Today's Marketing Pulse
Reddit surges post‑Google update as clicks plunge
Reddit’s top‑3 keyword presence grew to 13,872 terms, a 54% increase after Google’s May core update. SparkToro data shows 68% of Google searches end without a click, with just 232 clicks per 1,000 queries reaching the open web. Google also refreshed its SEO documentation to combat fraudulent practices.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Amplify acquires creative agency Snack Drawer
Agile Media Investment Strategies Overtake Rigid Annual Plans
Josh Rosen, co‑founder of Hotspex Media, says the traditional fixed‑year media plan is being abandoned for agile investment models that let marketers reallocate spend in real time. The shift is driven by volatile markets, continuous performance data and AI tools that accelerate decision‑making.
Fujian Firms Turn to Cross‑Border E‑Commerce, Boosting Overseas Margins
Private firms in China's Fujian province are accelerating cross‑border e‑commerce to offset trade frictions and rising costs. Chelsearu's shift to live‑streaming sales lifted its product price from $30 to over $100, while the Shishi Public Service Center helped launch 326...
All Things Creator Marketing with Mae Karwowski
Mae Karwowski, founder and CEO of influencer agency Obviously, will speak at Marketing Brew’s "The Next Phase of Social & Creator Marketing" on May 12. She notes U.S. creator ad spend is expanding four times faster than the broader media...
What Happens When You Connect Semrush One to ChatGPT
Semrush One’s new MCP server lets AI tools like ChatGPT pull live SEO data directly from Semrush’s APIs, turning generic AI answers into real‑time market insights. Marketers can ask for current keyword trends, competitor traffic spikes, or backlink changes without...
Legal AI Startup Legora Hits $5.6 Billion Valuation with Nvidia Backing; Jude Law Leads New Campaign
Legora, a legal‑tech artificial‑intelligence startup, announced a valuation of $5.6 billion after securing venture backing from Nvidia. The company simultaneously unveiled a global advertising campaign fronted by actor Jude Law, signaling a push to mainstream its services for law firms and...
Day 13: He Built a Tool to Cut His Newsletter Creation Time in Half
Brandon Smithwrick built an AI‑driven intelligence system that links Beehiiv’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) with Claude, Google Sheets, and Wispr Flow. The setup automatically pulls audience demographics, grades each issue, and drafts content from voice notes, cutting his newsletter writing...
Winning the World Cup Means Winning the Moments Around It
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19, featuring 48 teams and 104 matches across multiple U.S. cities. Marketers see this as the largest sustained attention moment in recent American sports history. Rather than focusing solely on...
TikTok Fuels NeeDoh Squishy Toy Sell‑Outs, Depleting a Year's Stock in Nine Weeks
Schylling's NeeDoh stress toys have sold through an entire year's inventory within the first nine weeks of 2026 after a TikTok frenzy, prompting rapid sell‑outs on Amazon, Walmart and other e‑commerce platforms. The viral demand has triggered reseller price spikes,...
Here's How Google AI Is Powering Small Business Growth
Google is leveraging its AI portfolio to boost small‑business growth during National Small Business Week, offering free AI workshops, 95% off Google Workspace for three months, a 30‑day free trial of the Gemini Enterprise app, and up to $6,000 in...
AI Brands Are Pumping Ad Dollars Into Linear TV
Leading AI companies are pouring tens of millions of dollars into linear television advertising to shape public perception and drive adoption. By April 20, 2026, OpenAI has spent roughly $64.9 million, Google $81.7 million, Microsoft $34.4 million and Meta $64.2 million, amounts that nearly...
Master SEO with the SCORE Framework Blueprint
📂 SCORE SEO FRAMEWORK ∟📂 Site Optimization ∟📂Sitemaps ∟📂Internal...
Email Warm-Up for Cold Outreach: Best Practices to Avoid Spam Filters
Cold outreach often fails because new domains lack a sending reputation, causing email providers to block messages before they’re read. Warm‑up builds that reputation by sending low‑volume, authentic emails and gradually scaling activity. The process hinges on proper authentication (SPF,...
Secondhand Marketplace: Building Your Brand’s Resale Platform
Secondhand marketplaces are rapidly expanding, with ThredUp reporting a 144% growth in U.S. pre‑owned apparel since 2018 and forecasting $74 billion in sales by 2029. Brands such as Patagonia, Levi’s and Sabai are launching proprietary resale platforms to capture margin, protect...
How to Write Content That Lands With Decision Makers
B2B marketers are producing more content than ever, yet senior buyers rarely act on it. The guide argues that the root cause is a mismatch between content focus and the executive decisions readers must make. By reframing briefs around specific...
AI Turns One Founder Into Full‑Stack Digital Team
People keep asking me: “Who built the Chess Queen’s Club website?” My answer: Me. With AI. ♟️ The look on their faces is priceless. AI agents helped me move from 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 → 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 → 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 → 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 faster than traditional teams...
Google Fixes Search Console’s Year-Long Data Logging Issue – Well, Kind Of…
Google announced that it has resolved a logging error in Search Console that misreported impressions, click‑through rate (CTR) and average position from May 13, 2025 through April 27, 2026. The fix applies only to data collected after the announcement; historical data for the 50‑week...
AI Can Build Your Entire Funnel by Next Month
You can have AI help you write an offer, position it, build a website, map out your content, design your funnel, write your campaigns and reach customers globally by the start of next month. And you're still "figuring things out." The opportunity...
DoorDash Delivers Memes, Reality TV Moms for Mother’s Day Campaign
DoorDash launched a Mother’s Day campaign that mixes meme‑driven video spots with a reality‑TV‑style series called “The Real Moms of the Group Chat.” The multichannel effort, built with Loop, Get Engaged Media and Gut Los Angeles, runs on Instagram, TikTok and...
Warm up Donors Before Asking: Email First, Donate Later
Asking someone to donate the first time they hear about you is roughly the same as proposing marriage on a first date. It doesn't work, and everyone involved knows it doesn't work, but we keep doing it anyway. Cold advertising that...
The End of the Marketing Blast: Retail Enters the Conversation Era
Retail CRM Endear reports a 50% year‑over‑year rise in personalized messaging, signaling a move away from one‑off blasts toward continuous, relationship‑driven conversations. Email open rates now peak in February at 56.1%, outpacing the traditional November surge. Brands are integrating email,...
How Earned Media Supports Nonprofit Authority in a World Powered by AI
Nonprofit organizations are losing control of first‑contact impressions as AI‑generated summaries and third‑party citations replace direct website visits. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) now prioritizes earned‑media placements, making credible external coverage essential for AI‑driven search visibility. To thrive, nonprofits must craft...
The State of eCommerce for Marketers – 2026 Edition
The 2026 State of eCommerce for Marketers report shows a decisive pivot from user acquisition to re‑engagement as paid install volumes dip across more than 13 markets. Remarketing now commands a larger share of ad spend worldwide, while geopolitical tariffs...
Marketing Program Proliferation Hurts Customer Experience And Limits Business Growth
Forrester’s new report warns that B2B marketers are launching more programs than ever, creating noise that erodes customer experience and caps growth. The study traces the problem to two decades of unchecked program proliferation, a lag in adapting to digital‑native...
Our Vision for Building an Open Ecosystem for the Agent Era
HubSpot announced an open, agent‑ready platform that exposes both its data layer—contacts, deals, tickets, and activity—and a new intelligence layer that delivers pre‑computed risk scores and benchmarks drawn from over 280,000 customers. The move lets third‑party AI agents run on...
McDonald's to Drop Self‑Serve Soda Fountains Nationwide, Shifting to Crew‑Served Drinks
McDonald's announced it will eliminate self‑serve soda fountains in all U.S. restaurants, moving to employee‑served, automated beverage systems. The change supports the chain’s Accelerating the Arches plan to standardize ordering channels and curb product loss, while sales have already risen...
Mindgruve Hires Former Amazon Exec Spencer Lian‑Thornton as VP to Boost Enterprise Partnerships
San Diego‑based data‑technology agency Mindgruve announced Spencer Lian‑Thornton as its new vice president of growth and partnerships. The former Amazon executive will lead efforts to deepen enterprise collaborations and scale Mindgruve’s retail‑media platform.
Purina and U.S. Soccer Celebrate Our Pets
Purina announced the launch of the National Pet Kit, a dog jersey that mirrors the U.S. Men's National Team uniform, available through PetSmart, the official U.S. Soccer Store and Purina’s TikTok Shop. The brand unveiled a new national marketing campaign...
KakaoBank Targets 30 Million Users and $68 B Deposits with AI‑Driven Global Push
South Korea’s KakaoBank announced a plan to reach 30 million customers and $68 billion in total deposits by next year, betting on AI‑powered services and new markets in Indonesia, Thailand and Mongolia. The strategy follows a 7% rise in operating profit and...
AI Startup Artisan Accused of Stealing KC Green’s “This Is Fine” Meme for Subway Ad
AI startup Artisan used a modified version of KC Green’s iconic “This is fine” meme in a subway advertisement, prompting the artist to allege copyright infringement and consider legal action. The dispute highlights growing tensions over AI‑generated marketing and intellectual‑property...
GenOptima’s RaaS Benchmark Shows 4.04‑Fold AI Citation Lift in Two Weeks
GenOptima released an internal benchmark today showing a 4.04‑times lift in AI‑assistant citations after a 14‑day Result‑as‑a‑Service (RaaS) engagement. The outcome, verified by a third‑party, underscores a pay‑for‑performance model that ties every dollar to measurable AI visibility.
7 Tools for Doing AEO Right Now
The article outlines a concise, seven‑tool stack for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), focusing on four core solutions—AI assistants (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity), Profound, Google Trends/Keyword Planner, and Google Search Console + Analytics—and three emerging options: AI Trust Signals, Ahrefs, and Roadway AI. It...
Highspot Unveils GTM Agent to Turn Go-to-Market Strategy Into a Winning Revenue Performance System
Highspot announced its Spring Launch ’26, debuting the GTM Agent—a platform that stitches together CRM activity, content usage, training data, and buyer engagement to deliver role‑specific, real‑time guidance. The new agent builds on the existing Deal Agent, extending actionable insights...
Microsoft and Postel: An Innovative New Data and AI-Driven Solution to Optimize Italian SMEs' Relationships with Their Customers
Microsoft, Postel (a Poste Italiane Group company) and Audiencerate have expanded their partnership to launch a Marketing Data Platform that blends AI‑powered market intelligence, first‑party data, and omnichannel activation for Italian small‑ and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs). The solution integrates Postel’s...
B2B Social Wins When Companies Take It Seriously
B2B Social: How Clickup Cracked The Code By Taking It Seriously I wrote that headline on purpose. “Taking it seriously.” Because when I was thinking back to my conversation with Chris Cunningham at Clickup about their success with social, I...
Dollar General Launches Unified Retail Media Platform
Dollar General, together with Kevel and The Trade Desk, unveiled a unified retail media platform that merges its onsite ad inventory with offsite digital channels. The solution lets advertisers plan, execute and measure campaigns across the full purchase funnel from...
Automated Emails That Feel Human Boost Sales
When a prospect opens an email in 2026, they quickly scan it to answer one question - is this AI slop... or was this written for me? It's much harder to tell with short emails and less characters if it was...
AI Skill Turns Communities Into Contributors, Not Audiences
I built a skill that designs community marketing strategy — platform selection, launch playbooks, engagement rituals, ambassador programs, and health metrics. You describe your product and audience, and it recommends the right platform, structures your launch plan with founding members, and...
Saudi Aviation Club Reveals Influencer Strategy that Led to 50 Million Views for Sand & Fun
Saudi Aviation Club partnered with Bold Influence to rebrand its Sand & Fun 2025 airshow from a pure aviation exhibition into a national lifestyle platform. The agency assembled a hybrid influencer roster—aviation specialists like Captain Joe and mass‑appeal creators such as Dr. Kholoud and...
Jan Update Vict
For some sites impacted heavily by the Jan 2026 unconfirmed update, some got hit even harder when the March spam update and core update rolled out. Like this one. Oof. https://t.co/EkQyYqfLO4
One Tweak Doubles Email Deliverability, Real A/B Test
Do email deliverability tools actually work? Most advice is theory. So @emaildeepdive from ran a real A/B test in Klaviyo: Same email Same audience Same send One change 👇 https://t.co/KZzxLIX8QC
She Accidentally Built a 7-Figure Info Business. Here’s What Ecom Brands Can Learn From Her.
Alison, a bilingual kindergarten teacher, turned her self‑made curriculum into a seven‑figure info business, Learning at the Primary Pond, by leveraging Teachers Pay Teachers, a blog, social media and a membership that now accounts for roughly half of revenue. She...
Anti‑AI Branding Resonates as Humans Fear Technology
This tweet has 17,000 likes in one hour. Presenting your brand as "anti-AI" really does work in 2026, when regular ol' humans feel very threatened by technology.
B2B Must Switch to LinkedIn Creator Marketing
Friendly reminder that if you're in B2B and you're not using LinkedIn creators, you are probably burning cash on ads that aren't converting. It's time for this crowd to get with the program on creator marketing, and LinkedIn is where...
G Hughes Relaunches Zero Sugar Line
G Hughes announced a full relaunch of its zero‑sugar sauce line, updating packaging and brand visuals across the portfolio. The refresh maintains the brand’s zero‑sugar, gluten‑free, HFCS‑free promise while adding two globally inspired BBQ sauces—Korean BBQ (13 oz) and Tex‑Mex BBQ...
Google AI Remains Opaque; Bugs Fixed, Ads Gain AI Features
It's New 5/4 - Google AI systems in isolation as black boxes by @mordyoberstein, Search Console 50 week logging bug fixed, https://t.co/IYScEQ2oLu shuts down and @gregfinn on Google Ads adding AI to add products https://t.co/s091r0pOz2
Helpful Content Update Signals Decline for Many Sites
The helpful content update really marked the beginning of the end for soooo many websites. https://t.co/oKwmcZbxz7
How Qualcomm Is Building an Iconic Consumer Brand for the AI Era
Qualcomm has unveiled the "Snapdragon. That’s How" campaign, created with agency 72andSunny, to position its Snapdragon brand as the go‑to processor for PCs in the AI era. The ads feature relatable scenarios—from a freshman to a maid‑of‑honor—showcasing Snapdragon‑powered devices shot...
Future Agencies Turn AI Insights Into Real‑Time Action
The agencies that will thrive in 2026 aren’t necessarily those creating more reports or outputs. Instead, they’ll be the ones who genuinely translate AI findings into actionable strategies, respond to insights in real time, and offer clients clear guidance. https://t.co/OiqLXr9guL
From Big Budgets to Daily Posts: Reach Simplified
Twenty years ago, reaching 1000 people required: Advertising budget. PR agency. Media connections. Focus group testing. Hiring designers. Test launches. Contract workers. Meetings. Today it requires: Consistent posting for 6 months The world = your oyster
Why AI Visibility Starts Before Search and Ends with Citations
The article argues that AI visibility now starts before a user types a query and ends with being cited by generative models. Influencing audiences across fragmented channels—social, news, niche communities—is essential because AI assistants pull from those signals when answering....