The Latest News From Melon Local
Stay in the know with the latest news in digital marketing, best practices and updates from Melon Local.
How AI Determines Which Business Is the Best
You know your business is the best. But when someone asks AI (Artificial Intelligence) for the best business nearby, does your name come up? And if another business gets recommended, what made AI choose it over yours? Let’s look at how ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity find business information and
4 Questions to Ask Before Granting GBP Access
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is one of the most valuable digital assets your business owns. It’s often the first thing potential customers see when they search for your business, making it a key driver of organic calls, website visits and foot traffic. In fact, a fully optimized GBP gets around 70 percent more in-store visits. Because of its importance, it’s not uncommon to receive emails or notifications asking you
4 Lead Follow-Up Strategies From Insurance Agent Katie Olson
When lead performance starts to slow down, it’s easy to assume the leads are the problem. But after working with thousands of insurance agencies across the country, we’ve found the best opportunities come from improving what’s done with a lead after it comes in. That’s exactly what Melon Local Business Development Specialist and experienced insurance agency owner Katie Olson discusses in our latest Melon Minute. As the owner of her
Melon Spotlight: Cassidy Fehr
From rolling out the green carpet as a CSM to helping keep The Patch running smoothly as Executive Assistant, Cassidy has continued to grow alongside Melon Local. Known for her organization, positivity and attention to detail, she’s become a go-to resource for keeping projects on track, supporting leadership and adding thoughtful touches that make Melon feel like home. Whether she’s coordinating behind the scenes, helping elevate the client experience or
How to Write Better AI Prompts with the GREEN Framework
Artificial intelligence has changed the way businesses create content, brainstorm ideas and solve problems. With nearly 75 percent of companies adopting AI for at least one business function, its use will inevitably increase over time. But here’s something many people overlook: the quality of AI’s output depends on the quality of your input. Two people can ask the same AI platform the same question and walk away with completely different
Melon Local Hosts Successful Open House for 2026
For two days in May, Melon Local opened its doors and welcomed hundreds of clients, partners, sponsors and friends at our Las Vegas-based Melon Patch. Yes, there were live demos. Yes, there were even tacos, drinks and a dunk tank. But the biggest takeaway from Melon Local’s 2026 Open House wasn’t found in any activation station or presentation. It was the people. Throughout the event, we had the opportunity to
The Importance of Staying Visible During Uncertain Times
If you’ve been in business long enough, you know how market shifts can make you rethink everything. Maybe AI is changing how your customers find your business. Maybe it’s rising costs of operations. Or perhaps it’s your own ROI not keeping pace with your business’s needs. But after years of working with our clients across the country, we’ve seen one thing consistently hold true: The businesses that stay visible during
Melon Local Named a 2026 Quantum Certified Workplace
Melon Local is proud to be recognized as a 2026 Quantum Certified Workplace, a designation awarded to organizations that demonstrate a consistent commitment to building strong workplace cultures and high-performing teams. The recognition reflects Melon Local’s ongoing investment in its people and the belief that a thriving internal culture directly drives better outcomes for clients. The certification, awarded by Quantum Workplace — a leader in employee experience and workplace culture
RECAP: Melon Local Celebrates Bring Your Child to Work Day
Bring Your Child to Work Day officially took over the Melon Local office on April 23, and for a few hours, our usual crew of marketers, strategists and Client Success pros shared the spotlight with some very important guests — the future generation of Melon leaders! Throughout the morning, 14 kids ages 4–11 got a behind-the-scenes look at life at Melon Local, starting with an office tour where they met
What to Know About Google’s Review Response Update
Did you know you may be replying to Google business reviews without realizing your responses never went live? Google has quietly introduced a new moderation layer for business review replies — meaning responses can now be delayed, filtered or rejected before ever appearing publicly on Search or Maps. Here’s what’s changing, and what your business should do about it. How is Google Now Moderating Reviews? Before this update, Google review
Latest Blog Posts
Highlights from Melon Local’s Third Year in Business
Wow, where do I even start with all the amazing things we accomplished at Melon Local last year? As CEO of Melon Local, I can definitely say 2022 was a milestone year for our company. Reflecting on 2022, some of our most notable highlights include: Celebrating three years of fruitful partnerships Adding 600+ individual agents & offices as clients Achieving Google Premier Partner status (top 3% in the U.S.) Reaching
Interview with an Agent: Chasidy Murphy
If you live in Trophy Club, TX, chances are you’ve probably seen insurance agent Chasidy Murphy cruise around in her agency-branded Jeep. After spending years working in corporate roles, Chasidy felt the urge to carve a new career path for herself and opened her Trophy Club insurance agency in 2016. When it came to marketing her insurance agency, she originally signed up with a marketing company that didn’t quite get
Google Maps to Embrace New ‘Neighborhood Vibe’ Feature
Google is bringing some new ‘vibes’ to Google Maps. During its recent annual ‘Search On’ event, Google announced a new feature called “Neighborhood Vibe,” which will highlight the most popular and hottest destinations across different neighborhoods. The new addition to Google Maps will be made possible by combining AI with local content from Maps users, including info taken from Google. “When you’re looking at the map of an area, we
Organic Search vs. Paid Search in Insurance Marketing
When marketing your insurance agency, you may ask yourself if it’s better to get leads through organic search or paid search. While 68 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine, the results from organic and paid search can vastly influence people’s purchasing decisions in different ways. Not sure where to start? Here are the benefits of going with either an organic or paid search campaign: Organic Search Benefits
15 Reasons Melon Local Can’t Be Beat
We’re not like other digital marketing agencies. We’ve planted roots, gained expertise, and established fruitful partnerships in the insurance industry – and only the insurance industry. While it might be convincing enough to hear we are in the top three percent of Google Partners in the United States as a Google Premier Partner, there are plenty of reasons why we’re your one-stop shop for insurance marketing needs. In fact, we’re
How to Address Google Business Profile Suspensions
While having a Google Business Profile (GBP) is a must for boosting your insurance agency’s search engine rankings, having an account can come with complications. Your GBP can become suspended if you’re not adhering to Google’s guidelines. It is also possible for your account to face suspension due to an internal problem at Google. Even more frustrating is that Google often won’t provide any clear reason for why your account
Melon Local Interviews AHA President Joe Nguyen
Insurance agent Joe Nguyen and a group of 30 agents came together in Las Vegas, NV for the first-ever Agents Hosting Agents conference in 2005. Realizing the value agents could gain from in-person networking events like AHA, Nguyen decided to turn the conference into a non-profit organization that has since hosted over several thousand attendees. Now with their fifth conference planned for April 19-21, 2023 in Anaheim, CA, we caught
20 Ways to Use LinkedIn in Your Insurance Marketing Strategy
LinkedIn is more than just an online resume — it can be a useful tool for diversifying your insurance marketing strategy. LinkedIn has over 850 million users and 58 million companies listed on its site, making it a great way to connect with potential customers and business partners. Check out our 20 marketing tips on how to effectively use LinkedIn as an insurance agent! 1. Build Your Brand As an
Interview with an Agent: Chris Ferraro Jr.
The Ferraro name is well known in the insurance world, with over 19 family members working as agents across the country. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Chris Ferraro Jr. is seeking to make a name for himself as a third-generation insurance agent in San Clemente, CA. Originally starting as a team member for his dad’s office in Mission Viejo, Chris fell in love with the industry before opening