Branding & Marketing Insights

Your website needs more than a great design. Discover why regular website maintenance matters and how to keep your small business website secure, updated and running smoothly.

How often does your business website actually need updating? Learn what to review regularly, when to refresh your content and when it may be time for a redesign.

Is your website driving customers away without you realising it? Discover five common website mistakes that could be costing your business valuable enquiries.

Getting website traffic but no enquiries? Discover the most common reasons your website isn’t converting visitors into customers and how to improve it.

Learn the difference between using a website builder and hiring a professional website designer, and discover which approach best suits your business.

Website design and development are often used together, but what do they actually mean? Learn the difference and why small businesses need both.

Planning a new website? Discover how long a small business website typically takes to build and what can affect your project timeline.

Learn the key signs your small business website needs a redesign and how a modern, SEO-ready website can improve user experience and generate more enquiries.

A great website is more than good design. Explore the essential pages that help visitors find information, build trust, and take action.

A great small business website does more than look professional. Discover the key elements that help build trust, improve visibility, and turn visitors into enquiries.

If you’re planning a new website, one of the first questions you’ll likely ask is: How much does website design cost for a small business?

The online world feels like it’s changing every five minutes in this AI era. One moment you’re trying to rank on Google, the next, everyone’s talking about “AI search.”

Discover why long-tail keywords are the secret weapon small businesses need. Learn 5 strategic reasons to use them, boost targeted traffic, and outrank larger competitors.

We’ve been talking about AI almost non-stop these days. It’s in our feeds, in our inboxes, in nearly every client conversation. And while AI is clearly changing the way we work, there’s one perspective that stood out recently.

LinkedIn has been quietly reinventing itself. No longer just the platform for CV uploads, job postings, or promotion announcements, it’s now leaning heavily into content.

You know that feeling when your Meta Ad campaign is finally working? Leads are coming in, the numbers look good, and you think, “Perfect—let’s scale this up.”, So you increase the budget… and then? Crickets.

Meta Ads aren’t scary when you treat them like a tool, not a gamble. And when you combine them with a strong small business marketing strategy, they become one of the fastest ways to test ideas, reach new audiences, and build visibility at scale.

We recently revisited The Diary of a CEO episode featuring Daniel Priestley, and one concept stood out for its clarity and relevance—especially for service-based businesses navigating longer sales cycles.

We often get asked by clients: “Do I really need a full marketing funnel to grow?” With so much advice out there about top-of-funnel ads, lead magnets, automated email sequences, and nurturing workflows – it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

We recently saw a friend post a beautifully branded social media design and asked her who she was working with. Her answer? “I did it on Canva.” No designer. No marketing team. Just a smart tool and a clear brand.

You may have come across a stunning “Adidas” ad making the rounds online—cinematic visuals, emotional storytelling, the works.

AI has come a long way from being a buzzword to becoming one of the most powerful tools shaping modern marketing. In 2025, it’s not just about automation or algorithms—it’s about giving small businesses the ability to work smarter, move faster, and connect more meaningfully with their audiences. And the best part? You don’t need a massive team or deep pockets to get started.

In today’s digital-first world, if your business isn’t showing up online, it might as well not exist. But here’s the good news – you don’t need a massive marketing budget to stand out. In fact, we’ve seen time and again that the most effective moves are often the simplest.

As a small business, growth often comes down to two things: clarity and connection. One of the most powerful ways to achieve both is by deeply understanding your target market—not just who they are, but what they need, value, and respond to.

When you’re starting out, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to do it all. Client work, admin, invoicing, social media, operations—every task feels urgent, and every hat ends up on your head. But over time, one thing becomes clear: spending too much time working in the business leaves little room to work on the business. And that’s where delegation comes in.

It began with a simple intention—to build a life where work and family could thrive side by side. That clarity came after Rachel became a mother. One quiet night, while nursing her firstborn, she came across a post from a former mentor who had just launched a platform supporting women entrepreneurs. That moment planted a seed. Not long after, she left corporate life and co-founded Trehaus.

With Mother’s Day just behind us, I found myself reflecting a little more deeply on what empowerment really means—not just as a woman, but as a mother, a business owner, and someone learning (still) how to hold space for both.

After years of working alongside small business owners, we’ve noticed a pattern. No matter the industry or how long someone’s been running their business, the same marketing challenges come up again and again.

One of the biggest things we’ve noticed over the years at No. 23 Collective? Most small business owners don’t start out with a full-blown marketing plan—and that’s totally normal.