Let me be honest with you about something I see constantly.

Business owners throwing money at agencies, getting a pretty report every month, and wondering why the phone still isn't ringing. They're paying for marketing. They're just not getting strategy. And there's a huge difference between those two things.

Here's what's happening in the market right now. Every industry has more noise than ever. More ads, more content, more competitors showing up online overnight. The old playbook of running the same Facebook ads, posting the same generic content, and hoping something sticks? That era is done. The businesses winning right now aren't the ones spending the most. They're the ones with a clear, integrated strategy built specifically around their business, not some template pulled off a shelf.

That's exactly where a fractional CMO changes the game.

So what actually is a fractional CMO?

Simply put, it's senior-level marketing leadership without the full-time executive price tag. You get someone sitting at the table with you, understanding your business from the inside out, making strategic decisions on your marketing the way a CMO would at a Fortune 500 company. But you're not locked into a $200K salary. You're getting the expertise on a fractional basis, which for most service businesses is exactly the right fit.

I've been doing this work with clients for years now, and the difference between businesses that are growing and businesses that are spinning their wheels almost always comes down to one thing: strategy. Not tactics. Strategy.

The problem with the cookie-cutter approach

Look, I get why it happens. An agency gets brought in, they're running ads, managing social, doing SEO, and on paper it looks like all the bases are covered. But without someone sitting at the strategic level connecting all those pieces, things fall apart fast. The ads team isn't aligned with the SEO team. The content doesn't match the campaigns. Nobody is asking the question that actually matters: "What's the goal of this business and how does every piece of marketing ladder back to that?"

That's why we built Merged Media the way we did. We're not siloed. We don't hand you off to a junior account manager running plays from a template. The whole point is integration. Strategy first, execution second. Everything talking to everything else. That's what most businesses are missing, and honestly, it's the reason a fractional CMO model exists in the first place.

When there's no strategic leadership at the top of your marketing, even good tactical work gets wasted.

What a fractional CMO actually does for you

First and foremost, they diagnose before they prescribe. You know what I mean? A good fractional CMO isn't coming in with a pre-packaged solution on day one. They're asking the hard questions. Who is your ideal customer? Where are you losing people in the buying process? What's actually working right now and what's just burning budget?

From there, it's about building a real plan. Not a plan that looks good in a slide deck but one that connects all the pieces. SEO, paid ads, content, email, social. All of it working together instead of operating in silos.

And then it's execution and accountability. A fractional CMO manages the vendors, manages the strategy, and reports to you on what matters: leads, revenue, growth. Not impressions. Not clicks. Actual business results.

Let me show you what this looks like in real life

I worked with Kokomo Botanical Resort in Turks and Caicos and this is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. They're a boutique resort, not a beachfront property like most of their competitors. A cookie-cutter approach would have just run the same ads every other resort runs. Instead, we took a step back and asked the real question: what makes this place different, and who actually wants that?

We repositioned the entire brand around wellness. Not just as a talking point, focused, intentional, and consistent across every channel. The result? Occupancy up 25% year over year, and they were recognized as Caribbean Journal's Wellness Resort of the Year. That doesn't happen with a template strategy. That happens when someone is thinking about your business every single day.

This isn't just for big companies

I'm not going to lie, there was a time when this level of marketing leadership was only accessible to businesses with massive budgets. That's changed. Service businesses, local businesses, companies doing $1M to $10M in revenue, these are exactly the businesses that benefit the most from fractional CMO work. Because at that stage, you're too big to be flying blind on marketing, but you're not ready for a full-time executive salary.

At the end of the day, your competitors are going to keep running the same playbook while the market shifts underneath them. Or you can be the business that actually has someone in your corner thinking three steps ahead.

Cookie-cutter marketing had a good run. But it's done.

If you're ready to stop guessing and start growing, let's talk.

 

I just wrapped a 3-month Meta Ads experiment for Merged Media.

$16,240 invested. Over 100 creatives uploaded. Hundreds of hours testing what works in 2026.

Here's what I learned: Meta Ads have changed so drastically in the past year that if you're still running campaigns the way you did in 2023, you're burning money.

Let me walk you through what actually worked, what bombed spectacularly, and the new reality of Facebook advertising that most agencies still haven't figured out.

The Old Playbook Is Dead

Remember when we used to spend hours dissecting customer avatars?

Figuring out if your ideal customer's favorite food is sushi or pizza? Whether they read at night or in the morning? If they prefer working out at 5 AM or 5 PM?

I spent years doing this. Building detailed personas. Creating separate ad sets for different demographic segments. Testing interests like "entrepreneurship" versus "small business ownership."

All of that? Gone.

The algorithm has it figured out for us now. And it does it better than we ever could.

My Approach: Feed the Beast

Here's how I ran this experiment.

Any time I had a fresh content idea, I pulled out my iPhone and recorded a quick video. No fancy production. No script. Just raw, authentic content shot wherever I happened to be.

Airport lounge. Hotel room. My office. The rugby field. Didn't matter.

I'd throw the video at Opus Clip for captions, push it into my campaign, and let the algorithm do its thing.

Out of 100+ videos I uploaded, two of them generated 90% of the leads.

Let that sink in. Two videos out of over a hundred.

That's not a failure. That's how the algorithm works now. It tests everything, figures out what resonates, and doubles down on winners.

The Zurich Airport Experiment 

Let me tell you about one of my biggest flops.

Last month I was on a layover in Zurich. Had a few hours to kill. Walked up to the observation deck overlooking the flight line and had an idea.

I recorded a video that started with 3 seconds of a plane taking off - engines roaring, wheels leaving the tarmac, that dramatic moment right before liftoff.

Then I flipped the camera to myself and asked: "Does your business have a flight plan for 2026?"

In theory? Brilliant ad. Great hook. Strong metaphor. Visually compelling.

The algorithm loved it. Thousands of impressions. High retention rate. People were watching the whole thing.

The result? Not a single lead.

Here's what I think happened: The algo was showing it to people who liked airplanes. Or people who were waiting for something exciting to happen in the video. They stayed for the plane takeoff (first 3 seconds), which told Meta "this is engaging content."

But engagement doesn't equal conversion.

They watched for the wrong reason. The hook grabbed attention, but it didn't qualify the right audience. So Meta kept showing it to people who liked planes, not people who needed marketing help.

The lesson: The hook matters, but a clear hook with a direct path to an end result matters 10 times more.

You can have the perfect attention-grabber. But if it doesn't immediately signal what you're offering and who it's for, you're just entertaining people for free while Meta charges you for the privilege.

The Two Winners (And Why They Worked)

So what about those two videos that generated 90% of the leads?

Video 1: Me walking down the street talking about how I started my business and the journey with my first client. No desk. No setup. Just me walking and talking about the early days - going door to door, landing that first client.

Video 2: Me walking down the street again, but this time calling out how dodgy SEO agencies are stealing business owners' money with outdated 2020 tactics.

Both different messages. Both shot the same way. Both absolute winners.

Why did these work when the Zurich airport video bombed?

Authentic setting. Walking down the street feels real. It doesn't scream "ad."

Clear value proposition. Within 3 seconds, you knew if this was for you or not.

Qualified hook. People who stayed weren't staying for visual spectacle. They had the exact problem I was talking about.

Direct relevance. No metaphors to decode. No creative concepts. Just straight talk about real business problems.

The Zurich video? It entertained people. The walking videos? They solved problems.

 

What's Actually Working in 2026: Post-Andromeda Principles

Meta launched the Andromeda update and fundamentally changed how ad delivery works.

The shift: Meta's ad delivery is now AI-first. The algorithm scans every element of your ad - image, video, text, engagement patterns - to determine who it resonates with.

This has massive implications for how you should be building campaigns.

Broad targeting now outperforms detailed targeting and Lookalike Audiences.

I know. This feels wrong. We spent years perfecting our LAL audiences and detailed interest targeting.

But here's the reality: Lookalike Audiences are now largely redundant. Meta's AI finds those people within broad audiences anyway. You're just limiting the algorithm's ability to discover who actually responds to your ads.

Stop over-targeting. Give the algorithm room to work.

Campaign Structure That Actually Works

Here's the setup that's generating results for us:

One broad ad set. That's it.

Advantage+ audience targeting for CA/US/UK (or whatever regions you serve).

No age restrictions. No gender filters. No detailed interests. Just broad geographic targeting and let Meta handle the rest.

Don't run multiple ad sets with different targeting variations. This is what everyone still does, and it's killing their performance.

Why? Because you're cluttering the signal. Meta needs clean data to optimize. When you have 5 different ad sets all competing for similar audiences, the algorithm can't figure out what's actually working.

Fewer ad sets = cleaner data = better optimization.

I know this feels counterintuitive. We're marketers. We want control. We want to segment and test and optimize manually.

But the algorithm is legitimately smarter than you at this now. Let it do its job.

The Feed the Beast Method

Stop obsessing over targeting. Start focusing on creative volume.

Here's the play: Upload as many different creatives as you can produce authentically. Different hooks. Different angles. Different formats.

The algorithm tests them all and figures out what resonates.

My 100+ videos? Most got minimal spend. Meta tested them, decided they weren't winners, and moved the budget to the ones that were crushing it.

That's exactly what you want.

Your job isn't to pick the winners. Your job is to create enough options that the algorithm has winners to choose from.

Think of it like batting average. Even the best hitters in baseball fail 70% of the time. But they keep swinging.

Same with Meta Ads creative. Most of what you create won't be a home run. But when you create enough, the algorithm finds the ones that connect and scales them automatically.

The Zurich airport video? Swing and a miss. Cost me $300 in ad spend and generated zero leads.

But those two walking videos? Home runs. And Meta found them, scaled them, and generated 90% of my leads.

Feed the beast. Let it choose the winners. Get out of the way.

The "Quick and Dirty" iPhone Advantage

Here's something that surprised me: the low-production iPhone videos outperformed anything polished.

People don't want to see ads anymore. They want to see real people talking about real problems.

When I pulled out my iPhone and recorded myself talking directly to camera - messy desk in the background, natural lighting, no script - those converted better than anything we shot with professional equipment.

Why?

Because they didn't look like ads. They looked like content. Like someone sharing genuine insight, not trying to sell you something.

The more your ad looks like organic content, the better it performs. Meta's users have banner blindness for anything that screams "professional advertisement."

But a genuine-looking video from someone solving a problem they care about? They'll stop and watch.

The Bottom Line

Meta Ads in 2026 is a completely different game than it was even a year ago.

The algorithm is smarter than you. Let it do its job by giving it:

• Broad targeting (stop over-segmenting)
• High creative volume (feed it options)
• Clear, qualified hooks (not just attention-grabbers)
• Authentic content (iPhone beats studio production)

Your job isn't to outsmart Meta's AI. Your job is to create content that connects with real people and let the algorithm find those people for you.

The businesses still trying to manually control every aspect of their targeting are fighting yesterday's war with yesterday's weapons.

The businesses winning? They're feeding great creative to an incredibly smart algorithm and getting out of the way.

Want to see how this could work for your business? Merged Media helps service-based businesses implement modern Meta Ads strategies that actually generate leads. Book a strategy call here.

When's the last time you Googled something and actually clicked through to a website?

Here's what's happening: Google brought AI to a knife fight, and your local SEO is still using a butter knife.

AI answers searchers' questions right on the results page. No click. No visit. No lead for the business that worked hard to rank.

This isn't temporary. It's the new normal.

The Numbers Don't Lie

40% of local searches now trigger AI overviews. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overview — they're answering "best plumber near me" or "landscaper in [city]" without sending anyone anywhere.

The clicks that used to go to your Google Business Profile? Declining.

The traffic that used to hit your website from local searches? Shrinking.

Most businesses have no idea it's happening. Their phone's a little quieter than last year, but they chalk it up to the season or the economy.

They're not connecting the dots.

Meanwhile, their competitor who adapted early is getting recommended by AI tools every single day to people ready to buy.

Here's what makes this particularly tricky: Your Google rankings might look completely fine. You could be sitting in the top three of the map pack and still be losing ground because people never scrolled that far. They got their answer from AI and moved on.

Your visibility looks good on paper. Your phone tells a different story.

So What Does AI Actually Recommend?

Here's what people get wrong. They think AI is just Google with a different interface.

It's not.

Google ranks pages. AI recommends businesses.

That's a completely different game.

When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity to find them a reliable HVAC company in Mississauga, it's not pulling up a list of websites to browse. It's synthesizing information from across the web and giving a direct answer.

The businesses that show up in that answer have something in common: their online presence is clear, structured, and rich with the kind of information AI can actually read and trust.

The question isn't just "how do I rank on Google anymore?"

It's "how do I become the business an AI recommends?"

Real Results: From Invisible to Top 3 in 60 Days

Let me show you what this looks like in practice.

Ken from Keen 2 Klean came to us after working with three previous SEO agencies. He was ready to give up on digital marketing entirely.

His problem? Despite paying for SEO for years, he was barely visible in local search for his core services: pressure washing, window cleaning, gutter cleaning.

Here's what we did:

We consolidated his bloated website content into strategic, entity-rich pages that AI could actually understand. We implemented proper LocalBusiness schema. We optimized his Google Business Profile with the right signals.

The result?

In just 60 days, his average ranking for "pressure washing Waterloo" jumped from position 7.27 to position 2.19.

Even more dramatic: 81% of the search grid now shows Keen 2 Klean in positions 1–3. Zero "out of pack" results across his entire service area.

His phone started ringing again. Not because we gamed the system. Because we aligned with how AI search actually works.

What We're Actually Doing for Clients Right Now

We've been deep in this with our local SEO clients. Here's what's moving the needle:

LocalBusiness schema on your website: Structured data that tells AI tools what your business does, where you're located, your hours, your services. Without it, you're invisible to the machines doing the recommending.

Service pages that actually answer questions: Not keyword-stuffed garbage. Real, detailed content that answers what customers are asking. If someone asks "what's involved in a full kitchen renovation in Toronto?" your page should answer that completely. That's what AI pulls from.

Active Google Business Profile: Weekly posts, updated photos, accurate service descriptions, responses to reviews. This signals to Google and AI tools that your business is alive and relevant. A stale profile is a red flag.

We're seeing results from these changes faster than any traditional SEO approach we've run before. Implement the right structure and businesses start showing up in AI recommendations within weeks.

The Real Talk Part

Most agencies are still selling you a 2020 SEO strategy. More blogs. More backlinks. More keywords stuffed into pages nobody wants to read.

That playbook isn't dead, but it's not the whole story anymore.

If your current marketing partner isn't talking about AI search optimization and structured data, they're behind.

The businesses winning right now stopped treating SEO as a checkbox and started treating it as the foundation of how they get found — by humans and by AI.

The ones who haven't made that shift yet are going to keep watching their traffic quietly erode and wonder what changed.

You know what changed. Now you know what to do about it.

Want to hear more on this? I covered this topic in depth on Drop The Mic: ▶ Watch the Full Video

Ready to find out where you stand? Book a strategy session with my team and we'll audit your search visibility — including how you're showing up in AI search results.

How to audit your current agency, and the 5 questions every service-based business owner should be asking before writing another cheque.

So here's something we hear almost every single week on our strategy calls:

"I've been paying my agency for months, but I have no idea if it's actually working."

If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. And let's be honest, that uncertainty isn't your fault. The digital marketing industry has made it way too easy for agencies to collect monthly retainers without ever proving that the money you're spending is actually coming back to you in leads, calls, or revenue.

I'm not writing this to pitch you on Merged Media. I'm writing it because I believe every business owner deserves a clear, honest answer to one simple question: Is my marketing actually working?

If your agency can't answer that with data, not promises, not jargon, not "we're working on it," then you've got a problem worth solving.

The Pattern We Keep Seeing

At our agency, the majority of new clients who sign with us share one thing in common: they're leaving another agency. Not because marketing doesn't work. Not because they gave up on growth. They're leaving because they were paying for a service they couldn't see, measure, or feel in their business.

Let me give you a real example.

A premium exterior cleaning company in Kitchener-Waterloo, came to us after working with three previous agencies. Three. He was so frustrated he was ready to ditch digital marketing entirely and go back to word of mouth. His exact words? "I've been thrown to different sections... boom, boom, boom to that person. Very frustrating on my end."

The agencies were writing content about services they didn't even understand. No single point of contact. No collaboration. No review process before things went live. And worst of all? He was invisible in local search for the exact services his customers were looking for.

This isn't an isolated story. It's the story we hear on nearly every single discovery call. Service-based business owners, landscapers, contractors, dental practices, cleaning companies, who wanted their marketing to work, gave their agency the benefit of the doubt for months, and eventually realized they were putting thousands of dollars into a black hole.

Why So Many Agencies Get Away with It

The uncomfortable truth is that most marketing agencies are built to collect retainers, not to deliver measurable outcomes. Here's why the model keeps breaking down.

They're Running Strategies from 2019

We audit a lot of websites. The pattern is almost always the same: dozens, sometimes 80 or 100 pages of thin, keyword-stuffed blog content that nobody reads. Five years ago, that was a common SEO tactic. Pump out as many pages as possible, target a keyword on each one, and hope Google rewards the volume.

It doesn't anymore. Google's algorithm has changed dramatically, and these bloated websites are actually hurting your rankings, not helping them. But many agencies are still running the same playbook because they set up the campaign and forgot about it.

They're Outsourcing Overseas Without Telling You

I've seen this one too many times. A business owner sticks with their agency for 18 months, a full year and a half, and never cracks the top half of page one for their target keywords. When they finally ask why, they learn the work was being outsourced to a team overseas that didn't understand their local market, their customers, or even the neighbourhoods they served.

Look, there's nothing wrong with global teams. But if your agency is charging you premium rates and quietly outsourcing to people who don't know the difference between Scarborough and Etobicoke, you're not getting what you're paying for.

They Only Do One Thing

A lot of agencies specialize in a single channel. Just SEO. Just Google Ads. Just social media. That's not necessarily bad, but it creates a massive blind spot.

An SEO-only agency will never tell you that your website isn't built for conversions, because that's outside their scope. A Google Ads agency won't mention that your organic presence is non-existent, because they don't benefit from fixing it.

When your marketing lives in separate silos with no integration, you're playing broken telephone. And you're almost certainly overspending on channels that aren't working together.

5 Questions to Ask Your Agency Right Now

Before you make any decisions about switching agencies, or before you sign with a new one, ask these five questions. If your current agency struggles to answer them clearly, that tells you everything you need to know.

1. "What is my cost per lead, and how many of those leads are turning into customers?"

This is the most fundamental question in marketing, and it's staggering how many agencies can't answer it. If they can tell you impressions and clicks but not cost per lead or cost per acquisition, they're reporting on activity, not results.

You're not paying for clicks. You're paying for customers.

2. "Can you show me a report that connects my spend to actual business outcomes?"

A good agency should be able to show you a clear line from dollars spent to results delivered. Not a PDF full of vanity metrics. Not a dashboard you need a marketing degree to interpret. A straightforward report that says: here's what we spent, here's what happened, and here's what we're doing next.

3. "What specific changes have you made to my campaign in the last 90 days?"

If the answer is vague or they can't point to specific actions, there's a good chance your campaign is on autopilot. Set-and-forget marketing was never a good strategy, and in 2026, it's a recipe for wasted budget. Algorithms change. Competitors adjust. Your agency needs to be actively managing your campaign, not coasting on what they set up six months ago.

4. "Why does my website have 80 pages but I'm not ranking for anything?"

This one catches agencies off guard. If you've been told that more content equals better rankings, and your site is packed with blog posts but still invisible on Google, something is fundamentally wrong with the strategy.

Modern SEO rewards depth and authority over volume. A focused, well-structured website with 15 high-quality pages will outperform a bloated site with 100 thin ones almost every time.

5. "Is your team doing the work, or is it being outsourced?"

You have every right to know who is actually managing your marketing. If the person you spoke to during the sales process is not the person doing the work, and the work is being done by a team that doesn't understand your local market, that's a transparency issue. The best agencies are upfront about their team, their process, and what they're actually capable of.

What a Real Marketing Partnership Looks Like

I'm not suggesting that every agency out there is doing a bad job. There are great ones doing incredible work. But the bar is too low in this industry, and service-based business owners deserve better.

Here's what you should expect from any agency you're paying monthly:

Clear reporting tied to business outcomes, not vanity metrics. You should know exactly how many leads came in, what they cost, and which channels drove them.

A strategy that evolves. If your agency is doing the same thing this month that they did six months ago, they're not optimizing. They're coasting.

Proactive communication. You shouldn't have to chase your agency for updates. A good partner reaches out before you have to ask.

An integrated approach. Your SEO, your ads, and your website should all be working together. If your channels aren't talking to each other, you're losing money in the gaps.

Honest timelines. Anyone who promises page-one rankings in two weeks is lying to you. Real SEO takes time, but you should see meaningful progress within the first 60 to 90 days if the strategy is sound.

And I'll back that up. When the cleaning company came to us after those three failed agency relationships, we started with a deep discovery process. A 51-minute recorded interview to actually understand his business, his customers, and how he talks about his services. We built an entity knowledge base with over 700 unique terms mapped across his services, equipment, locations, and industry terminology. Every piece of content was reviewed in Google Docs before it went live.

The results? Within 60 days, his average ranking for "pressure washing waterloo" went from 7.27 to 2.19. He went from barely visible to showing up in the top 3 across 81% of his service area. Zero "out of pack" results. Complete market coverage.

That's what happens when your agency actually gives a damn.

The Real Cost of Doing Nothing

Here's the thing about a bad agency relationship: it doesn't just cost you the monthly retainer. It costs you time. Every month you spend with an agency that isn't delivering is a month your competitors are pulling ahead. It's a month of leads you didn't get. It's a month of revenue you left on the table.

And the longer you wait to ask the hard questions, the harder it becomes to catch up.

Ken spent years bouncing between three agencies before he found us. That's years of budget that produced almost nothing. That's not a marketing failure. That's an accountability failure.

Ready to Find Out Where You Actually Stand?

If reading this made you a little uncomfortable about your current marketing situation, good. That discomfort is the first step toward making a better decision for your business.

We offer a free, no-obligation strategy call where we'll take a look at your current digital presence, show you exactly what's working and what isn't, and give you an honest assessment of where the opportunities are.

No hard sell. No pressure. Just clarity.

Because sustainable business growth doesn't come from chasing tactics. It comes from knowing where you stand and having a partner who's actually invested in your outcomes, not just collecting a monthly cheque.

Book Your Free Strategy Call →

 

Look, I need to be straight with you about what's happening with Meta ads right now.

If you're still building campaigns the way you did in 2023 or early 2024, creating multiple ad sets, targeting interests like "home improvement enthusiasts" or "health and wellness," segmenting by age and gender, running look-alike audiences, you're working twice as hard for worse results.

I know that sounds harsh, but let me show you what we're seeing in 2026, because the shift is massive and most small business owners are getting left behind.

The Old Way (That Doesn't Work Anymore)

Here's how most people were taught to run Meta campaigns:

You'd create several ad sets, each one targeting a specific audience. Maybe one ad set targets people interested in competitor brands. Another targets a demographic: women 35-50 in your city. Another uses a look-a-like audience based on your current customers.

Then within each ad set, you'd upload 4-6 creatives. Some images, maybe a carousel, a couple videos. You'd let them run, kill the underperformers, and double down on what's working.

That was the playbook. And for years, it worked.

But here's the thing: Meta's algorithm has gotten so sophisticated that manually telling it who to target is like trying to navigate with a paper map when you've got GPS sitting right there.

What Changed (And Why It Matters to You)

Think about this for a second.

How many people are actively telling Facebook that they're interested in "romantic novels" or "luxury travel" or whatever niche product you're selling? Probably not many. But Meta knows who those people are anyway based on their behaviour. What they click, what they watch, how long they linger on certain content, what they search for outside of Facebook.

The algorithm doesn't need you to tell it that "women aged 40-55 who like spa brands" might want your massage therapy services. It already knows exactly who's most likely to convert based on billions of data points you don't have access to.

So when you manually set those targeting parameters, you're actually limiting the algorithm. You're saying "only look here" when it could be finding high-intent buyers in places you'd never think to look.

The New Strategy That's Crushing It

This is where Advantage+ campaigns come in.

Advantage+ is Meta's automated campaign type that basically says to the algorithm: "Here's my offer, here's my creative, now go find the people most likely to convert and show them the right combination of ads in the right sequence."

Instead of creating multiple ad sets with narrow targeting, we're now running campaigns with:

Open audience targeting (letting the algo do the work)

10-50 different creatives in a single ad set

Zero manual interest or demographic targeting

And here's where it gets interesting.

With that many creatives in one ad set, the algorithm doesn't just pick the "best" ad and hammer people with it. It figures out the optimal sequence. User sees ad 1 first, then gets retargeted with ad 3, then converts on ad 7. Or maybe they see ads 4, 2, and 9 in that order before they fill out your form.

The algorithm is testing thousands of combinations in real time to figure out what sequence works best for each individual person.

Real Data from a Campaign We're Running Right Now

Let me show you what this looks like in practice.

I pulled this screenshot from one of our current campaigns. We've got about 37 different creatives running in a single Advantage+ ad set. Take a look at the frequency numbers. Most of the individual ads are showing a frequency between 1.01 and 1.21. That means people are seeing those ads roughly once.

But here's the kicker: ad44 has a frequency of 1.79 and it's the one converting. It delivered 49 leads at $43.68 per lead with 36,658 reach.

The other ads? They're getting impressions. They're doing their job. But they're not the ones closing the deal.

What's happening here is the algorithm is using those other creatives to warm people up, introduce the offer, build familiarity. Then when the user is primed, Meta serves them ad44. Boom, conversion (the frequency for the entire campaign is 3.03 meaning users are seeing ads from our campaign around 3 times).

If we were running the old strategy, we might look at those other ads and think "these aren't working, let's kill them." But that would tank the campaign because they're playing a supporting role in the sequence.

The Copy Does the Targeting Now

Here's another shift that's easy to miss:

The algorithm is using your ad copy to figure out who to show your ads to.

So if your ad says something like, "Are you an avid reader seeking a romantic novel you can't put down? This new book is for you," Meta's algorithm reads that and thinks, "Okay, I need to find people who behave like avid readers of romantic novels."

It's not looking at interest targeting. It's analyzing the language in your ad and matching it to user behaviour patterns across the entire platform.

That means your copy isn't just persuasion anymore. It's also instruction for the algorithm. If your copy is vague or generic, the algorithm doesn't know who to show it to. If it's specific and speaks directly to your ideal customer, Meta can find those people even if they've never explicitly stated that interest on the platform. Below is an example of our ad that's absolutely crushing it because it resonates with our target audience. 

Why This Matters for Your Business

If you're a small business owner running your own Meta ads, here's what you need to understand:

The old playbook of manual targeting, small batches of creative, and "set it and forget it" ad sets is actively costing you money. You're either not reaching the right people, or you're reaching them but not in the right sequence to get them to convert.

The businesses winning on Meta right now are the ones embracing this shift. They're letting the algorithm do what it does best: find high-intent buyers and serve them the right message at the right time in the right order.

But here's the catch: This approach requires more creative volume, smarter copy strategy, and an understanding of how to structure campaigns so the algorithm has room to work.

Most small business owners don't have the time to produce 20-50 pieces of creative, test different copy angles, and continuously optimize based on what the algorithm is learning.

That's where we come in.

Let's Talk About Your Meta Strategy

If you're currently running Meta ads and you're not sure whether your campaigns are set up to take advantage of this shift, let's have a conversation.

We'll walk through your current setup, show you exactly where you're leaving money on the table, and map out a strategy that actually works in 2026.

No fluff. No generic advice. Just a real conversation about what's working right now and how to apply it to your business.

Book a free strategy session with Merged Media here

Because at the end of the day, Meta ads are one of the most powerful tools you have to get in front of your ideal customers. But only if you're running them the right way.

And right now? Most people aren't.

 

Look, if your SEO agency has you publishing four blog posts every month, creating separate pages for every city within a 10-mile radius, and telling you to "just wait 6-12 months for results," you're following a 2022 playbook that stopped working years ago.

Most small businesses are still paying for strategies that waste money and deliver nothing. The local SEO landscape has changed, but nobody's telling you about it. Here's what actually works now.

The Blog Trap Nobody Talks About

For years, the advice was simple: publish content consistently, target every keyword variation, build as many pages as possible. Agencies convinced business owners that cranking out 4+ blog posts per month was essential.

The problem? Google's algorithm evolved. Today's search engine doesn't just match keywords anymore. It understands businesses as entities with authority, relevance, and context. That shift makes the old blog-heavy approach not just ineffective, but actually harmful.

Here's a real example: A local cleaning company came to us with 80+ pages on their website. They had separate pages for "pressure washing Kitchener" and "power washing Kitchener." Same service. Duplicate content. Despite monthly blog posts and extensive page building, they weren't ranking for anything.

The solution wasn't more content. We consolidated those 80 pages into 15 strategically optimized pages focused on entity clusters rather than keyword stuffing. The result? Top 3 local rankings within 60 days.

What Entity-Based SEO Actually Means

Instead of trying to rank for every possible keyword variation, entity-based SEO focuses on establishing your business as an authority in your category and location. Google now recognizes that "Kitchener" and "Waterloo" are essentially the same market. You don't need separate pages for cities five miles apart.

This approach prioritizes quality over quantity. Fewer pages with deeper, more authoritative content that clearly establishes what your business does, where you serve, and why you're the expert. It means optimizing your Google Business Profile (which most agencies completely neglect) and building semantic authority rather than chasing keyword density targets.

Red Flags Your Current Agency Hopes You Don't Notice

Take a critical look at your website and current SEO strategy. If you see any of these warning signs, you're paying for outdated tactics:

• Separate pages for the same service with slight keyword variations (pressure washing vs. power washing)
• Individual pages for every city within a 10-mile radius
• Monthly reports showing "activity" but no meaningful ranking improvements
• Agencies blaming "algorithm updates" for lack of results after 6+ months
• A bloated sitemap with 50+ service pages that Google sees as duplicate content

These are symptoms of 2022 SEO. Strategies that worked when keyword matching was king but now actively hurt your rankings by creating confusion and diluting your site's authority.

Speed to Results: The New Reality

Let's be honest about something. Modern local SEO doesn't take a year to show results. When executed correctly, businesses can achieve top 3 local rankings in 14 to 60 days. That's not hype. It's the outcome of aligning with how Google's algorithm actually works today.

The key is strategic consolidation, entity authority building, and consistent weekly optimization. Not the "set and forget" approach most agencies still use.

What to Look For in a Modern SEO Agency

Before renewing your contract or hiring a new agency, ask these critical questions:

• Do they prioritize Google Business Profile optimization or focus primarily on website content?
• Will they audit your existing pages and potentially remove content, or only add more?
• Can they explain entity-based SEO and semantic clustering in plain language?
• Do they provide weekly optimization, or just monthly reporting?
• Can they showcase case studies with ranking improvements in under 90 days?

If your agency can't answer these confidently or defaults to "it takes 6-12 months," you're working with someone still operating in the old paradigm.

Local SEO has evolved. Make sure your strategy and your agency has evolved with it.

 

Look, I'm going to say something that might ruffle some feathers.

Your business doesn't need to be the best to win.

I know, I know. Every business coach out there is telling you to be the best in your industry. To have the best customer service. The best product. The best reviews.

But here's the thing: when someone's searching for a service, they're not actually looking for "the best." They're looking for someone they know, like, and trust. And more often than not, that comes down to one simple thing: who stayed top of mind.

The Dentist Who Wasn't "The Best" (But Got the Booking Anyway)

Let me walk you through a real scenario that happens every single day.

Meet Danny. He's 34, works in finance, and hasn't been to the dentist in... let's just say a while. Three years, maybe four. His teeth don't hurt. He's busy. There's always something more urgent on his plate.

One afternoon at work, he's scrolling on his phone during lunch and sees a post from a friend who just got their teeth whitened. Looks good. Danny thinks, "You know what, I should probably get a cleaning."

So he pulls out his phone and searches "dentist near me."

Five practices pop up. All have 4+ star reviews. All look professional. All have nice photos of their offices and smiling staff. Danny clicks through a few websites, reads some reviews, thinks "Yeah, these all seem fine."

Then his boss Slacks him about that report due at 3pm.

The dentist search? Gone. Totally forgotten.

Does this sound familiar? Because I guarantee this is happening to your business right now. Someone's interested. They're in that consideration stage. But the sense of urgency isn't there yet. And you get bumped to the bottom of their mental priority list.

What Happened Next Changed Everything

Two days later, Danny's scrolling Instagram before bed. A video ad pops up from a local dentist, Dr. Gurki Malhi from Onyx Dental. He's talking directly to the camera, explaining why regular checkups matter even when your teeth feel fine. Something about plaque buildup, early cavity detection, even how oral health connects to heart health.

Danny watches about half the video. Doesn't click. Doesn't book. Just... absorbs the information and keeps scrolling.

The next morning, he's back on Instagram with his coffee. Another ad from Dr. Malhi's practice. This time it's showing the inside of their office. Clean, modern, comfortable. And here's the kicker—they've got TVs mounted on the ceiling above every dental chair so you can watch Netflix during your cleaning. The ad also mentions a free teeth whitening session for new patients.

Danny thinks, "Huh, that's actually pretty cool. Maybe I will book that appointment."

By lunch that day, he's booked.

Now here's my question: Was Dr. Malhi's practice the "best" dentist Danny could have chosen? Maybe. Maybe not. But here's what he definitely was: top of mind.

The 'Best' Is Subjective. Top of Mind Is Strategic.

When Danny searched "dentist near me," he saw five practices. They all had great reviews. They were all qualified. They could all clean his teeth just fine.

So what actually separated Dr. Malhi from the other four?

He showed up. Not once. Not randomly. But sequentially, in the right order, with the right message, at the right time.

First ad: Education. Building trust. Addressing the "why" before asking for anything.

Second ad: Comfort. Removing objections. Sweetening the deal.

That's not luck. That's strategy. And it's what I call storyboarding your customer's journey.

Why 'Best' Doesn't Cut It Anymore

Let's be honest. In most industries, the quality gap between competitors is pretty small. If you're a dentist, an HVAC company, a landscaper, or a contractor, your technical skills probably aren't that different from the business down the street.

Your reviews might be slightly better. Your prices might be slightly lower. Your office might be slightly newer.

But none of that matters if you're not the business that comes to mind when someone's ready to buy.

Think about it this way: You're not competing on who's the best. You're competing for mental real estate. And the business that occupies that real estate: the one that's been showing up consistently in the prospect's world is the one that gets the call.

The Psychology Behind Top of Mind Marketing

Here's what most business owners miss: People don't make decisions when they first have a need. They make decisions when they're ready to make a decision.

Danny was "ready" to find a dentist for about 90 seconds during his lunch break. Then life happened. Work got in the way. The urgency faded.

But Dr. Malhi didn't let him forget. He stayed in his world. Not in an annoying way but in a helpful, educational, consistent way.

This is relationship proximity at work. By the time Danny actually made the decision to book, Dr. Malhi's practice wasn't just an option. It was the option. Because in his mind, he'd already been having a conversation with him for three days.

That's the power of staying top of mind.

How to Actually Stay Top of Mind (Without Being Annoying)

Alright, so how do you do this for your business? Because I know what you're thinking: "Jason, I don't have time to create a bunch of ads and manage retargeting campaigns."

I get it. But here's the good news: this doesn't have to be complicated. It just needs to be sequential.

Step 1: Address the Pain Point First

Your first touchpoint shouldn't be "Book now!" or "20% off this week only!"

Nobody cares. They don't even know you yet.

Your first ad, post, or piece of content should educate. It should speak to the problem your potential customer is facing even if they haven't fully realized they have that problem yet.

For Danny, that was Dr. Malhi explaining why dental checkups matter even when nothing hurts. He wasn't selling. He was teaching.

That's how you earn the right to show up again.

Step 2: Remove the Friction

Your second touchpoint should address objections. What's stopping someone from booking with you?

For a dentist, it might be fear or discomfort. That's why showing a modern, comfortable office with TVs on the ceiling worked. It removed the mental barrier of "ugh, I hate going to the dentist."

For your business, what's the objection? Price? Time? Trust? Complexity? Figure it out and address it in your second message.

Step 3: Make the Ask (With an Incentive)

Now and only now do you make the ask. And you sweeten it.

Free teeth whitening for new patients. Free consultation. Free audit. Free first month.

You've educated them. You've removed objections. Now give them a reason to act today instead of three months from now.

This is the sequence. This is the storyboard. And this is how you stay top of mind.

What This Looks Like in Real Life

You might be thinking, "Okay Jason, but I don't run a dental practice. I'm a landscaper / HVAC tech / contractor / [insert service business here]. Does this really apply to me?"

100%.

Let me give you another example. One of our clients runs a landscape company. When someone searches "landscaping near me," they see a dozen companies. All have nice photos. All have decent reviews.

But our client stays top of mind by running a simple three-ad sequence:

Ad 1: A quick video showing a time-lapse of a backyard transformation, with a voiceover explaining the biggest landscaping mistakes homeowners make in spring.

Ad 2: A testimonial from a happy customer talking about how easy the process was and how the team showed up on time, every time.

Ad 3: A special offer: free landscape design consultation with no obligation.

Guess what happened? Booked solid for the season. Not because they're "the best" landscaper in town. Because they stayed top of mind while their competitors stayed silent.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Your Competition

Your competition isn't just sitting around hoping people find them on Google. The smart ones are building relationships before the prospect even knows they need help.

And if you're not doing the same thing, you're losing customers to businesses that aren't better than you; they're just more present than you.

I've seen this play out over and over again in the last 10+ years running Merged Media. The businesses that win aren't always the ones with the best service. They're the ones that show up consistently, educate their audience, and build trust over time.

Stop Trying to Be the Best. Start Being Unforgettable.

Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't strive for excellence. You absolutely should. Your service should be great. Your customer experience should be great.

But being great in a vacuum doesn't grow your business.

What grows your business is being the one people think of first when they're ready to buy.

And that means showing up. Not once. Not randomly. But strategically, sequentially, and consistently.

You need to build a system that keeps you in front of your prospects, educating them, building trust, and removing objections so that when they're ready to make a decision, there's only one option in their mind.

Yours.

Because at the end of the day, the question isn't "Are you the best?"

The question is: "Are you top of mind?"

If the answer is no, it's time to fix that.

Want help building a system that keeps you top of mind with your ideal customers? That's exactly what we do at Merged Media. We help service-based businesses create strategic, sequential marketing that actually converts—without being annoying or salesy. Let's talk. Book a call here.

LinkedIn's automation crackdown is getting serious. Bans are happening daily. But here's the thing - even if you dodge the ban, your cold outreach is still getting ignored.

I get about 15 cold pitches a day. Every single one goes straight to the trash. You know what gets my attention? The person who commented on my post last week about AI tools. The one who had something interesting to say about the Harlequins' last Premiership rugby match. The entrepreneur who asked if the Maple Leafs will ever win a cup again.

That's not selling. That's being human.

The Comment Strategy That Actually Builds Your Brand

Here's what most people miss: your comments on other people's content are pure visibility gold.

When you drop a thoughtful comment on a post from someone in your niche - whether that's an influencer, a competitor, or just someone doing interesting work - watch what happens to your impression count. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of people will see your comment. And when they see it, they also see your headline, your face, your personal brand.

That's free real estate.

But here's the catch: your comment has to actually add value. "Great post!" doesn't cut it. "This is so insightful!" is lazy. You need to bring something to the conversation. Share an experience. Ask a challenging question. Disagree respectfully with a specific point. Make people think.

The people scrolling through those comments? They're your potential clients, partners, and connections. Show them you have something worth saying. 

I sat down with LinkedIn Expert Jasmin Alic to discuss this very topic. Check out my talk with this LinkedIn Guru who amassed a following of 335K+ followers on LinkedIn:

 

We're living through a fascinating paradox. While AI tools like ChatGPT-4 and Meta's AI suggestions can pump out content faster than ever, people are actually craving more human connection, not less.

I recently sat down with Anthony Leung, a B2B video marketing expert based in London, UK, to discuss where content creation is heading. What we uncovered should make every business owner rethink their approach to AI in marketing.

The Trust Crisis Nobody's Talking About

Here's the uncomfortable truth: AI has made it incredibly easy for anyone to be mediocre at scale. As Anthony put it during our conversation, "AI has made it so easy for so many people to be mediocre so quickly."

The result? Your feed is flooded with generic content that sounds smart but feels hollow. Business owners are using AI to generate posts about topics they've never experienced, creating a dangerous disconnect between their online persona and reality.

Imagine showing up to a networking event and having someone ask about that "sumo wrestling post" you published last week, except you've never written about sumo wrestling. Your AI assistant scraped that from the news and published it under your name. That's the nightmare scenario we're heading toward if we don't course-correct.

The Conan O'Brien Strategy (Yes, Really)

Anthony shared something brilliant that changed how I think about content strategy. He calls it learning from Conan O'Brien's LinkedIn approach. When Conan took over The Tonight Show and later got fired, he spent months experimenting with LinkedIn in the most human way possible — posting about random experiences, making jokes, and treating the platform like a playground rather than a corporate announcement board.

The lesson? LinkedIn doesn't have to be the "void of joy" that it's become. When Anthony posts about finding pancakes in London that remind him of his favourite Toronto restaurant (RIP Marché), he gets more authentic engagement than any AI-generated "leadership insight" ever could.

Why Your Imperfections Are Your Superpower

In our research comparing AI-generated ad copy to human-written content across multiple industries, we found that human copywriters outperformed AI in cost-effectiveness in 9 out of 12 cases. But the real insight wasn't in the numbers — it was in understanding why.

Human writers bring something AI can't replicate: personal experience and emotional nuance. When I write about playing rugby at 44, it resonates with every business owner who's trying to stay physically active in their 40s. AI can't fake that lived experience.

As Anthony noted, "Those are things that AI would not know about me. Those are things I put into my content." Your burps, your stumbles, your random food obsessions — these "imperfections" are actually what people are looking for as signs of humanity.

The Relationship Foundation That AI Can't Replace

Here's what most business owners miss: your customers don't want to log into Meta Business Manager. They don't want to analyze backlinks, manage negative keywords, or tinker with WordPress. They want someone they trust to handle it.

Most business owners are tired of the grind. When they're offered a "magical solution" that promises to automate everything while they sleep eight more hours, it's tempting. But here's the reality check: business is built on relationships, and relationships require showing up as yourself.

Would you send a clone version of yourself to a networking event? Of course not. So why would you send AI-generated content to represent your brand online?

The Smart Way to Use AI in Your Content Strategy

I'm not anti-AI. I use it strategically. I've built a Claude project with my entire knowledge base: interview transcripts, writing samples, personality assessments, and my book. When I need to create content, I feed it my raw thoughts and experiences, and it helps me structure them into a coherent post.

The key difference? I'm inserting my own experiences and context. The AI knows my writing style and won't use words I'd never say (goodbye, "delve," "unlock," and "elevate"). But the core ideas, experiences, and insights are 100% mine.

This hybrid approach cuts my content creation time from two hours to 20 minutes while maintaining authenticity. That's the sweet spot — using AI as a writing assistant, not a replacement for your thinking.

The Virtual Assistant Evolution

Speaking of assistance, the virtual assistants who will thrive in this new landscape aren't the ones who simply know how to use AI tools. They're the ones who understand how to apply AI strategically while maintaining their client's authentic voice.

These resourceful VAs will become invaluable because they can bridge the gap between efficiency and authenticity. They'll use AI to handle the heavy lifting while ensuring every piece of content feels genuinely human.

Face-to-Face Is the New Verification

Anthony made a profound point during our conversation: "Face-to-face is now a verification that you are a real person, that your thoughts are real, and that what you're going to produce on the internet has a shot of being real."

In a world where anyone can generate 50 posts with a few prompts, the people who show up in person, at conferences, at networking events, and in video calls are building a different kind of trust. They're proving they're real.

 

The Path Forward

The future belongs to business owners who can strike the right balance. Use AI to enhance your efficiency, but never let it replace your humanity. Your audience can smell generic AI content from a mile away, and more importantly, they don't want it.

Instead of asking "How can I automate more of my content?" ask "How can I show up more authentically?" The answer might surprise you, and it definitely won't involve more automation.

The businesses that will thrive are those that use AI as a tool while doubling down on human connection. Because at the end of the day, people buy from people they know, like, and trust. And you can't automate trust.

 

Want to hear more insights like this? Subscribe to Drop The Mic where I dive deep into marketing strategy with industry experts. You can also connect with me on Linkedin for more thoughts on the intersection of AI and authentic marketing.