SEO Tools and Resources

In the world of digital advertising, data is king. Yet, many PPC advertisers underutilize one of their most valuable sources of insights: their CRM data. Whether you’re a B2B or B2C marketer, your CRM is a gold mine of customer information that can significantly enhance your paid media strategy. To boost efficiency and scale, focus on the most impactful CRM data, such as: Job titles, industry, company size, and revenue for B2B. Age, gender, location, product preferences, and customer lifetime value (CLV) for B2C. This article tackles how to use CRM data to refine your targeting, craft compelling ad messaging, and create more relevant website con…

If you optimize your articles for similar terms, your rankings might suffer from keyword or content cannibalization: you’ll be ‘devouring’ your chances to rank in Google! Especially when your site is growing, your content could start competing with itself. Here, we’ll explain why keyword and content cannibalism can harm SEO, how to recognize it, and what to do about it. Table of contents What is keyword cannibalization? What is content cannibalization? Is cannibalization harmful? How to identify cannibalization issues How to fix cannibalization issues Preventive measures Common mistakes in addressing cannibalization Final thoughts on keyword and content cannibalizat…

Google today expanded its Checkout on Merchant feature to Demand Gen campaigns serving on YouTube In-stream inventory. Previously available only for Performance Max campaigns and organic shopping results, this update brings the streamlined checkout experience to more advertising channels. By the numbers. Advertisers providing checkout URLs have seen an average 11% increase in conversion value at similar CPA in their Demand Gen campaigns, according to Google data. How it works: Checkout on Merchant creates an accelerated path from product discovery to purchase. Users can quickly add products to cart or proceed to checkout on merchant websites. Merch…

YouTube is testing a new AI Overviews carousel. It will appear in search results for select queries. The feature uses AI to highlight the most relevant clips from videos tied to a user’s search. Why we care. Google AI Overviews have reduced visibility and traffic to websites. If this experiment is rolled out, could YouTube’s version of AI Overviews end up reducing visibility and video views for brands and creators? How it works. When a user enters an certain type of query, YouTube will use AI to scan relevant videos and surface highlight clips that it deems most informative or useful. These clips appear in a carousel within the search results, giving users a quic…

Could ChatGPT launch an advertising product within the next year? The answer seems to be yes, based on internal OpenAI documents. OpenAI appears to forecast a billion dollars in new revenue from “free user monetization” in 2026. That figure is forecast to grow to nearly $25 billion by 2029 of OpenAI’s total $125 billion projection. The chart. Here’s a chart (shared by Juan González Villa on X) of OpenAI’s projection of rising revenues that includes “new products (including free user monetization).” Yes, that means ads: Why we care. ChatGPT has an estimated 600 million monthly users. The ability for advertisers to reach ChatGPT’s users represents a signif…

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…

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…

Temu completely shut off Google Shopping ads in the U.S. on April 9, with its App Store ranking subsequently plummeting from a typical third or fourth position to 58th in just three days. The company’s impression share, which measures how often their ads appear compared to eligibility, dropped sharply before disappearing completely from advertiser auction data by April 12. The timing coincided with the The President administration’s hardened stance on Chinese imports, raising tariffs to 125% while maintaining a more moderate approach to other trading partners. First seen. Mike Ryan, head of ecommerce insights at Smarter Ecommerce, shared this news on LinkedIn…

In the era of Google’s smart bidding, we’ve come to appreciate the power of feeding solid data to AI. But that data can do more than just improve bids. When connected to a large language model (LLM), it opens up entirely new ways to manage and optimize your PPC accounts. As generative AI becomes more embedded in our daily workflows, it’s worth exploring the latest methods for connecting it with your performance data. This way, it can deliver insights that are not just creative but also grounded and actionable. Sure, you could manually upload a CSV or paste metrics into each prompt, but that defeats the very promise of AI: faster, smarter, and more ef…

Apple is officially dropping the “Search” from Search Ads to better represent its expanding ad placements across the App Store. The rebrand reflects Apple’s growing ad footprint beyond App Store search results — a signal that the iPhone maker is eyeing a more aggressive play in the broader digital ad market. What’s changed: The original Search Ads product, launched in 2016, showed promoted apps at the top of App Store search results. Ads now appear in the Today tab and in app listings under “You Might Also Like.” The rebrand aligns with Apple’s naming convention (think Apple Music, Apple TV+) and sets the stage for future ad expansion. Between the …

TikTok launched two new ad placement controls – Video Exclusion List and Profile Feed Exclusion List – giving brands more power to block specific videos and user profiles from appearing alongside their ads. The update is part of TikTok’s broader Safety Suite, and comes alongside the debut of a new Brand Safety & Suitability Playbook to help advertisers navigate their options. What’s new. Two new tools are now available globally via the Brand Safety Hub in TikTok Ads Manager. Advertisers can manage their lists directly or partner with third-party verification firms: Video Exclusion List. Advertisers can block individual video IDs from appearing next to the…

Google is facing a new class action lawsuit in the UK that accuses the search giant of abusing its market power and driving up search ad prices. By the numbers: £5 billion ($6.6 billion U.S.): The potential damages Google faces. 90%: Google’s share of UK search advertising revenue, according to a 2020 CMA study. 13+ years: The period covered by the lawsuit (January 2011 to present). The details. Competition law academic Or Brook filed the lawsuit today in the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, alleging Google has: Restricted competing search engines. Created a monopolistic position in search advertising. Forced businesses to use its ad services …

Google’s 2024 Ads Safety Report, released today, shows a massive uptick in how AI – particularly large language models (LLMs) – is helping the company block policy-violating ads before serving a single ad, thanks to earlier fraud detection at the account setup stage. By the numbers. Google Ads last year: Removed 5.1 billion bad ads Restricted 9.1 billion ads Suspended 39.2 million advertiser accounts. Enforced against 1.3 billion publisher pages. Blocked or removed 415 million scam-related ads. Introduced 30+ policy updates across Ads and Publisher guidelines. Search Engine Land’s Barry Schwartz has been following these stats for se…

If you’ve been poking around Audience Manager in Google Ads lately, you may have noticed a new Your data segment that looks like this: “Google-engaged audiences – for Account #######” What is that? And what should you do with it? Welcome to the wonderful new world of Google-engaged audiences, a new type of remarketing that you should absolutely be paying attention to. This article will cover: What is a Google-engaged audience? What’s so great about your Google-engaged audience? What are the limitations of Google-engaged audiences? Google-engaged audiences are perfect for small business owners What is a Google-engaged audience? A Google-en…

On April 15th, 2025, ​WordPress 6.8 was released. This release, named Cecil, is aimed at bringing more control when it comes to the design of your website. It also comes with features that improve performance and enhance security for users and developers. Let’s dive into a few of the highlights in this latest release. The Style Book for Classic themes The Style Book, previously exclusive to block-based themes, is now accessible for Classic themes that have editor-styles or a theme.json file. It also comes with a new look and a few new settings to play around with. You can find this feature, or see if you have access to this feature, by going to Appearance > Desi…

Most advertisers will confidently tell you that the cost per click (CPC) on Google Ads rises year after year. But is that actually true? And if it is, how quickly are CPCs inflating? Surprisingly, there’s no simple answer. To get closer to the truth, we’ll explore three reliable data sources – and explain why this question matters more than most advertisers realize. The problem of CPC inflation If you advertise on Google, CPC inflation should be high on your list of concerns. Why? Because rising CPCs directly erode advertising performance. For example, if CPCs increase by 5% this year, your budget will deliver 5% fewer clicks – assuming all othe…

As AI-powered SEO platforms evolve, they’re rewriting the economics of search engine optimization. This transformation threatens to upend the traditional agency model in three ways: Dramatically lower costs. Automate technical capabilities. Provide unbiased, data-driven decisions. Yet, this disruption might lead to industry consolidation and expansion as fewer but larger agencies emerge to serve an expanding market of SEO adopters. This article looks at how to survive the new agency economics. The economics of disruption Today’s SEO agency model typically involves monthly retainers ranging from $2,000 to $20,000, depending on the scope and co…

Advertisers are receiving step-by-step guidance emails from Google Ads aimed at improving campaign performance over a three-month period. The details. Google Ads is sending emails with the subject line “Personalised action plan for growth” to business advertisers, according to an X post from Govind Singh Panwar. The email contains: A three-month structured improvement plan delivered through weekly emails. A progress tracker showing completed and pending actions. Clear calls to action focused on ad strength improvements. Claims that improving ad strength from “Poor” to “Excellent” results in an average 12% increase in conversions. AI suggestion…

Google will begin redirecting its country code top-level domain names (ccTLD) versions of its Google domain to Google.com. That means if you frequent google.fr (in France), google.ng (in Nigeria) and so on, you will be redirected to Google.com. Why the change. Google said, “Over the years, our ability to provide a local experience has improved. In 2017, we began providing the same experience with local results for everyone using Search, whether they were using google.com or their country’s ccTLD.” “Because of this improvement, country-level domains are no longer necessary,” Google added. Google said, “we’ll begin redirecting traffic from these ccTLDs to google.com…

You’ve probably been hearing a lot about AI agents lately – whether in your workplace conversations or scrolling through your social feeds (hopefully both). While there’s no shortage of articles discussing their general benefits, there’s surprisingly little coverage on what they mean specifically for SEO – where their impact is not just significant, but amplified. Before we dive into the two key reasons AI agents are so important for SEOs to understand (and yes, you’re probably already using them – even if you don’t realize it), let’s first get clear on what AI agents actually are. What are AI agents? At their core, AI agents are autonomous systems equippe…

“Just Google it” – ah, so 2021. These days, organic search and discovery – although still largely conducted on Google – have fanned out to many sources, with user behavior more multi-layered and dynamic than ever. SEO professionals these days need to follow course. Consider a user who: Starts by watching a TikTok video of a runner boasting about hitting a new PR with the help of a coach. Then does a top-of-funnel search on Perplexity (“what does a running coach help with”). Then hits Google for a search of online running coaches. Then browses a list of sources from AI Overviews. Then hits up a running community on Reddit to ask about peoples…

Google is being criticized for sending emails to small business owners urging them to oppose California Assembly Bill 566, legislation that would strengthen consumer privacy protections in digital advertising. The outreach campaign, which asks recipients to sign a Connected Commerce Council letter opposing the bill, has prompted marketing professionals to publicly rebuke the tech giant’s tactics on LinkedIn. Why we care. The dispute highlights growing tensions between digital advertising platforms and privacy advocates as California lawmakers consider new regulations on data collection practices. AB 566 would require browsers and mobile operating systems to of…

Google Ads introduced customer lifecycle features in Performance Max, which will let you bid more aggressively for lapsed customers and track acquisition costs more precisely. PMax is also getting new image tools to boost creative flexibility. Customer Lifecycle management expands. Retention goals are now widely available, giving you the power to bid more strategically for lapsed users. For former customers: You can identify high-value former customers and prioritize who sees your ads and when. For new customer acquisition: In “new customer only” and “new customer value” modes, you will see a dedicated column in campaign reporting that displays customer acquis…

Widely used bidding and targeting algorithms have left paid social advertisers with fewer levers to drive differentiated campaign performance in 2025. One of those levers – and perhaps the biggest in B2B campaigns – is creative. But this article isn’t about how to design beautiful, on-brand, high-performing creative elements. It’s about building a testing process that helps you identify which creative is actually moving the growth needle and where to go from there. This article covers: B2B creative trends to know for 2025. Paid social creative testing recommendations. Common paid social creative testing mistakes. General. LinkedIn. Meta…

The dust still hasn’t settled. If you’re a recipe, travel, or lifestyle blogger, chances are the past few weeks have felt like a gut punch. On March 13, Google rolled out its first core update of 2025 – a sweeping algorithmic change that lasted 13 days and left many independent creators reeling. Some saw their traffic drop by half, and others fell completely out of the rankings for posts that had been steady performers for years. The volatility didn’t just shake the search results; it shook people’s confidence in the entire system. Just eight days earlier, on March 5, Google launched its much-anticipated AI Mode, officially opening the floodgates fo…