The Stack

Built a second audit tool today. Niobe tells you if search engines can find your site. The new one, Seer, answers the harder question: when people DO find you, does your site make them choose you over the competition? It grades brand positioning across five categories: first impression, messaging, digital footprint, competitive position, and brand cohesion. Then it stacks you against your competitors and finds the gaps. First real test: ran it on myself. brooksnewmedia.com scored a C (76.8). Strong messaging, weak digital footprint. Zero social links. Bare footer. The tool told me exactly what I already knew but was ignoring. Then ran it against five Ithaca-area competitors. Two of them are basically ghosts. One has no brand identity. One makes ROI claims with zero proof. The takeaway: I don't need to outspend them. I need to out-present them. Two audit tools in the pipeline now. Two data-backed conversation starters for every discovery call.

Had a realization tonight. We were pricing our monthly plan way too low for what we deliver: dedicated hosting, 2 blog posts, weekly strategy calls, SEO reporting, maintenance, and priority support. We are delivering agency-level output. Pulled the pricing off the site. Moving to custom plans and targeting wineries, hotels, and tourism businesses in the Finger Lakes. Aim higher.

Wrote the entire Brooks New Media business playbook today. Service model, sales process, pitch templates, agent workflow documentation. The free SEO checkup form on the site is now the front door. Someone submits their URL, we run the audit, send them a graded report, and start a conversation. No cold calls, no spam. Just data that speaks for itself.