I've noticed something interesting in my Social Brew booking forms recently.
When someone books a call with me, I ask how they found Silver Lining Social. Increasingly, the answers are Google and ChatGPT.
I've had enquiries from businesses across the UK and the USA looking for marketing support that understands their specific industry.
These founders are not necessarily searching for the nearest social media manager. They're looking for someone who understands their type of business and the marketing challenges that come with it.
As someone who works with wellness, lifestyle and creative founders, that's exactly the kind of enquiry I want to attract. It also says quite a lot about how people are discovering businesses now and why your website is still a huge marketing asset!
People aren't always searching for the nearest business
For some services, location is everything.
If you're looking for a Pilates class, a local beauty treatment or somewhere to have your hair done, you're probably going to want somewhere relatively close to home.
But that's not the case for every business. If you're an artist looking for marketing support, a wellness brand searching for a specialist or a creative founder looking for someone to build your website, the right expertise might matter more than being in the same postcode.
Silver Lining Social is based in Worcestershire, but I work with businesses beyond my local area. So while local visibility is important, I also want people to understand the industries I work with and how I can help them.
That's why I'm quite intentional about the language on my website.
Rather than simply saying I offer social media management, website design and marketing support, I explain who those services are for.
Because the right person needs to recognise that your business is relevant to them.
Being specific about your audience isn't limiting your business
If you start speaking directly to a particular audience, will you put everyone else off? I think this is something a lot of small business owners worry about. Being clear about who you help makes it easier for the right people to recognise themselves in what you're offering.
Take a nutritional therapist, for example.
There's a difference between a website that says ‘I offer nutritional consultations’ and one that explains who those consultations are for, what someone might need support with and what happens when they book.
The second gives a potential client much more to work with.
It's the same for a wedding florist, an independent clothing brand or a creative service provider.
You don't need to fill your website with industry jargon or repeat the same keywords everywhere. You need to explain what you do in a way that makes sense to the people you actually want to work with and that means being specific about your services, your audience and the problems you help solve.
Your website needs to explain your business properly
When I hear people say that websites don't matter as much because everyone's on social media, I can't say I agree. Social media is brilliant for showing your personality, building relationships and giving people a feel for your business, but your website has a different job.
It's where someone can get a clearer picture of what you offer, who you work with, what makes your business different and how to take the next step and it's information that can help search engines understand your business too.
For a wellness practitioner, that might mean having individual pages explaining your treatments or services rather than putting everything under one vague heading.
For an independent lifestyle brand, it could mean clear product descriptions, useful category pages and information that answers the questions customers have before buying.
For a creative founder, it might mean explaining your process, showing examples of your work and being clear about the types of projects you take on.
A beautiful website is lovely. A beautiful website that actually explains what you do is much more useful.
ChatGPT hasn't made Google or SEO irrelevant
I keep seeing conversations about whether AI is replacing Google or whether SEO is becoming pointless. From what I'm seeing in my own enquiries, people are using different ways to find businesses.
Some are finding me through Google. Others are discovering Silver Lining Social through ChatGPT.
That doesn't mean I know exactly why my website appeared in a particular search or AI response and I wouldn't suggest there's a guaranteed formula for getting ChatGPT to recommend your business.
What I do know is that having a clear, useful website is still important.
If your website doesn't properly explain your services, who you help or what makes your business relevant, you're making it harder for potential clients to understand whether you're the right fit.
The same goes for your wider online presence.
Your social media, website and business information should all give people a consistent picture of what you do.
I've written more about the practical side of this in my guide to showing up in Google's AI search results, if you'd like to explore it further.
Anonymised Social Brew booking form responses showing enquiries from Google and ChatGPT.
What I'd check on your own website
If you run a wellness, lifestyle or creative business, there are a few things I'd encourage you to look at.
1. Is it obvious who you help?
Could someone visiting your homepage tell within a few seconds whether your business is relevant to them?
You don't need to list every possible type of customer, but you should make your main audience clear.
2. Are your services specific enough?
A general list of services isn't always enough.
Explain what's included, who each service is for and what someone can expect from working with you.
3. Are you answering the questions people actually ask?
Think about the conversations you have with potential clients.
What do they want to know before booking? What are they unsure about? What do you find yourself explaining again and again?
Those questions can become useful website content and blog topics.
4. Is your location clear?
Even if you work with clients across the UK or internationally, it's still worth explaining where you're based.
For businesses that rely on local customers, your location and service area are particularly important.
For businesses that work remotely, you can make that clear too.
5. Does your website reflect the business you want to attract?
This is probably the one I'd spend the most time thinking about.
If you're trying to attract a particular type of client, but all your website content is very broad, there's a disconnect.
Your website should reflect the services, clients and direction you're actually working towards.
The biggest thing I've taken from these enquiries
For me, the interesting part is that they're looking for something specific. They want someone who understands their industry, offers the services they need and feels like a good fit and they're prepared to look beyond their immediate area to find that.
That's a useful reminder for anyone running a wellness, lifestyle or creative business.
You don't need to appeal to everyone. You need to make it easier for the right people to find you and recognise that you're the business they're looking for. Sometimes that starts with something as straightforward as making your website clearer about what you do.
Need a hand with yours?
At Silver Lining Social, I help wellness, lifestyle and creative founders with websites, social media and joined up marketing that reflects their business and attracts the right audience.
If your website isn't doing a particularly good job of explaining what you offer or reaching the people you want to work with, take a look at my website services.
