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SEO is a fast-moving, marketing-centric industry that will always keep you on your toes. If you’re just getting started, it can be overwhelming without a guide. There are many facets and specializations in SEO that come later in a career – local, technical, content, digital PR, UX, ecommerce, media – the list goes on. However, that level of specialization isn’t something a junior professional needs to focus on right away. Much like a liberal arts degree or an apprenticeship, a newcomer to SEO should first develop a broad understanding of the entire discipline before choosing a specialty. This article covers several ways to build that foundational knowledge of search engine optimization. 1. Start with the business Whether you’re in-house or at an agency, resist the urge to jump straight into “solution mode” when beginning an SEO project. Instead of immediately focusing on meta tags, keywords, backlinks, or URL structure, start by understanding the business itself. Here are some key questions to consider as you browse the website: What product or service is being sold? Who is the target audience? (If you’re in-house, who is your company trying to sell to?) Why does the company believe customers should choose them over competitors? (Common differentiators include price, unique features, or benefits.) If you have the time or opportunity, dig deeper by asking your boss or client these business-focused questions: What are the company’s goals and targets? What is the three- to five-year plan for the business? (Are there plans to launch new products or expand into new markets?) Who are the main competitors, and what are they doing? A sample of onboarding business questions from Building a Business Brain by FLOQ Academy Even without that level of detail, the first three questions provide a useful frame of reference for determining the best SEO approach. 2. Be curious, ask questions SEO now touches nearly every aspect of digital marketing. Because of that, SEOs often become social butterflies, regularly collaborating with other departments and specialties. I’ve been in SEO for 15 years now (which makes me feel old), but I continue to ask my clients questions every day. This field encourages curiosity, so rather than feeling frustrated by what you don’t fully understand, embrace being the one to ask the “dumb questions.” There’s no such thing as a dumb question, by the way. Dig deeper: How to become exceptional at SEO 3. Build from the foundations of SEO As mentioned earlier, SEO has many specializations. Some, like video or local SEO, are referred to as “search verticals.” If you’re new to the field, start with the basics: the website and how Google presents search results. Once you understand the business, try a simple exercise to analyze your site’s optimization. Open a key product, category, or service page in one window. In another, search for a term you think users would enter to find that page. Compare what appears in the search results with your own page and the pages that rank for that term. For example, in a search for “running shoes,” a few things stand out: The intent is somewhat mismatched. Nike’s category page targets users who are researching with intent to buy or are already planning a purchase. However, the search results display articles comparing different running shoes. Scrolling down, you might see an image carousel, a “Nearby Stores” section, and “People Also Ask” results. If I were a new SEO at Nike and assumed the “running shoes” category page could rank for the “running shoes” query, I would rethink that after reviewing the search results. If ranking for that broad term were a priority, I would create a running shoe comparison article featuring high-quality images of real people using the shoes – maybe even a video, if budget allowed. If your page aligns more closely with the search results, analyze the top-ranking pages and adapt successful elements to your own site. Do most of them have an on-page FAQ while yours doesn’t? A product video? Detailed specs? User reviews? Be critical and specific about what you can improve. (Never copy content directly.) At its core, SEO is about identifying what Google deems important for a given product or service, then doing it better than the competition. Many SEOs get caught up in tools and tactics and forget to examine the search results themselves. Break that habit early and make reviewing Google’s search results a key part of your research process. 4. Dabble in the technical side and build relationships with your developers Technical SEO is one of the more complex specializations in the field and can seem intimidating. If you’re using a major CMS, your technical foundations are likely solid, so today, much of technical SEO focuses on refinements and enhancements. While it’s important to develop technical knowledge, a great way to start is by building relationships with your development team and staying curious. Asking questions makes learning more interactive and immediately relevant to your work. Exploring coding courses or creating your own website can also help you develop technical skills gradually instead of all at once. Some argue that you can be a good SEO without technical expertise – and I don’t disagree. However, understanding a website’s inner workings, how Google operates, and even how large language models (LLMs) function can help you prioritize your SEO efforts. Code is Google’s native language, and knowing how to interpret it can be invaluable when migrating a site, launching a new one, or diagnosing traffic drops. Dig deeper: SEO prioritization: How to focus on what moves the needle Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. 5. Learn the different types of information Google shows in search results The way search results are presented today vastly differs from 10 or 15 years ago. Those who have been in the industry for a while have had the advantage of adapting gradually as Google has evolved. Newcomers, on the other hand, are thrown into the deep end, facing a wide range of search features all at once – some personalized, some not, and some appearing inconsistently. This can be challenging to grasp, even for experienced SEOs. Google has invested heavily in understanding user intent and presenting search results in a way that best addresses it. As a result, search results may include: Videos. Images. People Also Ask. Related Searches. AI Overviews. AI-organized search. Map results. Nearby shopping options. Product listings. People Also Buy From. News Building visibility for each of these features often requires a unique approach and specific considerations. These search result types are now industry jargon, so a glossary can help you learn SEO terminology. 6. Learn the different types of query intent classifications Google’s mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” As part of this, Google works to understand why people search for something and provides the most relevant results to match that intent. To do this, they classify queries based on intent. The Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines, a handbook Google provides to evaluators who manually assess website and search result quality, also touches on understanding user intent: “It can be helpful to think of queries as having one or more of the following intents. Know query, some of which are Know Simple queries. Do query, when the user is trying to accomplish a goal or engage in an activity. Website query, when the user is looking for a specific website or webpage. Visit-in-person query, some of which are looking for a specific business or organization, some of which are looking for a category of businesses.” When conducting keyword research, it’s helpful to analyze both your site and the queries you’re targeting through this lens. Many SEO professionals also use these broader, traditional intent categories, though they don’t always align perfectly with Google’s classifications: Informational: Who, what, when, where, how, why. Commercial: Comparison, review, best, specific product. Transactional: Buy, cheap, sale, register. Navigational: Searching for a specific brand. Rather than focusing solely on keywords, take a step back and consider the intent behind the search. Understanding intent is essential for SEO success. Dig deeper: Why traditional keyword research is failing and how to fix it with search intent 7. Do the research yourself before finding ways to use LLMs Your company may already have guidelines for using LLMs like ChatGPT or Claude for tasks such as keyword research, content creation, or competitor analysis. However, if you’re new to SEO, I strongly recommend completing at least one full project using tools like Google Search Console, Semrush, or Ahrefs without LLM support. While AI can speed up the process, relying on it too early has drawbacks: Slower learning curve: If an LLM does the heavy lifting, you miss the experience of making strategic trade-offs, such as choosing a low-volume, mid-competition keyword over a high-volume, high-competition one. Lack of instinct for accuracy: Without firsthand research experience, it’s harder to recognize when an LLM generates inaccurate information or pulls from an unreliable source. Reduced impact: Google is increasingly sophisticated in detecting “repetitive content.” Relying too much on LLMs for mass content creation could hurt performance, whereas a more focused, strategic approach might yield better results. While it may be tempting to jump straight into strategy rather than hands-on execution, senior SEOs develop their strategic mindset through years of practical work across different clients and industries. Skipping this foundational experience could make it harder to recognize large-scale patterns and trends. Dig deeper: Why you need humans, not just AI, to run great SEO campaigns Laying the groundwork for SEO success SEO offers endless opportunities once you master the fundamentals. If you’re just starting out, focus on these core areas: The business. The search results. User intent. Keep it simple. Stay focused. Be business-led. Build your SEO expertise on a strong foundation, and your career will grow from there. View the full article

President Donald Trump on Monday directed a “pause” to U.S. assistance to Ukraine as he seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia. The move comes just days after a disastrous Oval Office meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance tore into Zelenskyy for what they perceived as insufficient gratitude for the more than $180 billion U.S. has appropriated for military aid and other assistance to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022. A White House official said Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal and wants Zelenskyy “committed” to that goal. The official added that the U.S. was “pausing and reviewing” its aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the assistance. The order will remain in effect until Trump determines that Ukraine has demonstrated a commitment to peace negotiations with Russia, the official said. The halting of military aid comes some five years after Trump held up congressionally authorized assistance to Ukraine as he sought to pressure Zelenskyy to launch an investigation into Joe Biden, then a Democratic presidential candidate. The moment led to Trump’s first impeachment. In the lead-up to the 2024 election, Trump vowed a quick end to the war in Ukraine, even once boasting that he could bring a halt to the fighting in one day. He has shown increasing frustration with Zelenskyy over the war while simultaneously expressing confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has long admired, can be trusted to keep the peace if a truce is reached. Trump earlier on Monday slammed Zelenskyy for suggesting that the end of the war likely “is still very, very far away.” Zelenskyy had suggested it would take time to come to an agreement to end the war as he tried to offer a positive take on the U.S.-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week’s White House meeting. “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, responding to comments Zelenskyy made late Sunday to reporters. Trump, at a White House event later Monday, referred to Zelenskyy’s reported comments and asserted the Ukrainian leader “better not be right about that.” Zelenskyy later took to social media in an effort to further explain his thinking. He did not directly refer to Trump’s comments, but underscored that it “is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible.” “We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns,” Zelenskyy added. “We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security.” Trump administration and Ukrainian officials had been expected to sign off on a deal during Zelenskyy’s visit last week that would have given the U.S. access to Ukraine’s critical minerals in part to pay back the U.S. for aid it has sent Kyiv since the start of the war. The White House had billed such a pact as a way to tighten U.S.-Ukrainian relations in the long term. Vance, in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity that aired Monday evening, said European allies were doing Ukraine a disservice by not pressing Zelenskyy to find an endgame to the war. “A lot of our European friends puff him up,” Vance said. “They say, you know, you’re a freedom fighter. You need to keep fighting forever. Well, fighting forever with what? With whose money, with whose ammunition and with whose lives?” Democrats said the pausing of aid to Ukraine was dangerous and ill-advised. Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, who is cochair of the Congressional EU Caucus, said the decision “is reckless, indefensible, and a direct threat to our national security.” The Biden administration provided Kyiv with more than $66.5 billion in military aid and weapons since the war began. It had left unspent about $3.85 billion in congressionally authorized funding to send more weapons to Ukraine from existing U.S. stockpiles—a sum that had not been affected by the foreign aid freeze that Trump put in place when he first took office. “This aid was approved by Congress on a bipartisan basis—Republicans and Democrats alike recognized that standing with Ukraine is standing for democracy and against Putin’s aggression,” Boyle said in a statement. “Yet, Trump, who has repeatedly praised Putin and undermined our allies, is now playing political games with critical military assistance.” Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman, who served as counsel to House Democrats in the first impeachment inquiry against Trump, said the pausing of aid was “another extortion” of Zelenskyy. “This is the exact opposite of peace through strength,” Goldman said. “Instead, what it is is it’s another extortion of President Zelenskyy, illegally withholding aid in order to get President Zelenskyy to agree to a minerals deal.” Trump’s national security adviser said Zelenskyy’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office talks “put up in the air” whether he’s someone the U.S. administration will be able to deal with going forward. “Is he ready, personally, politically, to move his country towards an end to the fighting?” Mike Waltz said Monday on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “And can he and will he make the compromises necessary?” Waltz added another layer of doubt about U.S. support as other high-profile Trump allies, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. Lindsey Graham, have suggested that the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy is becoming untenable. Angela Stent, a former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council, said Putin is likely in no rush to end the war amid the fissures between Trump and Zelenskyy and between Europe and the U.S. about the way ahead. “He thinks Russia is winning. . . . And he thinks that as time goes on, the West will be more fractured,” said Stent, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Trump on Monday suggested he hasn’t given up on the economic pact, calling it “a great deal.” He added that he expected to speak about the deal during his Tuesday address before a joint session of Congress. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican who cochairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, spoke with Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, earlier Monday about getting the mineral rights deal back on track. Key GOP senators also indicated before the announcement of paused aid that they see a path to put U.S.-Ukraine relations back on track. “We got to lower the temperature,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., “and get to a deal that’s economically beneficial and takes care of our interests as well as the interests of the Ukrainian people.” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican who is a close ally of Trump, said he believes the president and Zelenskyy can “move past it.” “Getting the minerals deal done is a first step,” Mullin said. After that, he said, Zelenskyy needs to be “realistic on what a peace deal looks like.” Associated Press writers Tracy Brown, Lolita C. Baldor and Marc Levy contributed to this report. —Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller and Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Two weeks ago, there was a blanket of snow across most of the country. That melted into what feels like an early spring, with occasionally clear days and warm(ish) weather. The irises and tulips have begun to emerge in some areas, the surest sign that planting season is around the corner. This is the time to get organized and get ready, because by the time we talk again in April, we will be in it. Start garden and lawn cleanup in MarchNow is the time to get out there and start your spring clean up. You don’t want to get rid of the leaves—there are still insects slumbering, and they will be until spring temperatures hit. But you can gently rake them into beds and clear your lawn. Grab your pruners and get rid of the dead wood you see around you on shrubs. If you didn’t hit your berry canes before now, this is your last chance to clear away the dead wood. Your blueberries are ready to get a good structural pruning, too. Give your large shrubs and small trees a final pruning; we’re at the tail end of when it’s acceptable to do so. For trees, remove branches aimed inward, or those that cross another branch. You want to create airflow. The same is true for your shrubs: If you’ve allowed your hydrangeas and lilacs to become woody, now is a good time to lighten them up by removing interior branches and those that aim inward, cross other branches, or are too close to the house. Clean up your water features like ponds and bubblers. They might have algae or too much nitrogen from leaves. Consider mosquito dunks to prevent a problem later this summer. Empty your bird boxes; birds don’t like a used space. Do a deep clean of all your bird feeders, so you’re not spreading disease amongst the local bird population, particularly this year given the status of the bird flu. While I am an ecolawn convert, it’s time to revive the green space, whether it’s clover or grass. Uncover it, and consider aerating it with an aerator, which you can rent or borrow. Then fertilize the lawn, and as soon as it’s warm enough, overseed it. For grass seed, you need 50 degree ground temps; for clovers, you need 40 degrees. Divide tubers and plan your bulbsNow that your irises and other tubers should be sending up small shoots, you can see precisely where they are and, if necessary, break them up. Tubers (ginger root is a tuber, and it looks exactly like iris tubers and others) are very hard to kill. You can dig them up and break them apart, or take a spade to them (shove it through the tuber to divide it). I have been known to take a serrated bread knife into the garden, shove it into the dirt and saw tubers apart but a good serrated hori hori will do the job, too. Even a small piece can be replanted. You should really never need to buy more irises; you have the ability to propagate as many as you need. With the exception of a few flowers like ranunculus, it’s too late to plant most fall-planting/spring-flowering bulbs, like tulips. But consider that when you plant tulips in fall, you have no idea what your garden looks like in spring. During this time of year, I take pictures every week of most of my yard, and try to pay attention to where I need more bulbs, which kinds of bulbs, what colors, etc. I take a lot of notes that I can reference in fall when I order bulbs and plant. You can plant ranunculus, which is a fall bulb, but is very forgiving on early spring planting. "Ranuncs," as they’re referred to by gardeners, are like small peonies and come in fantastic colors. Their tiny spider-like corms (like bulbs) are easy to plant; they don’t need a lot of depth, and since you’re planting them now, you can put them exactly where you need them to bloom. Soak them in room temperature water over night before planting, and then place them with the roots facing down. Prep the garden bedsThere are lots of ways we can get garden beds ready for spring if they’re not in use with your winter garden. First, clean up the beds. Chop all your dead crops down, but leave the roots in place to compost if you can. Cleaning up the top of beds, whether that’s leaves or branches, will mean less food for slugs and snails, since this is when you’re most likely to catch them before they repopulate. Go ham on slug traps right now. They don’t need to be complicated—shallow dishes of beer work really well. Get rid of the weeds, too, now, before they multiply. It will only get worse from here on out. Make sure you’re pulling them out entirely, no matter how small they are. You don’t have to till up your entire bed; in fact, many people believe doing so only brings weed seeds to the surface. You can use a broadfork to break up the soil just enough to allow your plants to grow healthy roots, without destroying the structures that have been established in the soil already, like healthy mycorrhizae. Speaking of which, you can add mycorrhizae to your beds to help create better soil health and structure, and now would be a good time to do so. If you’ve never tested your soil, do it now. Talk to your local nursery, extension office, or farm store about testing. You collect a little dirt, send it off, and they’ll let you know what your soil needs. Realistically, the most effective thing you can do in your garden is have really healthy soil with as few weeds as possible. Once the beds are clean and ready, consider two additional tasks. First: mulch. Mulch is great for stopping weeds, but it also protects plant roots to keep them moist and insulted from the weather. You can also consider getting low tunnels up at this point so you can get an early start on the season. Plant (or prune) rosesIf you have established roses, it’s pruning time. If you don’t, we’ve just started rose-planting season, and bareroot roses from all the big rose houses like David Austin are hitting nurseries now. Pay attention to the nursery instructions for planting bareroot roses: These frilly friends need fertilizer, good planting hole prep, and to be planted correctly in order to thrive. Fertilize these shrubs Camellias are about to bloom (mine has already started), and other large shrubs like azaleas and rhododendrons aren’t far behind. They benefit from ericaceous fertilizer, and now’s the time to dress them with it. You can pick up this acidic fertilizer at the local nursery. Plant spring crops as soon as the ground is workableIt's hard to believe the time is here, but if the nursery has spring crops, you can start adding them to your garden. Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, lettuce and radicchio is good to go in once the hard frost risk has passed. Pea seeds can go in, and sweet peas can get planted. I've seen multiple friends sketching out their summer garden the last week. It may still be chilly outside, but the season is soon upon us. Get outside and start digging; it'll be here in no time. View the full article

Is Chegg facing an inevitable decline due to AI? Discover the nuances behind its revenue drop and industry changes. The post CheggMate appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Traders added to bets on interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve amid concern about the impact of US trade tariffs on global economic growth. View the full article

Google Business Profiles has added a new QR code you can use to make it easier to get reviews on your Google local listing within Google Maps and Google Search. The QR code, when accessed, jumps the user directly to the add review form, so there is little distraction to read other reviews or difficulty finding the form. How to access it. You can access the new QR code on desktop by searching for your business, then clicking on “Ask for reviews” or by going to your reviews and clicking on “Get more reviews.” This can be found in your Google Business Profile within Google Search on desktop. What it looks like. Here is an example of my QR code for my business that I shared: What does it do. When you scan the code, you are taken directly to the add review form for that business. You can post this QR code in your store, add it to your website, email signature or other areas so your customers can quickly scan it and leave you a review. You can also just link to the page using the review link listed above the QR code. Why we care. Reviews on your Google Business Profile can help you stand out from your competitors. So you should aim to get more positive reviews from happy customers, whenever possible. Just make sure those reviews and how you obtain them comply with Google’s policies. View the full article

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Like clockwork, every year, the U.S. housing market experiences a seasonal swing. It happens in both good years and bad. And while the seasonal trend may vary slightly by market (for example, snowbird markets), it remains fairly consistent across most housing markets. Here are three core components of the U.S. housing market’s seasonal effect—and what it means for buyers and sellers. 1. Existing home sales begin to rise heading into spring Seasonally speaking, U.S. existing home sales typically bottom out in January, then begin to rise month-over-month until peaking around June. That’s true even in an affordability constrained housing market, such as the current market. This trend is partly driven by families with children who prefer to buy in the spring so they can move and settle in before the next school year begins. Another factor is that some buyers wait for their tax refunds in early spring, using them to help with down payments and closing costs. In Northern and Mountain West markets, the rise in sales is also boosted by the fact that people waited for warmer weather before moving. Additionally, many home sellers are aware of the seasonal trend and choose to list their homes in spring to attract the largest pool of buyers, which boosts inventory, increases choices, and drives up transaction volume. (More on that below.) 2. New listings rise in the spring Knowing that many homebuyers begin their home searches in early spring, it’s also when many existing home sellers enter the market. On a seasonal level, new U.S. house listings typically bottom out in December, then begin to rise month-over-month until peaking around May. The annual upswing for new U.S. listings usually begins one month before the annual upswing in U.S. existing home sales. 3. U.S. home prices see the most upward pressure in the spring U.S. home prices experience the most upward seasonal pressure between March and July and the most downward pressure between September and January. As shown in the chart above, even during the home price crash from late 2006 to early 2012, U.S. home prices remained fairly steady during the spring months—only to resume plunging later in the year once the housing market moved into the seasonally soft fall window. In appreciating housing markets (like most of the Midwest and Northeast right now), homebuyers typically face higher prices if they wait later into the spring season. In contrast, in correcting housing markets (like pockets of Southwest Florida right now), buyers are often rewarded for waiting until the seasonal slowdown later in the year (when prices dip further) to make their purchase. View the full article

Search is evolving, and social platforms are now at the heart of discovery. Pinterest, in particular, has emerged as a powerful visual search engine, driving traffic and engagement for brands, bloggers, and businesses. Unlike traditional social media, which thrives on conversations and real-time interactions, Pinterest is built for intent-driven discovery – where users actively seek inspiration, ideas, and products. This presents a unique opportunity for search marketers. Pinterest users often arrive with high intent, making it an invaluable platform for organic visibility and referral traffic. To maximize discoverability, understanding how Pinterest search works along with SEO best practices is essential. This article breaks down: How Pinterest functions as a search engine. The key ranking factors that influence visibility. The best ways to optimize your content for discovery. How Pinterest works as a search engine At its core, Pinterest is more than just a social platform – it’s one of the original discovery engines. Unlike Instagram or Facebook, where content is driven by social interactions and chronological feeds, Pinterest prioritizes search intent and content relevance. Users come to Pinterest with a purpose: To find inspiration. To plan projects. To discover new ideas. More importantly, they arrive with intent – often high purchase intent – making them ready and willing to become customers of the brands they discover on the platform. Dig deeper: How Gen Z is redefining discovery on TikTok, Pinterest, and beyond Pinterest’s Smart Feed: How content is ranked Pinterest does not display content in simple chronological order. Instead, it uses a proprietary algorithm called the Smart Feed, which ranks and curates content based on user behavior, engagement, and search activity. Key factors that influence Pinterest rankings include: Relevance to the search query: Pinterest relies heavily on keywords in Pin titles, descriptions, board names, and even image alt text. Optimized content with clear intent performs better in search. Engagement metrics: Pins with high engagement (saves, clicks, and close-ups) signal value to Pinterest, increasing their likelihood of appearing in feeds and search results. Freshness of content: Pinterest favors newly created Pins over reshared or older content. Consistently uploading fresh, high-quality content boosts visibility. Pinner authority and board quality: The credibility of the account posting the Pin matters. Established accounts with well-organized, keyword-rich boards tend to have better visibility. Image quality and format: Pinterest prioritizes visually appealing, vertical images (2:3 aspect ratio) that encourage engagement. Clear, high-resolution images with compelling overlays perform best. Differences between traditional search vs. Pinterest search While Pinterest and traditional search engines like Google are search-capable platforms, their mechanics differ in several ways. Keyword research for Pinterest SEO Just like with traditional SEO, keyword research is the foundation of Pinterest SEO. Since Pinterest functions as a visual search engine, understanding how users search for content is essential to optimizing your Pins, boards, and profile. Unlike Google or Bing, Pinterest doesn’t provide exact search volume data. However, it offers valuable insights through autocomplete suggestions, the Pinterest Trends toolkit, and third-party tools. Conducting keyword research using Pinterest’s search bar One of the easiest ways to find relevant keywords is by using Pinterest’s search bar autocomplete feature. Here’s how. Start typing a broad keyword: Enter a general term related to your niche, such as “home decor.” Look at Pinterest’s auto-suggestions: As you type, Pinterest displays popular search queries based on previous user behavior. These suggestions indicate high-interest topics. Refine and expand keywords: Click on a suggested keyword to see additional related opportunities. This can help identify long-tail keyword variations. Example: Typing “summer outfit” might generate suggestions like “summer outfit ideas,” “summer outfit for vacation,” or “summer outfit aesthetic.” These variations can be valuable additions to your Pins and boards if you aim to rank for that type of query. Using Pinterest Trends for search volume and seasonality insights Pinterest Trends allows search and social teams to: Track rising and declining trends over time. Compare keyword popularity. Identify seasonal patterns to plan content accordingly. By analyzing search interest fluctuations, you can determine when specific topics gain traction and adjust your posting schedule to maximize visibility and engagement. To use Pinterest Trends: Visit trends.pinterest.com or access it from your Pinterest Business account. Enter relevant keywords to see interest over time and related trending searches. Identify peak times for specific topics (e.g., searches for “Halloween costume ideas” spike in September and October). Adjust your content calendar to publish content before peak trends to increase engagement. Example: If searches for “Christmas gift ideas” peak in November, start publishing optimized Pins for that keyword in September or October to gain traction before competition increases. Tools and methods to discover high-performing keywords In addition to Pinterest’s built-in search and trend tools, external resources can help refine your keyword strategy. Here are a few options: Pinterest Ads Manager: Provides keyword suggestions when setting up an ad campaign. Even if you’re not running ads, you can use it for organic research. Google Keyword Planner: While not Pinterest-specific, it helps identify related search terms that users may also search for on Pinterest. You can then verify these terms using Pinterest-specific tools. Buzzabout.AI: Helps analyze social media conversations around specific topics, offering insight into potential keyword opportunities. Dig deeper: SEO beyond Google: Building your brand on Reddit, Quora, TikTok and more Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. Optimizing Pins for search discovery Now that we understand keyword research and content trends, the next step is optimizing your Pins. Since Pinterest is a visual-first platform, the design, format, and metadata of your Pins play a crucial role in performance. Well-optimized Pins rank higher in search results and attract more saves, clicks, and engagement – fueling further algorithmic distribution. An Anthropologie pin that showcases several of our recommended best practices. Best practices for Pin design The visual appeal of a Pin directly impacts its discoverability and engagement. Follow these design best practices: Use the optimal image size: Pinterest recommends a 2:3 aspect ratio (1,000 x 1,500 pixels) to prevent cropping. Include clear text overlays: Readable text on images improves engagement and quickly communicates the Pin’s value. Maintain consistent branding: Use brand colors, fonts, and logos to establish recognition and build trust. Choose high-quality visuals: Bright, high-resolution images with minimal clutter perform best. Lifestyle and product images tend to receive higher engagement. Create fresh Pins regularly: Pinterest favors new content, so repurposing blog posts or redesigning Pins with updated visuals helps maintain visibility. Example: A food brand sharing a recipe should use a high-quality image of the dish, add a clear text overlay with the recipe name, and subtly place the brand logo in a non-intrusive spot. Dig deeper: Visual content and SEO: How to use images and videos in 2025 Writing optimized pin titles and descriptions Like traditional search engines, Pinterest relies on text-based metadata to understand and rank content. A well-crafted title and description with relevant keywords increases a Pin’s visibility in search results. Tips for title optimization Keep titles between 40–100 characters – concise yet descriptive. Front-load primary keywords at the beginning. Use an engaging hook to attract attention. Tips for description optimization Write detailed descriptions (up to 500 characters) incorporating primary and secondary keywords naturally. Use a conversational, engaging tone to encourage interaction. Include a clear call to action (CTA) when appropriate. Example: Pin title: “Best Morning Skincare Routine for Glowing Skin” Pin description: “Looking for a simple yet effective morning skincare routine? This guide covers the best products and steps for glowing skin. From gentle cleansers to SPF protection, discover the essentials for healthy skin. Save this Pin for your daily routine inspiration!” Analytics tools to monitor your performance Pinterest SEO doesn’t stop at keyword research and Pin design. Ongoing performance tracking is essential for refining your strategy. Pinterest’s built-in Analytics provides insights into: What’s working. What’s not. How to optimize content for better visibility and engagement. Additionally, Google Analytics offers deeper insight into Pinterest-driven website traffic and conversions. How to track performance using Pinterest Analytics Like traditional search, Pinterest Analytics helps measure content performance. Available for Pinterest Business accounts, it provides valuable data on Pin engagement, audience behavior, and trends. Key Pinterest performance metrics include: Impressions: The number of times a Pin appears in feeds, search results, or category pages. Saves (Repins): The number of times users save a Pin to their own boards. Saves signal value to Pinterest, boosting visibility. Outbound clicks: The number of times users click a Pin to visit your website. A high click-through rate (CTR) indicates effective content. Close-ups: The number of times users tap or zoom in on a Pin. A high close-up rate suggests interest but may indicate the need for clearer CTAs. Engagement rate: A combination of saves, clicks, and interactions that indicate a Pin’s overall effectiveness. Top tip: If a Pin has high impressions but low outbound clicks, test different images, headlines, and descriptions to improve engagement. If a Pin has low impressions, revisit your keyword strategy to ensure alignment with user searches. Using Google Analytics to track Pinterest’s impact While Pinterest Analytics tracks in-platform engagement, Google Analytics offers insight into Pinterest’s impact on website traffic and conversions. To track Pinterest referrals: Open Google Analytics and navigate to Acquisition > Traffic Sources. Filter by Referral Traffic and locate Pinterest as a source. Analyze bounce rate, session duration, and conversions to evaluate Pinterest’s role in driving valuable traffic. Final thoughts I’ve long been an advocate for a “search everywhere” approach – and Pinterest is proving why that strategy is essential. It’s clear that Pinterest is more than a social media platform. It’s a powerful discovery engine that lets you connect with an audience that is actively searching for inspiration and solutions. By applying familiar SEO techniques like keyword research and combining them with social-driven best practices – such as high-quality visuals and a strategic posting schedule – you can enhance discoverability and drive consistent traffic to your website. Whether you’re a blogger, ecommerce brand, or content creator, mastering Pinterest SEO gives you a competitive edge in today’s evolving search landscape. Dig deeper: Search everywhere optimization: 7 platforms SEOs need to optimize for beyond Google View the full article

iOS users will find a handful of new emojis with an update to the 18.4 beta, including a "Face with Bags Under Eyes," which represents us all right now. The new characters were recommended for release in September 2024 with Unicode Emoji 16.0, though it typically takes designers for Apple (as well as Google, Samsung, and others) to interpret and create their versions of the new emojis and push them to users. The last round of characters rolled out with the iOS 17.4 update in March 2024 and included "Head Shaking Horizontally" and "Head Shaking Vertically," as well as a phoenix, lime, brown mushroom, and broken chain. What new emojis are coming to iPhone?These are the new emojis launching with iOS 18.4: Bags under eyes Fingerprint Leafless tree Root vegetable Harp Shovel Splatter On top of the standard emojis, some users can create any emoji they want using Apple Intelligence's Genmoji feature, which launched in beta with iOS 18.2 for iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and iPhone 16 series. To make an AI-generated emoji, switch to the emoji keyboard from any text field, tap the emoji, and enter the prompt for what you want to create. The next round of new emojis will come with Unicode 17, which is expected sometime in the fall and will make its way to Apple OS around this time in 2026. The proposed characters include hairy creature, distorted face, fight cloud, apple core, orca, trombone, landslide, and treasure chest as well as skin tone variations for several existing emoji. View the full article

After a year of development and months of testing, Sweetgreen’s “ripple fries” land in the salad chain’s roughly 250 locations today. “This is a way to show that you can come to Sweetgreen, eat a salad, and have a little bit of a permissible indulgence around fries,” says CEO Jonathan Neman during an interview at the chain’s Los Angeles HQ. Better known for its healthy salads than starchy sides, Sweetgreen’s embrace of the traditional fast-food staple is also bound to raise eyebrows, coming from a company that has long coveted the ubiquity of McDonald’s but long struggled with turning a profit from its higher priced healthy fare. (The company narrowed its net losses by 20% in 2024 to $90 million.) “I think it’ll spark some conversation,” Neman adds, smiling. And, of course, this being Sweetgreen, there’s a health-conscious twist: These fries aren’t fried at all, at least in the traditional sense. A DIFFERENT KIND OF FRY Where most fast-food french fries are dunked in deep vats of canola oil, the ripple fries, a name that Sweetgreen’s chief concept officer Nicolas Jammet says they plan to trademark, achieve their crisp exterior via another route. They’re tossed in avocado oil and potato starch, then “air fried,” or roasted at high heat inside an industrial convection oven. Each order comes with a choice of dipping sauces: a garlic aioli, which was recommended by a group of Sweetgreen customers, and a pickle ketchup, created in house. “We don’t think we’re really a ketchup brand,” says Sweetgreen head of culinary Chad Brauze. But after some experimenting—adding fistfuls of fresh dill and a little maple syrup to a batch of Sir Kensington’s ketchup, the team “fell in love with it.” Brauze, who previously worked in corporate kitchens at Burger King and Chipotle before joining Sweetgreen in 2023, has spent weeks training kitchen workers to make the fries. [Photo: Sweetgreen] Employees push each russet potato through a machine calibrated to slice them to a particular thickness, a process that takes about 25 minutes for 120 potatoes. Getting the right cut requires some practice, feeding one potato into the machine at a time under constant pressure. Brauze concedes that the cutting is a huge variable that, done incorrectly, could doom an entire batch. But it’s easy enough to master: During my time in Sweetgreen’s Los Angeles test kitchen, Neman’s 4-year-old son came for a visit and fed a few potatoes through the machine with reasonably minimal assistance. They’re cooked in batches every 30 minutes or so, and finished with salt and dried herbs. Jammet calls the end result “craveable,” a term common with fast-food execs describing menu items they hope will hook customers. This new side is no exception. And indeed, they taste similar to any other high-end french fry: a salty, crispy outside with a light and fluffy interior, but without the greasy aftereffect. (I absentmindedly finished a full container as we walked through the test kitchen and didn’t need to wipe my hands on a napkin afterward.) It’s a standard taste for fries, but an unusual taste for Sweetgreen, which traditionally gets all of its crunch from romaine greens, croutons, and the occasional tortilla chip. MORE THAN JUST A SALAD PLACE Ripple fries are a splashy addition from Sweetgreen, which has been trying to push beyond salad for years, introducing dinner-friendly “protein plates” in late 2023, and permanently adding steak to its menu last year. It’s all an effort to expand reach. “The idea is making sure that we can define Sweetgreen around the approach to food and the belief in the food system that we want to change,” says Jammet. “Not just like, ‘That’s a salad place.’” Sweetgreen has long touted its position as a kind of fast-food disruptor, offering high-quality food, made from scratch, sourced from ethical producers and free from additives like preservatives and food dyes. And it’s long appealed to the health-food set. In 2023, Neman announced Sweetgreen would work to reduce the amount of seed oil it used in its restaurants, and in January, it started promoting a limited-time, seed oil-free menu, which was received by some customers—incorrectly, Neman says—as a political move. President Trump’s controversial Cabinet pick to lead Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, has said Americans are being “poisoned” by seed oils. (Evidence suggests otherwise.) And during the early days of President Trump’s first presidency, Sweetgreen made green hats bearing the slogan, “Make America healthy again.” The catchphrase has since been adopted by Kennedy as a kind of rallying call to supporters that include online wellness influencers. A few weeks before Trump’s second inauguration, Neman posted a photo of himself in the hat on X, writing that he was “glad the long overdue discussion on food and health has gone mainstream.” Despite the fact that social media discussions of seed oil have reached a fever pitch, Neman believes people on both sides of the aisle are responding to Sweetgreen’s effort to reduce its use of the ingredient. The seed oil move “has nothing to do with politics,” he says. “Actually, at the time [of the announcement], we were hearing about it from customers on the other side of the political spectrum. We’re just listening to our guests.” [Photo: Sweetgreen] A ‘RIPPLE’ EFFECT Sweetgreen has spent months testing the fries in some of its 25 Los Angeles-area stores, but customer behavior has been unpredictable since January’s devastating fires. During the company’s most recent earnings call, chief financial officer Mitch Reback said that the fires “significantly disrupted operations” in Los Angeles, where stores make up nearly 15% of Sweetgreen’s revenue. “We know that people will attach it to their meal. The question is, will people come in more because of it?” Neman says. “Will it drive actual core transactions for us, or will it just drive ticket?” Ideally, the fries do both, encouraging existing customers to add onto their orders and drawing more people into Sweetgreen stores. While in-store traffic was up slightly in 2024, 2% for the year, Sweetgreen’s same-store sales growth of 6% is mainly attributable to price increases. A “craveable” menu item could be a good way to boost same-store sales and encourage repeat visits. In the meantime, the company is working on delivering more efficiencies for its customers and investors. Sweetgreen plans to open 40 new restaurants in the next year; half will be robot-assisted “Infinite Kitchens,” which can dispense fresh ingredients into bowls at a rate of up to 500 per hour, enabling restaurants to service online orders and walk-in customers more quickly. It will also retrofit a couple of existing restaurants with the automated tech, prioritizing the busiest locations. Sweetgreen is planning to enter new markets, opening locations in Sacramento, Calif., Phoenix, Ariz., and Cincinnati, Ohio. As his chain moves into new places and more mealtimes, Neman sees the fries as becoming something of a calling card—perhaps as iconic as the salads that started it all. “It’s the first time we have a truly signature side,” says Neman. “The other sides were fine, but now we have this staple. And they’re really addictive.” View the full article

Tesla’s sales of its China-made electric vehicles dropped 49.2% in February from a year earlier to 30,688 cars, the lowest since August 2022, as the U.S. automaker faces pressure from Chinese rivals in a relentless smart EV price war. Tesla, which makes its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in China, sold 93,926 Chinese-made vehicles worldwide in the first two months, down 28.7% year-on-year, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). January-February sales were distorted by the Lunar New Year holiday shifting from February last year to late January this year and due to a partial suspension of Model Y production for upgrade work. Still, Chinese rival BYD, with its Dynasty and Ocean series of EVs and plug-in hybrids, recorded a 90.4% increase in passenger vehicle sales to 614,679 units last month. BYD deepened a three-year-old price war in the world’s largest auto market last month with the launch of smart EVs — EVs equipped with advanced driving-assistance systems — starting at below $10,000. That prompted peers including Leapmotor and Geely to follow suit with affordable smart EV rollouts. Both Tesla models made in China are smart EVs. Tesla also exports its China-made EVs to markets including Europe, where sales plunged 45% in January. To increase the appeal of its aging models, Tesla made a long-awaited update to its autopilot software in China to enable city navigation in late February. It also kicked off deliveries of the revamped Model Y in its second-largest market. Model Y was the best-selling car in China itself in 2023 and 2024, although Chinese rivals have launched at least six models in the past year to take on Model Y. Tesla still benefits from a brand halo in China but analysts have said Xiaomi’s YU7 crossover to be launched later this year would be the strongest rival. Sales of the Onvo L60, which Nio launched in April to compete with Model Y and Toyota’s RAV4, fell to 4,049 units in February. Nio Chief Executive William Li expects the model will reach monthly deliveries of 20,000 units in March, which he is counting on to improve Nio’s profitability. —Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh, Reuters View the full article

If you have any vegetable products in your kitchen, you’ll want to be aware of the latest recall posted on the website of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The recall involves numerous vegetable products and fears that they could be a breeding ground for Clostridium botulinum bacterium, which can produce the deadly botulinum toxin. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? On March 3, the FDA posted the notice of a voluntary recall from AKT Trading Inc. of Torrance, California. The recall was initiated after the company discovered that some of the prepared vegetable products manufactured by Choshiya Honten Co., Ltd had the potential to harbor the Clostridium botulinum bacterium. That bacterium can produce a toxin called botulinum, which can lead to a botulism infection in a person who consumes it. The reason the recalled products have the potential to harbor the potentially deadly bacterium is because the required “Keep Refrigerated” statement was left off the packaging. If the vegetables are not refrigerated, it could enable the bacterium to grow. Which products are affected? According to the FDA notice, the following products with the brand name “Japanese Pickles,” packaged in 1 lb plastic bags, are included in the recall: SHIBA ZUKE PREPARED MIX VEGETABLES, JAN CODE (UPC): 4582207535128, Expiration date: 8/27/2025 AOKAPPA ZUKE PREPARED MIX VEGETABLES, JAN CODE (UPC): 4582207535135, Expiration Date: 5/14/2025 FUKUSHIN ZUKE PREPARED MIX VEGETABLES, JAN CODE (UPC): 4582207535142, Expiration date: 7/9/2025, 5/31/2025 SOFT TSUBOZUKE PREPARED MIX VEGETABLES, JAN CODE (UPC): 4582207535159, Expiration Date: 7/29/2025 RAKKYO ZUKE PREPARED VEGETABLES, JAN CODE (UPC): 4983673526021, Expiration Date: 8/1/2025, 7/1/2025 Additionally, the following product is also included in the recall: Brand name: CHOSHIYA Product name: ABURA-ITAME ZHASAI PREPARED SICHUAN VEGETABLE Container: 8.8oz. plastic bag JAN CODE (UPC): 4983673527325 Expiration date: 4/3/2025, 2/25/2025 The products were distributed at Tokyo Central / Marukai stores in California. The full details of the recalled products can be found here. This recall follows an earlier recall of prepared bamboo shoots. The details of that earlier recall can be found here. What is botulism? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), botulism is a rare but serious disease. The condition is caused by a toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum and other related bacteria. There are five types of botulism, including foodborne botulism, and all are medical emergencies. Botulism occurs when the toxin attacks the body’s nerves. This can lead to a number of issues, including muscle paralysis and difficulty breathing. It can even cause death. The CDC says that any form of botulism is a medical emergency that necessitates an immediate visit to your doctor or emergency room. What are the symptoms of botulism? Symptoms can vary depending on what type of botulism a person has. The CDC says symptoms related to all forms of botulism may include: Difficulty swallowing Muscle weakness Double vision Drooping eyelids Blurry vision Slurred speech Difficulty breathing Difficulty moving the eyes Foodborne botulism symptoms may also include: Vomiting Nausea Stomach pain Diarrhea And symptoms of botulism in an infant may also include: Constipation Poor feeding Drooping eyelids Pupils that are slow to react to light Face showing less expression than usual Weak cry that sounds different than usual What do I do if I have the recalled products? Do not consume them. Instead, the recalled products should be discarded or returned to their place of purchase for a refund. Full details of the recall can be found here. Consumers who have more questions can contact AKT Trading Inc. at 310-715-2174 or email the company at info@aktusa.com. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you've been looking for a solid pair of workout earbuds that won’t slip out mid-burpee, the JBL Endurance Peak 3 is down to $39.95 on Woot (originally $99.99) this month (or until they sell out). That’s a steal for earbuds that scored an Editor’s Choice from PCMag for their workout-friendly design and secure fit. This deal includes a one-year JBL manufacturer warranty, and if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you get free standard shipping (otherwise, it'll cost you $6). JBL Endurance Peak 3 True Wireless Sports Headphones $39.95 $99.99 Save $60.04 Get Deal Get Deal $39.95 $99.99 Save $60.04 These wireless earbuds come with ear hooks that wrap snugly around your ears, ensuring they stay put even during the most intense sessions. And unlike some other hook-style earbuds, these reportedly don’t clash with glasses frames (an underrated feature for anyone who wears specs). That said, the ear hooks double as a power switch, turning off when the tips magnetically touch the body of the earpiece—that's useful in theory, but it can be frustrating if you’re just taking them out for a quick break. Also, the touch controls take some getting used to since the panels have a larger surface area than most earbuds. Sound-wise, JBL packs a punch with 10mm dynamic drivers that cover the full frequency range from 20Hz to 20KHz (with fully customizable EQ settings in the companion app), delivering a sound profile with strong bass that stays clear of distortion, even at top volume. If you’re an Android user, you’ll appreciate Google Fast Pair for easy setup, though the earbuds stick to basic AAC and SBC codecs—no AptX support here, notes this PCMag review. They do, however, boast an impressive IP68 rating, meaning they’re fully dust-proof and can survive full submersion in water for over 30 minutes. Rain, sweat, or a quick rinse under the tap? No problem. Battery life is another win, with JBL estimating 10 hours per charge, plus an additional 40 hours from the charging case (your mileage may vary depending on usage). So unless you’re planning to run an ultramarathon, you should be covered. Note: Woot does not ship these earbuds to Alaska, Hawaii, or PO box addresses. View the full article

President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, putting global markets on edge and setting up costly retaliations by the United States’ North American allies. Starting just past midnight, imports from Canada and Mexico are now to be taxed at 25%, with Canadian energy products subject to 10% import duties. The 10% tariff that Trump placed on Chinese imports in February was doubled to 20%, and Beijing retaliated Tuesday with tariffs of up to 15% on a wide array of U.S. farm exports. It also expanded the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would slap tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. Mexico didn’t immediately detail any retaliatory measures. The U.S. president’s moves raised fears of higher inflation and the prospect of a devastating trade war even as he promised the American public that taxes on imports are the easiest path to national prosperity. He has shown a willingness to buck the warnings of mainstream economists and put his own public approval on the line, believing that tariffs can fix what ails the country. “It’s a very powerful weapon that politicians haven’t used because they were either dishonest, stupid or paid off in some other form,” Trump said Monday at the White House. “And now we’re using them.” The Canada and Mexico tariffs were supposed to begin in February, but Trump agreed to a 30-day suspension to negotiate further with the two largest U.S. trading partners. The stated reason for the tariffs is to address drug trafficking and illegal immigration, and both countries say they’ve made progress on those issues. But Trump has also said the tariffs will only come down if the U.S. trade imbalance closes, a process unlikely to be settled on a political timeline. The tariffs may be short-lived if the U.S. economy suffers. But Trump could also impose more tariffs on the European Union, India, computer chips, autos and pharmaceutical drugs. The American president has injected a disorienting volatility into the world economy, leaving it off balance as people wonder what he’ll do next. “It’s chaotic, especially compared to the way we saw tariffs rolled out in the first (Trump) administration,” said Michael House, co-chair of the international trade practice at the Perkins Coie law firm. “It’s unpredictable. We don’t know, in fact, what the president will do.” Democratic lawmakers were quick to criticize the tariffs, and even some Republican senators raised alarms. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she’s “very concerned” about the tariffs going into effect because of her state’s proximity to Canada. “Maine and Canada’s economy are integrated,” Collins said, explaining that much of the state’s lobsters and blueberries are processed in Canada and then sent back to the U.S. The world economy is now caught in the fog of what appears to be a trade war. Even after Trump announced Monday that the tariffs were going forward, Canadian officials were still in touch with their U.S. counterparts. “The dialogue will continue, but we are ready to respond,” Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair said in Ottawa as he went into a special Cabinet meeting on U.S.-Canada relations. “There are still discussions taking place.” Shortly after Blair spoke, Trudeau said Canada would impose 25% tariffs on $155 billion Canadian ($107 billion U.S.) worth of American goods, starting with tariffs on $30 billion Canadian ($21 billion U.S.) worth of goods immediately and on the remaining amount on American products in three weeks. “Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, and should U.S. tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures,” Trudeau said. The White House would like to see a drop in seizures of fentanyl inside the United States, not just on the northern and southern borders. Administration officials say that seizures of fentanyl last month in everywhere from Louisiana to New Jersey had ties to foreign cartels. Damon Pike, technical practice leader for customs and trade services at the tax and consulting firm BDO, suggested the responses of other countries could escalate trade tensions and possibly increase the economic pressure points. “Canada has their list ready,” Pike said. “The EU has their list ready. It’s going to be tit for tat.” The Trump administration has suggested inflation will not be as bad as economists claim, saying tariffs can motivate foreign companies to open factories in the United States. On Monday, Trump announced that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the computer chipmaker, would be investing $100 billion in domestic production. Still, it can take time to relocate factories spread across the world and train workers with the skills they need. Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of The Toy Association, said the 20% tariffs on Chinese goods will be “crippling” for the toy industry, as nearly 80% of toys sold in the U.S. are made in China. “There’s a sophistication of manufacturing, of the tooling,” he said. “There’s a lot of handcrafting that is part of these toys that a lot of people don’t understand … the face painting, the face masks, the hair weaving, the hair braiding, the cut and sew for plush to get it to look just so. All of that are very high hands, skilled labor that has been passed through generations in the supply chain that exists with China.” For a president who has promised quick results, Ahearn added a note of caution about how quickly U.S. factories could match their Chinese rivals. “That can’t be replicated overnight,” he said. Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writers Anne D’Innocenzio in New York and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report. —Josh Boak, Paul Wiseman and Rob Gillies, Associated Press View the full article

As frustration with corporate power grows under the oligarch-friendly Trump administration, Mozilla Firefox stands out more than ever for at least one defining trait: It isn’t owned by a giant tech company. “We’re independent and nonprofit,” Mozilla CEO Laura Chambers told Fast Company in an interview at Web Summit Qatar. “We’re the only browser not backed by billionaires.” But the nonprofit organization that broke Internet Explorer’s monopoly in Windows browsers 20 years ago isn’t counting only on “storytelling that we can do,” she added. “We’re also doing a lot of work on the product.” Features getting filled out The first of a set of new features that Chambers describes as intended to “help people navigate the Web more easily” should ship in March. One cribs from a clever feature that Microsoft’s Edge added almost four years ago: an option to display open browser tabs in a column running down the left side of the browser window instead of in a row spanning the top. Neither Apple’s Safari nor Google’s Chrome have seen fit to copy that since. A second sounds like the helpful quick-change tool Firefox offers to route a web search to the search engine of your choice: a sidebar tool that will let you switch between AI chatbots for quick queries that they can answer, hopefully without hallucination. Later in spring or summer, Mozilla plans to address a longstanding user request by shipping support for tab groups (for example, “recipes” or “shopping”) that you can create and then open or close as you need them. Safari in particular does this well, while Firefox users have had to install an extension to get a version of it. Another tab-management feature aimed at tab-overload victims like me (I had 76 open tabs open in this laptop’s copy of Firefox as I was writing this) will employ what sounds like on-device AI to organize tabs. Maybe more so than competitors like Google and Microsoft, Mozilla has been enlisting offline AI to avoid having to send any user data to the cloud. But it’s not always obvious when its new features work in that privacy-preserving way: I didn’t know that Firefox’s page-translation feature worked on-device until I saw Chambers bring that up in a panel at Web Summit’s Doha conference. “We should probably market that more,” Chambers admits. A role for regulation But Mozilla says it’s already seeing increased adoption of its browser—in Europe, where the EU’s Digital Markets Act requires designated gatekeeper platforms to open mobile-device app stores and system defaults to potential competitors. “In Europe, we grew Firefox share last year, which is the first time we’ve done it in a long time,” Chambers said. Mozilla credits the DMA’s “choice screen,” in which users pick a browser instead of having a system default waiting on their home screens, with goosing Firefox adoption in Android and iOS—by 29% in Germany and France since the DMA went into effect last March. The underlying numbers remain low in third-party estimates, however. Cloudflare’s automated tracking puts Firefox’s mobile share at 1.3% in France and 2.7% in Germany, although Mozilla argues that Firefox’s tracking-prevention measures suppress those user counts. In the U.S., Cloudflare has Firefox at just .8%. Firefox has historically had higher share on Windows and Mac computers, where Cloudflare credits that browser with a 7.6% share worldwide, 21.5% in Germany, 14.6% in France, and 7.1% in the U.S. But it’s in the U.S. where government antitrust action may threaten Mozilla directly. The antitrust case that the federal government and almost every state attorney general successfully bought against Google over its search business practices could lead to a ban on Google paying other browsers to keep its search engine the default. Chambers would rather not see things come to that. “The part that’s at risk is the U.S. revenue,” she said. “If our revenues were to be hurt through that, it would be much harder to sustain Gecko as an independent browser engine.” A little engine that could Gecko, the open-source software framework inside Firefox that displays and animates pages, is the only major rendering engine that both runs on Windows and macOS and is not a Google project like the Blink open-source engine inside Chrome (employed by such indie, non-billionaire browser developers as Brave and the Browser Co). But Gecko’s third-place standing after Blink and Apple’s WebKit can lead to sites blocking the browser—for example, Formula 1’s F1 TV brushes Firefox-using racing fans aside, telling them “please switch to an alternative browser.” Asked if life wouldn’t be easier for Mozilla if it adopted WebKit, also open-source, Chambers said Mozilla has considered it but passed. “It’s a lot of money and a lot of work to sustain an independent browser engine,” she said. “It also means we have a seat at the table with regulators,” allowing Mozilla to advocate for causes like privacy. In iOS and iPadOS, Apple requires all U.S. third-party browsers to use the WebKit framework included in those mobile operating systems, which limits how third-party developers can differentiate their browsers from Apple’s Safari. Where Chambers points to Firefox’s speed relative to Chrome and Edge on Windows and to Safari on Macs (she did not mention how Apple’s browser also regularly lets individual pages devour system memory), her sales pitch for Firefox on an iPhone or iMac gets more evanescent: “You’re supporting independent technology.” New ventures In the past, Mozilla has tried to diversify its revenue by selling such add-on subscription products as a VPN service and Relay, a tool to create relay phone numbers and email addresses that mask your real ones. It’s now reconsidering parts of that strategy, having already dumped some free-to-use services as Mozilla Social, its attempt to host a Mastodon instance. “We’re not dialing it back, we’re working on different ways,” said Chambers, adding that the company “pulled back spend a little bit” on promoting VPN, Relay and the Monitor data-breach-warning service. But last June, Mozilla also spent an unannounced sum to buy Anonym, an ad-tech firm founded to develop privacy-preserving online advertising systems that still let advertisers gauge what sales or other results came from their marketing efforts without snooping on individual shoppers. Chambers defends what might seem an unlikely alignment of a privacy-first browser with an adtech firm founded by former Meta executives as a way to keep online advertising alive in a way that web readers won’t resent. “The big technology that they use is differential privacy, which creates enough noise into the system so that it’s anonymous,” she said, mentioning both “some of the really big ad platforms” and companies in health and financial services (both sectors already subject to privacy regulation) are expressing interest. (Another Google antitrust case, the lawsuit brought the U.S. and most states against Google over its display-ads business, may help crack open that market for Mozilla.) This openness to new business models led Mozilla to write the terms-of-service document that Firefox had never had. The company posted those terms on Wednesday and then faced enough blowback that it posted a follow-up addressing user anxiety in a few areas, such as the removal of a pledge never to “sell” data that Mozilla apparently felt could not be made without risking conflict with some of the vaguer privacy statutes around the world. Getting people to accept online advertising systems that make enough money to allow subscription-free reading across the web remains complicated, even for a company with a solid track record on privacy. But for Mozilla to keep working on that, Chambers has a simpler request of regulators. “All that we ask for is that people are given a choice,” she said. “We don’t need it to be a preferential choice, they just need a choice. View the full article

Having previously declared bitcoin to be a ‘scam’, the US president now wants to add it to the Fed’s balance sheetView the full article

I love to eat. In fact, eating is one of my favorite activities, and also one of my favorite aspects of traveling. Food is such an integral part of so many cultures that to skip out on meals when you travel is to miss out on a part of the travel experience. I’m always disappointed when I meet travelers who cook all their meals in a hostel kitchen or spend so much of their time just getting food at grocery stores. I mean, don’t get me wrong, grocery stores and markets teach you a lot about a place. And you don’t need to eat out for every meal. But why come to Italy to cook pasta in your hostel? Or skip a sushi dinner in Japan or paella in Spain? Of course, eating out all the time is expensive. Imagine if you ate out every day while at home — your food budget would be astronomical! And, when you are traveling long term (or just on a tight budget), you have to think about making your money last. Additionally, many people have dietary concerns that prevent them from fully embracing new foods. And many travelers are vegan or vegetarian, as well, which might impact their options. To make sure I can eat out without breaking the bank, I have had to learn how to balance eating 99% of my meals out while still finding a way to save money. Here’s how to eat out on a budget while you travel the world: 1. Follow the Five Block Rule I live by what I call The Five Block Rule. I don’t eat within five blocks of a major tourist attraction or area. I simply walk in any direction and search for a place to eat when I hit five blocks. There’s an invisible line at this area: tourists don’t go past it. All of a sudden you notice that the crowds are gone, and that’s when you want to start looking. Sure, you might find a good meal in a tourist area, but you’ll find a better, cheaper meal outside it. Go where the menus aren’t in multiple languages. Go to those little tiny hole in the wall places that you are unsure about. The meal might not knock your socks off each time but it will be a memorable and more local experience. 2. Use Local Knowledge If you are unsure of where to eat (and don’t like the idea of randomly wandering into restaurants), try apps where locals post reviews. I use them often to find recommendations for food in the cities and towns I visit. You can also ask the tourist office or the staff at your hostel/hotel or taxi drivers, who tend to eat at cheaper food stalls. They will have good recommendations. After all, local workers aren’t going to eat in the tourist area! My two favorite apps are Yelp and The Fork. For vegan and vegetarian recommendations, check out Happy Cow. 3. Ask The Right Question Be sure to ask locals the question, “Where do you eat?” not “Where should I eat?” If you ask people the second question, most people will think to send you to the popular restaurants tourists visit because that will be what comes to mind. They’ll think, “Hmmm where do visitors go eat? What’s popular in town?” However, by asking where they eat, you will get recommendations for more local restaurants because they will tell you all the hole in the wall spots they eat at on a day-to-day basis. Small word change, much better results. 4. Eat Street Food In most places around the world (and especially in Asia), the streets are lined with little food stalls and areas where food is cooked openly on the street. You grab a plate, sit down in a little plastic chair, and enjoy a delicious meal. Street food is some of the best food in the world. Meals at street stalls and vendors cost just a few dollars (if that) most of the time and are a great way to really experience the local cuisine. While in Sweden, I lived off these types of vendors. In Amsterdam, FEBO and their croquettes kept my stomach full. In Costa Rica, the empanada seller filled me up for a dollar and I bought local food from vendors at markets for mere pennies in Madagascar. Many places, like Thailand and Vietnam, for example, wouldn’t be the same if the street food disappeared. (And yes, it’s safe. The locals wouldn’t eat it otherwise.) 5. Eat Fast Food (Sometimes) Fast food isn’t the best food, but it is another option if you want a cheap meal in inexpensive parts of the world. For as little as $5 USD (more in expensive countries like Norway, home of the $13 Whopper), you can get a filling (and hugely caloric) meal. Sure, it’s not the greatest food, and I am going to skip the philosophical debate about traveling around the world only to eat McDonald’s to say that it’s cheap and just another way to help you rein in your spending. 6. Stick to Local Ingredients When you’ve been traveling for a while, it’s only normal to crave a taste of home every now and then. That means that sure, sometimes I get sick of Greek food when I’ve been traveling there for a bit. Other times, I can’t eat any more Thai food and just want a burger. And that’s OK. However, non-local food is almost always more expensive than local cuisine. For example, in Vietnam, a bowl of pho is less than a dollar, but a burger is about three times as much (or more!). Try to stick to the local cuisine as much as possible and also try to avoid any food that is imported as that will increase the price of your meal too! 7. Find the Lunch Specials Many restaurants, especially in Europe, offer lunch specials, where items on the dinner menu are offered at a huge discount. You can get an amazing afternoon meal for a fraction of the cost you’d pay for the same meal in the evening. I usually tend to eat my “nice” meal during lunch, because lunch specials and plates of the day are about 30–40% off what I might pay at dinner. The options will usually be more limited, but the savings more than justify it. Sadly, there is no one website where you can find all the restaurants in the world that offer lunch specials. They vary from city to city and region to region. What you can do other than wander aimlessly around the city in hopes of finding a place (though I have done that) is to ask the tourist office or the staff at your hostel/hotel if they know where to find lunch specials. They are usually very aware of what places have specials. 8. Bring a Refillable Water Bottle As you walk around and sightsee, you need to stay hydrated. But buying a bottle of water every day is not only environmentally wasteful, it also makes foolish budget travel sense. Carry a refillable bottle of water (with a filter) with you instead and just use the tap water. I suggest a Lifestraw bottle. It ensures your water is always clean and safe — even if the tap water isn’t. 9. Cook 50% of Your Meals I don’t cook a lot on the road as I don’t like hostel kitchens. They never have everything I need, and I hate traveling with a portable kitchen so I can have all the ingredients I want. Yet when I am in one place for a while (or if I’m Couchsurfing), I cook a few meals. Cooking is one of the best ways to keep your travel costs down, and supermarkets are also great places to go see what the local people eat. The only place where cooking your own meals isn’t the most economical option is Asia, where street food is usually cheaper. As I mentioned, I’ll often go out for a nicer meal at lunch when I can find a good deal. That will usually mean for dinner I’ll be cooking my own food. That way, I’ll still get to try the local cuisine but I’ll also get to keep my budget intact. Double win! 10. Have a Picnic Another good option is to picnic. This is something I do a lot for lunch if I’m somewhere where the weather is nice. I usually head to a local food market, pick up a bunch of food, and go picnic in the park. Not only am I saving money (sandwiches aren’t expensive), but it affords me a good chance to watch the locals scurry about their daily lives. If you’re staying at a hostel, this is a great ice-breaker for meeting new people. Just invite everyone along to join you and you’ll be making new friends in no time! 11. Use Tourism Cards Most people think of tourist cards like the iAmsterdam card or the Oslo Pass as just a way to save money on transportation and attractions. But these cards also offer discounts at many restaurants. Typically, discounts are around 15–25%, but sometimes lunch specials can be up to 50% off. Visit the local tourism office when you arrive and ask what food discounts are included. Chances are you’ll be able to save even more money if you just take the time to learn about the tourism pass. It’s a worthwhile investment! 12. Get Free Breakfast If you can find hostels or hotels that include breakfast, you’ve already eliminated the cost of one meal. Plus, if you have a huge breakfast that fills you up for most of the day then you don’t need to eat as many meals out. Moreover, many hostels around the world also offer free dinners, free coffee and tea, and other food-related perks. Search them out to save money and lower your food costs. 13. Eat Where the Students Do Where there are universities, there are students, and since students are usually broke, that means there are likely cheap places to eat nearby. Check Google Maps for local post-secondary institutions and see what you can find in the nearby area. Many bars in the area will likely have cheap drinks and happy hours too, so you can save even more. Additionally, use Google to search for places. Type in “Student friendly restaurants in [X]” to get lots of suggestions on where to eat. You can also ask your hotel/hostel for information too. 14. Use Supermarket Deals In many countries, supermarkets offer lunchtime specials for workers in the surrounding areas. These usually entail fresh sandwiches or some soup or salads. Additionally, many supermarkets also discount food that expires soon, including bread, baked goods, meat, and produce. For example, pre-made meals in Japan are often 50% off right before the grocery store closes because they can’t keep it overnight. Tight food laws in Scandinavia also means that food that has “expired” is discounted too. (And, since food, especially imported meats, are so expensive in those countries, most locals buy the “expired” food). Buy groceries in the evening and you can likely find yourself some discounted (but still totally safe and edible) food. *** I love a nice restaurant. I don’t mind paying money for a good meal with a nice glass of wine. But doing that EVERY meal is simply too expensive. But, by using the tips above, I can afford to keep my costs down while still being able to afford a quality meal every so often. And that’s what is really important — finding the right balance. Because if you can manage to balance eating great food with saving money, both your wallet and your stomach will thank you. How to Travel the World on $75 a DayMy New York Times best-selling book to travel will teach you how to master the art of travel so that you’ll get off save money, always find deals, and have a deeper travel experience. It’s your A to Z planning guide that the BBC called the “bible for budget travelers.” Click here to learn more and start reading it today! Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are: SafetyWing (best for budget travelers) World Nomads (best for mid-range travelers) InsureMyTrip (for those 70 and over) Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage) Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals. Need a Rental Car? Discover Cars is a budget-friendly international car rental website. No matter where you’re headed, they’ll be able to find the best — and cheapest — rental for your trip! Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more. Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip. The post How to Eat Cheap Around the World appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site. View the full article

Meta ads are evolving, and understanding the right video formats can make a big difference in your ad performance. Here’s how 9:16 and 4:5 videos can help you get better results in Meta, and even across TikTok and YouTube Shorts. The power of Meta’s video innovation Many ecommerce brands have found success using Meta ads. However, many of these brands don’t understand the formatting details that, when used correctly, can drive better results. For context, Meta has undergone more changes than other platforms like Google Ads (which together form the digital advertising duopoly). While Google Ads is older, Meta continues to innovate. It first entered the vertical video space by launching Stories as a direct competitor to Snapchat. Today, Meta is in a similar competition with TikTok through Reels. Different placements work for different advertisers, so it’s important to understand where your brand performs best to succeed. Dig deeper: Why video is key to building brand identity and engagement Meta’s video advertising focus Over the past three months, I’ve spoken with Meta reps, agency owners, and clients to better understand where Meta is focusing its efforts. The answer? 9:16 and 4:5 video ad formats. These formats perform well on Meta’s platform and work as effective creative for TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Both vertical placements are key to getting the most out of your ad campaigns. The 9:16: Maximizes the area within the Story placement. The 4:5: Provides the largest creative space within the newsfeed and Reel placements – and more space means more opportunity. At our agency, we work with 30 brands, giving us a broad view of trends and patterns. And we’ve noticed one key thing: Reels (9:16) are more cost-efficient but convert less immediately for most brands. There is a clear difference between engagement, shareability, and research within Reels compared to In-Feed and Stories. Why does this matter to you as an advertiser? Because Meta is getting more expensive, you need to be more efficient. Instead of simply saying, “Jump on Reels, they’re cheap,” I want to share data-backed tactics you can use right away. 3 ways to get more from 9:16 and 4:5 Meta video ad formats With a million different tactics floating around on the internet, use these 3 to make a dent in your media buying: 1. Optimize Reel placement Start by creating varied content, then refine it through testing within the Reels placement to gather feedback and increase exposure at a lower cost. Next, identify which creative drives performance versus engagement. Focus on growing sales, top-funnel reach, and boosting engagement through shares and Google searches. 2. Pay attention to your ad’s safe zones In Meta advertising, “safe zones” are areas within Stories and Reels ads where key creative elements – such as text and logos – should be placed to prevent them from being obscured by interface features like profile icons or call-to-action buttons. Safe zones have become one of the biggest talking points with our clients heading into 2025. What makes safe zones complex is how primary placements (Stories, Reels, and In-Feed) interact with other placements (video feed, Explore, search, etc.). This complexity increases when you expand to other platforms like YouTube Shorts and TikTok, which present content differently to users. When optimizing safe zones, ensure clear communication between: Media buyer. Client. Creative team. A strong safe zone strategy is key to increasing click-through rates (CTR) and engagement (shares, saves, comments, and reactions). This improved engagement helps the algorithm lower costs (CPM) while collecting valuable data on how users respond – both positively and negatively – to your ads. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. 3. Embrace creative variation The most important factor in creative development is variation. Take one of our clients, for example – a company specializing in ergonomic home products. They’ve developed an unmatched product, and we’ve created personalized dashboards to track their ad account at the founder’s creative level. This helps us better understand their return on ad spend (ROAS) alongside engagement metrics like shares, saves, and comments. Data visualization allows us to quickly see how each creative performs: Some drive high shareability. Some generate more purchases and stronger ROAS. Others encourage comments. If you aren’t analyzing this information, you’re missing key insights that could improve your creative performance. By understanding how each founder-led creative performs, we can refine those assets and expand into new variations. For this brand, founder creative was the most impactful and engaging – but it shouldn’t be the only focus. We found that the “health” creative category drives both purchases and ROAS. This type of content is ideal for retargeting – potentially in a carousel format through the feed for users already familiar with the brand. But let’s dig a level deeper. Within the “health” category, we discovered that “spine-specific health” content is both engaging and high-performing. This makes it a strong candidate for evergreen ads in both prospecting and retargeting. This high-performing creative can now be iterated and repurposed in different ways, such as: Featuring a new UGC spine expert. Highlighting a target audience user. Using an overhead shot of the product with a voice-over about spine health. One successful ad can branch into multiple creative opportunities. When you combine these variations with 9:16, 4:5, and safe zones, you create ads that are optimized for lasting success. Dig deeper: Meta introduces generative AI video advertising tools View the full article

Have you committed to a new habit—exercising, let’s say—but keep falling off the wagon? Do you give up when the going gets tough? Does this whole “pursuing goals” idea seem really daunting? You may have low self-efficacy. But don’t worry: Self-efficacy is something that you can build with practice. Here's how. What is self-efficacy?Self-efficacy, as psychologists understand it, is related to the idea of confidence, but it’s not just being cocky for no reason. It’s a feeling something like determination and related to discipline and motivation. When you have high self-efficacy, you believe that you can do the thing. Whatever that thing may be. Maybe you’re just getting started on a long journey, but you know you’ll make it to the end. You see the obstacles in your path as speed bumps, not barriers. If you run into a problem, you’ll find a way to solve it. You just know you will. These beliefs aren’t something you’re born with or something you get from luck or miracles. You build them over time, with practice and experience. At the heart of self-efficacy is the idea that you can control what you do, and that you can control at least some of the things around you in your life. If there’s a snowstorm on the day you were going to go to the gym, for example, you don’t just give up on exercise for the week. You might rearrange your schedule so you can go another day, or you might do a home workout, or you might just remind yourself that your routine will survive a missed day and that your long-term plan is still on track. Here are some of the ways that psychologists say we can build self-efficacy: Congratulate yourself for small winsPast successes are fuel for future success. This applies to tiny things like habits: If you managed to make it to the gym once, it’s a lot easier to show up on day two. It also applies to bigger projects. If you did a beginner running program and “graduated” by running a 5K race, that’s huge. You learned that you can follow a program. You learned that you can run farther than you ever thought you could. You learned what it feels like to go out for a run when you’re tired, but finish anyway. You learned what that finish-line glow of accomplishment really feels like. And you can harness all of that, all over again, when you start working on a new goal. Another thing I like to do, especially when I haven’t seen success in something lately, is to look for things I can be proud of in the process. I didn’t lift the 140-pound log at my last strongman meet, but I hit 127 pounds in training, which is a hell of a lot more than I could do when I started. Watch people doing the thing you want to doThe second-best thing to reflecting on your own past experiences is to vicariously experience others’ success. You’ll want to choose your role models carefully; pay attention to who really inspires you. For some people, looking up to a world-class athlete can inspire them in the gym. For others, it can be helpful to look at somebody who is closer to you in skill level or experience. When your buddy hits a new deadlift PR, you’ll cheer for them, right? Even though you weren’t the person walking up to the bar, you’ve still experienced a taste the whole rollercoaster of emotions from being nervous at the attempt to celebrating the success. Seek out people who encourage youBelieving in yourself doesn’t have to be a solo project. Just as you can cheer on a gym buddy, your buddy can cheer you on as well. Also, make an effort to seek out instructors, coaches, and mentors who make you feel unstoppable. If somebody you trust thinks that you can do something, you’ll start to believe it too. Visualize success (and failure)When you’re trying to stay on a path, it helps to know where that path leads. What will it look like to make it to your goal? How will you feel when you cross that finish line, when you lift that goal weight, when you’ve been eating vegetables with your meals for a whole year? While you’re at it—if you’re ready for this—also imagine scenarios where you’re trying to do the thing and you momentarily can’t. How will you feel if you get injured, if a vacation knocks you off track, or if your gym buddy stops being able to come with you on deadlift day? Your plan is big enough to survive these obstacles, but it will help to think them through ahead of time and plan out how you will handle them. Then, when the time comes, you won’t hesitate to execute your plan. View the full article

Google has posted some fresh data, saying they answer over 5 trillion searches per year. The last time we saw this data was in 2016, when Google was at 2 trillion searches per year and then 1.2 trillion in 2012.View the full article

What a difference two days makes. On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced his plans for the U.S. government to create a new “Crypto Strategic Reserve.” The news immediately sent crypt prices soaring—something the industry needed after weeks of declines. However, less than 48 hours after Trump announced the Crypto Strategic Reserve, cryptocurrency prices are plunging. And this price change is also due to Trump—or rather, the tariffs he’s now enacted. Here’s what you need to know about the latest crypto crash. Why are cryptocurrency prices plummeting? As of the time of this writing, many major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana, are down at or near double-digit percentages. Meme coin heavyweights like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are also plummeting. As a matter of fact, this most recent crypto crash has wiped $300 billion off the value of cryptocurrencies as a whole, notes CNBC TV18. But why? It all comes down to tariffs. In the past 24 hours, President Trump has confirmed that he will move ahead with his longstanding threat to implement tariffs on products from America’s neighbors and two of its largest trading partners, Canada and Mexico. Both countries will see the United States levy 25% tariffs on some of their goods. However, Trump didn’t stop by raising tariffs only against its neighbors. The president also levied 20% tariffs on select goods imported from China, Reuters notes. Yet, China, Mexico, and Canada haven’t taken Trump’s actions sitting down. All three countries will enact tariffs on U.S. goods coming into their countries. This means that it will be more expensive for Chinese, Mexican, and Canadian businesses to buy U.S. goods, which will likely reduce the demand for those goods, hurting the U.S. companies and individuals who supply them. It also means that a large part of the world likely just entered a trade war—including the countries behind its two largest economies. From an economic perspective, there is little benefit to trade wars. Prices of goods increase, demand drops, wages and jobs can be lost, and the resulting negative impact on economic activity can cause markets to drop. This is where today’s crypto crash comes in. Cryptocurrencies are already highly volatile assets. Their values can swing 10% or more on any given trading day. That volatility makes them one of the first assets that investors usually sell when there are signs that the economy at large may be entering into a potentially volatile phase. Investors hate volatility because it increases risk. And one way to protect yourself against both is to dump assets more susceptible to those kinds of scenarios. Bitcoin, ETH, XRP, DOGE all drop This morning, many of the world’s most popular cryptocurrencies are down significantly due to concerns over Trump’s trade wars. As of the time of this writing: Bitcoin is down over 9.3% Ethereum is down over 10.4% XRP is down over 9.4% Solana is down over 14% DOGE is down over 11% Shiba Inu is down over 8.8% The most notable of these is Bitcoin, the world’s most well-known and popular cryptocurrency. Bitcoin surged to all-time highs after Trump won the election, topping out at nearly $110,000 per coin. But in the last month, the price of Bitcoin has sunk, losing over 14% of its value. Year to date, the coin is down over 10%. Despite Trump being largely seen as a positive force for the industry, his geopolitical maneuvers and his readiness to start trade wars have made many cryptocurrency investors nervous, and the crypto markets have reacted in kind. As of the time of this writing, Bitcoin currently sits below $84,000 per coin, wiping out all the gains it had seen on Sunday with Trump’s announcement. Where the price of cryptocurrencies goes from here is anyone’s guess. But one thing seems certain: Yesterday’s “Crypto Strategic Reserve” bump didn’t last long. View the full article

A new report released by Rand Fishkin at Sparktoro with the help of Datos' panel measure web browser activity showed that about 1/3rd of active web users don't use Google all that much, by that much it means they only do 1-20X searches per month.View the full article

Gen Z came of age in an environment that previous generations couldn’t have imagined when we entered the workforce. They’ve never known the world without the internet or cellphones. Their education and early career paths were disrupted by a global pandemic that kept them at home, learning and working over a screen. They’ve been learning digital skills their entire lives. It’s no wonder that their perspective on work is different than ours—and it’s time for us to pay attention. With the aging U.S. workforce, we need to attract and retain Gen Z talent for our companies to thrive—and this means a focus on skills-first hiring. Gen Z wants employers to value the skills they bring, not whether they have a college degree. This makes sense, given the impacts of the pandemic on many college careers and the rising costs of higher education. They also want employers to invest in their growth through mentorship, training, and upskilling programs to keep pace in a rapidly changing world. Whether through hands-on projects, portfolio work, or certifications, Gen Z wants clear pathways to prove themselves. And it is on us to find a new way of hiring that benefits us all. Change the way you think about qualifications Moving to a skills-first hiring model requires a major cultural shift, but one that unlocks productivity, creativity, and innovation. Indeed’s research shows hiring managers who embrace this approach find it twice as easy to find qualified candidates. With 52% of U.S. job postings now dropping formal education requirements, the shift is already underway. By removing these barriers that screen out over 70 million skilled workers, companies can tap into a vastly larger talent pool. And I can tell you firsthand, it works. Young workers today are unapologetically rejecting the system that once held people like me back. I started my career during the 1990s dot-com boom and landed a well-paying job in operations without a college degree. When the bubble burst, I found myself shut out of the job market—not because I lacked skills or experience, but because my résumé did not check the “college graduate” box. I went from making $90,000 a year to $11.75 an hour, forcing me to rebuild my career. That experience shaped my belief in hiring for skills and potential, not academic credentials. Degree requirements continue to serve as a gatekeeper, even though more than 62% of U.S. adults don’t have one, excluding highly qualified candidates from even being considered. Remember: For a multitude of reasons, not everyone has the ability to go to college. Talent is universal, but opportunity is not. Strict education requirements for new hires created a workforce that is less innovative, inclusive, and responsive to change. This slows down a company’s ability to adapt to an evolving economy. If you want to keep Gen Z, you have to invest in their skills. They expect opportunities to learn, evolve, and move up—and if they don’t see a clear path forward, they won’t stick around. Redesign job descriptions to focus on skills, not degrees Remove degree requirements where possible and instead list essential skills and competencies. For example, if you’re hiring a social media manager, why require a marketing degree when there are Gen Z creators who have built viral brands from scratch? Evaluate candidates based on real-world expertise. Build career progression paths that value ability over tenure Career progression should depend on ability, not tenure. Gen Z employees are motivated by growth opportunities and expect clear, merit-based career paths. Too often, companies prioritize years of experience over proven contributions, which can stall promising talent and push Gen Z workers to seek opportunities elsewhere. Instead, organizations should create structured yet flexible advancement paths that recognize impact and leadership potential early. Create assessment methods that effectively evaluate soft & hard skills Résumés often fail to capture a candidate’s true capabilities, which is particularly relevant for Gen Z. This generation has developed many skills through nontraditional pathways like self-directed learning, online certifications, and gig work. Consider implementing practical skills assessments, portfolio reviews, and behavioral interviews to evaluate problem-solving, creativity, and adaptability. Real-world skills assessments ensure hiring decisions are based on actual competencies, making it easier to identify high-potential Gen Z candidates who may not fit traditional hiring molds. Hire for the future, not the past Gen Z expects a smarter, fairer approach to hiring—one that values what they bring to the table. Companies that get this will thrive. Those that don’t? They’ll watch top talent walk away. Focusing on skills over degrees and clear career progression paths creates more engaged employees, better cultures, and stronger business outcomes. When I first lost my job, I had the skills to help any company grow and thrive—but I wasn’t given the chance. Now, I am in a place where I can give that chance to others, and I do not take it lightly. We can build a future where talent speaks louder than degrees. My final thoughts? Embrace a skills-first, inclusive approach or risk losing the next generation of top talent. It’s not a trend. It’s the future. View the full article

Google has made a number of updates to the product analytics section within Google Merchant Center Next. Organic conversions have been renamed to Purchases. Plus, Google lets you specify it's traffic to PDPsm instead of products, and labels.View the full article

Does PPC impact SEO? Find out if dwell time and user engagement from Google Ads influence search rankings—and what actually moves the needle. The post Ask An SEO: Does Dwell Time After Google Ad Clicks Impact Organic Rankings? appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article