Tag: Chamber Member Tips
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Digital Ownership for Small Businesses: What Do You Control?
I keep thinking about what happens when a business spends years building an audience on a platform it does not control. That got me thinking more broadly about digital ownership for small businesses. Who actually owns the relationship? A business might have thousands of social media followers, hundreds of Google reviews, years of customer conversations,…
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Is Your Website Actually Usable by Everyone? A Practical Accessibility Check for Bloomington Businesses
There is a version of your website you have never seen. When we talk about web accessibility, we are talking about the site a person hears instead of reads, or moves through with a keyboard instead of a mouse. It is the version someone gives up on because light gray text on a white background…
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Search Is Changing: How Small Businesses Can Stay Visible in an AI-Driven World
You've invested in a website. Maybe you've done some SEO work over the years. You keep your Google Business Profile updated and ask happy customers for reviews. Things have been working reasonably well. But lately, you keep hearing that AI is changing how people find businesses online. And you're not entirely sure what to make…
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Your Google Business Profile: A Practical Guide for Local Businesses
If someone searches for your type of business in Bloomington right now, the first thing they'll likely see isn't your website. It's your Google Business Profile: the panel that appears in Google Maps and in the results sidebar with your name, hours, photos, reviews, and a button to call or get directions. That listing is…
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What Is an llms.txt File - and Does Your Small Business Website Need One?
AI search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews are changing how people find local businesses. A new file called llms.txt gives you a simple, low-effort way to help those tools understand your website -- and describe your business accurately. This post explains what it is, why it matters, and gives you a free…