How Alice Watkyn found a focus in local SEO
Alice Watkyn is Founder & Head of Marketing at Mouthy MArketing, a consultancy helping small businesses get found through SEO, content strategy and AI search visibility. Watkyn explains how focusing on local SEO, working transparently and finding a distinct voice shaped the business.
Taking on every kind of marketing work led to long hours and burnout. Focusing on SEO and local SEO helped Watkyn build around her strengths and enjoy the work, while a clear, honest voice helped the business connect with the right customers.
What’s the short story of how your business started, and what makes it genuinely different from the other options your customers have?
I was made redundant during Covid in 2020, and no one was hiring, so starting my own business was the only option. Small businesses were always where my heart was, so that’s who I set out to help. I also wanted my business to be a force for good, which is where our strapline, “marketing with a conscience”, comes from. Wherever possible, I love working with “brands with purpose”. We’ve worked with charities and with great businesses that have something to give back. That isn’t always possible, but being honest is. We don’t use any of the dubious tactics some marketing agencies rely on. Our clients appreciate our straightforward way of working, and some have been with us since we started.
How did you win your first customers, and where does most of your new business come from today?
I was very lucky. My first client was an old friend whose business I greatly admired, with a £5m annual turnover. She heard I’d set up a marketing business and came to me with a specific goal, and it was great to achieve it for her. Today, new business comes through networking, word of mouth, recommendations, LinkedIn and my website. You have to work hard to keep those leads coming in!
What’s one decision that changed the direction of your business, and one mistake that taught you the most?
When I started, I took on all sorts of marketing work, even if it wasn’t my strength or I didn’t enjoy it. Work outside my strengths took ages, so the financial reward was often very little. I wasn’t having a good time, worked constantly and quickly burnt out. Eventually I realised what I enjoyed most was SEO and local SEO, so I focused on that. It wasn’t so much a mistake as a learning process, but it helped me reposition my business and, crucially, enjoy what I do.
What has changed in your industry or in what your customers expect over the last couple of years, and how have you adapted?
The biggest change is AI search. Customers no longer just search on Google and click a link. They ask ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews and other tools for recommendations, and those tools decide which businesses to mention. We now optimise for AI search alongside traditional search. That means clear, well-structured content, accurate business information everywhere it appears online, and schema markup that helps machines understand what a business does. Customers also expect more transparency. They want to know what they’re paying for and how it’s working, so we report clearly and plainly.
If you were advising someone starting out in your industry today, what would you tell them to do first, and what would you tell them to ignore?
Find your own voice. I wasted a lot of time trying to sound like other marketing companies. It made my messaging inconsistent and it didn’t resonate with the people I was trying to reach. It wasn’t until I found my own voice that people started to listen. Once you’ve found it, ignore your competitors, at least to some extent. They might offer services you don’t, or have a tone of voice you aspire to, but you are not them. You are uniquely you, and you will find your audience.
Thank you to Alice Watkyn and the team at Mouthy MArketing for sharing what actually worked with Leaders Perception readers.
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