115: 5 Website Lessons I Learned in 2025 (Search, AI, and Sustainable Marketing)

In this episode Jules White shares five key lessons she’s learned about what’s changing, what’s working, and where business owners can focus their energy for long-term results without relying on social media.

Key takeaways:

• People are burnt out by constant marketing
• Google Business Profiles are still incredibly powerful
• AI search is changing how people find websites 
• Clear messaging has to come first
• People are spending money on things that make them feel good
   

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Listen to Episode 064, Episode 054, and Episode 042, where Jules works through Google Business Profile improvements with real business owners.
• Free Local Visibility Checklist: Get the free guide to optimising your Google Business Profile:
• Become ChatGPT Famous workshop: How to get recommended in AI search
• Episode 087: What beauty and wellness brands must know about getting found in AI search tools
• Episode 108: Why websites feel so overwhelming and how to make it easier
• Book a Website Potential Discovery Call

If you’re ready to stop wasting time on social media, build a website that works harder for your business, and focus on a more sustainable way to attract clients, this episode will help you rethink where your energy is best spent.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 0:31 The Burnout from Social Media Marketing
• 2:19 Alternative Marketing Solutions
• 3:43 SEO Takes Time But Delivers Results
• 5:15 The Power of Google Business Profiles
• 7:58 AI Search is Changing Everything
• 12:12 The Importance of Clear Messaging
• 15:41 Making Marketing Easier with Clarity
• 17:23 Beauty, Health & Wellness Businesses are in a Strong Position

Transcript

AI-GENERATED TRANSCRIPT - MAY CONTAIN ERRORS

Introduction

Hi, it’s Jules here. Welcome back to the Website Success Show.

Today, in a reflective episode, I want to talk about five things that I’ve learned this year about websites, and I think in marketing in general, really.

The Burnout from Social Media Marketing

Number one is that people are burnt out from actively marketing their business on social media and they’re looking for an alternative.

People are looking for an alternative way to, or an alternative solution, really, to the constant content creation, whether that is for social media or constant blog writing or podcast creation or whatever form it is.

I think people are very burnt out with both, on being on both ends of it.

So, we are so over-marketed to.

We have so many marketing messages that are thrown at us daily.

And not just marketing, just in general.

Our brains are so overwhelmed with messaging and tech and information that I think people are just ready for an alternative.

I’ve had conversations that have really resonated with people when I’ve been both in-person networking, just generally getting to know people, and when I’ve been having conversations with people online networking as well.

The thing that really seems to prick people’s ears up, really, is when I mention my message of social media is optional.

I think people are just feeling like there has to be an easier way for business.

It’s been really tough this year.

I think just generally, so many people are saying that they’ve found this year in particular has been quite tough.

I know for me personally, it’s been really tough this year, but I think I feel very optimistic that actually these are the things that I can help people with.

The problems that I solve, the visibility problems that I help people solve through their website, there does seem to be a real appetite for that, and people just seem to want that solution.

Alternative Marketing Solutions

Something that’s different, and I think this is great.

I think for business owners who have spent so much time, like, ineffectively marketing their business through social media and so much time and energy and effort into creating content and becoming these content creators, really, which most of you did not start your business to become a content creator.

You want to focus on doing the things that you love.

And I definitely feel like that with my own business.

Like I love creating my podcast. I really enjoy it.

I enjoy the whole production process of it as well.

Yes, I always feel a little bit nervous just before I hit record, and I feel like it always takes me a moment or two to actually get into the flow of recording.

I have to remind myself that I’m just here to help people and I just really want to help to spread the word about how powerful websites can be.

So there’s definitely that, but I don’t just want to be creating content for the sake of it.

This is part of the reason that I recommend having a pinpoint blogging strategy.

So if you’re thinking about creating content for your own website, making sure that you are covering the topics that you need to—only those topics that you need to—and that you’re covering them really well and showing why you are the authority on them.

So I think that’s one of the, definitely the first thing that I’ve noticed this year is that just that alternative way is something that people are really, really keen to find.

SEO Takes Time But Delivers Results

So let me know if that resonates for you.

So if you are feeling like that yourself, if you’re feeling like there has to be another way to market my business, other than just being on ineffective social media all the time, or feeling like you’re putting so much effort into social media and then just getting such a little return on that investment there.

And when I’m working with clients either in the membership or in one-to-one clients, SEO does take time to take effect and there are things you can do in the meantime that aren't, again, social media.

They are much more effective at actually bringing clients in right now.

Getting out, getting to know people, working on your relationships, spreading the word in other ways that actually connect with people and really resonate with people.

Those are the things that you can do whilst you’re waiting for your website—the work you’re doing on your website—to then catch up.

But the great thing about working on your website and working on your SEO is that once you do that work, that can actually be bringing clients into your business and bringing a steady stream of the right clients into your business for years to come.

Whereas when you are posting on social media or when you’re paying for ads, once you stop, once you stop doing those things, once you stop posting.

Once you stop paying for those ads, then the traffic stops.

And actually, that’s why I really love the power of your website.

Actually showing up in Google and you being recommended in AI search is so powerful.

So number one is that people are just looking for something different, really. Number two.

The Power of Google Business Profiles

Is that Google Business Profiles are still incredibly powerful for local traffic.

So whether that is in actually Google Search or whether we are talking about people asking AI for recommendations for local businesses, whether that’s Google’s AI or ChatGPT, or Claude or Gemini, wherever people are asking and searching for local businesses.

Your Google Maps listing, so your Google Business Profile, makes such a difference to you being a recommended business.

So if you can get really clear on that.

I’m really passionate about Google Business Profiles, and have been ever since I kind of first discovered the power of them.

I’ve been working with Google Business Profiles since back when it was called Google Plus.

Every now and again they change the name of it just to annoy everybody and just to really confuse everybody.

So when I first started working, when I was back in the salon, and it used to be called Google Plus, it was a nightmare trying to get into your profile and trying to actually find your settings.

There weren’t that many things that you could actually control about it as well.

So it was a very basic profile listing, and it used to be really hard to get into it.

Not to say that Google Business Profile can’t sometimes be hard now, because we definitely do have some issues.

If you’re having problems getting verified and those kind of things, it can be quite frustrating.

But in general, it’s pretty simple to use the Google Business Profile.

Once you’ve got it set up, once you’re verified, once you’re starting to collect reviews and add information into your profile, then it’s normally pretty simple to get that all sorted.

So if you’ve got that information in there, if you’re making the most of your profile, if you’ve got that all set up as it needs to be, if you’ve selected the right categories, the right primary and secondary categories, and you have that information tied in with your website, then that sends really strong signals.

Whether it’s to Google or to AI bots, it shows that you are this local business, you’re this trusted local business.

And they should be showing you up as a recommended business locally.

So it’s something that I’m even more passionate than ever about, Google profiles and the power of them, really.

I’ve got a few episodes where I’ve actually gone through with business owners on live Google Business Profile Strategy episodes, so check out episode 64, 54 and 42.

They’re all episodes where I’ve actually talked with a business owner live and talked them through some of the things that they can do just to improve the local visibility and to make the most of their profile really, and just pointed out a few things that they maybe weren’t doing that could really help them to show up locally.

You can also grab my free local visibility checklist as well, so if you go to thewebsitesuccesshub.com/local, you can grab my free guide to optimising your Google profile essentially.

AI Search is Changing Everything

And then number three is a big one.

So AI search, this is really changing how people actually come through to our website, how people are finding our website.

If we are the business that’s getting recommended in AI search, then that’s going to be massive.

It already is.

People and businesses are already seeing this change.

They’re already seeing that people are coming through—they can see it in their analytics.

People are coming through to their website and they’re being told by customers that they’ve been recommended by ChatGPT or Gemini or something, and this is really, really powerful.

I think the businesses that embrace this right now get ahead of the curve with this and really make sure that they are optimising their website, not just for SEO but for AI search as well.

And one of the things I would say about AI search is that 80% of AI search is making sure you are optimised for SEO.

So if your website isn't optimised for SEO—so your content isn't clear, you're not really clear on your messaging—then you are unlikely then to show up in AI searches as well.

And then we need to then do some additional steps with that to make sure that we are actually showing up in those AI searches, that we are the ones that are being recommended in AI search.

The great thing about that happening, if we are actually being recommended in AI searches, is that people are so much further along their buyer’s journey by the time they get to that point.

Doing a search in AI, something being recommended, and then them either going to Google and looking for that business, or literally just clicking on that link within the AI answers—then they’re already so much further along that buyer’s journey.

They trust us so much more because we’ve been recommended in AI and because the AI bots have been out and done the recommendations for them.

So it is not like them getting a list of 10 blue links in Google like they used to before, where they would have to go through and look at the different ones.

Most people would click on the first but then you would still go through and do a lot more due diligence on that website because we didn't necessarily trust that it would be the specific right answer for us.

Whereas when we are talking to AI bots, they know us so much better, so they’re much more likely to be able to deliver a better result for us.

So when people come through, when those visitors come through to our website from AI searches, they are likely to stay there longer.

They’re likely to explore our content for longer, and they’re much, much more likely to actually buy from us as well.

So you may find that you've seen a traffic—like the amount of traffic to your website—actually drops.

You’ve seen a drop-off in traffic, but the traffic that does come through is then much more likely to buy from us.

So it all does even out in the end.

And if you are the business that’s being recommended in those AI searches, then that’s going to be really, really powerful.

And the majority of businesses as well aren't doing this.

Most people are ignoring this; they aren’t even thinking about AI search.

It’s not even on their radar yet.

So if you are a business, one of these early adopters that actually gets in there early, make sure that you are actually doing that.

That’s really powerful.

I’ve had nearly 600 people sign up for my "Become ChatGPT Famous" workshop this month, and I’m so pleased with that.

It really does show that people are ready to embrace this.

People are ready to work out, "Okay, what do I need to do with my particular website to make sure that I’m the one that’s being recommended in ChatGPT as the expert in what I do or as the expert in my local area for the thing that people are actually looking for?"

So real potential there.

I would definitely say that’s one thing to watch for next year as well.

Make sure you’re getting to know how to actually get your business recommended in AI search.

I’ll link to the workshop in the show notes and you can also go and listen to episode 87, which is "What Beauty and Wellness Brands Must Know About Getting Found in AI Search Tools."

So I’ll make sure I link to that in the show notes as well.

Go and have a listen to that episode.

It’s really going to help you just to understand some of these basics of what needs to happen on your website and on your whole online presence as well, to make sure that you are the one that’s getting recommended by these AI search tools.

The Importance of Clear Messaging

Number four is that most businesses need to start with clearer messaging.

People come and they are thinking about their website, and we then get to the point where they need to describe what they do, how they help people, and the clear problems that they solve for people.

And until you take a step back and do that part first, you’re in a really hard position.

It’s a difficult position to be in where you’re trying to write content for your website, you’re trying to write things that actually really connect with your audience.

You’re trying to make sure that as soon as people land on your website, within three seconds ideally, that they understand what you do, how you’re going to make their life better, what they need to do to actually get it, and what benefits you’re bringing to them—their life, really—from them actually buying from you.

And whether you are just getting started with your website, whether you’re just literally getting started in business, or whether you’re a business who’s been in business for a long time or for a few years at least, and you are just thinking about how can I make my website more effective.

Without taking that step back as the business owner and understanding those problems that you solve for people, the core messaging that you need to get across, then you’re always going to struggle to actually make your website effective.

I’ve talked about this in back in episode 108 of "Why Websites Feel So Overwhelming and How to Make It Easier," where I talked about the three brain modes that we need.

The three brain modes it uses, really, to actually get your website from thinking about, "Okay, I need to make my website better," to the point where you’ve got the content written and actually implemented on your website.

So go and have a listen to that episode.

That’s all about the bits that you as a business owner need to do as the CEO of your business.

Either you or somebody who knows your business inside and out and can actually make decisions about your messaging.

That part versus actually then writing the copy for your website, whether you do that yourself or whether you get someone to do that for you.

Actually getting your messaging written and getting the content created, gathering images, those kind of parts of it versus the bit of actually implementing that onto your website.

And you don’t necessarily, as a business owner, need to do all three of those things.

It might be you doing all of them, and for a lot of business owners it is, especially for solopreneurs, especially for small business owners.

It’s somebody—you have your own internal marketing team, which might just be you.

But regardless of that, whether you decide that you want to outsource the implementation or not, you need to be involved in that messaging part.

You need to be involved in the strategy part.

And this is something where maybe having a strategist like myself to help you along the way and hold your hand and just really guide you and signpost you to the right points that you need to focus on can be really helpful.

So that’s definitely something that I’ve noticed, is that a lot of the time business owners think, "Yep, I just need to do this. I just need to implement my SEO. I just need someone to do my SEO for me."

But actually, until you are clear on those parts, until you’re clear on the messaging parts, then you’re going to really struggle with that.

And the thing is, once you get clear on all of these things, it makes everything easier.

It makes all of the marketing you’re trying to do within your business easier.

It makes networking easier because you’re really clear on the problems that you solve, and you can talk about it in a really clear, concise way that doesn’t involve people burning mental calories to work out how your business can help them.

Making Marketing Easier with Clarity

So once you’ve done that, it makes everything so much easier.

So I’d definitely say focus on that.

If you’ve not taken some time to think about the core problems that your business solves for your customers and the benefit-driven language that you need to use around that, then take some time to think about that.

And then number five, the final thing that I wanted to talk about today that I’ve really noticed is, I think, something that’s really positive for businesses who are selling to the general public—so B2C businesses.

Times are tough right now. It has been a tough year.

There’s definitely, especially in the UK, the cost of living crisis.

People are finding it hard, but the beauty of being a B2C business and actually selling to the general public, especially in beauty, health and wellness, where you are selling things that actually help people feel good and help them feel better about their life.

Help them relax, help them to switch off from the stress and help them to actually escape the stress of going to work, trying to earn money.

All of the stress and worry, all of the news and everything else that feels so overwhelming for people, is people are actually looking for something to escape that.

So if you sell something that helps people to either de-stress, relax, feel good, or escape as well.

Definitely businesses that offer hobby-type offers.

Things that help people to actually switch off and decompress and relax and all of those kind of things.

I think those businesses are in a really strong position that people will spend money on that, regardless of whether people are cutting back in other areas.

B2C Businesses in a Strong Position

Then people want to spend their money on things that make them feel good.

I think this is definitely a different situation to when I was back in the salon.

I think treatments were—and maybe early on, like I’m thinking around 2008 when there was the credit crunch and the 2008 financial crisis.

It did seem to be that people would cut back on their beauty treatments, whereas I think now people, that's one of the last things to go.

People want those things that still make them feel good and they want those things that actually help them to de-stress and to escape all of this, really.

So all that to say, I think if you are in a business where you are selling something that helps people feel good, helps people live better, helps people to relax, then you are in a really strong position.

I saw this when I was at a networking event last week.

One of my local networking groups that I love—Jo, who runs it, was doing a raffle for a local mental health charity, which was fantastic.

And lots of local business owners who attend networking donated prizes.

I donated a Power Hour and there were a few of us who had donated businessy-type offers.

And what I noticed was all the lovely prizes were laid out on the table.

When we got there, people were looking at them, and I was doing the same myself.

Looking at the ones that were the relaxation facials, there was a—oh, what was it?

The one that I wanted, it was a Japanese head spa or something like that, where apparently they pour water over your head.

It sounded amazing.

It was literally just a plain envelope with this written on it, the words of Japanese facial head spa facial or something like that.

Sounded absolutely amazing.

And I was like, "Yeah, if I win, that’s the one I’m going to get."

And it seemed to be that way.

As much as it was all business owners who were there, all small business owners who absolutely need help with things like business coaching, marketing messaging, graphic design—all of those kind of things.

Accounting was another one that was there.

But the prizes that people went for first, the ones that people literally just grabbed as soon as their ticket got pulled out, they were the ones that went first.

They were the ones that made people feel good, made people relax, and were more of the personal stuff, not the businessy stuff really.

So I think all that to say, a really good time and a really good position to be in when you are in a beauty, health and wellness business right now.

So I hope that’s a positive message that helps you feel good about—you might need to get more visibility, but actually people do want what you’re selling as well.

So if you feel ready to stop wasting time on social media, stop feeling like your website could be doing more for your business and embrace a different, more effective way of marketing your business and bringing in more clients every day, then book a Website Potential Discovery Call.

We can sit together on Zoom and we’ll talk about where you are right now and where you’d like to be with your website.

And if one of my programs or services can help you to get there faster, then we can talk about that as well.

So that’s all for today.

So for now, keep thinking about how your website could become your hardest working team member.

And remember, social media is optional.