Howdy,

It’s the last week of January, but doesn’t it feel like months have passed since we celebrated the New Year? Digital marketing has been on a wildly-whippy, unpredictable ride so far!

• Last week during SEO armageddon 😱, some SEOs panicked as SEO ranking tools crashed. Instead, our VP of Strategy and SEO/SAIO, Marc Engelsman, had a different approach. See post below…

• New Google Search Quality Raters Guidelines were released. Changes focused on spam, expanding guidance, and making minor clarification changes. Get more details in Search Engine Roundtable.

• Brands are seeing valuable visits from citation links in GenAI platforms like ChatGPT search and Google Gemini. Their story also points to how brands are starting to use some basic techniques to improve their AI visibility. If you want more details on Search AI Optimization, you can always visit our SAIO Insights page.

• My favorite take away from Senthil Ayyappan’s MarketingProfs article discussing the battle between AI and authenticity in marketing: “Decide what authenticity means for you. Is it strictly human? Is it only results-based? Your answer will guide your implementation decisions.”

• Is Perplexity your favorite GenAI tool? If it is, there’s a new Perplexity Assistant for Android phones.

• The most dramatic ban — then un-ban — in history mirrored some top rom-com tropes. This “we were on a break” did not take long to turn around before we boarded the plane to other platforms. TikTok is BACK… for now. If we’ve learned anything (besides don’t put all your eggs in one basket), it’s not to react too quickly and roll with the changes as they happen.

• Instagram’s Adam Mosseri released a new series on how to leverage the platform. Here are the videos: the first is on ranking and the second is on maintaining your content eligibility for recommendations. Then, we got a shock to the system when Insta launched a new tall profile grid.

• Google Ads Performance Max (PMax) is getting a makeover. Here are things that are set to change in 2025:
  • More focus on brand consistency in ad placements
  • Negative keywords will be added to PMax campaigns
  • Video action campaigns will become Demand Gen campaigns which allow “serve personalized, visually engaging ads across YouTube, Discovery, and Gmail”
  • Full integration with GA4 for measurement across the funnel
  • More details in the Search Engine Land article.

• Econsultancy published “Eight digital and marketing trends for 2025” with detailed explanations for each. Issues covered include “marketers do less with less” (AKA staying strategic in tough times), “brands get built in fragments” (think multi-channel synergies), and “soft skills in vogue” (especially with AI taking the lead on some of the hard skills). After reading, you will get a bigger sense of how all these trends are interconnected.

• In-person marketing conferences are coming back! Think with Google offers this guide with AI-powered tips on how to maximize your time on site whether it’s to learn something, do something, meet someone, or follow-up.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

Are your shoulders climbing up to your ears?

Is your back rounded toward the screen?

Are you clenching your jaw?

We all have tension-building habits. The big question is: how aware are we of their causes and impacts? Do your shoulders climb up to your ears when you realize you’re behind on work? Are you slouching because you’re tired? Do you clench your jaw as a nervous tick?

Awareness of these habits can help us uncover how we’re actually feeling and make choices that will help us thrive.

Enjoy the last few days of the first month of 2025!

Natalie

When you stretch before exercising, your muscles retain their strength at longer lengths, but the effect will be gone after 10 minutes of inactivity! 

What does that mean, Natalie?

Learn how stretching changes your body in this 5-minute clip!

(Ted-Ed releases digestible, animated knowledge tidbits, so I also recommend subscribing.)