SEO Tools and Resources

Advertising on Amazon is getting more complex, with an ever-growing list of targeting options. At the core of it all? Match types. Understanding how they work is essential to making your ad spend count. Unlike other ecommerce platforms, Amazon ads directly impact your organic ranking – so campaigns aren’t just about sales; they’re about momentum. Whether you’re driving incremental sales or defending your brand in search, knowing how to structure campaigns around match types can make or break performance. For brand defense, branded keywords are critical – but they should live in their own campaigns to keep management clean and projections accurate. …

Let’s face it, lead generation can be a real pain. One month you’re drowning in prospects. The next you’re wondering if your website’s broken because nobody’s filling out your contact form. I’ve been there, and let me tell you – there’s a better way. Relying on unpredictable methods can stifle growth and leave your sales team twiddling their thumbs. The good news? Digital advertising, when strategically implemented, can be your key to unlocking a predictable and scalable lead generation system. This article will guide you through the essential steps to move beyond hoping for leads and start building a reliable process to drive a steady flow…

Remember when meta keywords were all the rage? Fast forward to 2025, and while search engines have evolved dramatically, meta tags remain crucial building blocks of your SEO foundation, just not the ones you might remember. You’re juggling countless priorities, so it’s tempting to view meta tags as “set it and forget it” HTML snippets. But here’s the truth: properly optimized meta tags are still conversion-driving assets that both search engines and potential customers use to understand your content. This guide cuts through the noise to spotlight the meta tags that actually move the needle – on rankings, click-through rates, and visibility. Before we …

Two new studies agree: Google’s AI Overviews steal clicks from organic search results. While Google told us that AI Overviews citations result in higher-quality clicks, the introduction of AI Overviews correlates with a measurable decline in organic visibility and clicks, particularly for top-ranking, non-branded keywords. That’s according to two new data studies from SEO tool provider Ahrefs and performance agency Amsive. By the numbers. Here’s how AI Overviews have decreased click-through rate (CTR) for traditional organic listings, according to the two studies: Ahrefs: A 34.5% drop in position 1 CTR when AI Overviews were present, based on an analysis of…

The U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of states unveiled their proposed remedies today aimed at dismantling Google’s illegal monopoly in search and search advertising. These include breaking off Chrome and banning default search payments. The remedies. They break down into five categories meant to enable and increase competition: Distribution remedies. This would mean ending payments that “freeze the ecosystem in place,” including Google’s multi-billion-dollar payments to Apple and Android device makers. Chrome divestiture. This would separate Chrome from Google – organizationally and financially. Chrome accounts for 35% of all Google search queries …

Google will now allow relevant Search ads from advertisers who showed amongst top ads to also participate in the bottom ads auction. As a reminder, the definition of top ads changed about a year ago, as Google began mixing ads in various organic positions throughout the search results. With this change, Google also reminded us that it updated its unfair ads policy (i.e. double serving) to say this is not double serving. Google added the words, “in a single ad location,” as an exception to the policy last March after Google was caught double serving ads under its old definition. What Google said. Google wrote: Today, we’re sharing more about a recent change we…

With YouTube Shorts now reaching 2 billion monthly users and generating approximately 70 billion daily views, this rapidly growing format represents an untapped opportunity for many brands. When used effectively, Shorts unlock multiple benefits that other platforms can’t match: Faster channel growth. Higher engagement rates. New monetization streams. A massive established user base of over 122 million daily viewers. Powerful cross-promotion between short and long-form content. Plus, YouTube’s established reputation provides a level of stability that newer platforms like TikTok can’t guarantee. But despite all this potential, many marketers…

Educational videos are among the top 10 most-consumed video content formats globally, according to Statista. And it makes sense. Video is one of the fastest, most engaging ways to teach, demonstrate, and connect. But for creators and businesses alike, making a video that actually works (as in: educates, retains, or converts) requires more than hitting “record.” I’ve been creating online content for years, so I know what works and what doesn’t. Our online SEO training has helped thousands of marketers level up their skills through self-paced modules, monthly live Q&A webinars, and on-demand videos. Our “Ask Us Anything” video series and SEO a…

Google has rolled out a new feature for Google Business Profile verifications. When you verify using video verification, you can now preview that video before you submit the video for review. Google is calling this “Video Previews.” Video Previews. Video Previews give you the option to review the video you are about to submit to the Google Business Profile team. This will allow you to ensure that video includes all the necessary elements before you submit it to Google. Here is what it looks like: What Google said. Google’s Lisa Landsman wrote on LinkedIn, “Now, you can review your recordings before submitting, ensuring clarity and accuracy – saving yo…

ChatGPT can now personalize searches using your memories. Memory with Search is a new addition to ChatGPT search, and was quietly added as an update in its changelog. What is Memory with Search. ChatGPT said it can “use memories to inform search queries when ChatGPT searches the web using their-party search providers.” Not a lot of detail there. But OpenAI’s ChatGPT search page offers more information: ‘If you have ‘Memory’ enabled, when ChatGPT search rewrites your prompt into a search query it may also leverage relevant information from memories to make the query better and more useful. For example, if the user has ‘Memory’ turned on and asks ChatGPT …

OpenAI’s ChatGPT search had 41.3 million average monthly users across the EU between October and March. That’s nearly 4x growth from the prior six-month stretch, when it reported having 11.2 million users. Why we care. Brands and businesses need to understand how (or whether) their content is being surfaced in AI-generated responses. ChatGPT search is nowhere near replacing Google Search, but it is an emerging channel for visibility and discoverability. What ChatGPT reported. According to OpenAI’s EU Digital Services Act (DSA) page: “For the six-month period ending 31 March 2025, ChatGPT search had in combination approximately 41.3 million average monthly act…

Google search ad spending grew 9% year over year in Q1 2025, according to new data from digital marketing agency Tinuiti. Increasing costs, rather than click volume, drove most of that growth. Google Search overall: Google Search spending grew by 9% YoY in Q1 2025 (down slightly from 10% in Q4 2024). Click growth was stable at 4% YoY. Whilst average cost per click (CPC) increased by 5% YoY. Google Shopping Ads: Shopping ad had a 8% YoY spending growth (however down from 10% in Q4 2024). Click volume improved by 9% YoY (up from just 1% in Q4). CPC remained stable at 1% YoY decrease. Competitive landscape. Amazon maintained a s…

The platform behind your site plays a bigger role than you might think. From site speed and mobile responsiveness to content scalability and technical SEO, the foundation you choose can make or break your organic performance. If your goal is seamless, secure, and engaging digital experiences that also support strong search visibility, it’s time to re-evaluate your CMS. Join MarTech’s Future-Proof Your Content Strategy with the Right CMS, and discover exactly what marketers need to consider when evaluating content management systems. You’ll learn: Must-have CMS features for delivering top-notch digital experiences. How to tackle security, compliance, an…

AI hasn’t killed search – it’s just made winning organic traffic more complex. As AI interfaces and evolving search behaviors change the landscape, SEO now requires more than just foundational tactics. The demand for information is as strong as ever, but with zero-click searches, AI-driven recommendations, and surging platforms, securing visibility in 2025 takes a more strategic, data-driven approach. The current state of search: Key trends shaping strategy Leading SEO strategy at an agency, I’m constantly fielding, “With AI everywhere, how do we adapt our approach to organic?” Rather than speculate, I’ve consolidated the recent data I’m sharing with c…

If you’ve tried to figure out how your brand shows up in ChatGPT or Gemini, you aren’t alone – and you’ve probably realized there’s no easy answer. With new AI visibility tools hitting the market, knowing which one to trust is half the battle. Vetting AI visibility platforms: Trial, error, and endless demos As AI search becomes a growing part of how consumers find information, brands face a new challenge: understanding and managing their presence in these AI answer engines. Unfortunately for marketers, many tools promising to help are as new as the challenge itself. Information is sparse, comparison is tricky, and reliability with many of these tools…

There are so many ways to reach your ideal customer using audience targeting in Google Ads. We’ve recently covered Detailed demographic segments, Lookalike segments and Engaged Audiences, Today, we’re exploring how to use Life Events segments effectively. This article will cover: What are Life Events segments in Google Ads? How are Life Events different from In-Market segments in Google Ads? Which Life Events can you target in Google Ads? Can you use Life Events in all campaign types? Tips for using Life Events effectively in Google Ads What are Life Events segments in Google Ads? Life events segments are one of the four types of audience …

Google unexpectedly decided not to implement a new standalone prompt for third-party cookies in Chrome, allowing ad tech companies to continue using this targeting technology in the world’s most popular web browser. “We’ve made the decision to maintain our current approach to offering users third-party cookie choice in Chrome, and will not be rolling out a new standalone prompt for third-party cookies,” Anthony Chavez, VP of Privacy Sandbox at Google, wrote in a blog post. Between the lines. While Google is stepping back from the cookie prompt, a third party consent mechanism first mentioned in February, it isn’t abandoning Privacy Sandbox entirely. The company pl…

Google is rolling out channel controls in beta for Demand Gen campaigns, giving advertisers more granular control over where their visual ads appear across Google’s ecosystem. The new controls, first announced in January and spotted in March, allow marketers to choose specific placements across YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and the Google Display Network — including the ability to target YouTube Shorts specifically. Between the lines. The beta release signals Google’s recognition that advertisers want more transparency and control over ad placements, especially as competition with social media platforms intensifies. The YouTube Shorts targeting option specifically app…

Google Ads quietly rolled out Tree Table Views within its reporting interface, offering advertisers a more structured way to analyze campaign performance data. The new view transforms traditional flat data tables into hierarchical layouts where dimensions are visually stacked and nested, creating clearer relationships between data points. The big picture. The Tree Table View offers several practical benefits: Organized hierarchy. Clearer visualization of multi-level dimensions Improved navigation. Faster insight discovery across nested segments Enhanced structure. Better organization for complex performance breakdowns For example, users can now easi…

Shopify is changing how it handles checkout. If you’re running Google Ads or Analytics, you’ll need to act soon. Key deadlines. Shopify Plus merchants must migrate by Aug. 28, 2025. Non-Plus merchants have until Aug. 26, 2026. Missing these dates could result in a total loss of conversion tracking on your Thank You and Order Status pages. The fix. Use the Google & YouTube app. The Google & YouTube app, developed by Google for Shopify, is now the go-to way to handle all things measurement, ads, and analytics. Why migrate now? No code hassle: Easy, direct integration with Google Ads, Analytics, YouTube, and Merchant Center. Future-ready: Support…

Domain extensions have been a core part of the web since its early days. In SEO, debates have continued for decades about how a domain extension, such as a TLD (top-level domain) or ccTLD (country-code top-level domain), affects rankings. The discussion often concerns whether search engines like Google, Baidu, or Microsoft Bing prefer specific domain extensions when ranking websites in different countries. Some aspects are clearly outlined in official documentation, while others rely more heavily on anecdotal evidence and testing. Do domain extensions directly impact rankings? One of the most common SEO questions is whether a domain extension directly i…

If you’re still just copy-pasting prompts into ChatGPT to write ad copy, you’re missing the real opportunity – using the ChatGPT API to automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks inside your Google Ads workflow. At my agency, we’ve used GPT-4o in scripts, Google Sheets, and custom-built apps to solve real problems – from Shopping feed cleanup to search term waste audits to performance reviews across entire accounts. This article shows you how to set up the API, use it safely and efficiently, and apply it to high‑impact PPC workflows. Step 1: Get access to the ChatGPT API To use GPT in your own scripts or applications, you’ll need access to the OpenAI API. T…

“This call is being recorded for Google algorithm optimization purposes.” On April 22, Google Ads notified Local Services Ads (LSA) advertisers of a significant update to its Terms of Service, asserting the right to use, modify, and analyze all content within an advertiser’s LSA profile, including phone calls from prospective customers. These rights extend not only across Google’s platforms, products, and services, but also to its affiliates. And yes, Google has already been digitally eavesdropping on LSA phone calls. In July 2024, they replaced the previously manual (and relatively accurate) lead dispute process with an automated, AI-driven system. …

Google Ads API v17 will officially sunset June 4. Any requests made to it after that date will fail. If you haven’t upgraded yet, now’s the time. What to do: Upgrade ASAP to the latest version of the Google Ads API. Check your usage: Head to the Google Cloud Console, open APIs & Services, and view your method calls under Metrics. Look for any v17 activity, e.g. google.ads.googleads.v17.services.GoogleAdsService.Mutate. Why we care. Businesses and developers relying on the v17 API must migrate to a newer version to keep campaigns running smoothly. Any delay risks outages in campaign management, reporting, and automation. Need help? The Google Ads…

Meta’s text-based social platform is now monetizing its 300 million monthly active users Meta’s standalone app Threads is beginning a global rollout of advertisements within its feed starting Wednesday, expanding beyond the limited testing that began in January. What’s happening: Image-based ads will appear between content in users’ Threads feeds. All eligible advertisers will gain access to Meta’s inventory filler. Ad placement on Threads will be a default for new campaigns using Advantage+ or manual placements. Advertisers can opt out through manual placement settings. Why we care. The move signals Meta’s confidence in Threads’ growth and v…