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Visibility in Google’s AI Overviews doesn’t equal traffic. In my research from the first half of this year, AI Overview citations consistently underperformed – even compared to traditional blue links near the bottom of the SERP. An AI Overview citation can still help with authority, brand recall, positioning, and maybe even long-term LLM training. But for short-term clicks? The data paints a sobering picture. How AI Overviews vs. blue links compare: What the data shows Are AI Overview citations actually gathering clicks? Or are they just pushing the real click-producers further down the page? That question led me to look at the performance of classic blue links and AI Overviews across a dozen different industries. Inside the research This analysis draws on more than 20,000 ranking queries across industries, including: Automotive repair. Ecommerce. Education. Fitness. Healthcare. Manufacturing. SaaS. From that pool, a focused case study examined 200+ unique SERPs from February to April 2025 where AI Overviews appeared. Using Google Search Console and Semrush, the study tracked: The position of each domain inside the Overview. The same domain’s position in the traditional blue links. CTR, impressions, and clicks. To keep the analysis clean, I only counted the first appearance of a link in an AI Overview to avoid inflating performance with duplicates. What the study found Ranking first in an AI Overview delivers roughly Position 6 clicks: Far from the golden ticket many assume. AI Overview CTR curves fall off a cliff – fast: By Position 5, most citations might as well be on the 10th page of Google’s search results. The Top 3 blue links still perform best: The strongest AI Overview slot doesn’t match the Top 3 organic SERP results. Blue links still dominate where it matters: driving real, high-intent traffic. Dig deeper: Will Google’s AI Overviews kill the click? So, why aren’t AI Overviews driving clicks? The fact that the addition of AI Overview citations to SERPs is hurting clicks isn’t exactly breaking news. Since AI Overviews have been implemented, they have been documented to hurt click-through rates across the SERP, particularly on informational queries. But this shows that the answer isn’t as simple as shooting for AI Overview placements, assuming the new “top” overall SERP placement will compensate for lost clicks. The problem is even stickier for AI Overviews. Part of the issue is that user intent is becoming (even more) satisfied on-screen. It’s the same, classic zero-click search problem that’s been ongoing since People also ask placements, with Google now synthesizing these answers for users. But AI Overviews have even greater issues that minimize their value to content creators due to their unique placement, structure, and organization. AI Overview brand mentions lack context In a blue link, the brand is both a doorway and a marquee. After all, a traditional blue link has an optimized title and an attention-grabbing meta description to attract that all-valuable click. But in AI Overviews, brands are given a small, bland citation, with only a fraction of the meta description available. It’s basically a mousehole. Position inflation Being “first” in an Overview doesn’t carry the same weight as “first” in organic results. The top of SERPs is overly busy with AI Overviews, paid ads, site links, map packs, and other features. Data shows that search users agree: many searchers are scrolling down, looking for an escape from the clutter. With AI Overviews, engagement swiftly drops off a cliff Users scan several blue links, but attention collapses in AI Overviews. Citations are small, hard to scroll, and visually unappealing. Other searchers clearly agree. The CTR curve shows a steep decay, so that by AI Overview citation 4 or 5, your link basically doesn’t exist. What should SEOs do about it? First, we need to reframe the way we present our data, our goals, and maybe even our service. Visibility ≠ traffic: If you’re reporting clicks to leadership, AI Overview citations will not save your dashboards. That’s why some SEOs are making the move to attribute other channel traffic to their efforts. (More on that, later.) SERP authority ≠ ROI: Yes, being cited in an AI Overview lends credibility and visibility. It may even eventually contribute to a click, down the line of a user’s search experience. But that credibility is more abstract than ever and more challenging to track. The battle for top blue link positions is far from over: You still need to fight for top blue link positions. AI Overviews haven’t “leveled the field” against any established top 3 ranking competitor content. They’ve just added another, weaker layer to the SERP. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. Now, here’s where things actually get actionable. 1. Optimize for the overview, but don’t overvalue AI Overview citations do matter. A top ranking here can match a decent organic result, but not a Top 3 slot. I’ve found the most success in ranking for AI Overviews by treating them similarly to People also ask snippets, by focusing on “answer capsules.” Here’s what’s worked for me. Start by identifying high-volume FAQs Look for high-volume terms, using tools like Semrush’s Keyword Overview, and identify queries already displaying AI Overviews. Similar to traditional blue links, I’ve found keyword difficulty does matter for AI Overviews, but a highly difficult score is less of a hindrance. Low authority or new domains often still have a shot to rank highly in AI Overviews against established competitors. Place tight, authoritative answer capsules after H2s or H3s Treat an answer like a highly optimized meta description. Keep a summarized answer, or “answer capsule,” to less than 200 characters. A quick, confident, and summarized answer that can be easily cited is a must. You’ll add more information below, fleshing out your answer to provide more in-depth information to users on your site. Don’t externally link in your answer capsule Don’t communicate to search engines that another resource is a better source on the topic. Never externally link in an area of copy you believe is a target for an AI Overview. Other SEO best practices also apply. Use structured markup where it makes sense. Anticipate natural language queries. Read content like a user and answer their questions, even if they’re not high-volume keywords. Make content that makes sense for people, since search engines and LLMs care most about them. 2. Double down on Page 1 blue links Top 3 rankings are still the primary click drivers. In-depth content, written for users who experience it on-page, is still the best strategy for dominating the top of Google’s blue links. Search might have changed, but you should continue to prioritize optimizing for: Content depth: More informed and topically thorough posts produce longer engaged sessions, lower bounce rates, and drive more in-site traffic. That hasn’t changed. Link authority: Backlinks still matter, for both AI Overviews and traditional blue links. Technical health: Whether it’s blue links, AI Overviews, or other SERP features, your site needs to perform well. Keep an eye on those Core Web Vitals. Dig deeper: The search visibility framework: Dominating every corner of the SERP in 2026 3. Consider tracking ‘assisted conversions’ Search has changed. Why wouldn’t we change the way we track how users search? When framing AI Overviews to stakeholders, it can be helpful to understand AI Overview mentions as an upper-funnel assist. They might not deliver the click now, but they prime users for later recognition. But don’t go too far. I see some SEOs are making the move to attribute other channel traffic to their efforts. It makes sense, since visibility one day can lead to a variety of different channel traffic on another. After all, commercials and billboards work for a reason. Be skeptical of claims that AI Overview visibility drives large spikes in direct traffic. While it would be lovely to claim credit for direct as an SEO, it seems odd to expect that organic users are really typing in specific URLs without a referral link or Google search. That said, I do think it’s reasonable to assume AI Overviews drive some gains to branded organic traffic. Increasingly, parsing out branded and non-branded traffic – a long-standing best practice for reporting – may not be painting as clear a picture as it used to. In other words, we need to think hard about what our domain’s user journeys really look like. We also need to present them to decision-makers in a way that makes sense, not just looks good for SEOs. 4. Track CTR realistically We have to stop benchmarking against outdated CTR expectations. For years, I’ve seen numbers as high as 40% expected CTR for a Position 1 overall ranking, and this really isn’t based on anything accurate anymore. Run a search, and you’ll find a number of these inflated estimates on SERPs (and now, AI Overviews!). It’s time we just throw these numbers out the window. Back up these estimates with real data. Educate stakeholders, so they don’t chase the wrong KPIs – and expect them from you. Dig deeper: Want to beat AI Overviews? Produce unmistakably human content Visibility isn’t a click, but it is valuable AI Overviews are flashy and feel like a win, but they’re visibility – not a traffic engine. Measuring them as such misleads stakeholders. For SEOs and digital marketers, the right playbook is clear: Keep authority building through links, technical health, content depth, and other traditional SEO best practices. Chase and defend top blue link positions. They’re moving the needle most. Treat AI Overview citations as upper-funnel brand moments, not the centerpiece of reporting. In other words: don’t mistake this new gold star sticker for revenue. Celebrate the visibility, but keep KPIs anchored where the most clicks – and business impact – actually come from. View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. Before you sit down to study or get started on a big project for work, you might want to consider hitting the gym or taking a brisk walk. Besides just generally being good for your health, research also shows it can actually help with cognition. And with, say, the start of a new semester bearing down upon you or a work deadline looming, anything that can give you a brain boost is likely welcome. What the research says about exercise and studyingThere’s no shortage of solid, peer-reviewed research on the effect of exercise on cognition, going back decades. There's just a shortage on explanations. The exact reasons that exercise helps thinking aren’t fully understood, but one 2018 review in Frontiers in Psychology discusses evidence that it may increase blood flow to the brain, boost levels of certain neurotransmitters, and increase your feelings of control and self-esteem. Purely anecdotally, I think that's true. When I leave the gym in the morning, I feel like I've already accomplished something and tend to be a little more of a go-getter at work, riding my smug little wave to continue the day's productive streak. Another review, from 2013, notes that “more active” individuals are better able to pay attention to their surroundings and process information more quickly. Exercise may even change our brains for the long term; the 2018 review concluded that “chronic aerobic exercise is associated with potent structural and functional neuroplastic changes, with an improvement in cognitive functions.” What exercises work best for your brain?The research is pro-exercise in all forms, but especially hones in on acute aerobic exercise—or the kind of exercise where you’re moving around a lot and your heart rate is up. A “single bout” of this kind of movement is related to improved cognitive functions, according to the researchers in Frontiers. So, before you sit down to study, plan your week, or have an important conversation with your boss, consider swimming, biking, jogging, running, hopping on the elliptical, or taking a brisk walk around the block. You want to get in some solid cardio here, even if it is as simple as biking to work or taking your lunch break at the gym. (Here’s a guide to how much exercise you need each week, in general.) How to make time to work outI know it's hard to find time to work out, especially if you're a stressed-out student—but that makes it all the more important you do carve out some time for taking care of your body, regardless of the effect it has on your mind. Taking into account that it could make you a better student, it practically becomes non-negotiable. If getting to the gym, the bike path, or the rec center truly isn't feasible, there is plenty you can do from the comfort of home or your dorm room. Since we're looking to get the heart rate up here, focus on cardio, to the extent possible in your space. YouTube is full of great follow-along workout videos that can get blood pumping, for instance. I'd also recommend having a designated workout app to guide you. I'm partial to Peloton's app, but while that app has all kinds of class types from cycling to walking to yoga, it can also cost up to $44 a month, making it a little difficult to maintain for a student. As a free alternative, you can try Nike Training Club, which has similar classes you can follow along with from home. Check with your university's student center about what's available, too. Schools offer all kinds of wellness-focused resources, from fitness apps to on-campus recreational centers. In grad school, I taught spin classes in my university's rec center that were free for other students to attend—and, true to the research, I always noticed a little cognitive boost when I did it right before class. View the full article

Cambium Networks is back with new, valuable additions to its successful Wi-Fi 7 portfolio. Watch the interview here. The post Interview: Cambium Networks expands ONE Network offering with new Wi-Fi 7 APs, switching appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

Websites built for performance fuel growth, protect valuation, and deliver measurable ROI far beyond marketing metrics. The post From Line Item To Leverage: How Web Performance Impacts Shareholder Value appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. Study methods are usually all about what you can do in your own time to maximize what you learn and that's generally most important, but bringing someone else in to your process can be helpful if done correctly, too. That’s what Richard Feynman, a theoretical physicist, thought—at least in theory. According to many possibly apocryphal sources, the Nobel Prize-winner once said, “If you cannot explain something in simple terms, you don’t understand it. The best way to learn is to teach.” It’s entirely possible Feynman never said that at all. The closest documented quote I could find, courtesy of his colleague and fellow physicist David Goodstein, stated that Feynman’s inability to break a subject (in this case, a complex question of particle physics) down to the level a freshman student could understand it meant that science didn’t effectively understand it. But whether this study method truly came from Feynman or not, the basic principle—to know you truly understand a subject, you should be able to teach it to someone else—is pretty sound. Here’s how the Feynman study method works and how you can use it to master new concepts (just maybe not particle physics, apparently). What is the Feynman method?The Feynman study technique is so popular for learning and retaining information that it’s recommended to college students and even real-world professionals. It’s a four-step technique that should, when practiced correctly, help you fully grasp the content you’re studying. Here are the steps involved: Identify exactly what material you need to learn (to do that, try using a method like KWL or SQ3R to determine which parts of the topic are most critical before you even get started), and then study it on your own using the methods that have proven most effective for you. I recommend the Leitner flashcard method for vocabulary words and simple question-and-answer problems. Then, try blurting, where you write down everything you can remember about the topic before checking it against your materials to see what you missed. Once you feel comfortable with the material, teach it to someone else—ideally someone who has never studied it. Explain the material as though you were doing so to a total neophyte (Feynman advises to imagine talking to a child), as thoroughly and as straightforwardly as possible. Return to your source material whenever you come across an element you have difficulty explaining in detail. Rewrite and streamline your notes, breaking down complex topics into simpler parts, and further clarifying the topic until you reach a level of granularity that seems almost too basic. Step 2 isn't as simple as it seems, though. You need a pretty willing participant for this and they should ask questions while you teach them. Questions are crucial because the other person may come up with ones you didn't think of while studying the material and a back-and-forth dialogue can help you make connections between concepts in your brain. Don't treat this as though you're standing in front of them giving a lecture. Rather, turn it more into a real conversation where you're presenting the material, but they're also participating. If they ask something you can't answer, head to Step 3, look it up, and then go back to them with the details. How the Feynman method worksThe most important element of this technique is in dissecting and simplifying the material until you feel like you could explain it all to a child. As the story from Goodstein above reveals, Feynman believed if you couldn’t reduce a topic to information comprehensible to a young student, you didn’t really understand it. (A similar quote has also been attributed to Albert Einstein, so consider it a pedagogical philosophy with legs—though there’s no proof Einstein actually said anything of the sort, either.) It works fine if you choose an adult who is unfamiliar with the topic to teach it to. The idea is just for you to simplify it to a child's level of understanding, but you'll probably get more substantive feedback if you actually do the discussion with an adult. Maybe they’ll ask a question you can’t answer, or help you find connections between ideas. Maybe their unique perspectives and experiences will inform their understanding of this new material and launch some groundbreaking revelations for you. Who's to say? This feedback will help you as you move to the third step of reviewing your materials, as it will give you additional things to consider as you do so. When you’re done refining your notes further, try teaching the topic to someone else again, or moving on to another technique, like distributed practice or overlearning, where you’ll study your simplified notes periodically until you fully grasp the material. Feynman when no one else is aroundIt's a nice idea to imagine you could call up your mom or best friend to Feynman it out every time you have a big test coming, but realistically, that's probably not possible. If you can't find anyone with whom to practice this technique, turn to AI. Language models like ChatGPT are great study helpers when used correctly. Instruct the chatbot to act like it's totally unfamiliar with the subject, then type everything you can remember about it into the text-entry box, as though you were using the blurting method. Ask if the AI has any questions and go from there. I've done this and actually just told the bot I was using the Feynman method, which it understood, and it worked just as well as talking to a human being, although it felt a little weirder. Fire up ChatGPT before a big test in case of emergency. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. My massage guns are precious to me, and I don't plan on giving them up any time soon. At the same time, the world of sports recovery is so much bigger than a $400 Theragun. Maybe you love your massage gun, but you're still wondering what other tools are out there to help soothe your sore muscles. I've got you covered on this front. After six years of running marathons without any major injury, here are some of my favorite massage gun alternatives that deserve a spot in your recovery arsenal. Percussive foam rollersFoam rolling is a recovery staple on its own, but I recently discovered how the Chirp RPM Rolling Percussive Massager (which I review in-depth here) elevates this classic technique with built-in vibration. This hybrid tool combines the familiar benefits of traditional foam rolling with gentle percussion therapy, which seriously reduces the effort required for effective self-massage. Traditional foam rolling can be exhausting, especially when you're already fatigued from training. The percussive action does much of the work for you, allowing for deeper muscle penetration without the same physical exertion. Anecdotally, I've noticed solid improvements in my recovery time when using the Chirp roller, particularly for IT band and calf muscle maintenance. Chirp RPM Rolling Percussive Massager $249.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $249.99 at Amazon Orbital massage gunsWhen most people think of massage guns, they picture the typical back-and-forth percussion motion. Lately, I've opted for the Rally orbital massage gun to break up the jackhammering with a unique circular motion pattern. It feels less aggressive than traditional percussion therapy, but just as effective. I've found it particularly effective for post-workout recovery on large muscle groups like quads and hamstrings, where traditional massage guns can sometimes feel too intense. Plus, if you turn the orbital massager at a slight angle, it works just like a percussive massage gun, too. The device is also surprisingly quiet compared to most percussion massagers, making it ideal for apartment living or late-night recovery sessions. It's no small investment, but for me, it's been worth every cent. Rally Orbital Massager $499.00 at Rally Shop Now Shop Now $499.00 at Rally Compression therapy on a dimeProfessional compression therapy systems can cost thousands, but I get a lot out of simple compression socks. While they may not have all the bells and whistles of medical-grade units, there's a good chance you don't need a medical-grade unit—just a $20 3-pack of socks. Tennis or lacrosse ballsBefore massage guns existed, athletes relied on simple tools like tennis balls and lacrosse balls for trigger point release. These remain incredibly effective and cost basically nothing. And trust me, a $5 lacrosse ball from a sporting goods store performs identically to a $25 "recovery ball" with fancy packaging. Pro tip from dealing with plantar fasciitis: You can put your tennis ball in the freezer for a nice cooling effect, especially if you muscles are inflamed. Recovery techniques that cost nothingBefore you drop hundreds on a fancy massage gun or decompression table, make sure you're taking care of yourself for free in these ways: Mobility work. The most overlooked recovery tool is completely free: strategic stretching and mobility work. Spending 15-20 minutes on targeted stretches can be more beneficial than any gadget. Focus on dynamic stretching before workouts and static stretching afterward, paying special attention to areas that feel tight or overworked. Quality sleep. Quality sleep is the foundation of all recovery, yet it's often ignored in favor of expensive gadgets. I've invested in my sleep with this pair of sleepbuds so that I can actually sleep through my partner's snoring. Active recovery sessions. Light movement on rest days can be more effective than complete inactivity. Walking and yoga are great ways to get your blood flowing without adding training stress. The bottom lineThe best recovery protocol is the one you'll actually follow. Whether that includes high-tech gadgets or a simple tennis ball matters less than your commitment to making recovery a priority in your training regimen. I've always made it a priority, and I've yet to be sidelined from marathon running in the past six years (knock on wood). My advice is that a combination of one or two quality devices—alongside all those free recovery techniques—used regularly will always deliver better results than a collection of expensive gadgets used sporadically. And remember that the most powerful recovery tool is time itself, so don't turn to a massage gun when what you really need is a rest day. I'm currently testing a $599 decompression and massage table, so stay tuned on whether I think that sort of device is worth your money. View the full article

As SERPs continue to change, we see more search features taking up space on Page 1. That’s why it’s increasingly important to gain visibility in People Also Ask results. Let’s go over some ways to research People Also Ask (PAA) rankings, and methods you can use in order to get a website ranking in them. What is the People Also Ask box? This accordioned box shows a list of questions related to the query that you searched. You can expand the accordions to find out more information and click through to different links. In some cases, AI Overviews results can appear within an expanded PAA box. See below: So, if you have a shoe company but are having a hard time ranking on Page 1 for the query “types of shoes” (8,100 monthly search volume according to Semrush), you still have the opportunity to optimize a page for related queries and show up in the SERPs. Or, if you’re already in the top spot for the query but want to dominate that SERP as much as possible, you can also try to get another page ranked in the PAA box. Dig deeper: Google generates nearly 13% of People Also Ask answers: Data Looking at People Also Ask visibility using Semrush Drill down into specific PAA rankings with Semrush’s SERP Features tool (or a comparable keyword tool). Just pop your domain into Domain Overview, and navigate to Organic Research. From there, drill down in a few different ways: Where your domain ranks for People Also Ask results. Where People Also Ask results show up for a keyword your domain ranks for. Where PAAs are not on the SERPs. Where your domain doesn’t rank in the PAAs. All of these views can be helpful in some way. Identifying where your site ranks but doesn’t appear in the PAA box lets you build a list of content and optimization opportunities to boost visibility. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. Identifying opportunities to rank in People Also Ask results This can get a little time-consuming, since the keyword that your site is ranking for in the PAA box is not the same keyword being shown in Semrush. (Remember, it’s a related question that people also ask). Dig into the different related questions by viewing the SERPs in Semrush. For example, Nike ranks well for the keyword “Jordan 4” but doesn’t rank in the PAA result on that SERP. If we view the SERP for that keyword… …then we can see what questions are appearing. “How do I spot fake Air Jordans” and “What is the rarest J4” present good opportunities to create content that answers those questions directly on the Nike site. Tackle these opportunities in a few ways: Drill down into the list of places your site is not yet ranking in the existing People Also Ask box. Your site is already ranking in some capacity for these keywords, but you’re not in this result yet. That presents an opportunity to add a related answer to a question on the ranking page and potentially gain more organic visibility. Find out where your competitors are ranking in PAA results and where you don’t. This gives you a great opportunity to take a PAA result spot from a competitor or generate a new page idea based on their work. Be sure to look at multiple competitors to get a full picture of the content gaps on your site. Dig deeper: Case study: How to get rid of a negative ‘People also ask’ result How can your site rank in more PAA results? Short answer: Answer the questions that people also ask. From the research you pull, choose the related questions that are relevant to your brand, products and/or services. Then, create some informative, concise FAQs on relevant pages (or create new pages as needed). Quality and informative content that your site has the right to win for is going to perform best in these results. You’ll want to wrap the question headings in H2 or H3 tags and then include the answer as a small paragraph below. Remember: Provide accurate information. Keep it short. Use natural language. Back your answers with credible sources when that’s relevant. Don’t forget about authority. As a supporting tactic, you’ll want to ensure that Google sees your site and important pages as authoritative. Find natural ways to gain links from high domain authority sites, whether that’s from gaining news coverage or having a thought leader do an interview for a publication. Especially when creating a new page, you’ll want to try to gain some backlinks to it. And ensure your internal linking profile is strong. Linking to pages where you’re answering PAA questions can help signal their importance to Google. What should you avoid when optimizing for People Also Ask results? Steer clear of these common mistakes to keep your content eligible and effective in PAA boxes: Keyword stuffing: Naturally answering the question is best, not inserting a ton of keywords and creating spammy-looking content Ignoring search intent: Shoehorning a keyword or answer into a page that isn’t really related to the question isn’t going to lead to good results. Writing an essay: Long-form content isn’t the way here. Keep it concise and directly answer the question. Forgetting to update content as needed: It’s a good habit to periodically check to ensure your answers are up to date. Tracking People Also Ask results Include your target PAA keywords in your rank tracking tool to see when you’ve won those spots. In Semrush, check the SERP Features trend and filter for PAA results to track how many you rank for over time and spot any major changes. Capturing visibility, authority, and traffic through PAA The People Also Ask box is a powerful gateway to visibility, authority, and long-tail traffic. By delivering concise, intent-driven answers and tracking your performance, you can secure a lasting presence in these results and extend your brand’s reach beyond traditional rankings. As search evolves – and with AI and conversational queries on the rise – PAA results will only grow in importance. Make PAA optimization a core part of your strategy now by researching questions, structuring answers, and tracking your wins. View the full article

Microsoft Bing is testing colorful lines and separator sections in the Bing Search results. The colors are in blue, orange and gray (and maybe more).View the full article

Microsoft is testing showing text attributes that can say things like "Free Shipping on Qualified Orders" with an icon next to the search ads on Bing Search. This is not just the CTA buttons that these ads have supported for a while but additional text attributes.View the full article

Google is testing a new sponsored ads section in the search results named Featured Stores. This reminds me of the from online stores but that was organic/free, not ads.View the full article

Google is testing a shaded box design for the stock pricing and information in the Google Search results. Google has these shaded designs in other areas as well but for now, this may just be a test.View the full article

I’ve been freelancing for two and a half years. And that’s exactly how long it took me to make LinkedIn work for me as a tool to grow my network and get clients. For a long time, I’ve gotten sporadic results. Discovery calls that led nowhere, very few leads, and a single client with a one-off project. But looking back at how I approached my LinkedIn presence, it all makes sense. I combined short, impulsive bursts of creativity with months-long escapes from the platform. And my results reflected that. As a freelancer, it’s easy to get lost between 20 different acquisition strategies, client work, and administrative tasks of running your business. Without a structure in place, staying present on LinkedIn easily falls through the cracks. In April, I spoke to a fellow freelancer, Tawni Olson, who told me: “For acquiring new clients, LinkedIn has been the best lever — it helps me stay top-of-mind and has directly led to both referrals and cold inquiries.” And that was the final sign for me to start taking LinkedIn seriously and build a system centered around content buckets. Here’s how I did it. How I created content buckets in four stepsI defined my goalsMy first step was to define what I want to achieve by posting on LinkedIn. Because if I don’t know where I’m going, how could I know if I got there or what I need to change in my approach to get the results? Natasha Khullar Relph, a prominent freelance journalist and the founder of The Wordling (newsletter for writers and authors), highlights the importance of goal setting in one of her articles: “By setting goals, you allow yourself the clarity to see what you need to be working on and focus your attention on the things that will move your career forward.” After a few days of brainstorming and being honest with myself about where I want to take my freelance career, I realized that I want to: Connect with other freelance content professionals to share our experiencesBuild a personal brand as a freelance content writer and content managerGet new content management and content writing clientsWith these goals in place, it felt like the fog had lifted. I could finally see where I wanted to go. All that was left to do was figuring out how to get there. I brainstormed content ideas based on goalsThe next step was to brainstorm content ideas based on goals. Asking myself the following three questions: What topics bring me closer to freelance content professionals?Which content ideas could help build my personal brand as a freelance content writer and content manager?Which posts will get me more content management/content writing leads and clients?This is what I came up with: Goal Content ideas To connect with freelance professionals Relatable freelancing stories Managing deadlines Managing admin work How to handle feedback/edits How to negotiate/price services What I thought about freelancing then vs what I believe now How I get clients To build a personal brand as a freelance content writer and content manager Tools I use and how I use them Workflow tips Writing tips ChatGPT/Claude prompts that help me write faster Tips on managing freelancers Content ops tips Lessons from writing for a specific client To get new content management/content writing leads and clients Social proof Testimonials Case studies Articles I was featured in Posts promoting services Posts promoting articles I wrote Posts answering questions I got from clients during the discovery phases I grouped ideas into content bucketsAfter brainstorming, I decided to group them into content buckets to help me organize all ideas and label all future topics I come up with. I came up with four content buckets and gave them descriptive names: For freelancers/here’s how I workTips, workflows, and toolsSocial proofPosts about servicesEach bucket is directly connected to the goal, like this: Goal Content ideas Content bucket To connect with freelance professionals Relatable freelancing stories Managing deadlines Managing admin work How to handle feedback/edits How to negotiate / price services What I thought about freelancing then vs what I believe now How to handle feedback/edits How I get clients For freelancers/here’s how I work To build a personal brand as a freelance content writer and content manager Tools I use and how I use them Workflow tips Writing tips ChatGPT/Claude prompts that help me write faster Tips on managing freelancers Content ops tips Lessons from writing for a specific client Tips, workflows, and tools To get new content writing/content management leads and clients Testimonials Case studies Articles I was featured in Social proof Posts promoting services Posts promoting articles I wrote Posts answering questions I got from clients during the discovery phases Posts about services Whenever I want to post something, I know EXACTLY which goal it’s contributing to. And this helps me ensure I’m not wasting my creative energy on irrelevant content. I created a system to track ideasMy next step was to create a system to help me keep all of my ideas in a single place, so I can easily access them when I want to create or publish something. I turned to Buffer and created color-coded tags to keep track of my topics across different content buckets, like this: Whenever I get an idea, I add a scribble to Buffer and immediately label it so I can easily find it later when I need to create something for a specific goal. Tags help me have a visual overview of how many ideas I came up with for each bucket (and therefore, goal). And determine if I need to focus my energy elsewhere. How I use content bucketsTo come up with new ideasDefined content buckets make it easier for me to come up with new content ideas. Without goals and buckets, asking myself, “What could I post today on LinkedIn?” could get me a few good posts. But coming up with consistent ideas aligned with what I want to achieve? Not so much. With a system in place, I can ask myself a more straightforward question that creates a pre-frame and helps direct creativity towards the right stories to share. For example, going from “What could I post today on LinkedIn?” to “What relatable stories could I publish to connect with freelance writers?” creates a narrow focus that makes coming up with ideas much easier. And once I’ve set these pre-frames for all buckets, ideas started popping up in my day-to-day work life. As soon as ideas pop up, I note them in Buffer and add an appropriate tag. Here’s what my library looks like right now: To content batch and stay consistentAfter I defined my goals and content buckets, it became a lot easier to do content batching (creating higher volumes of content in a single session to use over a longer time period). This strategy helps me maintain a consistent publishing schedule without burning out. That’s because content buckets remove the decision fatigue of what to post. Instead of starting with “creating X posts for LinkedIn,” I can simply pick a bucket and brainstorm ideas. And once I start creating, I can further simplify this process by batching similar content together. For example, for the bucket “Posts about services,” I can create five posts answering questions clients asked in discovery calls. And for the bucket “For freelancers”, I can chunk down the topic of feedback into four separate posts and create them in a single sitting. For content batching sessions, I use the board view in Buffer. All of my new ideas are in the “Unassigned” board. Before I start creating, I move the topics I want to work on to the “In progress” board. Like this: To further double down on a single bucket, I select the specific tag. This is what my board looked like when I was working on the posts about feedback: Once the posts are done, I move them to the “Ready for scheduling” board and schedule them at the end of the session. I’m posting three times per week and batching content once a month. I usually schedule a full day for LinkedIn content creation and pair it up with the admin work. During the month, I may do an additional shorter batching session or create a post here and there when I have the time and feel inspired. Using this strategy helps me stay consistent without interrupting my client work and helps me show up on low-motivation days. To select and hone broad ideas to match my goalsSelecting and honing ideas to match my goals ensures my content is intentional and brings me closer to what I want to achieve. I don’t want to post on LinkedIn just for the sake of posting, and not all of my ideas are relevant to my goals. Here’s how content buckets help me figure out what and what not to post: Figuring out which topics to avoid: Writing about the latest recipe I tried is relatable and will likely get me some engagement. But it’s not aligned with my goals, so I won’t select that topic.Honing a broad topic: “How to give/receive feedback” is a broad topic. But I can chunk it down to “How to deal with constructive criticism on your writing” or “How to give feedback to content writers.” This way, my content is a lot more relevant to my target audience.Personalizing Buffer’s content prompts: I often use prompts from Buffer’s library. And thanks to buckets, I can alter them to ensure they’re aligned with my goals.Let’s take a look at the prompt “How slowing down made me more productive.” By adding the narrative of focusing on fewer things at once as a freelancer, the prompt quickly becomes relevant to my audience. To troubleshoot lower performanceI measure the success of my goals with a mix of metrics. To determine if I’m on the right track to grow my network and build a personal brand, I keep an eye on follower growth and engagement metrics. And for my goal of getting freelance content writing and content management clients, I track the number of leads and clients I get from my LinkedIn posts. At one point, I realized that my network was growing quickly, but I hadn’t generated any leads in six weeks. So I had a look at my calendar. Thanks to color-coded tags, I quickly noticed that the majority of the content I posted was directed towards other freelancers, not content managers. Only one (pink color) out of 11 posts in the former three weeks was dedicated to getting clients: The following week, I doubled down on sharing content in the other two buckets: Social proofPosts about servicesSoon after noticing this, I published a post about what type of client might need to create content briefs for their writers. And this post alone generated three leads and one client. And when my calendar is full, I can simply reduce the number of posts for clients and focus on posts for freelancers that drive engagement. Content buckets teach me that it’s not about how much I post, but about being intentional and matching what I want to achieve with my content. Tracking the right metricsSince I started publishing regularly in early June, all of my LinkedIn metrics are up: Impressions (+405.2%)Engagements (+558%)Followers (+355 new followers)Profile viewers (+104%)Here’s a glimpse: I’m closely following these metrics because they indicate the growth of my network. However, I’m not currently optimizing for them. In the past 95 days, my content has generated: 6 leads 2 content clientsEngagement without clients doesn’t mean a lot for a freelance content business. The number of clients and leads are the metrics that I’m most proud of and am currently working on increasing. A framework that keeps me goingDefining my content buckets gave me an organized system that helps me stay consistent and have a way of measuring whether my posts are bringing me closer to my goals. Instead of wondering what to publish or worrying about the relevance of my posts, I now have a framework that allows me to stay focused and intentional. That shift took LinkedIn from being a guessing game to a great way of growing my network, my brand, and my client base. View the full article

Have you ever faced a critical media campaign error? You’re not alone. We’ve all been there. A budget that burns out in hours instead of weeks, a missing pixel that breaks tracking… And no one notices… until it’s too late. The consequences? Real. Costly. Stressful. Trust damaged. These aren’t strategic failures. They’re operational blind spots and they happen even in the best teams, with the best tools. Digital is full of setups and moves fast. Errors and risks aren’t exceptions, they’re systemic. So ask yourself: Is your media operation truly safe? If your answer isn’t a clear “yes,” it’s time for a game-changer. 1. The hidden risks behind every campaign Digital is no longer just a marketing channel, it’s the backbone of business. Global ad spend is expected to reach $740B by 2025, reflecting both opportunity and increasing complexity. Every day, your teams or agencies juggle dozens of platforms — Google, Meta, Amazon, DSPs — each with its own setup rules, metrics, formats and workflows. Add evolving AI tools, tighter deadlines, demand for hyper-personalization and pressure for performance… and the stakes rise fast. Execution never stops. But visibility doesn’t keep up. And that’s the point: with so much happening in real-time, operational errors happen silently. Some of the most common ones: A daily budget mistakenly set instead of monthly, blowing the plan in 24 hours. A campaign running in the wrong market or targeting the wrong audience for days. A misconfigured bid cap with one extra zero, sending the bidding algorithm sky-high. A pixel lost during a site update, making your whole campaign untrackable. Ads displayed on a banned network, breaking media guidelines and trust. These aren’t rare. Every digital leader we meet has seen them : a moment of distraction, an endless setup, a complex workflow, a stressful day, an absence in the operational team. Small mistakes lead to big consequences. Yet we still treat human error like an exception, when it’s actually inevitable. Other industries have learned this lesson: Healthcare relies on electronic monitoring systems. Aviation adds AI copilots. Finance depends on compliance and regulations. Manufacturing integrates sensors and QA automation. Energy adopts predictive monitoring and redundancy. Digital marketing? We refresh dashboards and cross our fingers. Most organizations think they’re safe: “We double-check campaigns.” “We have QA, naming conventions, dashboards…” But the truth is, these systems only validate what’s been set up correctly and they’re built for operational routines, not for catching the unseen. They can’t detect what’s missing, broken, or misconfigured. And no team — no agency, analyst, or platform — can monitor 100+ accounts manually, 24/7. Digital has no real safety culture… yet! It’s time we admit operational errors are systemic. And systems can be improved and reinforced. It’s time for a collective awareness and for leaders to take ownership. 2. What is Digital Media Safety? Think of Digital Media Safety as your media control tower: a new operational layer that protects your campaigns in real time – predicting, detecting, alerting, and helping fix anomalies before they hurt performance. What Digital Media Safety brings: Real-time anomaly detection Digital Media Safety scans every detail of your media campaigns – spend, delivery, tracking, targeting… in real time, so anomalies are spotted the moment they appear. Always on, always automatic, 24/7 monitoring Unlike human checks, Digital Media Safety never sleeps. It runs 24/7, automatically, without relying on manual routines or someone remembering to double-check. It becomes the silent safety net that ensures operations stay on track day and night, across all accounts and campaigns, even the ones you don’t think about anymore. Smart alerts Not all alerts are equal. A red flag should reach the person able to fix it, not get buried in the inbox of the person who caused it. Digital Media Safety routes the right alerts to the right people, at the right moment, making sure nothing slips through the cracks. Action tracking When a mistake is fixed, the story shouldn’t end there. Digital Media Safety logs every action taken, creating full transparency and accountability. Leaders see what happened, who solved it, and how fast, turning incidents into learnings that strengthen future performance. Digital Media Safety is all about prevention. Media ops are too fast, too complex and too valuable to operate without a safety net. Preventing media errors requires a structured approach built on three essential layers: 1. Risk-aware leadership Smart leaders know one thing: human error is inevitable. The question isn’t if it will happen, but when. That’s why they make risk management part of their DNA. Protecting business, safeguarding performance, and keeping their people safe isn’t optional, it’s leadership in action. 2. Collective responsibility & continuous improvement When everyone sees errors as opportunities to improve, not to blame, the whole system gets stronger. A collective mindset means errors are raised openly, lessons are shared, and processes evolve. From leadership to the most operational levels, safety becomes everyone’s responsibility and improvement a shared goal. 3. Robust technical systems No team can watch campaigns 24/7 without missing something. Technology can. Automated monitoring, smart alerts, and AI controls extend human capacity far beyond natural limits. They empower people and they free up time for smarter decisions. In short: they take your team further, faster, and safer. That’s exactly where Digital Media Safety steps in. Digital Media Safety shifts digital marketing from guesswork to governance. Just as in aviation, finance, or healthcare, it’s time for Digital Marketing to adopt the same maturity in safeguarding its operations. 3. Meet WATCH40: Your Digital Media safety net At WATCH40, we’ve seen million-dollar campaigns wrecked by missed pixels or wrong budgets, even with tools already in place. As former CEOs of one of the world’s leading media agencies working with major advertisers, we know first-hand how fragile digital media operations can be. That’s why we built WATCH40: the smart, predictive platform for Digital Media Safety. As a trusted third-party partner, WATCH40 restores confidence, serenity, and performance. It connects directly to your media platforms (Google Ads, Meta, etc.), scans for errors 24/7, identifies new ad accounts and campaigns, and notifies both teams and leaders in real time through the channels you already use. What WATCH40 monitors: Overspend alerts WATCH40 tracks ad spend, pacing and budget patterns across major paid media platforms in real time. If a campaign suddenly burns through its budget too fast, or if unusual spikes in spend appear, it immediately raises a red flag. Beyond simple alerts, WATCH40 sets intelligent, automated thresholds without human intervention, adapted to each account or campaign, and even anticipating seasonal peaks. This unique, flexible core feature ensures your teams and leaders are warned in real time, so they can act before budgets are wasted. Always-on tracking Today, it’s unthinkable to invest in media without tracking performance accurately or sending the right signals to optimization algorithms. When pixels or tags break, campaigns may record wrong or missing signals, leading to inefficiencies or even runaway effects in automated bidding. With this innovative WATCH40 feature, that risk is eliminated. WATCH40 ensures that all critical tracking pixels are live and firing correctly. If something fails — during a site update, a new campaign launch, or a forgotten tag — you know instantly, not weeks later when performance and reports are already compromised. Objectives Alignment & Forecasting WATCH40 verifies that your media investment stays aligned with your business objectives. From budgets to traffic or conversion metrics, it acts as your AI cockpit: validating that campaigns are on track and flagging misalignments before they hurt performance while forecasting risks ahead. Targeting control & Custom QA rules Every brand has unique processes, compliance needs, and media guidelines. WATCH40 lets you codify custom QA checks tailored to your strategy. Whether it’s network restrictions, geo-targeting policies, naming conventions, or internal guardrails, the platform monitors them continuously and alerts you the moment an anomaly appears. Already used by leading brands and agencies, WATCH40 helps you: Gain real-time visibility and reactivity across digital ops Reduce stress and unplanned firefighting Focus on strategy, not troubleshooting. “There’s a clear before and after. We’ve regained operational excellence and peace of mind.” Guillaume Balloy, CEO of Mindshare & Keyade Agencies (WPP Media France) We believe that in the next two years, Digital Media Safety will be standard in every forward-looking and accountable marketing organization. Marketing leaders aren’t just chasing results. They’re building resilient, fail-safe, responsible systems that protect their investment and their marketing strategy. You’ve scaled automation and performance. Now it’s time to scale safeguards. WATCH40 adds the Digital Media Safety layer your stack was missing, making growth safer, smarter, and more sustainable. Welcome to the Digital Media Safety era. Want to know how safe your operations really are? Talk to our team and explore how WATCH40 helps brands and agencies catch errors in real time, save budgets, and sleep better. View the full article

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Track prompts by capturing prompt logs, tagging your prompts, and analyzing them. See how to do it. View the full article

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It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I need to give feedback to someone who thinks they have imposter syndrome but really doesn’t know what they’re doing I work in a pretty varied team, say developing tea and teapots. I lead the teapots division, and I have a counterpart, Lee, who leads the tea division. In Lee’s tea division, Sam is in charge of rolling out a campaign for a new line of green teas, while Lee has only ever worked with the existing line of black teas, and has never run a campaign like this. Sam does not have much relevant experience at all, and doesn’t know what they don’t know. I on the other hand have been involved in new tea line developments before, but wasn’t specifically involved in this campaign. I did offer to help or provide guidance, but was (politely) told no. In the few cases where I was asked to give feedback, I was pretty open about some concerns I have, but they were not acted on. Cut to today, and things are a mess. The campaign is behind, is missing crucial components, vendors are not delivering, and Sam is feeling overwhelmed and doesn’t know how we will meet regulatory deadlines. They’re feeling like they should have listened to feedback sooner (yes), that they don’t know what they’re doing (yes, but also there’s a component of the blame on team leadership for not setting them up well), and that they’re having “impostor syndrome.” In terms of actually getting green tea where it needs to be, we’re all working as a team now and have a plan in place, pulling in additional resources. I’ve been asked to provide Sam with some feedback about the whole thing, because part of the new strategy going forward is the recognition that I’ve known what should be done all along (and that Lee and Sam should listen to feedback even if they don’t like it). That means that I’m taking more of a leadership role and they’ve added a dotted line where I now manage Sam for this. I’ve been asked to help Sam understand what went wrong and give some constructive feedback as part of that for their development. How would you provide the feedback that it’s not really “impostor syndrome,” but that they were placed in a position beyond their skills? Just writing that out makes me fear that it will decimate their self-esteem when they’re already in a bad place. Frame it as if you’re teaching them, because you are. It can be less about “you messed up” and more about “here’s what I was seeing and why I gave the feedback I did earlier, and ideally we would have done XYZ at that point.” Check to see if they understand in retrospect why you made those recommendations. I don’t think you need to explicitly say, “This isn’t imposter syndrome; you really don’t know what you’re doing.” That’s going to be inherent in the rest of what you’re saying and you don’t need to hit them over the head with it. (That would change if they dig in their heels and continue to resist your expertise — but at this point it sounds like you’re being given authority to manage Sam on this work going forward, so it will be a lot easier to address that if it happens again.) Related: my coworker with imposter syndrome actually does suck at her job 2. Doxxing and online political speech I’m sure you’re getting a lot of questions about employers reprimanding or firing people for online speech right now. I work for a pediatric hospital and we just had a nurse doxxed for her response about the death of Charlie Kirk. People burned up our social media demanding the nurse be fired, and the hospital went back in her social media feed to find posts about her job and used those as a reason to let her go. How legal is this? They were only aware of her posts because she was doxxed, and she never mentioned the company by name Also, I am involved in social justice in my spare time. I frequently work for the ACLU as a legal observer, I am active in my very liberal church, and I post and reshare social justice posts. How worried should I be that my conservative company will find these posts and let me go and what can I do to protect myself? It’s legal to fire someone for political speech, except in the small number of jurisdictions that prohibit discrimination based on politics (and even in those, it might be legal, depending on the specific content of the posts that they objected to, since those laws typically have exceptions if your activities create a conflict of interest with your employer’s business interests). Your second question is a lot trickier, and it likely depends on (a) the specific content of your posts, (b) how strong the political leanings of your company and its clients are, and (c) what unfolds next in our current dystopia, which I don’t think anyone can predict with certainty. The most cautious approach would be to make your social media private, but you have to balance that against the harm caused when people let themselves be silenced out of fear, something that is very much already happening. It’s not easy to answer. 3. My supervisors are close friends, and I feel left out I started a new job about six months ago in a brand new field. It’s almost entirely remote and largely independent work, with one or two virtual weekly catch-up meetings. I see other coworkers occasionally, usually virtually, but my only consistent contact with anyone is a weekly hour-long virtual meeting with two supervisors. They’re both very informal, personable people and are close to my age. However, they have both known each other for years and, as our field is small, are close friends with each other and several of our colleagues, most of whom I rarely see. They go on weekend trips together, house-sit for each other, go to mutual friends’ birthday parties, etc. They are very friendly to me, but I have started to feel left out and like it’s also impossible to catch up. It’s a confusing dynamic, and in meetings they share comfortably and freely with each other about their lives and mutual friends and have a lot of background about each other and knowledge of each other’s partners and families and interests. It’s impossible for them to get to know me in the same amount of depth in the five minutes of “how was your weekend” before we dive into work. I feel a little left out and also like I’m in an unfair position. I don’t think they realize this and I don’t think they’re doing it intentionally. My partner suggested I ask them to lunch but since they’re both very busy and technically my supervisors it feels like imposing and it’s already been six months since I started so it feels a little late to do a “get to know you.” Also it would just be one lunch. I know I have some personal baggage with being “left out,” which is probably apparent, but it’s a weirdly alienating dynamic to have my only contact with coworkers be these small team meetings where they talk about shared social experiences. Remote work is hard. Is there a way I can reframe this or an action I can take to make this feel less uncomfortable for me? Maybe I’m just not cut out for this kind of remote work? Well, they’re being rude! It’s fine for them to have a close friendship with each other, but it’s not okay for them to use your work meetings to socialize with each other and leave you out (and even if they’re making an effort to include you in the conversation, they’re still doing it in a way that’s highlighting the significant disparity in the relationships, which is thoughtless). I don’t think it’s too late to suggest one-on-one lunches with each of them (separately! not together, or you’ll have the same problem). That’s not something that you have to do right in the beginning or not at all. But I’m also not sure it will fix it; they’ll still be very close out-of-work friends who aren’t very savvy about how they bring that into work meetings. On the other hand, if it helps you feel stronger connections to either of them, it might make you feel better! So I wouldn’t rule it out just because you’ve already been there six months. Where I’d really focus, though, is on trying to reframe this to yourself: are you getting what you need from them as your managers? Do they give you useful feedback, help remove obstacles, support your professional growth, advocate for you when needed, and generally treat you fairly and with warmth? If so, those are the most important things you want from a manager! Being friends with them actually would complicate things because of the power dynamics. So if you can focus on what you are getting from them — and the reality that a friendship would be a bad idea for all kinds of reasons — that might help. 4. My coworkers voluntarily work extra, unpaid hours I’m a relatively new hire at a nonprofit with incredibly dedicated coworkers. This weekend, I spent both days at an event near my workplace, so I popped in to leave my lunch in the office fridge. Both days, I saw my non-exempt coworker J. doing work (at a glance, only on one of those days did the work look billable). J. was in every day last work week, and their calendar indicates they’ll be in every day this week as well. This behavior isn’t unprecedented, either — my non-exempt coworker K. has Wednesday off, but I have seen him at work on Wednesday and he told me (in a light tone, to be fair) not to tell anyone I saw him. I don’t manage these coworkers, but I’m pretty sure their manager isn’t aware. I think that volunteering to do more work on your days off is a recipe for burnout, but I’m not going to confront them directly. Is there anything I can even do about it? As a new hire, no — not unless you’re in a relatively senior role where part of your job involves things like culture or legal compliance. The issue isn’t just possible burn-out; it’s that, legally, non-exempt employees must be paid for all the time they work. But unless it’s part of your position to address those things, this isn’t your job to tackle. After you’ve been there longer, you could consider raising it (in a “we could get in legal trouble for this” way) — but wait until you’ve gotten more established there. 5. Should I apply for a job at the company that just laid me off? I was recently let go during a large scale reorganization/restructuring, along with about 80% of my department. I’m hearing about a new position that would be an increase in pay (and probably work) that will be posted there soon. I still have contacts there who are encouraging me to apply once the position is posted. Is this a good idea? Has anyone ever done something like this that has worked out? I’m slightly bitter after being let go and don’t have a ton of faith in leadership, so I’m still looking at other opportunities. It’s a tough job market, and while I don’t think I would be a shoo-in, I think I’d be a strong candidate. Yes, people do this all the time! You’re a known quantity and if they liked your work and know you to be a strong candidate, you might have a leg up. (That said, if you go back, you’d want to work on the bitterness. It’s good to have your eyes open about the reality that jobs can be cut at any time, as well as whatever your reasons are for not having faith in their leadership, but you don’t want to be bitter in the place you’re spending eight hours a day if you can help it.) The post employee thinks their lack of skill is just “imposter syndrome,” doxxing and online political speech, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

Plan smarter, not harder. Download 8 free content templates to align teams, streamline workflows, and drive better marketing results. The post 8 Content Plan Templates to Execute Campaigns Better in 2025 appeared first on project-management.com. View the full article

I love walking tours. Long time readers know I always recommend doing them first thing when you’re in a city. It doesn’t matter the type you do. Food, history, art – whatever! Just do something. They’re an incredible way to learn about a destination, get your bearings, and talk to a local about life in the city. (Plus, you can ask your local guidefor tips on restaurants, attractions, or how to navigate the city! Win-win!) I’ve been taking walking tours since my first backpacking trip in 2006 when I joined a hostel’s free walking tour around Prague. I was hooked and, over the years, I’ve taken hundreds upon hundreds of tours run by dozens upon dozens of companies. There are tons of walking tour companies out there, but one of my favorites is Context Travel. Context was founded in 2003 and I’ve been using and recommending them since 2010 when I first stumbled across one of their tours in Rome. I walked with an art historian around the Vatican, where I not only learned about the Vatican itself, but the stories behind the art. Since then, I’ve done countless tours with them. What has always set Context apart is that rather than use regular people trained as guides, they use experts (those with MA- or PhD-level degrees!) in their fields to lead you around. This way, you get someone who really knows w hat they are talking about. You get someone who can share the little details that only an expert in their field would know. During a recent trip to Paris, I did Context’s Paris WWII History Tour. Now, I know a lot about Paris. I’ve been visiting for 15 years, lived there for a short period, have probably done over 50 tours there, and have read so many books on the city that I sometimes feel like I’m studying for a degree in Paris history. But my interest in the city is primarily based around the 1920s (I love the Jazz Age!) and medieval times. I don’t know a lot about World War II Paris. Sure, I know some things from my general studies, but I don’t know a lot of specific knowledge, so I was excited to take this tour to learn about an important time period in recent Paris history. The tour takes you from St. Germain through the Luxembourg Gardens over to the Latin Quarter then up to Marias before ending at the Hotel de Ville. It chronicles the start of the Nazi occupation, daily life during this time, the resistance movement, what happened to the Jews, and, finally, liberation. (It lasts about three hours.) As I mentioned before, what makes Context Travel so special are the expert guides and my guide, Gil, was no exception. He’d been in France for close to twenty years, has a degree in politics and literature, and had been a guide for over a decade. (Note: There’s a couple of guides that run this tour, and they are all experts.) He knew all sorts of arcane details and brought an iPad filled with photos and first hand material. We began in St. Germain discussing how the Germans entered Paris so quickly and how, in the beginning, life remained relatively the same as they set up power. Local Parisians sort of continued their day-to-day life (albeit with restrictions). Since France fell so quickly, the fighting never got to Paris so the city was never damaged. As we walked, we stopped at buildings that were used during the war (the current Mandarin Oriental hotel used to be the Gestapo headquarters…creepy), and discussed how eventually the resistance formed and operated in the city. The tour moves forward in time as you walk, and Gil talked about collaborators, the eventual removal of Jews, and how larger French army wins in Africa led to crackdowns in the city. Finally, we got to the Hotel de Ville (city hall) and the grand finale as Parisians and Resistance fighters liberated the city from Nazi rule in August 1944. The pictures of people and first hand documents he had really helped paint the picture of life and resistance in WW2 Paris. I walked away feeling like I learned a lot. And that’s why I Context Travel. You really get minute details and facts and a deep dive. There are tons of walking tour companies out there – and I recommend a wide variety – but Context has always stood out for the quality of their tour leaders. You aren’t getting a guide trained in a script, but someone with deep subject matter knowledge. One of my favorite tours was walking down NYC’s famed 42nd street with an award-winning architect. From architects to historians to artists to chefs, the guides here are trained experts and that’s pretty rare. Context is great for travelers who want a real deep dive into a subject or place. Whether you are doing a tour of the Louvre or a walking neighborhood tour like this, you’ll get a level of detail not found in other tours. After all, with tours lasting up to 3 hours, there’s a lot of information covered. Plus, they also have full-day and half-day tours you can take as well as day trips outside Paris. It had been awhile since I’d done one of their tours and I’m super glad that the quality that I fell in love with is still there. Context primarily runs private tours, meaning they are perfect for a group of people or families looking for a private tour, but they also have a number of tours where you can join existing groups. And, if you just want to do your own thing, they have a ton of audio tours to choose from too. They operate in 70+ cities and cover everything from all the famous places you want to see to unique off-the-beaten-path places. I’ve loved them since I started using them and, in the last couple of years, they have expanded a lot so I want to re-highlight Context Travel as a company to use on your next trip. Definitely consider them for your next trip. Get Your In-Depth Budget Guide to Paris!For more in-depth information, check out my guidebook to Paris written for budget travelers like you! It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel around Paris. You’ll find suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on- and off-the-beaten-path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, bars, transportation and safety tips, and much more! Click here to learn more and get your copy today! Plan your trip to Europe like a pro Get all my best Europe travel tips as well as free planning guides sent straight to you and see more of the country for less! Get your guides here! Book Your Trip to Paris: Logistical Tips and Tricks Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned. Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. For suggested hostels, here is a list of my favorite hostels in Paris. If you prefer to stay in a hotel, these are my favorite hotels. And if you’re wondering what part of town to stay in, here’s my neighborhood breakdown of Paris! 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: Safety Wing (for budget travelers) World Nomads (for mid-range travelers) Insure My Trip (for those over 70) Medjet (for additional repatriation coverage) Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too. Want More Information on Paris? Be sure to visit my robust destination guide to Paris for even more blogging tips! The post Taking a Historical Walk Through Paris with Context Travel appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site. View the full article

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