John K Mitchell's Misc Blog

Major Google Updates Over the Past 10 Years – And Why Small Businesses Can’t Ignore Them
Major Google Updates Over the Past 10 Years – And Why Small Businesses Can’t Ignore Them


Google changes the rules all the time. If your website brings in leads or sales, those changes matter. Over the past 10 years, major Google updates have reshaped how websites rank. Some businesses gained traffic overnight. Others vanished from page one. Here’s what happened — and why staying up to date keeps your business visible.

If you run a small business, your website is often your hardest-working employee. It answers questions at midnight. It shows off your services. It builds trust before you ever speak to a customer. But here’s the thing — Google decides who gets seen.

Over the past decade, Google has rolled out major updates that changed how websites are judged. Some focused on mobile use. Others targeted low-quality content. More recently, artificial intelligence and user experience have taken centre stage. These updates aren’t random. https://www.forestsoftware.co.uk/blog/2026/03/major-google-updates-over-the-past-10-years-and-why-small-businesses-cant-ignore-them/

Major Google Updates Over the Past 10 Years – And Why Small Businesses Can’t Ignore Them
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Major Google Updates Over the Past 10 Years – And Why Small Businesses Can’t Ignore Them


Google changes the rules all the time. If your website brings in leads or sales, those changes matter. Over the past 10 years, major Google updates have reshaped how websites rank. Some businesses gained traffic overnight. Others vanished from page one. Here’s what happened — and why staying up to date keeps your business visible.

If you run a small business, your website is often your hardest-working employee. It answers questions at midnight. It shows off your services. It builds trust before you ever speak to a customer. But here’s the thing — Google decides who gets seen.

Over the past decade, Google has rolled out major updates that changed how websites are judged. Some focused on mobile use. Others targeted low-quality content. More recently, artificial intelligence and user experience have taken centre stage. These updates aren’t random. https://www.forestsoftware.co.uk/blog/?p=2947

Are There Any SEO Advantages to Owning Variations of Your Domain Name and EMD Domains?
Are There Any SEO Advantages to Owning Variations of Your Domain Name and EMD Domains?


Short answer? Sometimes. But not in the way you might think.

If you run a small business, you’ve probably wondered whether buying extra domain names – especially keyword-rich ones – could give you a boost in Google. Maybe you’ve seen competitors snapping up variations. Maybe someone’s tried to sell you an “exact match domain” promising instant rankings. Before you spend a penny, let’s break down what actually helps, what’s outdated, and what’s simply smart business sense.


What Do We Mean by Domain Variations and EMDs?


Let’s start with the basics. Your domain name is your web address. If your business is called Bright Spark Plumbing and your site is brightsparkplumbing.co.uk, that’s your main domain and where your website "lives".

Domain variations are other versions of that name. https://www.forestsoftware.co.uk/blog/?p=2945

Is Rotary bad, or can you do good when you join a Rotary club?
Is Rotary Bad, or Can You Do Good When You Join a Rotary Club?


Right, let’s be honest – when someone says "Rotary Club", what do you think of? Maybe it’s older blokes in suits, sitting in a pub or hotel room, sipping tea and talking about golf. Maybe it sounds a bit posh, or even a bit old-fashioned. But here's the thing – Rotary has been around for ages, and it's got a pretty big name in the world of doing good. So is it all just outdated nonsense, or can you actually do something meaningful by joining?

What Even Is the Rotary Club?


Let’s start at the beginning. The Rotary Club – or just "Rotary" – is a member of a worldwide group that started way back in 1905. The idea was simple: bring together people from different jobs and backgrounds to make a difference in their communities. It's now grown to 1.4 million members across loads of countries. Pretty big stuff. https://www.forestsoftware.co.uk/blog/2025/06/is-rotary-bad-or-can-you-do-good-when-you-join-a-rotary-club/

Data Backups for Small Businesses: Simple, Sensible Protection That Actually Works
Data Backups for Small Businesses: Simple, Sensible Protection That Actually Works


Your data is your business. Lose it, and you don’t just lose files. You lose time, money, trust, and sleep. Backups aren’t exciting. They don’t win awards. But when something goes wrong, they’re the difference between a minor hiccup and a full-blown disaster.


Why Small Businesses Can’t Afford to Ignore Backups


Let’s be honest. Most small business owners don’t wake up thinking about backups. You’re thinking about customers, cash flow, staff, stock, marketing, and the hundred other things that demand your attention. Backups feel like something you’ll “sort later”.

But here’s the hard truth: data loss isn’t rare. Laptops get dropped. Hard drives fail. Staff delete the wrong folder. Ransomware locks files. Offices flood. Even a simple power surge can wipe out equipment. It doesn’t take a Hollywood-level cyber attack to cause chaos.

And small businesses are often hit harder than big ones. Why? https://www.forestsoftware.co.uk/blog/2026/03/data-backups-for-small-businesses-simple-sensible-protection-that-actually-works/

Top SEO Mistakes UK Small Businesses Make With Their Blog
Top SEO Mistakes UK Small Businesses Make With Their Blog


Blogging can bring in traffic, leads and sales — but only if you avoid the common SEO mistakes. Too many UK small businesses put time into writing posts that never get seen. No research. No focus. No plan. The result? Silence.

If you run a small business, your blog should be working for you. It should attract the right people, answer their questions and gently guide them towards working with you. But that only happens when you understand how search engines actually find and rank your content.

The good news? Most blogging mistakes aren’t complicated. They’re simple, fixable habits. And once you spot them, you can turn things around surprisingly quickly.

In this guide, we’ll look at the biggest SEO mistakes UK small businesses make with their blogs — and more importantly, how to fix them without needing to be technical or hire a full marketing team.


Writing Without Keyword Research


This is the big one. The classic mistake. https://www.forestsoftware.co.uk/blog/?p=2938

Workplace Romances in Small Businesses: Where’s the Line?
Workplace Romances in Small Businesses: Where’s the Line?


Love at work can feel harmless. Until it isn’t. In a small business, where everyone knows everyone and teams are tight-knit, workplace romances can quickly become complicated. As a business owner, you may wonder: is it none of your business, or very much your problem?

Let’s be honest. When you run a small business, you’re not just managing tasks. You’re managing people. Real people with real lives, feelings, and sometimes messy situations. And where people spend 35–40 hours a week together, relationships will happen. It’s human nature. In fact, many long-term couples meet at work.

But here’s the tricky bit. In a small company, one relationship can ripple through the whole team. You don’t have the buffer of big corporate departments. You don’t have layers of HR. You might have five staff. Maybe ten. If two of them start dating, that’s a big chunk of your workforce tied up in something personal. https://www.forestsoftware.co.uk/blog/?p=2929

Why a Mains Powerline Adaptor Might Be the Smartest Upgrade for Your Home Office
Why a Mains Powerline Adaptor Might Be the Smartest Upgrade for Your Home Office


Struggling with weak Wi-Fi in your home office? A mains powerline adaptor could be the simple, affordable fix you didn’t know you needed. It uses the wiring already in your walls to carry internet from your router to wherever you’re working. No drilling. No trailing cables across the landing. No tech wizardry required.

If you run a small business from home, your internet connection isn’t just for scrolling headlines and watching the odd video. It’s your shop window, your phone line, your payment terminal and your admin desk rolled into one. When it drops out, everything grinds to a halt. That’s stressful, especially when you’ve got customers waiting for replies or orders to process.

Most of us start with standard Wi-Fi. It’s easy. The router goes near the phone line, and that’s that. But homes weren’t designed with modern working in mind. https://www.forestsoftware.co.uk/blog/?p=2932