New data provided to Search Engine Journal shows that the sites Google is ranking in AI Overviews varies by time and industry, offering an explanation of volatility in AIO rankings. The new research shows what industries are most impacted and may provide a clue as to way. AIO Presence Varies Over Time and By Industry. … Read more
A study by the video hosting platform Adilo revealed common factors shared by high-ranking YouTube videos. The research analyzed over 1.6 million videos, focusing on 300 that ranked in the top three for competitive non-local keywords across ten industries. Authored by Chinasa Ferderick and Felix Johnson, the study offers insights for businesses aiming to improve … Read more
YouTube revealed plans to update how mid-roll advertisements function, starting May 12. The update focuses on showing more ads at natural breakpoints in videos while reducing interruptive ad placements that can lead to viewer abandonment. Key Changes to Mid-Roll Ad Placement YouTube will prioritize placing mid-roll ads at natural break points, such as scene transitions … Read more
As a marketing consultant, I work on client accounts and ensure their marketing is working (i.e., making money for the business). To gauge marketing success, I particularly like two benchmarks: the cost per lead benchmark (CPL) and the customer acquisition costs benchmark (CAC). These benchmarks are helpful for everyone in business to know, but especially … Read more
This post was sponsored by Bluehost. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own. Is my website ready for 2025’s tech and SEO changes? How can I keep my site fast, secure, and user-friendly? What makes a hosting provider future-proof? In 2025, the extent to which you adapt to emerging technologies, changing user … Read more
We’ve all heard the phrase, “The customer’s always right.” It’s a common mantra in customer service and hospitality – and, I’d argue, should carry over into the world of SEO as well! After all, we SEO pros are in the business of not only pleasing Google but also appealing to the needs and interests of … Read more
If you’ve seen the award-winning HBO show “Succession,” you know how dramatic and challenging it can be to adequately succession plan for the next generation of business leaders. I’ve personally worked at companies that took succession planning seriously, and those that didn’t, and the difference was stark. According to this 2023 report, “three years is … Read more
OpenAI published a new write-up about elevated errors in ChatGPT that significantly increased failed conversation attempts. The issue was caused by a misconfigured internal experiment. According to OpenAI: “On February 19, 2025, from 9:48 AM to 11:19 AM PT, ChatGPT experienced a service degradation, leading to a significant increase in failed conversation attempts. This resulted … Read more
Google’s John Mueller answered a question on Reddit about a seemingly false ‘noindex detected in X-Robots-Tag HTTP header’ error reported in Google Search Console for pages that do not have that specific X-Robots-Tag or any other related directive or block. Mueller suggested some possible reasons, and multiple Redditors provided reasonable explanations and solutions. Noindex Detected … Read more
As search engines become more AI-driven with Overviews and the rise of large language models (LLMs), organic search is still one of the most significant brand touchpoints. Whether through Google Search or AI-powered tools, a user’s first interaction with your brand often comes from these online results unless they’ve encountered your out-of-home (OOH) advertising, such … Read more
A new analysis predicts that the number of reported vulnerabilities will reach record highs in 2025, continuing the trend of rising cybersecurity risks and increased vulnerability disclosures. Analysis By FIRST The analysis was published by the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), a global organization that helps coordinate cybersecurity responses. It forecasts almost … Read more
New research of over 16 million webpages shows that Google indexing rates have improved but that many pages in the dataset were not indexed and over 20% of the pages were eventually deindexed. The findings may be representative of trends and challenges that are specific to sites that are concerned about SEO and indexing. Research … Read more
Six years ago, I led a website content overhaul that nearly derailed when the product team and sales department had completely different ideas about our messaging priorities. Despite my experience with content strategies, I made a rookie mistake — I hadn’t created a stakeholder map. That experience pushed me to develop a systematic approach to … Read more
If your Instagram profile looks a little different, you’re not alone. Instagram is rolling out a new 4:5 aspect ratio for post previews, replacing the classic 1:1 square grid. This means posts now appear taller, bringing the profile grid in line with the vertical-first format already used for feed posts and Reels. 0:00 /0:11 1× … Read more
The contracting phase of an influencer marketing partnership might not be the most exciting step, but it’s essential for setting expectations and protecting both parties. When done right, it’s a straightforward process. But legal bottlenecks—like heavy redlines and lengthy approvals—can quickly turn it into a headache. A well-structured, flexible influencer contract template can cut through … Read more
A recent analysis by xfunnel.ai examines citation patterns across major AI search engines. The findings provide new insight into how these tools reference web content in their responses. Here are the must-know highlights from the report. Citation Frequency Differs By Platform Researchers submitted questions across different buyer journey stages and tracked how the AI platforms … Read more
I’ve been in content marketing for over a decade, and let me say that it’s never been this hard to rank highly in search. The reason is that there’s a lot of content out there — Google says that it indexes “hundreds of billions of webpages,” which take up over “100,000,000 gigabytes in size.” With … Read more
TikTok, including Douyin in China, earned $6 billion in in-app purchases last year, more than double any competitor, according to Sensor Tower’s Q4 Digital Market Index. This marked a 36% increase from the previous year, showcasing TikTok’s growing financial dominance in mobile commerce. Mobile App Market Growth Global in-app purchase revenue reached $39.4 billion in … Read more
