanky
Nikki
P.S. Give that CTA placement tip a try and let me know how you get on – it’s such a simple change but it makes a massive difference to how many people actually see your CTA and take action. You can connect with me on LinkedIn to share your results!
