Today's Digital Marketing Pulse
Ad tech vendors pivot to cloud‑hardware ownership to cut latency and costs
Vendors are splitting between owning their own cloud infrastructure and renting from public clouds such as AWS, Google Cloud and Azure. SSPs PubMatic and Index Exchange introduced containerized solutions—Decision Fabric and Index Cloud—that let DSPs run models on‑premise, lowering latency and data‑transfer expenses. The shift balances cost savings against control of the stack.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Accenture Song acquires influencer marketing agency Whalar
YouTube Tests Showing Creator Posts in Your Shorts Feed
YouTube is piloting a new format that places creator Posts—image carousels with up to ten pictures, text overlays, and royalty‑free music—directly inside the Shorts feed on its mobile app. The test, rolling out globally to a limited user group, aims to give creators an additional discovery channel beyond short videos. YouTube describes this as the first step in a series of updates to broaden the Posts experience. The feature is not yet available to all users but could expand soon.
Clips Have Become the Primary Product Driving Reach
Clips are no longer the byproduct of the main product — they’re the main product. No matter the size of the show, they drive the ultimate reach 👇 More in my latest newsletter, "The Clip Economy": bit.ly/ClipEconomy
March 2026 Core Update Far Less Volatile Than December
I think they are smoking something over at SEL 🤣 -> March 2026 Google core update more volatile than December — here’s what changed The March 2026 core update wasn't even close to the power of the December 2025 core update....
![How To Become The AI Search Authority In Your Company [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Lorenbaker](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://cdn.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1-812.png)
How To Become The AI Search Authority In Your Company [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Lorenbaker
Search Engine Journal is hosting a webinar that teaches SEO leaders how to become the authority on AI‑driven search within their organizations. The session will show how to steer cross‑functional teams—PR, product, and content—to influence the data AI models trust,...
Instant AI Answers Turn Traffic Into Conversions
If your website isn’t powered by AI yet, you’re leaving opportunities on the table. Visitors come with questions. If no one answers instantly, they leave. AI chatbots turn: traffic → conversations → conversions
FTC Pushes Ad Agencies Into Dropping Brand Safety Rules
The Federal Trade Commission, joined by eight states, has filed a proposed settlement that would bar major ad agencies—WPP, Publicis and Dentsu—from coordinating brand‑safety rules that exclude platforms based on political viewpoints. The order stems from an antitrust complaint alleging...
Hightouch Reaches $100M ARR Fueled by Marketing Tools Powered by AI
Hightouch, a seven‑year‑old startup, announced it has reached $100 million in annualized recurring revenue after launching an AI‑powered marketing content service in late 2024. The platform integrates directly with brand assets in tools like Figma and CMSs to generate on‑brand images and...
Absurd? AI-Made Fruit Telenovelas and What They’re Really Telling the Industry
AI‑generated fruit telenovelas—short, absurd micro‑series built entirely with diffusion video, lip‑sync and voice‑synthesis models—have amassed millions of views on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Their ultra‑low‑cost, single‑creator workflow compresses a traditional TV pipeline from eleven steps to three, proving fully AI‑assisted...
Ad Companies Settle With F.T.C. Over Claims of Harm to Conservative Sites
Three of the world’s largest ad holding firms—WPP, Dentsu and Publicis—reached settlements with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations they coordinated policies that limited ads on conservative‑leaning sites. The FTC complaint said the collusion reduced revenue for publishers deemed to...
How Creators Are Transforming Marketing Strategy: From Campaigns to Infrastructure with Monica Khan
Monica Khan argues that creators have moved from a campaign‑centric channel to a core piece of marketing infrastructure. Brands that embed creators in an always‑on, cross‑functional model can harvest real‑time audience insights and build lasting trust. The conversation also highlights...
Scale Budgets Gradually for Stable ROAS Gains
Almost every week, I see accounts increasing budget too fast. From $70/day to $250/day in a few days. Then performance drops. There’s always that question — “Why did scaling break it?” Because the system didn’t have stable learning. We scaled in controlled phases. ROAS recovered to...
AI Theater to Trojan Horse: Surviving the AI Adoption Pressure Cooker
Martech teams face mounting pressure to deliver AI strategies as AI spending is projected to explode from $1.4 billion in 2023 to $1.48 trillion by 2025. Gartner warns that at least 30% of generative‑AI pilots will be abandoned after proof‑of‑concept, highlighting a...
3 Practical Ways to Identify Keywords That Help Customers Find You
The article outlines three practical steps for identifying keywords that drive customer discovery: brainstorming industry‑specific and local terms, using keyword research tools, and studying competitor websites. It emphasizes that precise keyword selection underpins successful SEO, PPC, and social media campaigns....
From Zero to 10K Followers in 3 Months
I grew the 𝕏 account of @vitaliidodonov from 0 to 10K followers in just 3 months. Lots of people have asked me how I did it. So I just wrote up an entire PDF explaining my strategy. If you want the full case...
Emma Grede’s 4 Rules for Making Your Brand Actually Matter on Social
Emma Grede, founding partner of Skims and author of *Start With Yourself*, outlined four brand‑building rules at ADWEEK’s Social Media Week. She argues that trust and authenticity now eclipse raw follower counts, and that product excellence must precede any marketing...
Shirofune Launches AI Summary
Shirofune, a digital advertising automation platform, unveiled AI Summary on April 15, 2026. The new tool leverages generative AI to scan performance‑metric shifts and produce a concise, actionable narrative within seconds. It sits on top of Shirofune’s existing Change Analysis...
SMX Now: The Automation Drift and How to Correct Course
The SMX Now webinar will explore "automation drift" in Google Ads, where incomplete or misaligned signals cause the platform to optimize for the wrong outcomes. Ameet Khabra of Hop Skip Media will dissect a real account that saw a 417% conversion lift that...
LLMs Reduce Geo Cannibalization: Favor Many Long‑Tail Pages?
Has anyone in SEO been able to validate (or disprove) the theory that content cannibalization matters LESS for GEO given that LLMs are prioritizing long-long tail pages? In other words, are there any credible studies that have shown it's better to...
Senior Agency Partner, Commercial Video Sales
YouTube has secured official partner sales status and is creating two Senior Agency Partner positions to scale its commercial video offering. The senior hires will own revenue delivery across a defined patch of agencies, driving sales of YouTube inventory, including...
Testing AI Media Buyer Before Full Autonomy at 99% Accuracy
We’re about to start testing an AI media buyer. Essentially how it’s going to work is the AI buyer will come up with optimization ideas based on correlation between in platform, our MTA and MMM. Each optimization will be manually approved by...
What Makes Content Scroll-Stopping in 2026
In 2026 the battle for attention hinges on a single element: the hook that stops the scroll. Meta reports users form an impression in just 1.7 seconds, while TikTok and YouTube Shorts show that front‑loading the core message within the...
How Manscaped Used AI to Evolve Beyond Ball Memes
Manscaped, famed for its ball‑trimmer humor, partnered with Consiglieri’s AI tool Clamor to break out of its meme‑centric niche as it expanded into hair and beard care. The platform monitors every social channel, decodes sarcasm and emojis, and delivers real‑time...
Cimpress Q2 2025 Earnings Show Digital Ad Spend Spike and New U.S. Print Platform
Cimpress posted 2% revenue growth in Q2 2025 while adjusted EBITDA fell $34 million, driven by weaker U.S. sales and a near‑50% jump in digital advertising costs. The company also announced a new Pixartprinting facility in Pennsylvania to launch its Upload...
Scaling Paid Media Without Burning Cash: Smarter Testing Frameworks for Modern PPC
Scaling paid media often leads to rising CPAs when spend is increased without proper testing. Teams typically outpace their learning, causing efficiency drops as they move into broader audiences. The article advocates a disciplined testing framework that isolates variables, sets...
Rogue‑style Fan Pages Can Drive 100M Organic Views
i interviewed the agency making “fan pages” for brands. secondary accounts that feel more like a rogue employee took over than a strategy. the “arby’s boys” page generated over 100m organic views in the first six months.
From Clicks to Confidence: How Brands Validate PPC Performance Without Flawed Attribution
Brands are moving beyond flawed click‑through attribution to validate PPC performance with layered metrics. Cross‑device journeys and privacy‑driven data gaps make single‑model attribution unreliable, prompting marketers to blend CAC, new‑customer rates, LTV and payback periods. Incrementality tests, geo‑holdouts, and Marketing...
Google Adds Campaign-Level Filtering to Bulk Ad Review Appeals
Google Ads now offers a campaign‑level filter in its bulk ad‑review appeal tool, allowing advertisers to target only specific campaigns when requesting policy re‑reviews. The new "Select eligible campaigns" option prevents the need to resubmit all disapproved ads across an...
Meta Pixel Glitch Causes Missing Subscribe Events
Anyone experiencing Meta pixel issues in the last ~36 hours, what are you seeing/experiencing? For example, I'm seeing zero Subscribe events for a client showing in Events Manager, they're using LittleData + Segment, but we have other similarly setup events that...
How Boutique Hotels Stand Out with Creative Content Marketing
Boutique hotels leverage their unique personality to stand out in a market dominated by price‑driven chains. By deploying creative content marketing, they can showcase local experiences, historic charm, and staff stories that resonate with travelers. Effective content reduces reliance on...
Why Your Google Ads Aren’t Getting Clicks
Google Ads can fail to generate clicks for several avoidable reasons. Using overly broad or irrelevant keywords prevents ads from reaching the right audience, while generic ad copy offers no compelling reason to click. Low bids keep ads off prime...
Navigating the Agentic Frontier: The IAB Tech Lab 2026 Roadmap
IAB Tech Lab unveiled its 2026 roadmap, centering on agentic advertising frameworks, new privacy‑first standards, and CTV‑focused programmatic tools. The release includes open‑source Agentic Advertising Management Protocols (AAMP) 2.0, a live Agent Registry, and the LLM Content Monetization Protocol (CoMP)...
A Six-Figure Order and a Runway for Growth: How Thomas Helps OSE Optics Connect With the Right Customers
OSE Optics, a precision optics maker, partnered with the Thomas industrial marketplace to overhaul its brand and launch an SEO‑optimized website. The revamp lifted the company from a single website inquiry in five years to a steady stream of high‑quality...
AI Commoditizes Tweets; Brand Strategy Remains Premium
Great take. I think specifically, as AI evolves and expands, hyper-specific knowledge (and in that lies taste), is what clients will pay for, rather than just "tweets written for you" which used to work well before AI. Example: One of the things I...
Clone Your Voice, Automate Your Marketing: A Claude Tutorial
The post shows how small businesses, despite inflation‑driven cost pressures, are increasing marketing spend and can automate that effort with Claude AI. By using a Voice Extraction Protocol and a Framework Runner, owners can clone their own tone, apply proven...
Talon.One Releases Integration With Adobe Experience Platform to Power Real-Time Loyalty and Promotions for Enterprise Brands
Talon.One, the incentives platform behind more than 300 enterprise brands, has launched a native integration with Adobe Experience Platform (AEP). The connector links Talon.One to Adobe Real‑Time CDP and Journey Optimizer, allowing loyalty and promotion logic to run instantly across...
Your Homepage Matters Again for SEO — Here’s Why
The rise of AI assistants like Gemini and ChatGPT is steering users back to branded searches, making the homepage the primary entry point for many visitors. This reverses the early‑2000s SEO trend where deep‑link pages captured most traffic. Marketers must...
Why Is SEO Important for Multifamily Property Developers? 6 Reasons It Impacts Occupancy Rates
Multifamily developers are increasingly dependent on online visibility as renters begin their search on digital platforms. Search engine optimization (SEO) ensures properties appear early in organic results, shaping first impressions and attracting renters with genuine intent. By leveraging local SEO,...
DMWF Spotlight: The Full-Funnel Performance Marketing Strategy Every Brand Needs in 2026
In 2026 marketers are merging awareness and conversion into a single full‑funnel strategy, leveraging first‑party data and AI to replace the lost third‑party cookie ecosystem. Real‑time customer insights enable brands to craft coherent journeys that span social, search and email....
AI Shopping Generates Unattributed Conversions, Skewing Attribution
AI shopping is sending buyers to your store but NONE of them show up in your attribution. 39% of consumers already use AI for product discovery, and 23% of Americans bought something via AI in the past month. These are the...
Why TikTok Is the New Battleground for FMCG Sales
TikTok Shop is emerging as a dedicated social‑commerce channel for fast‑moving consumer goods, leveraging its discovery‑led format to turn viral videos into purchases. Ninety‑three percent of users engage with the shop feature and 88 % discover new brands, while a two‑click...
Agentic Engine Optimization: Google AI Director Outlines New Content Playbook
Google Cloud AI director Addy Osmani introduced Agentic Engine Optimization (AEO), a framework for making web content consumable by autonomous AI agents. He argues that token limits, not clicks or dwell time, now drive content performance, urging creators to front‑load...
Chatbot Ads Need a New Model Beyond Search
Search is the wrong mental model for chatbot advertising "I think it’s a mistake to view the Search advertising model as the default for chatbots; both from a user expectation and a revenue standpoint. And in fact, I think that Search...
Sock‑puppet Trend Simulators Are Mostly Empty Hype
Is it creepy that there are companies like Chaotic Good Projects out there promising to "simulate trends" with sock puppet accounts. Yes, sure. But, in my experience, they're almost always completely full of shit. https://t.co/GD97cCghhP https://t.co/33zVwVyoVG
Meta Is Launching An Easy Button For CAPI
Meta announced a one‑click activation for its Conversions API (CAPI) within Events Manager, simplifying server‑side tracking for advertisers. The update also introduces an AI‑powered enrichment feature for the Meta pixel that automatically extracts product and business data from web pages....
Get Ready for AI Shopping and SEO Evolution
How to Prepare for AI Shopping & the Future of E-commerce SEO with Tim Resnik Post: https://t.co/yXnT36Bq2w https://t.co/UjNxYRqOrx
Prepare Your Store for AI-Driven Shopping and SEO
New: How to Prepare for AI Shopping & the Future of E-commerce SEO Google, OpenAI, Amazon, and seemingly every platform are introducing new protocols + data feed attributes for folks who sell things online But what should folks in e-commerce do now?...
Meta Events Manager Faces Random Purchase Outages, Performance Plummets
We are seeing purchase outages left and right on Meta events manager with some of the worst performance in the last 3 days. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason here.
Martech Inversion: Cockpits Turning Into Engine Rooms
The Great Martech Inversion: When the Cockpit Becomes the Engine Room by @Timothy_Hughes https://t.co/o8VHexq82B @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Sales #Marketing #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #TechNews #AI #CX #CRM #MarketingSuccess #MarketingStrategy #AIAgents https://t.co/qUmZ5p90Rr
Personal Intelligence Rollout May Reshape Search Result Algorithms
Added the (near) global rollout of Personal Intelligence to my algo update list. This could significantly change how search results are presented. https://t.co/0KdmuSXKw2 https://t.co/QKbuYQWBNQ https://t.co/23VgzTcOCi
US LLC Google Ads Verification Fails From India
Anyone here who has setup and done advertiser verification for Google Ads account with US billing from India? We've a registered LLC in US but verification keep getting rejected.