The Marketing Graveyard | 2026 Marketing Strategy for Small Businesses

About this episode

David Maples discusses the importance of foundational SEO and traditional public relations in developing a marketing strategy for small businesses in 2026.

Welcome to The Marketing Graveyard. Are self-proclaimed industry gurus making you panic by claiming "SEO is dead" and pushing you to pivot your entire marketing budget to AI Overviews (AIO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)? Stop setting your hard-earned money on fire. In this episode of The Buck Stops Here, host David Maples cuts through the tidal wave of synthetic "AI slop" to reveal what is actually driving trackable revenue today. We are burying overhyped trends—like dying micro-influencer ROI and unsellable "cult of personality" branding—and getting back to the fundamentals that actually work. Finding the right path forward doesn't mean chasing every new algorithm or tech fad. Tune in to discover why foundational SEO remains your most powerful tool, exactly how it feeds new AI search models, and why traditional public relations is the ultimate algorithm-proof moat for your brand. If you want to future-proof your company, start building your 2026 marketing strategy playbook right now. Stop betting your payroll on unstable tech and unpredictable social media trends. This episode gives you the grounded, profitable reality check you need to outlast the hype. Tune in to…

People in this episode

Host: David Maples

Topics covered

• marketing strategy
• SEO
• AI optimization
• public relations
• small business

Keywords

• SEO
• AI Overviews
• Generative Engine Optimization
• marketing strategy
• public relations
• small business
• algorithm

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: AI Overviews, Generative Engine Optimization, SEO, micro-influencer, public relations

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