Hiya,

Digital marketing news comin’ your way in 3, 2, 1….

• Google GA4’s AI Assistant default channel is visible (yay!) but there is a catch (aww)… or three (boo).

• • Catch 1: It only captures traffic when it can determine if an AI-assistant is the referrer. No referrer, no capture. A lot of AI traffic gets dropped in the Direct or other channel buckets.
  • Catch 2: Perplexity is not typically included in the AI Assistant default channel because it is tagged as a perplexity.ai referrer.
  • Catch 3: Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode clicks are still invisible, mixed in with the Organic Search channel.
  • Bottom line: GA4’s AI Assistant is under-reporting the real impact of AI platforms traffic to your website. We still need to rely on “homemade” filters for AI traffic data.

• B2B Tech Marketers study reveals the knowledge gaps brands are facing as they look to leverage Generative Engine Optimization (GEO, AEO, SAIO, etc.). The prominent issues include not knowing (1.) the prompts used by their target market; (2.) what content is currently being cited by AI engines; (3.) their competitors’ AI visibility; and (4.) how to build entity authority. Hint: conducting AI audits is the first step to filling those gaps! 

• The June Google Spam Update just finished, and guess what it targeted. (Hold for effect…) It homed in on GenAI response manipulation – particularly from planted mentions from user-generated content (UGC) on trustworthy sites. If your site allows UGC, it may be worth looking into vetting tools with this new rollout.

• Sometimes, I like to imagine what malicious hackers could build if they weren’t focused on hacking. Unfortunately, we don’t live in that reality and must remain scrupulous with digital security. Agentic AI only exaggerates this hacking problem — Google released several best practices to stay safe when using it.

• YouTube video content could be a hot solution for generating AI reach and citations… if your videos are optimized correctly. Can your titles and chapter markers/timestamps be formatted like popular AI prompts? Do your descriptions include enough relevant keywords and links to your site? MultiVision Digital has some top tips and tricks for you!

• Did ya hear? LinkedIn added collaborative posts!

From the Stone Pony to the Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ has a guitar case full of musical history. The Asbury Park Music Foundation provides music education to under-served youth in Monmouth County and supports local musicians through summer concerts that bring the community together. Check out their free concerts if you’re nearby!

*Natalie places the tonearm on the record player, slight scratching ensues before “You’re My Best Friend” by Queen starts playing.*

Supportive friendships can actually be healthy for you.

Talking to and being with your buddy can lower your blood pressure, lower your heart rate, and even help you deem problems to be more manageable.

So, call up your bestie and thank them for being awesome.

See ya on the flipside!

Natalie

The story behind the song if you’re interested!

Oh good, you’re here!

I gotta catch you up — digital marketing news is moving too quickly to fall behind!

• Calling my content marketers: we shouldn’t be thinking only about what people are asking AI chatbots for content development, but… which questions are worth answering through content. And while we’re at it, we should be figuring out how we can answer those questions authentically in ways that are clear and helpful to your audience.

• Google dropped a lot on us at I/O 2026. Here’s the roundup:
  • Gemini 3.5 Flash rolled out and is surpassing coding, agentic, and multimodal benchmarks. (3.5 Pro is in testing.)
  • Gemini Spark is “your personal agent” that works with you as a partner rather than just an assistant.
  • Google Search AI Mode is powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash with an intelligent Search box. Have you seen it yet?
  • Universal Cart helps you keep track of price drops, price history, insights, and stock alerts.
  • Ask YouTube can handle more complex search queries and follow-ups.

• What does Google’s search bar expansion and AI-first announcement mean for organic search traffic? This analysis of How AI Overviews Are Changing User Behavior provides some interesting perspective. The appearance of an AI Overview on the search result page (SERP) is increasing the amount of time and scrolling activity by users as they review and consider the range of information being presented. While it’s too early to gauge the analytics impact of the Google’s new AI-first search experience, we have some premonitions based on what we have already been seeing:
• Impressions in Google Search Results will continue to increase, but click-through-rates (CTR) will drop. So, Organic Search Traffic volume will be lower than previous averages.
• However, the value of the Organic Search Clicks you get will increase as the user has considered your content to be more relevant to their needs. This will result in higher overall Conversion Rates.

• On a related note, a McKinsey survey of US consumers puts “Research and understanding general topics” as the top use of AI by task. “Discover and/or decide on brands, products, or services” has the third-highest use of AI. Note, we added the italics on “decide” to emphasize the brand consideration aspect of AI per above.

• The Google May 2026 Core Update is up and at ‘em. The fact sheet that went live with the holiday weekend may have been just the right pairing to cause a shock in the SEO world. But like we say with all updates, as long as you’re following white-hat SEO best practices and other tips we’ve been sharing, you should be alright. (You can let out the breath you’ve been holding now.)

• LinkedIn wants to limit the reach on its platform for AI-generated content. This is a bit confusing, as they have been offering an AI feature to help you rewrite your content. So, let’s draw it back to what we continue to reiterate: humans need to stay in the content creation process, especially as people see through the AI facade.

Operation USA (otherwise known as OpUSA) has been helping people across the world recover from disasters, disease, and poverty since 1979. They’ve delivered over $450 million in aid for relief and development projects worldwide. Learn more and how to support: Operation USA.

…

Ellipses. Those three little dots in a line can mean so many things, but one thing they always signal is continuation… after a pause.

Dot, dot, dot is a thought, a breath, before action. 

When life feels too quick, it’s time to write an ellipsis into your day. A few deep breaths of fresh air. A head-clearing walk. A silent drive. 

Don’t forget that you write your own adventure.

Stay awesome, friends! 🌞

Natalie

Why do the best ideas come to us in the shower?

Why isn’t Walt Disney World overrun by mosquitos?

Why do cats love cardboard boxes?

Get your dose of fun facts here!

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.

Hi all,

No fear, we are here with digital marketing news and mindful ponderings for your marketing minds!

• AI Overviews help filter out low-value clicks while driving more total searches, according to Google’s Liz Reid reports in a Bloomberg podcast interview. Search queries are getting longer, more natural as people write out their whole need instead of a simplified search term. It rings up the same old marketing question, how can your brand best solve your target market’s problems?

• Open AI is now rolling out a Cost-Per-Click ad model for ChatGPT vs. the Impressions model it has been testing since February. This puts the ChatGPT ads in line with the traditional Google and Bing paid search models. The big issue for advertisers will be in determining whether the intent of people using ChatGPT is similar enough to traditional search intent to drive conversions. That said, some advertisers may just be happy with the free impressions on ChatGPT regardless of clicks.

• What do viral YouTube Shorts have in common? Modern Millie and team analyzed viral YouTube shorts and here’s what we found interesting:
  • Most have 3 or more hooks (like moving an object into frame, loud music, & zooming in).
  • While established creators did not need to use SEO techniques, SEO helped the lesser known creators gain more engagement.
  • Of the types of value videos could provide, 71% were entertaining, 12% were relatable, 11% were educational, & 6% were inspirational. Yes, entertaining videos are on top, but other value styles have a chance too.

• Meta has plans to track employee productivity to train its AI agents. Mouse movements, clicks, keystrokes, screenshots — it will all be tracked. Management says the data collected will not be used for performance reviews. That may be true but we wonder if training better AI agents may end up in reducing workforce counts.

• TMI, TL;DR — you’re familiar with these acronyms. How about TMD; NEI? Probably not because we made it up just now, inspired by this MarTech article “Too Much Data; Not Enough Insight.” Written from a B2B perspective (but easily applicable to any industry), it teaches us to leverage different layers of data to better target audiences and drive results.

Transforming the lives of foster youth is their mission. Foster Love started with one event to help one child and eventually grew into an initiative helping millions of children. From business events to donations, find ways you can help their cause: Foster Love.

My dogs are Obsessed (capital “o” for amplified emphasis) with one blue ball. 🔵

Soccer-ball-sized and crafted of hard plastic, they roll the treasured toy around the yard in a flurry of sandy noses and paws. The game has no rules, no time limit, and defensive and offensive roles are interchanged seemingly without sense.

When was the last time you were so invested that time lost its meaning? The world spun, and you were blissfully unaware, enraptured in your moment so fully.

I ask you: what brings timelessness back to your life? What is your metaphorical “blue ball”?

May you find your blue ball and the timelessness that goes with it. 

Happy Wednesday!

Natalie

Our one-and-only pun master/Flyers superfan/VP Marc Englesman’s birthday is tomorrow! 🥳

We are so lucky to have such a remarkably intelligent and wonderfully fun VP on our team — let’s give a hip hip hooray for the best VP around!

Hey y’all,

Here’s your digital marketing roundup with a little mindfulness sprinkled on top!

• 49% of US AI users say they’re likely/very likely to try a different brand if an AI assistant suggests an alternative. This in spite of lingering issues with AI as only 46% of shoppers fully trust AI recommendations and 86% still check AI information before buying.

• Our VP Marc Engelsman had a chat with Perplexity on Marketing and AI use. Catch some blatant contradictions and interesting insights on creating duplicative content, brand differentiation, and departmental silo mentality.

• Sharing is caring (is not what Google is saying right now). The EU may require Google to share search data with rival search engines, including AI chatbots, to “contest Google Search’s position.”

• ❓Did you know? Google gives users the option to select Preferred News Sources for Google to include in results. What’s even cooler is that news publishers can add those links to their website to make it easier for users to see their articles in results.

• As someone who is responsible for proving the value of marketing, what actions do you take to show success?
  • Develop stronger marketing performance tracking
  • Demonstrate the financial impact of marketing
  • Demonstrate the value of brand and customer relationships
  • Collect competitive data
  • Run experiments
  • Collect customer data
  • Offer novel customer insights
  • Would it surprise you that the above list is ranked in order as captured from the latest CMO Survey? Jaw-droppingly, demonstrating the financial impact of marketing is actually ranked second!

• A different approach to demonstrating the value of brand marketing: leverage growth in branded Google Search data. Think with Google shared a case study on how this could work.

• Control of your Insta algorithm has now expanded to your Explore and Reels feed. The question is: will people actually use it?

• Google Looker Studio changed names… again. It’s now called Google Data Studio… again.

• Dynamic Search Ads will retire in September and transition to AI Max campaigns. If you want more control over targeting, creative, and landing page settings, it’s best to switch over now.

• Ready for something crazy? Meta is on track to overtake Google in global revenue.

There are too many wonderful causes to choose from, so we are supporting them all! Here are our favorite Earth Day charities!

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

The fact that we can type onto metal and plastic and those exact symbols can be read instantaneously across the globe… That children grow from microscopic particles into fiercely individual collections of 30 trillion cells by adulthood… That we mash, spin, and recycle ideas to create infinitely new possibilities.

Every breath, every heartbeat is miraculous.

Let’s give a moment (or many) to reflect on this.

Happy Earth Day! 🌎

Natalie

Did ya know the Great Barrier Reef is the only structure that can be seen from space?

How about that there are 400 trees for every person on Earth? (And can we make that number of trees grow?)

Today has some more fun facts for your perusal.

Howdy,

It’s high time we discuss what’s going on in digital marketing.

• Do you think a 90% accuracy rate for Google AI Overviews is good enough? Or do you worry that on any given search you perform that response will be among the 10% that have errors? How often do you do additional searches to double-check the results? This recent NYTimes article explores AI Overviews accuracy and its implications. (Also, check out Marc’s witty post on this.)

• Quick SEJ Updates: 
  • The March 2026 Google Core Update is complete (looks like YouTube got some added visibility with this rollout). 
  • The Google Search Console bug inflating impressions has been fixed. 
  • John Mueller also reminds us that calling oneself an “SEO guru” is problematic (in a multitude of ways). We all need to remember that SEO is evolving, and we have to continue learning!

• We don’t fully subscribe to the dire tone presented in this article on the Reddit effect. While we’re not oblivious to Reddit’s growing citation visibility, how much that visibility is actually stealing clicks from the other citations in AI results and SERPs? Still, the suggestion for brands to leverage their subject matter experts to provide authoritative, human content in website and community content is one we fiercely advocate.

• For my techies 🖥️: Have you thought about MCP for your website? Market Context Protocol (MCP) acts as a standardized bridge for LLMs to communicate with external data, applications, and services. Basically, it helps AI chatbots get accurate information from your site through clean, semantic access. Here’s a cool video on implementing MCP across apps! Thanks to Corinna Zennig for bringing this up with us!

• While written for B2B marketers, this Martech article’s ideas of connecting messaging, user experience, and CTAs apply to all marketers including search marketers. The big difference is that searchers are a self-selecting audience with implicit or explicit intentions, so the alignment of messaging relevant to their search is critical to get the click. Then, user experience and calls-to-action alignment are needed to complete conversions.

• Claude AI now works in Microsoft Word. Check it out!

• HubSpot’s Loop Marketing strategy aims to adapt modern marketing strategy to the AI era. Their prompt library can help integrate AI into your planning.

673 million people go to bed hungry. 

30% of people worldwide are food insecure. 

32% of the world’s population doesn’t have access to a healthy diet. 

Action Against Hunger’s mission is to save the lives of children and their families. Learn about them and how you can help: Action Against Hunger.

Hey, you’re doing a good job. No ifs or buts. Accept you’re trying your best.

That’s all.

Best Wishes,

Natalie

You know when you’re listening to a randomized playlist and a song hits the exact moment perfectly. 

This piano cover by Jon Michael Ogletree is magical. 🎹🪄

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.

Hello!

How goes it in the land of digital marketing? So glad you asked!

• How do you know if Google is indexing all the content on a longer page? Google’s John Mueller confirmed you can paste a quote from the bottom of a website page into Google. If a result pops up, you’re in the clear!

• Firefox will let you block GenAI features. Yes, they are still investing in AI features, but they know some people are not on board with AI. That’s a broader lesson in itself — How can you accommodate the people in your brand’s audience who are not thrilled with AI?

• The Feb 2026 Discover Core Update will be prioritizing locally relevant content while reducing clickbait. You may see some fluctuations or you may not… as always, we’ll keep an eye on it.

• LinkedIn posts (not just articles) are ranking on Google now, so keep optimizing your posts, y’all!

• Why isn’t leadership as thrilled with social meda results as you are? Have you tried really telling the story… picking out the most important metrics without being granular… leading with patterns instead of volume? This article from Later is a delightful refreshed take on data storytelling.

• YouTuber Modern Millie released an excellent 2026 social media trends breakdown with predictions. One of which was how the algorithm reset/preferences function may become more widespread. WHAT THIS MEANS: Creators and brands must be clear what their content is and who they are creating it for. How do you do that? *cough cough* Social SEO.

• Super Bowl 2026 Ads. Some were okay. Others were meh. In terms of the social scoreboard, Pepsi got the most mentions. What was your favorite ad?

Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) “promotes affordable housing with supportive services to ensure everyone has a safe home.” They are working to solve homelessness nationwide with supportive housing solutions including offering low-cost loans to affordable housing developers and consulting to communities in launching supportive housing. Check them out: Corporation for Supportive Housing.

AI can’t experience a warm cookie given to a weary traveler at a hotel.

Nor can AI fully understand the impact that moment had on the traveler’s mind for years after.

Generosity goes far for brand loyalty, and leadership has to trust in its power without knowing the exact ROI. Reid Holmes describes this beautifully in their Martech article “The brand moments algorithms will never understand.”

Zoom out of marketing for a bit: Generosity goes a long way (period). Helping someone, paying for another’s coffee or holding the door, could have profound impacts on how another’s day unfolds. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of kindness to reset another’s mood. 😊

Ciao!

Natalie

Tell someone that they’re doing a good job today, and see how it impacts their mood 🙂