What’s changing for small businesses, and what to do about it
If you run a trade, a clinic, a gym or a local shop, some of the marketing habits that used to work now need a second look. Facebook is starting to ration how often you can share a link to your own website. People ask ChatGPT, or read Google’s AI summary, before they ever visit a site. A good job still brings a recommendation, but the next customer often checks you on Google before they call.
None of that means you have to become a marketing department. It does mean your weekly process has to change a little.
These guides are for UK small business owners. Each one explains what has changed, what that means for how you work, and a plan for the next 90 days. They are written in plain English, and they do not assume you have a marketing team.
By Mike Dunkling, founder of Zatheo, a web design, SEO and AI automation agency in Ashford, Kent.
The five guides
Marketing when Facebook limits links
Many Facebook Pages now get only two free posts or comments with external links a month. This guide covers how to use those two carefully, and how to move more of your marketing onto channels you own.
Getting found in AI answers as well as Google
Customers now ask ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews for a recommendation. This guide is about how your writing and weekly checks need to change so those answers can find you and describe you accurately.
Running your website without an agency queue
Small updates should not have to wait in a ticket queue. This guide explains how the update process changes when you can edit an AI-driven website by chatting with an assistant, and when that option is the right fit.
From word of mouth to a steady flow of enquiries
Recommendations still matter. This guide is about what happens after someone hears your name: your Google Business Profile, reviews, local search, your website and a simple follow-up habit.
Letting AI handle first replies
The first reply often decides who gets the work. This guide covers what a chatbot or automation can take on, and what you should still do yourself.
How to use them
You do not need to work through all five at once. Start with the one that is already getting in your way. If Facebook has shown you the link limit pop-up, start there. If enquiries have gone quiet even though people still recommend you, start with word of mouth. If messages pile up while you are on a job, start with first replies.
Each guide stands on its own. The 90-day plans are written so you can do most of the work yourself. Where we can help, the matching service page is linked at the end.
If you would like a hand deciding where to start, Book a free 30-minute call.
Frequently asked questions
Who are these guides for?
UK small business owners, especially trades, local services, clinics, gyms and shops. They are written for people who do the marketing themselves, or with a small team, rather than for in-house marketing departments.
Do I need to follow all five at once?
No. Pick the one that matches the problem you have this month. The guides interlink where the work overlaps, so you can move on to the next one when you are ready.
Are these sales pages?
No. They are practical strategy pages. Each one explains a change, a process and a 90-day plan you can use yourself. There is a short section at the end of each guide on how we can help, and a link to Book a free 30-minute call, if you want a hand.