Y’all ready for this… week’s marketing extravaganza?

*commence playing the Space Jam theme by 2 Unlimited*

• A spoonful of Experience helps the AI content go down. 🎶 That’s how Mary Poppins would sing it if she were in search marketing. But, truly, Google’s 5 AI search linking enhancements emphasize the need for the uniquely human aspects of your content to get cited in AI search. SEO specialist, Lily Ray, posted about the potential to write content in first person to emphasize the “Experience” aspect of E-E-A-T. Our VP of Strategy, Marc Engelsman has an easily digestible summary of the enhancements to satiate your curiosity.

• 📰 Extra, extra read all about it! Google released its first guide on AI Optimization. TL;DR: its SEO best practices but the crawlers are smarter. Their mythbusting section was most interesting, but we have our own thoughts:
  • “LLMS.txt files and other “special” markup” – Google agrees that you don’t need these. (Again, AI is purdy smart.)
  • “Rewriting content just for AI systems” – While you don’t need to write in a specific way for AI, you do need to write content that answers the prompts people search in AI vs. traditional search engines. 
  • “Overfocusing on structured data” – You don’t need to focus on structured data for AIO, but you need it for SEO, soooo verdict is just keep implementing it.

• ChatGPT announced the launch of a self-service ads platform.. Here’s a dive into the platform directly. Look for the “Helpful resources” that will provide the basics about the ads formats and pricing structure. You can use the Cost-Per Click (CPC) model that Open AI suggests a starting Max bid of $3-$5 or the Cost-Per-Thousand (CPM) model with a suggested $60 CPM. Traditional paid measurements include Conversions though there is no guidance on expected results in terms of Click-Through-Rate (CTR) or Conversion Rates.

• Get hyped for this article title: Google Analytics Adds AI Assistant As Default Channel Group. That’s right — Google Analytics now has an “AI Assistant” as a channel medium. We don’t know exactly which chatbots are in the list, but this is a good start toward tracking AI traffic!

• A recent CMO Council survey asked, “What skills should marketers prioritize in the next 3 years?” The top answers were Performance Measurement, Data Storytelling, and Emotional Intelligence. Surprisingly, AI Expertise and Coordinating AI and Human Workflows were further down the list of priorities. Surprisingly as there are growing use cases for leveraging AI to help with performance measurement and data storytelling. AI does not augment emotional intelligence so much (yet).

• Storing your data should be like organizing a pantry – everyone who needs to access it (your team), your pets can’t easily waltz in to steal your snacks (data security), and nothing is past its expiration (the data is clean). EMARKETER goes over the importance of data clean rooms that combine raw first-party data in a secure digital environment. Not only applicable to retail media, this strategy aids companies in making informed, cost-effective decisions. Stay in the loop on all the data clean room’s benefits here.

• “The best thing you can find online is a reason to go offline.” That’s a new line in Pinterest’s campaign to encourage people to get off their phones. No, no, Pinterest isn’t saying people shouldn’t use social media, but use it wisely. Success is viewed in clicks and conversions instead of time on the platform. I think it’s smart and different, but some will view it as disingenuous. Where do you stand?

The KinderSmile Foundation provides comprehensive dental care and dental hygiene education to underserved children and families, regardless of insurance status. With three locations in Bloomfield, Newark, and Trenton, they served over 8,800 patients across NJ in 2025 alone. Show them some appreciation and see what they do: KinderSmile Foundation.

Contempt.

It’s the #1 predictor of divorce, according to The Gottman Institute.

Contempt finds a way to poison perspectives, hiding the goodness from view. It allows us to attack another’s character and assumes moral superiority over others. Holding onto contempt makes people more likely to suffer from infectious disease.

The positive counterpart to this domineering emotion is building appreciation and gratitude. It’s appreciating the positive qualities — being grateful for the good. 

While we shouldn’t ignore emotions building up in any relationship type, an element of understanding goes a long way to helping everyone feel better long term.

Happy Odin’s Day… Wednesday!

Natalie

There are a few theories on how we got the names of the week. But one of my favorites is from Norse mythology. Today is the god of god’s day, Odin.