In 2025, search is changing faster than ever. With the introduction of AI Overviews, ChatGPT and more, it is imperative that marketers adapt their content to appear on the AI driven search page so they don’t get lost in the shuffle. This is especially important for local businesses who thrive on appearing high on local searches to attract customers to their business. In this article, we will discuss how AI is reshaping local search visibility in 2025 and how to stay ahead of the pack.

Discovery in Local AI Search

In order for your content to be found in LLMs and on AI dominated searches it is imperative that marketers adapt their content for AI models. There are a number of recommended strategies that can be used to enhance local search performance through AI.

• Audit search and LLM – Auditing the content that is appearing in AI searches and Large language models, such as ChatGPT, allows marketers to adapt their content to meet the needs of the audience (and AI) for their specific search queries by understanding what is already working and following suite.

• Optimise local listings – Optimising your local listings and make sure they are up to date with relevant NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information has always been important in local search and remains imperative in the AI era. There are several local listings you can claim including Google Business Profile, Apple Maps and Bing Places. Google’s AI mode uses Google Business Profile data when generating responses, as well as links to your profile or website which is helpful for generating increased traffic levels.

• Local Business Markup – Local business markup is a type of schema (structured data that helps explain your web page to search engines) provides AI Overviews with valuable data about your business like your NAP information that are displayed in your local listings.

• Online Reviews – Reviews are crucial for getting your business into AI overviews. If users ask search engines for recommendations for local businesses e.g. best local restaurant in my area, AI overviews will rely heavily on reviews to formulate to understand the quality of local services. Encouraging your users to leave reviews can be an important step to gaining more customers who see reviews as a credible source of information.

What does this mean for marketers

Many of the tips for appearing high in local searches remain consistent with what was seen before the introduction of AI Overviews such as optimising local listings, employing schema markup and using online reviews, as AI also uses these functionalities to understand the reputation of a website. However, it is very important for marketers wanting to expand their customer base for local businesses in today’s AI dominated world to continually monitor the content being produced by search engines and LLMs for local queries and adjusting or creating new content to reflect this.

Google could soon face new rules in the UK that may change how businesses appear in search results and how digital ads are bought and displayed, particularly as AI becomes a bigger part of search.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which ensures fair competition between businesses, is investigating how Google runs its Search and Advertising services. Their main focus is on Google’s new AI-powered search features, which often show AI-generated answers instead of a list of website links.

The CMA has raised concerns about:

• Whether Google is ranking websites fairly in search results
• High costs for advertising on Google Search
• Use of other websites’ content in AI-generated summaries without clear permission

To deal with this, the CMA is considering giving Google a label called Strategic Market Status (SMS). If applied, this status would allow the CMA to enforce specific rules on Google without needing to prove the company has broken competition laws.

This status would apply to Google’s AI search features, although not to Gemini, its AI assistant tool.

Why this matters for digital marketers

If Google is given this new status, it could lead to:

• Changes in how ads are placed and displayed in search results
• Shifts in how visible your website or content is on Google, especially when AI summaries appear instead of traditional links
• Potential changes in ad pricing, which could impact your digital marketing budget

These changes could increase competition in the search market, which may benefit smaller businesses. However, they may also bring new compliance issues and require updates to your marketing strategies.

What Google is saying

Google has criticised the CMA’s proposals, calling them too broad and unfocused. The company warned that unclear rules could get in the way of progress in AI development.

“Evidence-based regulation will be essential to avoid turning a roadmap into a roadblock,” Google said.

What’s next

The CMA’s current review ends on 13 October 2025. If they move forward, a second, more in-depth phase will begin in early 2026. This next stage could look at other areas of Google’s business, such as:

• Its dominance in the ad market
• How it works with publishers
• How it treats rival search engines

If your work relies on Google ads or organic search traffic, it’s worth keeping an eye on these developments.

Whether you’re emerging into your first marketing role or you’re hopping onto a client/agency meeting, you’re bound to hear some acronyms being thrown around. With so many marketing long-tailed terms, we’ve found ways to abbreviate and simplify. But as a marketer, it’s easy to forget just how unfamiliar all these terms are when you first hear them.

This is your go-to marketing dictionary, where we’ll delve into all the key terms you’ll need to know so you’re armed with all the marketing jargon for your next meeting!

A-Z Marketing Acronyms

A/B Testing

A/B testing is a method used in marketing to test two versions of a piece of work to see which performs better. This can be for ad campaigns or establishing the best user interface for your website.

ARPU

Average revenue per user is the revenue a business makes from a single individual. This can be calculated by dividing the total revenue by the number of users (within a set time frame).

B2B

B2B is the abbreviation of business-to-business- it just keeps it short and sweet. A great example of a B2B business is ourselves, as we don’t work directly with our clients’ customers, but rather support the business in their marketing efforts to optimise the experience for users.

B2C

B2C stands for business-to-customer; unlike business-to-business, this is direct communication with the customer/audience.

BR

BR, or bounce rate, is the volume of users who leave after viewing a page. It’s an incredibly important metric for understanding audience engagement. To calculate it, you’ll need to divide the number of single-page sessions by the overall total of sessions.

CAC

CAC stands for customer acquisition cost- another incredibly valuable metric to gain insight into how much of your budget is spent on drawing in an audience. This is done by dividing the budget for a specific period by the number of new users.

CPC

Cost-per-click is a more common term used for paid advertising, whether that online advertising via search engines or through paid advertising on social channels. Simply divide the number of clicks by the overall cost to determine the cost per click.

CPM

CPM is abbreviated from cost per mille (thousand).

CPV

Cost per view which can be calculated by dividing the total advertising cost by the number of views.

CRO

CRO is a shortened form of conversion rate optimisation, a term used to describe you optimising your site, content or campaign in order to maximise the amount of conversions.

CTA

A CTA is a call to action, which is language used in content or on buttons which are there to encourage your audience/customer to take action.

GA/GA4

GA4 is just an abbreviation of Google Analytics 4, Google’s most recent analytical platform used to track performance.

GDPR

General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, is the protocol and regulations a business must follow to keep its customers’ data safe and ensure it is used legally.

KPI

A KPI is a key performance indicator. We set these in marketing in order to measure the success of our performance. We assign specific metric values as a reference point to compare and analyse against the actual performance.

PPC

Pay-per-click is the term coined for digital advertising and how much it costs to have their ad clicked.

ROI

ROI is an acronym for return on investment, which analyses the performance profitability. Return on Investment equals (Revenue generated from marketing minus the cost of marketing), divided by the cost of marketing, then multiplied by 100 to get a percentage.

ROAS

Return on ad spend defines the overall money made back from the money spent on an ad campaign. To find your ROAS metric, divide the revenue generated by the overall cost of the ad.

SEO

SEO is a classic marketing term; it stands for search engine optimisation. Search engine optimisation looks to optimise your website performance through technical and content optimisations to create a better opportunity of displaying on the search engine results page.

SERP

SERP is a search engine results page. This is the content list you see when you are exploring the internet, on a search engine. When we talk about the SERP, it’s typically in reference to the overall ranking on the results page and where your website is being positioned as recommended.

UGC

User-generated content, or UGC, is content that the customer created about your product or service (without you collaborating or sponsoring them).

UI

UI is the acronym for user interface, a term used to describe how a customer sees your website. I.e. web elements, visual/ design elements and auditory components.

UX

UX is user experience. When we discuss the user experience, it is about the enjoyment and ease of use of your website.

Final Thoughts

Marketing acronyms can feel like an entirely new language when you’re first getting started, but now, you’ve got the cheat sheet. Whether you’re building your first campaign, sitting in on a client call, or brushing up on industry lingo, this dictionary is your go-to reference for demystifying the jargon. The more fluent you become, the more confidently you’ll navigate conversations, strategies, and results.

Keep this glossary handy, and you’ll be speaking marketing like a pro in no time.

Content marketing is just one element of a strong marketing strategy; it wields the content your business puts out to promote success.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing utilises the content your business creates to attract and retain an audience, to encourage profitable actions, typically purchasing your product or service. You achieve this by producing content that offers value to the reader, whether through education or entertainment.

Is content marketing important to business strategy?

Absolutely. Content marketing is a vital element of a well-rounded marketing strategy. Creating content without purpose is ineffective—it should always serve a clear objective aligned with your business goals. Here are some key benefits of content marketing:

• Improve your online authority
• Expand your audience
• Build trust with your audience
• Increase website traffic
• Boost leads and sales
• Support your SEO efforts

Does content marketing overlap with SEO?

Yes, particularly with on-page SEO. While technical SEO ensures your website functions properly and offers a positive user experience, on-page SEO involves optimising the structure and content of individual pages to help them rank in search results.

Content that is well-optimised not only performs better in search engines but is also more structured, digestible, and valuable for your audience. For instance, keyword research—a core SEO task—can guide the topics and language used in your content to ensure it ranks for terms your audience is searching for.

How to set goals and create a content strategy?

You can build an effective content strategy by breaking the process into manageable steps:

1. Identify your target audience.
2. Outline your goals. Use SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound).
3. Set key performance indicators (KPIs). These help you track and measure your success.
4. Determine content formats and types. Use competitor research and testing to see what resonates.
5. Choose content distribution channels. Think beyond blogs—can your content be adapted for TikTok or Instagram?
6. Set your budget. Factor in both time and financial resources.
7. Create a content plan. Schedule content, plan types, and structure it to support performance analysis.
8. Create and publish. Ensure content quality through thorough checks before going live.
9. Incorporate content analysis into your long-term strategy. Use insights to refine and evolve your approach.

How do I analyse my content performance?

Performance analysis begins with your KPIs and goals. Use tools like Google Analytics 4 to track metrics such as:

• Page views
• Engagement rate (time spent, comments, likes, shares)
• Conversions or sign-ups

Compare each piece of content against your KPIs. Identify what performed well and what didn’t. Then, evaluate why: was it the format, the message, or the platform? Use this insight to guide future content creation and continually improve your strategy.

Google is rolling out a powerful new AI video tool called Veo 3 on YouTube Shorts later this summer – and it could completely change how marketers and creators make short-form videos.

What is Veo 3?

Veo 3 is an AI tool that creates short videos from just a few lines of text. Instead of filming, editing, or hiring a production team, all you need to do is type in what you want the video to show and Veo 3 will generate the visuals and even sound for you.

This is a step up from Google’s previous experiments with AI tools like Dream Screen. Veo 3 aims to deliver full videos with high production value, created entirely from a written prompt.

Why does this matter to digital marketers?

Faster content creation: Marketers can now generate engaging, short video ads or brand content without needing a camera or editor.

• Lower costs: This makes video creation far more accessible for small teams or brands with limited budgets.
• More experimentation: You can test more creative ideas quickly, since you’re not tied to expensive or time-consuming production processes.
• In short: it could revolutionise how branded content is made on YouTube Shorts, giving even smaller brands the chance to compete creatively.

What are the risks?

While the tech is exciting, there are concerns:

• The Shorts feed may get overcrowded with AI-generated content, making it harder for authentic, high-quality videos to stand out.
• There’s a risk of low-effort or misleading content being created at scale.
• Some creators worry about being pushed out, as AI videos take up more space and attention on the platform.

To address some of these concerns, YouTube is developing a “likeness protection” tool in partnership with talent agency CAA, to help protect creators and public figures from having their image used without permission.

What does this mean for the future?

Veo 3 has the potential to open the doors for more brands and voices to join the Shorts space — but it also raises serious questions about content quality, originality, and trust.

As a marketer, this means:

• AI video content might become the norm so thinking about how your brand maintains authenticity and quality will be key.
• You may need to adjust your creative strategy as the content landscape shifts.
• Keeping up with YouTube’s algorithm and evolving rules around AI-generated content will be essential to staying competitive.

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan described Veo 3 as a way for “anyone with a voice” to reach an audience. For marketers, it’s a powerful opportunity but one that comes with the responsibility to use it thoughtfully.

Meta has confirmed that WhatsApp—one of the world’s most popular messaging apps—is set to introduce advertising in its Status feature, similar to Instagram Stories. This marks a major shift for the app, which has long prided itself on being ad-free and focused on private, encrypted messaging.

What’s Changing and Why It Matters

From a digital marketing perspective, this update introduces a new, high-engagement channel. WhatsApp’s Status—where users share photos, videos, and text that disappear after 24 hours—is already heavily used in markets across Latin America, India, and parts of Europe. Adding ads here gives brands the chance to reach new audiences in a more personal, less saturated environment.

Challenges for Advertisers

However, this won’t be without its hurdles. WhatsApp is a platform built on trust and privacy, and many users may push back against ads entering that space. There are also technical limitations: end-to-end encryption means Meta can’t offer the same level of ad targeting as on Instagram or Facebook. This could limit how personalised or relevant these ads feel.

An Opportunity to Reach People Differently

Still, this change represents a real opportunity. As user data becomes harder to access and track due to growing privacy regulations, marketers are looking for new, high-attention environments. WhatsApp Status could become just that—a way to get in front of users without interrupting their main messaging experience.

What Brands Should Do Next

For businesses, especially those with international reach or strong brand storytelling, WhatsApp Status ads could be a useful tool to build awareness. But the key will be subtlety and relevance—ads here should feel native, valuable, and respectful of the user’s space.

Final Thoughts

This move is both a challenge and an opportunity. It tests how far users are willing to accept advertising in their private apps—but it also gives brands a rare chance to engage audiences in a new way. The smartest marketers will proceed carefully and lead with value, not noise.

How AI is shaping online productivity

AI is rapidly changing the way we work online in the digital age. From transforming workflows to streamlining tasks and enhancing productivity, users are engaging with AI more than ever before. In this article we dive into how users are engaging with AI.

How is AI being used?

Mobile search currently dominates web traffic, with latest figures suggesting over 63% of web traffic is coming from mobile. Despite this, as stated by Search Engine Land’s latest article over 90% of AI search traffic comes from desktop.

This is likely because AI is mainly being used for providing detail and information for people who are using it to enhance performance during the working day, thus the high percentage of desktop users. When searching on mobile, users are still largely using Google to answer their queries, whether this be informational or transactional queries. 8.5 billion searches are accounted for on Google daily, whereas ChatGPT has around 600 million monthly active users according to recent data.

How marketers can use AI day-to-day

There are a number of tasks AI can assist with to help digital marketers improve workplace performance.

• Creativity and Content Creation AI can be used to inspire creativity and generate content ideas. However, it is important marketers don’t simply let AI start producing their content for them, as Google can see this taking place and penalises sites that rely heavily on AI-generated content potentially negatively affecting search rankings.

• Automation of tasks AI can be used to automate certain repetitive tasks, such as automating emails, data entry and even summarising meeting notes. This helps to save time and let marketers focus on more time-consuming or creatively demanding tasks.

• Instructional Guide Ever been given a task at work that you’ve got stuck with, perhaps you’ve been given a task you haven’t done in a while that you have forgotten how to do, or you have been asked to try out something new for the first time. Asking AI, such as ChatGPT, how to complete a task and it will give you a comprehensive guide detailing all the steps you should take.

As AI continues to evolve and change the way we work, it’s important for marketers to make sure they are using AI in the right way to collaborate and automate to improve their workplace performance. Digital Marketers should still rely on their own human elements of creativity, not overusing AI to create content which could be detrimental if Google sees them to be abusing it.

As YouTube experiments with a new ad format — 30-second non-skippable ads in standard campaigns — marketers and brands alike should take note. This update could reshape how we use the platform, opening up premium ad inventory that was previously harder to access. But is it right for your brand?

Here’s what you need to know.

Why This Change Matters

Until now, 30-second non-skippable ads on YouTube were mainly reserved for high-budget, upfront “reservation” buys — limiting access to brands with long lead times and deep pockets. This test changes that. YouTube is now making this format available through standard auction-based campaigns, giving advertisers more flexibility and control.

These longer ad slots give brands more space to tell a story and make an impact, without the viewer being able to skip. It’s a format traditionally seen during premium TV-style placements — and now, potentially available to more advertisers through everyday campaigns.

YouTube’s Growing Role in the Media Mix

YouTube isn’t just a video platform — it’s a key player in the digital advertising ecosystem. With over 2 billion logged-in users every month and growing viewership on connected TVs, YouTube ads have become a go-to for brand awareness, product discovery, and even conversions.

In many of our client strategies, YouTube fills the gap between top-of-funnel attention and mid-funnel engagement. It’s highly targetable, increasingly measurable, and trusted by users. This new ad format simply adds another tool to the kit — one that brings the impact of longer-form video into more accessible campaigns.

Making Non-Skippable Ads Work

That said, non-skippable doesn’t mean guaranteed success. In fact, it raises the stakes. If a viewer is required to watch your ad, the creative has to hold attention and deliver value from the first second to the last.

This isn’t about louder ads — it’s about smarter ones. Clear messaging, audience relevance, and emotionally engaging content are critical. For brands that get it right, this format could be a powerful way to cut through the noise and make a lasting impression.

Since its debut, ChatGPT has captured the imagination and clicks of businesses and consumers. Roughly 79 per cent of all visits to generative AI chatbots still flow to ChatGPT, down from 87.5 per cent six months ago. Its ease of integration into everyday workflows means teams rarely look elsewhere. Key reasons for its dominance include:

• Ease of use across content calendars and support desks
• Seamless integrations with tools like Slack and WordPress
• Strong brand recognition – “ChatGPT” is almost synonymous with AI writing

Despite a slight dip, daily visits remain in the quarter-million range, confirming that once ChatGPT becomes part of your routine, it’s hard to displace.

Google’s AI: steady gains

If ChatGPT has been the hare, Google’s AI offerings – including Bard and AI-powered Search – have taken the tortoise approach. In the past six months, Google’s share rose from around 5 per cent to 8 per cent. AI results now surface directly within search pages, and organisations tied into Google Workspace can pilot Bard for internal Q&A or brainstorming without juggling extra logins.

What is the future of Google AI?

As Google cements its AI foothold, we can expect deeper integration and more powerful capabilities across its products:

• Search evolution: AI snapshots will become richer and more interactive, blending text, images and video summaries right on the results page
• Workspace enhancements: smarter compose and draft-generation tools will expand beyond Gmail and Docs into Sheets, Slides and Meet
• Enterprise push: Vertex AI and related platforms will make it easier for businesses to build custom generative solutions without heavy infrastructure
• Marketing tools: expect AI-driven ad creative suggestions, automated SEO audits and real-time analytics insights baked into Ads and Analytics

For marketers, this means preparing content not just for classic search but for AI-powered answer boxes and collaborative drafting experiences in Google’s ecosystem.

DeepSeek: a moment in the sun

DeepSeek rocketed to an 8.1 per cent share three months ago before settling back to 5.3 per cent. Its focused research interface won favour with B2B teams hunting data points and white papers. While some users have drifted back to the giants, DeepSeek’s breakout quarter shows clear appetite for specialised tools.

The long tail of challengers

X’s Grok peaked at 2.7 per cent and now sits at around 2.1 per cent, while Perplexity and Anthropic’s Claude each hold roughly 1–2 per cent. These platforms serve niche use cases such as coding support or privacy-focused chat sessions. They may not move the needle for mainstream campaigns, but are worth tracking for experimental initiatives.

More people than ever are turning to AI chatbots. Daily visits climbed from 212,900 on 28 March to 252,300 by 6 June 2025, a rise of about 18 per cent in just over two months. This growing audience is comfortable talking to AI and engaging with AI-driven features throughout their customer journeys.

What marketers should do now

• Continue using ChatGPT for rapid drafts, social media copy and brainstorming
• Optimise content for AI-driven search by structuring FAQs and product pages for chat-style snippets
• Pilot integrations with Google’s AI and challengers such as DeepSeek or Grok to compare lead quality
• Tag AI referrals in analytics so you can track which chatbot sources deliver genuine traffic, leads and sales

Balancing the dependable power of ChatGPT with early experiments on rising rivals will keep your marketing fresh and effective in this rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Data provided by https://www.similarweb.com/corp/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/attachment-Global-AI-Tracker.pdf

Your website isn’t just a brochure

We recognise the common misconception that a website is that it doesn’t need to be frequently updated with content in order to deliver for the audience. However, that’s just untrue. Yes, a business’s website should absolutely include information regarding the services or products they sell, but it also needs to offer value beyond that.

A website needs to serve its users but also evolve with them in order to retain them. This can be through taking part in trends, creating content optimised for search engines, to add additional value and keep customers returning.

Fresh Content Signals to Google That Your Site Is Active

Search engines tend to favour websites that are regularly updated with fresh and valuable content. Google, for instance, will actually have a preference in how ‘fresh’ content is, depending on how timely the subject matter being handled is. A few examples of timely content include news articles, studies and trends.

This is a consideration that needs to be made when creating content. Having an appreciation for Google’s tendency to favour fresher content for its results, allows you to better strategies how to keep content fresh. If your competitor updates their blog monthly and you haven’t touched your site in 2 years, guess whose site gets crawled more often?

Updated Content Builds Trust with Visitors

It’s apparent when content is dated, whether that’s due to price changes that aren’t reflected in the content, or specific times are included in the content that date it.

Fresh content reinforces the impression that the reader gets, which is that it’s professional, demonstrating an attention to detail, and that your content is relevant. This is especially important in industries like beauty, healthcare, and dentistry, where trust and credibility are key.

Your customer’s questions and concerns will always evolve, which creates an opportunity to constantly make new, useful and fresh content that builds trust with the audience. So even if your services stay the same, your customers’ needs and search habits shift.

There are a handful of instances where content will need to be updated, some examples of this include changing regulations in various industries, any aftercare advice, or seasonal new treatments and industry trends.

Blogging Isn’t Just for SEO — It Shows You’re an Expert

Whilst blogging does serve your business’s SEO needs, it should also showcase your business’s understanding and expertise. Tap into this, create content that demonstrates that level of expertise, whether that’s giving a behind-the-scenes look into a process, sharing case studies, or partaking in client interviews.

Having an active website can do a lot of work for your business; having a dormant site can negatively impact performance and your audience’s trust. Need help identifying where your site content could use a refresh? Let’s review it together!