Gartner: Search Engine Volume to Decrease by 25% Thanks to AI

For businesses (and marketers) that have relied on search engines to deliver traffic, there’s a big change coming. The folks at Gartner predict a seismic shift: traditional search engine volume is expected to plummet by a staggering 25% by 2026, with search marketing losing significant market share to AI chatbots and other virtual agents. If

The Impact of Google’s Generative Experience (SGE) on Organic Traffic

A new study by Authoritas reveals that Google’s planned integration of AI-generated search results, called Search Generative Experience (SGE), will significantly impact organic search rankings and traffic. The study analyzed 1,000 commercial search queries and found that SGE content appears for 86.8% of keywords, pushing down the first organic result by over 1,500 pixels on average.

Beyond Backlinks: E.E.A.T. – Your Guide to Authority in 2024 SEO

The SEO landscape is constantly shifting, and keeping up with the latest trends can feel like chasing a moving target. While backlinks remain a crucial ranking factor, Google’s algorithms are increasingly prioritizing content from credible sources and established authors. This is where the concept of E.A.T. (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) takes center stage. But for

On-Page SEO Factors Google Really Cares About in 2023

As we move into 2023, Google’s algorithm continues to evolve, so it’s important to focus on the on-page factors that their quality raters and bots analyze most closely when evaluating pages. Optimize Title Tags for Higher Click-Through Rates One of the most important page elements to optimize is your title tag. The title is displayed

New Google Policy: Anything You Post We Can Use to Train Our AI Models

Google has revised its privacy policy, explicitly stating its stance on using all online content for training its AI models. The increasing popularity and utilization of generative AI models have raised complex questions concerning copyright, content ownership, and artistic freedom. With its recent update, Google is set to contribute to this ongoing controversy. Google’s privacy

Which Companies Have the Most Personal Data about You?

The folks at Clario have put together a fascinating chart that breaks down which online platforms and brands collect the most data and what they know about us. I thought it was worth sharing. Facebook and Instagram top the list (no surprise). We all do it – click ‘accept’ on a cookie pop-up without reading

When Can I Measure the ROI of My B2B Campaigns?

When you launch an advertising campaign, you want results. For B2C products, a digital ad with an incentive, such as a discount or limited-time sale, can lead ROI in short order.  The sales cycle is short.  Sales can also stop the minute you stop advertising. For B2B businesses, the sales cycle is much longer.  74%

NY State Data Tax: Legislation Would Tax Companies that Make Money from Consumer Data

A new bill working its way through the NY state legislatures wants to tax companies that sell or make money from the use of consumer data.  Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato wants to create a mutual fund from taxes that would pay a yearly dividend. New York State Assembly Bill A9112: Requires a five percent tax

Google says New Algorithm Update is “One of the Biggest Leaps Forward in the History of Search”

  “With the latest advancements from our research team in the science of language understanding–made possible by machine learning–we’re making a significant improvement to how we understand queries, representing the biggest leap forward in the past five years, and one of the biggest leaps forward in the history of Search,” said Pandy Nayak, VP of

More Bad News for Organic Search + New Research on Paid Search, Social Media, and Mobile Ads

If you’re hoping organic search is the way to increase conversions on Google, we’ve got some sobering news for you:  organic search on Google is producing just 22% of site visits, according to the new 3Q 2019 Digital Marketing Report from Merkle. Here are a few of the others insights from the report. Paid Search

Changing Channels: Direct to Consumer Brands Are Moving Digital Dollars Back to Traditional Advertising

Many D2C brands are moving digital dollars back to traditional marketing channels. Rising costs of digital mediums Need to build brand awareness, trust, and credibility They are finding out that the direct response type campaigns that can work on search and social media channels will only take you so far.  “As you evolve,” Melanie Travis,

IAB: TV Ads Are Still the Best for Generating Awareness

When the TVB (Television Bureau of Advertising) puts out a study that says TV ads are the best marketing solution for businesses, some critics say the results are skewed because it’s a TV-focused organization. If that happens in the future, you can now point to the survey done by the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau).  They

GDPR vs CCPA: How Privacy Regulations Affect Businesses

New privacy laws on the world stage are impacting businesses that have any online presence and capture personally-identifiable data. GDPR The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has already had a significant effect on companies doing business in the EU or doing business with EU residents.  It’s affected most U.S. based companies that have any

Internet Trends 2019: Mary Meekers’ Annual Report Shows Big Changes

Mary Meeker is a venture capitalist and former Wall Street security analyst. She’s ranked by Forbes as one of the top 100 most powerful women in the world.   When she unveils her annual presentation on Internet trends, it makes news. This year’s report is no different.  You read the full report here:  Internet_Trends_2019.  It’s 333 pages

Study: Half the Business Listing Online Contain Inaccurate Information

It seems so simple.  How hard is it to get your name, address, phone number, and website URL right online? Apparently, it’s not so easy.  A new study by Uberall and reported in Search Engine Journal analyzed 73,000 online business location listings in the Boston metro area.  They found nearly half are inaccurate or missing

Amid Privacy Issues, Facebook Promises Privacy Will Be the Foundation for the Future

“I understand that many people don’t think Facebook can or would even want to build this kind of privacy-focused platform — because frankly we don’t currently have a strong reputation for building privacy protective services and we’ve historically focused on tools for more open sharing,” wrote Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.  “But we’ve repeatedly shown that

Long-form Content Results in 56% More Social Shares

Long-form content results in 56% more social shares than content shorter than 1,000 words, according to new research from BuzzSumo and Backlinko. The research, which analyzed over 900 million articles, also discovered that long-form content was correlated with better backlink performance. Specifically, posts weighing in at more than 3,000 words receive an average of 77.2% more referring