Google's Query Length Claim Overblown; Data Shows <3% Shift
Maybe this is totally innocuous, but it's still weird. Left: Datos numbers on query length in Google (10M+ devices, this is not a small sample set) Right: Public statement by Google's Liz Reid (via SearchEngineLand) Feels like a mild exaggeration by Google, but I see lots of marketers talking about this change, what it means for their strategies, what businesses need to differently. But there's <3% delta on this from 2024-26 🙄. Thank goodness for trustworthy data.
Linkless Posts Achieve Tenfold Reach Across Platforms
Great little example of ZCM: Post 1 - no link, 16k+ impressions Post 2 - same topic, but with a link, 1.9k impressions As usual, ~10X the reach with linkless content (this is LinkedIn, but we've seen the same pattern on Threads,...
LLMs Favor Trendy Buzzwords Over Contextual Strategy
Oh really? You don't say... "In our recent research, we found that leading LLMs have clear biases when it comes to strategy. They consistently recommend strategies that align with modern managerial buzzwords and trends rather than context-specific strategic logic. " https://hbr.org/2026/03/researchers-asked-llms-for-strategic-advice-they-got-trendslop-in-return
Embrace Zero‑Click Marketing, Stop Fighting Platform Algorithms
2 choices: A) Fight the platforms, reject user preferences, and try to keep getting those rare clicks. B) Do everything you used to do on your site natively on the platforms (social, search answers, AI responses), aka: Zero Click Marketing I keep trying...
AI‑obsessed CEOs See No Real Business Improvement
Your CEO is Suffering from AI Psychosis https://handyai.substack.com/p/your-ceo-is-suffering-from-ai-psychosis I'm sad to say I know SO many people like this. Crazy about AI. Convinced it's doing so so much for them and their businesses. Yet revenue, productivity, cost, and margin trajectories look basically...
Startup Founders Saw Fundraising Costs as Unavoidable Norm
I knew more than a few startup founders who did this along the routes of Palo Alto VCs circa 2006-2010 (and considered it a cost of raising money)
Authentic Thought Beats Futurist Lies
The Future of Everything is Lies, I Guess https://aphyr.com/posts/420-the-future-of-everything-is-lies-i-guess-where-do-we-go-from-here "Refuse to insult your readers: think your own thoughts and write your own words." - Gonna be quoting this for a long while
Gener
It's been 28 days on the road. We are tired. But so fulfilled. Our incredibly generous friend, @afit, took us to corebyclaresmyth , where we had the meal (and experience) of a lifetime. The open kitchen, the humor-filled staff that doesn't take 3...
A Review So Compelling I Bought the Book Instantly
https://www.stephendiehl.com/posts/no_antimimetics/ this is the first book review in a long while that made me race to purchase. Such outstanding writing.
AI Can't Capture Emotion—Write It Yourself
Honestly, AI writing fails at anything meant to elicit emotion or persuade. Just write it your dang self: https://alexhwoods.com/dont-let-ai-write-for-you/
Reddit Surpasses Google in B2B Search Rankings
Eye-popping research from @TheCoolestCool on Reddit's unexpected domination of Google's B2B results: https://foundationinc.co/lab/reddit-b2b-saas Just look at these numbers 🧐🤯
AI Citation Studies Mislead; True Meaning Clarified
SO MANY people are getting misled by "AI citation" research studies, and the concept of what it means to be "cited" by an AI response. I'm no expert, but the people who answered this question are: https://docs.google.com/document/d/109QpZNW6qayHHHhhoGZL5FW_9TVoGoJU/edit Thanks to @lucatag2015 for publishing.
LinkedIn Runs Two Algorithms—Marketers Must Adapt
https://sparktoro.com/blog/why-linkedin-might-have-two-algorithms-and-why-marketers-should-care/ I suspect many of you who follow me here might be interested in @amandanat's latest breakdown of the LinkedIn's algorithm, and why your posts there might not be getting the traction you expect (happens to me, too)
Google Halves Search Referrals, Still Leverages Publisher Content
Is Google taking news publishers' traffic away? Sweet mother of media, are they ever. From 2023-2025, referrals from search dropped by almost HALF. Brutal. Insulting. Infuriating. And ironic given that Google is certainly training its AI answers on publishers' work. 🙄
Now See Exactly How Audiences Use AI Tools
We make audience research software. It tells you lots of things about any group of people on the web. But... it couldn't tell you how they used AI tools (prompts, topics)... until today 👇