For years, conversations about paid media have revolved around one question: should companies build in-house teams or outsource to agencies? That debate makes sense, but it misses the real issue. The problem isn’t where paid media sits in the org chart. It’s how performance leadership is structured. Many companies run Google Ads and other paid […]

On episode 339 of PPC Live The Podcast, I speak to Kirk Williams, a long-time PPC professional who’s been in the industry since 2009. Kirk is the founder of Zato, a specialist PPC micro-agency, and the author of Ponderings of a PPC Professional and Stop the Scale. He’s also a familiar face on the global […]

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 […]

For a long time, SEO had the simplest math in marketing: Rank higher → Get more traffic → Fill the sales pipeline To the dissatisfaction of marketing executives, that linear world is breaking fast. Between AI Overviews, zero-click SERPs, and users getting answers directly from LLMs, the old “rank to get traffic and leads” equation […]

Google released v23 of the Google Ads API, the first update of 2026. It marks the start of a faster release cadence. What’s new. The update adds deeper Performance Max reporting, more granular invoicing, AI-powered audience tools, expanded campaign controls, and more: Performance Max transparency: Ad network type breakdowns are now available for PMax campaigns. […]

One of the biggest SEO challenges right now isn’t AI. It’s the irresponsible misinformation surrounding it. SEO isn’t dying — it’s evolving. That means it’s on us to understand how the industry is changing, and to be careful about who we listen to. I’m not easily shocked, but some of the AEO (or GEO) talks […]

Google announced yesterday that it is exploring ways for sites to opt out of Google using their content for its AI-generative search features, such as AI Mode and AI Overviews. I asked the SEO community on X if they would opt out of these Google Search AI-generative features or not. The results. Of the over […]

Many search teams are seeing better rankings, more visibility, increased traffic, and more leads. Yet feedback on pipeline, revenue, and sales outcomes isn’t showing the same positive results. When SEO KPIs are green and graphs are up and to the right, business outcomes don’t always reflect the same success. Why strong search performance doesn’t translate […]

Google has released v23 of the Google Ads API, the first update of 2026 and the start of a faster release cadence, introducing deeper Performance Max reporting, more granular invoicing, new AI-powered audience tools, and expanded campaign controls. What’s new: Performance Max transparency: Ad network type breakdowns are now available for PMax campaigns. More detailed […]

Marketers are spoiled for choice when it comes to great sources of content.  We now have more tools (hello, ChatGPT!) and job boards than ever, making it even easier to find writers and create content. But abundance comes with a downside: a race to the bottom, where speed and cost often take priority over quality. […]