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That better SEO alone doesn't mean more clients. The underperforming websites don't actually have a traffic problem, they just have a clarity problem. They don't have a convincing answer to the visitor's unspoken question, which is why this company the visitor arrived on your site, they looked around and they couldn't find a reason to stay. Not because they were the wrong person, but because nothing on your website page gave them a clear signal that this was the right place for them. Hello and welcome to episode 307 of the Hate Show. Today I am talking about SEO again, but I am not talking about it in a way that you might expect, because it needs to be said that better SEO alone doesn't mean more clients. So if your website has good SEO, one would think, well, I'm going to get more website traffic, therefore I'm going to get more clients, right? But not necessarily. The space between SEO and actually making your client feel seen and heard is one of the most overlooked marketing gaps that you need to bridge. And the sooner the better. Both search engines and AI models are matching their users with results based on their needs and their intent. If your website matches their needs and their intentions, not just explains your services to death, your business will be surfaced more often in those chat conversations and search results. So today I'm sharing how you can make a simple shift in how you talk about your business that will make a profound difference in whether someone who lands on your site simply leaves or actually stays to fill out your contact form. So let's get into it. This episode was prompted by an article that I found on entrepreneur.com and it was just so spot on. I'm actually going to read parts of it to you. It is short, don't worry, but it's by Goran Pon and he explains that the underperforming websites don't actually have a traffic problem, they just have a clarity problem. They don't have a convincing answer to the visitor's unspoken question, which is why this company? Now a lot of us do try to answer that on our websites and we even have a section that will say why us? But it's answering it in the wrong way because it's really more of a why is this for you? Sort of question, not why should I choose this company? And it's interesting that businesses that decide to invest in website design and SEO but then skip the work in between, which is like strategically thinking about your audience, your messaging, what your visitor needs to believe before they'll take action like that. That's Some of the most important work, and it needs to be addressed. So we're going to do that today. All right, so I'm going to just read directly from the article for a minute. Goran goes on to say, for a long time, the conversation about website performance defaulted to the same diagnosis. Traffic is low, so the problem should probably be discoverability. Right? Rankings have slipped, so the answer must be more content, better keywords, cleaner metadata. And then the SEO audit becomes a reflex. Oh, no, we need an audit. Get one quick. The agency gets hired, the recommendations are implemented, and six months later, the numbers look a little better. But the business isn't getting the inquiries that it expected. He goes on to say that he has watched that cycle play out across enough businesses to realize that it's just an expensive way of. Of avoiding a harder question. So he's not trying to suggest that SEO doesn't matter. It absolutely does. But most of the companies that he has come across with this issue don't have a traffic problem or an SEO problem. They have a clarity problem. And no amount of keyword strategy addresses a website that cannot explain why this company and not the1 sitting2 search results below it. So when a visitor comes to your site and leaves without doing anything, usually a professional will look at that and say, oh, something failed at the acquisition stage. The campaign didn't target correctly, the search term was wrong, the ad copy was wrong. And those are all possible explanations. And sometimes that is accurate. But there is another explanation that gets less attention, and that is this. And this is how he explains it. The visitor arrived on your site, they looked around, and they couldn't find a reason to stay. Not because they were the wrong person, but because nothing on your website page gave them a clear signal that this was the right place for them. The language was vague, the hierarchy was unclear, the value was stated but not felt. You can't just say, we bring value to your project because we have experience. That's not a feeling that doesn't evoke any sort of emotion, that does not tell any story. And I. I gotta be honest, guys, this is the reason why so many. I'll just say it. Interior design sites are falling flat because you guys focus so much on the imagery and there's almost no text. And not only is it bad for SEO, not only is it bad, because now ChatGPT has no idea what users you help or what intent to match with, but real human beings on your site are like, wow, there's a lot of pretty pictures on here. That means nothing to me. Okay, and pictures can evoke emotions, but not the, the buying sort, not the investing sort. So there's a difference between a website that just describes your business and a website that argues for one. And most sites are just describing the business. They explain what the company does, they list the services, provide credentials, and they have a contact form. The structure is very logical. Okay, and I'm kind of reading from slash paraphrasing what Goran said here. I do encourage you to look up this article. I'll link it in the show notes. It's not a long read, but it is so informative. Now let's think about your website. Let's just say it's clear, it's structured well, it's logical. And when someone comes to your website, they can find all the information they need, all the factual information, but they still have no particular reason to believe your design firm, your organizing business is the right choice for them. And that's not a design failure. It's not like a website design problem in a conventional sense. Because the page often looks well done, good photography is chosen, the fonts are easy to read, no glaring ADA compliance issues. But the failure, as Goran says in this article, the failure is upstream of any of that. In the absence of a clear, confident, specific point of view about what this business does better than anyone else and why that matters to the person reading right now, why should it matter to them? There will always be an emotion based reason for that. I'm just going to end his article synopsis with this. Positioning is not a tagline. It's not a mission statement. It's the logic that answers the visitor's unspoken question, which is always some version of why you, why now? And what happens if I trust you with this? Meaning? This my project. A site that cannot answer that question quickly within the first few seconds will underperform regardless of how much traffic it receives. Guys, this is why we need to stop with the silly, esoteric headlines on your website. We need to stop with the first paragraph just being all about your business. If it feels like I'm getting in your face about this, I am. Because it is a problem. So many of you want to grow your businesses, but you will not step out of the way for the messaging to talk to your ideal client. First and foremost, you want to talk about this is where the story begins. This is how the experience happens. You want there to be some sort of flair for the dramatic. But that doesn't sell. In fact, it's an anti sell. People aren't there for the drama. They are There to see themselves being represented, to feel seen and heard, to understand this is why they should hire you, because you understand them. I will often use my own business as an example for this because people come to me for one reason and they stay for one reason. They come to the social agency because they say, I need someone who understands my industry. How do they know I understand the home industry? Is it because I've said I understand the home industry? No. In fact, I almost never say that because me just saying that means nothing. They can see you can see that I understand the home industry because of the issues that I talk about on my podcast, in my email newsletter, on my website. You can see that I've been in the trenches with you, with people in your industry for over a decade at this point. And that's why I know what to say. I know what problems you have and therefore I know what services to offer to meet the problems that you have, making you feel seen and heard in a way that according to you guys, you have not experienced with other marketing agencies. Okay? That is the experience that you need to create on your own website for your own clients. Okay, so does your homepage address your clients directly and describe the pain points they are experiencing? And do you know why your clients hire you versus someone else? All of that has to be in your messaging. And I'm going to tell you why, because it's not just my opinion. Even though yeah, it is my opinion, but it's not just from me. It's not just a good idea. But let me tell you about what Google did in May. So you're listening to this in July, I believe I'm recording a little bit ahead. But In May of 2026, Google's AI mode reached 1 billion monthly users with usage doubling every quarter since AI mode launched. That's insane. And at this point they are saying they meaning Google is saying Google Search is AI Search. Okay, they are. The lines are so blurred at this point and now you have to be smarter than ever and you have to be so, so clear on your website if you want Gemini Chat GPT grok to pull up your website in search results. So let me explain a little bit more. I got this information from aichatdaily.com it's another really helpful article that I'll link in the show notes. But it says that Google's VP of Search, Liz Reed, announced the biggest search box redesign in the company's 25 year history, rolling out globally today. Today, meaning back in May and the new box you probably saw it. When you open your phone, you search for something, it expands dynamically as users type and uses Gemini to autocomplete queries based on user context and intent. This shift is part of a broader agentic overhaul powered by Gemini 3.5 flash, blah blah blah. The point is, guys, Google Gemini wants good information that matches the pain point their user is dealing with. But it will never show that user your site if your site doesn't also talk about that intent and those pain points. So there's a lot more in this article that I could go over, but I'm not. I don't want to just make this episode about reading other people's articles. So. So I'm going to link that along with the Entrepreneur article in the Show Notes for you. Now, I don't want you guys to have the impression that despite all these changes with AI, with search, with SEO and and brand messaging, that somehow the Socialite agency is just always perfect. Like we've always just got it. No, I'm learning and changing and shifting just like you guys are. So I wanted to share with you how I am transforming my own messaging, particularly on my website. Because it's very easy to change messaging in real time with email marketing. I can just change how I say it in the next newsletter. But my website plays a very heavy and more evergreen role. So I want to make sure the messaging is spot on. So I'm going to read to you my old homepage copy and contrast that with my new homepage copy and I'm hoping it will give you guys a better understanding of what I mean as far as this bridge called clarity that we all need to cross. So I used to say on my website, interior design marketing couldn't be easier. Either you've never marketed your design business before or you've been marketing for years and nothing has really worked. That's frustrating and expensive, isn't it? Marketing doesn't have to be this way. When you work with Socialite, you remain in full control of your marketing without having to do all the work. We craft the brand message of your business and and position your services in a way that make your client feel seen, heard, and happy to invest with you. Okay, so if I'm being self critical, which is actually quite important to do in business, I want to point out a few errors that I made here. And this has been on my website for like what, two years? Interior design marketing couldn't be easier. Why did I say that? I mean, I like to think of it as easy. I enjoy it and I have made it easy, but to you guys, it's not necessarily easy. You're not saying to me this is easy. So my guess is that line did not make you feel seen, heard or understood. So my bad, sorry. And I did try to touch on pain points of like, it's frustrating and expensive to keep trying all sorts of marketing that doesn't work. And by the way, marketing doesn't have to be that way. Okay, so I was getting closer there and then I described what it's like to work with us and you know, I was close, but not quite. So here is my draft of how I think I'm going to update my homepage copy. This is not currently on my website as I record this episode because I'm still mulling it over. And then of course I want to make sure whatever copy I do update on my site is still optimized for the particular keywords that I want. I'm probably going to create multiple versions of my homepage for interior design, one for staging, one for organizing. I mean like I am learning as I go, just like you guys because Google has made such big changes and if we don't keep up with the changes then we have no business wondering why business isn't going well. So it is important to continue adapting and staying current with how these things are changing. And of course they're changing so fast, it's like multiple times a year that it does feel like a bit much. But it's not always going to be changing that fast. There's just some some big growth spurts happening right now with search and with AI. So please don't get worn out at the thought of constantly changing your website. You won't always have to. We just need to get through these growth phases right now. All right, so all of that being said, here is the copy that I am considering putting on my site instead. You are a type A professional in the home industry who values outsourcing. A thoughtful, well appointed marketing strategy. Your relationship with homeowner clients, real estate agents, builders and developers is high value and you are irreplaceable. However, you don't want to be responsible for the messaging that surrounds initiating and facilitating dozens of these relationships. At the same time, your business serves mid to high end clients looking for interior design, home staging or professional organizing. And you need a content strategist who understands both your industry and your unique brand. But more than that, your brand needs someone who can create and implement the content that resonates with your clients, referral partners, search engines and AI. Models. We are the socialite agency and we help entrepreneurs just like you grow your client base without paid ads or social media presence on your behalf. We harness the momentum of email marketing for ongoing referrals and blogging for SEO AIO to generate organic new leads. Success in the home industry doesn't require overspending on your marketing or implementing vague strategies that you don't understand. And that's as far as I got. So obviously that has to be reworded a little, trimmed down in some areas, expanded in others. Even though I am a copywriter and an SEO consultant and a website designer, it does not mean that I nail it on the first try. So that is my draft. Now, one thing I am going to add back to my homepage that I haven't had in a while is a description of my ideal client. And I do get my clients to do this on their own website sometimes, but I'd say about half the time I get a lot of pushback. No, I don't want to describe my ideal client. I don't want to alienate anyone. But then often these are the same companies that are struggling. So I'm not saying there's a connection there, but I'm not saying there's nothing. So here's how I am considering describing my ideal client. Now, I got a little bit wordy with this, so obviously I'm going to trim it down, condense some of these points and just make it give the right impression. Because the longer I'm in business, the higher my standards get for clients. You know how in the beginning of your business you're like, oh, I'll take anyone because I just need the work. And then after a few years you're like, okay, I have to have some standards and some boundaries. That would be good because I don't want to build a business that I don't like. And then you're in business a little bit longer and you're like, certain people drive me absolutely insane and I don't want to work with those people ever again. And I start to spot them from a mile away. So I'm going to make a list of their attributes so that I can hopefully deter those people from even booking a call with me. Okay, that might be your thought process, but because that's definitely been my thought process because my good clients are amazing and I'm pretty sure that none of my frustrating client experiences even listen to this podcast. In fact, I know it with almost a hundred percent certainty just because of how little research they do when they come to me. So that in and of itself is a sign. They're probably not going to be a good fit if they're just randomly contacting me out of the blue, like, hey, can you help me? I don't know anything about you. I didn't take time to read through your website. I didn't take time to do any of my due diligence. But I want to talk to you, okay? Usually that goes nowhere. It's a very unfruitful situation. So I made a list of things that the socialite agency looks for in clients. And we have turned down clients. We have let clients go even though they were paying and they were, you know, they were on the roster just because they weren't a good fit. Because our goal is not to attract people who are not a good fit, because we're not really in this just for the money, you know? And I have a feeling you guys feel the same way. I mean, money is important because it's. It is a business that you're trying to run, but you also have the people factor to consider. And you don't want to burn your team out. You don't want to burn yourself out. And a bad client can be so damaging, even if they pay you well because it distracts you from growing the business in the way that you wanted it to grow and working with the clients that you do ultimately want to work with. So I'm giving a lot of backstory with everything today. I apologize. Here is a list of attributes that I am considering putting on the homepage of my site. And it. I'll probably shorten it up. First one is, you honor your commitments, which means you provide assets when asked. You don't hinder the work of people you hire to help you. You don't miss payments. You don't breach your contract. You manage your time well, so you know you can't get it all done, which is why you're seeking our help. And you understand that you have to continue managing that time well and be a good communicator so you read and respond to the emails we send you in a timely fashion. You're also a confident decision maker. You don't need the input of three people in order to move forward. You aren't slow to make choices due to paranoia or waffling. Well, when I get another project, then I'll be able to work with you. And it's like, well, why did you reach out then? You're not ready. You're not serious. Like, I'm sorry, but you're not, and that's okay, but wait till you're ready. Also, you aren't driven by your emotions. So the blame game and the excuses, they don't have a place in your schedule. And this one, this one's super important. And I may have to find a better way to word it, but for now I have. You define luxury as being tailored and personable rather than pretentious and unapproachable. All right, So I know that quite a few of you work with high, high, high, high end clients, affluent clients, and you love working with those who are down to earth. They aren't pretentious. And I have to say, I'm the same way. But when I look back on some of the most rude, unprofessional clients my agency's ever worked with, they are those who consider themselves to be luxury, luxury level service providers. They are the worst communicators and they are most likely to breach contract. And it's all very, very strange. It's very shocking and unprofessional. So I am trying to navigate this narrow margin of, you know, we actually do really well working with luxury firms, but not if you think you're, you're all that and a slice of bread. Not if you think you're better than the person who scans your groceries. Not if you consider yourself to be elite, not if you consider yourself to be better than. You need to believe in community over competition. You need to believe that you aren't too successful to learn something new. And your words need to mean something. They need to hold value. So if you say you're going to do something, you do it. And you won't come back later with a different story. So I am still trying to figure out how to flesh that out because obviously most of the clients we work with are serving like the mid to high end demographic and there are quite a few in the very high end. I know some of you, you sign NDAs all the time because you work with, with celebrities, even members of the royal family, whatever. And you're so personable and warm and that's actually why those celebrities and, you know, fancy people hired you. And that's amazing because you're so fun to work with. And then there are others who just, just aren't like that. And we can all think of someone in the industry that reminds us of that. Okay? So I'm trying to detour those people because I don't care if they've got money to spend with me, I don't want it because it's not worth the stress that it brings. So I am really trying to make sure that my homepage attracts the right people and makes them feel seen and heard, but actually offends the other people. I want my homepage to be offensive to someone who would not be a good fit, and I recommend that your homepage do the same. So this is something that I'm currently working through myself. It's very important, and it's important for the. The way the industry is changing. The industry is changing quite a bit. The definition of luxury is changing. I'm sure you heard my episode on that recently. And we have to change with the times. It doesn't mean rebranding. It doesn't mean reinventing ourselves. It means fixing the messaging gaps. All right, so, guys, I know that was a lot. If you have questions, if you would like me to look at your messaging, if you're, like, questioning, you know, is SEO really my biggest problem? Maybe I just need to have more clarity. Let's talk about it. Okay. Yes, we can email back and forth, but a call is so much better. So head to Kate the socialite.com go down to the footer of any page and book a discovery call with me. I would love to look at your website and talk with you about where you're trying to take your business and how you're going to get there. And. And it's not just about giving you good ideas, but actual actions that you can take or that you can outsource for someone else to take on your behalf so that you can have a sustainable business that you truly love working in. And that gets you excited about Monday morning, because that is, like, the whole point. I mean, yes, there's making money, and of course, we want to provide for our families, but you started your business because you were passionate about it. So let's not let that passion just fade away because the markets change, the industry changes, or too many bad clients frustrated you. We'll figure it out together. So go to Kate the socialite.com scroll all the way to the footer to book a discovery call. All right, thank you guys so much for your time today. Keep your messaging simple and keep your marketing very clear on who you want to serve and how you serve them. But don't make it about you. Make it about them and the emotional transformation that you bring. See you next time.