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 🙂

Hiya!

Thanks for stopping by. Test your knowledge and gain insight on the digital marketing industry’s hullabaloo.

We give you the category and clue/answer — you choose the question!

1. Category: SAIO for 100 points

Clue: This person said “Generative engine optimization (or whatever the new acronym is for optimizing for AI search experiences) is the same core work SEOs have always done: creating unique, valuable content for people and providing a great page experience.” What is the question?

a. Who is Danny Sulivan?

b. Who is Danny Godwin?

c. Who is Rand Fishkin?

d. Who is Marc Engelsman?

2. Category: Digital Marketing Tools for 200 points

Clue: Flodesk. What is the question?

a. What is the name Progressive uses for its Customer Relationship Management program?

b. What is the name of a new AI agent program management tool?

c. What is the name of a tool that can automatically segment your email audience?

d. What is the name of a new AI search platform?

3. Category: Content Marketing for 300 points
Clue: Fan-out Queries. What is the question?

a. What is the strategy Major League Baseball is using to get fans to take surveys?

b. What is a problem/solution approach to content that targets searchers who want more information than what AI chatbots deliver in their synthesized answers?

c. What is the name Google is testing as the AI Overviews alternative to the “People Also Ask” SERP feature?

d. What is the name WordPress is testing for expandable content block widgets for use on AI-friendly FAQ pages?

• For my visual learners, check out the diagram in this blog: Traditional Search vs. AI Search: The Side-by-Side Comparison. The graphic shows when we tend to use search engines over GenAI platforms and vice versa. Spoiler alert: The percentage use of traditional search engines dramatically exceeds use of AI search tools.

• Here’s an interesting take on How AI reads your brand and why meaning matters most. The POV, you ask? “AI systems don’t rank logos — they surface meaning. Clear, consistent signals of trust determine whether your brand appears in AI-driven recommendations.” The author believes the emphasis should be on the brand meaning over what your product does. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that reviews, user-generated content, and overall social proof matters to AI bots when they’re so important in everyday life.

• Humans still win the content race, as EMARKETER claims. Thirty-five percent of their survey respondents felt AI is not real art. There’s a caveat though: “over half (57.3%) of millennials and 49.5% of Gen Zers say knowing an ad or piece of sponsored content was created by AI makes them like it more, according to an April 2025 EMARKETER survey.” What we know: the human element enhances the trustworthiness of content in the eyes of traditional and AI search bots.

• AI’s progress on accomplishing SEO tasks has been underwhelming according to SEL. Mistaken URLs, going over character counts, and falsified reports remind us that AI can aid, but not replace, human optimizers.

• ChatGPT is showing fewer sources links in responses, especially for free users. We started seeing this in our research, but ChatGPT traffic volume in GA4 still displays upticks for our clients throughout the later half of September. Our take: people still need to fact check answers, so they will look up the supporting links.

• TikTok is staying put in the U.S., but ByteDance will have no more than 20% stake in the U.S. version. We will have to see if this slows TikTok’s growth, allowing for competing platforms time to innovate.

• Fractional CMOs and start-ups could be a match made in heaven… IF the right CMO is chosen. Lillian Pierson, P.E has an excellent article on how to find the most well-rounded CMO.

• A partnership has been struck… between the little green owl that spams your push notifications and your LinkedIn profile. You can now feature your Duolingo score on your LinkedIn profile AND it will automatically update! (To satiate your curiosity: yes, I have a 1077-day Duo streak. It’s okay — you can hold your applause. Я знаю, это впечатляет.)

• Jumping on the bandwagon is all fun and games until someone falls off. That seems to be happening with influencer marketing. A creator is a human, and humans are volatile. Brand safety should be a top priority in the influencer vetting process. 

Smile Farms has become a nonprofit leader in creating meaningful jobs in agricultural settings for adults with developmental disabilities, almost none of whom have worked before.Their founding story is super sweet, too. Jim McCann, Founder/Chairman of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc., had a brother living in Independent Group Living Home (IGHL), a residence for people with developmental disabilities, so he teamed up with the home’s CEO, Walter Stockton, to create this program. Learn more about what they’re doing: Smile Farms.

… find this week’s insights on LinkedIn 😄

Keep slaying the game, y’all!

Natalie

1: a) Danny Sullivan, Google’s former search liaison, made that quote. Though he could have been quoting Marc Engelsman who said similar things when we introduced SAIO (our acronym for optimizing for AI search experiences) over two years ago. (100 points)

2: c) Flodesk is the name of a tool that can automatically segment your email audience. (200 points)

3: b) Fan-out Queries is a problem/solution approach to content that targets searchers who want more information than what AI chatbots deliver in their synthesized answers? (300 points)

4: We wanted you to win the daily double so a), b), and d) were all correct answers. If you answered c) 63% now ask AI to answer survey questions like this then you were probably using AI to answer this quiz. (400 points)

Howdy friends,

Let’s get down to digital marketing business!

• SEO is not dead but rather the 2015 version of SEO has died and has evolved into the AI-era, as WordStream states. (Note: we already covered this “evolution” story in our recent blog). Here are some of the trends Wordstream covered:
  • Answer engines may become top non-Google traffic sources.
  • Optimizing for sales in SEO will be more important (i.e., targeting lower funnel, conversion-oriented keywords).
  • First-hand experience is becoming a critical SEO trend in 2025. (It is one of the E’s in Google’s E-E-A-T good content quality rater guidelines.)

• Where E-E-A-T may be integral for SEO success, this article suggests “Relevance is the new ranking signal” for AI-driven search optimization. Maybe we should look at adding the “R” for relevance to make the acronym “E-E-A-R-T”? And given that the E for experience has always been seen as short-hand to demonstrate “human” experience, why not go all the way to “H-E-E-A-R-T”? Got to say, it has a nice ring to it — DBE H-E-E-A-R-T’s SEO! (Credit for this awesome acronym and proceeding pun are awarded to Marc Engelman. Well done! 👏)

• Why SEO ROI Feels Like a Mirage (And How to Prove It Anyway) is a must-read article from Stephan Bajaio, co-founder of Conductor and formerly on the SEMPO Board of Directors with our own Marc Engelsman. He points out that it is a mistake to look at investments and ROI from PPC and SEO the same way. “PPC is like daytrading. Whereas SEO is more of a 401K approach.” They have different timelines, goals, and require separate measurement strategies. If you’re responsible for demonstrating the value of your SEO initiatives, read and share this perspective to provide context for your results.

• Google officially launched its stand-alone AI Mode platform to much fanfare. Read perspectives on the announcement and its potential significance from a variety of sources. Even if you don’t read the stories, the headlines provide a good idea of where AI Mode is going and you can be sure we’ll keep you up-to-date on its progress:
  • Google: AI in Search: Going beyond information to intelligence
  • The New York Times: Google Unveils A.I. Chatbot, Signaling a New Era for Search
  • Wired: With AI Mode, Google Search Is About to Get Even Chattier
  • Search Engine Land: Google launches AI Mode to all U.S. searchers with new features
  • EMARKETER: Google’s new AI Mode aims to reshape the shopping experience from discovery to purchase
  • TechCrunch: Google’s AI Mode rolls out to US, will add support for deeper research, comparison shopping, and more

• Meta plans to have fully automated ad campaigns by next year. The company said human-created ads won’t be going away. Author Andrew Hutchinson leaves us off with, “Machines can create effective ads, yes, but they have no creative sensibilities, which is where real human input will remain critical.” Advertisers will have to learn how to best optimize these tools for the best results in budget.

• Have you heard of LinkedIn’s AI-powered Accelerate campaigns? Like Meta, LinkedIn is trying to automate its advertising process by predicting audiences, optimizing bidding, placements, and ad copy. While we see these campaigns boast 42% higher cost per action, note that you’re giving up brand control to see that result. It may be great for smaller businesses, but make sure you know what you’re getting into before you dive in.

The vision? Provide bags of essential items to underserved communities. Whether giving kids school supplies, new moms with necessities, or high school grads with what they need for their post-grad dreams, Bags Without Barriers serves underserved communities in a unique and loving way!

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

Why does kindness feel like an all-or-nothing trait?

If we can’t totally dedicate ourselves to righteous causes and saving the world like the super kind people of the world, can we really own that trait?

I say yes. You may not be able to volunteer every week, but perhaps you can cook a meal for a loved one. Instead of donating hefty sums of money you may not have, maybe you donate some clothing. Viewing kindness as a near-unclimbable mountain is discouraging, so try approaching it like a series of small steps. I believe a lot of little acts of kindness will drive humanity forward faster than the gigantic one-off acts will.

Enjoy your week!

Natalie

On the note of kindness, have you read HumanKind by Brad Aronson? If you love hearing about the good being done in the world, this should be on your reading/listening list!

P.S. to the P.S. Stay tuned for a podcast on kindness from A Better Paradigm!

Howdy,

Welcome to the digital marketing rodeo where we lasso up only the best news for ya!

• While we will never know all the criteria and weightings for Google’s ranking algorithm, we continue to be grateful for the moments of transparency they provide around SEO best practices. This week’s example comes from the Updated Raters Guidelines defining “low quality content” as unoriginal in relation to competitors:
  • Content created with little to no effort
  • Contains little to no originality
  • Main content adds no additional value

While this is nothing new, it reinforces the value of creating relevant, helpful content that meets the needs of searchers.

• More news on AI Overviews’ impact from Search Engine Land’s coverage of Alphabet’s recent Q1 2025 earnings call. Here’s our take on the math presented: 
  • 2 billion people use Google search every day.
  • 1.5 billion Google search users are served AI Overviews every month.
  • 2 billion x 30 days = 60 billion every month. 
  • 1.5 billion AI Overviews served each month = 2.5% of the 60 billion users. 
  • Kinda makes AI Overviews seem less important to Google, no? Probably why they are working to get AI Mode up and running ASAP. 

• Maybe Bing isn’t that bad. That’s what some people said after participating in a study analyzing Google’s large search market share. After testing Bing for 2 weeks instead of Google,  the study found that, “After changing the default from Google to Bing, many users do not switch back, consistent with persistent inattention.” What does this mean? If Google is switched off as the default search engine, many folks may not even notice. This will become increasingly important as the DOJ decides how to remedy Google’s monopolistic practices.

• Think about the expansion of marketing platforms in the past few years alone.… HBR begs the question, “Does the Chief Marketing Officer Role Need an Update?” As digital channels and technologies continually emerge, the role gets increasingly more complex. This complexity calls for seamless customer experience across touchpoints and more cross-department collaboration.

• You may be seeing more video posts in your LinkedIn feed. You may even have noticed the video tab. To keep with the LinkedIn trend train, here are some tips on dimensions and requirements!

• Ann Handley (with inspiration from Avinash Kaushik) has an interesting way of looking at how big of a role AI should play in tasks. AI can play different roles: Utility Player (automation heavy), Wingperson (AI that works with you), Fairy Godmother (AI gives you a place to start), or as I like to call, the Benchwarmer (AI is there, but you purposely don’t use it). Plus, she gives a beautiful metaphor with her local library. Read up!

Feeding America is a national network of 200+ food banks and pantries with a goal of solving food insecurity.  They also work to implement policies that promote food security for all. Learn more about Feeding America.

Thanks to Niki Fielding for reminding me of this one!

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

I always knew there was a reason behind the songs that get stuck in our heads.

The Harvard Gazette points out some super cool reasons why:

• Repetitive songs with a longer duration of certain notes and small intervals between the notes tend to be in the defining song characteristics.
• Music and rhyming was used to remember and pass down oral histories, so we’re attuned to pick up tunes already!
• Songs associated with particular memories are especially prone to earworms.

Next time an earworm bounces around your brain, take note of the song and what it brings up. Maybe your mind is trying to tell you something (or not). You’ll never know if you don’t listen. 🙂

Have a mighty fine rest of your week!

Natalie

You might have guessed, but I’m a fiend for fun facts! This week, there’s no theme, just facts that make me chuckle. 😁

• Australia is wider than the moon.
• Allodoxaphobia is the fear of other people’s opinions.
• There were active volcanoes on the moon when dinosaurs were alive.

Hiya!

📢 Who’s ready for some digital marketing?

Alright, alright, hold the applause everyone. I know — it’s exciting, but we need quiet to read!

• “One of the biggest misconceptions in marketing is the belief that organic visibility will remain steady without ongoing SEO investment. In reality, the opposite is true. Neglecting SEO leads to declining organic visibility, a trend that has only accelerated with recent developments” in AI Search Platform usage. This Search Engine Land article says SEO is as much a defensive tactic as it is a growth tactic. At DBE, we see SEO as a growth strategy first while ongoing services both protect gains and expand visibility to drive exponential growth. 

• Domain Authority is considered an influencing factor for citations in GenAI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, according to SEJ and XFunnel. What drives increased Domain Authority and visibility? 🤔 Ding, ding, ding — it’s SEO!
  
  The article and report support the complementary mix of SEO and SAIO strategies we’ve discussed before. Namely, user-generated content citations in AI often come from platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn. We found this link early in our AI platform research and have been recommending leveraging these channels for SAIO ever since.

• Are Google Search results getting worse? We see 42% of people say Google Search is becoming less useful. This seems to be, in part, a by-product of the distrust of large tech companies in general. Some people seem to be flocking GenAI chatbots to avoid cluttered Google results, but we know that each engine offers their own perks. I think we are going to get better at finding the best search engine for our queries.

• ⚠️ Lawsuit Alert: Chegg vs. Google AI Overviews. Chegg, the online education company, is the first known company to file against Google AI Overviews for stealing content and posting unverified answers. The questions are: how will students creatively use AI to help them with their studies and how may it hurt their learning?

• Will Instagram and Reels break up? 💔 Insta has been flirting with the idea of launching its own TikTok-inspired Reels app, separate of Instagram. Social Media Today thinks this may be too big a risk for Meta to take… and I agree with them. They shifted to a Reel-dominant platform, despite negative feedback. Now, the app’s audience is accustomed to the short videos flooding their feeds. Changing it again will definitely draw a negative clapback.

• More Meta news… Meta fired about 20 employees for leaking information about unannounced product plans and internal meetings. There are a wide range of perspectives on this situation, including whether this was considered whistleblowing. Learn more from LinkedIn.

• The Marketoonist created this “AI Low Hanging Fruit” cartoon influenced by Gartner’s 2024 Hype Cycle finding that GenAI has passed the “Peak of Inflated Expectations” phase and is now entering the “Trough of Disillusionment.” Be sure to read or scroll through the story behind the cartoon to see other AI cartoons that may provide a moment of relief from hype.

• What is connected commerce? Think of it as integrating technology for a seamless online and offline shopping experience. It requires stealthy creativity. How can you push the boundaries of traditional retail without being extraordinarily invasive? It’s a great question that every retail brand should be asking.

• 🏈 Superbowl ads with characters performed better than celebrities for customer appeal, brand recognition, and commercial impact. Isn’t that a fine kettle of fish? I don’t know about you, but a character provides so many possibilities. They are whatever you make them. Sappy. Sassy. Scintillating. Check out this cast of characters that are rockin’ brand trust and building brand engagement.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

Is there something boring plaguing your life?

Perhaps it’s a part of your job or chores at home. Whatever it is… think about what makes it boring. Then flip it… what could make it better? 

Can you put a reward in place? Gamify the task? Do the work in chunks and take mental breaks between? Experiment, because there might be something fun hidden in the task that you may not see yet.

Have a nice week, y’all!

Natalie

Singing doesn’t have to be conscripted to musicians and Will Ferrell in an elf costume…. It can be for anyone who wants stress relief.

No, you don’t have to sing for an audience. Your venue can be your car or your room by yourself. Doesn’t matter if you think you’re good. In fact, it’s more fun when you let go of what you think is supposed to sound like!

Read the benefits of singing in Healthline. 🎶

DBE Perspective… 💬

Google announced the long-awaited public release of its Search Generative Experience (SGE) last week. Except it’s no longer called SGE but rather AI Overviews (apparently, SGE was its experiment name). The search marketing industry is buzzing about the launch and its potential impact. So, we thought it might be good to add our perspective in the form of an FAQ from Marc Engelman, our VP of SEO & SAIO…

Stay tuned as we conduct our own research into the next phase of Google Search!

• Sites that suffered significantly from the “Helpful Content Update” can recover search traffic losses if they fix things, according to Google’s John Mueller. What specific things to fix is not known, but our advice is to start from your perspective. Would you actually find your content useful? Then, ask someone else or a group of people in your audience. What do they have to say? 

• Tired scanning through all the various search results (Images, Videos, News, etc.) that appear above the Google search text listing? Now you can use the “Web” filter to see those text links (and maybe some text ads). The problem is that it may be hidden in the filter bar so be sure to click “More” to find it. Here’s an example of the All view vs. the Web view (pardon Marc’s home team bias). The wanted result is in green.

• Perplexity is now delivering a daily digest to those interested. Thursday’s digest was on Apple and OpenAI nearing a deal for integrating ChatGPT technology into iPhones. Buried in the third paragraph of Perplexity’s writeup is word that Apple is talking with Google about licensing its Gemini chatbot. It’s nice to see this form of a digest with multiple link citations.

• I wonder how many boring ads we’ve seen in our lifetimes – ads that were so bad that they weren’t worth the mental storage. With the death of the cookie, ads have to be more memorable and relevant than ever. Because even the best targeting goes to waste if the ad stinks worse than a triathlon athlete after the big race. This Emarketer article says to experiment and set the creative bar high!

• Emarketer shares a Hootsuite survey showing that marketers have the greatest confidence that LinkedIn delivers a positive return on investment (70% agreed). Per an Emarketer forecast, LinkedIn U.S. ad revenues are expected to rise by 13.9% this year. LinkedIn has always had strong support from B2B marketers but now it appears B2C marketers are seeing the value, too. Interesting, and not surprising, is confidence in X/Twitter is only at 30%.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

You ever get that buzzy feeling – like your brain chugged too many cups of coffee. It feels impossible to sit and get one task done.

I’ve had that feeling lately and these things have helped during the workweek:

1. Acknowledging that I’m jittery (it happens and it’s okay)
2. Then, adapting my workday to fit where I am.
   1. Put the phone out of sight. 
   2. Raise the desk to standing mode and take walking breaks to work off the extra energy.
   3. Deepen the breath and imagine metaphorically “landing” on the ground.

We are conditioned to be busy all the time. If we think we’re not productive, feelings of unaccomplishment and boredom seep in. For me, the jitters arise from the stress of being too busy. It’s a warning sign to slow down.

Yesterday was World Meditation Day, and it’s a reminder to incorporate stillness in our lives. Enjoying food without distractions. Gazing out a window. Focusing on the breath. Stillness helps us reset and crystallize our intentions. It gives us pause to appreciate the path we’re on.

Best Wishes 🙂

Natalie

Jillian Pransky, renowned yoga teacher, has a beautiful way of simplifying the art of deep listening in her book, Deep Listening: A Healing Practice to Calm Your Body, Clear Your Mind, and Open Your Heart. Recommend checking it out if you’re interested!

Hiya!

Time to turn on the digital marketing thinking caps. We’re getting ready to dive in!

• ChatGPT-4o (o standing for “omni”) rolled out on Monday, and it’s getting closer to the robot assistants we see in the movies. Read a quick summary in The Verge and get the capabilities in the OpenAI ChatGPT-4o blog. Overall, it is faster, understands more (from languages to conversational cues), and is available to free users. Note: Free users still won’t have access to the internet browsing features that are included with ChatGPT Plus subscribers.

• Now consider this other OpenAI news: “OpenAI may be getting closer to launching its ChatGPT product that searches the web and cites sources when answering questions.” We’ve seen some elements of link citation use with ChatGPT Plus prompt responses. It seems like the difference between free and Plus users will be usage limits. Here is the ChatGPT response to our query regarding its search function.

• Have you been following the US vs. Google antitrust trial? Danny Goodwin covers how the DOJ “hammered Google over search ad price manipulation” in its closing statement with 20 eye-opening slides. Read for yourself and let us know if this changes your attitude and/or investment in Google Ads.

• Here’s a head-scratcher: Search Engine Journal reports “Ex-Google CEO Implies AI Search Will Have No Links.” We’ve all seen how Google prefers to provide answers to queries without links to answers (e.g., the example for “what time is it in california” used in the article). And most of us can trust Google’s response to these simple, fact-oriented questions. But our testing of Gen AI has revealed some gaps in the accuracy of their responses that have not included source citations with links. At a time when expertise, authority, and trust (E-A-T) are touted by Google as helpful content quality signals, we don’t foresee a link-less Google AI search engine anytime soon.

• LinkedIn and Microsoft partnered to provide a new report on the AI landscape in the workforce. Unsurprisingly, 76% of global knowledge workers are using AI at work – 46% of them started using it in the past 6 months. Also, interesting to note that the top occupations using AI include content writers, graphic designers, and marketing managers. Here’s the Social Media Today overview and the full report on Microsoft.

• Skittles renovated a tiny apartment in NYC and is paying for one lucky raffle winner to live there for a year. If you haven’t seen the pics, you gotta check ‘em out!

DBE Perspective 💬

Our Director of SEO, Marc Engelsman, challenged Google Gemini, ChatGPT Plus, and Perplexity to a write-off… and even the winner had room for improvement.

Dive deeper into the findings, and read the full article: Ranking Gen AI Platforms on What They Know and How They Talk About SAIO.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

I was recently given a challenge.

Instead of the traditional “How’s your day going?” I was asked to start with “Tell me about your day.”

The traditional how’s-it-going banter consists of a yes or no answer. However, “tell me about your day” invites room for conversation – for connection. It gives an opportunity to know another on a deeper level. It goes beyond polite greeting and lets the other person know you care.

Try it sometime. You might be surprised with the responses you receive.

Keep on swimming, y’all! 🐟

Natalie

“94% of fish stocks in the US oceanic and gulf waters are not being overfished,” which is an all-time high according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration! Catch the story in Good News Network.

Howdy, friends!

January 24th is National Compliment Day, so here are some headed your way:

Good for you for expanding your knowledge and reading today. Think of 3 things you did well today. Now, out loud, give yourself a compliment for accomplishing them, no matter how big or small they are! Happy reminder that complimenting yourself is important, we believe what we hear ourselves say! 😊

Let’s hop into the digital marketing news, fellow marketing enthusiasts!

• You’ve likely heard about apps that let you take a picture of a plant and then identify it for you. Well, Google is adding those kinds of features to its search and Gen AI toolboxes. Our Head of SEO, Marc Engelsman, asked the question: Does this mean a picture is now worth a thousand keywords?! (ba-dum-tss)

DBE Perspective… 💭

Think with Google, with the help of The Behavioural Architects, has published its latest research on “how people decide what to buy while they’re in the messy middle of their purchase journey.” The research offers tips on how to boost consumer confidence (or should we say authority?) based on your website content.

For more on Brand Authority, check out our new blog post From Brand Authority to EEAT to SEO to SAIO.

DBE Perspective PART 2… 💭

Yes, there is a part 2 to your favorite segment of the WHW newsletter!

We know that SAIO and SEO work together, BUT they have different implementation strategies… one big difference is keywords. Instead of the SEO “one keyword per page rule, ”SAIO works with one topic and a few long-tail search terms. How does that work? Good question! Find out in “The SAIO Strategy: SEO Keywords vs. SAIO Topics.”

• FINALLY, LinkedIn rolls out sponsored articles. (Woohoo!) In the past, there was the problem of LinkedIn not liking you leading people to your off-platform blog, but wouldn’t let you sponsor your LinkedIn article. This is an exciting new feature to get your thought leadership content out to more people!

• With the death of the cookie, marketers are finding ways to utilize 1st-party data (maybe zero-party and second-party) data in a privacy-centric way through AI. Marketing Dive points out that large companies with massive amounts of 1st-party data will have a leg up over smaller ones. A way around this could be “data co-ops that allow entities to share data that can be used to fuel generative AI efforts.” However, if enough companies share data on this large scale, it still looks suspiciously similar to third-party cookies. We’ll have to see how it all plays out.

• Google has laid off hundreds of people specifically in the advertising sector. Many believe the support experience is going to get worse and as an agency we can attest to this.

Do Good Spotlight
🌟 Home Sweet Hudson 🌟

Once a special needs person reaches the age of 21, they are disqualified for the IDEA (federal) services they’ve used throughout their life. Home Sweet Hudson helps ease the burden of this transition for caregivers and special needs people in the Hudson County area. Learn more about them here: Home Sweet Hudson.

Don’t forget… you’re awesome! 😎

Have a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious day,

Natalie

Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys has been stuck in my head. 🎵

Did you know that high-pitched noise in the intro was created by an electric-theremin. Learn more about the song here.

And if you’re pickin’ up our good vibrations, share our WHW signup link to your buddies. 🏄

Howdy, Howdy!

Have you ever noticed how many hats we wear day-to-day? Sibling. Partner. Friend. Coworker. Volunteer. Parent. Athlete. Musician. They all could be full-time roles if we allowed them. First, give yourself a pat on the back for handling all those roles. Then, ask yourself… how’s the balance? Don’t forget about taking time for yourself to decompress. Much of the time, you can give yourself at least 10 minutes to reset (napping, taking a walk, etc.). If not, give yourself an elongated breath.

Now that we’re a little more centered, let’s put on our digital marketing hats, shall we? 🧙🏻🧙🏽‍♂️

• Search Engine Land covers Google’s new AI model “Gemini” that is being integrated with Search, Google SGE, Bard, and Ads. The article includes snippets of an interview with Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Here’s one of the quotes we found interesting:

Pichai: “Our fundamental vision is that people come to search to experience the richness and the diversity of the web and the content ecosystem. So even though with search generative experience we can expand what we do, we’re actually designing the product in a way so that people can go explore. And I think that’s what users want. I view it as a fundamental value proposition of search, so that’d be part of our goal as we evolve the product.”

So it sounds like rather than being just an answer machine, Google is still looking to connect searchers to other websites as part of their search journey. We’ll be watching closely as this AI-driven story evolves.

• Speaking of AI (as we often do), here’s a warning about how using AI for automating prospecting emails can be counter-productive. Bottom line: whatever you are using AI for, best practice is to pay close attention to the output before releasing into the real world.

• Interested in seeing B2C Marketer’s Biggest Ethical Concerns with AI? Look no further as MarketingCharts has the results of a recent survey. Not a big surprise “privacy invasion” is at the top of the list but “biased content” at the bottom?

DBE Perspective… 💭

SAIO & SEO have more in common than they seem. Parts of the strategies are strikingly different (like keyword optimization), but they both help you reach a goal of increased visibility across organic channels. Marc Engelsman takes you through the best practices and effects of SEO/SAIO on each other in “The Yin and Yang of SEO and SAIO (or is it SAIO and SEO?).”

Do Good Spotlight
🌟Home for Good Dog Rescue🌟

Home for Good Dog Rescue has saved 10,000 dogs in 11 years! 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. 💖

• We’ve talked about X’s Grok before. Did you know that it answers in a “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”- esque way… suggesting questions to ask and responding with hardy sarcasm, and real-time Tweets. Yes, this is cool, but X has its dark side of misinformation and bias. How will those play out in their new xAI?

• The global advertising market is showing positive results despite the challenging year of inflation and conflict. The overall market is expected to improve in 2024, specifically around major events like the Olympics and the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election.

• You may have seen these floating around LinkedIn… Collaborative articles are becoming increasingly popular (at least in my feed). Basically, a group of experts are invited to provide knowledge and insights on a general question. Anyone can view or interact with these articles. These are another great way to build up your LinkedIn thought leadership!

Happy Wednesday!

Natalie

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