We were lucky to catch up with Michelle Singer recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Michelle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from a typical SEO encounter.

No longer SEO.

Digital search and authority built efficiently and with integrity will weather the constant changes.

When meeting a new prospect or business connection, I still need to use the term “SEO” as a shared framework and starting point. I then share examples and insights that shape the understanding of how to grow a business, brand, or expert in the digital space. While my team immerses themselves in the nuts and bolts of on-site, off-site, and content strategy, my job is to look 10 steps ahead to future-proof our Clients’ relevancy in the digital space and STIR’s efficacy in serving those Clients.

Industry leaders are where I am or, in some cases, way ahead of me. But the industry standard is to win in the short term, even if it puts the Client at risk of losing everything when standards are enforced. Many Clients who come to us after taking the cheaper or faster route find out they were turned into link farms or, worse, by churn-and-burn SEO experts.

Michelle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been in marketing and advertising since 2000, working for brand agencies, television networks, and marketing research firms that served Fortune 500 companies and mom-and-pop local businesses. When I struck out on my own, full-time, in April of 2019, I began as a generalist marketing professional doing strategy, digital advertising, and planning. I quickly realized how much content and SEO were critical foundational elements to get the most value from digital advertising and branding investments. Not only did organic search provide a steady flow of earned traffic for years, it made for a better user experience. It was rewarded with higher placement on SERP (search engine response page) and more favorable bidding CPC rates for search ads.

My company, STIR (stirupopportunity.com), builds digital search and authority to help our Clients be found and trusted for years to come. Our products consist of consulting, strategy, planning, and execution for content development, technical and on-page SEO, and off-site orchestration of backlinks and conversations about the brand and topic authority. We love working with the teams found in growing marketing departments for companies and wildly talented digital and creative agencies.

The most common challenge that our Clients face, no matter their industry, time in business, or level of competition in the marketplace, is gaining visibility in a sea of non-company competition. Google is both the medium of discovery and the biggest competitor for space on the SERP. Many of my Clients are served by listing sites and pushed down by them. Search ads take up a good chunk of space. All before you get to the organic results of the actual product or service providers. This is why search engines are only one (important) element of our search and authority strategy. Thankfully, there are many ways to be discovered.

We work to get early wins when possible but will not be swayed to ‘The Darkside of SEO’ practices to keep a Client. We are working for ‘future you’ security and the steady stream of business that comes from doing things right. SEO is part of marketing but should also be considered an ongoing service that serves as ‘building maintenance’ for your digital branch. We have Clients who left for greener pastures, only to return when they notice the stream of business that comes from the content and optimizations we implemented 1-2 years ago. And, unfortunately, when they see a halt to all traffic when they get in trouble for the bad behavior of some SEOs.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

We get all our Clients as a flip-side to how the previous company lost them. We provide thorough reporting with contextual explanations. We meet at least once a month and present both the wins and challenges. If something goes wrong, we report on it or accept our part. Then, we make good. We are partners first. We earn the patience and grace of our Clients. If the relationship is not a good fit, we help them navigate the smoothest path to transition. Even when Clients leave us for a better fit, they tend to refer us to their peers who may be a better fit.

We do the next right thing, communicate, and level up for the best deliverables.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I always say, “Side-Hustles Build Business Muscles!”

Throughout my career, I have had a side hustle. It is how I gave myself a chance instead of waiting for my employer to give me a chance. When I needed to really learn a new skill or technology I would find a small business to pay me way less for the patience to accomplish it. Around 2004, I assembled a website from start to finish with architecture, branding, copy, etc, using a rudimentary CMS (back when WordPress was only known to nerdy bloggers). I did light coding to launch email campaigns (before MailChimp). These side hustles and projects helped me make huge leaps in my career and salary. They allowed me to learn the ins-and-outs of business billing, collection, pricing, and pitching. I recommend a side hustle to anyone looking to grow or switch careers.

Contact Info:

• Website: stirupopportunity.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stir-up-opportunity/

Image Credits
Photograph by Laci Schwoegler, 2024.