If you've ever wondered why some businesses seem to show up everywhere online while yours feels invisible, this episode is for you.

This week on Getting Real with BOSSY, Kelly Bush and Kelly Metras sit down with SEO strategist Ashley Willis to break down what marketing actually looks like in today's digital world. Forget complicated jargon and expensive marketing plans- Ashley shares practical strategies that every small business owner can start using right away.

The conversation kicks off with a behind-the-scenes look at how Kelly and Kelly are gearing up for summer, from family schedules to launching new "Snackle Boxes" at Union Tavern. It's a reminder that running a business means constantly balancing creativity, planning, and real life.

Then Ashley dives into the marketing strategies that make the biggest impact:

• Why SEO isn't just for big companies
• How your Google Business Profile can become one of your most valuable marketing tools
• What your customers are actually searching for, and how to answer those questions
• How AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can help without replacing your authentic voice
• Why consistency beats perfection when it comes to marketing
• The small updates that can dramatically improve your online visibility

Whether you're a restaurant owner, retailer, service provider, or entrepreneur, you'll leave this episode with simple, actionable ideas that can help more customers find (and choose) your business.

Because great marketing isn't about shouting louder. It's about showing up where your customers are already looking.

In This Episode You'll Learn:

• Why SEO matters more than ever for small businesses
• How to optimize your Google Business Profile
• The biggest marketing mistakes business owners make
• Smart ways to use AI while keeping your brand authentic
• How understanding customer questions can create better marketing content
• Why regular marketing audits are essential for growth

Resources & Links

• Ashley Willis – Let's Talk Digital Marketing Online
• Ashley the SEO Strategist
• BOSSY Co.

Connect with Getting Real with BOSSY

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another business owner who needs a marketing boost. Every share helps us continue bringing you real conversations and practical business advice from entrepreneurs who have been there.

Remember... business ownership isn't about having all the answers. It's about getting real, learning together, and building something amazing.

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Hello and welcome back to another episode of Getting Real with Bossy.

We are your host, Kelly Bush and Kelly Metriz.

How are we doing today?

I can't complain, Kelly.

It's the end of the crazy season is coming.

Oh, I'm glad to hear that.

For family stuff.

Yeah.

The kids are almost sure what crazy stuff you were talking about.

So you literally like this time of year, you just constantly.

Like last night I was told by my 10 year old that she needed dress shoes tomorrow.

Oh, fun.

Well, this morning I was out at the consignment shops looking for dress shoes for a 10 year old.

Nice.

Before going into work.

So yeah, I'm very excited for by the time this airs, it'll actually be over because it will be in summer break.

But we are recording in June and.

And I'm excited for July.

So by the time this airs, I'm gonna be great.

How are you doing?

I am good.

I don't.

This isn't necessarily a crazy or crazy time for me, but I am getting ready for summer which is going into our busy season at one of our spots.

So.

Yeah.

But you know what, it's good.

And it kind of goes into what we're talking about today because now I am back at work full time with a mostly healed appendage.

I can kind of walk for about 20ft without pain, which is exciting.

But I am starting to plan out our summer and get our marketing all set up for.

Because everything kind of changes because we're down by the water and it's beach season and boat season and everything kind of shifts from for what we're marketing for.

So.

And in the restaurant industry, I think the hardest part about planning ahead is pictures.

Like, I wanna do this special.

I have the recipe for the special.

You know, I may have taste tested different parts of the special.

Right.

But I don't wanna order in the product to make a picture or something two months from now.

Right.

All right.

Well, the fun part for me is one of the things I just got in all of, I got a great deal on these insulated bags and we do the SN boxes, which are surprising.

I was going to ask about the Snackle box.

Yes, we're doing Snackle boxes.

So that's always fun because we go down to the beach and do photo shoots there.

But I got these insulated bags which are going to be really great to take out on your boat.

So I was with some friends for breakfast yesterday and they just moved to the area and they're going to be keeping their boat right down on the bay?

And I said, do you think when you get your boat out on the bay next weekend, I could bring some food out and, you know, our drinks to go?

Because we can do drinks to go and we can do a photo shoot and then you'll have food and drink all day.

Like, you don't.

We don't even have to hang out with you all day on the boat.

But can I bring some, you know, some stuff down and some people and we can do a photo shoot?

Yeah, of course.

I'm like, score.

I get a boat day.

So if you're not doing anything, well, it's probably a show day for you.

Because every day, every weekend I feel like is the show, but the summer,.

It'll be every other.

Yeah, well, I'll let you know when we do it, but it'll be fun.

So we're going to talk marketing today, and I have the funniest story.

And I think that this is kind of relevant to what you were just doing, because I think the people that see your snackle boxes are going to be, like, hooked, and you're going to be golden.

So I don't even want to say the name, but I'm going to, because it doesn't even matter.

Do it, because maybe they'll sponsor us.

McDonald's.

Everybody in McDonald's.

I can literally smell McDonald's.

I just said the word McDonald's.

So one day, my baby was probably like three or four maybe, and I was like, okay, what are we gonna for?

I want McDonald's.

And I'm snobby.

We're restaurant people.

My kids don't eat fast food.

So I was like.

I looked at her and I was like, huh?

I was like, wow.

Like, McDonald's has some amazing advertising.

She's never been to a McDonald's.

Like, how does she even know what McDonald's is?

And I'm just in my head as a business owner, I'm like, running through all the different ways that McDonald's markets and how my tiny child was exposed to it.

And I'm telling my mom the story later, and I was like, wow.

Like, I'm just so impressed at their advertising.

Like, they hit my.

My baby and she wants McDonald's, and my mom goes, oh, so I wasn't going to tell you, but every day that she comes with me to pick up your nephew from school, he goes through McDonald's and he gets her french fries and she eats french fries with them and then sends me a picture of her passed out in the car seat.

With, like a French fry dangling from her mouth that she could finally share because she finally told me about her knowledge of McDonald's.

So I think that this story is really important because it shares that no matter what you're doing, marketing wise.

Mm.

The power of the other person, the power of the humanity, the power of word of mouth, the power of bringing people with you, sharing your product, going down to the bayou.

Know what I mean?

Like, the power of the person is still so important.

So that's what I wanna leave people with as we go into this interview, is that my baby had never seen a McDonald's commercial, but her cousin took her.

Yep.

Perfect.

So, yeah, we're going to be talking marketing with Ashley Willis.

Hello and welcome back to another episode of Getting Real with Bossy, the podcast that shows you what it's actually like, like to be a business owner.

Today, we are very excited to welcome Ashley Willis, founder of SDM Online Solutions.

Ashley is an SEO strategist who helps women entrepreneurs and small business owners become more visible online through practical human first, SEO and digital marketing strategies that actually drive real business growth in a world where it can feel impossible to stand out online, Ashley focuses on making SEO approachable and actionable and aligned with how people actually search and connect.

Visibility isn't just a marketing buzzword anymore.

It's essential for small business success.

We're thrilled to have Ashley here today to help us better understand SEO, digital marketing, and what business owners can do right now to get found by the people who need them most.

Ashley, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much for having me.

I'm super excited to talk about this.

I feel like it's really needed in this time and age that we're living in, to be honest.

Yeah, it really is.

There's two.

There's two conversations that I keep being a part of, and one is like, AI is the future.

Join AI.

Do all the AI.

Everything's AI.

And then the other one's like, fai, you're wasting water.

You need to be a human.

Everybody can tell it's AI, you know, So I feel like it's very, like, segmented right now.

People are responding to the.

The newness of the world that we're living in.

And as business owners, we don't really have time to respond.

We got to act like we're constantly acting.

So before we get into it, tell us about how you started your business.

Okay.

Awesome.

So I have always been dabbling into entrepreneurship.

It's been a bug of mine ever since I was little, from even in High school, doing people's hair.

Like, I've always had to make my own.

I make my own money.

So I started originally in the beauty industry.

I fell in love with the marketing that was happening in the beauty industry.

I'll never forget there was one instance where the benefit bar had launched and they had this crazy digital ad that was out on all the posters and everything inside Ultas.

And I was so drawn to it.

I was like, okay, this is crazy.

I love the marketing.

And they had people lined up and I'm like, you're going to trust people that you don't know with your brows.

Like, that's something major.

And I dived even deeper into how did they go about this marketing, how did the branding and all of this come together?

And I really fell in love with it.

And it wasn't really until I had my own beauty brand and I started to create my own things where I listened back and remembered back of all the things that I saw while working with different beauty brands and realizing the fundamental parts of marketing outside of just social media, outside of just like posting and how it's so important.

So with that, I tried to get online and I was like, okay, I have to have this amazing website, have to be able to do everything and spend the money and invest into photography and all the things.

So that way everything looks good, you hit publish and then you're like, wait, what's happening?

Where are the sales coming in?

Right?

There's more parts to it than just the digital.

And I'm like, shiny star, the light is shining.

Like, wait, what's happening?

What's not?

Why is it not working?

So I had to go a little bit deeper, you know, so using the different tools that I've gained while being in school and then being able to land myself inside a marketing firm, that's really when the world's kind of collided together.

And I fell in love with understanding the real nitty gritty and sometimes a little nerdy parts of marketing that most entrepreneurs just don't have the time to know about, don't have the time to the bandwidth to sit and to educate on or even know that it exists so that way they can be successful as well.

So that's kind of where it all started.

And when I had a woman entrepreneur come into the office, when I was doing a meeting with her, I saw myself in her and I knew what we could offer at that firm wasn't what she needed.

And I wanted to be able to fill that gap.

And so it led me to having SDM online solutions and being able to help women in small businesses and mid sized businesses today.

I love that, I love that.

Yeah.

And filling the gap, like as an entrepreneur I feel like that's, you know, that's the thing we're always looking for is what can I do different?

What's missing?

Right.

What does the world need?

For sure, for sure.

Absolutely.

And you know, understanding that we can still play the way that these big agencies and these big people are playing, these names that come out of nowhere and they're just blowing up, we can still take some of those strategies.

We can look at where we are right now and see what, what can we utilize today as we're getting to our bigger goal.

It doesn't mean we have to, oh, when I, you know, when I get more funding or oh, when I take the time to learn this, it's like, no, if you see something and you're like, oh, I think if I make it into this way for me and my stage and my resources now, I can actually see some success.

And then it kind of keeps us ignited in this, you know, ever race of entrepreneurship.

I like that.

Keep us ignited.

Yeah.

I need an ignite button ignition.

And I think, you know, what you said, it's filling a need that small business owners have.

And I think you missed one part is that marketing and it changes so much.

So not only do we not have the time to do it as we're running our own businesses, it's keeping up with how much it changes.

And that is the part I can't do because one day it's, this is working, one day it's next, this is, and it's, I, I don't have that bandwidth because it's constantly changing.

That has gotta be so tricky for you.

Yeah, you know, it is very, always changing and that.

And during this change where I was working at a marketing firm, I noticed that there was a shift, it was right in the beginning where people started to integrate AI like very seldomly.

And I realized that the marketing firm that I was working at, they were still doing what worked, which was 10 years of their marketing experience.

But the things that worked for those 10 years and what was coming and what people were coming and asking for was a shift.

And so even as I was creating new services on the K, they're asking for this.

And if we incorporate this, it's an add on, it's more revenue, like showing all the numbers.

But they were stuck on what they knew, their blueprint.

And so I knew that when I go into this on my own.

I have to be willing to continue to learn and understand that what I know today is gonna be different than what I know six months from now.

And I have to stay on the curve, but still not lose the fact that we can simplify things because like you said, we don't have the time to learn everything.

And what I'm, you know, just found out on the Google marketing live that just happened last month, it might change in six months from now, but if I'm the one doing that work, then I feel like it's only right for me to serve and to be able to provide that knowledge to the busy entrepreneurs, you know, that are in my community.

That's awesome.

And I think Google is definitely something that people underutilize.

Your Google page, your Google updates, I mean, even having your hours, especially in hospitality, I'm like, just update your hours on Google.

It's not hard.

Like you don't have to update anything else once your information's in there.

Just if you're going to be closed on July 4th, put that you're closed and then Google knows that you're active, like it's simple.

And they email you, they email you, they remind you.

It's like they want you to do those.

Yes.

They want you to participate, they want.

You to be successful.

I mean, seriously, they, they truly do.

And even in the, I know you mentioned AI earlier and even in that space, they are integrating these things into the experience.

And so no longer is it, oh, let me go Google it.

Normally they're like, oh, let's go.

ChatGPT is now the new search overall AI systems right now.

And those things are changing, but even Google has made those shifts.

So now their model is all you have to do is ask.

And so what does that mean?

That means like throughout your journey you can ask.

So if you're in Maps and you're trying to figure out is this barbecue spot open for 4th of July, I don't feel like cooking.

You can use an Ask Maps feature, which is an AI integration of their Gemini, and it will tell you which ones are open.

But to your point, if the business owners are not updating and AI is doing the heavy lifting for you to promote your business and it has wrong information, then we're missing out on huge opportunity.

So that's just even one part of how Google is keeping up with the way that people are searching to find these businesses, then also representing us when we're busy running our businesses.

So that's something really important to understand what those features are and what are the basic things that I need to do?

You may not have to have a whole, you know, laundry list of a strategy, but what are the basic things that I, or my gaps that I need to fill?

So that way the AI that is finding my business can represent me properly.

Well, and I think there's also this idea that nobody, like, not nobody, because I use Google, but I'm old.

Yeah.

That nobody's using Google anymore.

And it's funny actually, because I think that the people I know that rely most on their AI apps are actually older but generational differences.

But that AI app, whatever it is that you're using, has to pull that information from somewhere.

So where do you think it's getting?

It's getting from your website, it's getting from feedback, it's getting from review sites, it's getting it from Google, like so.

Yes, it's still important to update all those things because it's got to get it from somewhere.

So make sure it's right.

Yes.

I'm so glad that you said that because it took a while when I mentioned that actually on social media and I was like, yeah, you know, all the tools are great.

Whichever one you choose is amazing.

But you also have to understand where they're getting their information from and what are they reading?

Are they reading the beautiful imagery and the way that your, your website slides and all this motion?

No, that's for us, that's for humans.

Right.

They're reading the data in the back end.

And if we just focus on the front end and not really worry about the back end or the frequently asked questions, a lot of people, we don't even have that on our websites.

That's what, that's what, that's what AI is looking for.

They're trying to solve the problem.

And the thing is, is that even though where people might be searching are different, it's the way that they are, the places are different.

It's still, they're still seeking for the similar answers.

It's just that now humans are having more conversations with their search engine of choice, even with Google.

When I was on the Google Marketing Live last month, it said that they are still in the leading for, for searches.

It's just that now a lot of people have switched to the AI mode that they have.

AI Overview has given people answers before they can even continue to scroll down the journey.

Right.

And then the asmaps, features and things of that nature.

So, you know, they are still understanding that they are the giants in this.

They do have A lot of competition.

Even with TikTok.

I had one person, when TikTok went down, she was like, I don't know how I'm going to find my other restaurants.

I'm like, wait, what are you talking about?

She goes, that's where I go to get all my recommendations.

Of course, she was younger than me.

I have an employee that picked their major for college off TikTok.

See, this is what I'm saying.

What the hell is happening in the world?

Like, what is going on?

They don't understand for sure.

And so, you know, people are still seeking information.

It's more.

So where do we have our information?

How are we delivering it?

What does our entree look like?

Do we need to, you know, separate into different courses and spread it around the Internet?

But either way, we still need to get, get our information out there and we need to still be strategic in how we deliver it.

So yeah, it is a good, good point that you mentioned.

So what would you.

And we don't want you to give away your business for free because, you know, you get paid to do this work and anybody that wants to hire you can reach out and hire you.

But what would your top three suggestions be for business owners, especially small business owners, micro business owners, to be visible in their community online?

Especially when you are looking at, you know, Google AI, you know, you're not pulling up the top websites anymore, right?

Yeah, I would say to one of the main thing is across everything.

So wherever your business is being represented online, so whether it's your website, social media, all of those, that the one main thing is that I would say we want to make sure are we really understanding the needs of the person who we want to either come into our door if we're an open brick and mortar or if we're an online service, like do we understand the need and what are those questions or conversations that the people, the humans that are actually paying us, what are the conversations that they're having and how are we showing up in those conversations?

And so you're like, okay, so that might mean offline and online, right?

The conversation that they're having, it might mean that what the conversation that they're having and they're listening to, to podcasts, right.

To YouTube on the news with AI, like, what are these things?

Because what I've learned, and I'm still guilty of this sometimes as well, is that when we come up with something, we want to make sure that we're, we're, we have that business knowledge of our industry.

So we Use a lot of our business jargon and what happens is it kind of goes over the head of actually the person who we really can help.

And so when they're having these conversations, nine times out of 10, they're not using the same jargon or the words that we think that they are.

And even more so when they are having these deep dives with their AI of choice.

They're wanting to understand the full scope.

Because we have smart buyers, they are not just picking the top person of the best influencer.

They're going to 20 different influencers before they make their decision.

So because we have savvy buyers, we also know that it's going to take them through that journey of the information to make sure that are you the expert, you understand what it is?

If you have a restaurant, is your restaurant and what you provide is the experience going to give them what they're looking for.

If you have a service based business, what sets your business up from the person up the street, right?

How can you become that local celebrity, if you will, in your business and in your industry?

And then understanding the conversations and then when you understand those, being able to put that into content, right?

And so this content doesn't always have to be, oh, I have to go and dance to a trending video.

Don't have to do that.

That's not content.

It's content, but it's not the content I'm talking about.

Content is what you're doing right now.

You guys have a platform, right?

Through podcasting.

Content is pr, content is, you know, giving educational content.

Content is visual, right?

These different forms of it.

But once we understand what people want to know, then we have an arsenal or a vault, a content vault that I like to say, of what we can then go and create in those different forms.

So that's.

So that's number one.

And I know that kind of had a lot of little things inside, but I feel like that's the best one thing, right?

All right, did everybody take their notes?

That was one thing.

Not great, right?

So now it's like, hey, I know, I know what my people are talking about.

I know what they want.

I understand that maybe like for example, for myself, I love calling myself Ashley the SEO strategist.

That's my branding.

That's what I try to do.

But I also know that some people might not use the word strategist.

Some people might not even still know what SEO actually means.

And it's actually changing.

So where we normally know it as search engine optimization, it's changing.

And the way I like to look at it is search everywhere optimization.

Because people are not just searching in one area.

So with all this knowledge that I know and understanding that people are, you know, the way that marketing exists, when you have a new trend, AI people are going to say that other sources are no, non, void and they're not popular anymore.

So people are confused.

So me knowing this, I might not always use Ashley, the SEO strategist in some of my content right, when I'm delivering things, but I might talk about what it is that I do or the problem that I'm solving to help them.

At the end of the day, women are overwhelmed.

They're wearing so many different hats.

They have so much information because we're not afraid to be educated, but we have information overload.

And so it's like, okay, knowing all this and knowing what, maybe the top two things that I really want to help people with, how do I deliver in a way where they can take a breath and be like, okay, I think she under, she gets me and I think what she has I need and let me dive a little deeper.

And so that's really how that whole section kind of goes together.

Okay, so now we have that.

The second thing that I would say is to understand where to place these things.

So we know what they want, we know that the verbiage needs to be, we need to have different versions of those things.

And then it's like, where do we put them?

And so you mentioned it earlier, right?

We could start simple.

Our Google Business Profile is, is more than just, you know, where our address is.

And some people that are online, right.

They don't even have an address.

So there's other ways where they think that maybe, oh, I don't need that, but you do.

People read reviews, but also AI is reading reviews and they're summarizing it for you, the good and the bad.

They're also summarizing how are we responding, what else is on that Google Business Profile.

So just to give you an idea of why neither you or somebody on your team should take time with your Google Business Profile or, or reach out to me to help you with that is because we can have a strategy to look at the free data that it gives you because it gives you data.

I always like to make decisions backed by data and then be able to utilize what do we need to update on our Google Business Profile.

So if we are a service based provider, do we have our services updated?

We can choose to add prices.

So if you feel like I keep getting People calling and that's not, that's too cheap or I don't, I'm not that type of person.

Then put your prices on there, right?

You can even put.

Starting at.

If you're like, oh, well, different seasons.

I have a lot of photographers are like, well, depending on the season, I have to change my prices.

We can do that.

But more than just the services descriptions for the services.

Why?

Because not only are humans reading it, but AI is reading it.

Our menus, we provide products and or food.

Is our menu updated?

Are we showing pictures?

Have we updated our pictures recently?

Are we acting as if our Google business profile is also a social media platform?

And when we shift to like, wait, what?

Yeah, because it allows for us to add updates.

We can have events, offers on there and not only are we as humans that are looking for different things can find it, but AI is also being able to feed this information to represent you better.

Does that make sense?

Yeah, 100%.

And it's so important that people don't understand.

Google will fill in the blanks.

So if you don't keep up on.

I just got an email today and I haven't had time to go in to check it, but it's like we made updates to your profile based on feedback and if people are consistently saying that you're not open at this time or you know, whatever it is that they're saying, Google's going to update it if you're not.

So someone's going to update it.

Right?

So you're not a metric.

Absolutely.

I had one person going back to the photography clients, we went, we looked at the services and she was like, oh, I don't do landscape photography.

And I was like, well, it says it's updated.

So I didn't update that.

And I went down exactly what you said.

Well, somebody can recommend that this is what you're doing or Google can then change it.

So we do have to be.

It's not just one and done.

It's a living, breathing thing we have to constantly update.

And then also competitors can go on your profile and let's say you are a barbecue spot and they can say, okay, well this barbecue, this is not a barbecue spot.

Or this is not their location.

And they can kind of ping you to Google to investigate.

Now who would have time to do that these days?

I don't know who, but they might have an AI doing it automatically, who knows?

And it's not to scare anybody.

I don't want to do that.

But what I really want you to understand is that exactly what you said.

Things are happening whether you are going to do them or not.

And so therefore we have to be in the front, in the forefront of it and just have a strategy in place to check it.

It doesn't mean you have to check it every week, every day, maybe once a month if you know, it's around holiday time.

Okay.

Make sure that we change these things, you know, so that way it can stay up to date and that we're auditing our, our spaces and the free spaces that we have, which is our Google business profile.

So that's awesome.

You can.

Yeah.

And it updates.

I remember I got in a fight with Google.

I couldn't get it to switch to my menu ordering on my website because that was free.

If you went through my website to order and it was the same program that they, it was like, you know, one of the delivery services and it charged me if you went through the service.

So I was like, no.

On, on my Google page, it needs to say my website is where you online order.

And I always like kept pushing back.

And they were like, well, no, this is what I was like, no, no, no.

I'm the business owner.

I get to control where you're ordering from on my Google page.

And it took a while but you know, you got to make, like I said, you got to make sure that that information is benefiting you.

There's so many little ways.

Right.

Because the, the third party delivery companies have people that are doing that all the time and they do have people that can do that and spend the time doing that and they will correct.

And not only that, they have.

How can I say this in a, you know, okay, so basically just like what you're saying in the direction and where you're at right now, there are people that will spend the time to find the businesses who might look like they're not really being active or proactive call you make it seem like you're not being shown at all and you need to pay X amount of money to actually be shown.

Like this is where fraud and different things and scams or maybe they do work, but things that are not necessary, they're not certified by Google.

Will will, you know, target you because they know that they're.

You're, you're not keeping up with your profile.

Case in point.

And with one of my clients, she kept calling and she was like, they're saying that I'm not voice activated.

Like my Google profile is not being shown on the voice search and I need to be on the voice search.

And I'm like, okay, well did you try that?

What does that mean to you?

Like, you know, what are they voice searching.

That would lead to you being the solution.

So we had to go through that whole process and even one that got like rewards.

So one girl was like, oh, my nail tech got an award that they were the top person for Google.

And I looked at the award.

The award is nice, not knocking it at all and whatever can help people to build trust with you in our community.

That's great.

But it's not from Google.

Can you still get it?

Yes, but I had to tell her, yeah, you have to pay for that.

Oh yeah, you're see for Google is, yes, it's, it's representing your data from Google, but it's not Google directly.

Right.

And so I say all that to say that we do have to be mindful and careful and understand that we're a business.

But so are the people on the other side that are watching our downfalls to try to use opportunities to get money from us as well.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

So I feel like we totally off tracked you.

We were talking about where to place and then we got into this like deep dive.

So I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything else that you wanted to talk about before we move on.

Well, I know that was number two.

So I was going to see if you had any other questions on the Google business profile and then I'll give.

You the last one, we'll let you go on.

Okay, so the, okay, so the last one I would say so we understand what people are saying.

We have, we understand their conversations, we understand are we now have a content vault and then our first place that we should want to put that put that is going to be Google on Google on Google Business profile and the other place would be on our website.

So on our website a lot of times we depending on what business you're in because if you're in a food industry then it's not really about you, the owner, it's about the food come and eat.

Right.

And then come back and tell your friends.

But if you're an esthetician and you are the person that is providing the service, it can be a little bit different.

However, we don't want to get sucked in where the website is all about you, the service provider and not what you can do and the solutions that you bring, like what's in it for the human that is actually pulling out to make the purchase and so bringing that conversation that we know that they're Having and then bringing that to our website.

So that way it's providing a good enough information for them to want to take action.

And so I mentioned it a little bit earlier, but that FAQ page, a lot of times we have those questions that are very generic.

Right.

And it's not the deeper questions that, you know, people are asking when they're on the phone call with you, when they're on these discovery calls, when they're in your programs.

And these are the questions that people are asking online or to their AI of choice.

So I would say if you don't have an FAQ page, please get one.

Please think about the questions.

And if you're not the one having the conversations with people, then ask your employees, ask your sales rep, like, what are the things that most people, if you had to bottle it all up, what are the.

What do they want to know so we can provide the best answer and through those answers, provide the solutions which are our services.

So definitely have an FAQ page or even integrating question sections throughout certain pages of your website.

I've noticed a trend in that with some bigger brands where they have FAQ sections within different non FAQ pages.

Because we understand that we as humans are having longer search query questions.

So what we're asking on the Internet are longer rather than, oh, barbecue near me.

It's like, no, I want a barbecue spot that has stuffed, loaded potato.

And we are having conversation with everybody.

We're open on Tuesdays.

That doesn't have too much, you know, that has free parking.

Like, these are the things that people are asking rather than these short, you know, keywords.

And if you notice, I haven't really touched on keywords much in this conversation is because it's beyond just the keywords.

They're going to be there automatically when you start to shift our mindset and our thinking.

Yeah, well, I feel like we should pay you because that was.

Well.

And I think I want to go back to what you.

What we started with.

There is such a divide, at least that we are seeing here with people that are AI is here, we're sticking with it, we got to learn it, we're going with it.

And people that are.

If I see a business that is posting anything that looks like AI, I am banning it.

I am.

And I see both sides of it.

But right, it is.

If you are going to run your business, there is some level you have to accept that you have to be playing into this game.

Yeah, you have to be playing the game.

And it doesn't mean that you have to play at the level in which you are seeing on social media.

So I don't know about your algorithm, but my algorithm currently is all things Claude.

Chatgpt is dead clawed.

Is it?

Okay, I just learned Claude existed like two weeks ago.

I am so behind, but I still don't have a TikTok, so I think that makes sense.

I'm on my trajectory.

I mean, my notes are in scroll form, so.

But the thing, right?

And so it's like if you just got on this ChatGPT train and you're like, I'm using it for this and this.

And then you're like, wait, what?

It's going.

We're just in the beginning stages of this right here, that we have to be aware.

We have to be aware, we have to be educated, but not so deep into it where it takes our distract.

It distracts us from our bottom line, which is our business that we're doing.

Especially depending on the industry.

Now if the industry that you're in, AI is kind of coming for it, or you can see that it's integrated very heavily, or like, for me, a lot of people are like, oh, I don't need help with blogs.

I have AI to do that.

And I'm like, okay, let me see what you have.

And then I'm telling them like, okay, now this is what I can do.

Let's have a conversation.

And based off our conversation, I'll build you this blog and I'll still integrate with AI.

You could see the day and night and like, okay, well what did you do different?

I was like, yeah, because just using AI is one thing, but understanding how to use it properly and to be human first with these integrations, for me, I feel is that middle.

So when people are on one side or the other, I feel like, how do we find ourselves a comfortable middle where we still feel like ourselves, we're not losing ourselves or being authentic, but it can actually help us in our business or allow for the people on our teams if we don't want to be the ones using it to be more efficient without it taking over everything.

Right.

So how do you approach a blog?

Human first and AI oriented?

Yeah.

So my thing is, anything with AI, I will always make it my thoughts first.

Or if I'm working with a client, it's their thoughts first.

It's never.

My prompt will never be provide me blank amount of X. I'm never doing that.

And I know some people are just starting like that because they're like, ugh, it's not going anywhere.

I gotta use it somehow.

And so they're doing these type of prompts.

But for me, it's.

I always wanna be the person, especially right now.

Cause again, what you mentioned, Kelly, earlier, is that, you know, what we do right now, right later down the year is going to be totally different.

So it's like, okay, everything is always changing.

Right now I'm using it where I am the person in the driver's seat.

It's my strategy.

Because you can't.

You can maybe take the away me doing websites and everybody only does AI websites, but you can't take my strategy.

You can't take what's in my brain away from me.

That is, that's what people are paying for.

And so for that, I utilize that in the forefront of everything that I do.

When I'm even integrating AI and even when I teaching my clients on how to utilize, you know, just the basics, I'm not no AI guru.

I don't want to, you know, but I do use it some, you know, and still learning on the different things, on how to integrate it, but in a slower process.

So I can really feel and understand.

But that's how I would approach it.

Understanding the power of your brain and not to be so quick to allow AI to be your brain.

And when you start to feel that you can't make a decision until AI is making that decision, that's kind of like, okay, wait, let me slow down.

You're the one that went to school.

You're the one that had the bright idea.

You're the one that started the business, so don't lose yourself in that.

So for a blog, it's the same thing.

So for example, my therapist client, she sent me, she was like, I already have the blog.

I just need you to optimize it and schedule it out.

And I was like, okay, let me see what it is.

And I was like, right.

And she was like, it has no dashes.

I know.

Like, if it has too many dashes, it's AI written.

And da, da, da.

I'm like, okay, but there's more to it than that.

And so I said, let's be a little bit creative.

Let's really understand, like, how would you answer, like, what are the questions that people are asking when it comes to psychological safety in the workforce?

Like, where are you getting these resources from?

You can maybe use AI to research, right?

I am making a blog on.

On psychological safety.

What are the.

What are the top, you know, 10 articles or research that has been done in the last three months?

Let it do some research for you, but don't let it make the blog a hundred percent for you.

After this research, put your own input into it.

Which ones are aligning with what your thoughts are, which not aligning at all.

And you're like, this is the gap.

This is why we need X so you can be the authority in your space.

So all of those things is when I was teaching my client, I was like, okay, now you understand the difference now.

So it's like, oh yeah, no, it didn't mention this and it didn't mention this.

And I'm like, yeah, I need you to brain dump this.

I need you to talk.

If you don't want to type anything out, you're too busy.

Use audio.

There's so many different tools.

So use an audio and just speak on the topic.

Then give that brain dump to AI and say, make this into an outline or make this into a three part series.

Now you have three, three blogs or you have a podcast episode, you have a YouTube episode on this topic.

You're able to dominate in those cluster topics.

And so I try to switch the way that people are using it and then of course writing it and having it optimized on the back end of your website is a whole nother thing.

And even though AI is being integrated into these website tools and they're like, oh, we optimize.

AI optimize all your images.

When I go to the images, there's nothing, right, that has to do with optimize.

I'm like, great, now I have to go back and do all these 200 because she clicked that button.

I told her not to undo it.

And that's, you know, that is definitely something that AI struggles with and I'm sure it's going to get way better in the next couple of years.

Like, yeah, imagery.

Like even in like Canva, I'll be like, oh, I'm going to try this magic background because I'm struggling with this.

And I'm like, I'm like, what the hell?

I'm like, well, now I know what I don't want, you know, and I start over again.

I'm like, okay, never mind.

Right?

Yeah, for sure.

And like you said, it is getting better and we just got to figure out where is it dominating right now and can that help me in my business?

Can it help me get things done faster?

Can help somebody on my team produce more?

All of those things.

But just remembering it is a tool and just don't be so quick to try and replace, you know, teams and all the things before you actually understand because studies are coming out right now.

I've been diving deep into, you know, one person built a whole business on just using AI and then AI deleted and said, oh, I apologize, I'm sorry.

Like, okay, what?

Yeah, where's my stuff?

Yeah.

So like, for me, I'm like, even if AI is helping me, I have documents on top of documents on top of doc.

I don't trust that.

Right.

Well.

And I trust people from afar.

You gave such a great, perfect example of what I think is the perfect way to use AI.

Like, I need articles that were written within three months, you know, because if you were to do a Google search and you would get all of these articles, but you would have to sift through because depending on how good their website is written and how good their back end is, it could be 20 years old and still pop up.

So I love that example.

I think that's a great example of like letting it pull some of that Google search for you.

Right.

Is a great example of how to pull it out and use it to your benefit without losing yourself.

I'm loving all of it.

I think that you've given so much, so many tips out.

Can you tell us what you think the number one thing is that business owners are doing wrong.

Who I. Oh, this people might not like this, but I feel rock honest.

I'll give you two short ones just because I'm on the fence on these both.

Two that I see a lot.

One, I feel that people are being there.

They know that they need marketing, so they're quick to outsource and they're starting with just like social media, like, let me get a social media manager and then everything is going to be fine.

Not realizing that there's so much other things.

And with that understanding that even if you outsource and have different people, like a marketing person for social media, email marketing, your website, let these people work together.

If they're not able to get on a call and work together for the greater of your company, then that's the issue that you need to try and solve.

Right?

So that's number one, just jumping in and thinking that social media marketing is the only type of marketing that you need.

Please understand that there's more to it than that.

It's needed, but there's more to it than that.

And the second thing is when it comes to AI using it in an improper way and then getting mad when your results are not working because you're sounding like everybody else.

So those are the two that I'm seeing right now.

Yeah, those are the two that I would, that I would say.

And then just really making sure to take time to audit our businesses.

I don't think we take enough time to audit and to understand, like, be truthful, where the gaps are that we need to fill and then get the support to get it filled.

Oh, we talk about that so often, so that's fantastic.

Thank you.

Yeah, for sure.

But this has been awesome.

I really appreciate it and this conversation and just really, I can speak about this stuff all day,.

But I don't want to, I don't want to keep bugging you.

I know I've got like a whole list and I think, and I think, you know, there are a lot of people that are doing, doing similar work.

But the fact that you're willing to continue to learn is a testament to how long you will be continuing to do this.

And I hope that people listening will reach out to you because that is the stuff that makes a difference to me.

AI is there.

You could Google, you can AI search, you can chat, GP Claude, all the things and find a lot of this information out.

But you need that human person, you need that human touch and the fact that you're not scared to acknowledge that these things are continuing to change and you're going to continue to keep learning and know that you're going to be wrong about stuff.

And that is so important and it's genuine and I appreciate that and I appreciate your honesty.

Oh yeah, thank you.

I feel like that's what we need, if anything, that's what we need more of in this world is more transparency.

Honesty and just being ourselves and understand like who would we want to have helping us on the other side.

Right.

Nine times.

We don't want that person that's a know it all.

Because I mean, it's just like, I mean, how much you can know a lot and we could be very smart.

But.

But there's always something new in everything.

There's always a new technique.

There's always something.

And so.

Yeah, but I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Absolutely.

So, Ashley, if I want to hire you, how do I reach you?

Yeah, so you can definitely reach me through my email.

So letstalk digitalmarketing online.

Not dot com.

My social media.

I do talk back.

It's not a bot.

And that is my social media Instagram at Ashley, the SEO strategist and that you can see me, like, doing all the things and yeah, those are the main two areas.

I really.

Yeah, I love this when it comes to education.

So whether you have a team.

I do strategic advisory.

So if you have, like, I already have a marketing team, but I like what you're doing, and I want my team to start to think and have a little bit of that.

That's my favorite.

I do a strategic advisories to done with you.

And then also if you have communities training your community to think a little different when it comes to their marketing and the trajectory of where this, you know, life is going.

Awesome.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

Well, great.

Thank you so much for joining us, Ashley.

I literally feel like that was the fastest 40 minutes of my life.

Like, my brain is just.

How's your to do look?

How's your to do list looking?

Kelly, don't even.

And this was like the easiest interview I think we've ever done, so.

Yes.

Well, any.

Anytime you have any other questions or any other topics, I'll be happy to come back on.

Like I said, I love to chat about these things.

And you know, they say that those that can speak hours about their.

About their industry, then they're at, you know, they're in the right place.

So that's me.

Wonderful.

Thank you so much.

I have a feeling we'll be reaching out again very soon.

Thank you.

All right.

All right, Kelly, I will ask you one more time.

How was your to do list?

I couldn't keep notes fast enough.

I don't think I spoke once because I was just taking notes.

I actually felt bad.

I was like, she had so much information and it.

Sometimes you get people that want to talk a lot, right?

But then you're like, was this actually relevant?

Was it what?

Like, is that even an interview?

We just let her go, I think.

I asked two questions.

I was like, wow.

Like, she's just putting it all out there.

Thank you so much, Ashley.

That was amazing.

And we all need to revamp our marketing plans, right?

And I mean, I was just saying how we're, you know, in the process of redoing it.

Cause we.

We're doing a shift from what we, you know, our normal.

Our normal everyday marketing to our summer marketing, which is a big shift.

And I'm like, oh, whoa.

Oh, right.

My Google.

Oh, I gotta do that.

Oh, right.

And.

Cause Google, I mean, sure, things are gonna change, but Google's king.

Google's gonna be king.

I don't see that changing in.

In my business lifetime.

But no.

And it's such an easy way.

I am working with our local theater company and just by updating their Google profile and putting in the events and the photos and, you know, I'm not in it very often, but I update it as things are happening.

I changed the search terms where people are finding them.

So it used to be that the top five search terms were all relevant to the name of the company.

So it's people that were looking like they knew the company.

Like when people search Selena's, like, the search terms are generally various spellings of Selena's.

Right.

Like people can't spell it.

But now four out of the five search terms are like, things to do with your kids in Rochester, New York, you know, and that's what we want as businesses, as people are looking for things to do, people are looking for places to eat, people are looking for products.

We want that to come up and not just our business name.

So it's a simple, easy, quick way.

And once you're in and set up, they literally send you reminders.

They really do.

They really do.

And it drives me nuts too.

I'm like, why are my hours keep changing?

Like, what is even happening?

Yeah.

So keep up on it.

I wish we could have even gotten into more depth on other platforms, but she gave us so much information just on that one that let's run with it, right?

Yeah.

I think we'll be having her back on again for sure.

There's a lot we could learn from her for sure.

And before we go, I just want to share some tidbits of information.

In my trying to keep up with the world and figuring out how the hell to market my business in this new world of AI, I did find some tiny things I think are really important.

So it used to be AI was just AI, right?

So, like, it wasn't paid advertising, it wasn't connected to anything.

So I felt confident that AI searches were unbiased.

But in my searching, I found that ChatGPT and LinkedIn are connected.

YouTube and Gemini are connected.

And then on top of that, I was like, well, if everyone has iPhones, what does Safari users using for AI?

And Siri is powered by Gemini.

Really?

So if you think this stuff is not important to have your information the same across all platforms, you need to have your information the same across all platforms.

Because now, because big business is big business, it's starting to reflect.

Yeah, yeah, you can have your feelings on AI and it's all valid.

I see all sides of it.

But if you are a business owner, AI is driving business to you or away from you I guess.

Right?

So you have to at least acknowledge that and get your shit in order because it is finding you whether you like it or not.

Well, I think that's a great way to end, Kelly.

Thanks.

It's finding you.

It's like a sci fi movie.

We are all a sci fi movie.

This timeline sucks.

But anyways, it's here and they are finding you.

So make sure you follow us.

Getting real with Bossy bossy rock on your social medias and our website bossyco.com b o s s-y c o.com email us with ideas, you know if you want to be on the show.

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Be bomb.

What?

What words was I just using?

Oh my God.

Be bold, be brave, be the freaking boss.

I love it.