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Hey Reader!
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I have to admit that Spring Fever has hit me HARD this week! Along with a longing to see some dirt rather than snow, this is the time of year I start organizing and cleaning everything in my house 🧹

And it turns out, this newsletter is getting in on the spring refresh fun, too! As I refine my own content focus, I am aiming to give each "big marketing topic" its own week to shine...then repeat! Which means that the Marketing Field Guide is following suit and turning into a weekly email (rather than 2x per month). The goal is to send a shorter email with direct actionable ideas related to the topic for that week.

Up first, Websites and SEO. Look for other "big topics" including Social Media, Branding, Email Marketing, Digital Advertising, and Marketing Frameworks to join the fun soon.

This content will also be mirrored on my Instagram account so hop on over to IG and follow @meadowlarkmarketing

Happy almost spring (or false spring?!)

Quick and easy ways to move your marketing forward this week

The Compounding Effect of SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is all about helping the right people find your site when they need it. It used to be that SEO felt sneaky, but today, it is out in the open and one of the easiest ways to make sure your business is getting found online.

If you are like me, SEO feels daunting. I think its because the whole topic of SEO is so broad it can be hard to know where to start and what will actually make a difference.

But here's the thing - it is the small tweaks that make the biggest impact. When I really focus on a few key SEO tactics, I see big rewards. And most of these honestly take about 5-10 minutes tops.

Small changes, like optimizing page titles, fixing broken links, and updating content, compound over time to improve rankings. The trick? Commit to making one small improvement every week, and your site will climb in search results.

Not sure where to get started on your own SEO? Here are a few ideas:

✅ Pick ONE keyword phrase + your location

Find one keyword phrase your customers search for, and make sure it appears on your homepage (without forcing it - just add your keyword phrase and location into the content naturally!). Great ones to start with are phrases that state what you do in the location your business is in (website design in McCall, Idaho | organic coffee shop in McCall, Idaho | accounting services in Cascade, Idaho). Work on one page each week until you get through your website (**your focus keyword phrase can be different for different pages!).

✅ Find + Fix Broken Links

Use Broken Link Checker to find links that don’t work and update them. Google loves a clean site and this Link Checker is much easier than you going page-by-page clicking links!

✅ Optimize Your Homepage Title

Your homepage title should include a keyword + benefit. Example: “Meadowlark Marketing | Simple Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses.” Most websites leave off the second half - jump in and add some more detail to your title!

✅ Website Grader

Feeling good about your SEO? Awesome! Double check your work (or track your progress) by running your site through HubSpot's Website Grader. At the end of the report, get an actionable list of next steps. I honestly do this once a month to see how I am improving.

This week in marketing...

Beauty vs. the Beast

This past month I have worked with two different clients that have the same challenge...their websites are pretty, but they aren't doing anything for them.

For one client, they had their website rebuild (and it looks great!) but the agency that built it did ZERO SEO work...so their site isn't showing up in searches. For another, the graphics are bold and catchy, but there are only 100 words of content on the entire site...and same issue, they aren't getting found in searches.

It is really common to see websites that focus more on the aesthetics and less on the content.

I get it - we want our websites to look good!

But here's the thing...Google wants to read WORDS.

Search engines don't care about your fonts or your color palette or even about expensive brand images (only the alt description on them so it knows what the image is about).

So if you don't design a site with WORDS in mind, search engines won't know what your site is about. And if they don't know what your site is about, they definitely won't serve it up in search results.

The entire purpose of a search engine is to provide relevant results to those searching...and Google wants to look good! Make a search engine's job easy by making it super clear what your site is about. And guess what? They will start to reward you by serving you up in search results!
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This moral of the story...the Beast is better than the Beauty: Search engines don't care about aesthetics. They care about content.

Your Turn

What’s your biggest challenge with SEO?

Hit reply and let me know—I would love some feedback so I can help find solutions to share!

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That's all for this week 💛

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PO Box 322, McCall, ID 83638
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