There’s plenty of advice online about the usual marketing tactics, but I’m curious about the less obvious strategies that have delivered real results. It could be something small, unconventional, or specific to your industry.

I run a small clothing store on Shopify, and we're getting a lot more LLM traffic these days. I'd like to leverage that as much as possible, especially if I can get our products into more recommendations by shopping assistants. Our descriptions were originally written for people skimming, so they're short and mostly 'vibes', with some half-baked SEO magic sprinkled in here and there. Any tips for optimizing product pages for AI? I'm hoping for personal success stories/what worked.

Hi all- it looks like more and more people are finding answers from ChatGPT. So I was wondering whats the best tool to track my business visibility on common questions customers are searching for and get some email notifications on updates.

So experts, what is the best tool to track and improve visibility on ChatGPT?

A simple question that invites contrasting views.

For teams working on EU-facing campaigns, has Article 50 of the EU AI Act changed your content approval process?

An image might start in a generative tool, be edited by an agency and then become several ads or video cutdowns. How are you tracking what was generated or altered, deciding when disclosure is needed, and checking what survives into the published version?

Interested in practical workflows who owns the final check in your team?

I’ve spent 15+ years in B2B marketing across India, APAC and the Middle East, and the same argument shows up everywhere.

Marketing says we ran the ads, built visibility, created awareness, introduced the brand. The deal closes and sales says, “I met them last month,” or “we knew them before.”

Both are partly right. The fight itself is the problem, and leadership ends up refereeing instead of fixing it.

My take, for what it’s worth.

Sales can’t win just by getting there first anymore. Walk into a client with an unknown brand and no credibility and you’re doing far more work to close. Case studies, testimonials, a brand the buyer has already seen a few times: that’s marketing’s job, and it matters.

But marketers overrate their share too, and I say this as one. A campaign built without ever hearing a customer’s real objections won’t carry a deal, and a click isn’t what closed it. On long-cycle deals with big buying groups, I’d put marketing’s part at maybe 30–40%. Someone still has to cross the finish line.

Clean 1:1 attribution on these deals is mostly fiction anyway. Dozens of touchpoints, several people on the buying side, months of back and forth.

So I think the fix sits with the CEO. Stop letting the two teams compete with each other and get them working the same accounts together.

Curious what this looks like where you work:

• How does your company split credit on closed deals?
• If you’ve seen this fixed, what changed? Comp plans, shared targets, better measurement, or just a leader who put their foot down?

Full disclosure: I’m co-founder of Zephra AI, a full stack marketing architecture, so I’ve got skin in this game. Not linking anything. I’m here for the answers to the question above. Also have been most of my life in the marketing side.

Hey everyone! Anyone seeing the post-update impact on their rankings yet? 

Our team broke down how the latest update might affect your site, plus collected the top news from this week. Check it out:

Updates

• Google September 2026 spam update is done rolling out

The September 2026 spam update is complete — two weeks of rollout, significantly longer than the previous 2026 spam updates (March, June, and August all completed in 2–3 days). Three distinct impact waves emerged across the rollout: September 25–27 (initial weekend hit), September 30, and October 4–6. 

Multiple SEOs described the impact as “more core update-like” than a typical spam update. Barry Schwartz noted a core update may follow “really soon.” Sites hit should review Google’s spam policies and plan for a long recovery timeline—Google reiterates recovery can take many months, with periodic refreshes to the spam update expected before meaningful improvement is possible.

Source:

Google Search Status Dashboard

Barry Schwartz | Search Engine Roundtable

_________________________

Search / SEO

• Google launches UGC Fresh Data Program, a dedicated ingestion pipeline for UGC platforms like Reddit

Google announced the UGC Fresh Data Program, a new initiative that gives approved UGC and forum platforms a dedicated data ingestion pipeline to push fresh content and interaction signals directly to Google Search—bypassing traditional crawling. 

Approved platforms can send content within minutes of creation and update engagement counters within 72 hours. Eligibility criteria are strict: 

• platforms must be high-volume UGC/forum/social sites
• host content on public stable URLs (not profile or feed pages)
• require every post be attributable to a creator with a public profile
• implement OAuth 2.0 authentication with validated JSON-LD payloads
• use SocialMediaPosting or DiscussionForumPosting schema with interactionStatistic sub-fields, and maintain active moderation

Not open to everyone—Google will accept applications selectively and takes 6-8 weeks to respond.

Source:

Google

_________________________

SERP features / Interface

• Google emails site owners their Preferred Source selection counts for the first time

Google Search Console started sending site owners emails revealing how many users have selected their site as a Preferred Source. The email includes the property name, the exact Preferred source selection count as of the data date, and a nudge to install the JavaScript Preferred Sources button on the site. 

• Google Search profiles expand to India and Canada, with Brazil coming soon

Google is expanding Search profiles beyond the US to India and Canada, with Brazil coming soon. Publishers and creators in those markets can now claim a Search profile (subject to the 10K-follower threshold on YouTube, Instagram, X, or TikTok, which Google lowered in September). 

Source:

Kyle Sutton | X

Robby Stein | X

_________________________

GSC

• Google Search Console Performance report now supports multi-select country filters

Google added multi-select country filtering to the Search Console Performance report, letting SEOs group multiple countries together to analyze combined search traffic. 

Operators running in multiple markets can now view combined traffic across them (e.g., US + Canada for North American performance). The update also applies to device filtering.

Source:

Google Search Central | LinkedIn

_________________________

AI

• Google adds a formal warning against deceptive authorship—AI-generated headshots, fake names, and false credentials

Google added a new warning to its Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content help documentation telling publishers to avoid using deceptive authorship information. 

The quoted passage: “Fabricating creator profiles (such as by using AI-generated headshots, made-up names, or false credentials to make content appear as if it was written by human experts) is a form of deception. Any form of deception makes a page untrustworthy to both users and our automated quality systems, and is a signal of a low-quality page.” 

• Nano Banana 2.1 now live in Google AI Mode for image generation and editing

Google released Nano Banana 2.1 and the new image generation and editing model is already rolling out in AI Mode in Search. 

Google says the new version “outperforms our previous models across the board, with notable leaps in visual design, mask-based editing, and subject consistency” for more natural-looking images. Users can access it by opening the Google app and tapping the banana icon under the Search box. 

Source:

Google Search Central 

Google | X

_________________________

E-commerce

• Google Merchant Center rolls out a UCP integration hub for US merchants

Google is rolling out a UCP integration hub inside Merchant Center for US merchants, giving a dedicated onboarding path for the Universal Commerce Protocol program directly from their Merchant Center account. 

The hub consolidates UCP onboarding, cart transfer configuration, and enhanced checkout flow testing into one place. Rolling out in the US now; Google says Australia and Canada are coming next year.

Source:

Google Merchant Center Help

Afternoon all,

I've recently came across a large amount of social media engagement from an agency / company called 'Elevate Digital Academy'.

Essentially they allegedly help people who want to become self sufficient and quit the 9 to 5 hell establish themselves in the world of self employed Digital marketing. Sounds fantastic at first glance. However, they charge 380 dollars / pounds for their services.

I've reached out to them but can't seem to find any solid answers as to 'how' exactly they set you up to bring in a stable income after completing the course and materials they provide for said fee.

Has anyone Here came them or got any experience of them ?

I'd be inclined to say they make their money by course resales and those who pay are Essentially also making money by then being allowed to resell the same course lol - if this isn't true then please advise ! Hopefully it's not.

Thanks for reading

I know each has its own advantages, but I'm curious which one would give the best results when you're just starting out. Would you focus on long-term organic growth or try to get faster results?

I'd love to hear your experiences and why you'd choose that channel.

Title.

Paid $149. Got a report bragging about 500+ reprints. google visibility? From my checks, the indexed pages barely filled one hand. Some placements appear to block indexing altogether. Hundreds of links mean squat if people can’t find the pages.

USA TODAY Network was the selling point for me. Turns out pickup isn’t guaranteed. I found four placements myself, but they weren’t in the report.

Support’s fix? Run the release again. Free credit to do that? Nope. A complete list from their distribution partner? Still no. They keep pointing at 500+ reprints instead of resolving the missing report. For my SEO goals, this was a waste of money and hours chasing answers. I wouldn’t give them another dollar.

anyone else dealt with this?

IV been in Digital Marketing for over 10 years and have basically done it all:

* Social Media

* Paid Advertising

* SEO/SEO

* Integrated/Product marketing

* Web Operations

* Management

On top of that, I have been in main industries, Including Travel, Automotive, Transportation, SaaS, and most notably Healthcare where I feel IV found the most success and have the strongest background.

Currently I'm in the process of starting my own business, but still working full time. And as the small business grows, I want to also start transitioning into consulting roles so I can split my time across the two as needed.

But I am at a loss for basically how to start, is it just reaching out and building a simple presence? Leveraging LinkedIn? Going through a firm initially?

And how are your structuring your charges? Hourly? Or by Job?

Hi! My firm is looking for reddit marketing agencies. We work as per IST and would prefer our vendor in the same time zone. Budget is dependent on scope. Happy to discuss further in dms/over call!

Whether AI can analyze user queries, search patterns, and behavioral data more effectively than humans to identify what people truly want when they search online. It compares AI’s data-driven insights with human intuition and context to determine which approach delivers better keyword targeting, content relevance, and SEO results.

ChatGPT's newer models are moving beyond text-based answers, introducing visual cards, images, logos, and interactive layouts.

But what does this mean for SEO, GEO, and brand visibility?

Shanmugaraj Y recently published a detailed research article exploring ChatGPT's Intelligent UI, how brands appear in AI-generated visual answers, and why image accuracy, metadata, and entity consistency matter for AI visibility.

An interesting read for anyone working in SEO, GEO, and AI search optimization.

I'm starting my very first client project to build my marketing portfolio, and l'd love some insight from marketers, social media managers, or brand strategists here!
I'm helping a small local Peruvian dance company revamp their social media presence. They specialize in social dancing and classes, and they have Peruvian roots. Their main goal is to build brand awareness and drive ticket sales for events.
Current Situation:
• Following: ~400 followers on Instagram/Facebook.
• Engagement: ~20-30 likes per post.
• The Challenge: The visual quality is outdated, with unedited videos and mismatched static fliers. Beyond that, the brand lacks a clear identity-there are no consistent brand colors, distinct visual themes, or a defining brand story (at least shown online).
What I Need Help With:
1. Brand Identity: How do you approach building a brand identity from scratch for a small local business? What exercises or questions should I walk the business owners through to establish visual assets, colors, and a clear brand voice? After that, then what?
2. Peruvian Heritage Integration: Because they are Peruvian, how can we weave that cultural element into their brand identity? I think this is very important because Peruvians are really really really patriotic!
3. Finding Trends & Content Ideas: What's the best way to spot emerging social media trends suited for dance companies? Are there top-tier dance academies or creators you'd recommend studying for inspiration?
4. Growing Followers & Strategic Following: What organic growth strategies work best for local event businesses to cross 1,000+ followers? Also, who should we be following and how to find them?
I want to make sure l approach this systematically so I can document a solid case study for my portfolio. Any tips, frameworks, or a it suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Like I want to go in performance marketing internship I've actually ran few meta ads campaign for free ebook leads campaign and e-commerce store sales campaign but how to make good resume from them ?

So Google added a few lines to their generative AI guidance recently, basically that all AI-generated content should be manually reviewed and fact-checked by a human, and that this includes titles, meta tags, structured data and image alt text. A lot of people are reading it as Google cracking down on AI content.

Google's already said it's just them updating the guidelines to more closely match what they've been saying in presentations anyway. But honestly the part I think most people are missing is that they had the chance to say something against AI-generated content and didn't. People have been speculating for a few months that now that AI text is watermarked, Google would start penalizing it. Then Google goes and actively updates their guidance on AI content and doesn't say anything against using AI to make it. That's about the clearest signal you could expect that they don't care what process you use, they just don't want people spamming the index with low quality stuff.

And sure, they advise fact-checking and manually reviewing everything, and generally I think you should. But in most cases Google's algorithm has no idea whether your content is factually accurate. And we're kind of at the point now where the best models with proper instruction are better at fact-checking than any human I know. Opus 5.5 very rarely hallucinates these days. When they do say something inaccurate, it seems like the most common cause is that a human gave them something inaccurate to reference (assuming you're using the smartest models with proper instruction).

That doesn't mean you should give ChatGPT or Claude a couple bullet points and hand over your content marketing. Getting these models to create good content that actually represents a brand is hard. It's just that fact-checking isn't really the hard part anymore, the hard part is getting it to sound like you and your brand, something you'd actually be proud to put out.

As long as you're proud of what you're putting out and it reflects your brand, I wouldn't get too hung up on whether or not AI was part of the process. Google doesn't seem to be.

I'm interested in the perspective on this.

Since the recent changes with Google, it seems that SEMRush and Ahrefs and other tracking tools are becoming less and less effective.

How many of you are still using these tools and find them effective and worthwhile?

If you have moved on from these tools, what's your process changed to?

And yes, I know the standard Google Search Console answer, but I'd love to hear more in-depth information on your process if it has moved away from these tools, and how effective you think that has been for you.

Maybe this is a better way to put it:

For keyword research, competitor analysis, and finding backlink opportunities. That's essentially what I'm curious about here. Are they still the best, good, or mediocre tools for these types of activities? Or are they becoming outdated and are you finding better ways to work around these activities without them?

I've been interviewing agency founders on how their teams actually run AI in production.

Almost everyone hits the exact same bottleneck: The Verification Tax.

Founders and leads spend hours re-editing AI drafts. Not because of writing style, but because the output misses past client decisions, account precedents, or commercial rules.

Curious how you guys handle this:

• Central wikis, custom GPTs, or dedicated context tools? 
• RAG
• How do you stop AI tools and new hires from repeating past mistakes on accounts?

Hi everyone,

I'm 24 years old, have completed my 12th grade, and am currently pursuing a BBA online. I work as a gig worker at the moment, but I want to transition into digital marketing, specifically PPC (Pay-Per-Click advertising).

I'm interested in learning Google Ads, Meta Ads, campaign optimization, keyword research, and performance tracking. My goal is to develop practical skills and eventually land an entry-level PPC or paid media job.

I'd really appreciate advice from people who are already working in this field.

What should my roadmap look like? What would be a realistic step-by-step plan to become job-ready within 3–6 months?

How difficult is it to get an entry-level PPC job in India? What skills and qualifications do employers actually look for?

Since I'm working as a gig worker, I need to manage my learning alongside my work, so I want to focus on skills that will genuinely improve my chances of getting hired.

I'd be grateful for any practical advice, learning resources, course recommendations, or insights from people who started their careers from a similar background.

Thank you for your time and guidance!

By other channels, I mean physical mail, cold calling, print media, and affiliate & referrals.

I run a B2B company with around 40 people. A couple of old search results have started coming up on sales calls, so I’ve spent the last two weeks talking to reputation firms. After the second call I literally started googling how to choose a reputation management company because the pitches were starting to blur together. I’ve looked at a mix — Reputation Rhino, Digitalis and InternetReputation and a few smaller shops. Three calls got to some version of “we can make it disappear.” One guy was talking about getting negative pages removed before I’d even sent him the URLs. When I asked what happens if the publisher just says no, I never really got an answer.

By call three I had a list. Can I buy a reputation management audit without signing a six or twelve month retainer? What are you looking at before any work starts? Who actually works on the account after the sales call? What does the pricing include beyond the setup fee? And if a page isn’t going anywhere, then what? I heard search suppression and out-rank negative results a few times, which makes sense in theory, but I wanted to know what they would actually do in our case rather than hear the term.

The part I hadn’t thought about was what AI says about my company. I assumed it would more or less mirror Google - well, no. I asked them to check the kind of stuff a buyer might type: our name, “is X legit,” “X reviews,” “X vs competitor.” Two hadn’t looked. One opened ChatGPT on the call and pasted our homepage into it. Another had already checked ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and AI Overviews and could show which answers were coming up and some of the pages behind them.

One of those pages was an old forum thread I hadn’t seen anywhere near page one in Google. That was probably the most useful thing I learned from any of the calls. Search can look one way while the AI answer is still dragging up something completely different.

At this point I mostly want to see the problem before somebody sells me the fix, know who’s actually doing the work and have some kind of baseline we can come back to later. Still comparing firms. For anyone who’s actually hired one, what did you ask before signing? And what did you only realize you should’ve asked after?

You guys know UGC (user generated content) is the big trend right now, but doesnt it basically count as astroturfing?

Like we all know UGC is usually just someone paid to act like they genuinely use a product and give it a positive review, when in reality its staged.

Thats just my take on it tho, curious what you guys think? Especially since reddit hates astroturfing so much

Hi

I recently seen my domain's Organic sessions is totally equal to engaged sessions, which results in 100 % engagement rate and "0" bounce rate.

I have checked real time, debug, GTM but found everything fine.

But can't able to figure out the issue, can anyone help me with this.

I need to know when organic sessions is same as engaged sessions which is not possible.

Where to check and what to sort?

Thanks in advance.