Think

When SEO Was a Checklist: What I Learned When the Rules Changed

In the early days, SEO felt like a simple list of tasks. When those easy wins stopped working, I learned that understanding people was more important than understanding algorithms.

The Invisible Work of Running a Website: What I Learned After Launch Day

Launching a website was only the beginning; the real lessons came from the continuous, often unseen, effort required to keep it alive and thriving online.

When SEO and PPC Fought for Attention: What I Learned From Using Both

SEO and PPC were often treated as rival ways to win traffic. Using both taught me that paid search could reveal intent quickly, while organic search could turn those lessons into something longer lasting.

What Local Businesses Actually Wanted From a Website

Some local businesses wanted more enquiries. Others already had enough work and simply needed a credible presence online. That distinction taught me to stop assuming every website had the same job.

When Google Ads Became a Black Box: What I Lost and What It Taught Me

I liked Google Ads when I could see what was happening and act on the detail. As more decisions moved into automation, losing that visibility reinforced how much I value systems I can inspect and understand.

The Myth of the Perfect Website: When Technical SEO Missed the Business Point

For years, I chased technical perfection in web design and SEO, believing the best-built sites would always win. I learned that flawless code and high rankings didn't guarantee business success.

From Google Traffic to Business Value: The Evolution of "Website Visitors"

For years, website traffic was the main goal. But I learned that not all visitors are equal. My journey showed me the crucial difference between traffic numbers and true business value.

The More AI Can Write, the More Your Own Experience Matters

Google’s latest guidance for AI search has made me think differently about AEO. If AI can generate perfectly acceptable content about almost anything, the valuable bit is increasingly the knowledge, experience and context that only your website can provide.

What Paying for Every Click Taught Me About True Customer Intent

My years managing Google Ads taught me that clicks don't equal sales. The real lesson was understanding true customer intent and the value of every interaction.

More Videos = More Sales? TikTok Shop Data Isn’t That Simple

When a creator posts more videos and earns more money, it is tempting to assume one caused the other. But TikTok Shop performance is affected by sales events, existing content, traffic, conversion and product demand. Numbers are useful. Understanding what caused them is far more useful.

What I Used to Obsess Over in Web Design That Now Seems Trivial

From pixel perfection to intricate tech, I used to obsess over web design details that now seem trivial. Here's what I learned about building truly effective online presences.

I Spent 20 Years Chasing Google Rankings. Here’s What Actually Mattered.

After more than 20 years building and ranking websites, I’ve learned that lasting SEO success comes less from tricks and more from useful content, strong websites and understanding what people actually want.

Don’t Scale Chaos: Build a Strategy Before You Chase More Videos

Forget arbitrary upload targets. Before you try to make more TikTok Shop videos, build a strategy that’s actually worth repeating.

The Day I Realised You Don’t Need to Be the Biggest

A foundational business philosophy derived from an early career lesson, emphasising niche building over market domination.

The Best Businesses Start With an Irritation

Looking back over twenty-five years, some of my best ideas began with something small that simply didn’t make sense.

From Google Rankings to TikTok Algorithms

The platforms have changed dramatically, but the challenge is still the same: getting in front of the right people at the right time.

How to Find UDID of iPhone or iPad Without Mac or PC

UDID (Unique Device Identifier) is a 40-character string that is used to identify an iPhone or iPad.

What Years of WordPress Taught Me About Building My Own Content Systems

For years, WordPress was the default for content. Pushing it to its limits taught me invaluable lessons about managing information at scale and why I eventually started building my own publishing platforms.

When Website Traffic Meant Nothing: What Affiliate Marketing Taught Me About Intent

Affiliate marketing taught me that traffic volume could be a vanity metric. Matching searches and clicks to actual sales showed me that the valuable visitor was the one with the right intent.

I Started by Building My Own Ecommerce. Somehow I Ended Up Back There

One of my earliest ecommerce projects was T-ShirtMe, where customers could design their own T-shirt and I built the shopping-cart system myself. After years of using WooCommerce, I have ended up building more of the infrastructure myself again.

Why I Rarely Start With WordPress Anymore

After more than 20 years building websites, I no longer assume every new idea needs the same platform, structure or technology. Moving from client web design to building my own products taught me to start with what the project needs to become.

AI Suggestions Are Now Live on InPlay.finance

Premium users can now see AI-powered market observations alongside InPlay’s live suggested trades, adding another layer of context during the trading day.

I Built a Control Room I Can Actually Ask Questions

I connected my 1J2 Control Room to ChatGPT and accidentally built something much more useful than another dashboard: a business system I can interrogate in plain English.

I Built a WordPress Plugin Because I Used to Be Scared of My Inbox

Many years ago, anxiety got to the point where I would avoid opening my email altogether. Eventually I employed a PA to help me organise it. Years later, I realised I could turn the system she taught me into software. Today, I submitted Susan Port to the official WordPress Plugin Directory.

I Think I Just Watched the Future of Search Happen

I’ve been building content around the idea that people will increasingly discover websites through AI rather than traditional search. Today, I watched it actually happen.

TikTok Views Suddenly Down? 5 Things to Do Before You Panic

If your TikTok views have suddenly dropped, you are not the only creator asking what is going on. Here are five sensible things to do before deleting videos, changing your strategy or assuming your account is broken.

Why I’ve Always Been Obsessed With Automation

Long before AI, I was already looking for ways to remove repetitive work and build systems that could multiply my effort.

Before AI, I Was Automating Everything I Could

Long before APIs and AI assistants, I was building systems to automate repetitive work because doing it manually simply didn’t make sense.

How Higher-Ticket Products Reshaped My TikTok Shop Affiliate Approach

This month, I discovered that focusing on higher-ticket products can significantly change the economics of TikTok Shop affiliate marketing, making each successful conversion have a much greater impact.

Building a Central Payment Layer for Everything I Create

How I built pay.1j2.com, a reusable payment service connecting Loyalty and my other projects to Stripe through secure requests, webhooks and callbacks.

Why I’m Finally Building Loyalty

After years on hold, I’m finally building Loyalty, a digital platform designed to help independent businesses encourage repeat customers. Here’s the story behind the project and how the idea has evolved.

The Biggest Thing I Learned in June

The Simple Reason Most TikTok Videos Fail

Why I Think Most People Are Looking at TikTok the Wrong Way

The Simple Websites That Taught Me Complex Business Lessons

Building basic websites for local businesses in the early 2000s seemed straightforward. But those simple projects taught me profound lessons about real business needs beyond just having a digital presence.

TikTok Shop Affiliates Need to Stop Blaming TikTok

TikTok Shop gives affiliates access to traffic before they understand it, and that makes it very easy to blame the platform when the numbers change.

The Website Was Never Really the Finished Product

I spent years thinking the website was the product. Eventually, building ecommerce sites and business systems taught me that the most valuable work often happens behind the scenes.

TikTok Shop Is Not Just Bottom of Funnel Content

There is a growing idea that bottom-of-funnel content is the only content worth making for TikTok Shop. I think that completely misunderstands how people actually discover and buy products on TikTok.

Your TikTok Shop Sales Are Down. But Is Your Content Actually Failing?

TikTok Shop sales can fall even when your content is performing well. I track my traffic throughout every day, and August has shown me why impressions, clicks and conversion need to be looked at separately before deciding something has gone wrong.

Why Context Matters in TikTok Shop Affiliate Journeys

My recent TikTok Shop activity showed a dip in performance, but the real lesson wasn't in the numbers themselves. It was in understanding my own deliberate choices during that period, and how those choices directly influenced the outcome.

Why I Stopped Building Websites for Clients and Started Building for Myself

For years, web design, SEO, ecommerce and Google Ads were services I provided for businesses. Eventually I realised the part I loved was not running an agency at all. It was building. That realisation changed what I chose to work on next.

Stop Choosing One TikTok Shop Funnel: Your Videos Should Work Together

Top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel TikTok Shop videos should not compete. Used together, they can move viewers from discovery to purchase.

Your TikTok Shop Video Hasn’t Failed: Sales Can Arrive Days After the Views

TikTok Shop sales do not always arrive on the same day as the views. Learn why patience matters and why daily results rarely tell the whole story.

Why I Use B-Roll Instead of Random Distractions

Some TikTok Shop affiliates cut fruit or make coffee to hold attention. I think relevant B-roll can do the same job while also helping sell the product.

My TikTok Shop Videos Are Becoming a Compounding Asset

I've been noticing that older TikTok Shop videos are continuing to generate views and sales, turning them into a valuable, compounding asset.

My TikTok Shop Videos Are Becoming Long-Term Assets

I've discovered that older TikTok Shop content can continue to generate views and sales long after it's first posted, turning individual videos into compounding assets.

Twenty-Five Years of Chasing Better Ideas

An introduction to my journey building websites, software and online businesses over the last twenty-five years, and the lessons that continue to shape the products I’m building today.

Reading My 2007 Guardian Interview Nearly Twenty Years Later

A reflection on enduring business principles and personal motivations, seen through the lens of a nearly two-decade-old interview, highlighting consistency amidst technological change.

What May Taught Me About TikTok Shop