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

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A Melon Local team member with a laptop gives a thumbs up in a blog focused on how AI determines which business is best.

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 what you can do to help your business get found! First, What Does “Best” Actually Mean? Let’s say someone asked

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Melon Spotlight: Ashley Errisson

Ashley Errisson knows every agency has different needs, and she’s here to help find the right fit at Melon Local. From checking in with our clients to helping them choose the right marketing package, Ashley keeps communication and follow-through at the heart of what she does. We caught up with Ashley to talk about how she supports clients, what makes the Melon Local experience so adaptable and how she enjoys

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Melon Local team posts for 7-year company Melonversary photo.

Melon Local Celebrates 7 Years

Seven years, countless conversations, and a Patch that keeps growing! This November, Melon Local celebrates seven years of helping businesses get noticed, connect with customers and take their next step toward growth. Along the way, we’ve welcomed new Melons, built new ways to support our clients and made plenty of memories worth celebrating. But to appreciate how far we’ve come, let’s rewind a little. Where Our Roots Took Hold Melon

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A Melon Local team member screams next to blog text that describes the topic of the blog: 7 Digital Marketing Mistakes That Might Haunt You.

7 Digital Marketing Mistakes That Can Haunt Your Business

Candy, costume parties and spooky decorations are all part of October’s fun. But digital marketing mistakes? Those can haunt your business year-round, quietly draining your budget and making it harder for customers to find you. At Melon Local, we want you to know where your marketing dollars are going and what they’re doing for your business. Let’s take a look at seven digital marketing mistakes that can quietly hold your

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: Graphic reading “Still marketing like it’s 2025?” beside a man in a dark green suit with his arms crossed.

Is Your Digital Marketing Strategy Keeping Up with the Times?

Maybe you’re actively running Google ads. Maybe your business still appears in search. Maybe social posts are still going out. Your website may still bring in traffic. But just because your business is doing all these things doesn’t mean your marketing is keeping up with the times. The way your customers find, research and choose local businesses continues to change as search results evolve, competition shifts and new AI platforms

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Melon Local CEO Whitney Green-Olson and Executive Assistant Cass Fehr pose together at the BizX Tampa Bay 2026 award ceremony.

Melon Local Named Best Overall Company at BizX 2026 Tampa Bay

Another year, another big win for the Melon Patch! We’re proud to announce that Melon Local was named Best Overall Company at BizX 2026 Tampa Bay, hosted by ActionCOACH. The recognition comes nearly a year after Melon Local earned Best Service-Based Business Over 10 Employees at BizX North America 2025, making this year’s honor an especially meaningful win for our entire team. From continuing to grow our team and services

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Employees of Melon Local pose for a photo at brighton SEO & Hero Conf.

4 Melon Local Perspectives on brightonSEO & HeroConf

Unless you live under a rock, you know AI is changing everything in the digital marketing space. But when we sent several of our team members to brightonSEO & HeroConf San Diego, it wasn’t just another convention filled with the typical cliche talking points about how AI is changing everything. Instead, our team walked away with real, in-depth strategies and started planning how we can improve everything from how our

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Chad Stevens, Melon Local Software Engineering Manager, is featured with a headshot for a Melon Spotlight about his career with Melon Local.

Melon Spotlight: Chad Stevens

Even though he’s usually working remotely 400 miles away from our Las Vegas HQ, Chad’s behind-the-scenes impact on The Patch has made him an invaluable part of Melon Local’s success. As our Software Engineering Manager, he helps transform big ideas into scalable solutions that keep our systems running smoothly. Thoughtful, steady and always focused on finding the best path forward, his work may happen behind the scenes, but its impact

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Melon Spotlight: Michael Long

Meet our latest Melon Spotlight, Michael Long, our Principal of Paid Search Analytics & Optimization. After previously being featured as a Melon Spotlight during his time as Director of Client Success, Michael has continued to grow alongside Melon Local, stepping into a role where his strategic mindset and passion for performance help drive stronger results for our clients. Today, his expertise in paid search analytics and campaign optimization plays an

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Latest Blog Posts

Melon Local team members posing together in the office to celebrate company culture, teamwork and a positive workplace environment

The Power of Positivity at Melon Local

From earning our Google Premier Partner status in early 2022 to increasing the number of our clients from 200 to 1,500 over a two-year period, we owe the majority of our success to creating a positive environment inside and outside our office! “Our culture is what has set Melon Local apart during and after the Covid remote work era,” says our CEO Whitney Green. “I have always been passionate about

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Smartphone displaying the Google Business Profile app with tips for optimizing a Google Business Profile

Utilizing Your Google Business Profile as an Insurance Agent

Having a fully optimized Google Business Profile (GBP) is one of the most important things you can do as part of your insurance marketing strategy.  There’s no reason not to have a GBP, considering Google is the most visited website and search engine in the world, and it’s free to create.  Think of your profile as a Yellow Pages listing that features everything people need to know about your business,

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Portrait of insurance agent Dennis Holland featured in Melon Local's Interview with an Agent series

Interview with an Agent: Dennis Holland

Before becoming an insurance agent, Dennis Holland had a rewarding 10-year career in credit lending. However, when the owners decided to shut things down, Dennis found a new career working for a friend and insurance agent in ​​Alpharetta, GA. Three years later, he was given the opportunity to take over a retiring agent’s office in nearby Cumming, GA. Since opening his agency on June 1, 2021, Dennis has been able

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Woman holding a laptop while comparing search advertising and display advertising strategies for insurance marketing

Search Ads Versus Display Ads in Insurance Advertising

When it comes to incorporating online ads in your insurance advertising campaigns, having the right display and search ads can make a difference in growing your agency. While both of these ad formats should be utilized by your agency, they each have specific advantages for different types of campaigns. You can also waste a decent chunk of your advertising budget if you’re not using the right ad types for your

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Man holding an Instagram like icon to represent social media engagement and audience interaction on Instagram

20 Ways to Use Instagram in Your Insurance Marketing Strategy

With over 1 billion users across the globe, Instagram is one of the most popular social media networks in the world and one of the best social media platforms to implement your insurance marketing strategy. Besides being a popular outlet for sharing video and photo content, it’s one of the biggest platforms for digital marketing, with over an outstanding 25 million active business accounts. If that’s not convincing enough for

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Portrait of insurance agent Dave Christy featured in Melon Local's Interview with an Agent series

Interview with an Agent: Dave Christy

Washington insurance agent Dave Christy is a “numbers guy” at heart.  Originally from Columbus, OH, Dave moved to Washington during high school and graduated from Washington State University with a focus in Math and Communications. After graduation, he put his skills to the test as a stockbroker for several years before becoming a licensed insurance agent in 1994. Following the success of his first agency in Spokane Valley, WA, he

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Man holding an Instagram like icon to represent social media engagement and audience interaction on Instagram

4 Do’s and Don’ts of Using Insurance Keywords

Using the right insurance marketing keywords can make a difference in how well your agency’s website ranks in search engines and can impact your leads.  If you’re not familiar with what keywords are, think of them as GPS coordinates for your Search Engine Optimization or Organic Search Optimization campaigns that help people reach your content online.  Having the right keywords can determine how popular your website is in search algorithms. Search

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Customer using a smartphone to leave a five-star review for a business

6 Ways You Can Generate Reviews for Your Insurance Agency

As part of your insurance marketing strategy and online reputation management, generating and encouraging online reviews is essential.  Online review statistics have shown over 54 percent of online shoppers read at least four product reviews before purchasing a product.  Having a substantial number of positive reviews is crucial for adding credibility to your agency’s reputation. On the other hand, negative reviews can also help you determine any unmet needs of

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Person using a tablet to perform a Google search, representing search engine optimization and online visibility

What to Know About Google’s Responsive Search Ads

Google will no longer serve new expanded text ads starting June 30, 2022 The world of paid advertising is constantly evolving, especially with Google, which is continuously updating how it runs its ad programs. If your business revolves around insurance marketing – let alone any kind of marketing – you should be aware of Google’s plans to scrap expanded text ads to instead focus on responsive search ads on June

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