James Dooley Podcast

James Dooley

If you are a company based in Plymouth and you're looking to grow in 2026, what digital marketing strategies should you be doing?

There is so much noise out there with regards to AI SEO and trying to get your brand mentioned in large language models like ChatGPT or Gemini, which power the Google AI overviews. Is that going to get you the highest return on investment?

Or should you be doubling down on Google AdWords or PPC on Bing? What about posting every day on social media — will that get you a return on investment? Should you be running paid social media ads?

What is it that you should be doing in 2026 that will generate a consistent flow of enquiries for your Plymouth-based business?

Today I'm joined with Kasra, and we're going to talk through the different types of digital marketing strategies that you could be doing.

But before starting any of these, Kasra, what advice would you give to a business owner or entrepreneur based in Plymouth?

Kasra Dash

For Plymouth-based businesses that have contacted us, the number one issue is that they don't actually know where their leads are coming from or which marketing channels they should double down on.

So the first thing I recommend is making your marketing as predictable as possible by setting up KPIs.

Some of the KPIs I would look at include:

How much am I spending on each marketing channel?

How many leads am I generating from those channels?

What is the quality of those leads?

How many of those leads are actually contactable?

Then you want to measure how many of those leads actually turn into paying customers.

For example, once you know your numbers you can say:

If I spend £6,000 on Facebook ads, this is how many leads I will generate.

If I spend £4,000 on PPC, this is how much revenue I can expect.

Once you have those numbers, digital marketing becomes much easier because you can clearly see which channels are working and which ones you should turn off.

So James, let's get into it. What is the first marketing channel you would recommend?

James Dooley

Step number one for me has to be branding or brand SEO.

You need to make sure you're looking good online and that you have a strong reputation.

Everything needs to start with the foundations of a positive brand SERP. SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page.

When someone searches your brand name, you want the results to show positive information about who you are and what you do.

Getting your branding right will improve your conversion rate across other marketing channels like paid ads or social media.

When someone is deciding who to work with at the final stage, branding becomes extremely important.

So this is the first thing businesses need to get right.

James Dooley

The next strategy is AI visibility.

More and more companies are starting to look into this.

What do platforms like:

ChatGPT

Claude

Gemini

Grok

Perplexity

say about your business?

Is the information positive or negative?

You should also analyse what these AI systems say about your competitors and look at how you can improve your presence.

Some people call this AI SEO, others call it GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation), and some call it LLM optimisation.

Whatever you call it, it's going to be a big factor in 2026 and beyond.

Kasra Dash

Yes, I completely agree. AI is becoming a huge part of digital marketing.

The next strategy is working with lead generation companies like Fat Rank or Promo SEO, which offer commission-based lead generation services for UK companies.

It’s important that you generate your own leads through your marketing efforts, but outsourcing part of your lead generation helps you diversify your enquiry sources.

You can visit fatrank.com and fill in the form to see if they can help supply enquiries for your business.

Promo SEO also provides a performance-based lead generation service.

James Dooley

Another important strategy is Google Business Profiles, also known as Google Maps listings.

This is part of local SEO.

When your listing ranks well, it can consistently generate local enquiries.

However, if you're starting from scratch, your competitors might already have 60 to 100 reviews, which creates a review deficit.

So building reviews can take time, but having a Google Business Profile is essential for local visibility and branding.

Kasra Dash

Exactly.

If you're a local business, you want to be omnichannel and omnipresent.

Another key strategy is organic SEO.

This means building out your website so it ranks for relevant searches.

For example, you might create service pages like:

Plumbing in Plymouth

Electrician in Plymouth

You can also write blog content that answers common questions.

The goal is to build topical authority and get third-party backlinks to improve your rankings.

James Dooley

Another important strategy is organic social media.

Organic social media is a numbers game.

Many businesses post a few times and then stop for years. That won't generate sales.

Instead, you should post helpful content such as:

How-to guides

Before and after examples

Educational content

You should aim to post three to four times per week.

Kasra Dash

And on that topic, paid social media ads can also be very powerful.

If you're already creating organic content, you can boost your posts with a small budget.

You can also run retargeting ads to people who have already visited your website.

Platforms you can advertise on include:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

YouTube

Pinterest

Reddit

Paid social media is still an underrated marketing channel.

James Dooley

Next is PPC advertising through platforms like Google AdWords or Bing Ads.

Some businesses love PPC, while others hate it.

Usually the difference comes down to how well the campaign is set up.

For example:

Maintaining a strong negative keyword list

Blocking competitor IPs to prevent click fraud

Using a high-converting landing page

Having a sales team that quickly contacts leads

If PPC is managed properly, it can generate instant leads.

Kasra Dash

Another opportunity that may emerge soon is advertising on AI platforms.

Platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity may introduce ads in the future.

Businesses that become early adopters could benefit from cheaper leads.

James Dooley

You can also gain visibility through forums like Reddit and Quora.

If your customers are recommending your business there, it can generate additional enquiries.

It can also help with AI visibility, since AI platforms often reference these forums.

James Dooley

Finally, there are tradesman platforms such as:

Checkatrade

Bark

Rated People

MyBuilder

These platforms can generate leads if they provide a positive return on investment.

However, the key with all marketing channels is tracking your KPIs and return on ad spend.

You should never rely on a single lead source.

Instead, aim to diversify your marketing channels while also generating your own leads.

Lead generation companies like Fat Rank and Promo SEO can be one part of that strategy.

James Dooley

Thank you very much, Kasra.