Today's episode pulls back the curtain on one of the highest ROI strategies for Shopify brands: AI-powered SEO and organic growth.

If you're watching 98% of your paid traffic slip away before converting while acquisition costs keep climbing, this episode is your wake-up call. We're diving into the new playbook for driving organic reach that actually moves the needle.

My guest is Mike Simmons, CEO of Plug In Useful, whose SEO and site speed solutions power over 30,000 Shopify stores. He's a builder and operator living on the front lines of traffic acquisition for direct-to-consumer brands.

Plugin Useful's suite goes beyond "best practice" checklists. We're talking actionable recommendations, specialized keyword analysis, bulk content optimization, and tracking that shows if your SEO changes actually work.

Mike shares why native solutions like Shopify Magic leave money on the table, and reveals overlooked strategies like leveraging collection pages and schema markup. Plus, his take on how AI tools like Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews are changing the game.

Whether you're a founder, marketer prepping for Q4, or operator fighting complexity, this episode gives you clarity and tools to own your organic growth.

Check out his YouTube channel here for more strategies!

Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome.

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For more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.

Today, we're diving into one of the most powerful—yet often misunderstood—strategies for Shopify brands: micro-influencer marketing.

If you're tired of celebrity endorsements that feel inauthentic and paid ads with questionable ROI, this episode is for you. We're exploring how authentic voices, strategic product seeding, and user-generated content can actually supercharge your growth while reducing those brutal acquisition costs we all know too well.

My guest is William Gasner, Co-founder and CMO of Stack Influence—a marketplace that's connected brands with over 11 million vetted micro and nano creators. But here's what makes William different: he's not just talking theory. He's a six-time founder who's scaled multiple seven-figure Shopify businesses before building the platform he wished existed when he was in the trenches.

Stack Influence isn't your typical SaaS database where you're left to figure things out. It's a living, two-sided marketplace that automates hundreds—sometimes thousands—of collaborations monthly. Think of it as where "give a product, get a post" is just the beginning.

William shares some eye-opening insights, like why major brands such as Unilever are shifting 50% of their budgets away from traditional Meta and Google ads toward influencer tactics. More importantly for most of you listening, he explains why smaller brands often see their best ROI from curated, genuine recommendations rather than big-money sponsorships.

We break down how social platforms are evolving, why content now matters more than follower count for reach, and how Stack Influence's unique "pay for outcome" model actually guarantees results—while most platforms only offer hope.

Whether you're scaling your Shopify brand and thinking about Q4 strategy, or you're a founder just launching your first product, this episode gives you a tactical roadmap to build real trust, amplify word-of-mouth marketing, and extract maximum value from every UGC asset—not just for social, but across your ads, website, and retention strategies.

Check out his YouTube channel here for more strategies!

Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome.

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For more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.

Today, we're shining a light on an invisible profit killer lurking in many Shopify stores: technical debt.

It's the hidden drag on your growth, silently creeping in as you layer on apps, experiment with new tech, and expand your team—until suddenly, you're slowed by complexity, site issues, and mounting customer headaches.

My guest today is Paolo Vidali, Founder and CEO of Hidden Gears. Paolo’s team specializes in helping scaling Shopify brands get to the root of technical chaos—those “duct tape” solutions, clashing apps, and homegrown workarounds that work… until they don’t. If your store feels a bit buggier, slower, or just harder to operate as you grow, this episode is your roadmap to getting operationally lean again—before Q4 hits and every conversion counts.

Paolo shares real-world examples from his agency’s work: migrating brands in and out of headless, troubleshooting mysterious checkout bugs, and auditing countless tech stacks where everyone forgot why an app or workaround even exists. The conversation covers not just fixes, but how to future-proof your stack as AI, low-code tools, and ever-shifting Shopify features accelerate both opportunity and risk.

Check out his YouTube channel here for more strategies!

Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome.

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For more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.