Heya,

Summer’s flying at us fast and so is the digital marketing news!

• While we agree with the synchronicity strategy of looking at SEO and SAIO optimization as interrelated in this “keyword research meets prompt research” story, we don’t agree comparing keyword volume with prompt volume as a driver for that strategy. Prompt volumes are currently very volatile. We’re currently looking at overlaps between top organic search result pages and top pages for AI citations via Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to identify optimization synergies and gaps. Eventually, getting click data will take it a step further.

• AI responses are haunted. 👻 JK, but they are offering “ghost citations”. That’s when a brand is cited as a contributor to the prompt response, but the brand itself is not mentioned directly in the prompt response. The rate of ghost citations varies by AI platform, but it happens about 40% of the time on average. One solution is tying your brand name more explicitly to your citation-worthy content snippets. This can help prevent ghost citations and build your brand authority.

• Reddit’s CEO revealed the platform’s intent to show more evergreen content like recommendations and reviews. At the same time, it is working to make its search bar more engaging by integrating ad modules. It sounds like they want to cash in directly on their content rather than having it fuel AI results (and ad revenues) on other platforms like Google’s AI Overviews or ChatGPT.

• What metrics best demonstrate marketing’s impact? Marketing Charts shows the top 4 of 5 metrics mentioned were revenue-related. The fifth metric cited by only 3% of respondents was “Share of voice/brand equity.” The story behind the chart reveals there remains misalignment of KPIs between marketing teams and finance teams within companies that trickles over to their agency teams.

• Hyperlinks… in Google search ad descriptions? Oh yeah, it’s being tested now.

Most of us recognize that cute panda logo associated with the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF). For 60+ years, they’ve been spearheading conservation efforts worldwide. They work with local communities to conserve, advocate, protect, and restore natural resources. Learn more about them and their projects: WWF.

Keep kicking butt and takin’ names, y’all!

Natalie

When small things weigh you down, ask yourself:

Will this matter later?

Not every moment has to be treated with serious precision. 

In fact, sometimes, seriousness drains potential joy from the moment.

Here’s some other ways to help you view life more lightly.

Welcome!

FAQs are all the rage…

 Don’t let your website FAQs become an eyebrow-crunching, cringe fest. Follow our tips instead. 🙂

(I know — we’re leaving you hanging. #sorrynotsorry)

• “Your newest competitors aren’t other brands.” Stephanie Trovato from Martech makes the case that AI has created a variety of “synthetic” competitors. The thing is, this isn’t really a new concept. “Search competitors” are the folks that show up in your key result pages and are not your core competitors. We see the list of AI synthetic competitors is larger due to AI’s depth of data research abilities and willingness to cite more obscure websites. One of the solutions put forth in the article to combat synthetic competition is building brand authority (of course!). Another way we approach this with our SAIO strategy is a sharp focus on the keywords/prompts that are most relevant to your target audience and produce content that rises above the AI slop.

• Think with Google offers an SAIO “don’t” checklist: “Good SEO is good GEO.” Thanks to AI, Google saw an all-time high in search queries in Q1 2026. Two of the don’ts we feel are important reminders regarding SEO/SAIO strategy are:
  • Don’t forget your website. Build a great web experience.
  • Don’t get distracted by noisy metrics — focus on your business goals.

• Search Engine Journal offers thoughts on Google’s AI search data reporting. Here’s our summary: Query data is being rolled out in Google Merchant Center — when will it roll out to GSC? Citation page data in Google Search Console (GSC) is a good start, but when we will see AI click data is anyone’s guess. 

• Social media isn’t as social anymore. Recent study findings say over 55% of people are posting less than they did 5 years ago. 51% agree that posting feels like work. The standards for social media content are high to break through the noise. Though the survey was fielded to consumers, we think the results are equally important for brands. Focusing on the “social” aspect instead of just the “media” part of the phrase is critical for success.

• An Optimizely global survey of 2,000 marketing leaders found “many teams are paying a growing ‘revision tax’ as time saved through automation is increasingly replaced by the work required to review, refine and manage AI-generated outputs.” In other words, AI isn’t always a time saver. Other findings worth noting:
  • 25% admit they frequently or always publish AI-generated content they know is not fully on-brand when under deadline pressure.
  • 30% say they frequently or always pass off AI-generated work as their own, human-created, original work.

• A new Google Ads Performance Max feature test is allowing users greater control of spending and excluding inventory from third-party search partners. It’s a pilot, but would be a win to allow some control back to marketers.

For every therapist in the U.S., there are about 340 people in need of mental health support. With such an inundated system, there has to be another more attainable solution. Give an Hour was started by therapists volunteering an hour of their time to support those in need. Now, they work on informing the public with wellness ambassadors and peer-to-peer groups to fill in the gaps. Learn more about them through this video or check out their website.

As I was chasing my frenetic pup who was chasing our outside cat up a tree, I again realized how our emotions get soaked up by those around us.

Years of walking Reya, my German Shephard mutt, has shown me how much more reactive she gets when I show my frustration — this frantic bout proved it for the umpteenth time.

How often does this happen with people? When someone walks in with a pinch in their neck and a sneer on their cheek, it’s easy to soak up.

We can’t be perfect emotional regulators, but we can practice compassionate responses. It might help (or not), but in whatever case, you preserve your peace.

After Reya *let* me catch her, I thought about how to handle her energy in the future, because the only thing anyone can control in those situations is their response.

(Side note: Orange Cat is all good and back pawing our glass door for more food.)

Practice preserving your peace, and I’ll see you next week. 🙂

Natalie

Give an Hour has some insightful resources on mental health topics from the emotional cost of financial fraud to supporting rare disease advocacy.

Heya,

Digital marketing news never stops, so here’s your catch-up!

• Google’s May Core Update rolled out with significant ranking volatility. There’s no specific guidance with this one, but here’s a summary of Google’s previous advice. Pick your favorite source: Search Engine Land or Search Engine Roundtable. 

• (Almost) a hip-hip-hooray! 🎉 Google is introducing Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console. The “beta” version will only provide aggregate Gen AI (AI Overviews and AI Mode) Impressions data for pages — no Query, Clicks, CTR, or Position yet. (Not like Bing Webmaster Tools AI Performance features that offer both Grounding Queries and Pages.) When will this new GSC feature be available to you? We’re still waiting to see AI Assistant as a default channel group in GA4, which was announced almost a month ago, so don’t hold your breath.

• ChatGPT early-access launched conversion ads on June 5th. NOTE: ChatGPT still says to treat their ads as a test channel rather than a performance one, soooo take this all as you will…. 

• Mini-dramas. That’s what TikTok’s new course is calling “a new program that will provide training on how to write short, episodic narratives, and tap into the key themes that make these short-form soap operas a hit.” Basically, you thought mini-series were too short, here come miniscule series on America’s favorite video-first platform. Here’s Social Media Today’s coverage.

• Speaking of series, Meta is testing a new Reels “Series” feature that lets select creators organize videos into episodes with a dedicated hub on their profile, mirroring TikTok’s functionality.

• People aren’t just typing keywords into Google anymore. Google Ads introduced AI Brief to allow advertisers to advertise based on a prompt instead of keyword lists. This, again, runs into the issue of trust and corporate AI usage rules. This may be a great feature for smaller businesses, but larger, stricter companies may have to wait until further testing is done to advertise.

• AI appears to be a double-edged sword when it comes to paid search hiring ads. It is cutting performance in two directions: 
  • First, AI is reducing headcounts (so less hiring and less need to market job openings). 
  • Second, traffic from GenAI sources to US retail sites surged 393% YoY in Q1 and apparently converted better than paid search and email (which may mean there may be less of a need to use paid search altogether).

Outright is fighting for the rights of LGBTIQ people everywhere. With staff in more than 12 countries, they partner with local organizations that work directly with the community to help push for change in governments globally. They even have a permanent presence in the UN in New York: Outright International. Happy pride, y’all!

Many kids pick up language before learning to walk.

As kids grow into adults, learning languages does not come as easily. (This is for a whole bunch of neurological reasons.) BUT DON’T THROW IN THE TOWEL JUST YET!

Duolingo’s article points out a bunch of great tips to keep your brain learning, but my favorite is “willingness to make mistakes.”

As adults, we swerve to avoid making mistakes, but the best way to learn is after making them (research for my doubters).

More mistakes = better learn!

I mean, “learning.” 😉

Peace out rockstars, 🤘

Natalie

That’s how many days Duolingo and I have been tight… because one day I will speak conversational Russian with my fiance’s family. (How many nuanced endings can one noun have? Too many for one girl to keep up.)

*cue “Seasons of Love” from Rent for my folks who tried to sing the lyrics while reading “1,329 Days”… or was that just me?*

Hi all –

Ready yourself for Perceptive Marketer: Friday Edition. 😎 

*Commence playing “Oh Yeah” by Yello.*

• Remember when you could look at the queries that ChatGPT used to generate its response? Well, it looks like ChatGPT queries are no longer visible. 😢 While sad, at least you can still see grounding queries in Bing Webmaster Tools through the AI Performance tab.

• ChatGPT Ads 📢: You can sign up online to stay informed as they expand their advertising capabilities.

• YouTube is the 2nd biggest Social Media source used by AI (next to Reddit) according to Otterly AI. What videos are getting cited? Long-form videos with timestamps!

• Curious how Google Search & Discover pick images for thumbnails? Be clear in schema markup and use meta tag best practices to make sure the best images are selected! More here.

• What could you do with ✌🏾 SEO Vibe Coding ✌️? Hreflang matching, content decay, find related pages to link. Moz gives a top-level, and here’s a step-by-step example.

• Best article title I’ve seen in a while: “The Oz Paradigm: Why AI Still Needs a Human Behind the Curtain”. Y’all know I’ve been on Team Human for a while. Steve Bevilacqua’s article reminds us that AI still makes mistakes and doesn’t produce new ideas as it only predicts the best response to your prompt.

• Now, seemingly contradictory to the previous article… here are over 70 AI prompts for social media. Why? Because yes, you can still USE AI but just be wary about letting it do it all without human review.

• Three strikes —  your site is out! ⚾ Nothing makes a Google Ads marketer’s heart race like a warning or *gulps* a suspension. Here’s a case study from SEL on appealing a strike if you are not violating policies.

• Captions in Instagram posts??? *jaw drop 😲* Yes, it’s a test for paying subscribers. Will it increase the chance you’ll subscribe to Meta Verified?

Conserve Land. Combat climate change. Build vibrant communities. The Conservation Fund is working on all these through its comprehensive programs. They’ve protected over 9 million acres of land and water nationwide since 1985. Check out their mission, their success, and how you can help.

Let’s put on our spectacles for this quote examination: 🧐

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

It’s okay to look up from your desk. It’s okay to take a walk on an early spring day. It’s okay to leave the phone in the car when you’re out with friends. In fact, these things should be encouraged.

Life is worth the pause to acknowledge it.

Happy Spring! 🌷

Natalie

Pssh, I am sure you got the references, but here’s a few hints:

Hint.

The dead giveaway.

The time has come…

… to catch up on organic search and digital marketing news!

• Are your SEO and/or PPC reports showing increases in Impressions but drops in Click-Through-Rate (CTR)? Welcome to the world of Google Double Serving. Back in April, Google Ads shifted its policy of serving only one ad per company to showing multiple ads from the same company as long as it was in a different location on the SERP. As we recently covered, Google is now doing the same kind of double counting of impressions when it comes to visibility in AI Overviews and the natural Organic SERP results. It’s even worse because follow up queries in AI Overviews are being counted as new searches and, therefore, new impressions. This “decoupling” of the two metrics (Impressions and CTR) that typically were viewed equally as evidence of SEO and PPC success is forcing a rethinking of what metrics should be prioritized to demonstrate success.

• Guess what we found? (You: What? 😲) More sources backing up our approach to Search AI Optimization. It’s okay, you can hold the applause. But now, we see that Moz has a new way to discover topics for your SAIO content. If you have the tool, it’s definitely worth a try!

• To further understand how the content ranking factor “Relevance” can be implemented on your website, check out this other post from Moz on relevance engineering!

• Cloudflare just launched a new permission-based setting that allows website owners using its platform to automatically block AI bots from collecting their digital content. Combined with its initiative to potentially have AI services “Pay Per Crawl,” publishers can now protect and/or further monetize their content. It’s too soon to gauge how this might impact brands and their AI Search visibility, but you can be sure we’ll be covering developments as they bubble to the surface.

• AI thinking like a human seemed like sci-fi magic just a decade ago. Now, it’s closer than you may have thought. The Centaur AI model can predict a wide range of human behavior better than some classical psychological theories on human decision-making. If used in marketing, this could lead to powerful results, but at the sacrifice of privacy and so much more. This is just a reminder about the morality of biz tech. Consumers will respect honesty over manipulation tactics.

• Remember when there were 5 search term match types in Google Ads? It narrowed down to 3 (phrase match, broad match, and exact match), but we see a new option popping up… AI Max. It all aligns with Google’s push to AI-ify all its products. 

• TikTok is making an American-only version of its app. We don’t know how it will differ from the original, but Americans will be required to switch by March 2026. President Trump announced that he has a buyer lined up just days before, so we will see how it all ends up.

Employment assistance is the number one requested resource for those transitioning out of military service. Hire Heroes USA helps veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find new careers. In addition to searching for veterans to help, they also are looking for companies that would like to hire them. Learn more: Hire Heroes USA.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

Stress.

We often point fingers at it… call it the bane of existence. What if I told you that rapid breathing, racing heart rate, and inability to focus are not signs we aren’t coping well under pressure but are our body’s way to prepare for a challenge?

How you think about stress changes how your body reacts to it. If stress is viewed as healthy, your response to stressful situations changes positively. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal’s TED talk is enlightening in explaining why (and how) you can befriend stress.

Live long and prosper. 🖖

Natalie

Wanna go outside, but don’t know where to start? Here’s two app recs for you!

• AllTrails – You definitely know this one if you’re a hiker! It shows maps, tells you when you’re off course, and lets you know difficulty metrics like elevation and mileage. The paid version lets you download the maps for trails that take you out of service range. (Also super helpful if you have pups, as some routes have ladders and scrambles that are not accessible to our four-legged friends.)

• Go Paddling – As a community-run application, people mark off launch points for stand-up paddlers, kayakers, and canoers. You can find launch point directions, as well as if points have free parking, restrooms, and more in the comments for popular places.

Don’t ask me how I got here….

Today is National Buttermilk Biscuit Day… and Bond with Your Dog Day… and National Dance Like a Chicken Day. Needless to say, I’m honored you took time from eating biscuits and chicken dancing with your dog to read this newsletter. You’re awesome. 😎

• In its continuing move toward providing results similar to Google, ChatGPT is now including product recommendations in its search. Here’s the example they showed with the announcement: 

 

Scroll to the bottom of the article to see a waitlist form and be notified when feed submissions open for merchants!

• As we expected, Google is rapidly expanding its testing of AI Mode with new features like “places” (aka Google Business-like listings), product cards, and a history panel of previous queries/conversations. Plus, there is no longer a waitlist if you want to explore the platform yourself.

• Google AI is putting on its Sherlock Holmes cape to crack down on scammers in Google Search. Their team states that they’ve reduced the number of scammy pages in Search by 80%. But, we know that there are smart people who work for Search as well as on the scammer end, so continue to stay vigilant, y’all.

• Get this… “ChatGPT now controls 80.1% of AI search traffic” while “traditional search engines like Google show a consistent decline in usage.” One could say ChatGPT’s dominance in AI search is like Google’s dominance in traditional search. We can hope that ChatGPT won’t also start showing ads, but there are reports they may be coming to the platform in 2026. *tear* 😢

• Want to feel like a real VIP on Instagram? How about with Unlockable Reels? Oh yeah, Insta was spotted testing the feature last month. It’s a fun way to spark up engagement for accounts with followers dedicated enough to find and enter a code.

• When can average be better than excellent? Matt Bowen claims that that is true of Google Ads Strength in SEL. To get an “Excellent” ad score, you have to unpin all your headlines in your ads. This could lead to “odd combinations – multiple keyword-stuffed headlines or a string of repetitive value propositions – resulting in ads that feel spammy, awkward, and robotic.” The data Bowen brings up shows higher Cost Per Clicks (CPCs) for the unpinned or excellent-rated ads. The takeaways: make sure your ads are relevant. For ad strength, don’t chase “Excellent,” but avoid “Poor” to ensure performance.

Home for Good Dog Rescue has saved over 12,000 dogs since 2010! Think of how many games of fetch, dog piles, and doggie play dates were enjoyed because of their work. Home for Good Dog saves dogs from kill shelters in the South and places them with foster families until they get placed in forever homes. Check out their website, and fall in love with their pups on socials. 💖

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

I have a Chinese Evergreen plant (Herman). 🪴

For a long time, I kept him in a south-facing window with ample sunlight, watered him weekly (even if the soil was wet), and kept him in a little pot I thought was cute.

😨 Eventually, Herman’s leaves started browning and new growth slowed. 

Then, I passed Herman’s thriving cousin plant, rooted in dry soil, in the low-lit part of a restaurant. 

When I got home, I placed Herman in a bigger pot, stopped watering him so much, and put him in a low-lit corner. His patterned leaves returned to a deep green and even sprouted a second stem next to the first (Hermine).

Moral of the story: You can’t assume you know what others need. Stay observant, ask questions, and listen.

Keep it groovy,

Natalie

Don’t worry, I’m not gonna mention biscuits and not give you a recipe! Here’s one from Sally’s Baking, and over here’s a gluten-free, vegan recipe from Just What We Eat.

Welcome back!

I know you missed us last week * tear 🥹*. In recompense, we’ve got extra digital marketing tea for you to sip on this week!

• ⚖️ The DOJ ruled that Google operated an “illegal monopoly in the advertising technology industry.” Google’s prices were ruled anticompetitive. This is the second case lost in addition to the search antitrust monopoly. Stay tuned as the DOJ prepares remedies for both rulings.

• Testing is in full swing for Google AI Mode experiment in Labs. 🔬 As with previous Search Lab experiments, early access is given only to premium Google One subscribers and previous Labs contributors like DBE. As one of our first prompts, we asked AI Mode to provide points of differentiation between it and the other two Google AI models we look at for SAIO — Gemini and AI Overviews. Gemini is actually the AI brains behind both AI Mode and AI Overviews though they generate responses differently. Here’s a chart AI Mode created for us to show the strengths, weaknesses, and use purposes for all three. We’ll continue our research to determine if and how AI Mode impacts our SAIO strategy and keep you in the loop of new developments.
  

• Google is now linking “keywords” in its AI Overviews responses that point to its own traditional search results. Come again?! They say this is “to help people more easily explore topics and discover relevant websites.” Trade coverage of this development includes the opinion that this is an effort to monetize AI Overviews by moving searchers to Google’s more traditional results pages that have more ads to click on. 

• Navigating search intent in a sea of AI platforms and search engines is tricky. Get tips on how to optimize for both topic clusters and keywords in a comprehensive strategy.

• Anthropic has a fascinating blog on the “faithfulness” of reasoning AI models (like their Claude) and their “Chain-of-Thought” as they are working on their response to your prompt. Anthropic’s research shows “you can’t always rely on what they (the AI models) tell us about their reasoning.” Anthropic’s solution is to “work out ways to increase faithfulness” between the chain-of-thought and the response. Note: Anthropic only tested its own Claude AI models and DeepSeek models. If we wanted to be a little cynical, we could posit that Anthropic is leveraging this research to distinguish itself from DeepSeek.

• Google Engaged Audiences… 
  • What are they? They are a segment of users that have interacted with your website across Google platforms. 
  • Limitations? You can only have one per Google ads account. 
  • Who are they good for? Small business owners or those just starting out in Google Ads who are looking to remarket.

• Everyone may try to act cool, but who is actually cool? 😎 NPR poses a form of this question for brands. If every brand acts like the cool best friend (snarky like Wendy’s or trendy like Duolingo), everyone blends in. My thoughts: brands should take a hint from 80’s high-school movies and be themselves to stand out in the best way.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

You know how people always encourage you to “find your joy?”

.

What if we flipped it…?

What if we allowed joy to find us?

.

What if we allowed joy to meet us

like the rays of morning sun stream through a curtain?

.

What if we let joy entwine itself in every aspect of our day

as an infant does with every new toy they discover?

What if joy was never lost, but always following behind,

waiting, patiently, to be discovered.

Happy Wednesday!

Natalie

Gardening can pose its own challenges. But finding indigenous flowers to your region, well, that’s a whole new ballgame. Yet, the benefits outweigh the initial challenges. Learn more about indigenous wildflowers in your region with the World Wildlife Fund!

Greetings!

You’re traveling through another dimension – a dimension not only of digital marketing but of mindfulness. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. Next stop: Perceptive Marketer!

Yes, we changed our name. No, this is not a drill. The name change is better aligned with our mission: to widen our perceptions as marketers through industry news and mindful perspectives.

Let’s jump in!

• Want to know what’s keeping marketing and PR leaders awake at night? Check out the top 10 challenges marketing decision makers are facing in 2024, based on UK respondents. Search engine updates and volatility, anxiety of being replaced by AI, plus a lack of understanding how we could use AI are some of the top concerns. This report is from the UK, and they haven’t even seen the Google SGE roll-out yet. No wonder a separate survey cites 76% of UK employees have experienced some form of stress-related staff absence.

• Understand Google SGE through this Lady Gaga search result. Business Insider’s overview helps you gain a deeper understanding of how disruptive SGE (and other Gen AI platforms) can be to the traditional search marketplace. The article even includes a discussion on the emergence of ads as sponsored links in Gen AI results – a topic we just covered in our latest blog.

• Google SGE has been released to the public… at least for a starting set of queries. Whether you’ve signed up to see SGE or not, you may see AI overviews filling your result pages. This is only a test but stay tuned for alerts when SGE finally goes live for reals.

• Are you afraid of the robot uprising? 🤖 Maybe this might make you feel better. The United Nations adopted a resolution for the “respect, protection and promotion of human rights in the design, development, deployment and the use of AI.” Sustainable development and a commitment to closing the digital gap between countries are two purposes of this resolution. If you love legal jargon, here’s the full resolution.

It’s Raining Ads! 🌧️

Ads in AI to be specific. Google SGE and Bing Copilot are showing ads in their Gen AI responses. What does this mean for Search AI Optimization? Find out here: Spring 2024 Rains Ads On Gen AI Results!

• As a perceptive marketer, you’re probably aware of multichannel and omnichannel marketing strategies. Have you heard about “optichannel”? “Optichannel strategies aim to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time through each channel, maximizing engagement and conversions.” Martech explains the optichannel approach is a way of optimizing individual channels to improve customer experience.

• TikTok is not giving up! (And who would expect them to?) The attempt? A $2.1 million TV ad buy. Many TikTok users have been lobbying the senate to not pass the house bill, especially with so many businesses depending on the platform. But will a TV ad make a difference to the senators’ thinking? We have to keep watching.

• 🦉 With hot tracks like “Spanish or Vanish”, who wouldn’t want to go see Duolingo on Ice! Check out this spoofy Disney on Ice remake released on April 1st! (Pro tip: if you go to the ticket link, you can get promo codes for future Seat Geek tickets AND a free month of Duolingo.)

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

Spring makes life go a million miles a minute. Are you taking time to pause? Here are some ways:

• Take nature breaks.
• Look up from your screens.
• Focus on your breathing.
• Eat without distractions.
• Ground yourself with nature-inspired activities like gardening.

Overall, finding moments of stillness will help us truly see the beauty and wonder that is the spring season.

Happy Wednesday!

Natalie

10 points if you got the intro reference! 👏🔟👏

Here’s some spooky fun facts about the famous show. 🙂