<div><img width="1600" height="900" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/PLTP-Image.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/PLTP-Image.png 1600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/PLTP-Image-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/PLTP-Image-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></div>PPC automation expert Nils Rooijmans shares how dismissing Google's consent mode warnings as routine noise led to zero conversions and plummeting traffic.

<div><img width="1600" height="900" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/PLTP-Image.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/PLTP-Image.png 1600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/PLTP-Image-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/PLTP-Image-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></div>
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<p>On episode 333 of PPC Live The Podcast, I speak to Nils Rooijmans, a renowned Google Ads script expert and top 10 PPC influencer, where she shares the experience of a costly error that serves as a valuable lesson for anyone managing paid search campaigns.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-setup-a-quick-account-onboarding-gone-wrong">The Setup: A quick account onboarding gone wrong</h2>



<p>The trouble began when one of Rooijmans&#8217; existing clients acquired another company in the airport parking services industry. The acquired company was already running a small Google Ads account, and the client wanted Rooijmans to manage it without paying additional fees for proper onboarding.</p>



<p>Against his better judgment, Rooijmans agreed to a compromise: they would slowly migrate the new account to their existing setup over time. The new account would be left largely unmonitored during this transition period.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-fatal-mistake-ignoring-google-s-warnings">The fatal mistake: Ignoring Google&#8217;s warnings</h2>



<p>After six weeks of minimal attention, disaster struck. Clicks and conversions dropped dramatically, eventually falling to zero. When investigating, Rooijmans discovered that Google had sent multiple emails warning that the consent management platform wasn&#8217;t implemented correctly. The emails threatened to stop allowing conversion tracking if the issue wasn&#8217;t resolved.</p>



<p>&#8220;We were very ignorant. We didn&#8217;t read the emails from Google, and we were relatively slow in responding to the issue,&#8221; Rooijmans admitted. The result? Google stopped processing conversion tracking data for that specific domain entirely.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-cascading-effect-of-lost-conversion-data">The cascading effect of lost conversion data</h2>



<p>Without conversion data, Google&#8217;s smart bidding algorithm made a logical but devastating decision: if clicks aren&#8217;t converting, reduce CPC bids to avoid wasting budget. Traffic gradually decreased, actual conversions were still happening but going unrecorded, and the campaigns scaled down to nearly nothing.</p>



<p>The website continued to receive bookings from other sources, which initially masked the severity of the problem. By the time the issue was fully identified, significant revenue opportunities had been lost.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-root-cause-skipping-proper-onboarding">The root cause: skipping proper onboarding</h2>



<p>Through a detailed root cause analysis, Rooijmans identified the fundamental problem: allowing a client to bypass the standard onboarding process. Without proper setup, several critical safeguards were missing, including monitoring scripts for conversion tracking, assigned team members to check account emails, and standard processes for account health checks.</p>



<p>&#8220;During this root cause analysis, I always ask myself the why question five times,&#8221; Rooijmans explained. This technique, borrowed from quality management practices, helps identify the underlying cause rather than just treating symptoms.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-client-conversation-managing-expectations">The client conversation: managing expectations</h2>



<p>Breaking the news to the client proved complicated. The business owner, Rooijmans&#8217; primary contact, was relatively understanding since ad spend had also decreased. However, a meeting with the company&#8217;s CFO took a different turn.</p>



<p>The financial executive expected compensation for the lost revenue opportunity, even though actual bookings were still occurring and not all revenue was truly lost. To maintain the relationship, Rooijmans reduced his invoice, though he noted that the client had agreed to a slower migration process with limited oversight.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-technical-fix-working-around-google-s-limitations">The technical fix: Working around Google&#8217;s limitations</h2>



<p>Fixing the conversion tracking proved surprisingly challenging. Google support couldn&#8217;t resolve the issue despite multiple contacts with different departments. The problem was technical: Google had flagged the specific domain name, returning HTTP 400 errors for all conversion tracking requests instead of the normal HTTP 200 responses.</p>



<p>The workaround involved either importing conversions from Google Analytics (GA4) or setting up new conversion tracking through the manager account. &#8220;Don&#8217;t expect any help from Google,&#8221; Rooijmans warned based on this experience.</p>



<p>In the short term, switching from smart bidding to manual CPC bidding restored traffic levels while the conversion tracking issue was being resolved.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-lessons-for-ppc-professionals">Key lessons for PPC professionals</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-never-skip-onboarding">Never skip onboarding</h3>



<p>Regardless of client pressure or budget constraints, proper account onboarding is non-negotiable. Standard processes exist for good reason and protect both the agency and the client.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monitor-conversion-tracking-religiously">Monitor conversion tracking religiously</h3>



<p>Rooijmans runs automated scripts that monitor conversions and conversion values, alerting him immediately to significant changes. In the era of smart bidding, conversion tracking is the foundation of account performance.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-don-t-be-arrogant-about-google-communications">Don&#8217;t be arrogant about Google communications</h3>



<p>While many Google emails are promotional or contain unhelpful suggestions, some contain critical compliance information. The challenge is distinguishing between noise and genuine warnings.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implement-the-fail-fast-fix-fast-culture">Implement the &#8220;Fail Fast, Fix Fast&#8221; culture</h3>



<p>When mistakes happen, the priority sequence should be: take a deep breath and assess the situation calmly, fix the immediate issue to restore performance, communicate transparently with the client, perform root cause analysis, and document learnings in a post-mortem.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-use-the-five-whys-technique">Use the five whys technique</h3>



<p>Asking &#8220;why&#8221; repeatedly helps uncover root causes rather than surface-level symptoms. This prevents the same mistake from occurring in different forms.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-additional-common-ppc-mistakes-to-avoid">Additional Common PPC Mistakes to Avoid</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-black-friday-budget-management">Black Friday budget management</h3>



<p>During high-traffic events like Black Friday, Google may spend significantly more than usual. While the platform allows spending up to twice the daily budget, exceptional circumstances can push spending even higher. Monitor spend closely during peak periods and be prepared to adjust budgets to capture opportunities.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-double-counting-conversions">Double-counting conversions</h3>



<p>One audit revealed a freelancer had set up both imported Google Analytics conversions and native Google Ads conversion tracking, both marked as primary. This inflated reported results by roughly 100%, creating unrealistic expectations that had to be carefully managed when corrected.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-a-mistake-tolerant-team-culture">Building a mistake-tolerant team culture</h2>



<p>For agencies and teams, Rooijmans recommends several practices including implementing a second pair of eyes to review all work, encouraging experimentation with clear hypotheses and measurement plans, anticipating both positive and negative outcomes before testing, and maintaining detailed documentation of lessons learned.</p>



<p>&#8220;We learn through mistakes, and that&#8217;s part of the process,&#8221; he emphasized. The key is creating systems that catch errors quickly and turn them into learning opportunities.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-bigger-picture-remote-work-and-ppc-success">The bigger picture: Remote work and PPC success</h2>



<p>Interestingly, Rooijmans credits his PPC career with enabling his digital nomad lifestyle. Working from locations like Curaçao in the Caribbean or his Amsterdam houseboat, he&#8217;s built what he calls a &#8220;10-hour PPC week&#8221; through extensive automation and systematization.</p>



<p>This lifestyle was inspired by Tim Ferriss&#8217;s &#8220;The Four Hour Work Week,&#8221; which Rooijmans discovered at a conference in 2004. The lesson? Proper systems and automation not only prevent mistakes but also create freedom.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-final-thoughts">Final thoughts</h2>



<p>Even experts who have built their careers on automation and efficiency make mistakes. The difference between a career-ending error and a learning opportunity often comes down to how quickly problems are identified, how transparently they&#8217;re communicated, and how thoroughly the root causes are addressed.</p>



<p>For PPC professionals at any level, Rooijmans&#8217; experience offers a clear reminder that shortcuts in processes eventually become obstacles to success. Whether it&#8217;s ignoring certain types of emails, skipping onboarding steps, or failing to monitor conversion tracking, these seemingly small oversights can cascade into significant problems.</p>



<p>The good news? With the right monitoring tools, clear processes, and a culture that treats mistakes as learning opportunities, even serious errors can be resolved while maintaining client relationships and professional growth.</p>


On episode 333 of PPC Live The Podcast, I speak to Nils Rooijmans, a renowned Google Ads script expert and top 10 PPC influencer, where she shares the experience of a costly error that serves as a valuable lesson for anyone managing paid search campaigns.
The Setup: A quick account onboarding gone wrong
The trouble began when one of Rooijmans’ existing clients acquired another company in the airport parking services industry. The acquired company was already running a small Google Ads account, and the client wanted Rooijmans to manage it without paying additional fees for proper onboarding.
Against his better judgment, Rooijmans agreed to a compromise: they would slowly migrate the new account to their existing setup over time. The new account would be left largely unmonitored during this transition period.
The fatal mistake: Ignoring Google’s warnings
After six weeks of minimal attention, disaster struck. Clicks and conversions dropped dramatically, eventually falling to zero. When investigating, Rooijmans discovered that Google had sent multiple emails warning that the consent management platform wasn’t implemented correctly. The emails threatened to stop allowing conversion tracking if the issue wasn’t resolved.
“We were very ignorant. We didn’t read the emails from Google, and we were relatively slow in responding to the issue,” Rooijmans admitted. The result? Google stopped processing conversion tracking data for that specific domain entirely.
The cascading effect of lost conversion data
Without conversion data, Google’s smart bidding algorithm made a logical but devastating decision: if clicks aren’t converting, reduce CPC bids to avoid wasting budget. Traffic gradually decreased, actual conversions were still happening but going unrecorded, and the campaigns scaled down to nearly nothing.
The website continued to receive bookings from other sources, which initially masked the severity of the problem. By the time the issue was fully identified, significant revenue opportunities had been lost.
The root cause: skipping proper onboarding
Through a detailed root cause analysis, Rooijmans identified the fundamental problem: allowing a client to bypass the standard onboarding process. Without proper setup, several critical safeguards were missing, including monitoring scripts for conversion tracking, assigned team members to check account emails, and standard processes for account health checks.
“During this root cause analysis, I always ask myself the why question five times,” Rooijmans explained. This technique, borrowed from quality management practices, helps identify the underlying cause rather than just treating symptoms.
The client conversation: managing expectations
Breaking the news to the client proved complicated. The business owner, Rooijmans’ primary contact, was relatively understanding since ad spend had also decreased. However, a meeting with the company’s CFO took a different turn.
The financial executive expected compensation for the lost revenue opportunity, even though actual bookings were still occurring and not all revenue was truly lost. To maintain the relationship, Rooijmans reduced his invoice, though he noted that the client had agreed to a slower migration process with limited oversight.
The technical fix: Working around Google’s limitations
Fixing the conversion tracking proved surprisingly challenging. Google support couldn’t resolve the issue despite multiple contacts with different departments. The problem was technical: Google had flagged the specific domain name, returning HTTP 400 errors for all conversion tracking requests instead of the normal HTTP 200 responses.
The workaround involved either importing conversions from Google Analytics (GA4) or setting up new conversion tracking through the manager account. “Don’t expect any help from Google,” Rooijmans warned based on this experience.
In the short term, switching from smart bidding to manual CPC bidding restored traffic levels while the conversion tracking issue was being resolved.
Key lessons for PPC professionals
Never skip onboarding
Regardless of client pressure or budget constraints, proper account onboarding is non-negotiable. Standard processes exist for good reason and protect both the agency and the client.
Monitor conversion tracking religiously
Rooijmans runs automated scripts that monitor conversions and conversion values, alerting him immediately to significant changes. In the era of smart bidding, conversion tracking is the foundation of account performance.
Don’t be arrogant about Google communications
While many Google emails are promotional or contain unhelpful suggestions, some contain critical compliance information. The challenge is distinguishing between noise and genuine warnings.
Implement the “Fail Fast, Fix Fast” culture
When mistakes happen, the priority sequence should be: take a deep breath and assess the situation calmly, fix the immediate issue to restore performance, communicate transparently with the client, perform root cause analysis, and document learnings in a post-mortem.
Use the five whys technique
Asking “why” repeatedly helps uncover root causes rather than surface-level symptoms. This prevents the same mistake from occurring in different forms.
Additional Common PPC Mistakes to Avoid
Black Friday budget management
During high-traffic events like Black Friday, Google may spend significantly more than usual. While the platform allows spending up to twice the daily budget, exceptional circumstances can push spending even higher. Monitor spend closely during peak periods and be prepared to adjust budgets to capture opportunities.
Double-counting conversions
One audit revealed a freelancer had set up both imported Google Analytics conversions and native Google Ads conversion tracking, both marked as primary. This inflated reported results by roughly 100%, creating unrealistic expectations that had to be carefully managed when corrected.
Building a mistake-tolerant team culture
For agencies and teams, Rooijmans recommends several practices including implementing a second pair of eyes to review all work, encouraging experimentation with clear hypotheses and measurement plans, anticipating both positive and negative outcomes before testing, and maintaining detailed documentation of lessons learned.
“We learn through mistakes, and that’s part of the process,” he emphasized. The key is creating systems that catch errors quickly and turn them into learning opportunities.
The bigger picture: Remote work and PPC success
Interestingly, Rooijmans credits his PPC career with enabling his digital nomad lifestyle. Working from locations like Curaçao in the Caribbean or his Amsterdam houseboat, he’s built what he calls a “10-hour PPC week” through extensive automation and systematization.
This lifestyle was inspired by Tim Ferriss’s “The Four Hour Work Week,” which Rooijmans discovered at a conference in 2004. The lesson? Proper systems and automation not only prevent mistakes but also create freedom.
Final thoughts
Even experts who have built their careers on automation and efficiency make mistakes. The difference between a career-ending error and a learning opportunity often comes down to how quickly problems are identified, how transparently they’re communicated, and how thoroughly the root causes are addressed.
For PPC professionals at any level, Rooijmans’ experience offers a clear reminder that shortcuts in processes eventually become obstacles to success. Whether it’s ignoring certain types of emails, skipping onboarding steps, or failing to monitor conversion tracking, these seemingly small oversights can cascade into significant problems.
The good news? With the right monitoring tools, clear processes, and a culture that treats mistakes as learning opportunities, even serious errors can be resolved while maintaining client relationships and professional growth.

PPC automation expert Nils Rooijmans shares how dismissing Google's consent mode warnings as routine noise led to zero conversions and plummeting traffic.

Nils Rooijmans speaks on when ignoring Google emails can cost you

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Search marketing jobs" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-550x310.jpg 550w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Land your next job in SEO or PPC. These brands and agencies are hiring to fill open search marketing positions right now.

Looking to take the next step in your search marketing career? 
Below, you will find the latest SEO, PPC, and digital marketing jobs at brands and agencies. We also include positions from previous weeks that are still open.
Newest SEO Jobs 
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(Provided to Search Engine Land by SEOjobs.com) 

SEO Specialist – Part-Time/Contract ~ Elevated Third ~ $50/hr. ~ Remote (USA)
December 5, 2025 
This is a part time contract position (approximately 10–20 hours per week). Elevated Third is a global B2B digital agency and Drupal expert. We design, build, and optimize complex digital experiences that drive measurable growth for enterprise and mid market clients. We are looking for an experienced SEO Specialist to support analytics, reporting, and insight […]

Head of SEO ~ 12100 Collective ~ $150,000 – $225,000 ~ Remote (USA)
December 4, 2025 
Overview 12100 Collective is a new growth marketing agency based in NYC, founded by an alumnus of Meta’s growth team and servicing clients with >$100M in annual revenue across industries. We pride ourselves on being world-class at our craft, pairing data-driven strategies with excellent creative to drive measurable growth.This role is responsible for leading performance-focused […]

SEO Manager ~ MarketDing.ai ~ $60,000/year ~ Remote (WW)
December 3, 2025 
Role details: Full-time • Remote • Long-term • $60,000/year MarketDing.ai is an AI-powered marketing company focused on search growth for healthcare, SaaS, and ecommerce brands. We’re building a serious agency with serious standards. We don’t do cookie-cutter SEO, we don’t chase vanity rankings, and we don’t touch spam. We build clean, scalable search systems that […]

SEO Innovation Content Specialist (Sports & iGaming Focus) ~ Advision Development Jobs ~ $65,000-$75,000 ~ Remote (USA)
December 3, 2025 
About the Role Advision Development is looking for a strategic, detail-oriented SEO Innovation Content Specialist with a strong background in sports, sports betting, and iGaming to join our growing SEO innovation team. You’ll play a key role in driving organic growth through smart SEO strategies, high-quality content execution, and editorial leadership across various websites and […]

SEO Manager ~ Rocket Clicks ~ $75,000-$90,000 ~ Remote (USA)
December 3, 2025 
The Ideal Candidate You actually read the instruction manual — not to follow rules, but to understand how things work. When your friend has a problem, you take that as a personal challenge to help them figure it out. You love puzzles that have both logic and creativity. Getting your spreadsheet tabs organized puts a […]

SEO/PPC Marketing Manager ~ JBA International ~ $100K – $160K ~ Hybrid (Burbank, CA, United States)
December 2, 2025 
Job Description LOCATION: Burbank, CA (Hybrid available) PAY RANGE: $100K – $160K QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS: Manage, review, and perform daily account responsibilities associated with Google AdWords, Yahoo, Bing and other search platforms for a variety of clients. Maintain and monitor keyword bids, account daily and monthly budget caps, impression share, quality score and other important account metrics.  Manage the […]

Content Coordinator ~ Black & White Zebra ~ 55,000 – 65,000 CAD ~ Remote (CAN)
December 2, 2025 
As a Content Coordinator, you’ll power BWZ’s content engine—the core of our business— by directly producing new content and updates using our in-house AI and automation technology. Reporting to the SEO Content Manager, you’ll work inside systems to generate, refine, and QA content across multiple publications, ensuring every piece is accurate, helpful, SEO-optimized, and delivered […]

Inbound Marketing Strategist ~ Geear ~ $69,000 – $73,000 ~ Remote (USA)
December 1, 2025 
Job Description About the Job Geear is a HubSpot Diamond Partner and has repeatedly been voted one of the Best Places to Work in Virginia. We’re a remote-first digital marketing agency that helps credit unions and community banks grow through smarter marketing — and we want you to grow with us. We’re looking for a […]

(Three) SEO Specialists ~ Consultwebs ~ 45K USD ~ Remote (WW)
November 29, 2025 
Consultwebs is looking to hire 3 SEO Specialists, one being entry-level. If your talent meets our expectations for this role, you are a potential candidate to join our team, no matter where you are located! Mission, Vision & Values Consultwebs exists to improve lives by helping people in need find law firms online. We do […]

AI-Powered SEO Strategist ~ Parikh Financial ~ $2,550-$4,000/m ~ Remote (WW)
November 29, 2025 
Work for an AI-assisted organic search firm that helps software, local, and eCommerce businesses grow visibility across Google, ChatGPT, and Perplexity. We’re redefining how SEO works — merging technical SEO expertise with generative AI and proprietary workflows to drive measurable, scalable growth. Founded by Chirag Kulkarni, Taco is built by a team of growth-minded SEO strategists, engineers, […]

Newest PPC and paid media jobs
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Paid Social Manager ~ Dandy ~ $127,500-$150,000 ~ Remote (USA)
December 5, 2025 
Dandy is transforming the massive and antiquated dental industry—an industry worth over $200B. Backed by some of the world’s leading venture capital firms, we’re on an ambitious mission to simplify and modernize every function of the dental practice through technology. As we expand our reach globally, Dandy is building the operating system for dental offices […]

Senior SEM Program Manager ~ BOLD ~ $115,00-$130,000 ~ Remote (USA)
December 5, 2025 
We are seeking an energetic and experienced Senior SEM Program Manager to execute and optimize paid digital campaigns across SEM, paid social, and display to drive high-quality consumer acquisition and revenue growth. This role blends analytical rigor with creative testing to scale customer acquisition efficiently and sustainably in the careers industry for both B2B and […]

Digital Paid Media Specialist ~ Wipfli ~ $66,000-$89,000 ~ Remote (USA)
December 4, 2025 
Overview At Wipfli, our people are core to everything we do—the catalyst behind our ability to create exceptional impact and extraordinary results. We believe in flexibility. We focus on relationships. We encourage each individual to follow their own path. People truly matter and they feel it. For those looking to make a difference and find […]

Digital Marketing Paid Ads Specialist ~ Beacon Media + Marketing ~ $63,000-$70,000~ Remote (USA)
December 4, 2025 
WHY BE GOOD WHEN YOU CAN BE GREAT? (Reno, Nevada) At Beacon, we believe great marketing is a marriage of art and science, where insight, creativity, and technology work brilliantly together. We are looking for a paid ads specialist to develop, implement, track, and optimize paid ad campaigns for our clients’ businesses, as well as […]

Paid Social Associate (Part-Time) ~ OPTIDGE INC ~ $22-$25/hr. ~ Remote (USA)
December 3, 2025 
About Us Optidge is a home-grown remote-first digital marketing agency supporting small and medium businesses with SEO, paid media, and web development services. We’re a team of ~40 spread through the US and internationally, aligning to values of Mentorship, Stewardship, Excellence, and Communication. The Role: The Paid Social Associate will report into the Paid Media […]

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Note: We update this post weekly. So make sure to bookmark this page and check back.

Land your next job in SEO or PPC. These brands and agencies are hiring to fill open search marketing positions right now.

The latest jobs in search marketing

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/05/Google-Shopping-Ads-Google-Ads.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Google Shopping Ads - Google Ads" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/05/Google-Shopping-Ads-Google-Ads.jpg 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/05/Google-Shopping-Ads-Google-Ads-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/05/Google-Shopping-Ads-Google-Ads-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>Google is testing a new Shopping ads beta that lets merchants show region-specific loyalty prices, helping retailers localize promotions.

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/05/Google-Shopping-Ads-Google-Ads.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Google Shopping Ads - Google Ads" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/05/Google-Shopping-Ads-Google-Ads.jpg 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/05/Google-Shopping-Ads-Google-Ads-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/05/Google-Shopping-Ads-Google-Ads-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>
<p>Google released a beta feature that allows merchants to display region-specific loyalty prices in Shopping ads. This gives retailers a new way to localize promotions without managing separate offers.</p>



<p><strong>Why we care. </strong>The feature gives merchants more flexibility to tailor prices to local markets and spotlight loyalty perks directly in ads, which can boost conversions and drive more sign-ups.</p>



<p><strong>How it works</strong>. Merchants must join Google’s loyalty add-on, set up regions in Merchant Center, and add loyalty_program attributes – including program label, tier, and price – to their regional inventory feed.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>When a shopper clicks an ad, Google appends a region ID to the URL, and the merchant’s landing page must dynamically show the matching member price.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>The catch</strong>. The feature is still in beta with limited visibility, and it’s only available in markets that support both RAAP (regional availability and pricing) and loyalty programs.</p>



<p><strong>Bottom line. </strong>By enabling region-specific member pricing, Google gives retailers a more targeted way to localize incentives and differentiate value across markets – without creating separate promotions for each region.</p>



<p><strong>The announcement.</strong> <a href="https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16388178" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Set up regional member pricing (in beta)</a></p>


Google released a beta feature that allows merchants to display region-specific loyalty prices in Shopping ads. This gives retailers a new way to localize promotions without managing separate offers.
Why we care. The feature gives merchants more flexibility to tailor prices to local markets and spotlight loyalty perks directly in ads, which can boost conversions and drive more sign-ups.
How it works. Merchants must join Google’s loyalty add-on, set up regions in Merchant Center, and add loyalty_program attributes – including program label, tier, and price – to their regional inventory feed.
When a shopper clicks an ad, Google appends a region ID to the URL, and the merchant’s landing page must dynamically show the matching member price.
The catch. The feature is still in beta with limited visibility, and it’s only available in markets that support both RAAP (regional availability and pricing) and loyalty programs.
Bottom line. By enabling region-specific member pricing, Google gives retailers a more targeted way to localize incentives and differentiate value across markets – without creating separate promotions for each region.
The announcement. Set up regional member pricing (in beta)

Google is testing a new Shopping ads beta that lets merchants show region-specific loyalty prices, helping retailers localize promotions.

Google tests regional member pricing in Shopping Ads

<div><img width="1920" height="1097" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/07/cloudflare-1920.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/07/cloudflare-1920.jpg 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/07/cloudflare-1920-768x439.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/07/cloudflare-1920-1536x878.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>Google sees 3.2x more webpages than OpenAI. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince wants Google to separate search crawling from AI crawling.

<div><img width="1920" height="1097" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/07/cloudflare-1920.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/07/cloudflare-1920.jpg 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/07/cloudflare-1920-768x439.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/07/cloudflare-1920-1536x878.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>
<p>Cloudflare has blocked 416 billion AI bot requests for customers since July 1, according to CEO Matthew Prince. To highlight Google’s massive edge in AI, Prince revealed that Google can see 3.2x more pages on the web than OpenAI.</p>



<p><strong>Why we care.</strong> Generative AI systems are consuming huge amounts of web content, and many publishers have no way to push back. Cloudflare’s numbers show how aggressively AI bots are scraping the web – and how uneven access is for the big AI companies.</p>



<p><strong>Driving the news.</strong> Cloudflare customers have been automatically blocking AI crawlers since the company <a href="https://searchengineland.com/cloudflare-to-block-ai-crawlers-by-default-with-new-pay-per-crawl-initiative-457708">launched its pay-per-crawl initiative July 1</a>, Prince said yesterday at WIRED’s Big Interview event. Since then, Cloudflare has logged 416 billion blocked AI bot requests.</p>



<p>Cloudflare’s analysis showed that Google sees:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>3.2x more webpages than OpenAI.</li>



<li>4.6x more than Microsoft.</li>



<li>4.8x more than Anthropic or Meta.</li>
</ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>“They have this incredibly privileged access,” Prince said.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>The big picture.</strong> Google gives publishers a lose-lose choice: Block AI training and risk vanishing from Google Search, or allow Googlebot and accept AI scraping.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>“You can’t opt out of one without opting out of both, which is crazy. You shouldn’t get to use your monopoly of yesterday to secure a monopoly of tomorrow,” Prince said.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>The AI picture.</strong> According to Prince:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>AI represents a major platform shift that could <a href="https://searchengineland.com/ai-killing-web-business-model-455157">reshape the web&#8217;s business model</a>. </li>



<li>Cloudflare wants to prevent consolidation, keep the web open, and help creators and businesses navigate the transition.</li>



<li>Publishers already blocking AI crawlers are seeing encouraging results, Prince added.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>What’s next. </strong>The value of “creative, original human thought” will rise as AI models chase higher-quality training data, opening doors to paid licensing, Prince said. Meanwhile, Cloudflare is pushing AI giants – especially Google – to separate search crawling from AI crawling. Prince said:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>“Google is the problem here. It is the company that is keeping us from going forward on the internet, and until we force them – or hopefully convince them – that they should play by the same rules as everyone else and split their crawlers up between search and AI, I think we&#8217;re going to have a hard time completely locking all the content down.&#8221;</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>The story.</strong> <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/big-interview-event-matthew-prince-cloudflare/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cloudflare Has Blocked 416 Billion AI Bot Requests Since July 1</a> (subscription required)</p>


Cloudflare has blocked 416 billion AI bot requests for customers since July 1, according to CEO Matthew Prince. To highlight Google’s massive edge in AI, Prince revealed that Google can see 3.2x more pages on the web than OpenAI.
Why we care. Generative AI systems are consuming huge amounts of web content, and many publishers have no way to push back. Cloudflare’s numbers show how aggressively AI bots are scraping the web – and how uneven access is for the big AI companies.
Driving the news. Cloudflare customers have been automatically blocking AI crawlers since the company launched its pay-per-crawl initiative July 1, Prince said yesterday at WIRED’s Big Interview event. Since then, Cloudflare has logged 416 billion blocked AI bot requests.
Cloudflare’s analysis showed that Google sees:
3.2x more webpages than OpenAI.
4.6x more than Microsoft.
4.8x more than Anthropic or Meta.
“They have this incredibly privileged access,” Prince said.
The big picture. Google gives publishers a lose-lose choice: Block AI training and risk vanishing from Google Search, or allow Googlebot and accept AI scraping.
“You can’t opt out of one without opting out of both, which is crazy. You shouldn’t get to use your monopoly of yesterday to secure a monopoly of tomorrow,” Prince said.
The AI picture. According to Prince:
AI represents a major platform shift that could reshape the web’s business model. 
Cloudflare wants to prevent consolidation, keep the web open, and help creators and businesses navigate the transition.
Publishers already blocking AI crawlers are seeing encouraging results, Prince added.
What’s next. The value of “creative, original human thought” will rise as AI models chase higher-quality training data, opening doors to paid licensing, Prince said. Meanwhile, Cloudflare is pushing AI giants – especially Google – to separate search crawling from AI crawling. Prince said:
“Google is the problem here. It is the company that is keeping us from going forward on the internet, and until we force them – or hopefully convince them – that they should play by the same rules as everyone else and split their crawlers up between search and AI, I think we’re going to have a hard time completely locking all the content down.”
The story. Cloudflare Has Blocked 416 Billion AI Bot Requests Since July 1 (subscription required)

Google sees 3.2x more webpages than OpenAI. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince wants Google to separate search crawling from AI crawling.

Cloudflare: 416 billion AI bot requests blocked since July

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Ecommerce-PPC-4-takeaways-that-shape-how-campaigns-perform.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Ecommerce PPC- 4 takeaways that shape how campaigns perform" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Ecommerce-PPC-4-takeaways-that-shape-how-campaigns-perform.jpg 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Ecommerce-PPC-4-takeaways-that-shape-how-campaigns-perform-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Ecommerce-PPC-4-takeaways-that-shape-how-campaigns-perform-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>Dive into PMax essentials, Amazon’s conversion insights, social audience building, and the dashboards that improve decisions.


<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Ecommerce-PPC-4-takeaways-that-shape-how-campaigns-perform.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Ecommerce PPC- 4 takeaways that shape how campaigns perform" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Ecommerce-PPC-4-takeaways-that-shape-how-campaigns-perform.jpg 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Ecommerce-PPC-4-takeaways-that-shape-how-campaigns-perform-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Ecommerce-PPC-4-takeaways-that-shape-how-campaigns-perform-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>
<p><a href="https://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-paid-search">PPC</a> for ecommerce <a href="https://searchengineland.com/lead-gen-ecommerce-ppc-strategies-442731">operates differently from PPC for lead gen</a> or SaaS. </p>



<p>The way campaigns learn, the volume of conversion data, and the role each platform plays all require a distinct approach.&nbsp;</p>



<p>After shifting into ecommerce, it became clear which fundamentals matter most.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The guidance in this article reflects those lessons and can help whether you’re new to ecommerce PPC or building on existing experience.</p>



<p>We’ll look at how the core differences between ecommerce and non-ecommerce models influence PPC strategy and how to use each platform’s strengths to support your products.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-performance-max-is-built-for-ecommerce">1. Performance Max is built for ecommerce</h2>



<p>Google Ads is a key platform for ecommerce businesses largely because of <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-performance-max-431821">Performance Max</a> campaigns.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I’d go as far as saying PMax works best for ecommerce. Nine times out of 10, nonecommerce businesses will struggle with it.&nbsp;</p>



<p>PMax requires substantial data to learn and improve, and ecommerce brands generate that data quickly through higher sales volumes and lower ticket sizes.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Non-ecommerce brands that drive large numbers of leads may be candidates for PMax, but for most ecommerce businesses, it can deliver strong results.</p>



<p>To get the most out of PMax, you must:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Optimize your feed.</li>



<li>Segment your campaigns.</li>



<li>Ensure conversion tracking is in place.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-feed-optimization">Feed optimization</h3>



<p>Optimizing your feed is one of the easiest ways to improve PMax performance, and it can have an outsized impact.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Focus on refining your product titles and descriptions so they are well-written, use the available character limits, and include your keywords.</p>



<p>The process is simpler now. You can:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Export your feed from Google Merchant Center.</li>



<li>Upload it to ChatGPT.</li>



<li>Ask for optimized titles and descriptions. </li>
</ul>



<p>The more direction you provide, the better the output.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Give title-length limits, your primary keywords, preferred placement, and any brand tone guidance.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Once updated, reupload the feed to Google Merchant Center.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-campaign-segmentation">Campaign segmentation</h3>



<p>The better your feeds are categorized, the easier it will be to segment campaigns in Google Ads.&nbsp;</p>



<p>By default, you can segment your feed by:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Product type.</li>



<li>Condition.</li>



<li>Brand.</li>



<li>Channel. </li>
</ul>



<p>These fields are defined in Google Merchant Center when you edit a product.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You can also create custom labels, which are powerful and enable you to build your own categorization system.</p>



<p>For example, you can use custom labels to define products by:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Sales location.</li>



<li>Status.</li>



<li>Whether an item is on sale or overstock. </li>
</ul>



<p>In the example below, we define a product with “Source Market = au” and “Status = stranded,” meaning it is overstock and needs to be sold.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1027" height="422" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Ecommerce-PMax-Campaign-segmentation.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465644" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Ecommerce-PMax-Campaign-segmentation.png 1027w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Ecommerce-PMax-Campaign-segmentation-768x316.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1027px) 100vw, 1027px" /></figure></div>


<p>This data then flows into Google Ads, where I can structure campaigns based on these custom labels.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I usually begin with one large PMax campaign that is segmented internally.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Once certain labels deliver a higher ROAS than others, I break them into separate campaigns and give them dedicated budgets.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This serves two purposes:&nbsp;</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Ensuring that top-performing labels get the exposure they need.</li>



<li>Giving underexposed labels more opportunity to prove themselves within the original campaign.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conversion-tracking-nbsp">Conversion tracking&nbsp;</h3>



<p>The last key consideration with PMax is ensuring you have accurate conversion tracking.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Ideally, you should pull in not only sales numbers but also revenue and costs for each product.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Shopify makes this easier because it integrates directly with Google Ads and sends your conversion and revenue data into both Google Merchant Center and Google Ads.</p>



<p>With this data in place, you can set up automated bidding strategies, such as tCPA or value-based bidding.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You can also run <a href="https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6318732?sjid=12722178281785687679-EU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">campaign experiments</a> to see which bidding methods deliver a stronger return on advertising spend (ROAS).</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href="https://searchengineland.com/ecommerce-search-campaigns-tips-448863">6 tips for successful ecommerce search campaigns</a></em></strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-amazon-is-the-strongest-ad-platform-for-ecommerce">2. Amazon is the strongest ad platform for ecommerce</h2>



<p>I’m surprised by how many ecommerce businesses are not on Amazon and not running <a href="https://searchengineland.com/amazon-advertising-ultimate-guide-447121">Amazon Ads</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Amazon is likely the best advertising platform for an ecommerce business when used properly.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Several key features make it stand out and worth serious consideration.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-transparency">Transparency</h3>



<p>Amazon is more transparent with its data than its competitors as advertisers receive far more detailed information.&nbsp;</p>



<p>From Google and Meta, you may get keyword-level metrics like impressions, clicks, CPCs, and CTRs.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Even then, as <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-hiding-search-data-advertisers-profiting-446372">much as 80% of that data can be hidden</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While click-level data is useful, it only reflects activity during the search phase, not what happens at the product level.</p>



<p>Amazon goes a level deeper. It provides information about:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Your target keywords and how they convert compared with your competitors. </li>



<li>Actual conversion rate data for your own SKUs and for the overall market for the keywords you are targeting. </li>
</ul>



<p>Amazon’s Search Query reports show your conversion rates alongside market conversion rates.</p>



<p>The screenshots below show the Amazon Search Query Report with product-level data for each keyword driving traffic. </p>



<p>The first one shows impressions and clicks for the advertiser’s product (“Brand Count”) versus the aggregated market (“Total Count”). </p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="954" height="192" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Amazon-Search-Query-Report-Keyword-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465645" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Amazon-Search-Query-Report-Keyword-1.png 954w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Amazon-Search-Query-Report-Keyword-1-768x155.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 954px) 100vw, 954px" /></figure></div>


<p>The second screenshot shows the same for add-to-carts and purchases. From these numbers, you can derive key insights into conversion rates.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="960" height="164" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Amazon-Search-Query-Report-Keyword-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-465646" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Amazon-Search-Query-Report-Keyword-2.png 960w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/Amazon-Search-Query-Report-Keyword-2-768x131.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /></figure></div>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-higher-conversion-rates">Higher conversion rates</h3>



<p>Because Amazon is a closed platform, the listings, ads, and purchase funnel all occur in one environment.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Other platforms like Meta typically send customers off-site to your website.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As a result, Amazon tends to deliver far higher conversion rates and more accurate data.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Where a website might convert at 5%, it’s not unusual to see 20% on an Amazon listing.</p>



<p>This also reduces attribution issues.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The full customer journey – impressions, clicks, add-to-carts, and sales – is captured in one place.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This seamless experience removes much of the guesswork from understanding performance and measuring results.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rankings-philosophy">Rankings philosophy</h3>



<p>Amazon also takes a different approach to rankings.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Google Ads states that ad spend and organic rankings are not directly related.</p>



<p>Regardless of how much you spend on PMax or other campaigns, it will not influence your organic rankings.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While this sounds fair, in practice, it leaves unclear guidelines and creates confusion about how to rank products on Google.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It often leads advertisers to spend heavily on experts who claim to solve the mystery of organic rankings, even though many are not fully confident in their own methods.</p>



<p>Amazon takes a different approach.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While not explicitly stated, it is widely understood in the industry that ads play a pivotal role in <a href="https://searchengineland.com/amazon-seo-guide-449563">organic rankings</a>. </p>



<p>Amazon’s algorithm ranks product listings for keyword searches based largely on conversion rate.&nbsp;</p>



<p>When an advertiser runs ads, they generate more clicks and sales, which in turn produce a conversion rate.&nbsp;</p>



<p>That conversion rate is used to determine rankings against competitors.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Products with higher conversion rates are more likely to rank higher.</p>



<p>This system allows advertisers to quickly understand what it takes to rank for a keyword.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If conversion rates are low compared with the market, the offer needs to be improved.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Skilled marketers can use this data to build plans – improving their offers, adjusting pricing, testing different keyword sets, and reevaluating results.&nbsp;</p>



<p>By comparison, SEO on Google remains far less transparent.</p>



<p>For advertisers experienced with Amazon, this means:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>More transparent and lower-funnel data.</li>



<li>More engaged customers with higher conversion rates.</li>



<li>Better attribution and less guesswork about platform value.</li>



<li>More control over rankings through ad management and offer improvements.</li>
</ul>



<p>All of this makes Amazon a powerful platform for ecommerce marketers.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href="https://searchengineland.com/amazon-branded-search-444768">Optimizing for Amazon branded search: Best practices to boost visibility</a></em></strong>.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-social-platforms-are-not-built-to-drive-conversions">3. Social platforms are not built to drive conversions</h2>



<p>Social platforms are important for ecommerce businesses, but for most products, they are not ideal for driving direct conversions.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If you want to generate sales quickly and have a small budget, Amazon Ads or PMax should come first.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This is true for most ecommerce brands, though social can work for direct lead generation if you have a fun or highly engaging product.</p>



<p>For the remaining 90%, social media is still a critical part of your marketing strategy and should be integrated thoughtfully.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It’s an effective channel for generating awareness and building customer lists.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Here are the primary ways to use it.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-customer-lists">Customer lists</h3>



<p>Your email list is a valuable asset, and you should prioritize building it.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Email allows you to run promotions, sell overstock, introduce new products, cross-sell, and more.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Social is a strong tool for growing these lists.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Competitions and giveaways, in particular, have been a cost-effective way for us to build customer lists.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Everyone loves a free giveaway.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-awareness-nbsp">Awareness&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Social and display are strong awareness channels.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You might pay $10 for a single click on PMax, while on social you could pay a $10 CPM for 1,000 impressions.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Building impressions and awareness is especially important for products that are new to market, and social handles this well.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These campaigns should not be judged on immediate sales but on the visibility they generate.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-remarketing">Remarketing</h3>



<p>Remarketing funnels, both in-platform and cross-platform, are effective for ecommerce.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Social’s strength is its ability to generate awareness and buzz.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Platforms like Meta let advertisers gauge engagement through metrics such as video view rates and ad frequency.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Using social to measure engagement, then building customer lists for additional remarketing – either in-platform or to feed signals into your PMax campaigns – is an effective way to refine audiences as they move down the funnel.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-dashboarding-is-essential-for-visibility-and-profitability">4. Dashboarding is essential for visibility and profitability</h2>



<p>The value of third-party dashboards cannot be overstated.&nbsp;</p>



<p>They allow you to track performance across multiple platforms and ad consoles.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You might be:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Selling products on Shopify and Amazon.</li>



<li>Running ads on Amazon, Google, Facebook, and TikTok.</li>



<li>Sending automations and EDMs through Klaviyo. </li>
</ul>



<p>This can get messy quickly. How do you track everything and understand what is working and what is profitable?</p>



<p>The goal of a great dashboard is to simplify your workflow and provide clear insight and context.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I’ve written elsewhere about what makes a strong dashboard report.&nbsp;</p>



<p>At its most basic level for ecommerce, you want a dashboard that can:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Combine multiple data sources in one place.</li>



<li>Simplify large amounts of data into meaningful reporting so you can make good decisions.</li>
</ul>



<p>Sellerboard has been an excellent tool for us in solving these two problems.&nbsp;</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>It connects to Amazon and Shopify, as well as ad platforms via API. It pulls in revenue and associated costs down to the SKU and order ID level. This allows us to isolate each SKU and attribute all variable costs from various platforms. </li>



<li>It calculates profitability and ROI for each SKU and shows where that performance is coming from. We can see what happens when we pause a platform and how it affects overall revenue, giving us insight into what drives results for each product.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: </em></strong><a href="https://searchengineland.com/deliver-ppc-reports-clients-love-462484"><strong><em>How to deliver monthly PPC reports clients love</em></strong></a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-these-ecommerce-ppc-insights-lead-you-next">Where these ecommerce PPC insights lead you next</h2>



<p>Understanding how ecommerce changes the way PPC platforms behave is essential to making the right decisions. </p>



<p>While this isn’t an exhaustive list, these are the lessons I wish I had when getting started, and they continue to shape how I approach campaigns today. </p>



<p>I hope these takeaways help you build or support successful ecommerce programs with clearer insight and stronger performance.</p>

PPC for ecommerce operates differently from PPC for lead gen or SaaS. 
The way campaigns learn, the volume of conversion data, and the role each platform plays all require a distinct approach. 
After shifting into ecommerce, it became clear which fundamentals matter most. 
The guidance in this article reflects those lessons and can help whether you’re new to ecommerce PPC or building on existing experience.
We’ll look at how the core differences between ecommerce and non-ecommerce models influence PPC strategy and how to use each platform’s strengths to support your products.
1. Performance Max is built for ecommerce
Google Ads is a key platform for ecommerce businesses largely because of Performance Max campaigns. 
I’d go as far as saying PMax works best for ecommerce. Nine times out of 10, nonecommerce businesses will struggle with it. 
PMax requires substantial data to learn and improve, and ecommerce brands generate that data quickly through higher sales volumes and lower ticket sizes. 
Non-ecommerce brands that drive large numbers of leads may be candidates for PMax, but for most ecommerce businesses, it can deliver strong results.
To get the most out of PMax, you must:
Optimize your feed.
Segment your campaigns.
Ensure conversion tracking is in place.
Feed optimization
Optimizing your feed is one of the easiest ways to improve PMax performance, and it can have an outsized impact. 
Focus on refining your product titles and descriptions so they are well-written, use the available character limits, and include your keywords.
The process is simpler now. You can:
Export your feed from Google Merchant Center.
Upload it to ChatGPT.
Ask for optimized titles and descriptions. 
The more direction you provide, the better the output. 
Give title-length limits, your primary keywords, preferred placement, and any brand tone guidance. 
Once updated, reupload the feed to Google Merchant Center.
Campaign segmentation
The better your feeds are categorized, the easier it will be to segment campaigns in Google Ads. 
By default, you can segment your feed by:
Product type.
Condition.
Brand.
Channel. 
These fields are defined in Google Merchant Center when you edit a product. 
You can also create custom labels, which are powerful and enable you to build your own categorization system.
For example, you can use custom labels to define products by:
Sales location.
Status.
Whether an item is on sale or overstock. 
In the example below, we define a product with “Source Market = au” and “Status = stranded,” meaning it is overstock and needs to be sold.

This data then flows into Google Ads, where I can structure campaigns based on these custom labels. 
I usually begin with one large PMax campaign that is segmented internally. 
Once certain labels deliver a higher ROAS than others, I break them into separate campaigns and give them dedicated budgets. 
This serves two purposes: 
Ensuring that top-performing labels get the exposure they need.
Giving underexposed labels more opportunity to prove themselves within the original campaign.
Conversion tracking 
The last key consideration with PMax is ensuring you have accurate conversion tracking. 
Ideally, you should pull in not only sales numbers but also revenue and costs for each product. 
Shopify makes this easier because it integrates directly with Google Ads and sends your conversion and revenue data into both Google Merchant Center and Google Ads.
With this data in place, you can set up automated bidding strategies, such as tCPA or value-based bidding. 
You can also run campaign experiments to see which bidding methods deliver a stronger return on advertising spend (ROAS).
Dig deeper: 6 tips for successful ecommerce search campaigns
2. Amazon is the strongest ad platform for ecommerce
I’m surprised by how many ecommerce businesses are not on Amazon and not running Amazon Ads. 
Amazon is likely the best advertising platform for an ecommerce business when used properly. 
Several key features make it stand out and worth serious consideration.
Transparency
Amazon is more transparent with its data than its competitors as advertisers receive far more detailed information. 
From Google and Meta, you may get keyword-level metrics like impressions, clicks, CPCs, and CTRs. 
Even then, as much as 80% of that data can be hidden. 
While click-level data is useful, it only reflects activity during the search phase, not what happens at the product level.
Amazon goes a level deeper. It provides information about:
Your target keywords and how they convert compared with your competitors. 
Actual conversion rate data for your own SKUs and for the overall market for the keywords you are targeting. 
Amazon’s Search Query reports show your conversion rates alongside market conversion rates.
The screenshots below show the Amazon Search Query Report with product-level data for each keyword driving traffic. 
The first one shows impressions and clicks for the advertiser’s product (“Brand Count”) versus the aggregated market (“Total Count”). 

The second screenshot shows the same for add-to-carts and purchases. From these numbers, you can derive key insights into conversion rates.

Higher conversion rates
Because Amazon is a closed platform, the listings, ads, and purchase funnel all occur in one environment. 
Other platforms like Meta typically send customers off-site to your website. 
As a result, Amazon tends to deliver far higher conversion rates and more accurate data. 
Where a website might convert at 5%, it’s not unusual to see 20% on an Amazon listing.
This also reduces attribution issues. 
The full customer journey – impressions, clicks, add-to-carts, and sales – is captured in one place. 
This seamless experience removes much of the guesswork from understanding performance and measuring results.
Rankings philosophy
Amazon also takes a different approach to rankings. 
Google Ads states that ad spend and organic rankings are not directly related.
Regardless of how much you spend on PMax or other campaigns, it will not influence your organic rankings. 
While this sounds fair, in practice, it leaves unclear guidelines and creates confusion about how to rank products on Google. 
It often leads advertisers to spend heavily on experts who claim to solve the mystery of organic rankings, even though many are not fully confident in their own methods.
Amazon takes a different approach. 
While not explicitly stated, it is widely understood in the industry that ads play a pivotal role in organic rankings. 
Amazon’s algorithm ranks product listings for keyword searches based largely on conversion rate. 
When an advertiser runs ads, they generate more clicks and sales, which in turn produce a conversion rate. 
That conversion rate is used to determine rankings against competitors. 
Products with higher conversion rates are more likely to rank higher.
This system allows advertisers to quickly understand what it takes to rank for a keyword. 
If conversion rates are low compared with the market, the offer needs to be improved. 
Skilled marketers can use this data to build plans – improving their offers, adjusting pricing, testing different keyword sets, and reevaluating results. 
By comparison, SEO on Google remains far less transparent.
For advertisers experienced with Amazon, this means:
More transparent and lower-funnel data.
More engaged customers with higher conversion rates.
Better attribution and less guesswork about platform value.
More control over rankings through ad management and offer improvements.
All of this makes Amazon a powerful platform for ecommerce marketers.
Dig deeper: Optimizing for Amazon branded search: Best practices to boost visibility.
Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.
  
				
								
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See terms.
3. Social platforms are not built to drive conversions
Social platforms are important for ecommerce businesses, but for most products, they are not ideal for driving direct conversions. 
If you want to generate sales quickly and have a small budget, Amazon Ads or PMax should come first. 
This is true for most ecommerce brands, though social can work for direct lead generation if you have a fun or highly engaging product.
For the remaining 90%, social media is still a critical part of your marketing strategy and should be integrated thoughtfully. 
It’s an effective channel for generating awareness and building customer lists. 
Here are the primary ways to use it.
Customer lists
Your email list is a valuable asset, and you should prioritize building it. 
Email allows you to run promotions, sell overstock, introduce new products, cross-sell, and more. 
Social is a strong tool for growing these lists. 
Competitions and giveaways, in particular, have been a cost-effective way for us to build customer lists. 
Everyone loves a free giveaway.
Awareness 
Social and display are strong awareness channels. 
You might pay $10 for a single click on PMax, while on social you could pay a $10 CPM for 1,000 impressions. 
Building impressions and awareness is especially important for products that are new to market, and social handles this well. 
These campaigns should not be judged on immediate sales but on the visibility they generate.
Remarketing
Remarketing funnels, both in-platform and cross-platform, are effective for ecommerce. 
Social’s strength is its ability to generate awareness and buzz. 
Platforms like Meta let advertisers gauge engagement through metrics such as video view rates and ad frequency. 
Using social to measure engagement, then building customer lists for additional remarketing – either in-platform or to feed signals into your PMax campaigns – is an effective way to refine audiences as they move down the funnel.
4. Dashboarding is essential for visibility and profitability
The value of third-party dashboards cannot be overstated. 
They allow you to track performance across multiple platforms and ad consoles. 
You might be:
Selling products on Shopify and Amazon.
Running ads on Amazon, Google, Facebook, and TikTok.
Sending automations and EDMs through Klaviyo. 
This can get messy quickly. How do you track everything and understand what is working and what is profitable?
The goal of a great dashboard is to simplify your workflow and provide clear insight and context. 
I’ve written elsewhere about what makes a strong dashboard report. 
At its most basic level for ecommerce, you want a dashboard that can:
Combine multiple data sources in one place.
Simplify large amounts of data into meaningful reporting so you can make good decisions.
Sellerboard has been an excellent tool for us in solving these two problems. 
It connects to Amazon and Shopify, as well as ad platforms via API. It pulls in revenue and associated costs down to the SKU and order ID level. This allows us to isolate each SKU and attribute all variable costs from various platforms. 
It calculates profitability and ROI for each SKU and shows where that performance is coming from. We can see what happens when we pause a platform and how it affects overall revenue, giving us insight into what drives results for each product.
Dig deeper: How to deliver monthly PPC reports clients love
Where these ecommerce PPC insights lead you next
Understanding how ecommerce changes the way PPC platforms behave is essential to making the right decisions. 
While this isn’t an exhaustive list, these are the lessons I wish I had when getting started, and they continue to shape how I approach campaigns today. 
I hope these takeaways help you build or support successful ecommerce programs with clearer insight and stronger performance.

Dive into PMax essentials, Amazon’s conversion insights, social audience building, and the dashboards that improve decisions.

Ecommerce PPC: 4 takeaways that shape how campaigns perform

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Modern-off-page-SEO-How-to-build-authority-beyond-links-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="What is off-page SEO?" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Modern-off-page-SEO-How-to-build-authority-beyond-links-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Modern-off-page-SEO-How-to-build-authority-beyond-links-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Modern-off-page-SEO-How-to-build-authority-beyond-links-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Modern-off-page-SEO-How-to-build-authority-beyond-links-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Modern-off-page-SEO-How-to-build-authority-beyond-links-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2024/09/Modern-off-page-SEO-How-to-build-authority-beyond-links.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Off-page SEO has evolved beyond link building. Learn modern strategies for building authority, reputation and visibility across platforms.

Off-page SEO has evolved beyond link building. Learn modern strategies for building authority, reputation and visibility across platforms.

What is off-page optimization?

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Stakeholders are reviewing Google’s proposed changes as the EU weighs whether they’re enough to restore fair competition.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2015/09/google-eu2-ss-1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>The European Commission is asking industry players to review Google’s proposal to settle major antitrust charges involving its advertising technology business — a case that has already led to nearly €3 billion ($3.5 billion) in fines.</p>



<p><strong>What’s happening</strong>. The Commission is sharing a non-confidential version of Google’s proposal with about 200 industry stakeholders, including publishers, advertisers, and ad tech rivals.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>The feedback will guide a final assessment of whether Google’s commitments can restore fair competition in the EU’s digital ad market, officials said.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>The backstory. </strong><a href="https://searchengineland.com/eu-fines-google-3-5-billion-over-anti-competitive-ad-tech-business-461641">Google was fined €2.95B</a> and ordered to stop favoring its own ad tech services. In a blog post last month, Google offered to:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Let publishers set different minimum bid prices inside Google Ad Manager.</li>



<li>Increase interoperability between its tools and rival ad tech systems.</li>



<li>Expand choice and flexibility for advertisers and publishers.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Why we care.</strong> If approved, the changes could lead to fairer ad auctions, better ROI, and fewer built-in advantages for Google’s own ad tech. Overall, the EU’s push signals a shift toward a more open, regulated ad market that gives advertisers more control and choice.</p>



<p><strong>Between the lines.</strong> If the market test goes well, the EU could move toward closing the case and easing years of regulatory pressure on Google’s ad business.</p>



<p><strong>Meanwhile: Meta in the crosshairs.</strong> The EU also opened a new investigation into Meta’s AI features inside WhatsApp, examining whether they distort competition.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Penalties for antitrust violations can reach 10% of global revenue, though fines that high are rare.</li>



<li>Meta must now propose remedies; WhatsApp called the concerns “baseless.”</li>
</ul>


The European Commission is asking industry players to review Google’s proposal to settle major antitrust charges involving its advertising technology business — a case that has already led to nearly €3 billion ($3.5 billion) in fines.
What’s happening. The Commission is sharing a non-confidential version of Google’s proposal with about 200 industry stakeholders, including publishers, advertisers, and ad tech rivals.
The feedback will guide a final assessment of whether Google’s commitments can restore fair competition in the EU’s digital ad market, officials said.
The backstory. Google was fined €2.95B and ordered to stop favoring its own ad tech services. In a blog post last month, Google offered to:
Let publishers set different minimum bid prices inside Google Ad Manager.
Increase interoperability between its tools and rival ad tech systems.
Expand choice and flexibility for advertisers and publishers.
Why we care. If approved, the changes could lead to fairer ad auctions, better ROI, and fewer built-in advantages for Google’s own ad tech. Overall, the EU’s push signals a shift toward a more open, regulated ad market that gives advertisers more control and choice.
Between the lines. If the market test goes well, the EU could move toward closing the case and easing years of regulatory pressure on Google’s ad business.
Meanwhile: Meta in the crosshairs. The EU also opened a new investigation into Meta’s AI features inside WhatsApp, examining whether they distort competition.
Penalties for antitrust violations can reach 10% of global revenue, though fines that high are rare.
Meta must now propose remedies; WhatsApp called the concerns “baseless.”

Stakeholders are reviewing Google’s proposed changes as the EU weighs whether they’re enough to restore fair competition.

Google’s proposed ad tech fixes face EU scrutiny

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/social-search-ai-traffic-smbs.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/social-search-ai-traffic-smbs.png 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/social-search-ai-traffic-smbs-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/social-search-ai-traffic-smbs-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>Social now leads search, SMBs are frustrated by AI summaries, and most visibility still depends on the homepage.

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/social-search-ai-traffic-smbs.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/social-search-ai-traffic-smbs.png 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/social-search-ai-traffic-smbs-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/social-search-ai-traffic-smbs-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>
<p>Social media now drives more traffic to small and medium-sized businesses than search, and many SMBs are beginning to track AI-generated referrals. They also see competitors showing up in AI summaries as an emerging threat, according to new survey data published today by WordStream by LocaliQ.</p>



<p><strong>Why we care.</strong> Small businesses now see AI summaries as an emerging and important channel. These summaries shape buyers&#8217; early decisions and can steer them toward competing products. AI referrals have also become clear and trackable, convincing businesses that they can – and should – optimize for them.</p>



<p><strong>Google traffic losses rise.</strong> Forty percent of SMBs say they’ve lost traffic from Google updates and AI-driven search. Larger companies felt the hit hardest, with nearly half reporting declines. Still, most SMBs (72%) said their SEO is &#8220;effective.&#8221;</p>



<p><strong>Social surpasses search.</strong> Sixty-four percent listed social as a main traffic driver, beating organic search at 52%. </p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Solopreneurs and micro-businesses ranked social first. </li>



<li>35% of businesses without a website said social and marketplaces give them enough leads that they don’t need one.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>AI attention rising.</strong> AI search isn’t a top driver yet, but it’s on the radar of SMBs:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>50% monitor AI referrals and mentions.</li>



<li>70% of larger SMBs do the same.</li>



<li><a href="https://searchengineland.com/what-is-generative-engine-optimization-geo-444418">GEO</a> awareness is rising across business sizes.</li>
</ul>



<p>The biggest frustration for SMBs is seeing competitors show up in AI summaries instead of them, but the upside is that these models often pull from sites beyond Google’s top 10, giving smaller brands a rare chance to get visibility they wouldn’t normally earn.</p>



<p><strong>Core webpages are vital.</strong> Among SMBs tracking AI traffic, the most cited pages are:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Homepages (57%)</li>



<li>Product or service pages (48%)</li>



<li>Contact pages (34%)</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>How SMBs are adapting.</strong> The top actions to boost AI visibility overlap with SEO fundamentals:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Use clear, descriptive headlines (35%)</li>



<li>Improve readability (26%)</li>



<li>Fix technical basics like speed and mobile performance (24%)</li>



<li>Larger SMBs build external brand mentions (33%) and add structured data (30%) </li>
</ul>



<p><strong>About the data.</strong> WordStream by LocaliQ surveyed 300+ U.S. small businesses across 24 industries. Responses came from companies with and without websites, from sole proprietors to 100-employee organizations.</p>



<p><strong>The report.</strong> <a href="https://www.wordstream.com/blog/smb-website-trends-report-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Big SMB Website Trends Report: SEO, GEO, &amp; the Future of Traffic</a></p>


Social media now drives more traffic to small and medium-sized businesses than search, and many SMBs are beginning to track AI-generated referrals. They also see competitors showing up in AI summaries as an emerging threat, according to new survey data published today by WordStream by LocaliQ.
Why we care. Small businesses now see AI summaries as an emerging and important channel. These summaries shape buyers’ early decisions and can steer them toward competing products. AI referrals have also become clear and trackable, convincing businesses that they can – and should – optimize for them.
Google traffic losses rise. Forty percent of SMBs say they’ve lost traffic from Google updates and AI-driven search. Larger companies felt the hit hardest, with nearly half reporting declines. Still, most SMBs (72%) said their SEO is “effective.”
Social surpasses search. Sixty-four percent listed social as a main traffic driver, beating organic search at 52%. 
Solopreneurs and micro-businesses ranked social first. 
35% of businesses without a website said social and marketplaces give them enough leads that they don’t need one.
AI attention rising. AI search isn’t a top driver yet, but it’s on the radar of SMBs:
50% monitor AI referrals and mentions.
70% of larger SMBs do the same.
GEO awareness is rising across business sizes.
The biggest frustration for SMBs is seeing competitors show up in AI summaries instead of them, but the upside is that these models often pull from sites beyond Google’s top 10, giving smaller brands a rare chance to get visibility they wouldn’t normally earn.
Core webpages are vital. Among SMBs tracking AI traffic, the most cited pages are:
Homepages (57%)
Product or service pages (48%)
Contact pages (34%)
How SMBs are adapting. The top actions to boost AI visibility overlap with SEO fundamentals:
Use clear, descriptive headlines (35%)
Improve readability (26%)
Fix technical basics like speed and mobile performance (24%)
Larger SMBs build external brand mentions (33%) and add structured data (30%) 
About the data. WordStream by LocaliQ surveyed 300+ U.S. small businesses across 24 industries. Responses came from companies with and without websites, from sole proprietors to 100-employee organizations.
The report. The Big SMB Website Trends Report: SEO, GEO, & the Future of Traffic

Social now leads search, SMBs are frustrated by AI summaries, and most visibility still depends on the homepage.

Social media beats SEO as SMBs’ top traffic source, survey says

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Screenshot of Google Search Console" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>You can type what data you want to see on a report and Google will instantly create it for you.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Screenshot of Google Search Console" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/02/google-search-console-interface-ss-1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>Google added a new experimental “AI-powered configuration” to the Search Console Performance report. You can now tell Search Console what you want to see, and it will instantly build the report for you. The feature is still rolling out, so not everyone will see it yet.</p>



<p>It’s similar to the <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-launches-ai-powered-advisors-464571">AI-powered advisors</a> in Google Ads and Google Analytics, but built for Search Console.</p>



<p><strong>AI-powered configuration. </strong>AI-powered configuration &#8220;lets you describe the analysis you want to see in natural language. Your inputs are then transformed into the appropriate filters and settings, instantly configuring the report for you,&#8221; Google <a href="https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2025/12/ai-powered-configuration">said</a>.</p>



<p><strong>What it looks like. </strong>Here&#8217;s a GIF of it in action. You can see it build a report based on your question:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="982" height="1144" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/gsc-ai-powered-configuration.gif" alt="" class="wp-image-465638" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/gsc-ai-powered-configuration.gif 982w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/gsc-ai-powered-configuration-768x895.gif 768w" sizes="(max-width: 982px) 100vw, 982px" /></figure>



<p><strong>More details. </strong>Google said &#8220;The AI-powered configuration feature is designed to streamline your analysis by handling three key elements for you.&#8221;</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Selecting metrics:</strong>&nbsp;Choose which of the four available metrics – Clicks, Impressions, Average CTR, and Average Position –&nbsp;to display based on your question.</li>



<li><strong>Applying filters:</strong>&nbsp;Narrow down data by query, page, country, device, search appearance, or date range.</li>



<li><strong>Configuring comparisons:</strong>&nbsp;Set up complex comparisons (like custom date ranges) without manual setup.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Roll out is slow. </strong>Google is rolling out AI-powered configuration to a limited set of sites and will expand access over time. There are “some limitations,” Google said.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Limitations</strong>: The feature is designed for configuration (filters, comparisons, metrics). It cannot perform actions like sorting the table and exporting data.</li>



<li><strong>Scope</strong>: It supports only the Performance report for Search results. It isn&#8217;t available for Discover or News reports.</li>



<li><strong>Accuracy</strong>: AI can sometimes misinterpret requests. Always review the suggested filters to ensure they match your intention before analyzing the data.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Why we care. </strong>This tool can help you uncover insights you’d normally miss with standard filters. Most of you won’t see it yet, but once it rolls out, take it for a spin and see what extra data you can find.</p>



<p><strong>Learn more.</strong> Read the Google <a href="https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553#AI_powered_configuration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help documentation</a>.</p>


Google added a new experimental “AI-powered configuration” to the Search Console Performance report. You can now tell Search Console what you want to see, and it will instantly build the report for you. The feature is still rolling out, so not everyone will see it yet.
It’s similar to the AI-powered advisors in Google Ads and Google Analytics, but built for Search Console.
AI-powered configuration. AI-powered configuration “lets you describe the analysis you want to see in natural language. Your inputs are then transformed into the appropriate filters and settings, instantly configuring the report for you,” Google said.
What it looks like. Here’s a GIF of it in action. You can see it build a report based on your question:




More details. Google said “The AI-powered configuration feature is designed to streamline your analysis by handling three key elements for you.”
Selecting metrics: Choose which of the four available metrics – Clicks, Impressions, Average CTR, and Average Position – to display based on your question.
Applying filters: Narrow down data by query, page, country, device, search appearance, or date range.
Configuring comparisons: Set up complex comparisons (like custom date ranges) without manual setup.
Roll out is slow. Google is rolling out AI-powered configuration to a limited set of sites and will expand access over time. There are “some limitations,” Google said.
Limitations: The feature is designed for configuration (filters, comparisons, metrics). It cannot perform actions like sorting the table and exporting data.
Scope: It supports only the Performance report for Search results. It isn’t available for Discover or News reports.
Accuracy: AI can sometimes misinterpret requests. Always review the suggested filters to ensure they match your intention before analyzing the data.
Why we care. This tool can help you uncover insights you’d normally miss with standard filters. Most of you won’t see it yet, but once it rolls out, take it for a spin and see what extra data you can find.
Learn more. Read the Google help documentation.

You can type what data you want to see on a report and Google will instantly create it for you.

Google Search Console tests “AI-powered configuration” to create dynamic reports

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/How-paid-earned-shared-and-owned-media-shape-generative-search-visibility.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="How paid, earned, shared, and owned media shape generative search visibility" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/How-paid-earned-shared-and-owned-media-shape-generative-search-visibility.png 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/How-paid-earned-shared-and-owned-media-shape-generative-search-visibility-768x432.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>See how the PESO mix strengthens trust signals that AI systems pull from when deciding which brands to surface in model-generated responses.

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/How-paid-earned-shared-and-owned-media-shape-generative-search-visibility.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="How paid, earned, shared, and owned media shape generative search visibility" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/How-paid-earned-shared-and-owned-media-shape-generative-search-visibility.png 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/12/How-paid-earned-shared-and-owned-media-shape-generative-search-visibility-768x432.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>
<p>AI is changing how people discover and understand brands.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It’s also reshaping how they search, with users turning to tools like <a href="https://searchengineland.com/what-is-chatgpt-and-why-seos-should-care-392165">ChatGPT</a>, <a href="https://searchengineland.com/how-perplexity-ranks-content-research-460031">Perplexity</a>, and Google’s <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-ai-overviews-everything-you-need-to-know-449399">AI Overviews</a> for answers instead of clicking through pages.&nbsp;</p>



<p>They interact with synthesized summaries, not traditional results.</p>



<p>That shift forces marketers to rethink how visibility is built. </p>



<p><a href="https://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo">SEO</a> still matters, but it now extends beyond on-page content or rankings.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Visibility depends on how often a brand is cited, referenced, and discussed across the digital ecosystem, and how those signals are interpreted by large language models.</p>



<p>Enter the PESO model.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Long used to balance paid, earned, shared, and owned media, PESO now plays a central role in generative search.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It acts as a visibility engine, with each channel contributing trust signals and context cues that help AI decide whether a brand is included in a summary or overlooked.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-peso-supports-your-brand-s-ai-search-visibility">How PESO supports your brand’s AI search visibility</h2>



<p>Generative search visibility refers to your brand’s ability to appear in AI-generated responses across search-enabled platforms, including:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Google’s AI Overviews.</li>



<li>ChatGPT search.</li>



<li>Claude.</li>



<li>Other tools that blend search with summarization.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



<p>These systems draw from billions of data points across the web – from news articles and blogs to LinkedIn posts, product documentation, forums, and customer reviews.</p>



<p>When your brand is mentioned consistently in credible, recent, and well-structured content across these sources, it becomes more likely to surface in AI-generated summaries.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Here’s where PESO matters.&nbsp;</p>



<p>AI models don’t recognize your marketing silos.&nbsp;</p>



<p>A single article isn’t enough, but when your brand is reinforced across multiple PESO channels, you increase the likelihood of appearing in generative results.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href="https://searchengineland.com/seo-beyond-website-winning-visibility-ai-460439">SEO beyond the website: Winning visibility in the AI era</a></em></strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rethinking-the-peso-model-in-an-ai-context">Rethinking the PESO model in an AI context</h2>



<p>Each PESO element contributes differently to generative search visibility.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-paid-media">Paid media</h3>



<p>Paid media often goes unnoticed in AI summaries, but its impact is indirect and significant.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Paid campaigns that drive traffic to well-structured and optimized content help build the authority and engagement signals AI systems recognize.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Clear and informative sponsored thought leadership can also reinforce credibility.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-earned-media">Earned media</h3>



<p><a href="https://muckrack.com/blog/2025/08/13/what-is-ai-reading/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Up to 89%</a> of AI citations come from earned media, according to MuckRack.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While overall media mentions <a href="https://sites.pancommunications.com/PAN-brand-experience-report-2025?_gl=1*1uoioeu*_gcl_au*MjA5MTg1Njk1NC4xNzU2OTE1NzM1*_ga*NzM1MzQ5ODQ0LjE3MzMzMzcxNjA.*_ga_Q0T509Z01P*czE3NTk0MTY1NzQkbzExMCRnMSR0MTc1OTQxNzk1OSRqNjAkbDAkaDkwMDcyNzIyOA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped 41% year over year</a>, brand reach actually increased 10%, PAN’s 2025 Brand Experience Report found.&nbsp;<em>(</em><strong><em>Disclosure</em></strong><em>: I am PAN’s head of AI innovation and SVP, integrated marketing.)</em>&nbsp;</p>



<p>This suggests that AI prioritizes context, not quantity.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It doesn’t have to just be top-tier coverage.&nbsp;High-authority, in-depth stories from trade publications and niche media can be just as powerful as those from national outlets.</p>



<p>Thought leadership and original research now perform like earned media.&nbsp;</p>



<p>AI platforms surfaced research and academic-style content <a href="https://sites.pancommunications.com/c-suite-signals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">26% of the time</a>, based on findings from PAN’s C-Suite Signals study.&nbsp;</p>



<p>And in queries from CMOs and CISOs, credible owned content, such as whitepapers, blog series, and analyst insights, was among the most cited sources.</p>



<p>This means your thought leadership isn’t just fuel for awareness, it’s a ticket into the generative conversation.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Substance outweighs virality: only 4% of citations came from social media or community platforms, reinforcing that what you say (and how you back it up) matters more than how often it’s shared.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shared-media">Shared media</h3>



<p>Engagement across platforms like LinkedIn, Reddit and Slack communities may not be directly cited in model outputs.</p>



<p>However, they train algorithms on what’s trending, credible and meaningful to audiences.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These informal signals build topical relevance, which informs how AI ranks and presents information.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-owned-media">Owned media</h3>



<p>Your website is often where deep content lives, but only if it’s accessible to AI tools.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Structured data, clear headers, schema markup, and question-answer formatting help ensure that content can be parsed and used.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Articles that clearly respond to common search queries tend to surface more frequently in AI results.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: </em></strong><a href="https://searchengineland.com/website-matters-ai-age-458829" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><em>Your website still matters in the age of AI</em></strong>&nbsp;</a></p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-applying-peso-to-generative-engine-optimization">Applying PESO to generative engine optimization</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-understand-the-questions-your-audience-is-asking">Understand the questions your audience is asking</h3>



<p>To make PESO actionable for AI-driven search, start by understanding what your audience really wants to know.&nbsp;</p>



<p>What questions are decision-makers typing into ChatGPT or Gemini?&nbsp;</p>



<p>Map those queries to content topics across your media mix, not just for owned content, but also in press outreach, sponsored content, and social conversations.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reinforce-core-messages-across-channels">Reinforce core messages across channels</h3>



<p>Once you know the questions, focus on reinforcement.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If an executive is quoted in an article on AI in healthcare, turn that quote into a short-form video or LinkedIn post.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Repurpose the core insight in a blog or newsletter.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The more often the same message appears credibly across sources, the stronger the signal to AI models that it’s trustworthy and worth referencing.</p>



<p>For example, a cybersecurity firm promoting a new compliance solution could:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Secure a thought leadership article in a top trade publication.</li>



<li>Follow it with a podcast interview on the same topic.</li>



<li>Amplify both on LinkedIn and through a newsletter sponsorship.</li>



<li>Publish a technical blog that breaks down the key insights.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



<p>Within weeks, the brand would likely surface in AI summaries for related searches.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href="https://searchengineland.com/seo-ai-trusted-answer-461584">SEO in the age of AI: Becoming the trusted answer</a></em></strong></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monitor-how-your-content-appears-in-ai">Monitor how your content appears in AI</h3>



<p>You should also monitor where your content shows up.&nbsp;</p>



<p>AI visibility benchmarking is still emerging, but even a manual review of AI-generated responses can provide useful insight.&nbsp;</p>



<p>GA4 dashboards that track traffic from platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity, or tools like Semrush’s AI features, can help you identify which pieces are working and why.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-audit-your-content-for-trust-signals">Audit your content for trust signals</h3>



<p>Audit your content and channels for the signals AI uses to judge credibility. </p>



<p>Check whether expert sources are quoted, whether authoritative publications link back to your content, and whether backlinks support your owned media.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These cues shape how AI evaluates and presents your brand in generative results.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-peso-as-a-strategic-lever-for-ai-first-discovery">PESO as a strategic lever for AI-first discovery</h2>



<p>PR and marketing teams have long treated SEO, brand awareness, and lead generation as separate workstreams.&nbsp;</p>



<p>AI doesn’t recognize those boundaries.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Generative search platforms prioritize consistency, relevance, authority, and clarity across paid, earned, shared, and owned content.</p>



<p>As a result, PESO is more than a media model. </p>



<p>Visibility once meant showing up on Page 1. Now, it depends on whether AI systems view your brand as authoritative enough to summarize it. </p>



<p>This shift turns PESO into a playbook for generative visibility.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Without consistent, trusted content across all four channels, brands risk being left out of the conversation entirely.</p>



<p>PESO becomes a map for building discoverability, trust, and consistency across everything you publish.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Marketers who adopt this approach not only increase visibility, but they also shape the narratives AI learns to associate with their brand.</p>



<p>In a world where AI models decide what to surface and summarize, visibility strategies must evolve.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Aligning PESO efforts with what generative systems value – recency, repetition, and relevance – helps brands appear where audiences now look first.&nbsp;</p>



<p>PESO is no longer about balancing channels.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It’s about training the models that shape perception and ensuring your brand influences how AI explains the world.</p>

AI is changing how people discover and understand brands. 
It’s also reshaping how they search, with users turning to tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews for answers instead of clicking through pages. 
They interact with synthesized summaries, not traditional results.
That shift forces marketers to rethink how visibility is built. 
SEO still matters, but it now extends beyond on-page content or rankings. 
Visibility depends on how often a brand is cited, referenced, and discussed across the digital ecosystem, and how those signals are interpreted by large language models.
Enter the PESO model. 
Long used to balance paid, earned, shared, and owned media, PESO now plays a central role in generative search. 
It acts as a visibility engine, with each channel contributing trust signals and context cues that help AI decide whether a brand is included in a summary or overlooked.
How PESO supports your brand’s AI search visibility
Generative search visibility refers to your brand’s ability to appear in AI-generated responses across search-enabled platforms, including:
Google’s AI Overviews.
ChatGPT search.
Claude.
Other tools that blend search with summarization. 
These systems draw from billions of data points across the web – from news articles and blogs to LinkedIn posts, product documentation, forums, and customer reviews.
When your brand is mentioned consistently in credible, recent, and well-structured content across these sources, it becomes more likely to surface in AI-generated summaries. 
Here’s where PESO matters. 
AI models don’t recognize your marketing silos. 
A single article isn’t enough, but when your brand is reinforced across multiple PESO channels, you increase the likelihood of appearing in generative results.
Dig deeper: SEO beyond the website: Winning visibility in the AI era
Rethinking the PESO model in an AI context
Each PESO element contributes differently to generative search visibility. 
Paid media
Paid media often goes unnoticed in AI summaries, but its impact is indirect and significant. 
Paid campaigns that drive traffic to well-structured and optimized content help build the authority and engagement signals AI systems recognize. 
Clear and informative sponsored thought leadership can also reinforce credibility.
Earned media
Up to 89% of AI citations come from earned media, according to MuckRack. 
While overall media mentions dropped 41% year over year, brand reach actually increased 10%, PAN’s 2025 Brand Experience Report found. (Disclosure: I am PAN’s head of AI innovation and SVP, integrated marketing.) 
This suggests that AI prioritizes context, not quantity. 
It doesn’t have to just be top-tier coverage. High-authority, in-depth stories from trade publications and niche media can be just as powerful as those from national outlets.
Thought leadership and original research now perform like earned media. 
AI platforms surfaced research and academic-style content 26% of the time, based on findings from PAN’s C-Suite Signals study. 
And in queries from CMOs and CISOs, credible owned content, such as whitepapers, blog series, and analyst insights, was among the most cited sources.
This means your thought leadership isn’t just fuel for awareness, it’s a ticket into the generative conversation. 
Substance outweighs virality: only 4% of citations came from social media or community platforms, reinforcing that what you say (and how you back it up) matters more than how often it’s shared.
Shared media
Engagement across platforms like LinkedIn, Reddit and Slack communities may not be directly cited in model outputs.
However, they train algorithms on what’s trending, credible and meaningful to audiences. 
These informal signals build topical relevance, which informs how AI ranks and presents information. 
Owned media
Your website is often where deep content lives, but only if it’s accessible to AI tools. 
Structured data, clear headers, schema markup, and question-answer formatting help ensure that content can be parsed and used. 
Articles that clearly respond to common search queries tend to surface more frequently in AI results.
Dig deeper: Your website still matters in the age of AI 
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See terms.
Applying PESO to generative engine optimization
Understand the questions your audience is asking
To make PESO actionable for AI-driven search, start by understanding what your audience really wants to know. 
What questions are decision-makers typing into ChatGPT or Gemini? 
Map those queries to content topics across your media mix, not just for owned content, but also in press outreach, sponsored content, and social conversations.
Reinforce core messages across channels
Once you know the questions, focus on reinforcement. 
If an executive is quoted in an article on AI in healthcare, turn that quote into a short-form video or LinkedIn post. 
Repurpose the core insight in a blog or newsletter. 
The more often the same message appears credibly across sources, the stronger the signal to AI models that it’s trustworthy and worth referencing.
For example, a cybersecurity firm promoting a new compliance solution could:
Secure a thought leadership article in a top trade publication.
Follow it with a podcast interview on the same topic.
Amplify both on LinkedIn and through a newsletter sponsorship.
Publish a technical blog that breaks down the key insights. 
Within weeks, the brand would likely surface in AI summaries for related searches.
Dig deeper: SEO in the age of AI: Becoming the trusted answer
Monitor how your content appears in AI
You should also monitor where your content shows up. 
AI visibility benchmarking is still emerging, but even a manual review of AI-generated responses can provide useful insight. 
GA4 dashboards that track traffic from platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity, or tools like Semrush’s AI features, can help you identify which pieces are working and why.
Audit your content for trust signals
Audit your content and channels for the signals AI uses to judge credibility. 
Check whether expert sources are quoted, whether authoritative publications link back to your content, and whether backlinks support your owned media. 
These cues shape how AI evaluates and presents your brand in generative results.
PESO as a strategic lever for AI-first discovery
PR and marketing teams have long treated SEO, brand awareness, and lead generation as separate workstreams. 
AI doesn’t recognize those boundaries. 
Generative search platforms prioritize consistency, relevance, authority, and clarity across paid, earned, shared, and owned content.
As a result, PESO is more than a media model. 
Visibility once meant showing up on Page 1. Now, it depends on whether AI systems view your brand as authoritative enough to summarize it. 
This shift turns PESO into a playbook for generative visibility. 
Without consistent, trusted content across all four channels, brands risk being left out of the conversation entirely.
PESO becomes a map for building discoverability, trust, and consistency across everything you publish. 
Marketers who adopt this approach not only increase visibility, but they also shape the narratives AI learns to associate with their brand.
In a world where AI models decide what to surface and summarize, visibility strategies must evolve. 
Aligning PESO efforts with what generative systems value – recency, repetition, and relevance – helps brands appear where audiences now look first. 
PESO is no longer about balancing channels. 
It’s about training the models that shape perception and ensuring your brand influences how AI explains the world.

See how the PESO mix strengthens trust signals that AI systems pull from when deciding which brands to surface in model-generated responses.

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Digital Marketing

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Reach out with any questions you might have regarding how RSO can help you with digital marketing.

All About Digital Marketing

Read the Latest Trends and Headlines in Digital Marketing.

Here are some of the latest headlines on digital marketing insights, search, and ecommerce:

Free Consultation

Reach out with any questions you might have regarding how RSO can help you with digital marketing.

All About
Digital Marketing