A new note every Thursday
Notes on search, for Tennessee owners
How customers in your city find a business like yours, what moves you in the map pack, and what it costs. Written for owners, not marketers.
· 5 min
Nashville Visitors vs Nashville Locals: Two Different Search Audiences
Visitors search Nashville from hotel rooms and sidewalks; locals search from home. How keywords, hours, reviews and pages differ for each audience.
· 6 min
Move-In, Game Days and Graduation: Planning a Knoxville Business Around UT's Year
How move-in, home football weekends and graduation change what Knoxville customers search for, and how to time pages and Business Profile posts to match.
· 6 min
ChatGPT Can Draft Your Service Page. It Can't Earn Reviews or See Your Town's Map
ChatGPT can draft pages, titles and schema for a Tennessee business, but it can't verify your profile, earn reviews, win links or see your local results.
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Request a call time· 5 min
AI Overviews Didn't Kill Local Search in Tennessee. Here's What They Changed
AI Overviews answer general questions, but people who need a local business still get a map. What changed for Tennessee owners and where to spend effort.
· 5 min
Chattanooga Businesses Near the Georgia Line: Service Areas in Two States
Serving Rossville, Fort Oglethorpe, Ringgold or Dalton from Chattanooga: an eight-step setup for your service area, Georgia pages, licenses and reviews.
· 5 min
Cookeville and the Upper Cumberland: Reaching Customers Across a Regional Hub
Cookeville draws shoppers and patients from nearby counties. How to set service areas, build county seat pages and earn reviews from people who drive in.
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Free SEO scorecard· 5 min
New Residents Search First: Winning Newcomers in Fast-Growing Rutherford County
Murfreesboro added about 15,500 residents from 2020 to 2024. Newcomers have no referrals, so your profile, reviews and pages have to introduce you.
· 6 min
Selling Into Williamson County: Franklin, Brentwood and Spring Hill Buyers
Franklin's median household income is $115,000 and 28.2% work from home. What careful Williamson County buyers need to see before they call.
· 7 min
Small Town, Short List: Getting Found in a Tennessee Town Under 10,000 People
In a Tennessee town under 10,000 people, a complete Business Profile, a page that names your town and county, and steady reviews do most of the work.
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Request a call time
· 6 min
Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol or 'Tri-Cities': Which Name Belongs on Your Page?
When to target 'Tri-Cities' and when to target each city: how locals search, the Washington state overlap, and I-26 and I-81 drive times.
· 6 min
Cabins, Shows and Pancakes: How Sevier County Tourism Businesses Get Found
How Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville tourism businesses get found by visitors planning from out of state, through the seasons and on the day.
· 6 min
Fort Campbell Moves: Reaching Military Families in Clarksville
How Clarksville businesses reach families arriving at Fort Campbell: reviews that act as referrals, true hours, Kentucky service areas and a clear page.
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Free SEO scorecard
· 6 min
Memphis Businesses With Customers in Arkansas and Mississippi
How a Memphis business can reach customers in West Memphis, Marion, Southaven, Olive Branch and Horn Lake: service areas, state pages, licenses, reviews.
· 6 min
Bristol, Tennessee or Bristol, Virginia? Listings for a Business on the State Line
Which state goes in your Bristol address, citations and schema, how to serve both sides of State Street, and how to keep every listing consistent.
· 5 min
Central or Eastern? Business Hours When Your Customers Cross Tennessee's Time Zone Line
Tennessee splits between Eastern and Central time. Set Business Profile hours, booking pages and ad schedules so customers across the line don't miss you.