Winston Cook

Ranking Everywhere, Converting Nowhere I'm noticing a troubling trend with my clients that should concern every business owner: One client ranks for 462 SERP features - they're in Position 0, People Also Ask boxes, AI Overviews, Maps, Knowledge Panels... Yet their organic traffic is steadily declining. This is the new reality of SEO: you can dominate Google's real estate while Google keeps more and more visitors for itself. ➡️ What's happening? Google's AI overviews answer questions without requiring clicks Featured snippets satisfy search intent directly in the SERP Maps and local packs drive actions without website visits Knowledge panels provide key info without leaving Google We're optimizing for visibility that no longer translates to traffic. This requires a fundamental shift in how we measure success: 📌 Traffic alone can't be your North Star metric 📌 Ranking reports are increasingly misleading 📌 Conversion paths are becoming more complex So I am shifting. I am now paying close attention to: 👏🏼 Brand searches (are people looking for YOU specifically?) 👏🏼 Direct traffic (the ultimate sign of brand recognition) 👏🏼 Multi-touch attribution (understanding the full journey) 👏🏼 Micro-conversions (newsletter signups, content downloads) Actual revenue (the only metric that truly matters) The days of "rank #1, get traffic, make money" are over. My new strategy is "Be visible everywhere that matters, build recognition, convert through multiple touchpoints." If your agency is still chasing vanity metrics that no longer translate to business growth? Maybe it is time to find a new agency.

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For the last decade, small businesses and niche experts have been told the same gospel truth: content is king. Blog consistently. Optimize your metadata. Build backlinks. Structure your H2s. Feed the algorithm. And we did it! We wrote thousands of words explaining complex topics like PPLI, split-dollar, premium financing, and cross-border planning. (Okay, maybe that was just me, but you get the point). We translated nuance into plain English. We built authority and trust. But now? AI summary tools are snatching the crown off content’s head and doing their best Regina George impersonation: “So you agree. You think you’re really smart.” These tools scrape your meticulously written blog post, pull the key points, and answer the user’s query directly. That means no clicks to your site, no time spent with your brand, no lead for your funnel. And worst of all? The answer came from you. From your original thinking. Your niche expertise. Your careful explanation of why PPLI isn't just a rich person’s Roth IRA with a facelift. And yet, no attribution. No context. No next step. Just a "thanks, we’ll take it from here." This hits niche businesses hardest. You’re not writing fluff. You’re solving complex, high-value problems in areas where there isn’t much good content to begin with. And AI loves that. It loves scraping the best of the best and pretending it made the magic. Meanwhile, the businesses doing the intellectual heavy lifting are watching their traffic decline and wondering why their epic pillar post on grantor trust taxation isn’t performing like it used to. So what do we do now? 👉 Turn your best content into gated downloads: make them work to see the gold. 👉 Prioritize thought leadership in places AI can’t replicate: webinars, podcasts, private client updates. 👉 Build owned audiences: email lists, communities, closed LinkedIn groups. 👉 Brand your voice so clearly and distinctively that even an AI summary can’t scrub you out. You can still create great content (and there is still a place for blogs). But it’s time to stop writing for the algorithm and start creating around it. And if you think I’m being dramatic, take five minutes to read this excellent piece from Bloomberg on how Google’s AI-powered search is leaving content creators and site owners feeling more than a little betrayed: https://lnkd.in/ez9_ZxdN #LIPostingDayApril

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Nano Banana Pro + n8n is absolutely ridiculous 🤯  Google just released Nano Banana Pro and I already have it running inside n8n + Airtable.  Steal your competitors' Facebook static ads.  Zero manual editing.  Perfect for DTC brands & agencies who see competitor ads they want to replicate with their own products.  What makes Nano Banana Pro different:  → 4K resolution output (studio quality)  → Multiple image inputs (up to 14 images in one generation)  → Perfect text rendering in multiple languages  → Maintains consistency across up to 5 people  → Advanced localized editing (adjust specific parts only)  → Professional color grading and lighting controls  Here's the workflow:  You see a killer competitor Facebook ad. Perfect layout, colors, messaging—but it's their product, not yours.  Instead of briefing a designer and waiting days for recreations...  This automation does it in 30 seconds:  → Upload competitor ad image in Airtable  → Upload your product image  → Click "Generate" button  → Nano Banana Pro swaps ONLY the product  → Keeps everything else identical (layout, fonts, colors, graphics)  → Returns 4 variations automatically  → All delivered back to Airtable instantly  No designer bottlenecks.  No recreation from scratch.  No guessing what works.  What you get:  → Competitor-inspired ads with your product  → Same proven layout and design language  → 4 variations per request for testing  → Everything organized in Airtable  → Feels like a mini creative co-pilot  The Airtable interface:  → Upload two images (competitor ad + your product)  → Track status (Idle → Generating → Done)  → View all 4 results in one place  → Generate unlimited variations  Built 100% in n8n + Airtable.  Want the complete template?  Comment "NANO"  Like this post  And I'll send it over (MUST BE CONNECTED so I can DM)

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How I've used this principle to build my companies: Got a bad customer review? ↳ See what caused that and fix it. Client canceled angrily? ↳ See what caused that and fix it. Ad campaign didn't work? ↳ See what caused that and fix it. Every setback is a data point. Some of them are useless, but many teach crucial lessons. Take nothing personally. Analyze, improve, and try again.

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"𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗅" Most firms that contact AttorneySync are focused on short term client acquisition. I empathize. But make sure your strategy lines up. 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁-𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺: Google Ads / PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Local Services Ads (LSAs) Social Ads (Direct Response) Lead Generation (⚠️) 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺: SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Organic Social Content marketing Email Reputation (reviews / case studies / testimonials) Speaking Podcasting Community Referrals Brand And you should do both. From the beginning. It's just that percentage of resource deployment will shift. 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝘁𝗶𝗽: Avoid the legal marketing bros promising 90 day SEO results. Remember: Fast. Ethical. Cheap. Pick two.

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JUST RELEASED- NEW Fintech Hunting Episode: Why Your Website Traffic Is Plummeting (And What You Can Do About It) 🔥 Just dropped a 🔥 conversation with SEO powerhouse and digital marketing maven Alizabeth Leng-Barton Lang-Barton, co-founder of Rank Writers. This is not your average SEO chat. We’re diving deep into the AI search revolution and what it means for mortgage lenders, fintechs, and marketers alike. 🔎 In this episode, we cover: *Why 40–60% drops in organic traffic are becoming the new normal *How AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity are rewriting the rules of SEO *What intent-driven content means (and why it’s your #1 SEO priority now) *How to use use cases + storytelling to beat the algorithms and win more leads *Why FAQs and Perplexity Pages should be part of your 2024 content playbook *The death of single-channel marketing and the rise of true omnichannel strategy 💡 Alizabeth doesn’t hold back. She gives real examples, actionable insights, and a fresh POV every exec and marketer needs right now. Watch here- https://lnkd.in/ggb_cRdC Listen here- https://lnkd.in/gdNg6nfS Faith Murphy, CMB® Brian Vieaux Kayla Kallander Ally Carty Matt Slonaker Cindi Harris Andrew DeGood Stew Scott DeLaine Nick Nick Dembla Bev H. ⭐️ Maya Walston Jesse Rivera Robyn Mahoney Robert Houser Roy George, CMB® Kevin Peranio Alec Hanson Trevor Gauthier Suzy Lindblom Kim Hoffman, CMB, AMP John McCrea Fobby Naghmi Laura J. Brandao 🌟

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Etsy listings are now bookable directly inside Google’s AI chatbot. Not clicks. Not links. Full checkout. No Etsy visit required. It’s live for signed-in US shoppers using Gemini or Google AI Mode. Some listings, some formats, but the direction is crystal clear. Google doesn’t want to send traffic. Google wants to place the order. This isn't about better SEO. It's about surviving when there's no page to optimize. Etsy confirmed the system skips coupons, gift cards and even the normal checkout UX. Sellers get the money. But lose the moment. Gemini. ChatGPT. Copilot. They're not top-of-funnel tools anymore. They're one-step marketplaces. 💡 What shifts for operators: 🧠 No metadata, no sale If your title, price, variant and return policy aren’t machine-readable, your product doesn’t exist. 📉 Attribution blackout Expect more "where did this sale come from?" moments as platforms handle checkout invisibly. 📬 Support stays with you The chatbot may place the order, but the CS tickets still land in your inbox. 🪙 Pricing gaps widen If your offer isn't competitive inside these platforms, it's not even shown. 🧷 No promo stacking AI checkouts ignore coupons, meaning your entire discount strategy needs a dual setup. Zoom out. This is the Universal Commerce Protocol at work. And Etsy is just the test bed. Now imagine the same flow for bol, Zalando, Amazon, Shopify, all piped into AI interfaces that bypass brand stores entirely. The battleground isn’t traffic anymore. It’s API visibility. #ecommerce #marketplaces #retailtech #DTC #shoppingAI

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“I think AEO/GEO is a load of crap,” spouted a CMO from a $250mm SaaS company, adding, “if you follow SEO best practices, you’ll be fine.” After I picked up my jaw from the floor, I pondered this purposeful provocation and asked myself, could she be right? Stick with me as I share what I think I know about AEO. Showing up in LLMs has significant business value. Members of the CMO Huddles community report that LLM-generated site traffic converts at 4-6x the rate of traditional Google traffic. These visitors are not your proverbial tire kickers. They’re ready to put you on their short list. So if you haven’t figured out how to track + respond to these visitors appropriately, stop reading this and get on that!  Brands that ranked high in Google searches are more likely to show up in LLMs This makes sense, since these brands tend to have broader digital footprints. But I’ve also read that this only applies to about 50% of LLM searches. So that means that in the other 50% of searches, lesser-ranked brands are finding a way into LLM synopses. And if that is the case, then they must be doing something other than SEO-like activities. [If this logic is faulty, don’t blame an LLM, I’m on my own here.] Yext research agrees with our provocateur CMO This brilliantly timed bombshell dropped into my email this week: “Yext just analyzed 6.8 million citations across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity and found that 86% actually come from sources brands already control, like websites and listings. Reddit and forums? Just 2% once location and query intent are factored in.” I’ll give you a second to re-read this. Is Yext’s research relevant to AEO + B2B brands? Not sure. Perhaps their CEO, Michael Walrath, will weigh in here. If Yext's research includes B2B brands and complex queries, those of you investing heavily in AEO may want to reconsider. Another reason to hedge on AEO is that it is so damn hard to measure cause and effect right now. Every LLM search delivers unique results. The game is to measure the percentage of times you show up in an LLM query of 23 words on average. Now imagine one word is different each time. My head hurts thinking about the mathematical permutations. Hedging your AEO bet Many of the AEO “best practices” are things you should be doing anyway. Having extensive Q&As on your website is simply being user-friendly. Taking it a step further and having an answer bot like Webless that pulls from your website content is also being customer-centric. Another example is having competitive information (including pricing) on your website. Prospects need that info, and if you don’t provide it, the LLM will source it from somewhere else.  Like most humans, I hate gated content. Turns out, so do LLMs. So that's another example of doing the right thing that also may help with AEO. There's more to cover, but I'm out of space + am counting on my AEO-expert friends to fill in the vast gaps, including the technical stuff (like schema).

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Reminder to not get scammed by those too-good-to-be-true pagespeed optimization services on Fiverr. The Shopify subreddit had an interesting post over the weekend where someone who used to run that scam explained it. Real performance issues show up in your revenue, not PageSpeed Insights. Check Search Console's Core Web Vitals for actual data. If someone guarantees specific scores or claims they can fix everything in 24 hours, run.

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A minimum viable partnership motion for small agencies... Not all agencies have the means to invest significant resources into partnerships. But we also know that partnerships can be a significant driver of quality leads. At Barrel Holdings, we've been thinking about what a lightweight partnerships program can look like. Some of our agencies have dedicated partnerships managers while others try to make it work with a patchwork of resources. Here are some thoughts: Start with your target partners - Make a short list of partners who already sit near your clients: platforms, complementary agencies, consultants, communities. - Build one relationship at a time. Know what they do. Let them know what you do. Make it easy to refer - Put together an agency one-pager: what you do, who you serve, when to bring you in, proof (case studies, testimonials), etc. - Keep terms simple: e.g., 10% of collected services for 12 months. Paid monthly, net 30. Give before you ask - Route non-fit leads to partners regularly. - Share useful resources or notes that make them look good to their clients. Adopt a simple rhythm - Same-day acceptance of intros, track in CRM or spreadsheet. Keep referrer posted on progress. - Monthly email to partners: wins, what we’re working on, where we can help, shout outs to those who referred. - Quarterly check-ins, in person or on video calls. Compare notes and ask how we can help their clients. Track a few numbers - Commission Payouts: YTD, by quarter, and by partner. - Partner-sourced pipeline and wins. - Leads we gave to partners and any outcomes we hear back. There are definitely more sophisticated ways to do this (e.g., tiering partners, different commission structures, co-marketing, account mapping, etc.), but many agencies lack even these very basic motions mentioned above. Turn these basic activities into non-negotiable habits within the agency and see the results compound over time. As you land more biz and generate more profits, you can invest in building out a more and more robust partnerships practice. == 🟢 Find this useful? Check out our resource for agency leaders at AgencyHabits. If you want to sell your agency, DM me or check out Barrel Holdings.

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As a lawyer, do you need to run ads to get hundreds of leads per month? I'm a HUGE proponent of advertising - it allows you to "skip to line" and get results fast, but as a lawyer the costs add up. You can pull serious case volume without spending a dollar on ads — if you own the Google Maps Pack. Here’s the exact 3-step playbook we use at WEBRIS: Law Firm Marketing Agency: Step 1 — Treat your Google Business Profile like your website: ✔️ Post every day. ✔️ Upload photos + videos. ✔️ Reply to every review. ✔️ Google rewards activity, not just keywords. Step 2 — Make reviews non-negotiable: ✔️ Reviews are the top Maps ranking factor. ✔️ Train your staff. Automate requests. Incentivize feedback. ✔️ No reviews = no visibility. Step 3 — Get local press: ✔️ When Google sees your firm in local news, blogs, and publications, it boosts your authority. ✔️ That’s how you win the map. This is how modern firms win without burning money on ads. Follow WEBRIS: Law Firm Marketing Agency for real law firm growth strategies.

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👉️ https://lnkd.in/gmPb8Qc6 Can crowdfunding help your SEO? Surprisingly, yes. By backing campaigns that list donors on public “thank-you” pages, you can earn legitimate backlinks—without violating Google’s rules. It’s: ✅ Low-competition ✅ Google-compliant ✅ Great for visibility + domain authority Downsides? Not all links are dofollow, and it takes time to find the right campaigns. Still, it’s a creative tactic worth exploring. 💬 Would you try link building through crowdfunding? #SEO #LinkBuilding #DigitalMarketing #Crowdfunding #MarketingTi

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Across our entire portfolio, every client has increased investment with us YoY. Why? Performance. For one client, leads are up 50% while CPL is down 20% For another, total revenue is up 178% And we do this while maintaining privacy compliance. Privacy-first marketing doesn’t have to mean loss of performance.

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We generated a 511% organic search traffic increase for a fintech client by doing the exact opposite of what every SEO expert teaches. Most B2B companies are doing SEO backwards. They chase broad keywords that sound impressive in board meetings. "Financial software." "Business solutions." "Enterprise technology." Their actual customers are searching for things like "accounts payable automation for mid-market companies" and "cash flow management for growing businesses." Our Noble Studios team helped a fintech client who was stuck in this exact trap. Their previous agency had them ranking for all the obvious terms. Traffic looked decent on paper but the leads weren't converting. So we threw out the playbook and started over. We sat in on sales calls, analyzed their best customer conversations and dug into the specific problems people were trying to solve. Then we built content around those exact phrases. Here's what we saw: 511% increase in organic search traffic 520% boost in non-brand traffic 416% more top 3 keyword rankings The breakthrough was getting the right people to find them: People who already knew what they needed and were ready to talk. Your customers use messy, specific language when they search. They describe problems they're actually facing and search like humans dealing with real business challenges. Meet them there. Full case study linked in comments.

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𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐬 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭) How SaaS companies turn content into traffic, trust, and customers using guest posting Let’s simplify something most people overcomplicate. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠? Guest posting means publishing your content on other relevant, authoritative websites — with a contextual link back to your site. Not spam. Not PBNs. Not random blogs. Real websites. Real audiences. Real editorial content. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 & 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 Because SaaS growth depends on trust + visibility. And trust online works like this: Google trusts you → when trusted sites talk about you People trust you → when they see you featured elsewhere Guest posting solves both. For SaaS companies: • Faster keyword rankings • Stronger domain authority • Brand visibility outside their own site • Traffic from audiences already searching for solutions For agencies & content teams: • Their content finally ranks • Campaigns show measurable ROI • Clients see movement (not excuses) • Less pressure to publish endless blogs 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? Link insertions place your link inside existing, already-ranking content. That means: • Instant authority • Faster impact • No waiting months for new posts to rank Perfect for: • SaaS landing pages • Feature pages • Comparison pages • Money keywords 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 Guest posting & link insertions give you: ✓ Higher rankings ✓ Referral traffic ✓ Brand mentions ✓ Industry credibility ✓ Better conversion trust ✓ Stronger backlink profile 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭? Your content stops being invisible. Impact on traffic, audience & sales Here’s what actually happens when it’s done right: • Traffic compounds month over month • New audiences discover your product • Sales pages convert better (social proof works) • Demos increase without paid ads • SEO becomes predictable You don’t just get clicks. You get qualified users who already trust you. The mistake most teams make They invest in: • Content ❌ • Tools ❌ • Audits ❌ But ignore distribution. Content without backlinks is a library with no visitors. Guest posting is how you invite people in. P.S. If you’re a SaaS brand or agency and want real guest posts or link insertions on niche-relevant sites. DM me “SaaS LINKS” and tell me your niche.

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