Today's Digital Marketing Pulse
Accenture Song Acquires Whalar to Bolster Influencer Marketing
Accenture Song announced the acquisition of Whalar, adding a 170‑person global creator agency and keeping co‑CEOs Emma Harman and Jo Cronk in place. The deal also includes a three‑year strategic partnership that gives Accenture access to Whalar’s talent‑management, technology and venture assets, integrating the creator network with Accenture’s data and AI capabilities.
Identity Violation and Pricing
Seth Godin argues that pricing across industries is shaped more by cultural identity than pure economics. Creators view their work as cultural stewardship, leading to price norms that signal belonging rather than profit maximization. Dynamic pricing in concerts sparked moral outrage because it violated long‑standing industry rituals. The essay suggests that understanding identity‑driven pricing explains why some markets remain stable while others resist disruption.
![What Profitable Google Ads Look Like in 2026 [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Hethr_campbell](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://cdn.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/3-529.png)
What Profitable Google Ads Look Like in 2026 [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Hethr_campbell
DigiCom, a 2025 Inc. 5000‑listed ecommerce growth agency, hosted a webinar revealing how its $200 M+ Google Ads portfolio leverages Performance Max Smart Bidding in 2026. The session detailed account architecture, creative tactics, and profit‑driven frameworks that keep ROAS under control in...
How to Make Every Click Count with Search Experience Optimization
Search Experience Optimization (SXO) merges SEO intent with on‑site UX to capture value from zero‑click and AI‑driven search environments. While clicks are declining, SXO focuses on what users do after landing, turning destination visits into conversions. The approach emphasizes above‑the‑fold...
Myer to Launch Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty Brands in Australia
Myer will introduce the complete Fenty Beauty portfolio—including Fenty Skin and the Australian retail debut of Fenty Eau de Parfum—across all stores and its e‑commerce platform starting in May. The rollout stems from a new partnership with Kendo Brands, the...
Comcast’s Universal Ads Appoints David Shaw as Head of Global Expansion to Oversee Platform’s International Rollout
Comcast’s Universal Ads has hired David Shaw, a veteran of Twitter, Snap, TikTok and Reddit, as Head of Global Expansion. Shaw will oversee the commercial rollout of the TV‑focused ad platform beyond the United States, beginning with a UK launch...
Why Beginning Boutique Collabed with ‘the Most Famous Woman in Men’s Tennis’
Beginning Boutique, the Brisbane‑based e‑tailer famed for party dresses, has unveiled a 20‑piece capsule with influencer Morgan Riddle, dubbed the most important woman in men’s tennis. The collection, blending festival flair with tennis‑inspired aesthetics, launches alongside the Australian Open to...
Content Research Guide: How To Do Content Research
The episode breaks down why content research is essential for ecommerce growth, using Sean Reyes’s Shock Surplus as a case study of how deep audience insights and educational video content drove a $25 million business. It outlines a six‑step research framework—setting...
The Australian Open Wants to Be ‘the Super Bowl’ for Experiential Beauty Marketing
Australian tennis’s governing body has elevated beauty retailer Mecca to a flagship sponsor for the 2026 Australian Open, positioning the event as a hub for experiential marketing aimed at Gen‑Z. In 2025 Mecca supplied gift bags to over 800 players...
Behind Pacsun’s Strategy for Keeping a Pulse on the Changing Tastes of Gen Z
Pacsun has launched a Youth Advisory Council and published its first Youth Report, gathering insights from 6,000 Gen‑Z and Gen‑Alpha respondents. The data fueled the creation of the PS Community Hub, a shoppable app that lets users curate purchases and...
Attentive Vs. Klaviyo: Comparison And Better Option
The episode compares two leading e‑commerce messaging platforms, Attentive and Klaviyo, breaking down their core features, pricing models, and integration capabilities. Hosts highlight Attentive's strength in SMS automation and compliance, while noting Klaviyo's robust email segmentation and data analytics tools....
FTC Announces Appeal in Meta Antitrust Case
The Federal Trade Commission announced it will appeal the November district‑court ruling that rejected its antitrust case against Meta. The lawsuit, filed in 2020, alleges that Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were intended to neutralize competition and should result...
WOW Index Shows In-Store Experience Slipping in 2026
Léger’s 2026 WOW Index reveals a measurable decline in in‑store experience across Ontario and Western Canada, driven by higher prices, longer checkout waits, stockouts and fewer staff interactions. The study surveyed over 18,000 shoppers, evaluating 264 retailers in 34 sectors....
OpenAI Search Crawler Passes 55% Coverage In Hostinger Study via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Hostinger’s analysis of 66 billion bot requests shows a sharp divergence between AI crawlers. Training bots such as OpenAI’s GPTBot saw coverage plunge from 84% to 12% as sites increasingly block them. In contrast, assistant bots that power AI search, like...
Track Training vs Web Answers Post‑Gemini 3 Cutoff
When you estimate the impact of your GEO work, you must determine what % of your tracked prompts are answered by training data vs web search. Why? Because Gemini 3 launched on Nov 2025, it's training cut off was Jan 2025. So...
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SaasRise Enterprise Mastermind Call Recap Jan 20, 2026
The SaasRise Enterprise Mastermind call highlighted four critical growth levers for high‑ACV SaaS firms. It recommended starting with retargeting ads and LinkedIn sponsored messages, then scaling AI‑personalized cold outreach to improve lead response rates. The discussion also covered AI‑driven coding...
GrowthRise Mastermind Recap Jan 20, 2026
The GrowthRise Mastermind on Jan 20 2026 covered AI‑driven content creation, LinkedIn message ads, trade‑show marketing, and email list hygiene. Participants learned to use AI as a brainstorming aid, apply structured markup for SEO, and leverage tools like Canva, ChatGPT, and Gemini....
Organic Search Traffic Is Down 2.5% YoY, New Data Shows
A new Graphite analysis of Similarweb data for over 40,000 U.S. sites shows organic search traffic fell only 2.5% year‑over‑year, far less than the 25‑60% declines often cited. The largest publishers actually grew organic traffic by about 1.6%, while mid‑size...
From One-and-Done Buyers To Repeat Revenue: How DTC Brands Turn Trend Shoppers Into Long-Term Customers
The episode explains how DTC brands can convert one‑off trend shoppers—who surge from viral TikTok hits—into repeat customers by replacing immediate discount codes with styling content, early‑access rewards, and a "micro‑drop ladder" that releases small, low‑MOQ trend capsules followed by...
Health Sites Tumble as AI Overviews Erode Rankings
Really wild to see authoritative health publishers who have dominated in SEO for many years get hit so hard by this last core update, across various media networks Wondering if there is some cycle where content is now being answered by...
Overcoming the Barriers to Omnichannel by Recognising that One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Omnichannel retail is no longer a one‑size‑fits‑all proposition; success depends on tailoring strategies to each retailer’s customers, operating model, and growth goals. Consistent experiences across digital and physical touchpoints are now a baseline expectation, not a differentiator. Persistent challenges such...
Google Shopping API Cutoff Looms, Putting Ad Delivery at Risk
Google is sunsetting its legacy Shopping APIs and mandating migration to the Merchant API, the new single source of truth for Shopping Ads. Advertisers using the beta version must switch by February 28 2024, while Content API users have until August 18 2024. Failure to...
Meta Adds More Languages to AI Translations for Reels
Meta has expanded its AI‑powered translation feature for Instagram Reels, adding Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Kannada to the existing English, Hindi, Portuguese and Spanish options. The new languages focus on India, now Meta’s largest single market for Facebook and...
How Brands Can Build AI that Inspires
The article argues that AI’s next evolution is moving beyond pure efficiency toward inspiration, creativity, and emotional engagement. Consumers now use generative AI for personal expression in areas like fashion, travel, and beauty, prompting brands to design AI that feels...
X Publishes AI-Powered Algorithm Code
Elon Musk’s X has finally published the source code for its AI‑driven “For You” feed on GitHub, revealing the new Thunder and Phoenix ranking modules. The algorithm, fully AI‑powered since November, blends posts from followed accounts with machine‑learned recommendations based...
Does llms.txt Matter? We Tracked 10 Sites to Find Out
A recent study of ten diverse websites tracked AI traffic before and after adding llms.txt files. The data showed that eight sites saw no measurable change, two experienced traffic spikes that were tied to unrelated PR and content initiatives, and...
What Brands Get Wrong About Personalization and How to Fix It in 2026
Brands claim to master personalization, yet most deliver fragmented experiences that break at channel handoffs. Maryna Hradovic outlines a three‑step framework—map distinct persona journeys, fix disconnects starting with website personalization, then iterate with AI and testing—to create real‑time, whole‑journey experiences....
The $45,000 Monthly Leak That Almost Killed This 7-Figure Ecommerce Brand
The episode details how Clean-eez, a family‑run cleaning‑product brand, uncovered a hidden $45,000 monthly ad‑spend leak on Amazon caused by an agency over‑investing after Meta ads boosted sales. By mapping the strong halo effect between Meta campaigns and Amazon revenue...
How to Build a Complete Marketing Strategy That Drives Results: The Duct Tape Marketing Engine Framework
Duct Tape Marketing introduces the Engine Framework, a three‑part system—Brand, Growth, and Customer Experience—that turns a fragmented marketing plan into a cohesive operating system. The Strategy Pyramid aligns each engine with the full customer journey, from awareness to advocacy, and...
Two Firms Whacked for Illegal Marketing Bombardment
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has imposed £225,000 in fines on two firms for massive unsolicited marketing campaigns. Allay Claims was fined £120,000 after sending more than 4 million text messages without valid consent, while Bristol‑based ZMLUK received a £105,000...
Pinterest Announces Two New C-Suite Leaders
Pinterest announced two senior‑level hires to accelerate its global advertising business. Lee Brown, former DoorDash CRO and Spotify ad chief, becomes the company’s first Chief Business Officer, overseeing sales, content, ad product marketing and customer operations. Claudine Cheever, who led...
FunnL Launches Unified End-to-End B2B Growth Engine with Video Production and Social Media Services
FunnL has expanded its B2B demand‑generation platform by adding social media management and video production services. The new creative capabilities integrate directly with its existing ICP development, multi‑channel outreach, and appointment‑setting tools, creating a single operating system for brand and...
How to Capture Attention Without Clickbait
In the latest Duct Tape Marketing podcast, John Jantsch interviews communication expert Carmine Gallo about his audio‑original book *Viral Voices*. Gallo explains how persuasive storytelling, rooted in ancient rhetoric and modern neuroscience, can cut through digital noise. He highlights the...
What Is Bounce Rate? And How to Reduce It
Bounce rate measures the share of unengaged sessions—those that last under 10 seconds, trigger no conversion event, and view only one page—in GA4. The metric is not shown by default and must be added manually, but it serves as a...
Advanced Creative, Targeting, and the Home Screen Are Driving What Viewers Remember on Connected TV
LG Ad Solutions partnered with MediaScience to measure viewer attention on Smart TVs using biometric and eye‑tracking data, finding that attention remains steady from power‑on through Home Screen discovery to CTV video ads. The study shows that precise targeting combined...
SALESmanago Ramps Up AI and Messaging Tech to Redefine eCommerce Marketing in 2026
SALESmanago is rolling out a native WhatsApp integration and AI‑driven Recommendation Frames to give eCommerce marketers real‑time, hyper‑personalised customer experiences. The platform now supports multimedia messaging, automated journeys, and dynamic CTAs that target abandoned carts, restock alerts, and on‑site product...
Best Writing Tools for Business in 2026
The article reviews the leading AI‑driven writing tools for businesses in 2026, highlighting features, platform integrations, and pricing. Grammarly, ProWritingAid, Ginger, LanguageTool, Hemingway Editor, and Otter each offer free tiers and paid plans ranging from $9.90 to $120 per user....
What High Performing Email Campaigns Have in Common
High‑performing email campaigns share core attributes such as deep personalization, timely relevance, seamless automation, and relentless creative testing. Leveraging data‑driven insights and smart segmentation, especially through platforms like Klaviyo, enables marketers to tailor messages that resonate with individual recipients. Integrating...
Free Tool Detects Keyword Cannibalization Instantly
A new, free and easy to use keyword cannibalization analyzer is here: CanniWizard by @jbobbink 🙌🔥 You use need to: * Connect your Google Search Console properties * It will automatically find cannibalization problems where multiple pages compete for the...
Direct Traffic Doubled Since Q3 2024, Confirming Rand Fishkin
Was doing a basic analysis of direct traffic as a % of all my traffic, holy smokes. its over 2x'ed since Q3 2024. That @randfish guy was on to something. https://t.co/p12mK9lV8b
AITech Interview with David Norris, Chief Marketing Officer at Boost.AI
David Norris, Chief Marketing Officer at Boost.ai, explains how his two‑decade marketing background shapes the company’s storytelling and trust‑first strategy for conversational AI. He stresses that in regulated sectors—banking, insurance, telecom—AI agents become the literal voice of the brand, making...
Personal Brand Issues Are Just Messaging and Offer Gaps
Most "personal brand" problems are messaging or offer problems in disguise Sell something people want Explain it so they know why they should want it Creating unignorable content becomes much easier
Key AI-Driven E‑Commerce Signals Marketers Prioritize Now
Here's what e-commerce signals marketers think will impact if AI showcases your product over the competitors. These signals will adjust over time as commerce through AI becomes more popular... but here's what 100 marketers think is important today. https://t.co/DzjF8lqF19
Perplexity AI Interview Explains How AI Search Works via @Sejournal, @Martinibuster
Perplexity AI’s interview with Jesse Dwyer reveals that AI‑driven search is becoming highly personalized, delivering different answers to identical queries based on user context. The core technical shift is from whole‑document indexing to sub‑document processing, where millions of granular snippets...
Google AI Mode Fan-Out Prompts To Narrow Your Query
Google is extending its AI Mode shopping experience with a "query fan‑out" feature that asks users clarifying questions to narrow product results. The system runs multiple simultaneous searches based on the user’s input, then surfaces the most relevant items in a...
Google Search Team Does Not Endorse LLMs.txt Files
Google’s Search team clarified it does not endorse the LLMs.txt files appearing on some Google properties. The files were introduced through a recent CMS update and added to developer documentation, but the Search team later removed them while other product...
Poll: More Advertisers To Add Microsoft Advertising To Marketing Mix?
A LinkedIn poll of over 200 advertisers asked whether Microsoft Advertising will be part of their 2026 marketing mix. Results show 42% already include it, 36% plan to add it, and 23% will not. The poll’s respondents are likely skewed...
Nativex Announces Strategic Partnership with Netflix to Bring Premium Streaming Inventory to Advertisers
Nativex announced a strategic partnership with Netflix to sell ad inventory on the streaming platform’s ad‑supported tier. The deal gives Nativex clients access to Netflix’s premium pre‑roll, mid‑roll, Pause Ads and QR‑enabled formats, backed by first‑party audience data. Netflix’s ad‑supported...
Google AI Mode Shows Product Inventory & Pricing In Light Font Color
Google AI Mode now displays product inventory and pricing in a much lighter font color, setting it apart from the standard Google Search interface. The change was first identified by Brodie Clark, who posted screenshots on X and SERP Alerts....
Yext’s Visibility Brief: Your Guide to Brand Visibility in AI Search by Yext
Yext released a new Visibility Brief that maps how brand visibility operates across traditional search, local listings, knowledge panels, and AI‑driven answer engines. The brief draws on data from thousands of brands to reveal where visibility gains are made and...
Ex-Pinterest Marketer Andréa Mallard Named Microsoft AI CMO
Microsoft AI (MAI) appointed former Pinterest global CMO Andréa Mallard as its chief marketing officer. Mallard announced the move on LinkedIn, emphasizing AI’s transformative impact and the need for trustworthy technology. MAI, led by DeepMind co‑founder Mustafa Suleyman, recently rebranded...