If you’re a good enough web designer to charge for your work, then why would you run ads to give away websites for free? You wouldn’t. Are free websites really free? Unlikely. Any web designer or marketing agency that’s paying for ads to give away free websites is probably working some sort of angle that’s […]
Thoughts
What is generative engine optimization?
What the hell is GEO? Don’t ask. GEO is the new SEO. GEO stands for generative engine optimization. It’s the shiny new thing that the search engine optimization (SEO) industry will be trying to sell you in 2025. What does it do? GEO claims to optimize website content for generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, […]
Messaging versus design
Is messaging more important than design? Wrong question. Beware of amateurs. If your web designer claims that messaging is more important than design, they’re either confused or inexperienced. How so? Design isn’t just about how something looks. As Steve Jobs put it: “Design is how it works.” When it comes to websites, that includes architecture, […]
Soul-infused website design
“What is soul-infused website design?” Hmm. We were stumped. We’ll admit it — we had no idea what this was. As dedicated professionals, we try to stay informed about the latest web design breakthroughs, but we clearly missed this one. So, we asked ChatGPT. Here’s what she came up with: “Rather than focusing purely on […]
Designers versus artists
“What’s the difference between a designer and an artist?” Purpose. First off, we’re designers, not artists. Design isn’t self-expression, it’s thoughtful discipline. Designers make things that solve problems within a set of constraints. Sure, we get “creative” when we build stuff, but unlike artists, we work to solve real problems — not to present our […]
Talking to algorithms
Do you really want an algorithm talking to your customers? Maybe not. Do you even know what an algorithm is? Do your customers? Simply put, an algorithm is a set of rules that a software program follows to solve a problem or complete a task. They’re central to how artificial intelligence (AI) marketing tools — […]
WordPress isn’t easy
“My website guy said WordPress was going to be easy.” He lied. Sorry. I’ve been building custom websites with WordPress for over 10 years and I haven’t used the word “easy” to describe it yet. It’s confusing, unfriendly, needlessly complex, and changes on a near-monthly basis. Yet it powers over 40% of all the websites […]
Spreadsheet marketing
Is it true that 50% of the money I spend on digital advertising is wasted? No. It’s more like 80%. How is that possible? Fraud mostly. From countless middlemen and opaque foreign distribution platforms. Followed closely by incompetence, indifference, and denial. And, of course, hapless marketing agencies, who think they know how to buy pay-per-click […]
Call-to-action buttons
“Do I really need nine call-to-action buttons on my home page?” No. God no. Button madness. It’s real trendy these days to stuff as many call-to-action buttons onto a web page as possible. You can thank the fans of a wildly popular “storytelling” framework for this annoying fad. According to them, your website visitors are […]
Social media activity
I own a small business. Do I really need to be active on all social media channels? Yeah, maybe. 90% of life is showing up. Just because you don’t like a particular social media channel, doesn’t mean that your potential customers don’t. I’m not suggesting that you post five times a day on every social […]
