This audio recording is an episode of the SDM show hosted by Rob Cairns, featuring an interview with Dan Knauss, an organizer of WordCamp Canada. They discuss the upcoming 2024 event, scheduled for October 16-17 in Ottawa at Carleton University, with a potential contributor day. The conversation covers the theme centered around youth, campus life, and reinvention, as well as calls for volunteers and speakers. They also touch on the importance of community building within the Canadian WordPress ecosystem and opportunities for sponsorships.
This podcast episode of the SDM Show, hosted by Rob Cairns, features a discussion with Jeff Greenfield about the complexities of analytics in the modern marketing landscape. Greenfield shares his journey into analytics and highlights the limitations of relying solely on click-based metrics like Google Analytics. They explore the importance of understanding broader marketing concepts, including impressions and multi-touch attribution, and the challenges marketers face with evolving privacy regulations and the rise of non-clickable advertising channels. The conversation touches on the need for a unified source of marketing truth and the role of intelligent automation in providing actionable insights for businesses.
In an episode of the SDM Show hosted by Rob Cairns, featuring Tim Nash, the discussion centers on website security, specifically addressing the crucial steps to take when a website has been hacked. They emphasize identifying the signs of a hack versus other website issues and caution against relying solely on backups for restoration due to potential reinfection. Nash details the common stages of a website hack, explaining why immediate detection and clean-up are essential, often recommending a complete rebuild for severely compromised sites. The conversation also covers misconceptions about SSL certificates, the limitations of website malware scanners, and the importance of transparent communication with customers following a security incident. Practical advice includes verifying local devices for malware, the risks associated with shared hosting and public Wi-Fi, and the necessity of securing e-commerce data like order information during recovery. Ultimately, the podcast episode provides valuable insights and actionable steps for website owners facing the challenges of recovering from a hack.
The provided audio excerpt from the SDM show features a conversation between Rob Cairns and Bridget Willard about leveraging customer support interactions for marketing purposes. They discuss the proactive approach of preventing issues that lead to support tickets by anticipating customer needs and creating readily available resources. The speakers emphasize that support tickets and customer feedback are valuable investments that can inform content creation, improve customer experience, and even educate sales teams. Repurposing solutions to common customer problems as blog posts or FAQs can reduce support burdens and enhance SEO. Ultimately, they advocate for a unified approach between marketing, sales, and IT that prioritizes customer communication and relationship building.
This podcast episode from "The SDM Show" features a discussion between host Rob Cairns and Ryan Waterbury of One Dog Solutions regarding the critical need for businesses, particularly agencies, to consistently engage in marketing efforts. They explore various accessible marketing tactics, emphasizing the value of newsletters, social media engagement, client communication, and obtaining reviews. The conversation highlights the pitfalls of inconsistent marketing and underscores the importance of proactive strategies, even when business is thriving. Furthermore, they touch upon leveraging AI tools and the enduring effectiveness of established methods like DIY content, referrals, and strategically used paid advertising to maintain visibility and growth.
This podcast episode from The SDM Show features host Rob Cairns interviewing Neil Twa about Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon). Their discussion covers Neil's journey into business and physical products, the impact of events like the pandemic on online sales, and the competitive landscape with marketplaces like Temu. Neil shares his strategic approach to launching FBA businesses, emphasizing testing multiple products with adequate capital and focusing on data-driven decisions over the "side hustle" mentality. The conversation also explores the importance of paid advertising in conjunction with organic growth on Amazon and touches on the potential of platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Finally, they discuss long-term business building strategies, including the value of creating multi-channel businesses and the option of selling on an upward trajectory.
The SDM Show, hosted by Rob Cairns of Stunning Digital Marketing, originates from Toronto and covers topics like business and digital marketing. In this particular episode, Cairns explains his motivations for producing over 500 podcast episodes. His reasons include promoting his business, showcasing his authenticity, expanding his professional network, gaining learning opportunities from guests, and simply his personal enjoyment of the medium, reminiscent of his early interest in radio. The podcast is dedicated to Cairns' late father.
The SDM show features host Rob Cairns and Todd Jones discussing the multifaceted concept of a "prompt," particularly in the context of AI and content creation. They explore how prompts function similarly to triggers or questions, guiding AI to generate text and images, and draw parallels to their use in journaling and human interaction. Jones differentiates between human and AI prompts, emphasizing the need for clear user input to achieve desired AI outputs. The conversation further touches on the limitations and potential of AI in areas like image generation and content refinement, advocating for a thoughtful approach to leveraging these tools. They also briefly discuss the evolving landscape of sports and the creation of content, including Cairns' upcoming eBook project utilizing AI from his podcast transcripts. The overall discussion highlights the versatility of the word "prompt" and its increasing importance in the digital age.
The provided text is an excerpt from "The SDM Show" podcast, featuring host Rob Cairns interviewing Anthony Luti of Radiant Media. Their discussion centers on video production for businesses, covering topics such as equipment recommendations, editing software, the importance of short-form content, and lighting techniques. Luti also shares insights into his company's journey into video, including commercial work and their ventures into feature film production. The conversation further explores strategies for consistent video creation on a budget and the value of partnering with influencers for marketing purposes.
The provided text is an excerpt from "The SDM Show" podcast, hosted by Rob Cairns. In this episode, Cairns, founder of Stunning Digital Marketing, argues strongly for the necessity of having a WordPress security expert. He contends that the complexities and constant threats in the WordPress environment overwhelm typical business owners. Cairns emphasizes the importance of proactive security measures like updates, backups, and specialized software, as well as having someone to assist in recovery. He suggests that expert knowledge is crucial for navigating plugin vulnerabilities and implementing effective security strategies, ultimately protecting a business's online investment.
This podcast episode from "The SDM Show" features host Rob Cairns interviewing Todd Jones about valuable content in digital marketing. They discuss how simply providing information may not be enough. Jones argues that content should also entertain, inform, empower, and inspire to truly resonate with audiences. The conversation touches upon the importance of engaging emotions through storytelling and creating memorable content beyond just educational material. They also explore content distribution strategies and the evolving media landscape, including the rise of independent media and short-form video. Ultimately, they emphasize the need for businesses to create remarkable content and deliver it where their target audience is.
The provided text is an excerpt from The SDM Show, Episode 523, featuring host Rob Cairns interviewing Ahsan Parwez, co-founder of WP Founders. Their conversation begins with Ahsan's journey into the WordPress ecosystem, starting with Joomla before transitioning and eventually becoming a WordPress community manager at Cloudways. The discussion then shifts to the origins and mission of WP Founders, a platform highlighting success stories of WordPress business owners to inspire new entrepreneurs. Finally, they explore WP Dots, the umbrella company encompassing ventures like website building, marketing advice, wpdiscounts.io, and their hosting company, hostwp.io, touching upon the challenges and nuances of the web hosting industry, security, and WordPress page builders.
The SDM Show podcast episode 522, hosted by Rob Cairns from Stunning Digital Marketing, advises businesses to establish a Bing Business Places profile for improved search engine optimization. Ker highlights that Microsoft's Edge browser, with its integrated AI Copilot, is gaining market share, making Bing a significant search engine. He argues that Bing Business Profiles, similar to Google Business Profiles, can outrank websites in search results, especially locally. The episode explains that setting up a Bing profile is worthwhile as it can sync with Google Business Profile, minimizing extra effort for business owners. Therefore, leveraging Bing Business Places is presented as a crucial step for expanding online visibility and attracting more customers.
This podcast episode features a discussion between Rob Cairns and Bridget Willard about the importance of utilizing Google Maps for small businesses, now integrated as Google Business Profile. They emphasize that businesses with physical locations, like restaurants, significantly benefit from having an accurate and regularly updated presence, including details like contact information and menus. The conversation highlights how this increases visibility in local searches, often outranking standard website SEO, and encourages businesses to share their content and even customer reviews on their profiles. Additionally, they briefly touch on the value of setting up a Bing Business Place profile for broader reach and the ongoing relevance of word-based content for search engines, including AI.
Rob Cairns and Ryan Waterbury discuss the complexities of agency pricing in this podcast episode. They share personal experiences about raising rates, managing client expectations, and preventing burnout. The conversation covers strategies for identifying when a price increase is necessary, such as when client workload becomes overwhelming or proposal acceptance rates reach 100%. Waterbury emphasizes the importance of valuing your expertise, time, and overall well-being when setting prices. They also highlight the significance of self-care and mental health for agency owners, noting how overwork can lead to burnout and health issues. Ultimately, the podcast champions charging what you're worth to attract better clients and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
This podcast episode from "The SDM Show" features Warren Laine-Naida discussing the SEO journey, comparing it to a long car ride where clients frequently ask about results. The conversation breaks down the SEO process into phases, highlighting the initial research and strategy, the implementation and content creation, and the longer period of seeing significant impact over 6 to 12 months. The speakers emphasize that SEO is a continuous process that requires patience and consistent effort, while also stressing the importance of off-page SEO and social media engagement alongside technical and content optimization. They also note that local SEO can yield faster results compared to broader organic strategies.
The SDM show, featuring Rob Cairns and Todd Jones, underscores the critical importance of readily available contact information for small businesses. This "NAP" data, encompassing name, address, phone number, email, and social media links, should be prominently displayed on websites, especially on mobile versions, above the fold and in the footer for ease of access. The speakers emphasize the importance of ensuring consistent NAP data across all platforms, including Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Yelp, and other relevant directories. They suggest that businesses ask new clients how they found them to focus marketing efforts. They urge business owners to treat a complete and consistent contact block not as an extra, but as an essential element of successful local SEO and brand-building. Finally, they advise businesses to include schema markup on their websites for enhanced search engine visibility of their contact information.
Rob Cairns from Stunning Digital Marketing shares advice on ethically offboarding clients. The podcast episode focuses on providing ample notice, exceeding contractual obligations, and maintaining open communication. Cairns emphasizes offering support during the transition, like providing website backups and restoration instructions. He also discusses when it is not appropriate to recommend other professionals. The goal is to ensure a smooth and professional departure, even when ending a business relationship is necessary.
The podcast features a discussion between Rob Cairns and Spencer Foreman about business development, particularly within the WordPress ecosystem. They explore the challenges of WordPress, including security vulnerabilities and the overwhelming number of plugins, advocating for a curated approach. Foreman emphasizes the value of specialized services and trusted experts, drawing analogies to concierge services and curated experiences. The conversation also touches on the impact of AI, its potential benefits, and the emerging security risks. They stress the importance of genuine human connections, ethical business practices, and staying present in a technology-driven world. The speakers then consider future business approaches and methods. Ultimately, they share tips for building successful WordPress businesses, focusing on solving specific pain points and establishing direct relationships with customers.
The SDM podcast features Rob Cairns and Tim Nash discussing smartphone security. They examine risks, like lost devices and vulnerabilities in apps like WhatsApp, and debate Android versus iOS security. The conversation covers location tracking, the dangers of third-party apps, and the importance of keeping devices updated. They also touch on physical security measures like hardware keys and passcodes, and the ethics surrounding device access and data privacy. The podcast concludes with actionable tips for users to better secure their phones, emphasizing fewer apps and stronger passcodes.
