Google executives are trying to reframe the conversation about AI-powered search features as industry data reveals significant website traffic reductions. During a recent Google Marketing Live press session, executives indicated that while clicks may be down, the visits that do happen are supposedly of higher quality. The session featured a panel including Jenny Cheng, Vice … Read more
Mordy Oberstein, a search marketing professional whom I hold in high esteem, recently shared the provocative idea that referral traffic is not a brand’s friend and that every brand, as it matures, should wean itself from it. Referrals from other websites are generally considered a sign of a high-performing business, but it’s not a long-term … Read more
Last week, in Part 1 (find it here), we examined whether Google’s AI Overviews are actually changing how people use Search. The data revealed that while users visit Google more frequently with AI Overviews, they: Spend less time per visit. Aren’t crafting significantly longer or more complex queries. Now we turn to an even more … Read more
Earlier this year, HubSpot went viral — and not exactly in a good way. A few companies posted data suggesting that we had lost 80% of our blog traffic. Overnight, the news was all over X and LinkedIn. As marketers ourselves, we know better than anyone that hot takes drive clicks. But, what actually happened … Read more
The world of SEO has changed, especially with the rise of zero-click searches, where users get their answers directly on Google’s search results page without clicking through to any websites. A study from SparkTaro found that zero-click searches accounted for nearly 60% of Google searches ending without a click in 2024. This trend will continue … Read more
Google says it values the open web, and a current Googler confirmed in a private conversation at the recent Search Central Live in New York that the company, including CEO Sundar Pichai, cares about the web ecosystem. But that message is contradicted by an ex-Googler, who said Google internally regards sending traffic to publishers as … Read more
New data confirms that AIO is becoming an increasingly significant source of traffic to YouTube channels. A closer look reveals that complex search queries, which traditional organic search may not adequately answer, create opportunities for optimized YouTube videos but only for certain topics. BrightEdge Data On YouTube And AIO BrightEdge’s data shows that YouTube’s presence … Read more
ChatGPT referrals to publishers increased with the introduction of web search, but remain a minor share of overall traffic. ChatGPT referrals to publishers are growing eightfold but remain under 0.1% of total traffic. The New York Post, The Guardian, and Forbes saw the most ChatGPT-driven visits. Traditional search engines still drive majority of publisher traffic. … Read more
In a recent social media discussion, Rene Ritchie, YouTube’s Creator Liaison, addressed questions about how Google traffic affects YouTube recommendations. The conversation centered on whether brief view durations from Google Search referrals could negatively impact a channel’s performance. There is concern that if viewers only watch a video for a short time, this behavior might … Read more
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If your SEO rankings are slipping, ad costs keep rising, and social media engagement is flat, you’re not alone The digital landscape is noisier than ever, flooded with AI-generated content, generic messaging, and short-lived trends. The question is: How do you stand out and drive real, lasting results? That’s exactly what Katie Morton, Editor-in-Chief of … Read more
I have repeatedly made the claim that AI chatbot traffic converts better than search engine traffic. My thinking was that ChatGPT or Perplexity users go through evaluation and exploration cycles (remember the Messy Middle) faster and are closer to a purchase intent when they click on an outgoing link.* But I couldn’t prove it at … Read more
This is my official eulogy for the SEO keyword, which died many years ago, but no one has noticed. As a result, many marketing teams make sub-par decisions, and decision-makers lose trust in SEO as a channel. Just look at the recent “SEO is dead” reactions to HubSpot’s traffic decline. Google Enforces JavaScript For Crawling … Read more
As someone who knows a lot of local business owners, I know how important it is to get customers through your doors. While traditional marketing methods like flyers and newspaper ads still have their place, the digital era has opened up incredible new ways to reach local audiences and drive foot traffic, thanks to PPC … Read more
Noticed a sudden drop in direct traffic? Discover 5 key reasons for the decline and learn how to diagnose the issue effectively to keep your analytics on track. Source link
A report released by Vercel highlights the growing impact of AI bots in web crawling. OpenAI’s GPTBot and Anthropic’s Claude generate nearly 1 billion requests monthly across Vercel’s network. The data indicates that GPTBot made 569 million requests in the past month, while Claude accounted for 370 million. Additionally, PerplexityBot contributed 24.4 million fetches, and … Read more
Google’s Developer Advocate, Martin Splitt, warns website owners to be cautious of traffic that appears to come from Googlebot. Many requests pretending to be Googlebot are actually from third-party scrapers. He shared this in the latest episode of Google’s SEO Made Easy series, emphasizing that “not everyone who claims to be Googlebot actually is Googlebot.” … Read more
The first commercial power plant had only 59 customers when Thomas Edison built it in 1882. Eighteen years later, access to electricity had already expanded to 3.8 million U.S. Americans (5% of households).1 From there, power grid access grew exponentially: 8% in 1907. 35% in 1920. 68% in 1929. We stand at the doorstep of a … Read more
