Latest posts
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Yext Manages Your Listings. It Can’t Tell You If Your Marketing Is Working.
Yext pushes your listings to directories. Digital Basics Score tells you if your marketing is working. Why they solve different problems for a local business.
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Why Your 5-Star Reviews Might Be Hurting You
+1 (615) 717-7616 • kip@dodsonmc.com • 9050 Carothers Parkway, Franklin, TN 37067 Contact Me For fifteen years, the advice to local businesses has been the same: get more reviews, get more 5-stars, stack the profile as high as it’ll go. In 2026, that advice can backfire. Google’s detection models aren’t just hunting for fake reviews…
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Your Review Request Process Is Probably Already a Violation
+1 (615) 717-7616 • kip@dodsonmc.com • 9050 Carothers Parkway, Franklin, TN 37067 Contact Me Most business owners think they’re in the clear on Google’s review crackdown because they’ve never bought a fake review in their life. Clean shop, real customers, real feedback — figure the enforcement wave is aimed at somebody else. Check the date…
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Someone Is Offering to “Remove” Your Bad Google Reviews. Here’s What They’re Actually Selling You.
+1 (615) 717-7616 • kip@dodsonmc.com • 9050 Carothers Parkway, Franklin, TN 37067 Contact Me If you run a local business with any kind of public reputation, you’ve probably gotten an email like this one — I just did: “We noticed that [a customer] left a bad review on your Google Business Profile and we believe…
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How Will Google Know If I’m Review Gating?
+1 (615) 717-7616 • kip@dodsonmc.com • 9050 Carothers Parkway, Franklin, TN 37067 Contact Me The answer is more technical – and more immediate – than most business owners realize. By Kip Dodson, Founder, DodsonMC | June 2026 Most business owners who are review gating don’t think of it that way. They think of it as…
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Review Gating Is Now Illegal.
+1 (615) 717-7616 • kip@dodsonmc.com • 9050 Carothers Parkway, Franklin, TN 37067 Contact Me If your review process only invites happy customers to post publicly, you are breaking Google’s rules, the FTC’s rules, or both — and the penalties are real. What Is Review Gating? Review gating is the practice of filtering which customers get…
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Why Williamson County Needs the WCS Arts & Athletics Association: Closing a $110 Million Gap Without Raising Taxes
+1 (615) 717-7616 • kip@dodsonmc.com • 9050 Carothers Parkway, Franklin, TN 37067 Contact Me Williamson County is one of the most successful communities in America. Our schools post exceptional academic outcomes. Our residents are civic-minded, generous, and deeply engaged. Our growth is the envy of every county in Tennessee. And yet, in 2024, the people who…
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Applying the Scientific Method to Journalism: The Solution to Restoring Trust and Solving Today’s Media Crisis
+1 (615) 717-7616 • kip@dodsonmc.com • 9050 Carothers Parkway, Franklin, TN 37067 Contact Me In an era of declining trust, where media often prioritizes clicks, narratives, and advocacy over evidence, journalism faces a profound crisis. Public confidence in mass media hovers near historic lows. Yet the fix isn’t more regulation, more “fact-checkers,” or louder opinions.…
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Why Google Still Matters in an AI World — and Why Your Digital Basics Score Is the Real Competitive Advantage
+1 (615) 717-7616 • kip@dodsonmc.com • 9050 Carothers Parkway, Franklin, TN 37067 Contact Me Every few weeks, someone asks me the same question: “Now that everyone is using AI, does SEO still matter?” The short answer: yes — more than ever. A recent study by NP Digital (Neil Patel’s team) surveyed over 5,300 ChatGPT users…
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The Four Foundations of Digital Marketing: Why They Matter to Your ROI
Before spending more on ads, make sure your digital marketing foundation is working. Learn how directories, website SEO, online booking, and reviews impact ROI, conversions, and local business growth.