SEO Tools and Resources

The holiday season saw a significant increase in digital ad spending across retail media, paid search, and paid social channels according to the Q4 2024 Digital Marketing Quarterly Trends Report by omnichannel advertising platform for commerce media, Skai. Despite concerns over a shorter shopping season and ongoing economic pressures, advertisers doubled down on digital campaigns, driving a 20% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) increase in ad spend across all channels. Retail media emerged as the biggest winner, with remarkable year-over-year (YoY) growth. By the numbers: Paid search. While spending increased 20% QoQ, YoY spending dipped by 2%, with a decline in sta…

Google Ads is launching a new video enhancement feature for Demand Gen campaigns. The update automatically creates shorter versions of existing video ads to better engage diverse audiences. Details: The enhancement will automatically generate condensed versions of existing video ads. The feature will be enabled by default across all Google Demand Gen ad campaigns. Advertisers have until March 10 to opt out of the automatic enhancement. Why we care. Short-form content consistently captures higher engagement, especially on mobile and social platforms. By automatically generating shorter video versions, this could aid in reaching diverse audiences without …

Microsoft is testing a new version of Bing named Copilot Search, where it uses Copilot AI to provide a different style of search results. It looks different from the main Bing Search, it looks different from Copilot and it looks different from the Bing generative search experience. More details. The folks over at Windows Latests reported, “Microsoft is testing a new feature on Bing called “AI Search,” which replaces blue links with AI-summarized answers. Sources tell me it’s part of Microsoft’s efforts to bridge the gap between “traditional search” and “Copilot answers” to take on ChatGPT. However, the company does not plan to make “AI search” the default search mode.…

Geotargeting is one of the most powerful tools in a PPC advertiser’s arsenal. Whether you’re running ads for a local business, an international ecommerce brand, or a luxury travel destination, targeting the right locations can significantly impact performance. While most advertisers understand the basics (i.e., choosing countries, cities, or setting a radius), many aren’t fully leveraging the more advanced geotargeting capabilities available in Google Ads today. The ability to target based on intent, real-time conditions, competitor locations, and hyperlocal precision can give campaigns a serious competitive edge. This article explores the full spectrum o…

Website migrations are one of the most challenging aspects of SEO. No matter how much experience you have in technical SEO, how detailed your plan is, or how thorough your checklist may be, unexpected issues can still arise. That’s why post-migration monitoring is just as crucial as the migration itself – especially in the first month when hidden problems are most likely to surface. This article tackles some of the most surprising post-launch errors I’ve encountered, along with practical tips on how to identify and resolve them before they cause serious damage. Random 404 pages This issue drove me crazy. It’s a nightmare for SEO testing because it skew…

Are you ready to take your SEO and PPC campaigns to the next level of success? Tackle the challenges of the New Year with actionable tactics, expert guidance, and the inspiration you need to succeed at the spring edition of the SMX Master Classes — happening live online this March. In-depth training. Actionable tactics. Invaluable Q&A. This spring’s lineup features seven outstanding courses tackling core topics critical to 2025 success: Your Training, Your Way. You asked, and we listened: For the first time ever, each Master Class will take place on different days, giving you the flexibility to attend multiple classes live and customize the perf…

Third-party tools have always been valuable in B2B PPC, but in 2025, they’re essential. With third-party cookies fading, cross-channel attribution still a mess, and competitors constantly pivoting, advertisers who rely only on platform-native tools are leaving massive optimization opportunities on the table. To stay ahead, you need the right external tools. This article breaks down five I recommend testing or doubling down on ASAP to level up your PPC strategy, including: My favorite CDP. My ace in the hole for non-browser tracking. My preferred competitive research tool. My choice for a multi-channel attribution tool. Google Ads Editor (includin…

Less than 1% of views of YouTube videos come from Google search clicks, according to a member of Google’s legal team. The quote. Here’s what Attorney John Schmidtlein said, according to Courthouse News Service: “Roughly less than 1% of views on YouTube come from people who click on [search] links,” Attorney John Schmidtlein of Williams & Connolly, who represented Google, said in court. Why we care. This is the first time this statistic has been revealed publicly, as far as I know. It might be 100% true. The majority of people likely discover and view videos directly on YouTube, either via YouTube search or YouTube’s recommendation algorithm. But. Go…

Google is adding more engagement options to Performance Max campaigns, adding Message assets alongside those already available in Search campaigns. What’s new: The Message assets functionality, previously exclusive to Search ads, was spotted by digital marketer Emirhan Bayutmuş and is now available in Performance Max campaigns. This feature allows users to initiate conversations with businesses directly from ads, enhancing engagement. Google has updated their message asset help document to reflect this update. Why we care. The expansion gives advertisers another way to connect with potential customers directly through chat-based interactions, potenti…

Google released version 2.9 of Google Ads Editor, adding new campaign management tools, video ad enhancements, and better support for Shopping and Performance Max campaigns. Key updates: Manager Account Labels. Advertisers can now attach labels from Google Ads Manager (MCC) accounts to campaigns, ad groups, and keywords. Expanded Shopping Ads. Retail Performance Max campaigns can now serve shopping ads on brand-related searches, even if those brands are typically excluded. Vertical Video Generation. Responsive video ads now support automatic vertical video creation for Video Views campaigns. Masthead Ads Support. Advertisers can create and manage YouTube…

X launched two new features to help advertisers automate ad creation and analyze real-time ad campaign performance. The new features – Prefill with Grok and Analyze Campaign with Grok – are (as the names imply) powered by Grok, X’s AI assistant. Prefill with Grok. Enter your website URL and Grok will generate ad copy, imagery, and a call-to-action headline. You can tweak as needed. Here’s what it looks like: Analyze Campaign with Grok. Grok will analyze campaign data and offer insights and recommendations to optimize targeting and creative strategy. What’s next. The rollout, which began Feb. 21, will continue in phases to advertisers. Why we care. This…

Optimized targeting is one default Google Ads feature that gets a ton of vitriol. Sure, it’s not the best choice for everyone. However, there are definite use cases for this automated targeting feature. Let’s explore: is optimized targeting your friend or foe in Google Ads? We’ll cover: What is optimized targeting in Google Ads? Which campaign types are compatible with optimized targeting? Which bid strategies are compatible with optimized targeting? Optimized targeting vs. Audience expansion Optimized targeting vs. Performance Max How to evaluate optimized targeting: is it working? Should you use optimized targeting? What is optimize…

Shopify has become the leading online shopping platform in just a few years. It has become an anti-Amazon, helping small and large retailers worldwide run successful online stores with minimal effort. Although the ecommerce platform makes everything easy, there’s a lot you can do to improve the SEO of your online shop. In this ultimate guide, we’ll help you get on the right track by giving you many tips and tricks. In addition, we’ll tell you the best SEO app, and we have a Shopify SEO checklist for you! Table of contents Introduction What is Shopify? What is Shopify SEO? SEO basics for Shopify Technical SEO for Shopify How to increase sales in Shopify Learn more? Tr…

Searches on Apple’s Safari browser declined for the first time last month, and Apple’s senior vice president of services Eddy Cue blamed AI. “That has never happened in 22 years,” according to Cue. “People are using AI,” Cue testified Wednesday during the DOJ’s antitrust trial against Google, calling it a fundamental shift that’s eating into traditional search’s dominance. AI search rising. Apple is exploring a revamp of Safari to prioritize AI-powered search engines, Cue testified. AI search tools like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Anthropic are being seriously evaluated, though they aren’t yet ready to be defaults, Cue said. “There is much greater potential. T…

With marketing spending down and Google reporting higher earnings, we know that SEO is a tough sell. Below are seven proven methods to increase clients’ payments for SEO (and the value they receive). First, a word on value Before I provide solid ways to increase revenue, we need to discuss value and price. Humans are hard-wired to fear and avoid loss. Loss aversion is heavily linked with SEO because it’s the “pay now, might gain later” of the marketing world. So, as an offer, SEO is automatically less appealing than 99.9% of other marketing activities. Knowing this, SEOs need to understand value like the back of their hands. There are two co…

Google AI Overview rankings – the webpages cited in the AI-generated answers – are more volatile than Google’s “classic” organic search rankings. Also, within two to three months, 70% of AI Overview rankings changed, according to a new analysis by Authoritas, an ecommerce SEO platform. Ranking volatility. Google’s organic search is volatile and has been for a while. However, AI Overviews appear to be even more volatile, based on this research. AI Overview ranking volatility score: 0.68 (8 weeks), 0.73 (13 weeks) Google Search organic ranking volatility score: 0.49 (8 weeks), 0.55 (13 weeks) Dig deeper. How volatile have Google rankings really been? AI…

Paid search audits are essential. But let’s face it: they can be a beast to do. It’s not just about understanding complex strategies; it’s about meticulously reviewing every setting, campaign, keyword, and ad, then translating all those details into actionable insights for stakeholders who may not be PPC experts. Before AI, I spent countless hours refining audit checklists and presentations, constantly second-guessing myself. Did I miss a crucial setting? Did I fully grasp the account’s nuances and how they align with business goals? I even resorted to downloading templates from other experts for reassurance. Now, AI chatbots like ChatGPT and G…

If you think that Search campaigns in Google Ads are still a text-only ad format, you are missing out! Image assets for search campaigns are a relatively new Google Ads feature that can help boost your click-through rate (CTR) and stand out from your competitors. Here’s what you’ll learn in this article: What are image assets for search campaigns? Eligibility requirements for image assets How to use image assets for search campaigns How to avoid image asset disapprovals What are image assets for search campaigns? Image assets for search campaigns allow you to make your responsive search ads more appealing and eye-catching. You can upload…

When a business hires an SEO service, they expect immediate action – site tweaks, content strategies, and keyword targeting – rolled out fast. So when my recent client demanded these deliverables ASAP, my response caught them off guard: “You don’t need it.” It wasn’t what they wanted to hear. But it was exactly what they needed to understand. The problem: No one was converting The client was frustrated. Their website wasn’t converting, and they assumed the problem was a lack of SEO improvements. More content, more keywords, more tactics, surely that would solve everything, right? Not exactly. Here’s what I found after a quick audit: T…

Google Ads is rolling out mandatory brand guidelines. It requires you to officially document your business names and logos by March – or face automated changes to your ad campaigns. The big picture. The move represents Google’s latest effort to standardize brand presentation across its advertising platforms while giving businesses more control over their digital identity. Key details: Advertisers must update their brand guidelines before March. If no action is taken, Google will automatically select “top-performing” business names and logos based on campaign data. The change affects how brands appear across all Google’s ad platforms. Why we care. Cl…

Meta is removing the Audience Types option from Advantage+ catalog ads that use the sales objective, pushing advertisers toward its AI-driven targeting tools. This change reflects Meta’s broader strategy of automating ad targeting, betting that its AI can better match products with potential buyers than manual audience selection. The big picture. While the change removes some manual controls, Meta’s automated targeting has been showing stronger performance metrics, according to their internal data, suggesting this could benefit advertisers despite the reduced direct control. Key details: Advantage+ catalog ads dynamically display products based on user be…

Chegg, the publicly traded education technology company, has sued Google over its AI Overviews, claiming they have hurt its traffic and revenue. The company said that AI Overviews is “materially impacting our acquisitions, revenue, and employees.” What Chegg said. Chegg wrote: Second, we announced the filing of a complaint against Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. These two actions are connected, as we would not need to review strategic alternatives if Google hadn’t launched AI Overviews, or AIO, retaining traffic that historically had come to Chegg, materially impacting our acquisitions, revenue, and employees. Chegg has a superior product for education, as evident b…

Mentorship is a powerful yet often overlooked tool in the SEO industry. Whether you’re an industry veteran or an up-and-coming specialist, the mentor-mentee relationship offers countless benefits that can accelerate growth, refine skills, and build a stronger professional network. In an industry where algorithms, strategies, and best practices constantly evolve, having guidance from someone with experience – or offering that guidance to others – can be a defining factor in career success. Some think mentorship only benefits the mentee. But after being a mentor a few months ago, I found that simply wasn’t the case. I learned as much from them as they did from …

Super Bowl 2025 will be held on Sunday, Feb. 9. The “Big Game” will have around 50 minutes of TV commercials trying to change the hearts, minds, and actions of over 100 million viewers. However, many marketing executives ask, “Are Super Bowl ads effective?” And with a 30-second spot during the Big Game costing $8 million, some are also asking, “Are Super Bowl commercials worth it?” I asked Avinash Kaushik, who spent 16 years leading analytics at Google before becoming the chief strategy officer of Croud, to share the secret sauce for measuring Super Bowl ads. Below is an edited transcript of my questions and his answers. Are Super Bowl ads really effe…

Google resolved a six-month-long headache for online merchants by restoring filtered product download capabilities in Merchant Center Next, bringing the platform’s functionality back in line with its classic version. The context. In digital commerce, precision matters. Merchants often need to: Troubleshoot specific product listings. Optimize particular product categories. Analyze subsets of their inventory. The previous limitation essentially forced merchants to sift through massive, unwieldy files — like finding a specific book in an entire library by dumping all books on the floor. Why we care. The update allows merchants to export specific produc…