We first heard about Accelerate Columbus when Abi, the program lead, reached out seeking an expert marketer to help her cohort navigate the complex world of SEO and digital marketing. As a three-time founder, I was instantly interested in .
Entrepreneurship is a tough road, and it gets a little easier when someone can point you in the right direction. That’s why programs like Accelerate Columbus matter. They provide entrepreneurs with a space to learn, test ideas, and grow their businesses more quickly without having to figure everything out alone.
So, Dave Schramm and Huy Nguyen jumped in, and here’s what we presented (which follows our pitch deck – let us know if you’d like a copy of it).
It Starts with Bright Minds
We had the privilege of spending several hours with business owners from various industries and learning from them. Take a look at some of the amazing companies that we met:
- Teache – teachepro.com
- Senior Care Authority of Central Ohio East – seniorcareauthority.com
- STEPP Forward LLC – steppforwardllc.com
- Con un Pana en USA – Facebook page
- Nutrition Road LLC – nutritionroadohio.com
- Sound Family Practice LLC – soundfamilypractice.com
- The Saunders PR Group – thesaunderscompany.com
- Lots of Love Learning Center – lotsoflovelc.com
- Dunia Consulting LLC – duniaconsulting.us
- iASPIRE 360 LLC – iaspire360.com
- Adabela LLC – adabela.com
Each participant brought expertise, drive, and curiosity that made our experience one to remember. Additionally, everyone was eager to participate and wanted to learn as much as possible in the shortest amount of time, making our job a lot easier and fun. And Accelerate Columbus was the perfect space for that.
During our session, we shared seven key lessons about SEO and websites for 2025.
1. Marketing Tactics Change, But Strategy Never Goes Out of Style
Platforms evolve. Algorithms update. Tactics come and go. But a solid marketing strategy? That’s timeless.
At Uplancer, we always tell our clients: don’t chase trends, but rather build foundations. Whether it’s SEO, social media, or content marketing, these tools will get you in front of customers. However, you must understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. And that begins with strategy and identifying what makes your brand different.
2. Uncover What’s Unique About Your Brand
The first step in any solid marketing plan is clarity. What makes your business different from everyone else’s? What problem do you solve better, faster, or more empathetically than others?
We always recommend starting with two things. The first is creating buyer personas. The second, which is one of our favorite exercises, is performing our version of the Benefits Ladder:
- Functional – What does your product or service do?
- Technical – How does it work better than others?
- Emotional – How does it make people feel?
That last part matters most because, ultimately, emotions sell. Your audience will forget features, but they’ll always remember how your brand made them feel (good or bad).
3. Five Tools as a Business Owner to Power Up Your Website
- Microsoft Clarity – See how users interact with your pages through heatmaps and recordings. Then optimize your site accordingly.
- Uptime Robot – Get instant alerts if your website goes down, especially after an update.
- Web Crawlers (Moz or SEMrush) – Identify technical issues and SEO opportunities before they impact search performance.
- Buffer – Save time. Manage all your social platforms in one place and streamline your posting schedule.
- CDN (Content Delivery Network) – Improve website performance by serving your content closer to your users. Services like AWS or Cloudflare can make a huge difference.
4. SEO in 2025: What’s New and What Still Matters
SEO has evolved, yet again. What worked in 2020 might not work in 2025. But the fundamentals of a good website remain the same: create value, optimize correctly, and build trust.
Here’s what Google (and Bing) care about now:
- E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness
- Experience – Real, firsthand content written by people in the field.
- Expertise – Accurate information from credible information sources.
- Authoritativeness – Quality content that others want to reference.
- Trustworthiness – Reviews, transparency, and social proof.
- On top of that, SEO in 2025 breaks down into three layers:
- Technical SEO: Site speed, mobile readiness, and schema structure.
- On-Page SEO: Keywords, metadata, and well-written content.
- Off-Page SEO: Backlinks, citations, and social signals.
We find that many business owners only focus on creating well-written content and obtaining positive reviews. SEO is more than that and is an aggregate score calculated by search engines. Sometimes, the top-ranked search result isn’t won by a considerable margin, but rather by mere inches. Therefore, doing all the little things is the difference maker.
5. Why Local SEO Still Reigns Supreme
If you’re running a business in Columbus, niche focus is your friend. Local SEO allows you to compete without spreading yourself too thin.
Every small business must prioritize the following:
- Google Business Profile (GBP): Your foundation for visibility. Optimize your profile and keep your Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) information consistent across all listings.
- Bing Places: Don’t ignore Bing. It mirrors Google’s system and helps you reach a different audience.
- Reviews: Encourage local customers to provide long, detailed reviews. They build credibility and local presence fast.
- “Near Me” Searches: Optimize your listings and descriptions to ensure your business appears when someone searches locally.
- Target Locations: If you’re in Columbus, use “Columbus” in your keywords, not just “Ohio.” Additionally, reference other location-specific elements, such as businesses, organizations, and landmarks in your content.
Local SEO is how small businesses win in their own backyard.
6. The Rise of AI and Its Impact on SEO
To get listed on AI/answer engines? Create content that’s credible, shareable, and human. Search engines (and AI models) rely heavily on backlinks and trusted sources to uncover answers. So, your goal should be simple: build content that’s too good not to be included and find industry leaders to mention your brand.
7. Getting Started with SEO (the Smart, Simple, & Scalable Way)
If you’re ready to start improving your SEO, here’s a straightforward roadmap:
- Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile & Bing Places Listing
- Do keyword research using reliable tools
- Google Keyword Planner
- Moz/SEMRush Explorer
- Ubersuggest
- Blog monthly
- Publish at least one well-written article each month targeting your chosen keywords.
- Make sure it meets E-E-A-T standards and completely avoids AI-generated filler content.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re just starting out or scaling up, marketing and SEO boil down to one thing: clarity plus consistency. The small things, such as clean structure, strong content, and thoughtful local SEO, add up over time.
And that’s the same advice we shared with the incredible founders at Accelerate Columbus: don’t chase the hacks. Build the habits and play the long game.
If you’re a small business owner in Columbus and need help refining your digital presence, let’s connect! At Uplancer, we simplify the complex so you can focus on what matters most: running your business and not SEO.
