Reviewing a new site design with one of my favorite clients this week, she asked me a question.Why don't I show up the same way in Google as other dudes in her field?And by "that way" she meant the following format when she Googles her name. (I'm showing my client Laura Belgray's panel as an example above - go ahead, google her name and see what shows up!) This block of info at the top of the search results is called a Google Knowledge Panel. The display is generated based on info stored and...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
One of my best friends like to surprise me in the best ways.We got in late Monday night from a quick trip to NYC to celebrate my nephew's 21st (and to hang with really cool clients over the best, longest brunch ever - thanks VV)! I went to water my plants and saw that Monty, my mini monstera, was missing from his perch on the kitchen windowsill.Now Monty's needed some TLC for a minute - he'd outgrown his pot but I haven't had the energy (or frankly the knowhow) to properly rehome him. I knew...
2 months ago • 2 min read
I finally gave in. It's been 8 months since my longtime hairdresser up and left me for Arizona. Since then, I've just been stuffing it in a ponytail and hoping for the best. My husband's been coloring my hair, painstakingly painting my grays and calling it his meditation.On the plus side, I've already saved 2k in fees. But it's time for a chop and I needed to find someone who could tame the nest.If you've got curly hair, you know the struggle to find someone who won't style you like a shaggy...
2 months ago • 3 min read
I'm just gonna apologize right now to every Australian for any future time-related snafus. I can do a lot of things, but timezone calculations trip me up. I could've sworn I had confirmed my Q&A session for the women of web designers* summit for Thursday night at 8:00pm.The 1 hour countdown email reminder I got at 7pm Tuesday told me otherwise. No matter what the productivity bros wanna tell you, most people check their email multiple times a day.Turns out, 42% of people check their email 3-5...
3 months ago • 2 min read
I started my web design business in the mid aughts - long before social media existed. There were no specialty conferences, no fancy co-working spots, and definitely no long-winded existential crisis Voxer notes to my crew of trusted friends.I remember going to one local Adobe users meetup where I met a bunch of corporate advertising dudes who worked for insurance-selling geckos with multi-million dollar budgets. Not exactly the peer group I needed when I was designing yoga studio...
3 months ago • 2 min read
[Note: while I'm out on medical leave, I've asked a few of my smart business friends to share their current thoughts around what's working now. This week's note comes from fellow midwestern dog enthusiast and business designer Michelle Warner.] They say you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. When talking to small business owners I take that a step further and tell them their business is going to be equal to the quality of their network. I know, because I see it all...
4 months ago • 5 min read
[Note: while I'm out on medical leave, I've asked a few of my smart business friends to share their current thoughts on the state of the digital world. This week's note comes from SEO expert, Meg Clark of Clapping Dog Media]. So I just saw some data that made me crazy. Google's AI overviews are reducing clicks to websites by 34%. Yep, you read that right. One-third of the traffic... gone. Stolen. By GOOGLE. jerks. But here's the thing - I'm actually EXCITED about this change. (Stick with me...
4 months ago • 3 min read
The cryptic text from my dad just read "youtube."As I watched the three little dots finally fill in, he said he had stumbled across my YouTube channel and binged a few of my videos. Goes to show you never know who's gonna find you online. Also he said I was "brilliant in my space," but I think he's contractually obligated to say that. The kicker? I hadn't posted in months, but he caught me just as I was uploading my latest interview with copy expert, Marissa Corcoran on how to write personal...
4 months ago • 2 min read
The little green owl lied to me.Turns out my 60 day mini Duolingo streak didn't exactly revive my command of the French language during my last hurrah trip to Paris this week. The last time I really spoke (passably bad) French was during my semester abroad in Luxembourg.Sounds fun, but my host family padlocked the fridge and relegated me to the sketchy bathroom in their dank basement. Let's just say I don't have the fondest memories.This trip my friend and I vowed to use our French as much as...
5 months ago • 2 min read