Today's Digital Marketing Pulse
LinkedIn expands post analytics with network‑reach breakdown
LinkedIn is rolling out expanded post analytics that separate reach into in‑network (connections and followers) and out‑of‑network (non‑connections) percentages. The new metrics appear in the discovery section of a post’s impression data, showing creators how much of their audience comes from algorithmic distribution such as feed recommendations and reshares.
BookTok Fuels 821 Million Book Sales, Turns Authors Into TikTok Creators
BookTok has generated a record‑breaking 821 million book purchases in 2021, with the #BookTok hashtag topping 78.7 million posts. The TikTok sub‑community is reshaping publishing by demanding that authors act as short‑form video creators, a shift that retailers and houses are scrambling to accommodate.
Unlock LinkedIn Growth: Free Consultation for First Three
Ayoooo On May 19th, I’m helping people build a real presence on LinkedIn. The same systems that got me to 100K followers can help you grow your audience too, that'll help you network and get paid. The next 3 people who...
Google Adds Five AI Link Overlays to Search without New Click Metrics, Sparking SEO Concerns
Google rolled out five new AI-generated link overlays in Search this week but did not provide any additional click‑through data for publishers. The move intensifies a year‑long dispute as studies show click rates plunge when AI Overviews appear, while Google...
OpenAI Rolls Out Self‑serve Ads Manager for ChatGPT, Adds CPC Bidding
OpenAI has launched a beta self‑serve Ads Manager for ChatGPT in the United States, letting advertisers buy placements directly and introducing cost‑per‑click pricing alongside its existing CPM model. The rollout brings major agency holding groups and tech partners into the...
Keep FAQs: They Still Boost SEO Without Rich Results
You may have heard by now that Google is dropping support for all FAQ rich results So, should you remove all FAQs from your content? No. No. And probably not. Google previously stopped showing FAQs for the vast majority of publishers in August...
TikTok Director Says 77% of Interested Shoppers Search for Product Info After Seeing Affiliate Content, with Comments Driving Purchases
TikTok’s North America director of beauty, wellness, and personal care, Donte Murry, revealed that 77% of shoppers who encounter affiliate content on the platform subsequently search for more product information. He emphasized that combining sponsored and affiliate videos meets shoppers...
Google Ends Support for FAQ Rich Results in Search, Removing Reporting From Search Console in June and August
Google announced that FAQ rich results will cease to appear in search results after May 7, 2024. Reporting for FAQ structured data will be removed from Search Console in June, and the related API endpoint will be disabled in August. Publishers...
DoubleVerify Flags 140% Jump in AI‑driven CTV Fraud, Warning Advertisers of Rising Risk
DoubleVerify’s 2026 Global Insights report reveals AI‑powered fraud schemes on connected TV grew 140% in Q1 2026 versus Q1 2025. The surge spans bot and data‑center attacks, hits both direct and programmatic buys, and underscores the need for verification tools...
Adobe Finalizes Semrush Acquisition, Bolstering AI‑Driven SEO Suite
Adobe announced the completion of its acquisition of Semrush, integrating the SEO platform into its Customer Experience Orchestration suite. The move comes as AI‑generated traffic to U.S. retail sites jumped 269% year‑over‑year, underscoring the urgency for marketers to secure visibility...
Close the Loop: Real Traffic Validates AI Experiments
You need to close the loop. Most of you aren't. Everyone's using AI to spin up 50 landing pages, 150 ad variations, entire feature sets in a weekend. It feels like you're testing everything. But you're not. You're just guessing at scale. If you...
PubMatic Expands Agentic AI to Indirect Programmatic Deals, Sparking 80% YoY Revenue Surge
PubMatic announced that its AgenticAI platform will now handle end‑to‑end programmatic deals beyond direct publisher contracts. The move helped the company post an 80% year‑over‑year rise in its AI‑driven revenue segment, lifting total Q1 revenue to $62.6 million. Executives say the...
KPMG India Teams Up with CleverTap to Boost AI‑Driven Customer Engagement Consulting
KPMG India has entered a strategic alliance with AI‑first martech platform CleverTap, merging the firm’s transformation consulting with CleverTap’s real‑time analytics and AI‑driven engagement suite. The partnership targets reduced churn, higher lifetime value and compliance‑ready customer ecosystems for corporate clients...
Teads Posts 7% YoY Revenue Dip as Video‑ad Market Tightens
Teads announced Q1 2026 revenue of €266 million, a 7% year‑over‑year drop, as the programmatic video marketplace feels pressure. The company offset the decline with 5% growth in gross profit, a 50% surge in CTV revenue, and a 20% cut in...
Reputation in the Age of Permanent Visibility
The Digital Marketing Association of the Philippines’ new "State of Digital" report shows that two‑thirds of top brand touchpoints now happen online, signaling deep digital integration. While organizations gain data‑driven decision‑making and responsive content systems, the report warns that digital...
Brands' Secret AI Use Tops Social Media Sins
Brands hiding their use of AI in social posts is their biggest social media sin, according to a Sprout Social survey. 28% Unlabeled AI-Generated Content 23% Engagement Bait 14% Political Commentary 13% Automated DMs 12% Posting Too Much
Instagram Pivots to Champion Long‑form Creators for Next Years
Instagram’s VP of Product says she’s thinking about how the platform can best support long-form creators over the next 1-2 years — a complete reversal of IG's previous focus on short-form, shareable content https://liahaberman.substack.com/p/icymi-instagrams-return-to-long-form
ASI Study Finds Promo Products Yield $0.006 Impressions, Beats Digital Ads
The Advertising Specialty Institute released a 2026 Global Advertising Impressions Study showing promotional products generate brand impressions at just $0.006 each, a fraction of the cost of TV and digital media. The findings, based on surveys of nearly 5,000 consumers,...
AI Will Separate Strategic Agencies From Basic Set‑ups
AI won’t kill Meta ad agencies. It will expose the ones that only sell basic setup work. Businesses still need humans for strategy, positioning, creative thinking, and profitable scaling. But agencies ignoring AI will absolutely fall behind, because speed and execution...
Sprout Social Posts 11% YoY Revenue Rise, Beats Q1 2026 Forecast
Sprout Social posted $121.5 million in Q1 2026 revenue, an 11.2% year‑over‑year increase, surpassing analyst forecasts. The company highlighted strong AI‑driven product adoption, a record $24.7 million non‑GAAP free cash flow, and an inaugural $50 million share‑repurchase program.
AI Writes Clear, Conversion‑Focused Copy for Free
I built a skill that writes conversion-focused marketing copy — headlines, CTAs, value propositions, and full page copy for homepages, landing pages, pricing pages, and feature pages. You describe your product and audience, and it writes copy that's clear over clever,...
Organic Search Still Dominates, But Zero-Click Surge Reduces CTR
100 SEO insights for 2026: 1. Organic search drives 53% of all website traffic. 2. U.S. organic traffic was down 2.5% YoY. 3. Zero-click searches reached 60%, with mobile at 77%. 4. AI Overview appearance rose from 6.49% to 13.14%. 5. Organic CTR fell to...
Target Launches 2-Tier Creator Program: One For Superfans, One For Pros
Target unveiled a two‑tier creator initiative aimed at boosting social commerce. Club Target rewards everyday creators and superfans with weekly challenges and gift‑card incentives, while Target Ambassadors, built on the LTK platform, courts professional creators with higher commissions and deeper...
Google Adds More AI Search Links, Still No Click Data For SEOs via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
Google rolled out five new link features for its generative AI search, shifting inline links closer to the supporting text, adding an "Explore new angles" section, expanding source quotes, introducing hover previews, and labeling subscription content. The changes aim to...
Create Content that Answers Questions Before Buying
Great content doesn't chase searches. It answers the questions people ask before they're ready to buy.
OpenAI Skips Agency-First Mistake, Learns From Google
OpenAI Read the Google Playbook. The Question Is Whether Marketers Did Too. Misunderstood Marketing - : Every Ad Platform That Went Agency-First Had to Walk It Back. OpenAI Didn't Wait. https://t.co/4yvevGcvYH
Day 18: The Quiz That Turned A Live Audience Into 2,300 Subscribers
Ellen Yin of Cubicle to CEO turned a simple live quiz into a high‑conversion list‑building engine. By displaying a QR code early in her talks, she guides the audience through a 10‑question personality quiz that doubles as a buyer‑persona classifier....
CEO's Paid Partnership Repost Sparks Authenticity Doubts
Just saw a CEO quote repost a paid partnership post. Made me question the authenticity of what they shipped and whether to believe the claims made or not. Glad this label now exists. https://t.co/SR0Lh3nvtO
AI Deduces Personal Traits From Ad Exposure Alone
AI can infer personal traits from ad exposure patterns alone, turning everyday advertising streams into detailed profiles without direct access to private data https://t.co/2QKj8k2XtP
Maury Povich Came Out of Retirement to Star in a New Campaign for This AI Tool for Creatives
Maury Povich, the 87‑year‑old former daytime‑talk host, returned from retirement to front Air’s new AI‑enhanced creative‑team platform campaign, "On Air with Maury Povich." Air, a cloud‑based operations and asset‑management service launched in 2021, has raised more than $70 million from investors...
ChatGPT Reveals Key Insight on Attribution Modeling
Nice little gem ChatGPT popped out during a conversation on multi-touch attribution (MTA), marketing mix modeling (MMM), and incrementality testing. https://t.co/aBXe4iLE3u
Influencers Earn Money Through Brands, Virality, or Division
The 3 routes to influencer $ (v.i.): 1. Brand deals/"human billboard," & usually beholden to (multiple) brands 2. Platform partners/desperate pursuit of virality, usu via clickbait/negative emotional arousal 3. Monetize audience/usually involves cultivating "us vs them" dynamic.
Unity Posts 17% Revenue Rise to $508M, Shifts Focus to AI Creation Tools
Unity Technologies announced Q1 2026 revenue of $508 million, a 17% year‑on‑year increase, driven by AI‑enhanced advertising and engine tools. The growth comes as the company finalizes the shutdown of IronSource and records a $347 million net loss tied to one‑time impairment...
Google’s Online Estimates Filter Pushes Contractor SEO to Embrace Pricing Transparency
Google has added an “Online estimates” filter to Google Maps, hiding any contractor that lacks on‑site pricing. The change forces local‑search marketers and SEO firms to overhaul tactics for kitchen, bath and remodeling businesses, with early adopters reporting revenue spikes.
Repeated Exposure Fuels Belief; Everyone Markets Ideas Online
Two thoughts from Sinan Aral "We tend to believe false information more after repeated exposure to it. People also tend to believe what they already think." “In the Hype Machine, everyone is a digital marketer, whether we’re fighting for ideas or...
AI Teammate Boosts Social Selling with Reference Ecosystem
The AI Teammate: Building Your Ecosystem of Reference for Social Selling by @Timothy_Hughes https://t.co/TTyCBxaShc @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Sales #SalesTips #SalesLeader #ArtificialIntelligence #Marketing #MarketingStrategy #MarketingSuccess #AI https://t.co/hU3GzrEZ9z
Unlock Growth with a Spotify Advertising Agency
Brands increasingly view Spotify as a core growth channel, with advertising revenue projected to hit $2.2 billion by 2027 and delivering five times higher ad recall than other platforms. However, the platform’s fragmented buying paths, ambiguous measurement, and internal priorities make...
Leading Hotels of the World Selects Journey to Power Digital Services for 425 Luxury Properties
The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) has named UK‑based hospitality platform Journey as its preferred digital partner, giving more than 425 member hotels in 80 countries access to web development, marketing and conversion tools. The move, part of LHW’s...
Pixability Launches Pixability360 to Unify YouTube Paid, Organic and Creator Work
Pixability introduced Pixability360, a single dashboard that merges YouTube advertising, organic channel management and creator collaborations. The platform responds to a study showing that while 90% of agencies think these functions should align, fewer than one‑third actually do, and early...
MNTN Launches QuickFrame AI 3.0 Video Ad Tool as Q1 Revenue Rises 25%
MNTN introduced QuickFrame AI 3.0, a monthly‑subscription AI video ad generator that operates independently of its CTV platform. The launch coincided with a first‑quarter revenue of $73.7 million, a 25% year‑over‑year increase, underscoring the company’s growth in performance TV and AI‑driven...
Capcom Sells 2 Million Copies of Pragmata in 16 Days, Showcasing a Demo‑first Marketing Play
Capcom announced that its new sci‑fi IP Pragmata reached 2 million sales within 16 days of launch. The publisher attributes the rapid uptake to a demo‑first rollout, day‑one Switch 2 support and a community‑driven social media push.
BetMGM CMO Casey Hurbis Leaves After 18‑Month Tenure
BetMGM announced that chief marketing officer Casey Hurbis will leave the company after an 18‑month stint. Hurbis highlighted a best‑ever financial year, a brand identity overhaul and AI‑driven creative work, signaling a possible shift in the operator’s acquisition strategy.
Instacart Posts $1 Billion Q1 Revenue, Rolls Out AI‑Powered Ad Platform
Instacart announced $1 billion in first‑quarter revenue and unveiled a new AI‑driven advertising suite that now serves 9,000 brands across 310 Carrot Ads retailer partners. The grocery‑delivery leader also acquired fulfillment platform Instaleap to accelerate its international push.
What Role Does Mobile Optimization Play in Ottawa SEO?
Mobile optimization is now a non‑negotiable pillar of Ottawa SEO as Google’s mobile‑first indexing evaluates the mobile version of every site first. With over 60% of web traffic and the majority of local queries originating from smartphones, a slow or...
Google Faces Advertiser Pushback Over AI Max Automation vs Dynamic Search Ads
Google's AI Max automation is drawing criticism from advertisers who say the tool limits their ability to manage Dynamic Search Ads. The company has responded by outlining new controls, but the debate highlights a broader clash over transparency in AI‑driven...
AI Scales Campaigns; Tech Leadership Must Guard Brand Consistency
RT AI agents can now scale marketing campaigns across dozens of channels. But who's enforcing brand consistency? That's a technology leadership problem, not a marketing one. #CIO #AIAgents #MarTech @Star_CIO https://t.co/Vjv8aDlma4
#520 - 15 Prime Day & AI Strategies to Maximize Amazon Sales – Part 1
In this hour-long episode, host Keri Miller convenes 15 Amazon experts to reveal Prime Day and AI-driven tactics for boosting sales, with a focus on Helium 10 tools. Destiny demonstrates how to leverage Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) audiences and aggressive...
Why Brands Need to Treat Creators Like the True Entrepreneurs They Are
The article urges brands to treat influencers as independent entrepreneurs, granting them creative latitude rather than dictating scripts. Data shows creator‑led content delivers 70% higher click‑through rates and 159% more engagement, while 83% of consumers say they’d purchase a product...
Veronika Höller Talks on a Perfectly Set-Up but Poor Performing Campaign
Veronika Höller revealed that a seemingly flawless PPC campaign was generating clicks and conversions but no revenue, exposing a deeper positioning flaw. Competitor research showed the brand’s messaging blended in, prompting a complete rebuild with new creative, anti‑ICP targeting, and...
Programmatic Ads Now Drive over a Third of Spotify Revenue
Interesting data point from Spotify’s $SPOT earnings call last week: more than 1/3rd of its advertising revenue is now generated from “biddable” (programmatic) buying. https://t.co/iO6L7ngsmh
Magnite Inc. (MGNI) CTV Momentum Strengthens Its Small-Cap Value Case
Magnite Inc., the world’s largest independent sell‑side advertising platform, received a reiterated Buy rating from Benchmark on April 28, accompanied by a $30 price target. The firm is leveraging its relationships with Walmart, Amazon and over ten commerce‑media partners to...