Hey,

I heard it through the grapevine that you’re looking for digital marketing news. Hold on, I’m comin’ to give you the deets!

Musical Mischief 🎶: I’ve scattered seven soulful song titles throughout this edition of Perceptive Marketer (because, sometimes, I can’t help myself). Find ‘em all, and win bragging rights. 😁

• Search Engine Journal recently provided a deep dive analysis of studies by a wide range of SEO companies on The Impact of AI Overviews On SEO. It’s a 15 minute read, so we’ll spare you the TL;DR with this summary: The number of times AI Overviews is shown is less today than when it launched last May — way less (between 4.5% and 6.7% vs. 12.5% to 42% less). So, AI Overviews isn’t dramatically impacting SEO on Google. Still, there’s evidence that other AI platforms like ChatGPT/SearchGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, etc. are gaining traction as alternative search engines.

• In a related story, Search Engine Land reports that pages ranking as AI Overview citations are often different from Top 10 organic result pages. PLUS, pages in AI Overview citations are more volatile in their consistency of ranking visibility. We have two reactions from the SAIO perspective: 
  • This seems to indicate more of an opportunity to rank on a Google SERP that includes AI Overviews and
  • We’ve found our SAIO optimization strategy helps clients gain consistent visibility and traction across other AI platforms even when they don’t appear in AI Overviews (although they frequently appear there, too).

• “We’re so obsessed with replacing humans that we’re missing the chance to make them superhuman.” This quote from Leesa Soulodre’s LinkedIn article hit us — hard. Instead of being frightened of how AI can replace you, learn how AI can amplify your work. There’s no one way to do it, so use your creativity to carve your own path!

Podcast Alert! Raising ROI Through Wellness Programs

Did you know that companies gain around $6 for every $1 invested in workplace wellness programs? That was one of the jaw-dropping facts I learned while interviewing corporate wellness coach and Wellness Worx CEO, Christine Boucher. Discover how prioritizing employee well-being is a smart business decision in the latest A Better Paradigm Podcast (hosted by yours truly)!

• Paid search spend ($123.6 billion) accounted for the largest portion of total online media spend (34%) in 2024 — and is expected to increase by 12% this year. Learn more from the Winterberry Group’s US Online Media Spending Review for 2024 and Outlook for 2025.

• Google Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) were given more flexibility. What’s the twist now, you ask? Google is relying more on AI to serve or omit ad assets dynamically (such as putting a headline in a sitelink or omitting a description). This could help ads appear more relevant to searchers and potentially drive more clicks for campaigns.

• Live LinkedIn Events. How do you get people to actually come? The folks at Social Media Today tell it like it is with some great tips from LinkedIn Event Framework Guide including: why users go to LI events, how to prepare, and how to set them up.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

I’ve been hearing that 2025 has been a mountain of a year for some. No matter what has happened to you, let’s all remember this as we move forward:

You can’t change every wrong thing in the world,

but you can help change something.

This poem by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer says it best. Let’s see what a wonderful world this could be. 🙂 (Thanks Ray Graj and Niki Fielding for sharing!)

Before we hit the road Jack, don’t forget to come back for some more fun issues of Perceptive Marketer.

Happy Wednesday!

Natalie

Did you catch on to the melodies? Here’s the list o’ links for your listening pleasure:

• I Heard It Through the Grapevine
• Hold On I’m Comin’
• Can’t Help Myself
• The Twist
• Tell It Like It Is
• Wonderful World
• Hit the Road Jack