Digital marketing is always chasing the next big thing. SEO. Social media. Blogging. Video. TikTok. AI. There’s always something new and shiny – something for marketers to pin their hopes on, and for the gurus to sell. I’ve seen this cycle play out again and again over the 25+ years I’ve worked in SEO and […]
I was asked recently to take a closer look at the data for a website in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). This was for “Measurement Queen” Katie Delahaye Paine, a pioneer with over 30 years of experience in communications research and measurement, who now feels like she is flying blind. From looking at her data in […]
Google Search Console Core Web Vitals (CWV) reporting for mobile is experiencing a dip that is confirmed to be related to the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX). Search Console CWV reports for mobile performance show a marked dip beginning around July 10, at which point the reporting appears to stop completely. Not A Search Console […]
Wordfence published an advisory on the WordPress Malcure Malware Scanner plugin, which was discovered to have a vulnerability rated at a severity level of 8.1. At the time of publishing, there is no patch to fix the problem. Screenshot Showing 8.1 Severity Rating Malcure Malware Scanner Vulnerability The Malcure Malware Scanner plugin, installed on over […]
Anthropic announced a new Financial Analysis Solution powered by its Claude 4 and Claude Code models. This is Anthropic’s first foray into a major vertical-focused platform, signaling a shift toward AI providers building tools that directly address common pain points in business workflows and productivity. Claude For Financial Services Anthropic’s Claude’s new service is an […]
AI is fundamentally changing the way people search—and how brands show up. In How AI is Reshaping SEO: Challenges, Opportunities, and Brand Strategies for 2025, Search Engine Land and Fractl will share new findings from a fresh survey of hundreds of marketers, revealing how teams are integrating AI across SEO, content, PR, and social—and where […]
WordPress released a maintenance update that contains twenty changes to the core and fixes fifteen issues in the Gutenberg block editor. WordPress also announced that it is dropping security support for WordPress versions 4.1 to 4.6. Short-Cycle Maintenance Release This is a maintenance release that incrementally makes WordPress a smoother experience. Some of the fixes […]
Most ecommerce product pages weren’t built for how people shop today. They were written for humans scanning specs – not for AI tools filtering, summarizing, and recommending products behind the scenes. But AI is now your new sales rep. And unless your product detail pages offer the right kind of context, they’ll be skipped entirely. […]
Brand mentions have always mattered, but they’ve become mission-critical for organic visibility in the AI era. Brand building should now take priority over keyword-based strategies as your top priority in organic discovery. Why? Because brand mentions from trusted sources are the top factor for visibility in AI Overviews, per a recent Ahrefs study. There are […]
Spending on Google paid search ads rose 11% year over year in Q2, up from 9% in Q1, according to Tinuiti’s latest benchmark report. The acceleration comes amid weaker 2024 competition and a significant pullback from key competitors in Google Shopping. Click growth rose to 7%, while cost-per-click (CPC) growth eased to 3%. The standout […]