2 SEO strategies you might be missing out on
From the inbox: Past editions of my monthly newsletter, The Clarity Report. Subscribe here if you’d like to receive this monthly dose of marketing insights, strategy breakdowns, and bite-sized nuggets to help you get at least 1% better at marketing.
Issue 001 TL;DR
→ Why Instagram is now part of your SEO strategy
→ 3 can’t-miss articles to sharpen your marketing POV
→ A simple SEO shift that brought in high-quality leads
→ What I’m testing behind the scenes
→ How to scale Meta ads without tanking your ROAS
The Marketing Insight
Instagram 🤝 Google
Reducing churn isn’t just about holding on to customers—it’s about building a loyal community that continuously finds value in your service. When I started working with my client that has a membership, they were facing an uphill battle with customer retention. They were getting new members every month but it also felt like other members were leaving at a similar rate.
Luckily, that wasn’t actually the case when we looked at their analytics but I still knew there was room for improvement in their retention efforts.
Through a series of strategic tweaks and testing, we managed to lower their churn rate by 2.25% in the back-half of 2024. Here’s how we did it, along with what we’re planning next to keep those numbers moving in the right direction.
By now, you may or may not have heard that Instagram is officially allowing content from public professional accounts to be indexed by Google and other search engines.
That means your IG content can now show up in actual search results, not just on Instagram. 🥳
This is a pretty big shift in how content can be discovered and it could seriously reshape the intersection of SEO and social. (Helloooo longer shelf life and increased discoverability!)
So it’s time to start thinking about your content a little differently to capitalize on these changes.
👉 Start being mindful of how you weave keywords into your Instagram content—captions, alt text, and even on-screen text in Reels.
Because now more than ever, your IG content could be the difference between a ‘passive’ rise in sales vs. the same old strategy you’ve been using.
The Scroll
Quick-hit insights and must-reads to keep your strategy sharp.
1️⃣ 5 seismic shifts that will reshape marketing over the next 5 years
Here’s the one big takeaway I fully agree with from this article: brands that can build genuine trust (not just clicks) will win.
The rise of niche media, fragmented attention, and AI-generated content means people are craving substance and real connection. The brands that show up with clarity, consistency, and actual values are the ones cutting through and gaining larger market share.
2️⃣ In a zero-click world, traffic is a terrible goal
It’s time to focus less on where people see your content and more on what they take away from it. If someone learns something, feels seen, or takes action without clicking over to your website, that’s still a win. (Just make sure your ecosystem is designed to accommodate this!)
3️⃣ Social listening in 2025: How to turn insights into business value
If you’re not paying attention to what your audience is actually saying—about your brand, your industry, your competitors—you’re probably missing the insights that could make your messaging, offers, and content way more effective
IMO this is one of the most underrated strategies you can use to shape your entire marketing strategy.
What’s Working in Marketing Right Now
Aligning keywords with search intent
Back in May, I hired Brittany Herzberg to help me refine my SEO strategy by focusing specifically on keywords with commercial and transactional intent (aka people who are ready to hire or buy).
That’s because I know from my own research and data that people looking for Fractional CMOs aren’t searching for the answer to a specific problem to fix it themselves—they’re searching for the person to solve those problems for them so they don’t have to. So I needed to align my keywords with that kind of intent.
Since then, I’ve seen my average position improve by 4.4 spots, and I’ve had two high-quality inquiries for the CMO Partnership come straight from Google—something that has not been the norm in the past.
Moral of the story: When you align your SEO strategy with search intent, results start to drop out of the sky. (Ok a bit dramatic but you get what I’m saying.)
From My Corner
Here’s what I’m playing with in my own business right now:
This new format for my email marketing (don’t worry… I’ll spill how it’s performing once we’re rolling and have more data!)
Re-launching my Optimization Assessments (aka marketing audits!)
Prepping for our seed funding round at BRDGE Insights 😱 (If you’re interested in future content around funding, let me know!)
Inbox SOS
Q: I’m having trouble scaling my Meta ads. Help!
A: I’m going to assume your offer is solid and your current ads are performing well, you’re just seeing a drop in ROAS when you try to scale. (If this isn’t the case, then I’d say start with looking at your offer and ad creative!)
A drop in ROAS when scaling ads is actually a pretty common occurrence but if you’re seeing ads become unprofitable as you scale, here’s where I’d start:
👉 Start by scaling gradually. Jumping your budget too fast can reset the learning phase and throw off performance. Stick to 10–15% increases at a time to maintain momentum.
👉 Balance vertical and horizontal scaling. Vertical scaling = increasing budget on what’s already working. Horizontal scaling = testing new audiences, creative, and angles so you’re not just spending more—you’re expanding strategically.
👉 Watch for audience fatigue and segment smartly. Yes, rotate your creative to keep things fresh to avoid audience fatigue—but also make sure you’re segmenting your audiences. Think: cold lookalikes, warm email list leads, hot past purchasers. Tailor your messaging to each group based on how well they know you and how close they are to buying.
👉 Align your messaging with the funnel stage. Cold traffic needs a different message than warm leads. Make sure your ad angles meet people where they actually are—not where you want them to be.
Scaling isn’t just about spending more. It’s about evolving your strategy to handle more—without losing what made it work in the first place.
Need help figuring out what’s actually working in your marketing? That’s my thing. 👉 Book a Strategy Session or Explore Other Ways to Work Together
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