Greetings!

I’m going to change Bananarama’s “Cruel Summer” lyrics to “It’s been a hot, hot, hot summer…” (and we’re not even that far into it)! It’s also been hot from a digital marketing perspective… check it out!

• How do you know if your gen AI chatbot is hallucinating? Time recently reported “Scientists Develop New Algorithm to Spot AI Hallucinations.” The researchers came up with a formula to calculate “semantic entropy” which determines how similar the responses are when prompted with different variations of the same prompt. They are hoping that gen AI chatbots like ChatGPT can ultimately provide a button that will give you a “certainty score” to the provided response. If you don’t want to wait to see how and when this comes to pass, we have three suggestions for you:
  1) Try typing the same prompt into multiple gen AI chatbots and observe the response similarity.
  2) Only use Gen AI responses that come with citations to the sources included in their response.
  3) Use Google Gemini’s fact-checking feature to highlight verified (green) and questionable (red) parts of AI-generated responses.

• Switching from AI hallucinations to a different AI issue: “How to fight bias in your AI models.” Martech uses the lack of accurate data on loans taken out by women as an example of how an AI model will then be biased about the potential of this under-reported segment. A possible solution is creating “synthetic data” to fill in these gaps.

DBE Perspective 💬

At SMX Advanced, Elizabeth Tucker, Google Search’s Director of Product Management, revealed key insights into the future of SEO.

Some focal points include reusing the words, “satisfying,” “helpful,” and “experience” when describing content. Could these expand EEAT principles Google’s set forth in the past?

Get the details from our Director of SEO & SAIO, Marc Engelsman: Google Seeks to Satisfy with Renewed Focus on Helpful Content.

• Here’s a new concept: ban algorithmic feeds on teen social accounts. New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the “Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids” act. Should the act be approved, it will prohibit addictive feeds for teens as well as sending notifications between 12am – 6am. Social Media Today sums it up well.

• We’ve seen influencers used in countless B2C product campaigns, but what about B2B? Some influencer strategies from B2C crossover into B2B, like choosing a micro- and niche influencer for their specific audience. One thing you have to keep in mind is subject-matter expertise and professional experience. Check out this EMarketer chart on the topic!

• Did somebody say bacon? Oscar Mayer did! They pulled a great fake-out to give you a giggle!

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

I’ve been hit with the “respond, don’t react” mantra frequently this year. Books, articles, and life situations have been pointing at it in one way or another. The quick overview if you’re new: it is about letting the situation sink in and responding thoughtfully instead of reacting on your first emotion.

I think one way to get closer to this is by listening. Once the situation (whatever it is) gets difficult, pause and listen.

• Listen to what’s going on in yourself. Ie., Is your heart beating faster? What emotions are going through you? 
• If you’re in a conversation, listen to the other person’s verbal and non-verbal cues. 
• If the situation is too much to handle, listen to something outside what’s going on. Maybe there’s rain on the window or a breeze picking up. Then, once you’ve grounded yourself, head back in and respond.

Responding allows us to pull out of the tunnel vision caused by reacting. We gain perspective and thoughtfulness in tricky circumstances.

Go get ‘em today – you got this!

Natalie

Love me some Coldplay… Did you know they are making their new album entirely out of plastic collected from water? They also aim to make their tours more sustainable. They’ve topped my charts as the coolest band ever. 🤘

Hi all,

Missed you last week, but we’re back with all the digital marketing action today!

Another week, another “HUGE” Google story has the SEO world buzzing. No, it’s not more about AI Overviews (that’s so last month). It’s about a document leak that reveals the inner workings of Google’s ranking algorithm. Rand Fishkin, SparkToro co-founder (and formerly, a founder of Moz) shared the documents from Google’s Content API Warehouse that were shared with him and added his thoughts. There’s a lot to unpack, but in DBE’s tradition of Omotenashi, here are the quick hits:

• We used to say there were over 200 factors in Google’s search ranking algorithm. Turns out, the API documentation includes over 14,000 attributes. The depth of the data Google is collecting to feed its API is astounding. For example, they aren’t just cataloging “clicks” – there are “goodClicks”, “badClicks”, and “lastLongestClicks” attributes.

• BUT the documents do not include data on how each feature is weighted in search ranking.

• How does this impact SEO strategies and best practices? Initially, not much. We already factor many of the attribute categories into our recommendations. In the longer term, when we have a better sense of weighting, we will tweak our recommendations accordingly. Here’s the release from Fishkin and Search Engine Land’s coverage. 

• What’s the most important word in marketing? Marketing expert, Mark Schaefer, lays down a real-life example of this word in action. What’s the word, you say? It’s maneuver. While I don’t believe it needs be compared to “warfare” per say, he still makes an excellent point. Marketers need to be swift, accurate, unexpected, resourceful, flexible, and decentralized in leadership. Read more to get the full picture.

• After the big TikTok ban news, the company announced layoffs of ~1,000 employees in operations, content, and marketing. The LinkedIn News page has a variety of opinions and perspectives on the issue. Business Insider gives quotes from ex-employees who were surprised at the abruptness of the scenario.

• In lighter news, you ever wonder who was really behind the Duolingo marketing stunts. Duolingo on Ice? A fake reality TV show where no one speaks the same language? The Super Bowl Ad? That’s the brand team. Zaria Parvez, their Global SMM, interviews Duolingo’s Creative Director, James Kuczynski, to see how the social and brand teams create uniquely original, viral content.

• EMARKETER shares data that “nearly a quarter (23%) of US adults say they research a product online and purchase it in-store”. Their chart also shows other interactions between online and in-store behavior. All the more reason to leverage omnichannel marketing strategies.

• Techie news (particularly helpful for tech startups and media companies): Some brand websites are exploring the fediverse as a way to get referral traffic. The fediverse allows people to interact with others via different federated social platforms (like Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky). This way, your audience can reach you from their platforms of choice. Digiday does a much better job explaining it if you are interested.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

We know AI can do lots of things for us.

But what does it take away when we allow it to create for us?

We lose the flavor, pizazz, complexity, passion, excitement, unknown, truth that’s wrapped up in the creative process. It’s not always easy – coming in inspirational waves, drawn by mysterious currents. You find it buried underneath the blank stares at empty pages. The process can lead us down a pothole-packed road that is miles off the highway on which we started. Sometimes, it hits us in the face with brilliance. Other times, it has the humble presence of the “b” in the word “subtle.”

The meaning of the fluffy paragraph above is: No person or robot is going to say things exactly like you.

You are the originality – the authenticity – this automated world craves. Don’t look down on yourself for not being as perfect as the autogenerated piece… because it’s the imperfections that make lasting impressions.

Keep on keepin’ on,

Natalie

The writer’s voice is one of the key reasons a reader keeps reading.

If you’re an editor, how are you preserving that? Check out this piece from Proofed for advice!

DBE Perspective… 💬

Google announced the long-awaited public release of its Search Generative Experience (SGE) last week. Except it’s no longer called SGE but rather AI Overviews (apparently, SGE was its experiment name). The search marketing industry is buzzing about the launch and its potential impact. So, we thought it might be good to add our perspective in the form of an FAQ from Marc Engelman, our VP of SEO & SAIO…

Stay tuned as we conduct our own research into the next phase of Google Search!

• Sites that suffered significantly from the “Helpful Content Update” can recover search traffic losses if they fix things, according to Google’s John Mueller. What specific things to fix is not known, but our advice is to start from your perspective. Would you actually find your content useful? Then, ask someone else or a group of people in your audience. What do they have to say? 

• Tired scanning through all the various search results (Images, Videos, News, etc.) that appear above the Google search text listing? Now you can use the “Web” filter to see those text links (and maybe some text ads). The problem is that it may be hidden in the filter bar so be sure to click “More” to find it. Here’s an example of the All view vs. the Web view (pardon Marc’s home team bias). The wanted result is in green.

• Perplexity is now delivering a daily digest to those interested. Thursday’s digest was on Apple and OpenAI nearing a deal for integrating ChatGPT technology into iPhones. Buried in the third paragraph of Perplexity’s writeup is word that Apple is talking with Google about licensing its Gemini chatbot. It’s nice to see this form of a digest with multiple link citations.

• I wonder how many boring ads we’ve seen in our lifetimes – ads that were so bad that they weren’t worth the mental storage. With the death of the cookie, ads have to be more memorable and relevant than ever. Because even the best targeting goes to waste if the ad stinks worse than a triathlon athlete after the big race. This Emarketer article says to experiment and set the creative bar high!

• Emarketer shares a Hootsuite survey showing that marketers have the greatest confidence that LinkedIn delivers a positive return on investment (70% agreed). Per an Emarketer forecast, LinkedIn U.S. ad revenues are expected to rise by 13.9% this year. LinkedIn has always had strong support from B2B marketers but now it appears B2C marketers are seeing the value, too. Interesting, and not surprising, is confidence in X/Twitter is only at 30%.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

You ever get that buzzy feeling – like your brain chugged too many cups of coffee. It feels impossible to sit and get one task done.

I’ve had that feeling lately and these things have helped during the workweek:

1. Acknowledging that I’m jittery (it happens and it’s okay)
2. Then, adapting my workday to fit where I am.
   1. Put the phone out of sight. 
   2. Raise the desk to standing mode and take walking breaks to work off the extra energy.
   3. Deepen the breath and imagine metaphorically “landing” on the ground.

We are conditioned to be busy all the time. If we think we’re not productive, feelings of unaccomplishment and boredom seep in. For me, the jitters arise from the stress of being too busy. It’s a warning sign to slow down.

Yesterday was World Meditation Day, and it’s a reminder to incorporate stillness in our lives. Enjoying food without distractions. Gazing out a window. Focusing on the breath. Stillness helps us reset and crystallize our intentions. It gives us pause to appreciate the path we’re on.

Best Wishes 🙂

Natalie

Jillian Pransky, renowned yoga teacher, has a beautiful way of simplifying the art of deep listening in her book, Deep Listening: A Healing Practice to Calm Your Body, Clear Your Mind, and Open Your Heart. Recommend checking it out if you’re interested!

Hiya!

Time to turn on the digital marketing thinking caps. We’re getting ready to dive in!

• ChatGPT-4o (o standing for “omni”) rolled out on Monday, and it’s getting closer to the robot assistants we see in the movies. Read a quick summary in The Verge and get the capabilities in the OpenAI ChatGPT-4o blog. Overall, it is faster, understands more (from languages to conversational cues), and is available to free users. Note: Free users still won’t have access to the internet browsing features that are included with ChatGPT Plus subscribers.

• Now consider this other OpenAI news: “OpenAI may be getting closer to launching its ChatGPT product that searches the web and cites sources when answering questions.” We’ve seen some elements of link citation use with ChatGPT Plus prompt responses. It seems like the difference between free and Plus users will be usage limits. Here is the ChatGPT response to our query regarding its search function.

• Have you been following the US vs. Google antitrust trial? Danny Goodwin covers how the DOJ “hammered Google over search ad price manipulation” in its closing statement with 20 eye-opening slides. Read for yourself and let us know if this changes your attitude and/or investment in Google Ads.

• Here’s a head-scratcher: Search Engine Journal reports “Ex-Google CEO Implies AI Search Will Have No Links.” We’ve all seen how Google prefers to provide answers to queries without links to answers (e.g., the example for “what time is it in california” used in the article). And most of us can trust Google’s response to these simple, fact-oriented questions. But our testing of Gen AI has revealed some gaps in the accuracy of their responses that have not included source citations with links. At a time when expertise, authority, and trust (E-A-T) are touted by Google as helpful content quality signals, we don’t foresee a link-less Google AI search engine anytime soon.

• LinkedIn and Microsoft partnered to provide a new report on the AI landscape in the workforce. Unsurprisingly, 76% of global knowledge workers are using AI at work – 46% of them started using it in the past 6 months. Also, interesting to note that the top occupations using AI include content writers, graphic designers, and marketing managers. Here’s the Social Media Today overview and the full report on Microsoft.

• Skittles renovated a tiny apartment in NYC and is paying for one lucky raffle winner to live there for a year. If you haven’t seen the pics, you gotta check ‘em out!

DBE Perspective 💬

Our Director of SEO, Marc Engelsman, challenged Google Gemini, ChatGPT Plus, and Perplexity to a write-off… and even the winner had room for improvement.

Dive deeper into the findings, and read the full article: Ranking Gen AI Platforms on What They Know and How They Talk About SAIO.

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

I was recently given a challenge.

Instead of the traditional “How’s your day going?” I was asked to start with “Tell me about your day.”

The traditional how’s-it-going banter consists of a yes or no answer. However, “tell me about your day” invites room for conversation – for connection. It gives an opportunity to know another on a deeper level. It goes beyond polite greeting and lets the other person know you care.

Try it sometime. You might be surprised with the responses you receive.

Keep on swimming, y’all! 🐟

Natalie

“94% of fish stocks in the US oceanic and gulf waters are not being overfished,” which is an all-time high according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration! Catch the story in Good News Network.

Hello and welcome!

In case you’re new here, this is your weekly dose of digital marketing news and data to help you make informed decisions. Stay tuned to the end for a dash of mindfulness to ease the stress of the day.

• 72% of respondents to a recent survey said AI-driven personalization and generative AI will affect their business the most in 2024. Here’s the scary part: “AI is also powering hyperpersonalization by using complex user data such as real-time browsing behavior and predictive digital preferences to create highly customized experiences.” What could go wrong with that? We should all be pondering the ethics of that question.

• What is a position-less marketer? According to Optimove, this marketer has a diverse skill set and can adapt and collaborate to drive business outcomes. Is this the direction marketing is going in the automated, AI-driven future? Our thought: AI still needs inputs and oversight from well-versed specialists in some of today’s key digital marketing roles – SEO, PPC, Data Analytics, etc.

• Generative AI is a hot topic (still), but how are people actually using it? As a marketer, I found this interesting because “content creation & editing” was the second-most popular use. We go into this in our latest POV, but as a reminder: AI should be an assistant, not the sole writer.

• We all know social media shows us what we want to see. If Joe Schmoe engages with a video of monkeys doing the tango, naturally, the algorithm will show him more dancing monkeys. The day Joe takes a trip to the jungle, with the thought of seeing these hairy performers live, he’ll be in for a rude awakening. Now, this is a silly example, but the topic can be ANY topic. We need to be aware that social media algorithms silo our information. A way we combat this is through ethical marketing, based on the principles of transparency and accuracy. Get more about ethical marketing and disinformation from ClickZ.

• We’ve been talking about antitrust suits for Google, Meta, and Amazon, but what about Apple? U.S. regulators are now also targeting Apple for monopolizing the smartphone market. Are there other situations we take for granted that may be up for targeting by regulators?

Has Written Content Become the “Um Like” of Marketing? 💬

Um, like, I mean, you know, uh…

We are all familiar with these filler words…. We tune them out whenever someone is talking and just listen to the stuff that matters.

The same thing happens with poorly written content. Unless content is created with the audience in mind, it becomes as meaningless as the filler words peppering English sentences. Why has some written content become so boring, and how do we fix it? Read more in our latest POV: Has Written Content Become the “Um Like” of Marketing?

Thoughts to Take With You… 💞

Recently, I had a stranger treat me unkindly.

I didn’t respond and went on my way. It was a small interaction, but it made me think (as pretty much everything does). Maybe this person had a bad day or believes they’re stuck in an unhappy life path.

In a later conversation with Niki , our amazing CEO, she shed some light on these kinds of interactions. She said we have three ways to respond: 1. react with the same hostility, 2. pretend to ignore it, or 3. genuinely respond with civility.

When we choose the high-road option in #3, we surpass our own ego and show kindness to someone who may need it. Whether they rethink their actions is not up to us. But we all know deep down if we show more kindness and compassion, the world can be better.

Looking forward to seeing you here next week!

Natalie

Growing season is here 🌱

If you love to garden, here are some awesome hacks for you!

Hiya!

You know those days when it seems everything has gone sideways? We all have ‘em. I think the trick is to look at them in their entirety. Here are some thoughts:

• Is everything about traffic bad? Yes, it slows us down. Is slowing down always bad? Not always, for example, we slow down on vacations. Not saying traffic is like a vacation (cuz it ain’t). Perhaps it gives us time to notice the cloud formations in the sky or appreciate the sincere goodness of seat warmers in the midst of winter.
• How about making mistakes at work? Yes, it’s not fun to stare into the face of imperfection. We can sit with that. Notice how a mistake may draw you into a new path of thinking… of observing. Maybe those observations lead you to a new, creative solution…

Whatever hurdles may come up, remember that you have the strength and creativity to handle them.

Let’s get into the digital marketing rodeo!🤠

• Search Engine Land reports on the future of SGE, Gemini, Ads, and AI Search based on clues from the latest Alphabet earnings call and statements from the Google CEO. It covers a lot of ground with how AI is a key driver behind what Google hopes to achieve in 2024 and how their AI initiatives, including Bard and the Assistant (with Bard) mobile app, are being incorporated into their search products as complementary features.

Do Good Spotlight
🌟 Yoga Alliance Foundation 🌟

Yoga Alliance Foundation works to bring equitable access to yoga while supporting yoga professionals. They support refugee programs, give scholarships, support the scientific study of yoga, and much more. If you are interested in their cause, check them out: Yoga Alliance Foundation.

• Google Search Ads CPC increased by 17% YOY and 9% QOQ in Q4 2023. Are more advertisers getting more confident in paid search? We’ll have to keep watching.

• Eddie the Terrible, the dog you didn’t want to adopt. In Ann Handley’s most recent newsletter, she reminded us of the brilliantly crafted, beautifully blunt dog adoption posting. The posting worked so well that Eddie was eventually adopted. It shows the power of amazing copywriting to grab the attention of the right people. She, also, reminded us that generative AI is great for getting started, but a unique human touch may just be the cherry-topper to make writing GREAT. I agree 1001%.

• Social media and the law system seem to be inextricably linked these days. Meta, TikTok, X, Discord, and Snap CEOs appeared before the US Senate on Jan 31st to address child protection. Each CEO cited multiple efforts dedicated to young user protection, while Senators posed tough questions to present their case that the platforms need to have more protections in place.

• What are the secrets of effective leadership that can be applied to your role in the marketing industry? There are some solid takeaways by Martech including:
  • Turn challenges into inspiration
  • Nurture a culture of innovation and empower your team
  • Adapting to change: Leading through market disruption
  • Influencing and collaborating in marketing leadership
  • Developing and mentoring future marketing leaders

Bonus: the article includes a shout-out and link to a sidebar interview with long-time DBE friend and referrer Ruth Stevens.

Have a wonderful rest of the week,

Natalie

What music do SEOs like? 🎵
ALT=ernative

What’s Mario’s favorite search engine? 🔍
Yahoo!

What is a popular search engine for ghosts? 👻
Ghoul-gle!

Share these jokes and our signup link with your favorite marketing friends!

Howdy, friends!

January 24th is National Compliment Day, so here are some headed your way:

Good for you for expanding your knowledge and reading today. Think of 3 things you did well today. Now, out loud, give yourself a compliment for accomplishing them, no matter how big or small they are! Happy reminder that complimenting yourself is important, we believe what we hear ourselves say! 😊

Let’s hop into the digital marketing news, fellow marketing enthusiasts!

• You’ve likely heard about apps that let you take a picture of a plant and then identify it for you. Well, Google is adding those kinds of features to its search and Gen AI toolboxes. Our Head of SEO, Marc Engelsman, asked the question: Does this mean a picture is now worth a thousand keywords?! (ba-dum-tss)

DBE Perspective… 💭

Think with Google, with the help of The Behavioural Architects, has published its latest research on “how people decide what to buy while they’re in the messy middle of their purchase journey.” The research offers tips on how to boost consumer confidence (or should we say authority?) based on your website content.

For more on Brand Authority, check out our new blog post From Brand Authority to EEAT to SEO to SAIO.

DBE Perspective PART 2… 💭

Yes, there is a part 2 to your favorite segment of the WHW newsletter!

We know that SAIO and SEO work together, BUT they have different implementation strategies… one big difference is keywords. Instead of the SEO “one keyword per page rule, ”SAIO works with one topic and a few long-tail search terms. How does that work? Good question! Find out in “The SAIO Strategy: SEO Keywords vs. SAIO Topics.”

• FINALLY, LinkedIn rolls out sponsored articles. (Woohoo!) In the past, there was the problem of LinkedIn not liking you leading people to your off-platform blog, but wouldn’t let you sponsor your LinkedIn article. This is an exciting new feature to get your thought leadership content out to more people!

• With the death of the cookie, marketers are finding ways to utilize 1st-party data (maybe zero-party and second-party) data in a privacy-centric way through AI. Marketing Dive points out that large companies with massive amounts of 1st-party data will have a leg up over smaller ones. A way around this could be “data co-ops that allow entities to share data that can be used to fuel generative AI efforts.” However, if enough companies share data on this large scale, it still looks suspiciously similar to third-party cookies. We’ll have to see how it all plays out.

• Google has laid off hundreds of people specifically in the advertising sector. Many believe the support experience is going to get worse and as an agency we can attest to this.

Do Good Spotlight
🌟 Home Sweet Hudson 🌟

Once a special needs person reaches the age of 21, they are disqualified for the IDEA (federal) services they’ve used throughout their life. Home Sweet Hudson helps ease the burden of this transition for caregivers and special needs people in the Hudson County area. Learn more about them here: Home Sweet Hudson.

Don’t forget… you’re awesome! 😎

Have a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious day,

Natalie

Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys has been stuck in my head. 🎵

Did you know that high-pitched noise in the intro was created by an electric-theremin. Learn more about the song here.

And if you’re pickin’ up our good vibrations, share our WHW signup link to your buddies. 🏄

Hey y’all!

I have a thought for you. Do you remember the last time you had fun while learning something? You probably had a feeling of awe or appreciation. What if we approached our daily routine with more of a beginner’s mindset? There’s always something different in each moment… something it can teach us. We just have to stay open and ready… maybe the beginner’s perspective might make the day a bit more enjoyable!

Now that you’ve got your good thought for the day, let’s jump in!

• What conversion model do you use: first-touch, last-touch, OR multi-touch? Apparently, 75% of companies reported using multi-touch attribution! It comes with its challenges though (like double-counting conversions #yikes).

• Google confirmed it is dropping 4 of its attribution models in Ads and Analytics. They are doing this due to “low adoption rates.” The AI powered, data-driven-attribution model will be the default with the last-click model still available as an option. The data-driven attribution model is supposed to evaluate the impact each touchpoint has on a conversion and has reportedly led to a 6% increase in conversions for paid search advertisers. However, the model is not transparent about how it scores individual touchpoints, so getting deeper attribution insights will be more difficult.

• Think with Google recently posted “What AI can and can’t do — and what that means for marketers.” We’ve already covered what it can do in previous WHWs. So let’s cover what the article says AI can’t do:
  • AI can’t see the big picture for your organization
  • AI can’t be creative like you
  • AI can’t empathize with people

Of course, Google is saying AI can help with these things but it’s good to know that AI isn’t the solution for everything. Yea, people power!

Do Good Spotlight
🌟 Alex’s Lemonade Stand 🌟

This foundation is close to our teams’ hearts. The story behind the ALSF is remarkable: When Alex was 4 (she was diagnosed with childhood cancer just before her 1st birthday), she wanted to set up a lemonade stand and use the money she earned to help doctors find a cure. Her first “Alex’s Lemonade Stand,” raised $2,000 in one day. She continued to grow the program with the help of an amazing community of supporters. When she passed away at the age of 8, her stand and inspiration had raised more than $1 million. ALSF was started by her parents in 2005 to continue the work that Alex began. Their mission is simple: to change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families, and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer. We are inspired by Alex’s story and donated in memory of Ronald Hogas. Here’s where you can learn more and support a wonderful cause: Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

• Meta and TikTok are exploring the possibility of ad-free subscription tiers in response to the EU data privacy regulations. It will be interesting to see what the future holds in the US if they roll out a similar version here.

• Did you know you can get verified on LinkedIn? Ya, it’s a thing!

• I’m a HUGE fan of the Duolingo marketing. Here’s their latest cleverness: a job listing for an Owl Trainer for their mascot, Duo the Owl. 🦉 The application process is intense – see below:

Hope you got some giggles out of that last bullet. 🙂 Enjoy your week!

Natalie

What’s cooler than being cool? 🆒😎

Sending your digital marketing friends this signup link to join the WHW party!

Hey y’all!

I read that gratitude helps you sleep better at night in a friend’s book (more info in the p.s.🙂). Practicing gratitude before snoozing is said to lift you out of racing negative thoughts and place you in a more positive headspace. It makes sense and, hopefully, it can bring a refreshingly grateful perspective to your everyday life!

Now, let’s switch gears ⚙️ into the latest in AI, search, and social!

• How do you stay visible as AI transforms SEO? 🤖 In this Martech article, AI is replacing search engines as a go-to source for quick answers and this “shift means potential customers have less incentive to click through to your website.”
  Our POV? It all depends on the types of questions being asked (i.e., the intent of the searcher and the quality of the responses being generated by AI).

  ALSO… the article mentions creating unique content that connotes expertise to attract the AI chatbots. This aligns with Google’s E-E-A-T strategy and our new dual SEO/SAIO strategy. Read the article, and follow DBE’s SEO and SAIO Strategy for updates!

• Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) just got one level cooler. 😎 It can now use AI to create images and assist with your writing. There are many awesome tools that can do these things very well, will Google stack up? We’ll see….

• What is RGSP? It stands for Google’s Randomized Generalized Second-Price. Ad Rank determines who wins in Google’s ad auctions, However, when a few bidders meet all the criteria, RGSP comes in. It is a practice leveraged by Google that picks the winner of an ad auction at random from the top bidders as long as their long-term values are close enough. Apparently, the DOJ has some issues on this in the company’s antitrust case.

Do Good Spotlight
🌟 Black Girls Do Bike 🌟

With over 100 chapters across the globe, Black Girls Do Bike is promoting equality in the biking community for women – especially women of color. They offer support, organize rides, and promote skill-sharing in a supportive community of passionate cyclists. As an REI Cooperative Action Fund nonprofit grantee, they’re connecting people to the outdoors, which is a fabulous mission to have! Learn more about their mission and how you can support: Black Girls Do Bike.

• When’s the last time you took a hard look at your competitors? 68% of the senior marketing leaders surveyed believe they will be facing stiffer competition with B2B product companies putting that figure at 73%. What’s causing the competitive concern? Innovation and the emergence of new global competitors show the biggest gains when compared with the same data captured 5 years ago. More from Marketing Charts.

Wishing you a fabulous rest of your week.

Happy Wednesday!

Natalie

P.s. If you’re looking to live more mindfully, a friend and fellow yoga community member, Cynthia O’Connell, recently co-authored a book, The Elevation Principles: Ascend the Ladder. It’s a wonderful reminder of the importance of mindful awareness, giving easily actionable techniques to get started!

Send your buddies this signup link to join our dazzle! (Yes, a group of Zebras is called a dazzle. With all those stripes ya can’t be surprised! 🦓)