Okay, so marketing time leaks are the worst kind of leak a smaller business owner could actually deal with. Maybe this was a fun hobby that’s now making income, but have you caught yourself maybe spending a little too much time on marketing? Now, it sounds weird because they don’t look like time leaks. They look like “being responsible.” And yes, that makes sense, because it’s things like staying on top of the website, keeping content fresh, responding to leads quickly, tweaking messaging, and fixing little things before they become big things. So, all good intentions, right?
But then it turns into this weird situation where a business is technically doing marketing all week, and still not really moving forward. Which is actually the whole point of this post, because even though it seems like work, not much is happening in terms of actually getting something done and results. So, what are these marketing tasks that are causing so many leaks?
Are You Actually Doing a “Tiny Website Edit”?
Yes, this one is super specific here, but it’s for good reason, though! And yes, actually, you could say that this one’s a classic too. So, it starts as a simple change, like updating a service paragraph, swapping an image, adding a new testimonial, changing a phone number, whatever, you get the point. Well, then the page builder loads slowly. Then the mobile view looks odd. Then the spacing needs adjusting. Then there’s a random font inconsistency. Then a button link breaks. Then the page has to be checked on another browser. Now it’s been two hours, and the original edit was five words.
Maybe this doesn’t sound like a realistic scenario, or maybe this is just right on the head to wear it’s too relatable. It just really depends on your workstyle. Well, it’s not that website work is pointless; it’s that ad-hoc website work is a black hole. But every time the site is opened without a clear plan, it invites side quests. And of course, those side quests can feel productive while quietly stealing time from the marketing work that would actually generate leads.
Are You Only Getting SEO Local Tasks Half-Done?
Which might be really specific here, but just in general, though, local SEO is another time leak because it’s often treated as a series of random tasks. Granted, it makes sense because to a small degree, it’s actually light that. So, how? Well, someone updates a Google Business Profile, then forgets about it for months, which again is common. Maybe someone adds a service page, but doesn’t link to it from anywhere, super common too. Maybe someone changes business hours, but only on the site, not on listings, which again, is common.
There’s plenty of examples here, but these are probably the best ones. And because it’s half-done, it doesn’t work as well as it could, which makes people feel like local SEO “doesn’t work,” so it gets neglected more. It’s a loop, it’s this giant loop that just won’t end, and more work gets piled up instead. But if this keeps continuing, what’s going to be the fix here? Well, it’s consistency. Getting specific here, you need to just keep business info aligned across the site and listings. Which sounds so generic, but this is really what you need to do.
For example, for your website, when it comes to the SEO side, use the Prime SEO plugin if you have a WordPress website. You need to make sure core services have dedicated pages, and make location signals obvious. The same can be said to update a few key pages instead of endlessly adding new ones, but you get the idea here. You have to be strict with this.
Analytics Turning into Doom-Scrolling
This one might sound really weird, and granted, it basically is. When it comes to analytics, it’s usually about checking traffic, checking rankings, checking clicks, checking conversions, and checking engagement. It feels like being informed, but it can also become a daily habit that creates stress and doesn’t lead to action.
A lot of small businesses don’t need more data; they need fewer metrics, checked less often, tied to actual decisions. Like, track leads and conversions weekly, instead of doing this daily. It could honestly help to just track top pages monthly and track search queries quarterly. Then use that information to update the pages that matter. The goal here is not doom scroll and have the whole “something needs to be better mentality.
Design Tweaks Rarely Move the Needle
Okay, so this is the part where marketing starts to look like procrastination. Well, it looks productive, but honestly, it’s not, because it doesn’t matter nearly as much as you might think. It’s things like changing fonts, adjusting brand colours, updating icons, rearranging the homepage layout, creating new graphics, and the list can go on and on. Yeah, sure, to a degree here, it can all be useful, but it can also be an endless loop of polishing that doesn’t lead to more enquiries.
But most of the time, the conversion wins come from clarity, not aesthetics. Sure, those are fun, but that’s about it. But that’s the part that a lot of businesses keep missing the mark on. So, you’re better off focusing on clear offers, clear CTAs, clear pricing expectations, clear next steps, clear this, and clear that. So the fix is asking a blunt question. Is this change going to help a customer decide faster, or is it just making the business feel busy?
Chasing Content Ideas Instead of Building a Repeatable System
And finally, this one! Okay, content brainstorming is fun, but it can become a time leak when it replaces execution. Like, some people will doom scroll for ideas, but no, you don’t want to do that! But that’s not even the only problem here either, like, the content calendar turns into a never-ending list of half-formed ideas, and the business keeps circling around questions like, “What should be posted,” and, “What would people want to read,” and, “What’s trending.”
Which, sure, those are really nice, but content isn’t everything. Instead, a better approach is picking a repeatable content system, meaning one that you know you can get done easily and effectively.
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