Sean Junjie Song (left) is sharing hands with Clay Clark at ThriveTime Show Business conference on December 5th 2025 at Anaheim, California.
Have you heard that organic articles, including images, videos, and Google Reviews help small businesses rank higher in Google Searches, thus giving them more leads? Organic articles are unpaid, high-quality, valuable content that attract or build relationships with its readers through natural means, like when found through a search engine. Have you tried producing this kind of material? Maybe you have and it doesn’t seem to be working out for you. Have you also tried Google Ads, and it still feels like you cannot get an edge up on the giant competitors in your industry? Have you run into some poor SEO (Search Engine Optimization) experts and then you stopped doing them?
I have experienced all of these. I tried creating blog posts to increase my SEO search rankings. I posted them on my Google Business Profile thinking it would increase my visibility, but it didn’t produce any positive results. Google simply suggested adding Google Ads to make my content more visible to potential readers. So, I tried Google Ads, but this also did not bring me the leads I desired. This is when I talked to an SEO expert. He suggested I reserve a budget of $5.000 dollars for SEO content every month; otherwise it may not produce any worthy results. To my dismay, I overheard the owner of another translation agency complaining about spending a few thousand dollars in Google Ads and still not having the best results. It’s no wonder, I suppose. After all, we are bidding with the largest competitors in our industry. They likely pay the highest bids on Google Ads and you will never beat them. Google Ads works, but you have to be the highest bidder.
I heard from another SEO expert who suggested that I should really narrow down my target areas and audiences with such a limited budget. Otherwise, my money acts just like a bucket of water dripping into an ocean. Years ago, I hired an Indian guy to help me with producing SEO content. He took the money and did not do a good job. Needless to say, that made me steer away from SEO work for quite a while. Has this been the case for you? I think many small business owners have similar experiences like mine.
The reality is that we still have to do SEO and grow in organic search results. Out of curiosity to learn what to do to grow my translation business, I started searching online to glean insight from others. I received an email from Clay Clark and his ThriveTime Show team. They informed me of an upcoming business conference in Anaheim, California. Clay Clark is famous for organizing the ReAwaken America Tour with General Michael Flynn, which is a Christian Nationalist Movement. Before this, Clark was very successful in starting businesses including a DJ company, a bridal company, a barber business and some others. He built and managed many successful businesses starting from his youth. So, I went to this conference to hear what advice he had to offer. What I heard at this conference blew my mind!
Clay pointed out that while small businesses cannot beat the giant competitors in their industry on Google, there is way to crack the door open to rank higher on Google and get more leads. That is the basis for this blog post. Clark summarized his model using the letters I V S M. (Please refer to Clay Clark’s teaching for accurate quotes.)
“V” stands for video, “I” stands for images, “S” stands for SEO articles, and “M” stands for more Google reviews. His suggestion is to reach a total of 1,700 images, videos, SEO articles and (more) Google Reviews respectively. Now, 1700 sounds very big, but this is the number that he discovered will propel some businesses to a great level. What’s helpful is that Google and AI both compile things from images, videos, articles and reviews to determine their algorithms. In other words, you don’t have to reach this number exactly but the more the better. What’s important is reaching certain thresholds of these contents, and this will change things, according to Clark.
Besides many images, videos and SEO articles to drive organic search results, more Google reviews will help potential clients to trust you. Most people choose the websites and/or products that have the most reviews. I was certainly doing that when I shopped on Amazon. People usually buy from websites or businesses that appear on the top of Google searches, or the ones with the most stars/comments. And for those who really read the reviews, they will be even more moved by the genuine experience of other customers.
It is against Google policy to offer discounts or money to gain reviews, but many business owners share a practice of incentivizing their employees to follow up with their customers for Google Reviews. Many times, the customers may want to leave a review but were too busy to do so or forgot about it. Having an employee follow through with requesting or reminding them usually results in gaining more Google reviews. Learning this, I reached out to those who worked with or for me, whether clients or translators, and I asked them to write an honest review! Most of them were open to giving a genuine review. Sometimes it just takes asking for help.
Reviews from someone who knows you or works with you will greatly build trust in an online space where trust is scarce. As a translation company owner and a Christian, I always treat my translators as members of my congregation or ministry, not just contracted employees. When I point out errors or need to bring correction to something, I do it in love to help them grow. It was great reading the review one translator gave me:
He said, “As a long-time collaborating translator, I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to showcase my talents through this translation agency. I’ve grown significantly here and gained firsthand experience of the evolving translation industry. What has remained constant is Sean’s rigorous quality control and his mentorship and support for translators. Working with Sean has always been a pleasure; I’ve not only received above-average compensation but also been exposed to many interesting projects. Sean acts like a teacher, helping translators grow. I wish Sean’s company continued success and that he continues to provide assistance and services to even more clients.”
It is my heart to treat our translators well. Of course, we will treat all our clients and employees well also. Treating these three groups well is instrumental for any business to be successful. I mentioned in the title that the I V S M method is the proven method of Clay Clark. Let this blog serve as a reminder to myself and as news to anyone who reads it. Now it’s time to put these into practice in my own business. I hope you will too! Stay tuned for updates.