SEO Tools and Resources

Target ROAS is the most sophisticated of Google’s smart bidding strategies. In previous articles, we’ve tackled Maximize Conversions, Target CPA and Maximize Conversion Value. This article explores the ins and outs of Target ROAS bidding, including: What does conversion value mean in Google Ads? What does ROAS mean? How Target ROAS bidding works in Google Ads 8 Expert Tips for using Target ROAS effectively Should you use Target ROAS bidding in Google Ads? What does conversion value mean in Google Ads? Before we can discuss Target ROAS bidding, or even ROAS, we need to understand what “conversion value” means in Google Ads. Conversion…

Google Ads is upgrading Performance Max campaigns with new reporting tools that offer deeper visibility into channel performance, search terms, and creative assets. What’s new. Three new insight reports are coming soon: Channel-level reporting: This will give detailed breakdowns of how each Google platform (including Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, Maps, and partners) contributes to campaign success. (Tests were spotted last month.) Full search terms reporting. This addition offers the same keyword-level visibility in Search and Shopping campaigns. Asset reporting. This expansion will include impressions, clicks, and cost data, so you can…

Google’s latest update to Performance Max (PMax) campaigns—featuring Channel Reporting, Asset Reporting, and Search Term Reports—has triggered a wide range of responses from marketers. From cautious optimism to pointed critiques, advertisers are weighing in on how these long-awaited features may reshape their campaign strategies. Deeper insight arrives – finally Optmyzr Brand Evangelist Navah Hopkins celebrated the newfound visibility: “Google just announced some really important updates to PMax and I think it’s important we talk about just what they mean for us as we continue to market in the AI world. Google is FINALLY giving transparency into where budget i…

Looking to do more with your first-party data? Behavioral marketing offers a powerful, privacy-conscious way to deepen customer engagement and improve performance. This guide from Acoustic breaks down seven proven strategies to help you collect, activate, and apply behavioral insights across the funnel. Whether you’re refining B2B nurture journeys or scaling cross-channel personalization, these tactics can help you shift from guesswork to real-time relevance. You’ll learn: How to build a cohesive first-party data strategy Why behavioral signals are the key to closing visibility gaps How AI and machine learning unlock smarter targeting and content Why ret…

The U.S. Department of Justice is calling for Google to break up its digital advertising empire after a federal judge ruled the tech giant had illegally maintained monopoly power in the ad exchange market. Driving the news. In a court filing on Sunday, the DOJ said Google should divest its AdX exchange, where ad inventory is bought and sold. It should also sell its DFP platform, used by publishers to manage and serve ads. The sales would be overseen by a court-appointed trustee, who would find buyers and monitor compliance. Why we care. The DOJ’s proposal to force Google to sell off AdX and DFP strikes at the core of Google’s multibillion-dollar ad tech stack. A s…

ChatGPT announced the addition of shopping features to search last week. But how exactly is ChatGPT search choosing products and ranking them? Here’s what you need to know from OpenAI’s documentation. How product results are selected. When ChatGPT detects shopping intent in a query, it selects products based on a mix of the following: User intent and context Based on the user’s current query (e.g., “funny dog costumes”). May include saved memory (e.g., past dislikes, such as “clowns”). May factor in custom instructions (e.g., preferences like “I want affordable options”). Structured third-party data. Product metadata such as: Price. Product des…

From answering complex queries to generating creative content, large language models (LLMs) are designed to deliver “zero-click” results – concise, direct answers that eliminate the need for further research. This shift raises a critical question: if users no longer need to visit a website to get the information they want, what happens to web traffic? While the broader implications for the future of websites are a conversation for another day, there’s a more immediate and tactical issue worth examining – links. Specifically: What kind of links are LLMs providing, and how can brands generate traffic from them? The critical role of links in LLM outputs L…

Google’s AI Overviews appeared in 13.14% of all U.S. desktop searches in March, up from 6.49% in January. That’s a 102% surge in just two months, according to a new analysis of more than 10 million keywords by Semrush and Datos. Why we care. Google’s introduction of AI Overviews was the biggest shift since the arrival of featured snippets a decade ago. Google is forever changed and is becoming more of an answer engine than a search engine. That’s because AI Overviews generate answers rather than pointing searchers to websites, which studies have shown is impacting traffic and CTRs for many types of websites. Triggers. AI Overviews tend to appear for low-risk, fact…

In 2023, I said that creator-led content marketing would shape the future of search. Two years later, that future has arrived – faster and more broadly than expected. In the past year alone, adoption has surged among consumers and, in turn, brands. The conversation has grown bigger, faster-moving, and more complex than I initially imagined. Today’s users no longer just “Google it.” They discover and trust information through: TikTok videos. Reddit threads. YouTube Shorts. Instagram Reels. Community forums. Google has adapted, integrating user-generated content and lived experiences directly into its search results via feat…

Google Ads today announced AI Max, a new tool to reach untapped queries and tailor ads with a single click. Rolling out globally in beta later this month, Google said AI Max integrates its most advanced targeting and creative tools into Search campaigns. Smarter matching. Broad match and keywordless tech help advertisers tap into high-performing queries they may have otherwise missed. Google AI learns from existing keywords, creative, and URLs to identify new opportunities. Real-time creative adaptation. New “text customization” (formerly “automatically created assets”) creates headlines and descriptions tailored to a user’s query – adapting on the fly to matc…

Generative AI is changing how people search. The most effective SEO strategies aren’t just AI-enhanced – they’re AI-native. Many SEO teams are moving away from manual tasks and siloed tools toward intelligent, automated systems that learn from data and scale performance across every stage of the search journey. From content creation to site architecture and real-time monitoring, AI is now deeply embedded in many winning SEO strategies. Here are 10 cutting-edge ways to leverage AI for enterprise-level SEO success in 2025 – and stay ahead in a game that’s changing faster than ever. 1. Automating SEO tasks with AI agents AI in SEO is no longer just a…

A new report from Cint reveals that 74% of market researchers are already using AI in their workflows — especially for data analysis (81%) and project setup (78%). For agency and brand marketers that rely on audience insights, testing, and fast-turnaround campaign planning, this shift signals how research partners and internal teams are evolving their methods. However, the same study finds a sharp divide around synthetic data. While it’s occasionally used to boost niche sample sizes, a full 60% of respondents view it negatively, citing concerns around ethics, authenticity, and reliability. Download the full report to see how AI and synthetic data are reshaping mar…

To keep your Meta Ads performing at their best, it’s essential to regularly test new ad formats. This article explores the role of UGC and EGC ads – and how to effectively test them in your Meta campaigns. Understanding UGC and EGC ads User-generated content (UGC) refers to videos typically created by actual users of your product or service, often testimonials or a series of testimonials edited together. In some cases, UGC may even come from the company founder, recorded casually on a phone or using other non-professional methods. These videos are often recorded on a phone – or styled to look that way, even if professionally produced – to create an int…

Bad data = bad strategy. Duplicate conversions are one of the most overlooked – and most damaging – problems in conversion tracking. If your reporting inflates the number of conversions, your performance strategy is based on fiction. You’re not just getting the wrong numbers. You’re optimizing toward the wrong outcomes. This issue impacts everything: Bidding. Budget allocation. Long-term growth. This article breaks down: Why duplicate conversions happen. How to find them. Most importantly, how to eliminate them for good. The cost of inaccurate conversion data Paid search loves precision. Conversion data is your nor…

Most marketers know the abbreviation ABC – “always be closing.” In SEO, there’s an even more important one – ABT, or “always be testing.” The more you test your theories about what works for your users, the more you’ll learn new strategies to optimize and improve your site. And testing is always valuable, even if your tests aren’t always winners (and they definitely won’t all end up the way you predict). One of the most interesting tests I’ve ever run was actually a failure. Our testing team developed some new CTA button copy, backed by user testing and keyword research, that we hypothesized would improve conversion rate. After testing our new …

The Positionless Marketer is the new marketing professional who is a triple threat with data, creative and optimization power. They blow up the traditional marketing assembly line, where roles are rigidly defined. Instead, they have agility, intelligence and execution speed in defining success. A blueprint for the way Positionless Marketers achieve this level of independence and mastery is Stephen R. Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Covey’s principles, trusted by millions as an excellent foundation for personal and business growth, align with the principles of Positionless Marketing. Covey’s seven habits are divided into three basic groups. The …

Google has doubled down on its automation-first strategy with a key update to Performance Max (PMax) campaigns: some advertisers can now add up to 50 Search themes. Why we care. This update gives advertisers more flexibility and control in guiding Google’s AI-powered targeting. Search themes, which help steer PMax toward relevant search traffic, are increasingly critical for advertisers looking to influence automation without relying on traditional keywords. Catch up quick. Search themes act as keyword-like signals to help Performance Max campaigns align with user intent. The limit started at 10, was raised to 25 in late 2023, and now sits at 50. Between …

YouTube has long been a go-to advertising platform for B2C marketers, but it’s often still a question mark for B2B brands. I often see B2B professionals on LinkedIn asking, “Has anyone had success with YouTube ads?” or “What’s the best way to approach video advertising for a B2B audience?” YouTube can feel like unfamiliar territory if you’re only used to advertising on Google or social platforms. But that’s starting to change. More B2B brands are waking up to YouTube’s potential, and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve seen firsthand how YouTube can elevate brand visibility, drive engagement, and even accelerate the sales cycle for B2Bs. If you’re still…

Google started placing ads inside chat conversations with some third-party AI assistants, according to a Bloomberg report, marking another step in its push to monetize AI-powered search alternatives. Driving the news. Google’s AdSense network — traditionally used for placing ads in search results and across websites — is now running ads within chatbot interactions, according to people familiar with the rollout. The company reportedly began testing the feature earlier this year with conversational AI search startups iAsk and Liner. A Google spokesperson confirmed that AdSense is available “for websites that want to show relevant ads in their conversational AI e…

Google has a number of announcements around Al Mode, including dropping the waitlist, adding products and place cards to the answers, a new history panel, and that they are doing a limited test without having to opt in to Al Mode within Search Labs. Testing Al Mode in the wild. Google is now testing Al Mode within Google Search without you having to opt in to Al Mode within Search Labs. That means that you might see the tab for Al Mode without specifically opting into the feature. Soufi Esmailzadeh, Director, Product Management, at Google Search wrote, “Because our power users are finding it so helpful, we’re starting a limited test outside of Labs. In the coming …

In the first quarter of 2025, I ran a data study to understand how often Google changes title tags – and why. While it’s well known that Google frequently rewrites titles, I wanted to dig deeper: What factors trigger these changes? Are some pages more prone to rewrites than others? Most SEO professionals develop their own title tag strategies based on a mix of Google’s guidance, industry advice, and personal experience. Yet, when I searched for actual data on how and why Google modifies title tags, I found only one notable case study – by Cyrus Shepard in 2023. That left me with more questions: Does search volume play a role? What abo…

Google just made it easier for merchants to manage messy product catalogs. Driving the news. Emmanuel Flossie shared on LinkedIn that Google is rolling out an AI-driven search feature in Google Merchant Center Next that simplifies how retailers find and filter their products. How it works. The new “Search for Products” tool uses AI to translate plain-English queries into powerful filters across your product data. Plain English filters. Merchants can now easily filter by entering plain English searches, which AI would translate to filter headings. So, for example, you could filter by: Manually added products. Out-of-stock items still getting traffic…

Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai testified today that the U.S. government’s proposed remedies could upend how the company handles search and how users experience the web. Why we care. A judge ruled that Google illegally maintained a monopoly in search. Now, the court is deciding how to fix it. If the court adopts the DOJ’s proposals, it could reshape the search landscape. What Pichai said. Today, Pichai called the data-sharing requirements “so far-reaching, so extraordinary” that it amounts to a “de facto divestiture” of Google Search itself. Also: Pichai argued that forcing Google to share search data compromises user privacy. “People search in their most v…

Users are visiting Google more often but staying less. That’s one of several insights from a new analysis by Kevin Indig, in partnership with Similarweb, based on 5 billion search queries and 20 million websites across the U.S., UK, and Germany. The big picture. In the U.S., visits to Google are up +9% since AI Overviews launched in May 2024. Also: Time on site and pages per visit are flat or falling across markets. Query length has barely changed. The numbers point to a new user pattern: more frequent visits, shorter sessions – a shift toward “resolve and leave” behavior, according to Indig. By the numbers. Google visits are up in the U.S.: U.S. …

Separate accounts, separate campaigns, or one shared setup? It’s often the first question marketers face when launching Google Ads in multiple countries or languages. The structure you choose lays the groundwork for how well you can: Localize ads. Manage regional budgets. Analyze performance by market. While consolidation simplifies PPC management, it can limit your ability to connect with diverse audiences. Full separation allows for maximum customization but can lead to administrative overhead and missed efficiencies. Striking the right balance is key to aligning effort with impact while maintaining centralized data. Effective loca…