Tales From The Trenches
Digital Marketing That Helps Businesses Succeed
Chieftain marketing officer Hugenus shares casual rants & insights on SEO, PPC, and digital marketing stories from the field.
- All
- Digital Marketing Strategy
- eCommerce
- Facebook & Instagram Ads
- Facebook Ads
- Google Ads
- Local SEO
- SEO
- Small Business Tips
- Social Videos
- SOP
Stealing Competitor’s Brand Terms
| Digital Marketing Strategy, Google Ads
As a digital marketer, I frequently encounter the question: "Should we run ads targeting competitor key terms?" This idea often arises when business owners are frustrated that their competitors are ...
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Music Tutor Leads
| Google Ads, Local SEO, SEO
As a digital marketing expert with years of experience in SEO and SEM campaigns, I've had the opportunity to help several local businesses, including music lessons companies, thrive online. Whether ...
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Airplane Hanger Events Leads
| Facebook & Instagram Ads, Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Local SEO, SEO
As someone who has spent over 20,000 hours in the digital marketing world, particularly focusing on SEO, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads, I've had the opportunity to work with a ...
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Wedding Venue Leads
| Facebook & Instagram Ads, Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Local SEO, SEO
As a wedding venue owner with years of experience in digital marketing, I've learned the ins and outs of attracting high-quality leads and filling up my calendar with weddings. Over ...
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Bathroom Renovations Startup Advice
| Local SEO, SEO, Small Business Tips
Recently, I had a meeting with a startup business that's venturing into the bathroom renovation space. It's a very typical situation that I often find myself in. The business owner ...
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Not ready For SEO, Start-up Advice
| Google Ads, Local SEO, SEO
Over the years, I've worked with many business owners who are incredibly skilled at what they do but haven't figured out how to grow their businesses beyond word-of-mouth referrals. It's ...
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Choosing The Right Domain
| SEO
When starting a new business or considering a rebrand, one of the first decisions you must make is choosing the right domain name. Having worked in the digital marketing space ...
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Tattoo Salon Gameplan
| Facebook Ads, Google Ads, SEO
As a digital marketing expert, I've had the privilege of helping numerous businesses boost their online presence and generate quality leads. Recently, I worked with a tattoo clinic owner struggling ...
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Pool Builder Leads
| Google Ads, Local SEO
You're in a unique position if you're a pool builder in a smaller Australian city like Geelong, Newcastle, or Coffs Harbour. While the competition isn't as fierce as it would ...
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Delegate Or Die SOP
| SOP
As a digital marketing expert who's spent over 20,000 hours in SEO, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and web development, I've had my fair share of experiences managing everything myself. I've ...
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6 Months into Home Renovation Campaign
| Google Ads, Local SEO, SEO
A few months into a home renovation campaign, it's starting to feel rewarding. Don't get me wrong, I love all the campaigns I work on, but some come with a ...
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Rank & Rent In 2025
| SEO
For years, I've been building, ranking, and renting out websites-what I call my digital real estate empire. The rank-and-rent model has been a core strategy in my SEO and digital ...
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Trades Interviews & Branding Shoot
| Google Ads, SEO
Running multiple digital marketing agencies, I've helped countless businesses grow through SEO, Google Ads, and strategic content marketing. Recently, I worked with Bower's Construction, a Melbourne-based business, to completely overhaul ...
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Will Rebuilding Affect Your Google Rankings?
| SEO
I've rebuilt countless websites and seen firsthand how it can either skyrocket rankings or completely tank them. Many business owners think of a redesign as just a visual upgrade, but ...
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Home Renovations Phase 1
| Google Ads, SEO
Success doesn't happen overnight in digital marketing for home renovation businesses. Many people focus on quick wins and expect instant leads, but strong, long-term growth starts with a solid foundation. ...
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SEO Blog To Video Script Workflow
| SEO, Social Videos
As a digital marketing expert with years of experience, I've built numerous workflows that streamline the content creation process, especially for clients in highly competitive industries like mortgage broking. This ...
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Cosmetic eCom Facebook Ads
| eCommerce, Google Ads
Every month, I test new offers, fresh creatives, and different strategies to keep my ad campaigns performing at their best. This time, I'm taking things further by integrating WooCommerce into ...
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Setting Up Mortgage Broker Campaign
| Google Ads, SEO
With over 20,000 hours invested in ranking websites, running SEO and SEM campaigns, and building scalable lead generation systems, I've developed a deep understanding of what it takes to dominate ...
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590% Traffic Increase in 16 Months
| SEO
SEO is a long game, and the challenge is even greater when working in competitive industries like freight and logistics. Over the past 16 months, I've optimised two national websites-one ...
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Running Google Ads in February
| Google Ads
As a digital marketing expert with years of experience running multiple agencies, I've seen the same pattern every year around this time, and I always tell my clients: don't panic. ...
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Stealing Competitor’s Brand Terms
Digital Marketing Strategy, Google Ads
As a digital marketer, I frequently encounter the question: "Should we run ads targeting competitor key terms?" This idea often arises when business owners are frustrated that their competitors are capturing their client base. It's easy to get tempted by targeting competitor keywords, hoping to steal some of their traffic. However, after years of running campaigns, I've learned that the ...
Music Tutor Leads
Google Ads, Local SEO, SEO
As a digital marketing expert with years of experience in SEO and SEM campaigns, I've had the opportunity to help several local businesses, including music lessons companies, thrive online. Whether you're running a startup or part of a more established business, the principles of effective marketing remain the same: optimise your local SEO, use paid advertising wisely, and build a ...
Airplane Hanger Events Leads
Facebook & Instagram Ads, Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Local SEO, SEO
As someone who has spent over 20,000 hours in the digital marketing world, particularly focusing on SEO, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads, I've had the opportunity to work with a wide range of businesses. One of the most exciting projects I've worked on recently involved a private jet company looking to turn its aeroplane hangar into a wedding and event ...
Wedding Venue Leads
Facebook & Instagram Ads, Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Local SEO, SEO
As a wedding venue owner with years of experience in digital marketing, I've learned the ins and outs of attracting high-quality leads and filling up my calendar with weddings. Over the years, I've invested significant amounts into Google Ads and Facebook Ads, alongside building an SEO strategy that drives consistent results. If you're in the wedding industry, whether you own ...
Bathroom Renovations Startup Advice
Local SEO, SEO, Small Business Tips
Recently, I had a meeting with a startup business that's venturing into the bathroom renovation space. It's a very typical situation that I often find myself in. The business owner had already been doing this for some time but relied mostly on word-of-mouth from builders, previous tradies, and a few connections. While this approach had worked for him, he knew ...
Not ready For SEO, Start-up Advice
Google Ads, Local SEO, SEO
Over the years, I've worked with many business owners who are incredibly skilled at what they do but haven't figured out how to grow their businesses beyond word-of-mouth referrals. It's always the same scenario-people who have been doing well through referrals but aren't sure how to expand their reach and generate consistent leads. And while I get that it's a ...
Choosing The Right Domain
SEO
When starting a new business or considering a rebrand, one of the first decisions you must make is choosing the right domain name. Having worked in the digital marketing space for over 20,000 hours, I've seen firsthand how much of a difference this decision can make in the long run, particularly regarding SEO. The domain name you choose doesn't just ...
Tattoo Salon Gameplan
Facebook Ads, Google Ads, SEO
As a digital marketing expert, I've had the privilege of helping numerous businesses boost their online presence and generate quality leads. Recently, I worked with a tattoo clinic owner struggling to convert leads into customers. The primary issue was their website-it wasn't optimised to capture the right audience. In this post, I'll walk you through the process I followed and ...
Pool Builder Leads
Google Ads, Local SEO
You're in a unique position if you're a pool builder in a smaller Australian city like Geelong, Newcastle, or Coffs Harbour. While the competition isn't as fierce as it would be in major metropolitan areas like Sydney or Melbourne, that doesn't mean you don't face challenges. This type of market presents an incredible opportunity for growth-especially regarding digital marketing strategies ...
Delegate Or Die SOP
SOP
As a digital marketing expert who's spent over 20,000 hours in SEO, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and web development, I've had my fair share of experiences managing everything myself. I've built websites, written content, designed pages, optimized images, and run PPC campaigns-if it's part of digital marketing, I've done it. However, over the years, I realized that I could only ...