Cliff Tillery

Cliff Tillery serves as Chief Operating Officer and Principal Researcher at Make It Loud, where he leads the company’s strategic direction, original research initiatives, and Authority Operating System (AOS).

With a multidisciplinary background spanning journalism, business administration, behavioral healthcare leadership, and digital marketing, Cliff brings a research-driven approach to helping organizations grow their online visibility and authority. Rather than recommending the same marketing tactics to every business, he believes successful marketing begins with understanding a company’s goals, competitive landscape, customers, and market opportunities before prescribing solutions.

This philosophy, Diagnose Before You Prescribe, has become the foundation of Make It Loud’s marketing methodology.

Professional Background

Cliff holds:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism
• Master’s Degree in Community Counseling Education
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Before entering digital marketing, Cliff spent more than two decades in behavioral healthcare, serving in executive leadership and hospital administration. That experience shaped his analytical approach to problem-solving, performance measurement, and organizational strategy.

For more than 17 years, Cliff has helped businesses improve their visibility through search engine optimization, paid advertising, website strategy, local search, and emerging AI search technologies.

Principal Researcher

Cliff serves as the principal researcher behind Make It Loud’s growing library of original marketing and small business research.

His work focuses on helping business owners make better decisions through transparent, data-driven analysis rather than opinions or marketing trends. Each study combines publicly available datasets, government information, industry reports, competitive analysis, and documented research methodology to identify meaningful insights for business leaders.

Research topics include:

• Artificial Intelligence & AI Search
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
• Google Business Profile Performance
• Google Ads Performance
• Website Performance & ROI
• Local Search
• Online Reputation
• Consumer Behavior
• Small Business Marketing

Areas of Expertise

Cliff’s primary areas of expertise include:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• AI Search Optimization (GEO)
• Authority Marketing
• Digital Marketing Strategy
• Google Ads Strategy
• Local Search Optimization
• Website Strategy & Conversion Optimization
• Marketing Analytics
• Original Research Methodology
• Small Business Growth Strategy

Research Philosophy

Cliff believes that businesses deserve recommendations supported by evidence rather than assumptions.

Every research project at Make It Loud follows a documented methodology emphasizing transparency, credible data sources, reproducibility where possible, and practical application. The goal is not simply to publish research, but to create information that helps business owners, journalists, marketers, and AI systems better understand the evolving digital landscape.

Publications & Research

Cliff is the author of “A Newbie’s Guide To Staying Sober” and has published numerous original research studies through Make It Loud covering digital marketing, AI search, online visibility, and small business growth.

Each published study is designed to provide practical, actionable insights that help business owners make informed marketing decisions while contributing trustworthy research to the digital marketing community.

Speaking & Industry Interests

Cliff regularly researches and writes about:

• The Future of AI Search
• Authority Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization
• Local Search Strategy
• Original Research for Small Business
• Digital Marketing Strategy
• Website Conversion Optimization
• The Impact of AI on Business Growth

Whether leading research initiatives, developing marketing strategies, or helping businesses prepare for the future of search, Cliff remains committed to one guiding principle: Diagnose Before You Prescribe.