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As an agency owner, you need skills to write content that your clients and audiences will love. Luckily, you can learn how to do it with proper steps and helpful tools. Here, we’ll discuss how to plan, write, and optimize the content work for your clients. If you have your process down, you’ll easily create content that aligns with the client’s needs and brings in results. One of the tools we’ll use is the Yoast SEO plugin, which helps your content production. Table of contents Understanding what makes content valuable Strategic planning is the foundation Ideation and content planning Optimize your writing for readability Using Yoast SEO in your content process Inspiring through actionable content Wrapping up Understanding what makes content valuable Good content always has a goal — it could answer questions, solve problems, or offer critical information. If readers find your clients’ content valuable, they will likely feel listened to. They will understand that the advice and ideas are meant for them, which helps you build a bond with them. Writing valuable, high-quality content isn’t just for filling your client’s websites but a way to help and inspire them to improve their business. There are many options to get results from the content you produce for your clients. So, what are some of the more popular goals you can target with your client’s content? Building brand recognition: Share brand stories and values so people understand who your clients are. Teaching the audience: Create articles and videos showing how products and services work. Getting leads: Write content to get people to subscribe, download items, or contact your client. Driving traffic: If your client’s content is valuable, readers will likely click on their site. Increasing engagement: Make content to spark conversations and get feedback. Keep writing focused and clear, with your eyes on the ball. You should focus intently on your clients’ current issues, challenges, and opportunities. Take the time to write well-researched pieces, as these can empower your readers. Once you do this, they will likely see your clients as subject matter experts they can trust. Straightforward, high-quality content can inspire readers and bring much value to you as an agency. Strategic planning is the foundation Much of the writing process is about planning. Before you write for your clients, clearly define the goals for that content piece. Find out what questions your clients’ customers are struggling with and how your answers can help them. Research their target audience to understand their daily struggles. This way, you can make your content much more relevant to readers. It’s advisable to spend plenty of time doing keyword research. This process is very helpful, giving you many insights into your client’s audience and the words they use to find things. Ultimately, these findings will help you build content strategies for your clients. The next step is to create a content plan. First, make a simple calendar or a list of topics your client wants to cover. Your plan will guide them and help them keep track of their audience’s themes and recurring concerns. Don’t forget to use tools that integrate directly into their content. For instance, the Yoast SEO plugin has integrated keyword research features — among many other great features. It can highlight keywords and trends related to current topics, which will help your clients plan the current piece of content but could also inform the next. Ideation and content planning After researching, it’s time to start generating ideas for your client’s content. Don’t tie yourself up too much; brainstorm freely. Write down every topic that pops up and then organize these ideas to match the client’s needs. Mind mapping is a fantastic way to sort and visualize these ideas. Of course, you can always use a simple list or whatever works for you. Seeing these ideas together helps your client see the connection between them. Before starting to write, it’s a good idea to think about the structure of the content. Break down the article into introductions, main sections, and conclusions. This way, it’s easier to structure the content and keep the writing focused and readable. From there, write and edit the first draft — editing helps the content shine. Optimize your writing for readability Good writing is all about clarity. Use direct language and try to avoid passive voice. Vary your sentence length to keep the client’s articles engaging. Start with a bold statement or an inverted pyramid-style intro. In the rest of the article, use detailed explanations to build on and prove the main point. Read more: SEO copywriting: the ultimate guide Format your client’s text to improve readability. Always use headers to introduce new sections and short paragraphs to make it easier for readers to follow the ideas. The same goes for using lists and bullet points to break up walls of text. Make sure that every element of your client’s layout allows the reader to understand your writing quickly. During this phase, you also need to consider on-page SEO optimizations. Watch how you use your focus keywords and logically structure your client’s content. As you might know, Yoast SEO is a fantastic tool for this. It gives you feedback on sentences, passive voice use, and keyword use and distribution. As a result, this feedback helps publish high-quality content, especially under a tight deadline. Read more: What is high-quality content and how do you create it? Using Yoast SEO in your content process Yoast SEO is an SEO plugin/add-on for WordPress, Shopify, and WooCommerce. It’s designed with simplicity in mind while also offering a solid set of SEO features. It also lives within your post editor to give you feedback on your writing. For instance, it offers real-time suggestions on how you use keywords and the structure of your article. Thanks to this, you can focus on the writing part without sacrificing the SEO and technical aspects of making content your clients will love. Yoast SEO is an industry standard for agencies. It’s a helpful tool that guides users in writing engaging, valuable content for all clients. As it’s aimed at ease of use, the feedback is practical and insightful. Also, Yoast SEO Premium comes with AI-powered suggestions that make this process even easier. Using this SEO plugin in your agency helps you build a consistent content process to write, review, and optimize high-quality content. Inspiring through actionable content Help your readers out and show how little things can make a big difference. Don’t forget to give your clients the tools and processes needed to succeed. For instance, share your best practices and guidelines for writing content and creating the valuable material everyone seeks. Share stories of how your agency helped clients reach their content goals, as these insights help potential new clients choose you over the competition. Inspiration can come from many places, but it’s not always a given. When you get inspired, your client’s content can reach a whole new level. Content can also reach new heights when writing with a clear purpose and using tools that support your writing process. This way, you can turn a simple set of ideas into content your clients will love. Wrapping up Creating content your client loves depends on many things, especially having good plans, writing clearly, and regular improvements. As always, everything starts with research to build a solid plan. After that, start creating relevant content for your clients with clear writing and text structure. Finally, optimize your work with helpful tools like the Yoast SEO plugin, which gives relevant feedback and improvements. You should also treat it as a learning process and improve as you go. This way, your clients eventually have a solid foundation that gets more engagement and deeper connections with their audience. Try it out and see how it can change your client’s next project. Every article will strengthen your client relationship while showing your expertise and experience. The post How to write valuable content that your clients will love appeared first on Yoast. View the full article

In a positive sign for the economy, headline inflation slowed in February. But the reading alone likely is not enough to break the Federal Open Market Committee out of its wait-and-see mode. View the full article

Wix introduces new Automations to help businesses turn customer actions into revenue and stronger engagement The post New Wix Automations Makes It Easy To Grow Revenue And Engagement appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Microsoft's released its monthly Patch Tuesday update for March 2025 to fix 57 bugs across Windows, Office, Azure, and other Microsoft systems. Seven of the patches address zero-day vulnerabilities, six of which have been actively exploited. According to Bleeping Computer, this month's update fixes 23 elevation of privilege flaws, three security feature bypass flaws, 23 remote code execution flaws, four information disclosure flaws, one denial of service flaw, and three spoofing flaws. Microsoft also released patches to numerous vulnerabilities in Mariner and Microsoft Edge this month. Patch Tuesday fixes for MarchSeven of the flaws fixed were zero-day vulnerabilities, which allow bad actors to exploit systems before an official patch is released by developers. In this case, six of the seven zero-day vulnerabilities were actively exploited, while one was publicly exposed—so it's only a matter of time before actors exploit this seventh vulnerability, as well. Two of the six active exploits (CVE-2025-24985 and CVE-2025-24993) are remote code execution vulnerabilities, through which attackers trick users into mounting a malicious VHD file to run code remotely. One affects the Windows Fast FAT System Driver, while the other is a flaw in Windows NTFS. Two of the active exploits are information disclosure vulnerabilities, both in Windows NTFS. CVE-2025-24984 allows bad actors with physical access to a device to read memory and steal data when a malicious USB drive is inserted, while CVE-2025-24991 is exploited when a user mounts a malicious VHD file. Finally, there's CVE-2025-24983, a vulnerability in the Windows Win32 Kernel Subsystem that allows local attackers to gain system privileges on a device, and CVE-2025-26633, a security feature bypass vulnerability in the Microsoft Management Console. Microsoft says most of the exploited zero-days flaws were disclosed anonymously, though CVE-2025-24983 was identified by ESET and CVE-2025-26633 by Trend Micro. The publicly disclosed zero-day—labeled CVE-2025-26630 and discovered by Unpatched.ai—allows remote code execution in Microsoft Office Access if the user opens a file sent via a phishing or social engineering attack. Microsoft also released patches for six other "critical" vulnerabilities affecting Microsoft Office, Remote Desktop Client, Windows Domain Name Service, Windows Remote Desktop Services, and Windows Subsystem for Linux Kernel. How to install Microsoft's latest security updatesMicrosoft releases its Patch Tuesday fixes on the second Tuesday of every month at 10 a.m. PT and pushes notifications and security updates to users if needed. Windows and Microsoft security updates generally download and install automatically on your PC. To ensure your PC is updated, go to Start > Settings > Windows Update, and select Check for Windows updates. View the full article

When the rules change, smart players adjust their strategy. Google Ads has changed a lot since it first launched. But shifting PPC strategies isn’t always easy. What happens if the rules change and you don’t know about it? Or you’re too confused by the new rules to take decisive action? Here’s how to adapt to changes in Google Ads while keeping your competitive edge and sanity. Google Ads stacks the deck in its own favor Google Ads constantly makes changes to increase its revenue. If there were a Serenity principle for advertisers, it might be: “Grant me the clarity to accept the Google Ads changes I can’t control, the knowledge to push back on the ones I can, and the insight to recognize when I’m being manipulated.” Here are the three main types of changes you’ll see with Google Ads and how to outsmart the platform at each step. 1. Forced adoption: You don’t have a choice With forced adoption, there’s no workaround or way to opt out. Google makes changes, and advertisers are forced to adapt. Take search term visibility. Advertisers once had access to 100% of their search term data. Now? In the campaign below, 90% of clicks are hidden under Other search terms. There’s no setting to change this. You’re paying for the clicks, but you don’t get to see where they came from. The recently announced “asset flexibility” change would also fall in this category. Don’t want your unpinned headlines to be used as sitelinks or your description lines to vanish entirely? Too bad! What can you do? When you can’t fight the change, you must change how you play. For example, CTR isn’t what it used to be. When Google Ads were limited to three on the right rail, competing for clicks was a different game. Today, an ad can dominate the entire above-the-fold space. If you’re still using CTR as a primary KPI, you may be optimizing for a world that no longer exists. Dig deeper: Google Ads optimization: What to stop, start, and continue in 2025 2. Persuasion tactics: Opting out feels like a mistake With persuasion tactics, you control how you respond to platform changes, but Google makes saying no feel like a mistake. The platform is designed to nudge, pressure, and gamify decisions in Google’s favor. You’ve seen it before: Interface nudges pushing you toward automation and expanded targeting. Warning alerts implying your campaign is failing without Google’s recommended action. Language framing that sells changes as “upgrades” or “best practices” to make them seem like the only smart choice. Then there’s gamification. Ad Strength and Optimization Scores tap into your instinct to “fix” low numbers, even when it doesn’t help performance. Google Ads reps are often incentivized to push automation adoption over actual results. What can you do? Persuasion tactics work because they shift responsibility onto you. If you choose to make a change, you’re less likely to push back when it doesn’t work. But that choice was never as independent as it seemed. Outsmart these tactics by: Ignoring false urgency: Just because an alert appears doesn’t mean something is wrong. Slowing down your decisions: Is this good for my account or just for Google? Second-guessing Google reps: Many are incentivized to push automation, not to improve your performance. The more aware you are, the more confident you can be in making decisions that serve your business, not Google’s. Dig deeper: Google Ads best practices: The good, the bad and the balancing act 3. Deceptive patterns: The real choices are hidden Deceptive patterns in Google Ads rely on unexpected defaults, buried settings, and misleading options that quietly steer you into decisions you wouldn’t make if the choice were obvious. With these changes, you never notice the choice in the first place, and your budget gets wasted without you ever realizing it. The challenge with deceptive patterns is that you don’t know what you don’t know. However, the more familiar you are with Google’s interface and the ways it quietly reshapes your choices, the better equipped you are to take back control. What can you do? Check the defaults: Many settings automatically enroll you in things you wouldn’t knowingly choose, like broad match expansion or automated asset placements. Explore the interface: Google regularly moves or renames settings, making it harder to find what you can control. Take time to see what’s changed. Ask questions: Your coworkers, industry forums, and fellow marketers have likely already spotted things you weren’t aware of. Grab the PDF: Your 22-page companion guide to this SMX session – covering the most common deceptive defaults and where to find them. Dig deeper: Top Google Ads recommendations you should always ignore, use, or evaluate Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. Make sense of complex updates and announcements If you’re anything like me, your day is a constant stream of Google alerts, updates, and notifications. Someone’s breaking news on LinkedIn. An email from Google insists on immediate action. A story in your feed begs to be unpacked and interpreted Even if you went on a news diet, you’d still have to deal with the fact that what worked for your Google Ads account last year might not work for you this year. What’s frustrating about updates isn’t just the pace and frequency; it can also be hard to even know what they’re talking about. Say there’s a new campaign type called “Enhanced Max Select for Conversions” that claims to reach new customers at the right moment with the right message. You read the email and follow the links to the press release and blog post, but you’re still left wondering: What action, if any, do I need to take? What happens if I don’t take action? How will this affect my results? What hidden agendas might be driving this change? What do clients and leadership teams care about? You can’t find answers to your basic questions, and you’re stuck wondering how to move forward. To help you combat this analysis paralysis, I created a custom GPT. Meet Nora, the Paid Search Decoder. Nora helps you break down announcements, so you actually know what action to take. Let’s see Nora in action with this Google Ads announcement, “New features and controls for your AI-powered campaigns.” In it, you’ll find the vaguest of headlines like “Media management, your way.” If you ask regular ChatGPT, “What actions can I take from this update?” you’ll get a pile of non-actionable babble. Things like “leverage AI” and “enhance brand control.” Now, let’s ask Nora the same question, “What actions can I take from this update?” Nora gives you a clear breakdown of what’s immediately available and what’s rolling out later. The usual cautions apply. Always verify sources and be on the lookout for AI hallucinations. But with Nora, along with other trusted sources, you can make sense of new rollouts faster and actually know what to do next. Dig deeper: How to tank your Google Ads account in 10 days Stay focused: Let your account goals drive your decisions In any paid search discussion, the same questions always come up: “What’s the best bidding strategy?” “How many keywords should be in an ad group?” These aren’t bad questions, but they’re starting in the wrong place. Great marketing doesn’t come from chasing tactics. And it definitely doesn’t come from chasing every new Google Ads feature. If you want to outsmart Google Ads, get strategic. Instead of starting with which tactics to use, start with your goals. Ask: “What does my account need?” “How do I get it?” Then, choose the tactics that support your strategy. I’ll show you what I mean. Here’s a campaign where CPCs were creeping up, CPA was at an all-time high, and the agency had made 51 budget changes in just eight months. When we took over, we defined clear goals and then built a strategy to match. Objectives Keep CPL low. Increase conversions and conversion rate. Reduce budget changes. Target demand-side interest (not supply-side). Strategy Edit and pin ad copy to clarify demand-side targeting. tCPA with a portfolio bid strategy to limit max bids. The result 50% more conversions. 25% lower CPA. No more budget-whiplash. Will this exact approach work for you? Probably not. And that’s the point. A personalized decision tree can help you focus on what actually drives results for your account without getting distracted by shiny objects. (Download the PDF for access.) [Watch] Outsmarting Google Ads: Insider strategies to navigate changes like a pro Find more insights and strategies for outsmarting Google Ads in my SMX Next session: View the full article

Essential content creation tools include a video editor, a photo editor, and an AI writer. See our top picks. View the full article

City executives have urged chancellor to lower cap on tax-free savingsView the full article

Figure could pave the way for earlier Federal Reserve rate cutsView the full article

The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Trump administration’s increase in tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%. The world’s biggest trading bloc was expecting the U.S. tariffs and prepared in advance, but the measures still place great strain on already tense transatlantic relations. Only last month, Washington warned Europe that it would have to take care of its own security in the future. The EU measures will cover goods from the United States worth some 26 billion euros ($28 billion), and not just steel and aluminum products, but also textiles, home appliances, and agricultural goods. Motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter, and jeans will be hit, as they were during President Donald Trump’s first term. The EU duties aim for pressure points in the U.S. while minimizing additional damage to Europe. The tariffs—taxes on imports—primarily target Republican-held states, hitting soybeans in House speaker Mike Johnson’s Louisiana, but also beef and poultry in Kansas and Nebraska. Produce in Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia is also on the list. The EU moves to protect itself European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement that the bloc “will always remain open to negotiation.” “As the U.S. are applying tariffs worth 28 billion dollars, we are responding with countermeasures worth 26 billion euros,” she said. The commission manages trade and commercial conflicts on behalf of the 27 member EU countries. “We firmly believe that in a world fraught with geopolitical and economic uncertainties, it is not in our common interest to burden our economies with tariffs,” von der Leyen said. Trump said his taxes would help create U.S. factory jobs, but von der Leyen said: “Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. In Europe and in the United States.” “We deeply regret this measure. Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers. These tariffs are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy,” she said. American business group urges talks The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU said the U.S. tariffs and EU countermeasures “will only harm jobs, prosperity, and security on both sides of the Atlantic.” “The two sides must de-escalate and find a negotiated outcome urgently,” the chamber said Wednesday. What will actually happen? Trump slapped similar tariffs on EU steel and aluminum during his first term in office, which enraged European and other allies. The EU also imposed countermeasures in retaliation at the time, raising tariffs on U.S.-made motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter, and jeans, among other items. This time, the EU action will involve two steps. First, on April 1, the commission will reintroduce what it calls “rebalancing measures,” which the EU had from 2018 and 2020 but which were suspended under the Biden administration. Then on April 13 come the additional duties targeting 18 billion euros ($19.6 billion) in U.S. exports to the bloc. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič traveled to Washington last month in an effort to head off the tariffs, meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other top trade officials. He said on Wednesday that it became clear during the trip “that the EU is not the problem.” “I argued to avoid the unnecessary burden of measures and countermeasures, but you need a partner for that. You need both hands to clap,” Šefčovič told reporters at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. European steel companies brace for losses The EU could lose up to 3.7 million tons of steel exports, according to the European steel association Eurofer. The U.S. is the second biggest export market for EU steel producers, representing 16% of the total EU steel exports. The EU estimates that annual trade volume between both sides stands at about $1.5 trillion, representing some 30% of global trade. While the bloc has a substantial export surplus in goods, it says that is partly offset by the U.S. surplus in the trade of services. Britain, which isn’t part of the EU, meanwhile said it won’t impose retaliatory measures of its own on the U.S. British Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said Wednesday he would “continue to engage closely and productively with the U.S. to press the case for U.K. business interests.” He did not rule out future tariffs on U.S. imports, saying “we will keep all options on the table and won’t hesitate to respond in the national interest.” McHugh reported from Frankfurt. Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. This story corrects Maroš Šefčovič’s title to EU trade commissioner, not European Commission vice president. —Lorne Cook and David McHugh, Associated Press View the full article

‘Ignored stocks’ outperform as Big Tech and banks slideView the full article

With AI reducing traditional search traffic, expanding SEO efforts into emerging markets can help businesses capture new revenue and stay ahead of competitors. The post Using SEO To Capture Growth Opportunities In Emerging Markets appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

US-based Niantic is selling its games business as part of a pivot to artificial intelligence View the full article

Forget a diamond ring, the latest symbol of commitment now comes in the form of wearable tech. The RAW ring, created by the dating app RAW and Queens Tech, allows couples to track each other’s emotions, both good and bad. Coming as a pair—one for you, one for your partner—the rings track the wearer’s heartbeat, use bio-sensors to track their vitals, and detect voice and emotional cues for changes. Think, a digital mood ring, but for someone else’s emotions. “Keep you and your partner’s hearts beating as one. Feel their emotions, share your vibe, and stay connected in ways that go beyond words,” reads a statement on the RAW website. “Marriage evolves, and so does loyalty. Sacred vows go digital. RAW’s mission? Making true love trackable.” The ring’s makers claim that the device can identify emotional states such as stress, anxiety and arousal. “When something’s up, you’ll know. Simple as that,” adds Marina Anderson, RAW cofounder. Tracking your partner’s emotions comes with some obvious pitfalls. While the company claims that the ring “understands context”—such as telling the difference between a spike in heart rate from exercise versus emotional arousal—things could still get awkward. If your synced ring suddenly flashes purple-red (a signal for arousal) in the middle of the workday, that’s probably not a conversation you’ll be excited to have when you both get home. While for some couples, sharing their location is quickly becoming a modern relationship milestone, is it really healthy to know every tiny fluctuation of your partner’s emotions throughout the day? As technology becomes increasingly woven into our daily lives, the line between convenience and control is growing increasingly blurred. Granting your partner access to your intimate emotions is a recipe for disaster if jealousy is a pre-existing issue in the relationship. In extreme cases, abusers have also been known to use tracking technology to stalk and surveil their partners. For those who are eager to test out the Raw ring, the device has yet to hit the market but is likely to be made available to purchase in late 2025 or early 2026. Details on the price have yet to be announced. View the full article

Decision by FCA and PRA comes as government’s growth push forces regulators to rethink policiesView the full article

For years, digital marketing has seen constant debates about the “death” of SEO. But as long as people search for information, products, and services online, optimization will remain essential. Search platforms may evolve – whether Google, social media, ecommerce, or AI-driven search – but the core principle stays the same: content must be optimized for discoverability. This article examines: Why optimization remains crucial across search platforms – from Google to social media, ecommerce, and beyond. The enduring relevance of SEO. Its evolution in an AI-driven landscape. Understanding SEO beyond Google SEO is often associated solely with Google, but that is an overly narrow perspective. While Google dominates search, optimization principles apply to multiple platforms, including: Ecommerce platforms: Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and others require SEO for product listings to rank higher in searches. Social media platforms: YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and TikTok have search functionalities, and content must be optimized to reach the right audience. App stores: Both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store require app store optimization (ASO) to rank apps effectively. Voice search and AI assistants: Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant depend on optimized content to deliver accurate results. Enterprise and internal search engines: Large businesses and organizations optimize internal search engines to help employees find relevant documents and resources. Streaming and podcast platforms: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other audio platforms use optimization for show titles, descriptions, and metadata to improve discoverability. News and blog SEO: Publishers optimize articles for Google News and organic rankings to attract readers. As long as users continue to search for content on digital platforms, optimization will remain an essential practice, regardless of what we call it. Dig deeper: Search everywhere optimization – 7 platforms SEOs need to optimize for beyond Google Optimization is about user preferences, not just search algorithms The core of SEO is not just about appeasing search engine algorithms. It’s about understanding what users need. Optimization ensures content is structured, tagged, and presented to meet users’ expectations. Keyword optimization and intent matching Search engines aim to deliver results that match user intent. Whether someone searches for “best running shoes for beginners” or “how to start a business,” optimized content ensures they get the most relevant answers. Dig deeper: Rethinking your keyword strategy – Why optimizing for search intent matters Fast-loading and mobile-friendly experiences Page speed and mobile responsiveness play a crucial role in user experience. Websites that load slowly or display poorly on mobile devices lose engagement, which impacts rankings and visibility. Content structure and readability Search engines and users both prefer well-organized content. Headers, bullet points, meta descriptions, and schema markup help search engines understand content better, leading to improved rankings. Dig deeper: What is content readability and how to make your content easier to read Engagement signals Platforms use engagement metrics such as click-through rates and time on page to determine content quality. Well-optimized content keeps users engaged, signaling to algorithms that it is valuable. Personalized search Search engines personalize results based on user behavior, location, and preferences. Optimization helps you tailor content to meet specific audience needs. Dig deeper: How to boost your marketing revenue with personalization, connectivity and data Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. SEO shifts with the times: You need to stay ahead Search behavior is constantly evolving, and SEO must keep up. What worked five years ago may not work today, but that doesn’t mean optimization is irrelevant. Rather than disappearing, it is shifting to align with new search trends, technologies, and user expectations. AI and machine learning in search Some believe traditional SEO is becoming obsolete, but AI-powered search still relies on optimized content to deliver relevant results. Google’s RankBrain, BERT, and other AI-driven updates have shifted search from simple keyword matching to natural language processing and semantic search. This means SEO is no longer just about keywords but about understanding user intent and structuring content for AI discoverability. To stay ahead, SEOs must adapt by: Using structured data to help AI interpret content accurately. Focusing on entity-based optimization rather than just keywords. Optimizing for conversational search experiences. Rather than diminishing SEO, AI search reinforces the need for high-quality, well-structured content. SEOs who evolve with these changes will remain essential in the digital landscape. Dig deeper: AI optimization – How to optimize your content for AI search and agents Zero-click searches, AI Overviews, and featured snippets Google is increasingly showing direct answers in featured snippets, reducing the need for users to click on traditional links. AI Overviews take this further, synthesizing multiple sources. However, both still depend on authoritative, well-structured content. SEOs must focus on content clarity, schema markup, and authority signals to ensure their content is featured in these results. Voice search With smart speakers and voice assistants growing in popularity, people now use conversational queries like “Where’s the nearest Italian restaurant?” Optimizing for voice search requires a shift to long-tail keywords and local SEO. Video and image search optimization Platforms like YouTube and Google Lens rely on optimization strategies such as captions, alt text, and structured metadata to rank video and image content. SEO is alive and will keep evolving SEO is not going anywhere. As long as people search for information, the need for optimization will persist. The terminology may change – some may call it “digital discoverability,” “content optimization,” or “search experience management” – but the core principle remains the same: If you want your content to be found, you need optimization. As part of the search industry, SEOs must educate business owners about building a complete web presence. It’s not just about ranking on Google; it’s about ensuring visibility across all digital touchpoints, including: AI-driven search. Social media. Ecommerce. Emerging platforms. And more. The credibility of any search platform depends on the efficiency of its organic search results. History has shown that neglecting organic search – as seen in Yahoo’s decline – can lead to a loss of trust and relevance. The lesson is clear: optimization remains a cornerstone of digital success. Rather than fearing change, SEOs should focus on evolving strategies to stay ahead in a dynamic landscape. View the full article

Over the last month, Jamie Dimon has rapidly emerged as one of the most vocal proponents of the return-to-office movement. During a recent appearance at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, the J.P. Morgan Chase CEO could not help but complain—again—about workers who were pushing back on RTO policies. When fielding a question about his recent colorful remarks on RTO, Dimon noted that it was only “people in the middle” who were unhappy about going into the office. “If you work in a restaurant, you’ve got to be in. You all may not know this, but 60% of Americans worked the whole time,” he said, seemingly in reference to the pandemic. “Where did you get your Amazon packages from? Your beef, your meat, your vodka? Where did you get the diapers from?” “You got UPS and FedEx and manufacturers and agriculture and hospitals and cities and schools and nurses and sanitation and firemen and military. They all worked,” he added. “It’s only these people in the middle who complain a lot about it.” Dimon has had a lot to say about workers who are reluctant to return to the office. This month, J.P. Morgan started requiring that employees come into the office five days a week, officially ending its hybrid work policy. The new mandate—which was announced at the start of the year and echoes a broader shift across corporate America—stirred up discontent among the company’s workforce and even prompted an online petition making a case for hybrid work, which has since drawn nearly 2,000 signatures. Dimon, however, was quick to dismiss employee concerns. “I don’t care how many people sign that fucking petition,” he said during an internal meeting, according to a recording obtained by Reuters. “Don’t give me the shit that ‘work from home Friday’ works.” Dimon added that the company would not allow managers to approve or make decisions about in-office requirements. “There is no chance that I will leave it up to managers,” he said. “Zero chance. The abuse that took place is extraordinary.” He also argued that employees did not pay attention during Zoom meetings and called for J.P. Morgan to increase efficiency by 10% through through cutting down on training sessions and the number of documents produced by the company—as well as meetings. (J.P. Morgan was not immediately available for comment.) Like plenty of other CEOs, Dimon has embraced a full return to the office under the pretext of promoting collaboration and productivity. But Dimon has been far more blunt and outspoken than some of his peers—not to mention more dismissive of dissent from employees. While he later apologized for the language he used in the internal meeting, noting that he should “never curse” and “get angry,” Dimon has continued to double down on his stance that employees should work from the office full-time. “I completely respect people that don’t want to go to the office all five days a week—that’s your right,” he told CNBC recently. “But they should respect that the company is going to decide what’s good for the clients [and] the company, not an individual. So they can get a job—and I’m not being mean—they can get a job elsewhere.” Dimon also referenced the petition again, though he struck a different tone than he did when speaking to his staff. “There’s a petition,” he said. “And they have the right to feel that way. But we’re not going to change. We’re going back to the office.” Of course, as J.P. Morgan employees have returned to the office this month, they have reportedly encountered many of the same issues facing workers at other companies, from limited workspace to noisy colleagues. And despite his open disdain for remote work, Dimon does seem to believe in its efficacy for certain workers—namely, the people staffing J.P. Morgan’s call centers. “We did it to see if they’d be effective,” he said at the Stanford event. “They’re highly effective. They work from home.” View the full article

Initially when Google Ads released the ability to add negative keywords to your Performance Max campaigns, Google limited it to 100 keywords. We asked why only 100 back then. Well, Google listened to the ad community and increased that from 100 to 10,000 negative keywords.View the full article

Google has updated its Google Ads review process policy documentation to clarify that it uses both AI and human evaluation for removing ads, assets, destinations, accounts and other content that goes against the Google Ads policies. View the full article

Google is testing a quick way to copy a link to a search results page and share it with a friend. There is this paperclip icon at the top right of the search results page that lets you copy link to the clipboard. That then generates a goo.gl URL shortener link to share.View the full article

Employees across industries are feeling increasingly insecure about their jobs. One in three American workers say they have “layoff anxiety” and one in four say they feel insecure in their job, according to a recent study. In recent weeks, tens of thousands of U.S. government workers have been fired, and federal agencies are expected to lay off thousands more. For now, it’s unclear whether federal job cuts will have a ripple effect on the private sector, particularly on firms that rely on government contracts. U.S. tariffs can also have an impact on the job market. Workers who are worried about losing their jobs may want to take steps to shore up their finances. Recent surveys find that many Americans don’t have much saved for a rainy day. Nearly half (43%) of Americans say they would need to borrow money to pay for an unexpected expense, such as $1,000 bill for an emergency room visit or car repair, according to Bankrate’s Emergency Savings Report. In addition, 13% of Americans have no savings, according to the Clarify Capital study. If you’re concerned about losing your job, make a list of every nonnegotiable monthly expense, suggests Bobbi Rebell, personal finance expert at BadCredit.org. For example, list how much you pay for housing, your phone bill, electricity, and food. Add those up and then compare that amount to what’s in your emergency fund and figure out how much runway you have to live on with only that money, she says. If you’re coming up short, here are five financial moves to make now to prepare for a layoff. While you’re still working, live as if you lost your job Commit to only spending money on essentials, even though you are still getting a paycheck, and put the extra money into your emergency fund. “There are a lot of things that we don’t consider discretionary that very much are discretionary,” Rebell says, listing expenses like buying new clothes, going out to dinner, or happy hour with friends. “Rather than treating yourself to a new dress, treat yourself to more money in your emergency fund,” Rebell says. Practice politely declining invitations, Rebell says. For instance, if you’re invited to a fancy birthday dinner and you don’t want to chip in for drinks, dinner, and a gift, just tell the host that you can’t make it, you don’t need to give an excuse, Rebell says. Cut back on retirement savings There is no question that saving for retirement is important, however financial experts caution that if you’re looking at potentially being unemployed for six months, nine months, or even a year, the funds you’re putting into your employer-sponsored retirement fund might be more useful in your bank account. “If you’re worried about losing your job, you might want to prioritize current cash flow over retirement plan savings and temporarily scale back on your 401k contributions so you have more available income,” says Tracey Spivey, partner and private enterprise lead at KPMG, a global professional services firm that specializes in audit, tax, and advisory services. Rebell agrees that if you’re facing a potential layoff, you might not want to have all your savings in a retirement fund. However, she says, make sure you are still putting enough money into your 401(k) to get the employer match. Keep in mind if you’re 55 or older and you are fired or laid off, the IRS does allow you to access your 401(k) without paying the 10% penalty. However, Rebell says, you will need to pay taxes on any 401(k) money you access, and any funds used now obviously won’t be available when you retire. Audit subscription services One of the easiest ways to find extra money is by auditing subscription services, says Said Israilov, a financial planner and wealth manager at Israilov Financial in San Francisco. “We frequently uncover $80–$100 in monthly subscription costs that provide no to minimal value,” he says. Categories to look at include: Trial subscriptions that have been converted to paid plans. This can include mobile games and streaming services. Redundant music and video streaming services. Typically, it’s more expensive for family members to have individual accounts rather than subscribing to one account and paying for multiple users. Annual subscriptions that auto-renew. This could include mediation or diet apps as well as software subscriptions. Expensive gym and fitness memberships. Consider replacing the cost of high-end gym membership with a low-cost membership to a community recreation center. Consider replacing all your entertainment subscription services with a free library card, at least temporarily, says Erika Kullberg, an attorney and personal finance expert and host of the podcast Erika Taught Me. Most libraries offer newsletters, magazines, audiobooks, and even games and movies. “Remember, these cuts are temporary, so see what you can do to save money now, so you have some extra cushion in the event a job loss does transpire,” she says. Negotiate a better rate Lower your bills by calling your insurance, internet, and utility providers and asking whether you can save money by changing the plan you’re currently on. Insurance bills often present opportunities for savings, Israilov says. Ask about bundling discounts and usage-based insurance programs for low-mileage drivers, if you drive less than 625 miles a month, he says. If you do lose your job and you owe money on a mortgage, car loan, or credit card, call the financial institution that holds that debt and ask about forbearance, says Derik Farrar, head of personal deposits at U.S. Bank. Your lender may offer a reduction or pause in payment during a temporary hardship like being laid off, he said. In addition, ask about ways to lower your interest rate, he says. Consider selling high-value items We all have items we no longer use. Take inventory of your possessions to determine if you still use them and whether others might value them. Rebell recommends selling gold jewelry that doesn’t have sentimental value, designer handbags, and designer clothes you no longer use. However, if you plan to sell these items through ThredUp or The RealReal be aware that some websites take a percentage of the sale, which could eat into your profits. Consider selling your items at a local consignment shop to avoid fees, she says. Some of these lifestyle changes will hurt more than others. While you can go back to your normal spending and saving habits when you are employed again, some degree of frugality is usually a good idea. View the full article

A president who can’t run again is freer from public opinion than business seems to realiseView the full article

Welcome to Pressing Questions, Fast Company’s work-life advice column. Every week, deputy editor Kathleen Davis, host of The New Way We Work podcast, will answer the biggest and most pressing workplace questions. Q: I think my manager is burned out. What can I do? A: It’s tough out there for managers, especially middle mangers who are often caught in the—well—middle and may find themselves enforcing unpopular policies that they didn’t create. It’s not explicitly your job to fix your boss’s problems (and you don’t have the power or authority to do so if you aren’t in a leadership role). But, a manager sets the tone for their team and if they are burned out, their entire team will likely follow suit. It may feel unfair, but giving a bit of thought to this question will make your (and your coworkers’) lives much better. This is a super-charged opportunity to practice your “managing up” (aka managing your manager) skills. Fast Company contributor Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic outlined several signs that your manager might be experiencing burnout and how to address them. Here are a few. They don’t seem to care how everyone else is doing Chamorro-Premuzic says that a burned-out boss might start to be less open to feedback, be suddenly uninterested in team morale, or no longer receptive to concerns. If your boss is acting like this, you can normalize small breaks and occasional team check-ins, where there’s more opportunity for casual interactions. Chamorro-Premuzic also says you can be supportive in subtle ways, like offering to help with tasks or expressing appreciation for their work. Being a manager can feel thankless. If your manager feels like no one cares about them or notices their work, they’re less likely to offer you and your coworkers the same appreciation. If you show them you care about them, hopefully that care will trickle down. Their energy is all over the place Scientific studies on burnout show that energy and motivation can wax and wane when someone is facing chronic stress. What this might look like in your manager is that you are being micromanaged on some days when they are overly worried about how your work reflects on them, and then completely ignored on other days, as they feel overwhelmed by their own workload. If your boss is acting like this, Chamorro-Premuzic advises that you can help them by providing structure and consistency in your work so they know what to expect. Institute routines like regular project updates or weekly recaps, and suggest ways they can delegate so their workload is more distributed. (Bonus: Taking on work above your level might set you up for a future promotion.) Longer hours and blurred boundaries If your manager is emailing late at night, working weekends, not taking time off, those are all pretty clear signs that they are habitually overextending themselves, and on the fast track to burn out. If your boss is acting like this, it probably feels tricky to push back but it’s another place that you can lead by example by setting clear boundaries. You can also gently remind them that you and your colleagues can take on their tasks when they aren’t there. (In other words: The world won’t fall apart if they take a vacation and it might help them reset.) Yes, your manager’s job satisfaction isn’t explicitly your job, but if we truly want to work in a more humane workplace it means we should care about everyone’s well-being, no matter where they are on the org chart. Want more advice on helping burned out managers? Here you go: Managers are not okay. Why we’re headed to a ‘manager crash’ in 2025 It’s time to check on your middle managers 5 red flags of your boss’s behavior you should not ignore View the full article

Google has released version 2.9 of the Google Ads Editor. This new update brings a number of new features including support for manager account (MCC) owned labels, shopping ads on excluded brands, age exclusions in PMax campaigns, enhanced CPC deprecation, multi-tab export/import to Google Sheets, ad previews for RSA and asset groups and more.View the full article

Google Ads may now be pushing you to create an experiment ad when you dismiss the recommendations Google Ads is suggesting. So when you dismiss a recommendation, Google Ads can get feisty and push you to at least create an experiment based on that recommendation.View the full article

Have you ever wished you could just skip the Instagram algorithm altogether and guarantee your content gets seen by your target audience? Or, rather than asking folks to click over to your bio to find your products, content, or website, just include a link right in the post? Well, meet Instagram ads. They are paid posts on the platform that you can use to promote your business, product, or services and reach new people. Ads appear in the same format as organic posts across Instagram Stories, Reels, Explore, and in-feed posts. But unlike organic Instagram posts, Instagram ads have a link to redirect users to a website to shop for your products or check out your services. They also have the “sponsored” label. With ads, you’re also not completely reliant on the Instagram algorithm to reach your target audience: You can control (to some extent) the demographics of the audience you want to reach. If you have the budget, Instagram ads can be an excellent addition to your Instagram marketing strategy. But navigating the ad manager is like untangling a spiderweb. In this guide, I’ll take you from the A to Z of Instagram advertising. By the end of this piece, you’ll be equipped to run Instagram ads successfully (and with confidence!). 💡Note: You need to have an Instagram business account to run ads on the platform. Learn more about how you can switch to a professional account to run ads in our guide to the various types of Instagram accounts.How much do Instagram ads cost?Cost is one of the primary factors in deciding whether you’ll add Instagram advertising to your marketing strategy. The good news? Instagram ads are quite flexible! You can spend as much or as little as you like. Your ad objectives, placements, formats, competition, niche, seasonality, all affect how much your Instagram ads will cost. The bad news? This is what often makes Instagram ads complicated. It’s difficult to pull out the “right” number out of a hat and decide how much you should invest to get a positive return on investment (ROI). Bïrch shares up-to-date Facebook advertising costs data from hundreds of millions of spend per month in the U.S. As of February 2025: Metric Cost Average Instagram cost per impression (CPM) $13.66 Average Instagram cost per click (CPC) $1.36 Average Instagram cost per engagement (CPE) $0.063 Average Instagram cost per lead (CPL) $9.23 Average Instagram cost per install (CPI) $1.99 Play around in Bïrch to get an accurate sense of how much you should expect to spend (and get) from running Instagram ads. You can also dissect the data to dig deeper. For instance, you can filter for average CPM by campaign objectives. The above numbers will help you set the right expectations, but how much you should invest in Instagram advertising depends on your budget and risk appetite. Ideally, choose a number large enough for you to care about and improve but small enough not to be damaging. 📚Related reading: How I Turned $75 Per Day in Ad Spend Into 1 Million Views on My Instagram Reel With Only 1,000 FollowersHow to run Instagram adsThere are two ways to run ads on Instagram: 1. Boosting a post 2. Using the Meta Ads Manager Boosting a post is the easier choice, but it doesn’t have the granular control the ad manager has. Let’s understand how both methods work (and where they differ). 💡Note: If you manage and run ads on a Facebook Page, you can link your Instagram business account to it and run the same ads on both channels. But I wouldn’t advise doing this if you aren’t familiar with Instagram at all. Learn the basics of Instagram before running the same ad on Instagram and Facebook.1. Boosting an Instagram postTo boost an Instagram post, all you have to do is click on the “Boost post” option on your Instagram posts. Once you click on “Boost post,” you can: 1. Choose what you want users to do when they see this post as an ad — visit your profile, visit a website, or message you. 2. Choose your target audience — Instagram has a “Suggested audience” option to reach people who are similar to your followers. You can also manually enter your desired audience demographics — including location, age, gender, and interests. 3. Decide your daily ad budget (minimum $1 every day) and get an estimate of the daily reach you’ll get using this ad. 4. Decide your ad duration — you can keep running the ad until you manually pause it or set a fixed timeline. 💡Note: You can follow the same process and run ads via your app, too. But if you download Instagram from the iOS app store, you’ll be charged an additional 30% service fee via Apple. To forego that, I’d recommend using the web to boost posts or add funds in advance to your Instagram ad account.Pros of running ads via boosting: The process is quick and easyYou don’t have to create an account on Meta Ads ManagerBoosting posts is cost-effective, especially if you’re on a tight budgetYou don’t have to link your Instagram account to any Facebook PageYou can double down on your best-performing organic posts by boosting them (it already has the social proof of likes, comments, and shares)Cons of running ads via boosting: You don’t get refined targeting optionsYou cannot run a campaign with an objective and various postsYou can’t run an ad that’s not already been posted organicallyYou can’t boost Instagram Reels that have copyrighted music, GIFs, interactive stickers, or camera filters from a third-party appYou can’t boost Instagram Stories if they have effects added outside of Instagram or if they have interactive elements or stickersBoosting a post is an excellent option if you’re a beginner to social media advertising and need to learn the ropes before you dive into the ads manager. You can amplify your content quickly and with more affordability. But it’s best to move to the Meta Ads Manager as soon as you need advanced targeting options. 2. Using the Meta Ads ManagerIf you’ve already used the Meta Ads Manager to run Facebook ads, you’re in luck: The process and the best practices are the same for running Instagram ads. Pros of running ads via Meta Ads Manager: You can create customized reports for stakeholdersYou get granular control over your ads and target audienceYou can integrate your website’s data to understand your audience better and improve targetingYou can choose from your existing organic content or upload new ad content from scratchCons of running ads via Meta Ads Manager: You cannot manage campaigns from within the Instagram appYou have to spend time learning how to use the Meta Ads ManagerYou have to create a Facebook Page to run ads via Meta Ads ManagerMeta Ads Manager can be less cost-effective and more risky than boosting successful postsIf you’re new to the Meta Ads Manager, the landscape can be overwhelming. But don’t worry — the ad manager is quite intuitive to use. Here’s how to find your way around: 💡Note: You need to have a Facebook Page to run ads using the Meta Ads manager. You can then link your Page and Instagram account to run ads on Instagram. You can only link one Instagram account to one Facebook Page.Step 1: Create an ad account and add your teamGo to the Meta Business Suite to access the ad manager. First, create an account with Meta Business Suite if you don’t have one already. Then, follow the below steps: 1. Go to “Business Settings” after you’ve logged in to your Meta Business Suite. 2. Click on “Ad Account” under the “Accounts” header. 3. You can claim an existing ad account using the ad account’s ID or create a new ad account by giving it a name and entering your region’s currency. If you’re working with a team, go to “Ad account settings” in your ad manager and find “Ad account roles.” You can offer your members three kinds of access: Admins have the same permission as the ad account’s owner. They can create ads, edit payment methods, and modify the access levels of other team members.Advertisers can create ads, edit campaigns, and access performance reports. But they can’t modify existing permission settings or your payment methods.Analysts can only view ads and access performance reports.Step 2: Design an Instagram campaignThere are three levels to every campaign on Meta. The campaign level is the bigger picture of what kind of campaign you’re going to runThe ad sets level is about your target audience and the frequency you’ll advertise to themThe ad level is what your prospective buyers see on their mobile appImage source We’ll cover the campaign level in this step. To get started, click on “Create” in the Meta Ads Manager. Once you click “Create,” Meta will ask you to select a campaign objective. This is the desired action you want your target audience to take after seeing your ad. For example, if your business goal is to increase brand awareness, your ad objective is “awareness.” But if you want to redirect users to a sale on your website, “traffic” is the right objective. In total, there are six objectives to choose from: Awareness: Choose this option when your goal is to increase brand awareness about your product or service.Traffic: Choose this option when you aim to boost traffic on your website.Engagement: Choose this option when you want to build a community using Instagram.Leads: Choose this option when you want to collect leads for your business using Instagram.App promotion: Choose this option when you want to promote your company’s app and boost app installs.Sales: Choose this option when you want to use ads for conversions.💡Note: The above ad objectives options are for the “auction” buying type — which is the most common choice in Meta Ads Manager. There’s a fixed price on the CPM if you choose Reservations. But you need to have a minimum spend commitment to reach that CPM and there’s overall less flexibility in changing your budget and targeting once you place the ads. Here’s Meta’s advice on choosing the right buying type.Step 3: Create ad set(s) for your campaignThe specifics of the options you see in your ad sets depends on your objective in step two, but you can expect the following: Conversion location In ad objectives like sales and traffic, you have to choose where you’d like to redirect the viewers watching your ads — your website, your DMs, etc. Performance goal This is how you measure the success of your ads. You can choose from various metrics depending on your objectives. For example, in the awareness ad objective, your performance goal can be maximizing ad reach, the number of impressions, or the ad recall. Similarly, in the traffic ad objective, your performance goal can be to maximize the number of clicks. Budget and schedule You have to decide how much you’ll spend daily or in the lifetime of your campaign and set the schedule of your start and end date. If your business experiences seasonal demands, you can also choose to increase your budget during specific days or times. Audience controls Select your target audience’s demographics — location, age, gender, and languages. Ad placements Placements are exactly where you want to place ads on your Instagram account. Apart from Instagram’s various content formats (Stories, Reels, in-feed posts, Explore), you also get the option to run the same ads on your Facebook Page, Messenger, and Search results. You can also customize your settings for specific mobile devices and WiFi connections. ⚡Remember: You can have multiple ad sets within the same campaign. For example, let’s say you’re running a sale on a product category. One of your ad sets can redirect people to product A, and another can lead them to product B. Both ad sets are part of the same Instagram ad campaign (the sale), but they carry different products.Step 4: Craft your Instagram ad(s)At the last level, you upload the ad content you want to run on Instagram. This is the ad your audience will see in their mobile app. There are four primary sections at the ad level: Ad setup You can upload a new ad from scratch, use an existing post to run as an ad, or use any mockups you have in Meta’s Creative Hub. You also have to choose an ad format — a single image or a single video, a carousel, or a collection (group of items that opens into a fullscreen mobile experience). Destination Choose where you’d like to send people when they click on your ad. You can add a specific URL, an event on your Facebook Page, or call you directly. If you’re redirecting ad viewers to a website, it’s imperative you set up Meta Pixel in your ad account to track performance accurately. Meta Pixel is just a piece of code you need to add to your company’s website to measure precise ad results and optimize targeted audiences. Here’s an article from Meta explaining more. Ad creative This is where you upload your image or video. You can also source the ad content from a URL. In the creative setup, you have granular control over the thumbnail, ad copy, display label, call to action, and more. Tracking Here, you can set up various ways to track your ad performance (like the Meta Pixels we talked about earlier). You also have simpler alternatives like UTM parameters. Buffer has a free UTM builder that can come in handy here. 😉 Once you hit “Publish” your ad(s) will be live! Voila 🥳 That might seem like a lot, but it’s easy to pick up the pace and keep going once you start. Meta Ad Manager is easy to use and has directions at every step of the way. 5 best practices for successful Instagram adsRunning ads isn’t just about the logistics — there’s a ton of strategy work going behind improving the ROI from each ad. Here are five beginner-friendly pro tips. 1. Use Meta Advantage to your advantageMeta has various Advantage+ options placed everywhere — from your ad set to your ad creative. Meta Advantage is using the best of AI within Meta to improve the ROI of your Instagram ads. Whenever you see Advantage+ while running your Instagram campaigns, use them — especially if you’re a beginner. This will allow Meta to do its magic and give you the most bang for your buck. I’d advise even pros to experiment with A/B testing Meta’s advantage recommendations versus their manual placements to check which performs better. Meta’s machine learning system is strong and reliable — use it to not only enhance your performance but also reduce your efforts. 2. Rely on Meta’s campaign score to improve your Instagram adsMeta provides a campaign score between 0–100 to show you how well you’ve optimized your ads based on Meta’s recommendations. While this number doesn’t dictate future performance, think of it as a predictive score to analyze where you can improve your ad performance. Try to get the green light (unless you have a solid reason to go against Meta’s recommendations). Similar to campaign score is the audience definition: This is how wide or broad of an audience you’re reaching with your ad campaigns. You don’t want your audience to be too specific (unless you’re selling in a niche, local market) — otherwise, you miss people who might’ve been interested in your products or services. 3. Keep your ad visuals and copy clear, concise, and crispClear > clever, every time. Especially when it comes to Instagram ads. Don’t have cluttered visuals or an ad copy that’s clever, but hard to read. Remember people are scrolling on the platform when they’re busy or idle — you want to grab attention fast. Here are some actionable tips: Answer “what’s in it for me?” right away for potential customers and use copywriting formulas to your advantageDon’t bury the offer (like a discount code) in an ad’s caption. Highlight it in the pictures and videos clearlyEnsure your ad preview looks eye-catching in all ad placements if you’re using the same creativeShow real people using your product in ads to help people resonate with your brand4. Track your ad performance to improveMeta’s reporting features are excellent to help you understand what’s working well in your ads and what needs improvement. In the Overview tab, you can customize the duration for which you want to see ad insights and also filter data using various parameters. For example: You only want to monitor ad performance you landed on the Instagram Explore page. You can filter for this using search.You only want to see your ad's engagement metrics (post likes, comments, shares). You can customize this using columns.You only want to track ads you published in the U.S. market. You can refine your ad manager dashboard using breakdown.You can find similar numbers for Boosted posts, but they’re not as in-depth as the Meta Ads Manager. Monitoring the numbers you care about regularly is useful for ensuring you’re meeting your social media goals. Set time aside in the middle of and at the end of every campaign to analyze your ad performance and understand how you can improve. 5. Start with boosting your best-performing postsIf you’re overwhelmed, strapped for time, or on a shoestring budget, experiment with Instagram ads using “Boost posts” instead of setting up a whole campaign in the ad manager. Boosting posts is like the trial version of Instagram ads — it can help you learn the ropes, get some confidence, and spend your money cautiously before you dive deep. For best results, boost your best-performing Instagram posts. They already have the credibility of likes, comments, and shares. And what’s performed well organically will likely do well in ads, too. Instagram ads aren’t in a siloInstagram advertising is a great addition to your Instagram strategy. But ads alone aren’t the only way to grow on Instagram. While ads may boost your Instagram reach in the short term, advertising without organic efforts is not a well-rounded social media strategy. As you dabble with the Meta ads manager, don’t forget to also continue your organic marketing efforts side-by-side. Wondering where to begin? Here are some ideas on what to post on Instagram. And to make your Instagram marketing journey even easier, sign up for Buffer (for free!) and start scheduling Instagram posts, storing content ideas, using AI to make your life easier, and a lot more. View the full article