Facebook has been busier than ever over the last few months testing new experiences and rolling out some big changes. One of the latest has business owners, especially those who don’t "pay to play," nervous.

Facebook’s official statement described upcoming changes to the newsfeed that will put a focus on friends and family instead of pages. There are still no concrete answers on what exactly this change will mean for businesses both large and small, but everyone seems to agree that organic engagement will go down.

Any doctor or dentist will agree that word of mouth and direct referrals result in the best patients. They come in with the best attitudes, already somewhat assured of the value the practice offers in both treatment and experience. And why not? Someone from their community of influencers told them so.

This is exactly why social media and content marketing is the top way to build an audience to bring in new patients. All of the above it true. You believe it and so do I. So, what is different these days? The community of influencers has changed to include online social interactions, not just friends, family and neighbors. As the community of influencers has changed, it has opened up new opportunities to create a new word of mouth.

Although it’s been almost a month since the new update began trickling out, many people are just now discovering Google’s big SERP, or search engine results page, change. Around November 22, Google started increasing the length of search result snippets. Have you noticed?

One of the most frustrating parts of a client-agency relationship is trust. And that goes for both parties. A study done by USA Today and independent ad agency RPA discovered that 98 percent of advertising and marketing executives believe that their best work occurs when the client trusts the agency. But, entrusting your brand’s image to someone else can be daunting. Here are five things worth considering when you start to doubt your agency:

Just because something works great for a while doesn’t mean it always will. This is especially true when it comes to technology. Search engine algorithms are constantly changing, and with each new update comes new do’s and don’ts if you want to be successful. If you are still using these outdated practices, you may not realize just how outdated your SEO strategy is:

 As a business owner, your days are consumed with the day-to-day tasks of managing a business. Although you try to take the time you need to stay up to date with changes and advances in technology, especially when it comes to the digital world, you may always feel a step behind. When having a website was no longer just a leg up but a necessity for businesses that wanted to be successful, you jumped right in. Now, you keep seeing all this stuff about a business blog. You may be asking yourself, Why in the world would my practice need a blog? Let’s look at a few big reasons why a business blog is a no-brainer.