Condé Nast expects search to become a single-digit of its traffic
After years of Google algorithm updates and huge SERP changes, Condé Nast now plans its business as if search traffic barely exists.
Topic: Business model
ChatGPT hits $100 million in ad revenue and is opening self-serve access in April
ChatGPT is still showing ads to less than 20% of eligible users — meaning the $100 million win and self-serve access is just the beginning.
AI is squeezing marketing agencies from both sides
Agencies embraced AI to cut costs, but clients did the same. Now expectations are rising, budgets tightening, and value under scrutiny.
Cloudflare CEO: Bots could overtake human web usage by 2027
Matthew Prince says AI bots could soon surpass humans, driving massive traffic surges, breaking ad models, and reshaping search.
Perplexity stops testing advertising
Perplexity began testing sponsored placements in 2024. It’s abandoning them, saying labeled ads can erode credibility.
OpenAI details how ads will work in ChatGPT
Ads will appear only in Free and Go tiers, with sensitive topics excluded and users able to adjust personalization or upgrade to remove them.
Anthropic says Claude will remain ad-free as ChatGPT tests ads
Anthropic argues ads inside AI chats would erode trust, warp incentives, and clash with how people actually use assistants like Claude.
ChatGPT ads are coming – and they won’t look like Google Ads
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says Google’s ad model profits when search fails – and vows ChatGPT will take a different approach to ads and commerce.
How Clayton Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation helps explain the rise of Positionless Marketing
Assembly-line marketing is obsolete. Positionless Marketing is the disruptive innovation transforming how brands connect with customers in real time.
Google Search traffic decline is inevitable, execs say
Google execs believe Search will lose traffic to Gemini or ChatGPT, and urged urgent Gemini monetization, according to an internal document.
ChatGPT with ads: ‘Free-user monetization’ coming in 2026?
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has previously said he hates ads and he was concerned about products that manipulate the truth to suit advertisers.
Apple rebrands Search Ads as Apple Ads
Apple renames its ads arm as it broadens its ambitions in digital advertising across more of its ecosystem beyond App Store search results.
Why AI will break the traditional SEO agency model
AI platforms are rewriting SEO economics – slashing costs, automating expertise, and forcing agencies to evolve fast or face extinction.
OpenAI has no immediate plans for ChatGPT advertising
Is OpenAI discussing plans for an ad model? Maybe. But don't expect advertising to appear in ChatGPT anytime soon.
Netflix shifts focus to ad-supported tier as subscriber growth surges
Netflix's shift to phasing out ad-free plans indicates a growing audience that advertisers can target, especially as this model expands.
Google CEO on future of links, AI making Search quality worse
Sundar Pichai said links will always be an important part of Search and addressed complaints that AI-generated content is ruining Search.
How to ‘un-ruin’ the internet: The ultimate guide for SEOs
Amid unfair industry blame for the failings of the modern web, we aim to challenge stereotypes and spotlight real individuals in SEO.
Google CEO on SGE and Search evolution: ‘We’ll get it right’
Sundar Pichai compares the shift to SGE to the shift from desktop to mobile – and believes it won't blow up Google's current business model.
Twitter’s top 500 advertisers could get free verification
As Twitter becomes more pay-to-play, it hurts smaller businesses and startups with limited followings and paid social advertising budgets.
How to plan and budget for enterprise SEO
This step-by-step guide will help you make a business use case for your enterprise SEO budget that connects with the C-suite.
Neeva’s ‘FastTap Search’ feature presents direct links instead of a results page
FastTap Search is a reimagining of the search results that’s only possible because Neeva doesn’t rely on ad revenue.
What is the right price for your agency’s SEO services?
Whether or not your agency’s pricing is on point is a pressing question when dealing with a potential client.
How to (re)build an SEO agency today – Part 3: Changing business models
Without in-person meeting, curating client relationships with more attention in the digital landscape is crucial for retention.
How would an SEO agency be built today? Part 2: Current business model(s)
In Part 2 of this series, we explore the current business models of SEO agencies – including value propositions, revenue drivers, key resources, and more.
How would an SEO agency be built today? Part 1: Consumers and trends
As agencies adapt to circumstances and discover new ways of positioning themselves, they can use their beginner’s mind and fuel a much-needed change for both clients and industry.
How Do Social Media Algorithms Work?
Do you ever wonder why your social media posts never seem to get shown to all of your followers? I mean … how do social media algorithms work anyway? You spend time building your connections hoping that your organic reach will improve, and yet when you post only a small fraction of the people you […]
Amazon FBA challenges highlight broader vulnerability in e-commerce ecosystem
As sellers try to react quickly to ever-changing circumstances due to coronavirus, logistics and channel strategies may change forever.
Uber Eats readies ad sales for restaurants
Could it become a rival to Google and Yelp over time?
Foursquare To Charge For Local Database — Will Partners Balk?
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Foursquare will soon be charging a small number of partners to use its Venue Database. Recently Microsoft and Foursquare agreed to a $15 million investment/licensing deal that brings Foursquare content to Bing search results and Windows Mobile. According to the WSJ article: The New York startup is […]
Is Rewarder The Heir Of Google Answers?
There have been a range of “answer engines” or “help engines” (Q&A sites) that have come and gone over the years. Some of them might be considered “social search.” Yahoo Answers, Ask.com (more recently focused on Q&A), Answers.com, Askville (Amazon), ChaCha, Keen, JustAnswer/Pearl are among those that remain and still exist. Verticals with Q&A angles […]
Google Panda Two Years Later: The Real Impact Beyond Rankings & SEO Visibility
(Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles looking at the aftermath of Google’s Panda algorithm update, which launched February 24, 2011. To catch up, please see the first article in the series: Google Panda Two Years Later: Losers Still Losing & One Real Recovery.) Google’s Panda algorithm update, which launched two […]
Groupon Makes Bid To Become Local (Deals) Search Engine
Late last week Groupon announced that it was going to make a growing inventory of less perishable deals accessible to consumers. Calling this the Groupon “Local Marketplace” the new functionality is live in Chicago and New York, soon to be available across Groupon cities: In the last year, we’ve increased our North American selection of […]
Google Product Search To Become Google Shopping, Use Pay-To-Play Model
Google Product Search is getting a new name, Google Shopping, and a new business model where only merchants that pay will be listed. It’s the first time Google will decommission a search product that previously listed companies for free. The company says the change will improve the searcher experience, but it will also likely raise […]
Yelp CEO: 50 Percent Deal Margins Unsustainable
Following the elimination of daily deals (though not check-in deals) from Facebook’s lineup of products, Yelp followed suit this week by scaling back its daily deals program. Many people incorrectly interpreted the news, presented in a Bloomberg article, as Yelp’s total exit from the space. Some have also seen it as an indication that the […]
How Yelp Crushed Citysearch & Yahoo Local … & Why Google Is Stealing Yelp’s Playbook
A fascinating study published last year compares the reviews and reviewers at three local business websites: Yelp, Citysearch and Yahoo Local. And, in explaining how Yelp overtook the other two, it also hints — in my opinion — at how Google is trying to beat Yelp by using Yelp’s own playbook. Citysearch and Yahoo Local […]
Big Trends (Hint: Mobile) Emerging In Online Advertising’s Next Frontiers
One of the most competitive and interesting sports in reporting on what’s happening in the online world is the ongoing game of predicting the future. Just as we’re seeing regime change in North Africa and the Middle East, it looks as if we’re experiencing another tectonic shift in the universe of online ads.
Google Will Make $10 Per Android User In 2012: Report
A number of reports out underscore how strategic mobile is now for Google’s business. The first, from IDC, says that there were more smartphones shipped in Q4 than PCs. Think about that. And earlier analyst reports found that tablets (read: iPad) have cut into PC sales. The PC era is now officially over. PCs will […]
Twitter Formalizes Business Products, Starts Taking Advertiser Requests
Twitter has just launched an expanded version of its online guide for business users, which opens up its previously limited/closed advertising products and lets anyone put in a request to buy ads on the service. At the same time, it also represents a significant step for the company in terms of offering a formal and […]
Twitter Selling Tweets For Analysis, Not Display
Twitter’s business plan has taken another step today: Twitter and Gnip, a social data provider, have partnered to offer up to half of the Twitter “firehose” of tweets for sale with a couple conditions: Companies buying the tweets can’t display them, nor can they resell them; they’re for analysis only. According to Gnip’s announcement, the […]
Need Pre-Facebook Movie Drama? Go Read “Googled” This Week
With the Facebook movie’s debut a week away, how about something to keep you entertained while you wait? A book. About that other major internet drama story, Google. The book? “Googled, The End Of The World As We Know It,” by Ken Auletta. Googled came out at the end of last year, and I’ve been […]