Google Ads Introduces Local Customer Optimization
Google Ads brings Local Customer Optimization to Performance Max and easier Store Sales measurement to help retailers drive and measure in-store purchases.
Latest
The AI Citation Mistake: Optimizing For Google, Not For Sources
Page-one rankings don’t earn AI citations. Learn which sources ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini trust in your industry, and how to get published by them.
InMotion Cloud Debuts Fixed-Price Managed Cloud
InMotion Cloud launches a fixed-price Managed Private Cloud built on bare metal, with predictable monthly rates, fixed egress, and U.S.-based support.
When Attribution Looks More Precise Than The Data Behind It
Modeled data now fills the gaps left by signal loss, and mistaking estimates for measurements can lead to costly budget misallocation.
Some Sites Use llms.txt Like robots.txt, Common Crawl Finds
Common Crawl analyzed 584,107 llms.txt files and found most came from templates, many had no links, and some carried crawler rules the format can’t enforce.
6 Months Into ChatGPT Ads, Advertisers Still Don’t Know What ‘Good’ Looks Like
Advertiser data now spans single-digit to $22 CPCs, but ChatGPT Ads still lacks auction insights, industry benchmarks, and reliable audience data to judge performance.
Harvard Found The Public Has Little Objection To AI Taking Search Marketers’ Jobs
Harvard scored 940 occupations on how morally objectionable the public finds automating them. Search marketing scored low at 2.31 out of 7
Your Biggest AI Search Risk Is Conflicting Information About Your Brand
Publishing more content won’t fix what AI gets wrong about your brand. Too many versions of the truth is the real problem.
Search Console AI Reports Go Global, Mueller On Recovery – SEO Pulse
Google says Search Console AI reports are now worldwide, and John Mueller weighs in on recovery timing, markdown for AI crawlers, and sitemap cache-busting.
Some Sites Use llms.txt Like robots.txt, Common Crawl Finds
Common Crawl analyzed 584,107 llms.txt files and found most came from templates, many had no links, and some carried crawler rules the format can’t enforce.
Google’s New Weather AI In Search Continues Shift Away From 10 Blue Links
Google’s latest Search integration is another step to a future where users get things done without traditional search results.
Google Says Ranking Recovery Takes Months After SEO Issues Are Fixed
Google explains why fixing what caused a ranking drop doesn’t necessarily mean rankings will come back anytime soon.
AI Slop Cleanup Job Listings Up 87%, Report Says
The Guardian reports AI cleanup listings are up 87%, while freelancers say clients lowball the work.
Google AI Mode Prices Differ From Product Carousel For Same Items
Data finds Google AI Mode rarely shows the same products as the regular results carousel, and often lists a different seller when it does.
Google Responds To Sitemap SEO Technique That Forces Daily Crawling
Google’s Mueller comments on a sitemap SEO method that forces search engines to crawl and index web pages every day.
InMotion Cloud Debuts Fixed-Price Managed Cloud
InMotion Cloud launches a fixed-price Managed Private Cloud built on bare metal, with predictable monthly rates, fixed egress, and U.S.-based support.
Harvard Found The Public Has Little Objection To AI Taking Search Marketers’ Jobs
Harvard scored 940 occupations on how morally objectionable the public finds automating them. Search marketing scored low at 2.31 out of 7
Your Biggest AI Search Risk Is Conflicting Information About Your Brand
Publishing more content won’t fix what AI gets wrong about your brand. Too many versions of the truth is the real problem.
Search Console AI Reports Go Global, Mueller On Recovery – SEO Pulse
Google says Search Console AI reports are now worldwide, and John Mueller weighs in on recovery timing, markdown for AI crawlers, and sitemap cache-busting.
Getting Your Product Into ChatGPT Isn’t The Hard Part, Getting It Through Checkout Is
Getting surfaced in ChatGPT is the easy half. Three checks every retailer should run before connecting a fourth agentic commerce protocol.
People Aren’t Leaving Google For AI. They’re Using Both
Research shows how people can keep using Google while making fewer traditional searches and clicking through to fewer websites.
6 Months Into ChatGPT Ads, Advertisers Still Don’t Know What ‘Good’ Looks Like
Advertiser data now spans single-digit to $22 CPCs, but ChatGPT Ads still lacks auction insights, industry benchmarks, and reliable audience data to judge performance.
What Happens To PPC When You Stop Managing Google Ads Through Google Ads
As agents and MCP connectors take over PPC management outside the Google Ads UI, this piece maps the risks and the governance needed to avoid.
FTC Sues Amazon Over Alleged $20 Billion Advertising Surcharge Scheme
FTC and 22 states sued Amazon over alleged changes to its ad auctions that the agency says overcharged advertisers by more than $20 billion.
Google Ads Is Automating More Decisions, Your Measurement Needs To Get Better
As Google Ads automates more decisions, advertisers must define success beyond platform metrics, tracking leads and sales through to actual business outcomes.
Why Running YouTube Ads Like Search Will Burn Your Budget
Before funding YouTube Ads, businesses must fix attribution, build skip-proof creative, budget for algorithmic calibration, and simplify offers to one clear promise.
How To Advertise In Google AI Mode For Ecommerce
Google generates AI Mode ads directly from your product feed, not your ad copy. Here’s which Merchant Center attributes decide whether your products get chosen.
Your Biggest AI Search Risk Is Conflicting Information About Your Brand
Publishing more content won’t fix what AI gets wrong about your brand. Too many versions of the truth is the real problem.
Product Pages Get 24% Of AI Citations, Reddit & YouTube 4%
Ten Speed’s citation study shows product pages beating Reddit nearly six to one for B2B buyers, verified only after six pointed fact-check questions.
AI Slop Cleanup Job Listings Up 87%, Report Says
The Guardian reports AI cleanup listings are up 87%, while freelancers say clients lowball the work.
SEOs Are Becoming The Tools Of Their Tools – The AI Slop Backlash
Platforms like Spotify and LinkedIn are cracking down on AI slop. SEOs face a choice: treat AI as a shortcut or as an editorial assistant.
How To Audit Publisher Websites In 2026
A practical framework for auditing publisher websites in 2026, covering technical SEO, content quality, E-E-A-T, and entity consistency across passive and active discovery channels.
AI Mode Queries Are 3X Longer – Why Your Page Should Lead With The Answer
One year of AI Mode data shows people asking questions, not typing fragments, which is why the lead-first paragraph now beats the narrative arc.
Generative AI
The AI Citation Mistake: Optimizing For Google, Not For Sources
AI Visibility For Local Businesses: How To Get Recommended By ChatGPT & AI Overviews In 90 Days
Some Sites Use llms.txt Like robots.txt, Common Crawl Finds
6 Months Into ChatGPT Ads, Advertisers Still Don’t Know What ‘Good’ Looks Like
Harvard Found The Public Has Little Objection To AI Taking Search Marketers’ Jobs
Guide
6 Ways To Prepare Your Business For AI In 2026
This checklist, created from CallRail’s October 2025 survey of 600 small-to-midsize businesses, walks you through six areas to implement AI that can:
- Personalize prospect experience.
- Deliver more targeted ads and identify top performing channels.
- Turn that data into stronger, more accurate campaigns that generate more qualified leads.
Google To Bring New Video Understanding Tech To Ask YouTube
By Matt G. Southern
Google says a new Gemini system that inspects frames, audio, and transcripts on demand will power Ask YouTube on video watch pages.
YouTube Says Bigger Thumbnails Drove More Long-Form Views
By Matt G. Southern
YouTube’s Todd Beaupré says the desktop homepage redesign with larger thumbnails drove more long-form engagement despite showing fewer videos at once.
Facebook Groups Are Google’s No. 2 Forum Source
By Matt G. Southern
Ahrefs data shows public Facebook Group posts appear in 38% of Google’s Discussions and forums results, passing Quora and trailing only Reddit.
ChatGPT Searches Individual Subreddits By Name
By Suganthan Mohanadasan
Reddit still wins ChatGPT citations where a forum is the best source. Two captures, four days apart, show what actually decides the credit.
Why Running YouTube Ads Like Search Will Burn Your Budget
By Sarah Stemen
Before funding YouTube Ads, businesses must fix attribution, build skip-proof creative, budget for algorithmic calibration, and simplify offers to one clear promise.
How Google AIOs Use Facebook, Instagram & TikTok From 300 Million US Searches
By Lemuel Park
Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok earn AI citations for different queries, rewarding precise answers over large audiences.