by Kevin Bekker | Oct 1, 2026 | Digital Marketing
If you’re already running a successful Google Ads campaign, one of the first questions I would ask is pretty simple: why aren’t you running Microsoft Advertising too? I still hear people call it Bing Ads, and from a search-marketing standpoint that is probably how a...
by Kevin Bekker | Sep 14, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
FRACTIONAL CMO If you’re already considering a fractional CMO, you’ve probably moved past the question of what one does. Now you’re trying to answer the more practical question: how much is this actually going to cost? Like most consulting services,...
by Kevin Bekker | Aug 29, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Most businesses start thinking seriously about holiday marketing when the holiday season is already here. Budgets increase, promotions go live, traffic picks up, and suddenly everyone wants to know which campaigns are working. The problem is that this is also when...
by Kevin Bekker | Aug 28, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
There is a mistake I see businesses make all the time when they rebuild a website. They hire a web developer or design agency, spend months working on the new site, approve the layout, update the copy, test the forms, and finally launch it. The site looks better, the...
by Kevin Bekker | Aug 21, 2026 | Marketing Strategy, AI SEO, Digital Marketing
Originally published March 2025. Updated August 2026 to reflect changes in Google Search, AI search, content strategy, technical SEO, and search measurement. SEO has always changed. Google changes its algorithms, websites change, consumer behavior changes, and...
by Kevin Bekker | Aug 21, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
If you’re already running a successful Google Ads campaign, there’s a pretty simple question worth asking: why aren’t you running that same campaign on Bing? Technically, Bing Ads is now called Microsoft Advertising, but a lot of marketers and business owners still...
by Kevin Bekker | Aug 20, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Originally published April 2017. Updated August 2026 to reflect changes in programmatic buying, audience data, privacy, inventory quality, measurement, and attribution. Programmatic advertising has changed quite a bit since I originally wrote this article in 2017. The...
by Kevin Bekker | Aug 14, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
A client asked me last month why their “Email” channel showed almost no traffic in GA4, even though they’d sent four campaigns that quarter. The traffic wasn’t missing. It was just scattered across six different labels: Email, email,...
by Kevin Bekker | Aug 12, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Every client who switched from Universal Analytics to GA4 asks me some version of the same question. Where did my campaign report go? The honest answer is that it did not disappear, it moved, and Google reorganized the acquisition reports in a way that trips up even...
by Kevin Bekker | Aug 11, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is the first tool I open on every new client engagement. Before I look at rankings, before I look at content, before I even look at the Google Ads account, I want to see what a search engine actually sees when it crawls the site. Screaming...
by Kevin Bekker | Aug 10, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Most small business owners think they cannot afford strategic marketing help. I hear a version of this almost every month from a new client. They tell me the budget is tight, the ad spend is already stretched thin, and hiring outside help feels like a luxury they will...
by Kevin Bekker | Aug 6, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Direct traffic is the most misunderstood line item in any analytics dashboard. Marketers either wave it off as “people who already know us” or panic when it spikes, assuming something broke. The truth is messier and more interesting. Direct is less a...
by Kevin Bekker | Aug 3, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Most business owners assume their analytics are fine once the Google Analytics code is on the site and a few reports are showing numbers. I understand why. The dashboard is full of charts, the traffic count looks reasonable, and everything seems to be working. The...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 31, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
For years, ChatGPT was one of the only major platforms online with no ads at all. That changed this year. OpenAI now runs paid ads inside ChatGPT, and the price of entry dropped fast. Early on, you needed a budget in the hundreds of thousands of dollars just to get in...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 27, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
If you run a professional services firm (a law practice, an accounting firm, a consultancy, an agency), your website has one job. Not selling anything directly. Getting the phone to ring or the contact form filled out. That’s what “lead-based” means,...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 22, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
For years, the goal was simple. Rank #1, get the click, get the customer. That assumption still shapes how most business owners think about SEO, and it’s quietly become outdated. Someone can search for exactly what you offer, see an AI generated answer at the...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 15, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Most business owners assume an ad works like this. Someone sees it, they click it, they buy. In reality, that almost never happens. A person usually sees your ad, forgets about it, searches for you later, reads a few reviews, compares you to two competitors, maybe...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 15, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
A quick note before we start. This is written in plain English, not marketing jargon. No made up acronyms, no technical shortcuts. If a business owner without a marketing background can’t follow it, I haven’t done my job. Every small business owner I talk...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 12, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Sandy businesses don’t need a national agency, they need someone who knows this market. I work with small businesses throughout the Portland metro area, and Sandy comes up often because it’s a market that gets treated as an afterthought by bigger agencies....
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 11, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Google Search Console shows you a sample. Server logs show you everything. Every SEO I know checks Search Console daily. Almost none of them check their server logs. That’s backwards, and I say that as someone who spent years relying on GSC data before a...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 10, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Agency profitability and client results aren’t the same goal, and the gap is where corners get cut. I’ve sat on both sides of this table, inside agencies and advising clients trying to figure out why their agency relationship feels off even when the...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 7, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Search engine marketing can be one of the fastest ways to generate leads — or one of the fastest ways to burn through a budget with nothing to show for it. The difference usually isn’t the platform, the industry, or even the offer. It’s whether...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 6, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Paid ads can get you leads fast, but the moment you stop paying, the leads stop coming. Organic leads work differently. They take a bit more patience to build, but once the systems are in place, they keep generating results month after month without a growing ad...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 5, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
A lot of business owners treat their website like a home renovation. You plan it, you build it, you launch it, and then you move on with your life. That mindset works fine for a kitchen remodel. It does not work for a website, and it especially does not work for a...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 2, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Cost per lead is one of the most useful numbers in marketing, and also one of the most misunderstood. Business owners often ask me what a good cost per lead is, expecting a single number they can compare themselves against. The honest answer is that it depends heavily...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 2, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
Most businesses do not have a marketing strategy. They have a list of tactics. They run some paid ads. They post on social media. Someone updates the blog when there is time. It all happens, but none of it is connected to a plan. When I sit down with a business for...
by Kevin Bekker | Jun 16, 2026 | Marketing Strategy
One of the most common misconceptions I see when reviewing websites is the assumption that poor organic performance automatically means there is something wrong with the website. Business owners often believe they need a complete redesign, a new content strategy, or...
by Kevin Bekker | May 31, 2025 | Marketing Strategy
If you recently updated your site to WordPress 6.5 or newer, and noticed that shortcodes are no longer rendering in your page builder content — you’re not alone. This is a known issue that has affected a large number of WordPress users, particularly those using...
by Kevin Bekker | Apr 29, 2025 | AI SEO, Digital Marketing, Marketing Strategy, SEO
By 2025, searching online isn’t just about Google’s familiar blue links anymore. Now, search is dominated by AI models — like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude — that scan the web, gather information directly from websites, and deliver it instantly as summaries, answers, or...
by Kevin Bekker | Apr 17, 2025 | Digital Marketing, Marketing Strategy
In 2025, digital marketing isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about building smart, sustainable systems that guide your audience from first contact to loyal customer. That’s where a full-funnel marketing strategy comes in. This post is your guide to understanding,...
by Kevin Bekker | Apr 4, 2025 | SEO
If you run a small business in places like Gresham, Oregon—or really, any city where local competition matters—keeping up with Google might seem like something only big agencies or tech-savvy marketers do. But the truth is, the way Google changes its search engine has...
by Kevin Bekker | Apr 1, 2025 | Digital Marketing
The Ultimate Digital Marketing Guide for Small Businesses in Gresham, Oregon If you’re running a small business in Gresham, Oregon—whether you’re a contractor, café owner, retailer, or local service provider—digital marketing can be the difference between slow growth...
by Kevin Bekker | Mar 31, 2025 | Digital Marketing, SEO
Search Generative Experience (SGE) Optimization Checklist: How to Rank in Google’s AI-Powered Search Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is changing how search works—fast. Instead of just showing links, Google now uses AI to generate direct answers and...
by Kevin Bekker | Mar 20, 2025 | AI SEO, Digital Marketing, SEO
Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) is transforming search results by integrating AI-generated responses directly into the SERP. This shift means traditional SEO tactics alone may not be enough to maintain visibility. Instead of just ranking for keywords,...
by Kevin Bekker | Mar 13, 2025 | AI SEO, Digital Marketing, SEO
Google’s Core Web Vitals have become a critical ranking factor, playing a major role in determining how well your website performs in search results. While keywords, backlinks, and content quality remain important, technical performance and user experience are now...
by Kevin Bekker | Mar 7, 2025 | SEO, Digital Marketing, Marketing Strategy
When people think about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), they often focus on on-page SEO (content, keywords, meta descriptions) or off-page SEO (backlinks, domain authority). While these are essential components of an effective strategy, Technical SEO is the...
by Kevin Bekker | Mar 6, 2025 | AI SEO, Digital Marketing
Google’s approach to digital advertising is evolving rapidly, with AI-driven advancements shaping the future of paid search, shopping, and video ads. According to a recent Search Engine Land article, Google’s Vice President and General Manager of Ads and Commerce,...
by Kevin Bekker | Mar 3, 2025 | Digital Marketing
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving a website’s visibility in search engine results to attract more organic traffic—the visitors who find your site naturally rather than through paid ads. SEO helps businesses increase brand awareness, drive...
by Kevin Bekker | Mar 1, 2025 | Digital Marketing
Google Ads & AI: Smarter Advertising for Businesses Google Ads is an amazing tool for businesses that want to connect with potential customers online. Now, with AI-powered features making the platform smarter, more flexible, and more automated than ever, it has...
by Kevin Bekker | Jun 2, 2020 | Marketing Strategy, AI SEO, Digital Marketing
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is evolving fast, and businesses that want to stay competitive in 2025 need to adapt. SEM is no longer just about bidding on keywords—it’s about understanding user intent, leveraging AI-powered automation, and optimizing for better...
by Kevin Bekker | May 22, 2020 | Digital Marketing, Marketing Strategy
If you are a local business, your Google My Business (GMB) page becomes front and center. The GMB Page appears in the map pack under the paid ads (Search Engine Marketing ads, also called PPC or pay-per-click ads). The Google My Business Page is a Google business...
by Kevin Bekker | Nov 1, 2017 | Video Tutorials
AUDIO ONLY: How to Identify Click Fraud in your Programmatic Campaign https://kevinbekker.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/How-to-identify-click-fraud-within-your-display-campaign-1C_9Ul5Cyrw.mp3 Very Rough Video Transcription. Hello, everybody. This is Kevin Bekker....
by Kevin Bekker | Oct 26, 2017 | Marketing Strategy
The programmatic (ad tech) industry has a problem with ad fraud. Bots created by hackers visit popular websites, collect cookies, then embed themselves on fraudulent websites. Once implanted, the bots serve large numbers with automated clicks which generate revenue...
by Kevin Bekker | Sep 7, 2017 | Marketing Strategy
Title: Agency Capabilities Deck/ Whitepaper Summary: The Agency Capabilities Brief / Whitepaper was created as a leave behind for advertising and marketing agencies to further understand the structure and technology behind the Nola Media Group and Advance Local...
by Kevin Bekker | Sep 4, 2017 | Marketing Strategy
Event Information Title: SEO 101, Back to the Basics Summary: Kevin took part in a monthly SEM PDX meeting focused on SEO. Kevin was asked to present a short presentation on SEO tips and tricks as well as serve as an SEO panelist to provide live SEO commentary...
by Kevin Bekker | Sep 4, 2017 | Marketing Strategy
Title: Attribution Strategy and How To Make it Work Summary: The Advance Visibility Summit is held twice a year in Advance Local markets around the country. It’s an opportunity for some of the top digital minds in the company to come together and talk shop and...
by Kevin Bekker | Sep 4, 2017 | Marketing Strategy
Title: The Digital Boomer & Senior. How wired are Boomers and Seniors? Summary: The Digital Boomer and Senior is a webinar that focuses on how Boomer’s and Seniors utilize the internet in their daily lives. The deck focuses on disproving the widely accepted...
by Kevin Bekker | Sep 4, 2017 | Marketing Strategy
Zmot – The Reason Digital is Important. from Kevin Bekker Title: The Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) Summary: The Zero Moment of Truth, a Google study released in 2012 is the reason why digital guys like me have a job. The study sheds light on how consumers use the...
by Kevin Bekker | Sep 4, 2017 | Marketing Strategy
Title: Targeting Demographics vs.Targeting Behavior within the Programmatic Space Summary: Which is more accurate, targeting an entire population segment or a consumer’s behavior? How does programmatic behavioral targeting work and why is it more accurate...
by Kevin Bekker | Aug 25, 2017 | Digital Marketing
Definition of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Search Engine Marketing is a digital marketing product that allows businesses to place advertising messages on the first page of a search engine results page. SEM ads are generally text ads that appear similar to the...
by Kevin Bekker | Jul 24, 2017 | Video Tutorials
How do you know if your digital marketing is working? All digital marketing products can be tracked, but there is more to tracking then click-through report. You need to be using your Google Analytics to understand what happens after the click. In this video, I will...
by Kevin Bekker | May 9, 2017 | Digital Marketing
Screaming Frog SEO Spyder in Spider Mode may be the best tool you will ever use. Screaming Frog is the foundation of my daily SEO and UX work. The free version is great, and the paid version is ever more impressive. Screaming Frog is a crawler, and man can it crawl....
by Kevin Bekker | May 5, 2017 | Digital Marketing
How do you make programmatic work? You use Programmatic Sampling strategies. Programmatic sampling utilizes four programmatic costing models using different supply types and targets. Using server-side transparency and viewability reporting, optimize to the most...
by Kevin Bekker | May 4, 2017 | Digital Marketing
Satori Makes the Internet Smaller Satori is the world first open source RSS feed exchange. Using similar intellectual concepts like modern day programmatic exchange, Satori has organized world’s published content and data into a single RSS feed. Even more...
by Kevin Bekker | Apr 28, 2017 | Digital Marketing
by Kevin Bekker | Apr 25, 2017 | Digital Marketing
So Many Google Analytic Issues At the Nola Media Group, the digital team works with hundreds of clients across numerous different verticals every year. The most common issue we find is an inability to track marketing campaigns accurately. Almost eight out of ten...
by Kevin Bekker | Apr 24, 2017 | Marketing Strategy
1. Consider Search Engine Optimization (SEO) deliverables and SEO performance transparency Everything on the internet is trackable, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is no exception. Some SEO vendors charge by the hour and other by deliverable, but either way, they...
by Kevin Bekker | Mar 2, 2015 | Digital Marketing, AI SEO, Marketing Strategy
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a critical component of digital advertising, but how do you measure success? With advancements in AI-driven advertising, automation, and evolving search engine algorithms, businesses must track the right metrics to optimize...