GETTING MORE BUSINESS IN 2026
It’s been a heck of a year for all of us. So much change. A mystifying economy. Good sales months. Poor sales months. Is anybody jumping for joy? Is 2026 going to be any better? Here are some concerns and recommendations:
- WHERE TO GET MORE SALES LEADS? This is on everyone’s mind, and yet there’s no clear answer. For example, an SEO guru recently asked a class at UVA for a show of hands, “if they use Google as their primary search platform. No hands went up. They mainly use AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini or X’s Grok, or TikTok, he said.”
- BLACK FRIDAY WEEKEND SEARCH TRAFFIC: The websites of 20 large retailers averaged 183,000 visits from people sent by ChatGPT and other LLMs. This is up from zero to several hundred in 2023. Still tiny compared to Google, but growing.
- WHERE’S THE MONEY? Not only is where we need to be to get our sales changing, but the household income for the average American is diminishing. Real average hourly earnings for all employees increased 0.8% from August 2024 to August 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compare that with the recent inflation rate of 2.7%, and you get a clearer picture of what’s happening in the typical household as they trade down.
- WHAT TO DO GOING INTO 2026?
- PIVOT: Re-examine your SEO strategy. It still remains the number 1 source of leads for most of our clients, so it is important to have a plan in place for 2026.
- OPTIONS: What kind of choices are you providing your prospects? Are you still back in the pre-pandemic days before runaway government spending and the inflation that followed, or are you adjusting to the new reality? People need lower-priced choices. We can’t dictate what they can buy anymore.
- BE MORE PLACES: It’s not a “Googlesphere” anymore. We are now needing to influence more and more internet tools with more and more data. It requires more effort, more thought, and probably making necessary changes.
We all know that change is everywhere, and we need to be prepared. Hopefully, this beautiful holiday season will give you time to think and plan. It’s no longer business as usual.
Onward & Upward!
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