Howdy,

Hold onto your hats — we’ve got some digital marketing news for ya!

• Can a fake brand win at AI search? Apparently, it can and did… in the first month of an experiment done by SE Ranking. Granted, most citations were for branded queries that the fake website explicitly answers. Lots of interesting insights:
  • Perplexity started citing them first, but not always their brand pages.
  • Deep guides (5,000–6,000 words), Review articles, and Comparison (“vs”) articles were the strongest performing content formats.
  • In this experiment, clustering topical articles on a page did not generate AI citations.

The wrap up: AI bots are working to provide the best answers, they just don’t always know when the sources are bogus. It’s up to us to provide the best answers by staying on top of AI optimization best practices.

• Scaling AI companywide is no small feat. McKinsey released some intriguing questions to ask your company before jumping onto the AI train.

• Brands that clearly use AI-generated content in their marketing — what do you really think about it? Pause while you think. Now, take a look at this recent EMARKETER Chart of The Day. The majority of respondents to that question were neutral. Those who said, “it would make them trust the brand less” (31%) far exceeded those who said “it makes them trust the brand more” (7%).

• YouTube is testing a “conversational search experience” for Premium users. Basically, YouTube’s lil AI bot is going to assemble info for you so you don’t have to pilfer it from a bunch of videos. YouTube SEO can only help here, y’all.

• Speaking of social SEO, here’s SocialFly’s article on TikTok SEO, including info on keywords, hashtags, engagement, and trending audio/formats. 

• Influencer marketing — what can your brand do to make the most of your campaigns? Offering creative freedom, clear communication, and growth opportunities are great places to start! What makes influencers stay includes compensation, audience feedback, and a positive brand relationship. 

• Creators… in the C-Suite? Oh yes, well, popular creators are naturally tapped into culture and trends. The key to making this work is alignment on compensation and having the brand/creator/audience fit.

Black Girls CODE is teaching thousands of young women to lead and innovate in the tech/science/math space. Since 2011, BGC has been helping to improve the pipeline for girls of color in tech. The organization has chapters across the globe, including New York, Seattle, and South Africa. Learn how and why this organization needs your support: Black Girls CODE.

I started doing a mindfulness breathing exercise from Thich Nacht Hanh.

“As you breathe in, count 1 in your mind, and as you breathe out, count 1. Breathe in, count 2. Breathe out, count 2. Continue through 10, then return to 1 again…. When the count is lost, simply return to 1 and keep trying until you can keep the count correctly.”

Simple, right? Well, when the pressures of life kick in, staying mindful long enough to get to 10 can be challenging.

I’ve found it to be a stress gauge. The lower my count is, before my mind wanders off into the woods of things past and upcoming, the more I restart the exercise. My goal is to get to 10 at least twice without restarting.

Days with more restarts signal when your mind needs mindfulness most. So, be especially patient, loving, and curious at those times — as they tend to be when we learn the most about ourselves.

You got this 😎

Natalie

It’s the season of the mosquitos. 

Here’s a super-easy, organic mosquito control method for your yard.

Ya welcome.

Hey y’all,

Digital marketing news going live in 3, 2, 1…

• Which AI-driven shifts in consumer behavior will most impact digital advertising over the next 2-3 years? EMARKETER offers survey results that puts “Reduced use of traditional search engines like Google” at the top of the list. Note it’s only saying reduced use not that AI is going to replace search. It’s really just more reinforcement of the need to have a complementary SEO/SAIO strategy.

• How are in-house marketers preparing for AI search? “Creating content designed for AI and conversational search” tops the list. One other thing popped out to us — “Agency professionals are likewise preparing for AI changes to search, to an even greater extent than their in-house marketer counterparts.”

• Did ya hear “Apple is finally upgrading Siri, and Google Gemini will power it“? Can you say “Siri search SAIO” 3x fast?

• The “TikTok Next” report predicts 2026 will be ruled these 3 trends:
  • Reali-TEA – it’s not about perfection, but real experiences
  • Curiosity Detours – people will try to learn and grow their knowledge/skills on TikTok
  • Emotional ROI – brands will need to give consumers more of a “why to buy” that is conscious of emotional ROI as well as financial cost
  • Get the summary or the full report. 

• Another trends report? You betcha! This one is for PPC in 2026. The big takeaway is “pairing rapid AI advancements with strong fundamentals and human oversight,” which seems to be a broader echo of business initiatives. Keep the user in mind and AI features in control.

• “71% of US marketers say establishing ethical and privacy standards should be the top priority when preparing for a future where consumers delegate tasks to AI agents.” Makes sense, does it not? In the same survey 53% of marketers are optimizing content for conversational AI. (Who’da thunk?)

Their vision: a world without type 1 diabetes (T1D). Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research and has been actively searching for a cure since 1970. In addition to research, they offer many resources to those affected by the disease. See how you can help: Breakthrough T1D.

🌳 Deciduous trees lose their leaves for dormant periods, protecting themselves from cold damage.

🦔 African hedgehogs and crocodiles stay inactive in a cool spot during hot, dry seasons.

🐸 Wood frogs freeze solid for up to 8 months of the year.

Nature knows the kind of rest she needs for recovery.

This is proof enough that you need rest, too. And by rest, I don’t just mean sleep. (Learn about the other types of rest in the P.S.)

Good [insert the time of day you’re reading this] and good luck with it all!

Natalie

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith defines 7 types of rest: 

1. Mental
2. Spiritual
3. Emotional
4. Social
5. Sensory
6. Creative
7. Physical

To be your most productive, not-burned-out self, you need to first figure out your rest deficit. If you’re solving problems at work and home, you can schedule breaks throughout the day to close your eyes and breath for mental and sensory reprieve.

The TED Talk is worth a watch.

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)

Hey y’all,

I’m fresh back from the digital marketing grapevine — here’s what I got for ya!

• It’s funny how the universe sends the same message twice — this time about B2B sales leads. The first story: “B2B Marketers’ Lead Quality Assessment” presents survey results showing only around 35% of B2B marketers are fully confident in their lead data. The exception cited in the story is that confidence level in leads generated via content syndication are high, with 68% rating lead quality as exceptional or very good. Naturally, we automatically made the connection between content syndication and SEO that help searchers find that content. And then this story popped up: “The B2B SEO Trap: Why High-Intent Visibility Can Still Underperform.” Note the underperformance is in immediate sales, not in terms of visibility that enhances brand performance in the long term. SEO is still considered a very valuable tool for helping B2B marketers drive sales that typically have longer customer journeys.

• Search Engine Land published a summary of a study done under the banner “Generative AI is changing search, but Google is still where people start.” Before you get too excited, the survey consisted of remote usability with just nine participants in North America and the UK. Two conclusions are worth noting though: 
  • 1. Google is a habit and users still rely on it in addition to AI search. No one in the survey relied solely on AI for information needs. 
  • 2. Some users are starting to refer to ChatGPT as simply “chat.” Not sure “chat” will become the verb “google” has for search but we at DBE are calling ChatGPT the “Google” of AI search bots due to its dominance in driving visitors to client websites.

• A few days ago our team was wondering where the little “SearchGPT” button went on the ChatGPT page. Lo and behold, this article comes out: ChatGPT is sending less traffic to websites – down 52% in a month. Though, reddit traffic is up (makes sense because it uses Google rankings and we all know how Google is diggin’ on Reddit). Check out the LinkedIn post from Josh Blyskal.

• The latest Meta whistleblow? A former Meta employee: Meta artificially boosting Shops Ads Performance but counting shipping and taxes as sales and subsidizing auctions in the U.K. Without the fees and taxes, Shops Ads perform no better than traditional ads. Food for thought.

• Hashtag limits? Oh yeah. TikTok has that now. Only 5 per post.

Being connected to nature reduces stress for most people. For kids, the outdoors can be a place of possibility, play, and imagination. OAK’s mission is to advocate for equitable and readily available opportunities for children, youth, and families to connect with the outdoors. Learn about their cause and how you can support them: Outdoors Alliance for Kids.

Tussling and maneuvering swiftly about my office, my dogs are in a playful kerfuffle over a toy. 

They keep jamming into the backs of my legs (by accident) as I work at my standing desk.

Watching them run their 27th circle around my office chair, I notice something. If I push it back three feet, they don’t swipe me nearly as much. 

Are there any office chairs in your life? And can you move it 3 feet to make things a little easier on yourself?

I’m not sure if you know this, but you’re pretty great. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Natalie

The short answer? A seemingly unending amount. Here’s a list of the ones we think are legit:

SAIO/SEO Glossary.

Think fast! ⚡

We’ve got a quick quiz to test your knowledge on SEO/SAIO made by our own Marc Engelsman. See how you did in the P.S.!

1. In one of the stories we covered, it was suggested that “Relevance is the new ranking signal” for AI-driven search optimization as AI engines don’t use ranking algorithms like traditional search engines. What acronym did we suggest to include relevance as a content quality rating guideline factor?
a. E-E-A-R-T
b. E-E-A-R-T-H
c. H-E-E-A-R-T
d. OMG, please not another SEO/SAIO acronym

2. What percentage of U.S. Adults say they are “likely” to use an AI tool to comparison shop?
a. 43%
b. 44%
c. 45%
d. I get the picture. Even if I’m wrong, I’m very close and deserve credit.

3. What percentage of AI search traffic comes from desktop users?
a. 90%
b. 70%
c. 50%
d. Who uses desktops anymore?

4. What is “Index Bloat”?
a. When your website is indexed, but it has no views.
b. When your page is indexed, but it has no views.?
c. When your website has duplicate pages indexed.
d. When you get indigestion because your pages aren’t indexed.

5. Google recently rolled out its AI Mode to all U.S. users and announced AI Mode traffic is now being included in Search Console Performance reports. What aspect about the GSC announcement did we have issue with?
a. Follow-up questions within AI Mode will be counted as new queries.
b. Position calculations in AI Mode work the same way as regular Google SERPS.
c. AI Mode traffic is included as part of your search totals and can not be filtered separately.
d. Wait, is it Google AI Mode or Google Al Overviews?

• A new Google Core Update was released on Monday and will take about 3 weeks to complete. We’ll let you know more what we see as we go along!

• SEO data can be used for more than just SEO analysis — it can provide insights into your business, the market, website user experience, and competition.

• Did you know your site can outrank AI Overviews for position 1? In fact, it’s happening 12.4% of the time which is more than a month ago at ~2%. This could be in response to user behavior. If the user finds the link more helpful, that link may start outranking AI Overviews.

• Anthropic, creator of Claude AI, trained its AI on purchased copies of books and a federal judge ruled that it was… (drumroll 🥁) fair use! This sets a precedent for other AI companies looking to make transformative works from purchase content. However… the millions of books they pirated for training is probably not fair use, but that’s for a separate case on another day….

• X is really turning away from its old friend the hashtag. Hashtags are now banned in promoted posts.

• When a coworker threatens to quit if the coffee machine isn’t fixed, no one believes them… just like marketers don’t think TikTok will be banned. Three delayed bans are quite an optimistic sign.

For every therapist in the U.S., there are about 350 people in need of mental health support. With such an inundated system, there has to be another more attainable solution. Give an Hour 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 checkout their website.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

As I write this, I’m sitting looking out a window, watching the tree waves in the wind through my peripherals, and wondering why I can’t spew any thoughtful words onto my screen.

Diving further into this thought, I realize we are not supposed to have something to say all the time. Sometimes, the moment is supposed to say something to us. Wrapped up in the cocoon of our own internal world, we forget the outside world is always waving us back to presence.

Have a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious day, y’all!

Natalie

1. c ) H-E-E-A-R-T for Human-Experience-Expertise-Authority-Relevance-Trust. It’s a mouthful so you see why, in this case, the acronym is faster and easier to use.
2. b) 44%. But we suspect the number is even higher today as the poll was conducted in April.
3. Believe it or not, it is a) 90%. It kinda makes sense when you think about mobile user experience and the likely intent of a mobile search.
4. When your page is indexed, but it has no views. Watch the Moz video to learn how to avoid indigestion when this happens.
5. AI Mode traffic is included as part of your search totals and can not be filtered separately. But give yourself credit anyhow as we also have issues with answers a) and b).

Hi friends,

Are you ready for some digital marketing? (You: YES!) Well, let’s go!

• Two Google AI Mode stories this week:

• • First, the Google AI Mode roll out to all US users appears to be happening now (see pic below).
  • Second, Google is now including AI Mode traffic data in Google Search Console reporting. But the traffic is getting wrapped in with your existing totals and not appearing as a separate category that can be filtered. Time will tell how or even if Google will ever open its AI data doors.

• Google’s documentation around AI Mode also stated, “The best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI features in Google Search.” It is unclear if the use of “relevant” was an intended word choice given the growing importance of “Relevance” as a key guideline for ranking. (Remember H-E-E-A-R-T?)

• There is nothing new in this article about “How to get started with AI Optimization…” that we haven’t already covered here over the past two years… EXCEPT for this nugget buried in the middle: “ChatGPT relies on Google.com more than other sites.” And by a lot according to the accompanying chart. The clear implication is SEO success can help with SAIO success.

• Building a WordPress website soon? Planning saves you time in the long run. This article from Search Engine Journal gives you a great hopping off point. Also, here are a few tips I’ve picked up throughout the years:
  • Plan SEO titles/tags for major pages BEFORE putting your content on the site. It saves you the hassle of editing it later.
  • Generally assemble the elements on your pages and then put your content in. After you’re done there, you can start playing with designs, animations, etc. (Do it vice versa, you’ll find you’ve perfected the title animation, but didn’t leave any room for the date and author bar… or the actual article text… the thing people visit your page for.)
  • If you have a unique issue, 9/10 times there’s a free/low-cost plugin for it. Make sure it is compatible with your theme and has been updated frequently! Some of my favorites are Yoast (SEO), Redirection (automatically redirects pages when URLs change), and ShareThis Share Buttons (for social sharing).

• Curious about TikTok and Insta influencers in 2025? SocialFly just released an Influencer Benchmark Report comparing Influencers tiers from nano (5k-10k followers) to macro (250K-2M followers). Where should you be focusing your influencer marketing efforts? It depends on whether you want higher engagement rates or view rates.

• TikTok is expanding its Symphony suite of GenAI tools, one of which converts static pictures to 5-second videos. Adobe Express is also offering social content creation in partnership with TikTok. Check it out: TikTok GenAI.

Improved access to health for those in underprivileged areas and/or disaster situations… that’s the mission of Heart to Heart International. Through hygiene kits, disaster response, medical care, supplies, medications, and more, this charity works to improve healthcare access in the U.S. and abroad. Learn more: Heart to Heart International.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

Why do we need to be the best?

The greatest driver… the high-performing athlete… the smartest in the room… the board game master… who can fix anything while balancing the world on their shoulders.… Yes, applying ourselves is the key to growth, but, scientifically, making mistakes increases the “activation of the neural circuits that increase alertness” in our brain… helping us learn. We don’t stretch ourselves by being the best of anything. In fact, that’s how we stagnate.

Growth doesn’t always come from winning — it stems from learning.

Until Next Time!

Natalie

Two-ingredient watermelon sorbet? Yes please — check out this super-easy viral recipe!

Hiya,

Making sure you know this: you’re awesome. In spite of all the obstacles, you are here and you are still kickin’. That’s something to be celebrated.

Anywho, here’s the marketing news you came for….

• Google is reworking its search engine by making LLMs a bigger part of the process from figuring out what you’re asking to showing you results. These AI models can understand questions better and give you quick, easy-to-read answers, but they take more computing power. In sum, the line between traditional search and GenAI chatbots is going to get very vague soon.

⏳ Let’s do a quick quiz on AI Overviews. Ready, set, GOOOO!

1. How often would you say AI Overviews appear in Google search results?
   a) 13% b) 23% c) 33% d) 43%
2. What percentage of an AI Overview does a searcher actually read?
   a) 10% b) 20% c) 30% d) 40%
3. How often do AI Overviews link back to Google search results?
   a) 13% b) 23% c) 33% d) 43%

Answers & support for why AI Overviews should still be a target for SAIO (Search AI Optimization):

1. AI Overviews only show in about 13% of all Google searches. 13% of 8.5 billion searches is still a ton of eyeballs even after factoring the drop off at the 30% read rate.
2. The answer is 30% with limited interaction with cited resources. SAIO is designed to target all generative AI answer engines not just AI Overviews (like SEO best practices are designed to target Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, etc.).
3. If you guessed 43%, you were right. When coordinating a combined SEO/SAIO strategy, you have a good chance of showing up in those AI Overview links back to Google search results.

• TikTok has added more accessibility features like “alt-text for photos, enhanced text presentation options, and variable color contrast.” It’s a reminder that accessibility is necessary, but unfortunately, so easily forgotten. Make sure your websites, apps, etc. are created with accessibility in mind.

Adventure is for everyone.

Adaptive Adventures’ vision is to ensure all individuals with physical disabilities have access to participation in outdoor sports regardless of their location, equipment needs, or economic status. As a member of the REI Cooperative Action Fund, they are an organization working to make outdoor activities inclusive to all! Learn more about their mission and programs: Adaptive Adventures.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

Saying “yes” too often will lead to an unavoidable “no.”

Don’t get yourself to that point of burnout. Notice when things are piling on, and reclaim time you need for you.… That means saying “no” to the optional things and accepting that it’s okay. 

You can’t do everything, but you can do some things. Decide wisely what those things are.

Just in case you forgot… you’re doing great.

Natalie

Did you know you could start a new doc by typing “docs.new” in the address bar? Or how about translating your work? Check out these Google Doc hacks!

Hiya,

Ready for the digital marketing scoop?

• “Search is dead, long live search!” is Danny Goodwin’s amazing opener to this SEL article. Like the internet, search is going to continue to change. GenAI is allowing information to be synthesized instead of retrieved. The analogy Goodwin uses to describe SEO vs. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization, AKA Search AI Optimization or SAIO) is that of a car and a truck. They’re different, but both vehicles get you somewhere. We have to treat SAIO and SEO as separate strategies that work together to get brand visibility.

 

• Google is automatically subscribing to your email newsletters as of April 3rd. This will be done to help Google collect and display any relevant content in search results (unless you opt out). Although alarm bells always ring whenever I hear “automatically opted-in,” I think this will be beneficial to marketers. Google is going to better represent the content you’re putting out for the world. So, don’t forget to put your high-value keywords in your newsletters!

• Hey, do you have a blog? (I know many of you do.) Check out this super simple infographic to make sure you are optimizing your blogs for SEO!

• “Make it go viral” — the one phrase that will make every social marketer cringe. Going viral can be great (sometimes), but it should not be used as a sole social strategy. Okay, so how do you balance virality and reaching your target audience? Socialfly beautifully expands on the concept of “soft viral”, which is surpassing preset benchmarks of normal performance without driving to become a global sensation. This means consistently putting out relevant, high-quality content your audience is interested in.

• 📺🧪 Previously, on The Big (TikTok) Ban Theory… The TikTok 75-day extension came to a cymbal-crash of an end where a deal was presented, then rejected by China. The deal proposed “TikTok America” would license the algorithm (instead of ByteDance being forced to sell it) and grant at least 50% of ownership to U.S. investors. In response to China’s rejection, President Trump extended the ban another 75 days on April 4. Get more details on the proposed deal in SMT and the extension in NPR.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

Let’s take a second to review how far you’ve come.

⛰️ You’ve climbed your own mountains…

🛤️ Crossed vallies, hills, and rivers…

👟Traveling miles in worn shoes that may not have fit just right…

Considering the odds, you’re here. You’re breathing and reading this little section of a newsletter. Isn’t that something to be appreciated?

Remember to be kind to yourself as well as the others moving alongside you. You know not how worn their shoe soles are from their travels.

Have a mighty fine rest of your week, y’all!

Natalie

If you caught The Big Bang Theory reference, claps for you! Here’s a clip to lighten your mood.😊

Howdy,

Got 2 minutes for 4 questions? We’d love to hear your thoughts on Perceptive Marketer!

• AI Overviews’ expansion is leading to decreased CTR on organic results, according to an AWR study. Some caveats: 1) the decreased CTR is primarily limited to searches using “terms like what, when, where, and how” where the AI Overview result is providing sufficient information that meets the search intent and 2) CTR declines vary greatly by industry with some sectors actually experiencing CTR gains.⚠️ Opportunity for marketers: answering “what/when/where/how questions” through topic pages will improve the probability of your website being a cited in AI Overviews. Lost traffic from natural search results can be recouped in AI Overviews link traffic.

• Google is rolling out “AI Mode” that “goes beyond AI Overviews with a more immersive Google Search AI interface.” It is meant to provide “more advanced reasoning, thinking and multimodal capabilities.” Right now, it is only available to Google Search Lab users who are Google One AI Premium subscribers so we are a long way away from being able to gauge the potential impact of this option in terms of SAIO.

• Alibaba released a rival to DeepSeek. [insert gasp here] Meet Qwen 2.5 Max, and she’s already outperformed DeepSeek’s V3 model. What are people saying about it? Seems lots of folks are excited about its capabilities for being 20 times smaller than other AI models. Get in-depth news on LinkedIn.

• 36% of content and creative professionals struggle with inconsistent metrics across platforms, while 34% of them face a lack of collaboration across teams/functions. At least with DBE, our SEO/SAIO implementation rides partly on the optimized content that gets implemented so the creative team shares in the measurable success generated.

• Redirecting 404s to your homepage — is it a good idea? NOPE, don’t do it. Google’s SEO Office Hours series states that 404s serve a purpose. 301 redirecting to your homepage provides a poor user experience. (It’s super confusing… like you’re driving without navigation and you pass the same Wendy’s for the third time…. Did you just make another circle? Ugh.) Check out more episodes in the series here.

• Nearly two-thirds of adults are not on board with AI-generated ads. Surprise, surprise. With AI, comes mistakes… like this cheesy ad from Google. With AI, comes a copyright infringement gray area. AI is a superpower that must be wielded with caution in marketing.

• Time ticks away on TikTok negotiations. With only a month left for a deal, confusion still ensues as to who the U.S government has appointed to lead the discussions and whether another ban extension could be enacted (considering the first extension wasn’t legal).

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

Allen Stone has done it again in his song, “Already There”…

“Could’ve waited for a lifetime

But I’d still be waiting

How did I find a real love inside

Could I be mistaken

It feels like Heaven’s following me

Everywhere

Who would have thought that Heaven’s all in me

It’s already there”

Patience, acceptance, love… they reside within us all. Life is wild and messy, but our own peace is following us everywhere, waiting for us to recover it.

You are awesome. Keep on keepin’ on,

Natalie

… but we’re always looking to grow! If you want to see something new in Perceptive Marketer or have some insights on what we’re doing well and what is so-so, we wanna hear it. (You won’t hurt our feelings.)

Howdy,

It’s the last week of January, but doesn’t it feel like months have passed since we celebrated the New Year? Digital marketing has been on a wildly-whippy, unpredictable ride so far!

• Last week during SEO armageddon 😱, some SEOs panicked as SEO ranking tools crashed. Instead, our VP of Strategy and SEO/SAIO, Marc Engelsman, had a different approach. See post below…

• New Google Search Quality Raters Guidelines were released. Changes focused on spam, expanding guidance, and making minor clarification changes. Get more details in Search Engine Roundtable.

• Brands are seeing valuable visits from citation links in GenAI platforms like ChatGPT search and Google Gemini. Their story also points to how brands are starting to use some basic techniques to improve their AI visibility. If you want more details on Search AI Optimization, you can always visit our SAIO Insights page.

• My favorite take away from Senthil Ayyappan’s MarketingProfs article discussing the battle between AI and authenticity in marketing: “Decide what authenticity means for you. Is it strictly human? Is it only results-based? Your answer will guide your implementation decisions.”

• Is Perplexity your favorite GenAI tool? If it is, there’s a new Perplexity Assistant for Android phones.

• The most dramatic ban — then un-ban — in history mirrored some top rom-com tropes. This “we were on a break” did not take long to turn around before we boarded the plane to other platforms. TikTok is BACK… for now. If we’ve learned anything (besides don’t put all your eggs in one basket), it’s not to react too quickly and roll with the changes as they happen.

• Instagram’s Adam Mosseri released a new series on how to leverage the platform. Here are the videos: the first is on ranking and the second is on maintaining your content eligibility for recommendations. Then, we got a shock to the system when Insta launched a new tall profile grid.

• Google Ads Performance Max (PMax) is getting a makeover. Here are things that are set to change in 2025:
  • More focus on brand consistency in ad placements
  • Negative keywords will be added to PMax campaigns
  • Video action campaigns will become Demand Gen campaigns which allow “serve personalized, visually engaging ads across YouTube, Discovery, and Gmail”
  • Full integration with GA4 for measurement across the funnel
  • More details in the Search Engine Land article.

• Econsultancy published “Eight digital and marketing trends for 2025” with detailed explanations for each. Issues covered include “marketers do less with less” (AKA staying strategic in tough times), “brands get built in fragments” (think multi-channel synergies), and “soft skills in vogue” (especially with AI taking the lead on some of the hard skills). After reading, you will get a bigger sense of how all these trends are interconnected.

• In-person marketing conferences are coming back! Think with Google offers this guide with AI-powered tips on how to maximize your time on site whether it’s to learn something, do something, meet someone, or follow-up.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

Are your shoulders climbing up to your ears?

Is your back rounded toward the screen?

Are you clenching your jaw?

We all have tension-building habits. The big question is: how aware are we of their causes and impacts? Do your shoulders climb up to your ears when you realize you’re behind on work? Are you slouching because you’re tired? Do you clench your jaw as a nervous tick?

Awareness of these habits can help us uncover how we’re actually feeling and make choices that will help us thrive.

Enjoy the last few days of the first month of 2025!

Natalie

When you stretch before exercising, your muscles retain their strength at longer lengths, but the effect will be gone after 10 minutes of inactivity! 

What does that mean, Natalie?

Learn how stretching changes your body in this 5-minute clip!

(Ted-Ed releases digestible, animated knowledge tidbits, so I also recommend subscribing.)