ClimbHigh SEO

13/04/2026

More and more local searches now end with an AI answer or overview, not a traditional list of ten blue links.

Those AI answers don’t showcase businesses at random, they surface brands that look consistent, credible and clearly relevant across a wider and wider range of digital media
For professional services, eco‑minded and outdoor businesses in Cumbria, that’s now as important as “being on page one”.

If you’re not sure how AI search is currently talking about (or ignoring) your business, let’s have a 30‑minute chat: coffee around Carlisle if you’re local, or Zoom/Teams if you’re further afield.

13/04/2026

A Fundraiser For Team Evie!
It's just under 2 weeks till the Team Evie crew return to the Ullswater Way on April 25th, to take on the stunning 20 mile walk around the North Lakes' favourite puddle!

Why? Several years ago Greg and Jill Johnston had a daughter, Evie, who was born with a multitude of medical conditions which ultimately she couldn't survive: despite the avalanche of love and care poured into her by family, friends and medical staff.

In her memory Team Evie evolved to support families going through similar trauma to them in Cumbria and surrounding areas. It's one of Cumbria's hidden gems, this charity; so I have decided to drag my old arthritic feet round Ullswater to raise some funds to support their work.

Please do chip in towards this undersung group; who make life so much more bearable for families and parents undergoing the trauma of caring for very ill little children.

My fundraising page for this event is linked in the first comment.

10/04/2026

From Clicks to Footfall: Local search isn’t abstract traffic.
A large proportion of local searches lead to a visit or an enquiry within 24 hours.

For a small professional practice, eco‑tourism business or guiding company, that can be the difference between a quiet week and a full one.
If you’d like a quick 30‑minute appraisal of how easy it is (or is not) for nearby customers to find and choose you, drop me a line. We can talk over coffee in Carlisle or online.

10/04/2026

Local searches aren’t generic

Nearly half of Google searches now have local intent – people looking for something “near me”, not somewhere abstract.

But most local businesses still think in terms of one or two trophy keywords, instead of all the different ways real customers actually search.
If you’re a professional service, eco‑minded or outdoor business in Cumbria, the question is simple: when someone nearby needs what you do, do you show up – or does someone else?

If you’re near Carlisle, we can grab a coffee and take a quick look at how visible you are locally. Further afield, we can do the same in a focused 30‑minute Zoom or Teams call.

06/04/2026

As Spring 2026... springs: here are another series of tips and insights that will help your business grow https://mailchi.mp/climbhighseo/seo-tactics-ai-spam-alerts-extortion-hacks-783

31/03/2026

A common trip up when verifying your Google Business Profile is to have your phone's camera on too high a resolution. Verification videos need to be less than 2 minutes in length and it appears that the file size needs to be less than 80megabytes. This means you need to make sure that your video camera on the mobile device that you will use is set to a fairly low resolution, in order to create a video file that is not too large to upload to the Google business profile servers.

Read more 👉 https://bit.ly/3G1PnKA

23/03/2026

Are you a David up against a Goliath?
In local digital marketing, you will be up against big budget national companies and franchises, as competitors. "Complaining about online competitors or big national firms won’t help." https://bit.ly/3KiuXiF

12/03/2026

Have you mastered the art of scheduling posts on your Google Business Profile? Learn where to find the new scheduling option.

Read more 👉 https://bit.ly/48r7YM7

How to Schedule Posts on Your Google Business Profile (and Why It Matters This Winter) by ClimbHigh | Dec 9, 2025 | Blog, Google Business Profile, local seo Google Business Profiles seem to be in a state of constant flux! In the past fortnight a small but very welcome update to the GBP interface in....

21/02/2026

There has been a lot of noise about AI and the future of search.

The data I've dug up over the past few days suggests something more grounded.

Search is fragmenting.
Local journeys are layered.
Visibility is redistributing.
The effects on different business verticals are varied.
For a local business, the sensible response is simple.

Make sure your services are clearly described.
Make sure your business information is consistent everywhere.
Make sure your reviews and reputation are strong.
Make sure your website is structured clearly.

AI tools will build on those foundations.

They will not replace them.

Trends move quickly.
Credibility builds slowly.

20/02/2026

The Shift From Clicks to Inclusion

Over the past few days I have shared data showing two things:

Search behaviour is fragmenting. Local buyer journeys are becoming layered.

There is another structural shift happening beneath that.

Search volume continues to grow. Organic clicks are redistributing.

Several analyses including Tank and Digital Bloom highlight what some are calling a decoupling effect. Search impressions increase while click growth slows, particularly where AI summaries satisfy informational queries.

That does not mean visibility has disappeared. It means visibility is being expressed differently.

In an AI mediated result, inclusion inside a summary, citation block or recommendation panel may matter as much as a traditional blue link.

For local firms and professional services, this has practical implications.

Measurement may look weaker. Traffic may fluctuate.
But your brand authority and entity clarity become more valuable, not less.

The strategic question is no longer just “Where do we rank?”

It is “Are we being included when decisions are being shaped?”

Clicks are one metric. Inclusion is becoming another.

19/02/2026

There is a lot of debate about whether local search is affected by AI.

The honest answer is that it is, but not in the way many assume.

Nearly 60 percent of searches now end without a click. (according to Bain via Tank’s recent analysis.)

That headline figure is driven mainly by informational searches.

Local search works differently because it has layers.

First, an AI summary may introduce options and comparisons.

Second, local pack results and review profiles help people validate what they are seeing.

Third, websites and booking systems convert that interest into real enquiries.

Research summarised by Digital Bloom and Whitehat shows AI summaries expanding into areas such as restaurants, property and transport and knocking visitor traffic significantly.

That means discovery is changing.

But trust and clarity still matter at every step.

Local search is not disappearing.

It is becoming more layered, more unpredictable.

The sensible response is to make sure your business is strong across the whole stack of digital media channels, not just one part of it.