Fatrank Podcast

James Dooley: If you're a company based in Bradford and looking to grow in 2026, what digital marketing strategies should you be using to expand your reach within the Bradford Yorkshire area? Should you be using a Bradford SEO agency, a Bradford PPC agency, or looking to use an external lead generation service to generate more leads in the Bradford area? Before we get started on what digital marketing strategies a Bradford based business should be using, Kasra, what advice would you give to business owners and entrepreneurs based in Bradford?

Kasra Dash: The biggest piece of advice I would give to a Bradford based business owner is to set up some KPIs before spending a single penny on digital marketing. You want to know a few key things. First of all, how much money you are spending on your marketing campaigns. Next, you want to figure out how many leads are actually being generated per campaign. Whether that is fifty leads from Facebook ads, one hundred leads from PPC, or sixty leads from SEO. From those leads, I would then look at how many of them you have actually been able to contact. Then the final thing I would look at is how many of those leads have been converted into paying customers. Once you have those figures in place, you can predictably scale certain campaigns or reduce budgets on the campaigns that are not performing.

Kasra Dash: James, for a Bradford based business, what marketing channels would you be looking at?

James Dooley: Step number one for me has got to be branding or brand SEO and making sure you look good online and have a strong reputation. Everything needs to start there. The foundations should begin with a positive brand SERP of who you are and what you do. SERP stands for search engine results page. Getting your brand presence right across the board then leads into other marketing activities. It will improve your conversion rate on paid ads and social media. Any leads you are getting will convert better if, at the final stage, people are deciding who to go with. Branding becomes very important. That is the first thing businesses need to get right for all digital marketing strategies.

James Dooley: The next strategy is AI visibility. More companies are starting to explore this. What do ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and Perplexity say about your brand or your business? Is the information positive or negative? Businesses should also analyse what those platforms say about their competitors and look for ways to improve their own presence. Some people call this AI SEO. Others call it GEO or LLM optimisation. Regardless of the label, this will be a major part of digital marketing in 2026 and beyond.

Kasra Dash: I agree. AI visibility is something businesses need to be paying attention to as more people use AI platforms for research. The next option is filling in the form at FatRank or Promo SEO. They provide commission based lead generation services for UK companies that want to grow. It is important to focus on your own marketing efforts to generate leads, but outsourcing some lead generation work gives you diversification of lead sources. Head over to fatrank.com, fill in the form and see whether they can provide a no risk supply of enquiries. Promo SEO offers a similar performance based lead generation service that can also help generate leads.

Kasra Dash: Another important strategy is Google Business Profiles, also known as Google Maps listings. This is part of local SEO where businesses try to build up their profile and collect more reviews in their local area. There are pros and cons to this strategy. The biggest advantage is that once the listing ranks well, it can consistently generate leads. The challenge is getting there. If you start from scratch, competitors may already have dozens or even hundreds of reviews. That means you need customers to get reviews, which can feel like a chicken and egg situation. Even so, having a Google Business Profile is important for branding and visibility.

James Dooley: If you operate locally, appearing in the map listings is very important. Businesses should aim to be visible across multiple channels. Another major strategy is organic SEO. This means building up your website so it ranks well in search engines. If you serve certain locations, you can create pages targeting those areas. For example, a plumber might create a page targeting plumbing services in a specific city. Those pages can also be shared through your Google Business Profile. The goal is to create high quality content, build topical authority and earn backlinks from other websites to improve organic rankings.

Kasra Dash: Another channel that ties into that is organic social media. Organic social media is largely a numbers game. Businesses should create content that their audience actually wants to see. I often see brands that have only posted a few times on Instagram and then disappear for years. That does not generate sales. Instead, create guides, how to content, or before and after examples. This type of content helps people learn about your business and encourages them to visit your website and submit enquiries. Organic social media is free, but consistency matters. Posting three or four times a week can make a difference.

James Dooley: On the subject of social media, paid social advertising is another important channel. If you are already posting content regularly, you can boost posts with a small daily budget. Case studies, awards and customer success stories often perform well when promoted. Businesses can also run retargeting campaigns so people who visit their website continue to see their brand online. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and Reddit all offer advertising opportunities. Paid social media is still an underused channel for many businesses.

Kasra Dash: The next strategy is PPC advertising. This includes Google Ads or Bing Ads, which appear above organic search results. Some businesses spend large budgets and see little return, while others see huge success. The difference usually comes down to how well the campaigns are managed. Successful PPC requires a strong negative keyword list, protection against click fraud, high converting landing pages and a sales team that quickly responds to enquiries. Without these elements, PPC campaigns can waste a lot of budget.

James Dooley: While we are talking about paid marketing, another area to watch is advertising on AI platforms. This has not fully launched yet, but ChatGPT is exploring advertising placements. Platforms such as Claude and Perplexity may also introduce ads in the future. Businesses that adopt these platforms early could benefit from cheaper leads and lower advertising costs.

Kasra Dash: Another factor that can influence brand visibility is online forums such as Reddit and Quora. Businesses cannot completely control these conversations, but positive recommendations from customers can generate enquiries. Encouraging customers to leave reviews and recommend your services can increase exposure.

James Dooley: Forums like Reddit are also being cited more frequently in AI search results. Positive conversations about your brand can therefore help improve AI visibility as well. The final strategy I would mention is tradesman websites such as Checkatrade, Bark, Rated People and MyBuilder, or working with third party lead generation companies. Across all these strategies it is important to track KPIs and return on ad spend. Businesses should understand how much time and money they invest into each marketing channel and compare that with the revenue generated.

James Dooley: Lead generation companies may use SEO, PPC or social media advertising to generate enquiries. If they deliver a positive return on investment, they can become a strong part of your marketing strategy. FatRank and Promo SEO provide commission based or performance based lead generation services that guarantee a return on investment. Businesses should still generate their own leads, but having multiple lead sources reduces risk and supports growth.

Kasra Dash: Thank you very much, James.