Journal
What I’m seeing in ad accounts, analytics and CRMs, and what’s working for businesses now. Every guide lists its sources.
All guides
14 guides
How to see if AI answers cite your site
How to check whether AI answers cite your site in 2026, using Search Console's AI report, Bing's AI Performance report and GA4's AI Assistant channel.
How to judge SEO by the revenue it brings in
How to judge SEO by enquiries and revenue per landing page, using GA4's landing page report, key events and the Search Console link to GA4.
Local SEO: what Google rewards, and what breaks the rules
How Google ranks local results, what a Business Profile needs, the UK review rules in force since April 2025, and how to measure local enquiries.
The technical SEO checks to run first
The technical SEO checks worth running first in 2026: indexing, blocked crawlers, canonicals, sitemaps, redirects, mobile and Core Web Vitals.
Using AI in a marketing workflow without losing control
How I use AI in a UK marketing workflow with a person signing off: data in prompts, ad claims, platform AI settings and a sign-off checklist.
Writing new ads from what already worked in your account
Google retired the Best, Good and Low performance label. How to read asset reports and build an ad copy library from lines that worked, with CAP checks.
When a negative keyword blocks your best keyword
A negative keyword can quietly stop your best Google Ads keyword from showing. How negative match types block keywords, where to look, and how to fix it.
Blocking junk Performance Max placements
How to find and block junk Performance Max placements: placement report, account-level and MCC exclusions, content suitability and a monthly routine.
Five Google Ads automations that pay for themselves
Five Google Ads automations worth building: search term reviews, placement exclusions, CPC alerts, budget pacing and reporting, plus the limits to plan for.
The one-page GA4 report people actually read
How to build a one-page monthly GA4 report: which metrics to keep, how to compare periods, which tool to use, and commentary that ends in a decision.
Consent Mode and enhanced conversions: a UK checklist
What changed in UK cookie law in 2026, which Google tags still need consent, and how to check Consent Mode v2 is passing consent to enhanced conversions.
Meta Conversions API for lead generation: a UK setup guide
How to use Meta's Conversions API for lead gen: event_id deduplication, hashing UK data, the Conversion Leads goal, CRM links and UK consent.
Getting offline sales back into Google Ads
How to get offline sales into Google Ads in 2026: GCLID import or enhanced conversions for leads, Data Manager, upload time limits and value-based bidding.
Why your best campaign by leads might be your worst by sales
Cost per lead can crown the wrong campaign. How to give leads a value from your CRM and move Google and Meta bidding towards sales, in safe stages.