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Google may be cracking down on self-promotional ‘best of’ listicles

By in Marketing

Written by Danny Goodwin SaaS brands saw 30–50% visibility drops after heavy use of self-ranked 'best' pages, possibly signaling stricter Google review trust signals. Google may finally be starting to address a popular SEO and AI visibility “tactic”: self-promotional “best of” listicles. That’s according to new research by Lily Ray, vice president, SEO strategy and research at Amsive. Across several SaaS brands hit hard in January, a pattern emerged. Many relied heavily on review-style content that ranked their own product as the No. 1 “best” in its category, often updated with the current year to trigger recency signals. What’s happening. After the December…

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The Role of Websites in the Age of AI

By in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Marketing

by Shawn Davis Websites have been the cornerstones of the internet economy for years. In the new age of AI, however, many are questioning if this still rings true. With organic traffic decreasing by up to 64 percent, a new AI browser launching every day, and consumers increasingly handling their needs through AI chat interfaces, brands are looking at their online presences through fresh eyes. Consumers have fewer reasons to leave their favorite LLMs to browse, research, and even purchase new products. This is upending the way we use the internet, and website builders are asking themselves what role, if any, webpages…

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How B2B Prospecting Has Changed

By in Sales

by Ayaz Nanji Most marketers and salespeople say B2B buyers are less trusting of prospecting today compared with in the past, according to recent research from Sopro. The report was based on data from a survey conducted in October 2025 among 442 B2B sales and marketing decision-makers in the United Kingdom and the United States. Some 61% of respondents believe B2B buyers are less trusting of prospecting than before, 33% say buyers now expect more information and personalization, and 31% say buyers tend to be further through the research process before engaging with salespeople. Some 34% of sales respondents say deals now involve more decision-makers…

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Why SEO teams need to ask ‘should we use AI?’ not just ‘can we?’

By in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Tag

Written by Claire Taylor Automation can save SEO teams time—but at what cost? Explore where AI boosts speed, where it erodes trust, and how to protect real authority. Right now, it’s hard to find a marketing conversation that doesn’t include two letters: AI. SEOs, strategists, and marketing leaders everywhere are asking the same question in different ways: How do we use AI to cut manpower, streamline work, move faster, and boost efficiency? Much of that thinking makes sense. If you run a business, you can’t ignore a tool that turns hours of grunt work into minutes. You’d be foolish to try.…

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Redefining procurement performance in the era of agentic AI

By in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

By Aasheesh Mittal, Roman Belotserkovskiy, and Theano Liakopoulou Agentic AI is changing what the procurement function can achieve—shifting procurement’s focus from transaction tasks to a strategic driver of growth, sustainability, and resilience. https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/2260728350&color=%2307254d&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true Procurement is entering a new age—one defined not just by cost containment, but by its ability to shape broader enterprise outcomes: resilience, sustainability, speed to market, and innovation. Yet today’s procurement teams are struggling to keep pace. Rapid shifts in the geopolitical environment, market dynamics, supply shocks, inflationary pressure, and an overwhelming volume of data are all converging to expose the limits of traditional operating models. Procurement leaders tell us…

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Your local rankings look fine. So why are calls disappearing?

By in Marketing Tag

Written by Michel van Luijtelaar AI local packs and ads are shrinking organic space. New data shows why calls drop even when 3-pack positions hold — and what you must change. For many local businesses, performance looks healthier than it is. Rank trackers still show top-three positions. Visibility reports appear steady. Yet calls and website visits from Google Business Profiles are falling — sometimes fast. This gap is becoming a defining feature of local search today. Rankings are holding. Visibility and performance aren’t. The alligator has arrived in local SEO. The visibility crisis behind stable rankings Across multiple U.S. industries, traditional…

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7 custom GPT ideas to automate SEO workflows

By in Marketing Tag

Written by Roslyn Ayers How custom GPTs can be used in SEO, with example prompts for planning, analysis, reporting, and technical work. Custom GPTs can help SEO teams move faster by turning repeatable tasks into structured workflows. If you don’t have access to paid ChatGPT, you can still use these prompts as standalone references by copying them into your notes for future reuse. You will need to tweak them for your team’s specific use cases, because they are intended as a starting point. Working with AI is largely trial and error. To get better at writing prompts, practice with small tasks first, iterate…

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State Leave Laws Continue to Expand in 2026: What Multistate Employers Should Know

By in Human Resources

By gcobb  The new year, as always, brings with it new developments in labor and employment law. Likewise, the ever-growing labyrinth of state and local paid leave laws, including paid sick leave and family and medical leave laws, continues to develop in 2026. Some states have expanded their existing leave provisions, while others are enacting wholly new leave programs. As paid leave requirements grow and change, so too do compliance difficulties and litigation risks for multijurisdictional employers. Below is a summary of key developments in state and local leave laws, as well as states to watch as the year progresses.…

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7 real-world AI failures that show why adoption keeps going wrong

By in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Written by Bruce Clay From illegal trades to chatbot lawsuits, these examples reveal the operational, legal, and reputational risks behind failed AI deployments. AI has quickly risen to the top of the corporate agenda. Despite this, 95% of businesses struggle with adoption, MIT research found. Those failures are no longer hypothetical. They are already playing out in real time, across industries, and often in public.  For companies exploring AI adoption, these examples highlight what not to do and why AI initiatives fail when systems are deployed without sufficient oversight. 1. Chatbot participates in insider trading, then lies about it In an experiment driven by the…

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Top 10 AI Marketing Tools for Small Businesses in 2026

By in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Marketing

By Lauren Basiura Everyone knows it at this point, but AI is a big deal in modern marketing. Small businesses can now access tools that used to be limited to large enterprises. These platforms automate repetitive tasks, improve targeting, and help create more effective campaigns with fewer resources. Understanding which tools are worth the investment helps small teams compete more effectively. The right AI tools can manage social media, generate ad copy, optimize SEO, and analyze customer data – all while saving time and improving accuracy. Quick Takeaways AI tools help small businesses automate daily marketing tasks. Personalization and predictive…

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