Budgets on Life Support as Trump Gives Firms the Willies
The IPA Bellwether Report shows UK marketing budgets flat‑lined in Q4 2025, with 57.4% of firms keeping spend unchanged amid heightened economic and geopolitical uncertainty, including Donald Trump’s protectionist stance and a gloomy Autumn Budget. Direct‑marketing growth stalled and most categories recorded cuts, notably out‑of‑home and audio, while online‑only channels posted a strong rise. Looking ahead, only 1.7% of respondents anticipate overall spend growth for 2026/27, marking one of the weakest outlooks in the survey’s history.
Very Group Reports ‘Resilient’ Christmas
The Very Group posted a "resilient" holiday season, with Very brand sales rising 1.9% over the six weeks to 27 December. Strong demand drove double‑digit growth in home (7.9%) and toys and beauty (6.4%). Black Friday saw a record 209,000 items...
Get Your Kicks in 2026… by Getting Audio in the Mix
Audio advertising is emerging from the background to become a central pillar of the 2026 media mix. In the UK, commercial radio reaches 40 million adults weekly, while streaming and smart speakers extend reach across daily environments. Radiocentre’s analysis shows radio...
YouTube Adds More Promote Targeting Options, Image-To-Video AI
YouTube is expanding its Promote in‑stream boosting tool with interest‑based audience targeting, letting creators aim clips at gamers, beauty fans, travelers and more. The new flow, currently desktop‑only, will soon appear on mobile. Simultaneously, YouTube is testing “Ingredients,” an AI‑driven...
Pinterest Highlights Trending Colors for 2026
Pinterest released its 2026 Palette report, highlighting five colors—Cool Blue, Jade, Plum Noir, Wasabi, and Persimmon—that it expects to dominate visual trends. The selections are based on a year‑long analysis of user searches and save activity within the platform. Pinterest...
Building an Integrated Marketing Plan Across All Online and Offline Channels: When 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 (and...
The article argues that retailers must replace siloed marketing efforts with an integrated omnichannel plan that treats digital and offline touchpoints as a single customer journey. It highlights the pitfalls of double‑counting conversions and the need for centralized reporting, consistent...
YouTube Expands Monetization For Some Controversial Issues via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
YouTube has revised its advertiser‑friendly content guidelines to allow full ad revenue on videos that discuss or dramatize certain controversial topics, provided the material is non‑graphic. The updated policy now includes subjects such as abortion, self‑harm, suicide, domestic and sexual...
![How We Built a Content Optimization Tool for AI Search [Study]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://static.semrush.com/blog/uploads/media/e2/2f/e22f51dd255b84e2a38e3e195b8150ad/e56eb1f7f1e194543547bb51a29886b7/how-we-built-a-content-optimization-tool-for-ai-search-study-sm.png)
How We Built a Content Optimization Tool for AI Search [Study]
A Semrush study examined over 300,000 URLs to pinpoint which text‑only attributes drive citations in AI‑powered search tools such as ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, and Perplexity. The analysis revealed five content qualities—clarity, E‑E‑A‑T signals, Q&A formatting, section structure, and structured...
Lidl GB Promotes Insider to Lead Its Customer Business
Lidl GB has elevated long‑time insider Louise Weise to chief customer officer, adding her to the board of directors. In her new role she will steer brand, marketing, loyalty, customer insight, in‑store experience and care. The promotion follows Lidl's strongest...
What Is the Google 3 Pack? And How to Rank in It
The Google 3‑pack, also known as the local or map pack, displays the three most relevant local business listings for location‑based queries. It shows the business name, rating, price range, address, hours and a clickable map, often outranking traditional organic...
4 Ways to Increase Your Website Authority in 2026
Website authority—how trustworthy a site appears to search engines and AI models—directly influences visibility in both traditional and generative search results. Semrush’s Authority Score (0‑100) quantifies this trust, with top‑industry averages ranging from 53 in construction to 75 in finance....
![What Google SERPs Will Reward in 2026 [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Lorenbaker](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://cdn.searchenginejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2-1-397.png)
What Google SERPs Will Reward in 2026 [Webinar] via @Sejournal, @Lorenbaker
The Search Engine Journal webinar, hosted by Loren Baker on January 14, 2026, will feature Tom Capper, Senior Search Scientist at STAT Search Analytics, presenting data‑driven insights into Google’s evolving SERP landscape. The session will dissect AI Overviews, the new AI Mode...
Conversation with… People in Retail Awards Judge Shane Ashby-Roche
Shane Ashby‑Roche, Head of Organisational Development and Culture at The White Company, returns as a judge for the 2026 People in Retail Awards. He reflects on a decade of L&D experience, including a two‑year IBM secondment, and how his role...
5 Ways To Reduce CPL, Improve Conversion Rates & Capture More Demand In 2026 via @Sejournal, @CallRail
The article outlines five actionable myths to bust for 2026 paid‑media marketers, focusing on smarter MQL scoring, richer attribution, and untapped conversational data. It recommends rebuilding lead‑qualification models around genuine intent signals, layering self‑reported sources onto digital tracking, and mining...
Wellness Briefing: The Collabs and Campaigns Winning ‘New Year, New You’ Marketing, Plus News
The wellness sector’s January push centers on high‑impact "new year, new you" collaborations, notably fast‑casual restaurant tie‑ins and the quirky "Quitters’ Day" anti‑resolution campaign. Brands are leveraging these seasonal moments to capture early‑year consumer spend and differentiate in a crowded...
Should Your Sales Team Be on Social Media? A Strategic Evaluation of Modern Social Selling vs Automated Outreach
The piece argues that sales teams must move beyond the binary of “on or off” social media to a disciplined, value‑first approach. It contrasts high‑volume, automated outreach—characterized by generic DMs and template pitches—with meaningful social selling that listens, contributes insight,...
Tools for Fast Search-Query Analysis
Ann Smarty highlights three Chrome extensions that streamline Google Search Console query analysis. Query Scout overlays page‑level query data and offers a $29 upgrade with pre‑built intent filters. Find Real Prompts extracts longer, AI‑style queries and can feed them to ChatGPT for...
How Inviting Consumers to ‘Ask Ralph’ Deepens Their Connection to the Ralph Lauren Brand
Ralph Lauren unveiled "Ask Ralph," an AI‑driven styling assistant now live on the Polo brand’s mobile app, built with Microsoft Azure AI and Copilot Studio. The agent taps real‑time inventory to deliver personalized outfit recommendations that echo the company’s timeless...
Search Marketing’s Insight Gap: When Automation Replaces Understanding via @Sejournal, @Coreydmorris
Search marketing has rapidly adopted automation—from AI‑generated content to automated bidding—boosting efficiency and scale. However, leaders now face an "insights gap" where performance shifts are visible but their causes remain unclear, eroding confidence in decision‑making. The article argues the problem...
Home Depot Launches Creator Portal
Home Depot unveiled the Home Depot Creator Portal, a centralized hub that links digital content creators with the retailer’s DIY and décor ecosystem. The platform offers creators campaign opportunities, training resources, product catalogs, and storefront capabilities to monetize their home‑improvement...
How to Make Every Shopping Experience Memorable
Retailers must move beyond product focus to craft memorable, emotion‑driven shopping journeys across both physical and digital channels. Consumers now expect seamless integration of in‑store tactile experiences with online interactivity such as virtual try‑ons and live demos. Personalized gestures, loyalty...
The 8 Best AI Visibility Tools to Win in AI Search (2026)
AI visibility tools now let brands monitor how they appear in AI‑generated answers from platforms like ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, and Perplexity. The guide evaluates eight solutions, ranging from lightweight monitors such as Otterly AI to enterprise‑grade suites like Semrush...
Limited Inventory and Thoughtful Partnerships: How Brands at NRF Are Making the Most of TikTok Shop
Brands at the NRF Big Show highlighted how TikTok Shop is reshaping fashion and beauty commerce, with U.S. sales soaring over 400% and now accounting for more than 20% of social commerce. Success stories like Pacsun’s 11,000 pairs of jeans...
‘Instagram Is the Leading Social Commerce Platform in Germany’
Instagram has emerged as Germany’s top social commerce platform, with 15% of consumers purchasing directly on the app or via redirects. Overall, three in ten Germans shop through social media, while Facebook (14%) and YouTube (11%) follow. Bitkom’s research shows...
Hanna Andersson Hires Kacey Sharrett as Chief Digital Officer
Hanna Andersson announced the appointment of Kacey Sharrett as chief digital officer. Sharrett will steer the brand’s digital ecosystem and customer experience. She arrives with nearly two decades of leadership in e‑commerce, direct‑to‑consumer, and performance‑marketing, most recently heading GoPro’s global DTC...
Brazil’s Oldest Perfumery Is Making a Play for US Fragrance Consumers. And No, It’s Not Sol De Janeiro
Brazilian heritage brand Granado, founded in 1870, is accelerating its U.S. expansion after posting 12% revenue growth in 2025 and 95% year‑over‑year sales growth in the United States. The company opened its first New York store in January 2024 and...
Pacsun Looks Beyond the Standard App with New Co-Creation Platform
Pacsun unveiled the PS Community Hub, a digital platform that blends social interaction, creator monetization, and co‑creation with traditional shopping. Launched in early January, the hub lets everyday users and influencers collaborate on fashion ideas, earn affiliate commissions, and shop...
From Collectible AR Cards to Blockchain Games: How to Revitalize Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs still generate strong ROI, yet consumer satisfaction remains under 50% in the U.S. and Canada. Traditional point‑based schemes convert only about 5% of shoppers, leaving the majority disengaged. Retailers are turning to gamified experiences that blend augmented reality...
Creative Realities Launches Digital Drive-Thru 2.0
Creative Realities unveiled Digital Drive‑Thru 2.0, a modular digital menu‑board platform designed to streamline installation, maintenance, and scaling for quick‑service restaurants and other drive‑thru venues. The system reduces installation complexity, complies with municipal regulations, and lets operators add or adjust components...
United Supermarkets Brings Back Interactive Loyalty
United Supermarkets, together with TCC Global, has relaunched its interactive "28-Day Challenge" loyalty campaign across the United, Albertsons Market, Market Street and Amigos banners. The program delivers weekly shopping challenges, digital coupons and personalized rewards through a mobile interface. TCC...
David’s Bridal Debuts Ambassador Program for Creators, Customers and Associates
David’s Bridal has launched the David’s Style Squad, an ambassador program that enlists creators, frontline associates, and loyal customers to produce shoppable user‑generated content. Participants earn commissions ranging from 5% to 20% on net sales, with top performers receiving early‑access...
Acquiring Customers via Google Ads
Google Ads introduces a New Customer Acquisition feature that lets advertisers assign incremental conversion values to first‑time buyers, influencing bid strategies. By inputting a target ROAS and using average order value, the platform can suggest a higher value—e.g., $46.27 versus...
18 Best Content Marketing Tools to Use in 2026
The guide lists the 18 best content‑marketing tools for 2026, spanning research, planning, creation, distribution and analytics, with pricing details for each. It highlights how solo marketers, small teams, and large operations can tailor a stack of four to six...
e.l.f Beauty Launches Roblox Game
Cosmetics brand e.l.f Beauty has launched a new makeup game Glow Up! On Roblox
Albertsons Media Collective Launches Store-Level Measurement to Gauge Ads’ True Impact
Albertsons Media Collective has launched a store‑level incrementality measurement system that isolates the true sales lift generated by in‑store ads. The solution pits test stores exposed to media against rigorously matched control stores, creating a statistically validated counterfactual. In a...
5 Roadblocks Slowing Commerce Media…and How to Clear Them
Commerce media is projected to exceed $100 billion, but retailers face five key implementation roadblocks. First‑party data often remains siloed, limiting precise audience segmentation. Manual audience creation, fragmented channel activation, lack of self‑service tools, and slow, opaque measurement further hinder growth....
5 Content Marketing Ideas for February 2026
The article outlines five timely content‑marketing ideas for February 2025, using cultural milestones such as Charles Schulz’s death anniversary, the Pet Rock fad, Global Movie Day, Cinderella’s 75th anniversary, and a monthly shopper update. It recommends specific formats—blog posts, nostalgic...
Fyffes Campaign Goes Bananas
Banana distributor Fyffes announced that its newly launched consumer brand, Trudi’s, has delivered strong market performance following a coordinated video advertising and digital signage campaign. The initiative drove a double‑digit increase in sales and lifted brand awareness across key retail...
Yes, 404 Status Codes Hurt SEO
A 404 status code signals a missing page but does not act as a direct ranking penalty in Google’s algorithm. Google actually prefers 404 or 410 responses for removed content, treating them as normal web signals. However, when deleted pages...
Forget Follower Count: What Actually Drives Sales, According to a TikTok Marketing Expert
TikTok strategist Jemma Wu argues that follower counts are misleading and that authentic, engaged communities drive sales. She cites a livestream where a 500k‑follower creator generated $350k, dwarfing a 1M‑follower influencer who sold only $5K. Wu’s own brand experience shows...
XML Sitemap: What It Is And How To Generate One
An XML sitemap is a structured file that lists the URLs a site wants search engines to crawl and index, often including metadata such as last‑mod dates, change frequency, and priority. It boosts crawl efficiency, especially for large or complex...
How to Optimize Your Website for SEO (Beginner’s Guide)
Search engines now surface AI‑generated overviews alongside traditional listings, making structured, authoritative content essential. The guide stresses targeting low‑volume, low‑difficulty keywords to capture both organic clicks and AI‑summary citations. It outlines high‑impact steps for new, stagnant, or declining sites, from...
What Main Street Can Teach Silicon Valley About Building Loyalty
Andrew Helms, SumUp’s U.S. CEO, argues that Silicon Valley’s focus on rapid growth overlooks the loyalty built through personal trust on Main Street. He highlights how small‑business owners create lasting relationships by remembering customers, offering fair pricing, and showing genuine...
New Ecommerce Tools: December 31, 2025
The end‑of‑year roundup spotlights a wave of AI‑enhanced ecommerce solutions, from MobiLoud’s real‑time mobile‑app analytics dashboard to Hosted.com’s upgraded WordPress infrastructure. CPGIO expands its accelerator reach by adding more than 40 retail channels through partnerships with Nordstrom, Chewy, Lowe’s, Faire...
3 SEO Predictions for 2026
Ann Smarty forecasts three seismic shifts for SEO in 2026: zero‑click discovery via generative AI will siphon organic clicks as chat‑based platforms deliver product recommendations without page visits; monetization of large‑language‑model services will spawn paid add‑ons and new performance metrics;...
Entity-Based SEO: An Explainer for SEOs and Content Marketers
Entity‑based SEO reframes optimization around concepts, relationships and context rather than isolated keyword strings. Search engines use the Knowledge Graph to identify entities—people, places, things—and map how they interconnect, influencing rankings and AI‑generated answers. The guide explains how to discover...
What We Learned Building SalesBot — HubSpot’s AI-Powered Chatbot Selling Assistant
HubSpot’s Conversational Marketing team replaced its 100‑plus live chat agents with SalesBot, an AI‑powered chatbot that now handles the bulk of inbound website conversations. The bot first focused on deflecting low‑intent queries, achieving over 80% deflection, then added a real‑time...
The Psychology of AI SERPs and Shopping
AI-generated search overviews are reshaping how consumers find information and products. A Pew survey in March 2025 found 58% of U.S. adults saw an AI Overview, and only 8% of them clicked a traditional link, compared with 15% click‑through when...
New Books: Swiftynomics, UX Skills, More
The newest business titles spotlight a shift toward people‑centric strategies, from Misty L. Heggeness’s *Swiftynomics* highlighting women’s economic power to B. Joseph Pine II’s *The Transformation Economy* urging firms to align with consumer aspirations. Other releases focus on UX‑business alignment, emotional drivers...
GSC Groups Keywords as AI Queries Expand
Google Search Console’s Insights now aggregates click data into keyword groups, retiring individual keyword trends. The feature, once limited to high‑traffic sites, automatically opens the Performance report with a regex filter applied. Marketers see this shift as a response to...