I’ve been doing digital marketing since before Facebook existed. I started my consulting practice in 2006, moved to Boise in 2017 to join TSheets, and have been serving Idaho small businesses directly ever since. Over 20 years, I’ve watched the tools change completely while the underlying problems stay exactly the same. This post is my field notes on what actually shifted for Idaho businesses and what’s been constant the entire time. If you’re trying to figure out where to spend your next marketing dollar, understanding this difference matters more than chasing the newest platform.
What was I doing for Idaho clients in 2006?
In 2006, I wasn’t physically in Idaho yet, but I was doing digital marketing for clients across the country using the same tools Idaho businesses had access to. Here’s what that looked like:
- Google AdWords was already running. Cost-per-click was cheaper, but conversion tracking was primitive. You’d send traffic to a form and hope your sales team told you what closed.
- Email marketing worked if you had a list. Open rates were higher because inboxes weren’t as crowded. MailChimp existed. Constant Contact existed. Salsa Labs existed (I worked there).
- SEO meant getting listed in DMOZ, optimizing meta tags, and building directory links. Google’s algorithm was simpler. Keyword stuffing still worked if you were subtle.
- Social media was MySpace for consumer brands. LinkedIn existed but was mostly recruiters. Facebook required a .edu email. Twitter launched that year.
- Local business listings were Yahoo Local, Citysearch, Superpages. Google Maps launched in 2005 but wasn’t the dominant force yet.
The limiting factor wasn’t tools. It was whether the business owner would commit to one channel and run it consistently for six months. That’s still the limiting factor.
What changed in 2010?
By 2010, I had rebranded my practice to AdsTalent and was managing paid search and SEO for small and mid-sized clients. Here’s what shifted:
- Facebook became a business platform. Pages launched in 2007. Facebook Ads became viable around 2009-2010. Suddenly you could target by interest, not just keywords. Idaho businesses started asking for Facebook help.
- Google got serious about local. Google Places merged with Maps. Local pack results became the most valuable real estate for service businesses. If you were a Boise plumber and didn’t claim your listing, you were invisible.
- Smartphones started mattering. iPhone launched 2007. Android took off around 2010. Mobile traffic was real, but most Idaho small business websites weren’t responsive. You’d lose 40% of your traffic because your site was unreadable on a phone.
- Analytics improved. Google Analytics got better at goal tracking. You could finally see which keywords drove phone calls if you set it up right. Most people didn’t.
The new problem: business owners now had five channels to neglect instead of two. The ones who won picked two channels and ignored the rest.
What changed in 2015?
By 2015, I was at YP.com (formerly Yellow Pages) working on their transition to digital. Here’s what I saw:
- Mobile-first became mandatory. Google’s mobile-friendly algorithm update hit in April 2015. If your site wasn’t responsive, your rankings tanked. Idaho businesses scrambled to rebuild sites they’d launched three years earlier.
- Content marketing became the default strategy. HubSpot and Moz had convinced everyone they needed a blog. Most businesses started blogs, published five posts, and abandoned them. I watched this cycle repeat dozens of times with Idaho clients.
- Facebook ads matured. The targeting got better. The pixel let you retarget site visitors. Cost-per-click was still reasonable. A Boise retailer could run a profitable campaign on $500/month. That window closed around 2018.
- Review platforms consolidated. Yelp peaked. Google reviews became the dominant signal for local businesses. A Meridian HVAC company with 47 five-star Google reviews would outrank a competitor with better SEO and zero reviews.
The new problem: attribution confusion. A customer might see a Facebook ad, google your name, read reviews, visit your site twice, then call. Which channel gets credit? Most businesses just blamed whatever they spent money on last.
What changed in 2020?
I joined TSheets (which became QuickBooks Time after Intuit acquired it in 2018) in 2017, and by 2020 I was back in independent consulting as Boise Marketing Guy. The 2020 shift was obvious:
- COVID forced digital adoption. Boise restaurants that never had online ordering built systems in two weeks. Local retailers who resisted e-commerce launched Shopify stores. The businesses that survived were the ones who moved fast.
- Paid social costs exploded. Facebook CPMs doubled. Then doubled again. The Apple iOS 14 update in 2021 killed retargeting effectiveness. A campaign that cost $800/month in 2019 needed $2,500/month in 2021 for the same results.
- Video became table stakes. YouTube ads worked. Instagram and Facebook prioritized video in the feed. TikTok emerged. Idaho businesses started asking me about short-form video. Most still haven’t figured it out.
- Google My Business became critical. During lockdowns, the Google Business Profile was often the only way customers found you. Hours changed daily. Messaging features let customers text you directly from search results.
The new problem: channel saturation. Every business was online now. Standing out required better creative, better targeting, or more budget. Usually all three.
What changed in 2025 and beyond?
We’re now in the AI-native era. Here’s what I’m seeing with Boise and Idaho clients today:
- AI search is real. ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Google’s AI Overviews, they’re citing sources and answering questions directly. If your content doesn’t answer questions clearly in the first 100 words, you don’t get cited. I’m restructuring content for AEO (answer engine optimization), not just SEO.
- AI-generated content floods the zone. Every business can publish 50 blog posts a month now. Most of it is garbage. The businesses winning are publishing less, better content with a clear point of view. Readers and AI engines both prefer it.
- Privacy walls are higher. Third-party cookies are dying. iOS blocks tracking. Email open rates are unreliable because of Apple Mail Privacy Protection. Attribution is harder than it’s ever been.
- Local search is more valuable. As AI answers generic questions, the remaining search traffic is high-intent and often local. “Boise web designer” traffic is more valuable in 2025 than it was in 2020 because the searcher already filtered out the national players.
The new opportunity: AI engines cite authoritative sources. If you write clearly, answer questions definitively, and have a track record, you get cited. That’s the game I’m playing now.
What hasn’t changed at all?
Here’s what’s been identical from 2006 to 2026:
Audience research still matters most. If you don’t know who you’re talking to, no amount of AI or automation helps. I still ask Idaho clients the same questions I asked in 2006: Who’s your best customer? What problem do they have right before they buy? What words do they use to describe it?
Clear offers beat clever creative. A Nampa HVAC company that says “$79 furnace tune-up, scheduled in 48 hours” will always outperform a competitor with a beautiful website and a tagline about comfort. Specificity wins.
Follow-up is where money gets made. Most businesses lose deals because they don’t follow up. They get a lead from Google Ads, send one email, and give up. I’ve watched this pattern for 20 years. The business that calls back twice and emails three times wins.
Consistency beats intensity. A Boise business that publishes one blog post a month for two years will outperform a competitor that publishes 20 posts in January and quits. Showing up repeatedly is the entire game.
Local relationships still matter. Idaho is small. A referral from another business owner in Boise is worth more than 1,000 cold clicks. That was true in 2006. It’s true now.
What’s harder now than it was in 2006?
Some things legitimately got worse:
Noise levels are unbearable. In 2006, if you published a decent blog post, people found it. Now you’re competing with infinite AI-generated content, Instagram Reels, TikToks, and YouTube Shorts. Breaking through requires sharper thinking and better distribution.
Saturation in every channel. Google Ads is crowded. Facebook ads are expensive. SEO takes longer because every business has a content strategy. The easy wins are gone. You need to be better than average to get average results.
Platform dependency is dangerous. In 2006, you could build an email list and own it. Now your audience lives on platforms you don’t control. Facebook can kill your organic reach. Google can change the algorithm. TikTok can get banned. You’re always one policy change away from starting over.
Tracking is broken. Apple and Google are killing third-party tracking. I can’t tell you exactly which Instagram ad drove a phone call anymore. We’re back to attribution models that look like 2008, except now clients expect 2019-level precision.
Talent is harder to find. In 2006, if you knew Google AdWords, you were rare. Now everyone claims to be a digital marketer. Half of them learned from a YouTube video last month. Finding someone who actually knows what they’re doing, especially in Idaho, is harder than it should be.
What’s easier now than it was in 2006?
Some things improved dramatically:
Data access is incredible. In 2006, I had to guess which keywords worked. Now I have Search Console, Google Analytics 4, heatmaps, session recordings, and call tracking. If I don’t know what’s working, it’s because I’m not looking.
Tools are cheaper and better. A $50/month software stack today would have cost $5,000/month in 2006. Canva, Mailchimp’s free tier, Google Analytics, WordPress, all free or nearly free. The barrier to entry dropped to zero.
Creative production is faster. I can shoot a video on my phone, edit it in CapCut, and publish it in 20 minutes. In 2006, video production required a crew, a camera, and a week of editing. Now a Boise business owner can produce a week of content in an afternoon.
Testing is instant. I can launch five ad variations, know which one wins in three days, and kill the losers. In 2006, you’d run a campaign for a month before you had meaningful data. Speed to insight is 10x faster.
Global reach is trivial. A Boise business can sell to a customer in Florida as easily as a customer in Eagle. Ecommerce platforms, payment processing, and shipping integrations make geography irrelevant. That wasn’t true in 2006.
Where is Idaho digital marketing heading?
Based on what I’m seeing with clients and where the tools are going, here’s my read:
AI will handle repetitive tasks, humans will handle strategy. Writing basic ad copy, scheduling posts, generating image variations, AI does that now. What it can’t do is understand your customer’s actual problem or decide which market to enter. Strategy stays human.
Local trust becomes more valuable. As AI-generated content floods the internet, people will trust local sources with track records more. A Boise business that’s been publishing useful content for five years will outrank a new AI content farm. Longevity and local presence matter.
First-party data becomes the moat. Email lists, CRM data, customer purchase history, that’s what you own. Businesses that build their own audience will survive platform changes. Businesses that depend on rented attention (Facebook reach, Google rankings) will get squeezed.
Video stays dominant. Short-form video isn’t going anywhere. Idaho businesses that get comfortable on camera will win attention. The ones that insist on text-only or static images will fade.
Offline and online blur completely. A customer sees your Instagram ad, drives to your Boise storefront, texts you from the parking lot, and completes the purchase on their phone while standing at your counter. The line between digital and physical is gone. Your marketing has to work across all of it.
The businesses that win in Idaho over the next decade will be the ones that pick fewer channels, execute them well, and stay consistent. Same advice I’d give in 2006.