MARKETING

Simple – KISS

Back when I was a young engineer, my architect taught me an invaluable principle that I would later come to appreciate. Here, I will explain how it guides me every day as I help local businesses get to the first page of Google.
November 30, 2025
WRITTEN BY
Emre

The Cartridge Pirate

I was developing a feature for a printer company to block pirated cartridges.

It was a sunny June morning, and I was drawing on the whiteboard, explaining to him the different cases we need to cover and how to approach them.

Confusing stuff.

After 10 minutes of back and forth, he looked at me. Grabbed the pen and crossed out everything.

He said:

“””

You know what, Emre.

I don’t care. Why should we care about expired certificates? Or if the data is not synced…

I understand you want to make it perfect. But… I am a fan of KISS.

“””

I was upset.

I mean… man crossed my stuff, and what does KISS even mean???

Seeing confusion in my eyes, he continued: “Keep It Simple, Stupid. I want you to keep it SIMPLE.”

As with any other job, when your boss says something, you smile, nod, and continue. So that’s what I did. I came up with the simplest solution I could, presented it, and started.

But something happened. That day, after dinner, I was still thinking about KISS.

Simple Local SEO

Years later. I was in the middle of a deep dive into the local SEO rabbit hole.

Seeing people post all about the unnecessarily technical stuff reminded me of the mistake I made as an engineer.

Geez, they were talking about stuff like:

  • Geo-tagged images
  • Internal linking
  • And simulating local traffic

Suddenly, I found myself thinking: KISS.

After all, you don’t need these to reach the first page of Google. None of these really move the needle.

So why should we care?

Let’s keep it simple.

Road To The First Page

If complex voodoo magic isn’t the answer. What is the simple alternative? All you need to do to get your local business to the first page is:

1. Update your information

Fill your online profiles and website with natural, consistent information. Give the algorithms good stuff to work with.

2. Register your business

Register your business in directories, media platforms, and local sites. So your domain name earns trust and gets stronger.

3. Be active

Add new photos, get regular reviews, and post meaningful insights. Nothing complicated, nothing AI, just you and your business.

Don’t forget. Like everything worthwhile, this too will take time. But remember, SIMPLE and steady wins the race.

Until next time,

Emre  

P.S.

If your printer asks for an update, DON’T. Trust me.

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