GreenMellen

The way people find information online is changing.
It's not just about Google anymore.

AI-powered search tools are giving users direct answers instead of a list of blue links.
Social platforms are becoming search engines.
Voice search continues to grow.

What does this mean for your business?

→ Your website content matters more than ever — but for different reasons.
→ Your brand reputation across multiple platforms matters. Not just your website ranking.
→ The businesses that will win are the ones creating content worth citing, not just clicking

Sophie Brannon is speaking about exactly this at the A Brighter Web Conference on October 1: ""Traditional Search Is Changing: What This Means For Your SEO Strategy.""

Get your tickets now: abrighterweb.com

Hot take: the obsession with "beating the algorithm" is making marketing worse.

When every piece of content is optimized for reach instead of relevance, you end up with a feed full of engagement bait and very little substance.

Here's what we've noticed works better for the B2B service businesses we work with:

→ Writing for the 50 people who actually need to hear it, not the 5,000 who'll scroll past
→ Saying something specific instead of something shareable
→ Having a real human voice, instead of just saying the same thing as everyone else
→ Being consistent over being viral

The algorithm isn't your audience. Your audience is your audience.

Build for them.

If you're a local business and you haven't looked at your Google Business Profile in a while, here's a quick checklist:

→ Are your hours accurate? (Including holiday hours?)
→ Is your phone number and address correct?
→ Do you have recent photos — not just from your grand opening?
→ Have you responded to your reviews? (All of them — good and bad.)
→ Are your services listed and described clearly?
→ Have you posted any updates in the last month?

Your Google Business Profile is often the very first impression someone gets of your company.

It takes 15 minutes to update. And it's free.

Do it today. Your future customers will thank you.

GreenMellen has been in business since 2009.

That's 17 years.
In agency years, it's roughly 85.

Mickey Mellen and Ali Green started the company with a simple idea: build a brighter web.

The tools have gotten better. The team has evolved. The services have shifted.
But the philosophy hasn't changed.

In an industry that celebrates disruption, there's something to be said for just being dependable.

Your email newsletter doesn't have to be fancy. It just has to be consistent.

Here are 5 tips to get started on a better email newsletter:

→ Pick a frequency you can actually maintain. Monthly is fine. Weekly is great if you won't burn out.
→ Lead with something useful — not a company update. Your audience cares about their problems, not your news.
→ Keep it short. 400-600 words. Skimmable. Numbered lists work.
→ Include one clear call to action. Not three.
→ Use a real person's name in the ""from"" field. People open emails from people, not brands.

The best email strategy is the one you actually execute. Start small and stay consistent.

What's the WORST marketing advice you've ever received?

Maybe it was something like:
- Follow all the latest trends
- Always try to go viral
- Only pay attention to vanity metrics
- Cold email really works!
- Use AI to generate all your marketing content

There's plenty of bad marketing advice out there. Beware.

Share if you dare. The more specific, the better.

You don't need a full website overhaul.

You just need 15 minutes to fix some things that are broken.

Pick one of these things to do this week:

→ Check your contact form. Submit a test. Did you actually get the email?
→ Update your footer. If it still says © 2024, that's not a great look.
→ Read your homepage out loud. Does it still describe what your company actually does today?
→ Click through your main navigation on your phone. Does everything work?
→ Google your own business name. What comes up? Is the info accurate?

None of these take more than 15 minutes. All of them make a bigger difference than you'd think.

If you find something broken and don't know how to fix it, that's what we're here for.

The marketing industry loves a good website launch.

You know what nobody celebrates? The subsequent maintenance that keeps the website working:

- Plugin updates
- Security patches
- Broken forms
- Broken links
- New landing pages

Website maintenance is NOT glamorous.

But here's the thing: a website that isn't maintained is a website that's slowly falling apart.

By the time most businesses notice, the fix is a lot more expensive than the upkeep would have been.

The real work doesn't start at launch. It starts the day after.

People are not just craving content anymore. They want places to show up and feel connected.

This year, we have seen brands move beyond screens and into real-life moments that feel natural and intentional. Coffee meetups, run clubs, creative pop-ups. These work because the community already exists, and the brand simply becomes part of the experience.

Looking ahead to 2026, the creators who bring the most value will not just build audiences online. They will know how to gather people in person and create moments that feel worth leaving the house for.

Small, hands-on details matter, too. When people get to personalize or create something during an experience, it becomes a memory instead of just an event.

If you are craving more of these conversations, join us in the Brighter Web community. It is a (free!) space for marketers to connect, share ideas, and build something together.