Search Engine Marketing

HubSpot rebrands its flagship conference from Inbound to Unbound

If you shelved your inbound strategy this past year, you can shelve your Inbound conference mugs and swag with it. HubSpot renamed its annual Inbound conference in Boston this September to Unbound. A note on the event site explains the thinking: “This evolution is our response to that reality. INBOUND is becoming UNBOUND because growth […]

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AI bot traffic surged 300%, hitting publishers hardest: Report

AI bot activity surged 300% in 2025, with media and publishing among the most targeted sectors, according to a new Akamai report. Why we care. AI bots are reshaping how content is discovered and consumed, shifting users from search clicks to instant answers in chat interfaces. Publishers are seeing fewer visits from organic search and

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Google tests swipeable location carousel in search ads

Google may be making local search ads more interactive, potentially changing how advertisers showcase multiple locations and capture nearby demand. What’s happening. Google Ads appears to be testing a new format that displays multiple business locations in a swipeable carousel within search ads, allowing users to browse options directly in the ad unit. How it

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Google launches developer hub for ads and measurement tools

Google is consolidating its advertising and measurement resources into a single destination, aiming to make it easier for developers and technical marketers to build, automate and scale campaigns. What’s happening. Google has introduced a new Advertising and Measurement Developers Hub, a centralized site designed to help users access tools, documentation and support across its ad

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Audit your agency: 6 questions to find a true growth partner

Most agencies present prospective clients with an account audit as part of their sales process. The purpose is twofold:  To provide immediate value (usually without strings attached). To demonstrate that they know their stuff. But how often do brand marketers turn the tables and audit their agencies in their RFP? I’m the head of performance

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Google rolls out onboarding guide for Universal Commerce Protocol

Google is laying the groundwork for “agentic commerce,” where users can complete purchases directly inside AI-driven search experiences. What’s happening. Google has published a new onboarding guide for its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) in Merchant Center, outlining how merchants can integrate with the system and enable checkout directly from product listings in AI Mode and

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Meta simplifies Pixel setup with official Google Tag Manager template

Meta Platforms is making it easier for advertisers to implement tracking, reducing technical friction for teams running campaigns across platforms. What’s happening. Meta released an official Pixel template inside Google Tag Manager, replacing the need for third-party or community-built workarounds. How it works. The new template allows advertisers to reuse their existing GA4 dataLayer, meaning

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