Adam and Simon Bullshit Busters

B Corp's are "companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability." So does that mean you need to be a B Corp? How do you become a B Corp? 

In this episode, Adam + Simon answer these questions and suggest some alternatives if B Corp isn't the right fit for you.  

https://bcorporation.uk/b-corp-certification 

https://small99.co.uk/net-zero/what-net-zero-accreditations-are-there 

Connect with us on LinkedIn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar/

Despite the doom and gloom about a recession and inflation on the rise, this is a great time to be doing marketing. Putting time and effort in now will help you grow a more profitable business.   

In this episode, Adam + Simon discuss how you can out-manoeuvre big brands and get ahead of other businesses that are scaling back when they should be scaling up their marketing.   

This doesn't have to mean spending more, in fact, it's quite the opposite there is a lot you can do without spending a fortune.

Google Analytics is closing - which might be a surprise for some. With so many businesses relying on the data and insight that it provides, many will be left asking why, and what next? 

In this episode, Adam + Simon discuss why Google is closing down analytics and what you can switch to instead.   

In this episode, we talk about the following alternatives to Google Analytics: 

https://usefathom.com 

https://plausible.io 

https://matomo.org 

https://www.monsterinsights.com 

Google official announcement of Google Analytics closing: 

https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/11583528

Tracking cookies are everyone's least favourite type of cookie.

So they're being phased out. If you run Paid Ads (Facebook or Google) this is going to change the way your Ads work and the amount you pay.

This change also means the end of the tracking economy as we know it. So what does that mean for businesses that rely on these Ads and especially retargeting Ads? In this episode, Adam + Simon discuss the benefits and opportunities for small businesses.

Adam and Simon talk about the decisions you make in key areas of your business can have a big impact on your sustainability. So even if you're not intentionally thinking about sustainability while making them, they still have an impact.

In the first episode of a new series, Adam and Simon discuss an increasingly common trend and ask, what is ethical marketing?  Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar/

In this episode, Adam+Simon discuss the environmental impact of e-commerce packaging. They look at why reducing rather than replacing is often an unexpected way to reduce the negative impact of your packaging. Adam explains how some common misconceptions about materials can lead to you actually increasing your carbon footp[print when trying to reduce it. They also talk about the impact of returns and shipping damages.  

How Bad Are Bananas book  

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IDgrg4

Not Amazon: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/7531/9781788163811

In this episode, Adam+Simon discuss the term greenwashing. We start off by asking "what is greenwashing? We discuss how you can avoid it, how to spot when someone else is doing it and what it means for your business in the future. 

We also discuss environmental policies, what they are and why you need one as well as the term green gushing.  

Create your environmental policy: https://small99.co.uk/how-to-write-a-sustainability-policy-course/ 

What is greenhushing? https://small99.co.uk/net-zero/greenhushing/ 

The green claims code: https://greenclaims.campaign.gov.uk/

When is the right time to use Paid Ads (Google, Facebook and Instagram Ads) if you have a new business, product or service? Many small business owners reach for Paid Ads to try and increase sales. They think that if something isn't selling then Paid Ads will fix that. In this episode, Adam + Simon explain why this doesn't work and what you can use instead to use your marketing budget more effectively.

After the hype of Clubhouse has died down what has happened to the must-have social audio App? Did they waste a great opportunity? Why did they not release an Android App? What have the other big social networks done in response? Is there still a place for social audio post lockdown?

In this episode, Adam + Simon discuss these questions and what Spotify is doing which is really exciting!

In this episode Adam + Simon explain why you shouldn't be making content just for SEO, you should be focusing on the user and where they are in the user journey. The user journey consists of 4 stages awareness, consideration evaluation and purchase, we explain what content to make at each to attract more customers to your site, not just Google's robots.

When you're running a service-based business it is often hard to work out how much to charge. In this weeks episode, Adam + Simon discuss how doubling your prices can attack better clients. They look at how thinking about what you charge in relation to time can be a trap that's hard to get out of and how you can go about increasing what you charge without it feeling like an increase to your clients.

It's the 50th episode of Adam + Simon Bullshit Busters! In this special episode, we reflect on what we've learned making these episodes, how we grew our audience and what the biggest benefit has been.  We share some tools, time-saving tips and some ideas you can use to get started making your own podcast.  Thank you all for your support in the first 50 episodes and we hope you'll join us for the next 50!

Which WordPress SEO plugin is better, RankMath or Yoast SEO? In this episode, Adam + Simon run through what makes these plugins the same and different and explain why you should choose one over the other.  

Yoast SEO plugin has been around almost as long as WordPress and is still the go-to choice for most developers.   

RankMath is the new plugin full of features, what makes it better than Yoast SEO and should you rush to install it?  

Which plugin do we recommend? Watch the video to find out.  

https://rankmath.com 

https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo

You can connect with us and ask questions in our LinkedIn group: 

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9046874/

When people unsubscribe from your email list they're telling you that it's not for them, which is a good thing! In this weeks episode, Adam + Simon discuss how people leaving the list can save you money and increase your open rates. What on first hand can feel like a personal rejection can actually make you list a lot better. Watch this video to learn how to embrace a smaller active list and learn to love the unsubscribers.  

You can connect with us and ask questions in our LinkedIn group: 

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9046874/

As we move away from detailed user tracking towards a privacy-first web the role of Google Analytics is changing and it is going to start to become less and less relevant for small business owners. In this episode, Adam + Simon explain the changes that are happening and what this means for small business owners. We also highlight some alternatives and steps you can take to gather meaningful data from your website.  

We mention these tools in the episode: 

https://rankmath.com/ 

https://www.monsterinsights.com/ 

https://plausible.io/  

You can connect with us and ask questions in our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9046874/

Lead magnets are a great way to capture new leads details on your website, but do they work? In this episode, Adam + Simon discuss why lead magnets have a bad reputation and how you can make them work for your business. What can you offer to prospective customers that will deliver great value and earn the trust of your prospective customer rather than making them unsubscribe and move on to your completion? Watch this episode to find out.  You can connect and ask questions in our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9046874/

How do you get more people to join your mailing list? This is the question we get asked a lot in this episode Adam + Simon discuss what methods you can use to get more people to join the list and what content you can send them to make that experience a great one. We bust the myths about using led magnets, linking your email to Eventbrite and Zoom and how to send better nurture emails.

You can connect and ask questions in our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9046874/

Simply making more content doesn't help SEO, especially if you repeat your keywords and key phrases over and over. In this episode, Adam + Simon discuss why making more content can harm rather than help your SEO. They also explain how you can make content in a way that will help your SEO.  

Connect and ask questions in our LinkedIn group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9046874/

Do you want more people to watch your videos? Do you want your videos to get discovered by a wider audience? We hear this a lot. In this episode, Adam + Simon discuss how you can get more people to watch your videos and share their 2 tips on how to get more views and increase discoverability.  

Join the new LinkedIn group here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9046874/

You don't need a contact form on your website. They were big in the '00s but things have moved on. Contact forms are great if you love spam and low-quality leads. If you prefer qualified leads who make better customers then there are better options out there. 

Adam + Simon discuss what works better than your contact form and why you should consider making the change.  

To connect and learn more visit adamandsimon.com

Every business needs to invest in getting new customers. This investment is usually made in marketing, advertising and PR. So how much should you spend? What is a good way to work out if your spending enough, or too much?  In this episode Adam + Simon discuss how much you should be spending and give some useful tips on how to measure it. They also answer the question of what is "customer lifetime value?" and how does affect how much you spend.  To connect and learn more visit adamandsimon.com

Should you be doing your own marketing or should you outsource it? We get asked this question a lot. In this episode, Adam + Simon discuss when is the right time to be outsourcing your marketing and what you need to consider before you hire someone. We also discuss the common mistake people make when they decide to outsource and how this can mean the results are often not what they were expecting.  To connect and learn more visit adamandsimon.com

Social media profiles often contain links back to your website, so do these help with SEO? In this episode, Adam + Simon discuss the impact these links have on SEO and how you can use them effectively.  

Learn more and connect at adamandsimon.com

Your website will get two different types of visitors, new and returning. In this episode, Adam + Simon discuss the difference between them and what you can do with this data to make your website convert more and make your marketing even more effective.  

Connect and find out more at adamandsimon.com

People use your website differently if they're on the mobile or their computer. If you haven't considered what your visitors are trying to achieve on each device your website could be putting them off and sending them to your competition! In this episode Adam + Simon discuss how can you accommodate different users and what changes do you need to make sure you don't put off your customers with a bad experience?  Google Analytics can tell you about how people use your website and where they might be being put off. So how can you use this to inform how you structure and layout your website?  To connect and find out more visit adamandsimon.com

In this episode, Adam + Simon discuss how you can see what words people use to find your website, and how this can help your marketing.  When people type a search query into Google some of them will end up at your website, and using a simple report you can see what words they used.  How can you use this to make informed decisions, what does this tell you about the effectiveness of your marketing? Listen to this episode to find out.  

Get Google Search Console setup here: https://search.google.com/search-console/about 

To connect and learn more visit adamandsimon.com

The only way to answer this question is to measure when it generates or starts a new sale. How can you measure when someone places an order or fills in a lead gen form on your website? In episode 2 of this 5 part series, Adam and Simon discuss how to use Google Analytics to measure your conversions and what your conversion rate means. We discuss what you can do to encourage more people to convert and how to make informed decisions using the Analytics Goals report. 

 If you want to know if your website is making you money or costing you money then this is the way to find out!  

Set up a Google Analytics Goal: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1032415?hl=en  

To connect and get more info visit adamandsimon.com

This is the first episode of a special 5 part series to help you measure your website success. Adam and Simon run through their top 5 metrics to help you measure how effectively your website is working for you. Subscribe to get a notification when the next episode is out!  

Metric 1: Traffic Source (Traffic Acquisition) This tells you where your customer has come from to get to your website. This is a really effective way to measure if your marketing is working as you can see what channel is sending you the most traffic. What else can you tell from this report? Check out this episode to find out.  

To get started with Google Analytics use this getting started guide. https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1008015?hl=en 

For more info and to connect with us visit adamandsimon.com

Website popups seem to be growing in popularity, but do they work or just infuriate visitors? In this episode, Adam and Simon discuss the reasons popups are popular, how they are used badly, why they cost businesses so much money in lost profit and visitors and how they can be used effectively.  Could we see a return of the popup blocker that was so popular in the early 00s? Do you love or hate them? Are you using them successfully? 

For more information and to connect with us visit adamandsimon.com

Apples latest announcement means that they are starting to switch iPhone users from opt-out to opt-in tracking. In this episode Adam and Simon discuss the implications this has on Facebook Ads and why Apple is making this change. Is this the start of a wider trend to restrict user tracking? If so then how will Facebook's business survive? How will small businesses run Ads?  If you run Facebook Ads will this affect you? Does this mean they no longer work? What should I do instead? How can I spread the risk? All these questions answered in this episode.

For more information and to connect with us the visit adamandsimon.com

In this episode, Adam and Simon discuss their top 3 ways you can get more traffic to your website. They discuss how to get more of the traffic you want, why and how best to invest in content and why sharing your content is a crucial part of the process.  

If you want to connect or get in touch with questions or suggestions visit the website adamandsimon.com

In this bonus episode, Adam and Simon reflect on 2020, what's worked and what hasn't gone so well. They discuss their challenges, learnings and look forward into 2021 and what their focus will be.  Thank you for joining us during this rollercoaster of a year. See you in 2021!  For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

In this episode, Adam and Simon share their 3 top marketing tips from 2020. Having spent all year creating marketing bullshit busting videos they have distilled all of this down into the top 3 things that will have the most impact on your marketing. Get your note pads ready to make your top 3 things to work on in 2021.  

For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:   

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar     

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

Are you looking for quick results from Ads? Do you need an urgent boost in sales and are looking for Ads to deliver?  In this episode, Adam and Simon discuss why relying on Ads rarely gets the results you want and can end up costing you more than you make back. We discuss what to try instead, how to save money on your Ads and what is a better strategy than throwing money at Ads. 

If you're about to invest in some Ads watch this first!  

For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:   

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

This week Adam and Simon discuss how you can increase your conversions even when you're out of stock of a product. This simple tip will help you capture the email of those who wanted to buy, but couldn't so you can alert them as soon as it's back in stock. We also discuss how you can link this tool to automation and order optimisation. Don't miss out on customers get this working for your e-commerce shop today!  

For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:   

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar     

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

In this episode, Adam and Simon discuss with Natalie Rockall how you can get more people to open and engage with your emails. Natalie is an email marketing expert and has many years of experience working with companies large and small to deliver email marketing campaigns.  She shares some of her top tips for increasing open and click rates as well as some of the worst examples she's seen. We also learn Natalies top metrics for measuring if your email marketing is working and she introduces us to the measurement of revenue per subscriber.  If you're sending emails to your subscribers you don't want to miss this!  

Find out more about Natalie's company Total Email Marketing on her website: https://totalemailmarketing.co.uk/

Downloadable email marketing checklist - https://totalemailmarketing.co.uk/email-marketing-checklist

Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProfitableEmailMarketing 

You can connect with us all on Linkedin: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalierockall/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

In this episode, Adam and Simon discuss what to do before you move your website, and why most people only realise what they should have done too late! Moving to a new website platform is a big and exciting move but there is a big mistake that a lot of people make when they do this.  It's the digital equivalent of moving house and not telling anyone you've moved! So if you're moving website make sure you watch this video first.  

For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

In this episode, Adam and Simon discuss Google's announcement that they are making Shopping Ads 'free'. As you might suspect these 'free' Ads aren't going to be as prominent as the paid version and there is also the question of if they are even Ads at all.  We discuss how do you set them up, how do they work and how can you make them work better? We also talk about how to find an expert to help you with shopping Ads.  

The feed tool we talk about in this episode is: https://www.shoptimised.com/  

For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:   

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar     

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

Using outbound links to other peoples websites might seem like a counterproductive thing to use for SEO. Surely you're losing traffic to other peoples websites, how can that possibly help? This week Adam and Simon discuss how this can actually help you, how you can use it on your website and how the Yoast SEO tool helps highlight this on WordPress websites.  

For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:   

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar     

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

This week Adam and Simon are joined by Emma Mills-Sheffield, business coach and productivity expert, to discuss the question "is productivity just a  case of working longer and harder?" We also deep dive into baking sourdough, distractions, screen monitoring, banana bread, to-do lists and how to be nicer to your self to help you achieve more meaningful results.  

Connect with Emma on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-mills-sheffield-frsa-708a5a16/  

For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:   

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar     

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

This week Adam and Simon discuss how much you should be spending on SEO and what you can expect to get in return. We explain what your SEO agency should be giving you in terms of data and results and how to spot someone who is selling you bullshit. It's the podcast your SEO agency don't want you tohear!  

For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar    

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

In this episode, Adm and Simon discuss landing pages what they are and why you need them on your website. We look at when they are useful for SEO, Paid Ads and for converting leads.  

For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar    

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

In this episode, Adam and Simon discuss scheduling social posts a new feature to come to Canva, the online graphic design platform. We discuss how this works, it's one major limitation and how the other players in the market will need to react to keep up.  For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar   https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

In this episode, Adam and Simon discuss the Digital Services Tax, what it is and why you're being asked to pay it. We highlight why Google, Facebook and Amazon have decided to pass this cost onto small businesses, and what that means for their reputation. Will they realise this is a PR disaster waiting to happen and take the hit? Or is there another way? See what we think in this episode.

For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar   

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

This episode Adam and Simon discuss what customer personas are, why you need them and why you don't need to overcomplicate them to make them work. We discuss the need to consider your best and worst customer and why you need to think beyond just their willingness to pay. So if you have them already or you want to see how they can help you grow your business then check out this video.  

The free course we mention is here: https://marketingsuccess.club/  

For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn:  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar   

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

In this episode, Adam and Simon discuss the reasons you need to have a fast loading website. Does it affect SEO, do users really care and how fast does it really need to be? We also discuss tools you can use to test your site speed and show you what to focus on.  

Tools we mention: 

https://gtmetrix.com/ 

https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/ 

https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/wp-smushit/ 

https://squoosh.app/ 

https://tinypng.com/  

For questions and suggestions please connect with us on LinkedIn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-batchelar  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambastock

In this episode, Simon and Adam discuss how you can use Zapier to connect together your key online tools to add more data to your email marketing list. Why do you need to do it, how easy is it and what can you do with it once it's all connected. 

You can try Zapier here: https://zapier.com/  

Do get in touch with questions and suggestions: 

Adam - https://www.abastock.co.uk 

Simon - https://marketingsuccess.club

This week Adam and Simon discuss backlinks, what are they and do you need them for SEO? We explore how to find good links, how to save hours building links that don't make a difference and explain search engine spiders.  

You can reach us with questions at: 

Simon - https://www.marketingsuccess.club 

Adam - https://www.abastock.co.uk