Local SEO

With all of the platform changes and tech advancements, it’s easy to feel like you’re always a step behind. Buyers can discover brands in countless ways without ever visiting their website. Tracking and attribution are becoming murkier, which makes it harder to know what to prioritize. Everyone is telling you to use AI, or you’re out of business tomorrow. You constantly need to adapt. And many times, without the data to show whether you’re making the right calls. The good news is, you don’t need more tactics or fancier tools. You need structure. Below, you’ll find a step-by-step framework you can use to build your marketing strategy for 2026. It doesn’t matter wh…

AI search exists on a spectrum. At one end: a human asks an AI a question and gets a fast, generated response. At the other: an AI receives a goal and browses the web on a human’s behalf. It evaluates your brand, makes a decision, and leaves no trace in your analytics. That’s agentic search. And it’s already emerging. ChatGPT’s deep research, Gemini’s agentic mode, and Perplexity’s research features are early expressions of it. Shopping within ChatGPT and booking tables without ever visiting a website are where it’s heading. AI systems are already running multi-step evaluations with less human direction at each step. The brands that show up in those evaluations are…

A user asks Gemini: “Find me a task chair under $400 with lumbar support and free shipping. Order the best one.” The AI doesn’t open a new tab. It doesn’t ask the user to click anything. Instead, it queries product databases, cross-references reviews, checks real-time inventory, compares shipping policies, and initiates a checkout — all without a human touching a single page. These are all things the user would have done themselves, but now in a fraction of the time, with as much effort as it took to write the initial prompt. Okay, we might not be quite at the stage where everyone is letting AI agents make all their purchases for them. But it’s no longer an unrealistic…

The marketing tech stack is always evolving. Marketing automation software enables improved efficiency with various features, from customer segmentation to campaign management. What’s the marketing automation industry market size? What are the adoption rates of marketing automation, and what benefits does it bring to businesses? Continue reading as we’ll cover answers to these questions with these recent marketing automation statistics. Here’s what you’ll find on this page: Marketing Automation Industry Revenue Leading Players in the Marketing Automation Software Industry Marketing Automation Budget Changes Top Channels Where Marketing Automation is Used Top Benefits …

Fintech in AI search plays by much stricter rules. Because it’s a Your Money or Your Life category, products must clear higher verification thresholds before AI mentions you: Is your product legitimate? Are your fees and protections explicit? Do other trusted sources back up your claims? To find these answers, AI draws from your website and the wider web — including sources you don’t control. That risks misrepresentation of your brand. What matters, then, is whether those sources tell an accurate story. In this article, I’ll explain how to influence that narrative. Because the real goal is for your fintech brand to show up in AI search AND be represented accuratel…

AI has changed the way people shop. 58% of consumers now use GenAI tools instead of traditional search to find products. Imagine your customer runs a simple query in Google’s AI Mode: “Winter jackets for women.” Instead of a long list of links, they get direct product recommendations — alongside: Descriptions of features and best use cases Ratings and reviews Editorial sites that mention the product Direct comparisons with top competitors All in one response. Which raises an obvious question: Why do some products show up, while others are ignored entirely? Many factors influence AI recommendations. But one of the most important — and most controllable — is your…

AI is already reshaping how buyers discover and choose brands. When someone asks ChatGPT or Google AI Mode about your category, two things happen: Brands are mentioned in the answer Sources are cited as proof Most companies get one or the other. Very few win both. And that’s the problem. According to the latest Semrush Enterprise AI Visibility Index, only a small fraction of companies appear in AI answers as both seen (mentions) and trusted (citations). That gap is the opportunity. We’re proposing the Seen & Trusted (S&T) Framework — a systematic approach to help your brand earn mentions in AI answers and citations as a trusted source. Do both, and you …

At just under 200 employees, Descript is not the biggest name in video editing software. It’s not the most robust or the most popular, either. But it’s punching way above its weight, competing with much bigger companies (like Adobe, and CapCut) in LLM search. Using Semrush’s AI Visibility score, you can see that Descript is competing closely with giant brands like Adobe. Descript found the way in. And so can you. In this SaaS LLM visibility case study, we’ll break down exactly how Descript is getting seen. And more importantly, what you can copy to improve visibility for your own product. Choosing Clear Niche Messaging For years, Descript has been known as a podc…

Everybody wants smoother workflows and fewer manual tasks. And thanks to AI models, automation is at the center of conversations in marketing departments across all industries. But most rarely get the results they’re looking for. According to Ascend2’s State of Marketing Automation Report, only 28% of marketers say their automation “very successfully” supports their objectives. While 69% felt it was only somewhat successful. While this specific stat is from 2024, I imagine the broad idea is still true. Especially since there are so many more automation options and tools. It can get overwhelming to decide a go-forward plan and implement effectively. So if you feel st…

Founded in 2022, Perplexity offers an AI-powered search engine. AI tools offer a new way to search for factual information, where Perplexity stands out as an AI-native search engine that combines large language models with real-time web search. With a valuation of $20 billion and a growing user base of 30 million monthly active users, Perplexity is one of the fastest-growing tech startups challenging Google’s dominance with its AI-native search engine. From the number of Perplexity active users to company revenue, we’ll cover the latest stats about the popular AI search engine on this page. Key Perplexity Stats Perplexity has 30 million monthly active users. Perplexi…

You’ve likely invested in AI tools for your marketing team, or at least encouraged people to experiment. Some use the tools daily. Others avoid them. A few test them quietly on the side. This inconsistency creates a problem. An MIT study found that 95% of AI pilots fail to show measurable ROI. Scattered marketing AI adoption doesn’t translate to proven time savings, higher output, or revenue growth. AI usage ≠ AI adoption ≠ effective AI adoption. To get real results, your whole team needs to use AI systematically with clear guidelines and documented outcomes. But getting there requires removing common roadblocks. In this guide, I’ll explain seven marketing AI adop…

With AI tools at everyone’s fingertips, what does “great” content writing mean in 2026? Content writing is about using words and psychology to deliver value, earn trust, and move readers toward action. It includes blog posts, social media content, newsletters, and white papers. Or it can be scripts for video, podcasts, and presentations. Content Type Purpose Key Characteristics Blog posts Educate; build brand awareness and authority In-depth, structured, research-backed Social media posts Engage, entertain, build community Conversational, visual, platform-specific Email newsletters Nurture relationships; drive action Personal tone, value-driven, scannable …

AI chat is changing how people shop for fashion — fast. Before AI, buying something as simple as casual leggings meant typing keywords into Google. Then, sifting through pages of results. Comparing prices. Reading reviews. Getting overwhelmed. In fact, 74% of shoppers give up because there’s too much choice, according to research by Business of Fashion and McKinsey. Now? A shopper submits a query. AI gives one clear answer — often with direct links to products, reviews, and retailers. They can even click straight to purchase. So, how do you make sure AI recommends your fashion brand? We analyzed how fashion brands appear in AI search. And why some brands dominate …

Creating an official brand subreddit is one of the hardest marketing spaces to get right. Why? Because it’s hostile ground for traditional brand messaging, with some of the internet’s snarkiest users watching every move. But if you strike the right balance, the payoff is huge. Just look at r/fidelityinvestments. This brand subreddit has grown into a self-sustaining community. Members trade tips, ask questions, and help resolve issues before the company’s reps even show up. Fidelity’s still there, keeping things on track. But because the users trust the brand and the space, conversations flow without much hand-holding. So how do you get there? This guide breaks …

Modern SEO teams aren’t just optimizing for rankings in traditional search anymore. They’re also optimizing for visibility in AI-powered search and answer engines. And that shift is showing up in job listings. I recently came across this position: This isn’t an outlier. Dozens of companies are now posting similar roles, and the shift runs deeper than new job titles. I reviewed 100+ general SEO job postings. 96% mentioned AI somewhere in the description. AI is creating entirely new positions, but it’s also changing what existing roles require. Why? Because AI search works differently from traditional Google ranking. It extracts passages, synthesizes informatio…

AI chat is the number one source B2B buyers use to shortlist software. Not review sites. Not vendor websites. Not salespeople. AI chat. G2’s 2025 survey of 1,000+ decision makers found that 87% say AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini are changing how they research software. Half of SaaS buyers now start in AI chat instead of Google Search. They’re “one-shotting” their research with prompts like “Give me CRM solutions for a large gym that work on iPads.” What used to take hours of “Google —> right-click —> open new tab” is condensed to minutes. If your product doesn’t show up when buyers ask AI to recommend solutions in your category, you’re losing de…

Competitive intelligence (CI) gives you the clarity to make the right moves for your business—whether that’s meeting customer needs, finding new opportunities, or outsmarting competitors. Marketing agency Thrive proves this perfectly. I spoke to Aaron Whittaker, the VP of Demand Gen and Marketing at Thrive, to understand how they use CI. His team gathered intel to solve a specific challenge. Prospects were choosing AI marketing solutions over traditional agencies. “We monitored our competitors’ customer reviews and social media mentions. Our takeaway was that clients often felt …

Similarweb is powerful for digital intelligence. But like any tool, it has limitations. You might want deeper insights into your competitors’ content strategies. Or need more reliable data for SEO planning. Or you’re simply looking for a more affordable solution. I’ve spent months testing and researching the best Similarweb alternatives to see how they compare. Four tools stand out as replacements. This guide covers the top options for: Market trends Advanced SEO analysis Ad intelligence Similarweb Limitations While Similarweb excels at competitor intelligence, it might not fit everyone. Here are some key limitations: Limited SEO and keyword research features: …

WordPress redirects ensure your users (and Google) can find your content when you: Change the URL Combine two pieces of content Move your entire site to a new domain Using redirects avoids creating broken links (bad for user experience), or losing the authority of your backlinks (bad for your SEO). In this guide, I’ll show you how to redirect your WordPress URLs with and without plugins. When Should You Use WordPress Redirects? You typically set up WordPress redirects any time you want visitors (and search engines) to end up at a different URL than the one they originally tried to access. That might be because you changed an old link, or because you’re testing a new…

Growing your website starts with reaching the right people. Not random traffic. People actively searching for the solutions you provide. That’s where organic traffic shines. Unlike paid advertising or social media, organic traffic attracts visitors with clear intent. At Backlinko, organic traffic brings us over 571K monthly visitors—each one specifically interested in SEO and digital marketing. In this guide, you’ll learn all about organic traffic, including how to measure and increase it. Let’s start with what organic traffic is and how it differs from other traffic sources. What Is Organic Traffic? Organic traffic refers to visitors who land on your website or …

JavaScript has enabled highly interactive and dynamic websites. But it also presents a challenge: ensuring your site is crawlable, indexable, and fast. That’s why JavaScript SEO is essential. When applied correctly, these strategies can significantly boost organic search performance. For instance, book retailer Follet saw a remarkable recovery after fixing JavaScript issues: That’s the impact of effective JavaScript SEO. In this guide, you’ll: Get an introduction to JavaScript SEO Understand the challenges with using JavaScript for search Learn best practices to optimize your JavaScript site for organic search What Is JavaScript SEO? JavaScript SEO is the process…

Choosing a Semrush plan isn’t always obvious. Paid plans start at $139.95 and go up to enterprise solutions. Not to mention the various add-ons and apps. You don’t want to overpay for features you don’t need. Or pick a cheaper plan that limits your ability to grow. In this guide, you’ll learn which Semrush plan matches your needs, whether you’re a solo blogger tracking 100 keywords or an agency managing 40+ client websites. Semrush’s Core Pricing Plans Explained Semrush offers four main subscription tiers: Pro plan at $139.95/month: Best for freelancers and startups Guru plan at $249.95/month: Caters to growing businesses and small agencies Business plan at $499.95/…

Claude is an AI chatbot developed by Anthropic, a popular alternative to ChatGPT. Launched in March 2023, Claude quickly attracted a multi-million user base. Today, Claude has 18.9 million monthly active users worldwide. From the number of Claude users to Claude user demographics, you’ll find the latest data about Claude on this page. Key Claude Stats Claude has 18.9 million monthly active users worldwide. Claude app has 2.9 million active users accessing the app at least once a month. The US and India are the 2 major markets for Claude, accounting for 33.13% of the total user base. In January 2025, Claude app downloads reached an estimated 769.6 million. Anthropic c…

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) is one of Google’s three Core Web Vitals. Like the other two (Cumulative Layout Shift and Interaction to Next Paint), it’s not exactly clear what it means. Lots of tools can show your LCP score and outline ways to improve it. But their tips are often generic, and lack the detail you need to actually take action. So, in this guide I’ll walk you through actionable steps to improve your LCP. I’ll separate them by: Their potential impact The effort required to make the fix Which specific aspect of your LCP score they help with But first, let’s talk about what LCP actually means for your website (jump to this part for the fixes). What Does…

Currently, the mobile AI apps market is valued at $2 billion, primarily led by the success of ChatGPT and the sector continues to rise with more apps. In 2024 alone, over 4 thousand new AI apps were released and downloads reached a staggering 1.49 billion times across all AI apps. But what are the most popular AI apps worldwide and in the US, besides ChatGPT? Most Popular AI Apps (Top Picks) As of January 2025, ChatGPT ranks as the most popular AI app worldwide with 349.41 million monthly active users worldwide. ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Doubao were the most downloaded AI apps worldwide in 2024. In 2024, ChatGPT became the most popular AI app in the US, recording 31…