We celebrated a major milestone in June: the return of SMX Advanced as an in-person event. It was our first since 2019. More than a conference, SMX Advanced 2025 was a reunion. Search marketers from around the world came together to connect, exchange ideas, and learn the most current and advanced insights in search. But […]
Ginny Marvin, Google’s Ads Liaison, is clarifying how keyword match types interact with AI Overviews (AIO) and AI Mode ad placements — addressing ongoing confusion among advertisers testing AI Max and mixed match-type setups. Why we care. As ads expand into AI-powered placements, advertisers need to understand which keywords are eligible to serve — and […]
Optimizing for AI search is “the same” as optimizing for traditional search, Google SVP of Knowledge and Information Nick Fox said in a recent podcast. His advice was simple: build great sites with great content for your users. More details. Fox made the point on the AI Inside podcast, during an interview with Jason Howell […]
Shopify powers more than 6 million live ecommerce websites, supported by a robust app ecosystem that can extend nearly every part of the customer journey. Anyone can develop an app to perform virtually any function. But with so many integrations to choose from, ecommerce teams often waste time testing add-ons that promise revenue gains but […]
Google rapidly expanded AI Overviews in search during 2025, then pulled back as they moved into commercial and navigational queries. These findings are based on a new Semrush analysis of more than 10 million keywords from January to November. AI Overviews surged, then retreated. Google didn’t roll out AI Overviews in a straight line in […]
We are navigating the “search everywhere” revolution – a disruptive shift driven by generative AI and large language models (LLMs) that is reshaping the relationship between brands, consumers, and search engines. For the last two decades, the digital economy ran on a simple exchange: content for clicks. With the rise of zero-click experiences, AI Overviews, […]
Google’s pitch for AI-powered bidding is seductive. Feed the algorithm your conversion data, set a target, and let it optimize your campaigns while you focus on strategy. Machine learning will handle the rest. What Google doesn’t emphasize is that its algorithms optimize for Google’s goals, not necessarily yours. In 2026, as Smart Bidding becomes more […]
Spam is back in search. And in a big way. Honestly, I don’t think Google can handle this at all. The scale is unprecedented. They went after publishers manually with the site reputation abuse update. More expired domain abuse is reaching the top of the SERPs than at any time I can remember in recent […]
Inside many companies, SEO reporting still relies heavily on mainstream metrics like keyword tracking, traffic graphs, etc., while the leadership side asks a different question: “How much revenue did this actually drive?” Years ago, I used to think this was just a communication gap. Over time, I realized the issue wasn’t communication at all; it […]
Managing large catalogs in Google Performance Max can feel like handing the algorithm your wallet and hoping for the best. La Maison Simons faced that exact challenge: too many products and not enough control. Then they rebuilt their segmentation with Channable Insights and turned a “black box” campaign into a revenue-generating machine. Step 1: Stop […]