Google introduced Creator Search, which allows advertisers to discover YouTube creators using keywords or channel handles, then narrow results by subscriber count, average views, location, and contact availability. The update significantly reduces the manual work involved in creator research and outreach.
Alongside search, Google added a new Management section that centralizes creator communications. Advertisers can now see creator names, inquiry status, subjects, latest updates, and respond-by dates in one place, with direct email access built in.
Why we care. As creator-led campaigns become more central to media strategies, advertisers need better tools to find the right creators and keep partnerships organized. Google Ads’ latest update to Creator Partnerships (beta) aims to solve both problems.
First seen. This update was first spotted by Google Ads Specialist Thomas Eccel when he shared it on Linkedin.
The big picture. These changes move Creator Partnerships closer to a full-fledged workflow tool, helping teams manage creator collaborations with the same structure and accountability as other paid media efforts.
Bottom line. By improving both discovery and organization, Google Ads is making it easier for advertisers to run creator partnerships at scale.
The PPC landscape in 2025 shifted faster than ever, with updates arriving at a pace unmatched in the industry’s 20-year history. At SMX Next, a panel of industry experts broke down what’s working, what’s failing, and what advertisers should prepare for in 2026 and beyond.
The state of PPC
The panelists agreed that 2025 marked a major shift, especially in how quickly Google responded to advertiser feedback.
Ameet Khabra, founder of Hop Skip Media, called the year “interesting” and said he was genuinely surprised by Google’s willingness to listen to advertisers, especially on channel reporting for Performance Max.
“It was really cool to see the people who were in that room sit there and be like, this is exactly what we asked for,” she noted, referring to discussions at Google Marketing Live.
Chris Ridley, head of paid media at Evoluted, said 2025 wasn’t just about Google listening — it was the year AI and AI search truly took off.
“Everyone is now talking about the different platforms available, like Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini, and they just seem to be dominating. AI Overviews have kind of taken over as well.”
Reva Minkoff, founder and president of Digital4Startups, called 2025 “the year of the max,” pointing to Performance Max, AI Max, and the growing list of “max” campaign types. She said more features launched this year than at any other time in her 20-year search career.
“It’s just every day there’s a new thing, which is really exciting. But there’s definitely a lot happening now.”
What’s working in PPC
Back to basics: Structure and signals
All panelists stressed that success in 2025 came from returning to the fundamentals.
Minkoff stressed the importance of proper campaign structure and quality signals:
“It’s still important to have a good search campaign with keywords that you control and ads you create that goes to an audience that you think it should be going to.”
Minkoff noted that Performance Max is working well, but only when the signals are right — “if you’re not putting good stuff in, you won’t get good stuff out.”
She also pointed to strong results from Demand Gen (formerly Video Action campaigns), user-generated content, and influencer marketing:
“I think people want to hear from real people.”
Khabra stressed the importance of using scripts and automation oversight to catch issues before they turn into problems.
“We’ll have scripts in place that are like anomaly detectors, just so we know that tracking is off. The broken URL script is a lifesaver, honestly — how many times have we had a developer push a change and we didn’t even know it happened?”
The human touch in creative
Ridley underscored the need for authentic creative in an AI-driven landscape:
“Going back with our authentic user-generated content is getting really good results compared to this slick, polished stuff, especially with AI coming out now and people questioning whether it’s real or not. Having that human touch is really working for us.”
“Making sure that we understand what their business objectives are rather than just their ROAS and CPAs” has been essential for success.
What not working in PPC
Automatically created assets (ACAs)
The panel unanimously agreed that Automatically Created Assets are problematic, primarily from a brand safety perspective.
Khabra was particularly critical:
“We can’t put in guidelines. We’re not allowed to approve things beforehand. So we really have to sit there and kind of just figure out what the system has created for us.”
“AI is a pattern matcher, not a creator. It’s going to generate the most probable thing, not something that’s actually new or exciting, or even correct.”
Minkoff echoed these concerns:
“A lot of clients need to be able to control their brand story and what they’re talking about, and the words that they use. I just don’t trust the automatically generated anything to reflect those guidelines.”
Minkoff noted that automatically generated content often misses business nuances, such as which products deserve budget and which items shouldn’t be advertised at all.
User interface and UX issues
Ridley voiced frustration with ongoing platform user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) changes.
“Having to click campaign, campaign, campaign makes no sense. I’m finding everything a lot easier to do in Editor now or using tools like Optmyzr where it kind of skips that UI.”
He apologized to Google representatives on other panels but maintained that UI changes are “counterproductive in terms of making it quicker, easier, more natural for people to find what they need.”
The problem is compounded by gaps between the UI and Editor, forcing advertisers to jump back and forth between the two.
Learning periods and flexibility
Minkoff pointed to extended learning periods as a major challenge, especially for smaller campaigns or time-sensitive moments like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
“How do you navigate a learning period on these platforms that feel no longer designed to let you do those pushes for one day that are honestly a real part of the business calendar?”
Measurement challenges
Khabra flagged measurement as a major pain point, especially for small business owners with limited budgets and data.
“Trying to figure out how to make that work with automation that needs a lot of it has been really, really interesting.”
Khabra warned that Google’s modeled conversions reflect a “best possible outcome” scenario that business owners may mistakenly treat as reality.
Biggest surprises of 2025
Google Marketing Live announcements
Ridley said Google Marketing Live was his biggest surprise, noting that Google “announced loads of new things for small and medium businesses, but also big things we’ve been asking for.” Key announcements included:
“I did not see that coming. I think it’s very exciting, although the next step is going to be being able to do something about it, which is kind of what I’m hoping for come soon.”
“That was definitely not on my bingo card. I would’ve never, ever in a million years thought the Waze pins would be a placement in PMax.”
The speed of AI/LLM rollout
Minkoff was struck by how quickly AI Overviews and LLMs became ubiquitous.
“It felt like overnight in a way. It was kind of coming out and then it was out and it’s there a good chunk of the time. The cat is out of the bag and it is very out of the bag and not coming back.”
The channel reporting debate
The Performance Max channel reporting discussion exposed tension between what advertisers want and what the platform was built to do.
The problem
Minkoff explained that many campaigns now see 95% or more of their budget flowing into a single placement, usually display:
“I just don’t think that was the point of PMax. The thing that I’ve always liked about PMax is that it can fill the whole funnel, that it can fill these different placements, that it wasn’t gonna be completely overrun by one.”
The fence-sitting position
Khabra acknowledged sitting on the fence:
“It was meant to be a black box this entire time. Although I’m really happy about the channel reporting, there was a little piece of you that was like, were we supposed to — should this have actually happened?”
She worried that everyone is now trying to manipulate the system in ways that defeat its purpose:
“We’re supposed to put in clean data, we’re supposed to put in good signals, and it’s supposed to do its job.”
Potential solutions
Ridley raised an intriguing idea: What if Google offered media mix controls that let advertisers suggest percentage splits — like 20% search and 30% display — as guidance rather than hard limits?
Minkoff suggested bid adjustments as a middle ground:
“Bid up, bid down. I want more of this, I want less of this. I’m not even necessarily asking for me to figure it out because if I was right, I would just run them in the other campaign. But more a matter of like, do a little more of this, do a little less of this.”
The consensus was clear: until better controls exist, advertisers should focus on sending the right signals so Google can make smarter decisions on the backend.
Biggest struggles right now
Controlling automated AI features
Ridley called the automatic rollout of AI recommendations and features the biggest challenge:
“Even sometimes after you turn it off and you go through the whole review, the campaign setup, you see it turned back on.”
He pointed to Matt Beswick’s recent experience, where forgetting to disable search partners led to most of the budget being spent on wasted traffic.
The challenge goes further with hidden toggles and hard-to-find settings, creating constant stress for advertisers trying to stay in control.
Finding hidden settings
Minkoff echoed this concern:
“A lot of the boxes are hidden, so it’s hard to even find where it was turned on or turned off, or the option that you can adjust it.”
Measurement for small businesses
Khabra’s biggest concern remains measurement challenges, especially with privacy concerns making tracking increasingly difficult:
“I think that’s just gonna continually become more of an issue.”
What we’ll be talking about in 2026
The unknown unknown
Minkoff offered a fascinating perspective: “My favorite thing about this question is that I honestly don’t know. And I feel like this is the first time I can say that—the first time where I felt like things were changing that quickly.”
She emphasized that the biggest thing we’ll discuss in a year probably hasn’t even been released yet:
“We have to make sure that we have budget, we have flexibility to factor that into our planning. I really think it’ll be something completely new, which is super exciting, but also kind of crazy.”
The antitrust trial
Khabra is watching the Google antitrust trial closely:
“They lost the first part of it. They’re appealing it. I’m really curious just to see what happens on that front and what the implications are.”
Ads within AI platforms
Ridley expects AI to remain the focus a year from now, but with ads running inside AI platforms.
“Ads within each of the AI platforms as well, and probably Google and other platforms integrating them as network partners as well.”
The only certainty in PPC is uncertainty
PPC changed at an unprecedented pace in 2025. Google finally listened to advertisers while pushing deeper into AI-driven automation. The advertisers who performed best embraced automation without giving up strategic control, prioritized quality signals over volume, and stayed agile enough to adapt to changes that seemed to come weekly, rather than quarterly.
As 2026 approaches, platforms are evolving faster than ever, and the biggest changes likely haven’t even been announced yet. Advertisers who build flexibility into their strategies, stick to strong fundamentals, and feed high-quality signals into automated systems will be best positioned to succeed — whatever 2026 brings.
Watch: 2026 PPC trends to get ahead of now + Live Q&A
Here is the full panel discussion from SMX Next 2025:
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/cnqwaiv6ikk-z3ah7B.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=17201280http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2026-01-05 18:30:142026-01-05 18:30:142026 PPC trends to get ahead of now
Tired of wasting time digging through Google Ads change history, jumping between reports, campaigns, and ad groups? A new “Go to…” button removes those extra clicks. It’s a small user interface change that saves time during audits and troubleshooting.
What’s new. Google added a “Go to…” dropdown in the Change history report. You can jump straight from a logged change to the relevant campaign or ad group. This is especially helpful when reviewing bulk edits, script-driven changes, or updates made in Google Ads Editor.
How it works:
Select one or more changes in the Change history report.
Use the “Go to…” dropdown to navigate straight to the affected entity.
No more manual searching through account structure to find what changed.
What they’re saying. The update was first flagged by PPC Specialist Arpan Banerjee on LinkedIn.
Hana Kobzová, founder of on PPC News Feed, said the feature “eliminates extra steps in troubleshooting and speeds up navigation, especially when reviewing bulk edits or changes made through scripts or the Google Ads Editor.”
Why we care. This update removes friction from one of the most time-consuming parts of account management: figuring out what changed and where. The new “Go to…” button lets you jump straight from the change log to the affected campaign or ad group. That saves time during audits, troubleshooting, and bulk-edit reviews. For teams managing large accounts or relying on scripts and Google Ads Editor, those saved clicks add up fast.
Bottom line. It’s not flashy, but for advertisers who live in Change history, this shortcut can save you real time.
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Remember when link building was all the rage in SEO?
While it never disappeared, its role evolved as Google introduced clearer guidelines and placed greater emphasis on quality, relevance, and intent.
Today, as AI search reshapes the organic landscape, link building has shifted into a closely related – and increasingly prioritized – initiative: brand mentions.
You might think of brand mentions as “citations,” but in the context of AI search, citations describe how brands are referenced by LLMs.
Brand mentions are the input that leads to those citations. To avoid confusion, this article uses brand mentions to describe the tactic itself.
To build durable organic visibility for your brand or clients, brand mentions should be a priority in 2026.
Let’s break down what that looks like in practice.
How and why to prioritize brand mentions
Brand mentions have moved from a nice-to-have tactic to core infrastructure in an AI search environment.
LLMs look beyond links, so this is not a return to the backlink strategies that once dominated SEO.
Instead, they evaluate mentions, context, and repeated co-occurrence between your brand and the topics you want to rank for.
Brand mentions are part of the ranking moat.
They compound over time, and they matter even more when competitors are not investing in the same signals.
From a prioritization standpoint, brand mentions should come:
Right after technical and content fundamentals are in place, including crawlability, structured data, and on-page clarity.
Before heavy long-form expansion or content produced for its own sake. You can publish 200 articles, but without a citation footprint, LLMs have little reason to surface them.
Passive brand mentions occur when something you produce fills a gap in the broader information ecosystem.
The goal is to make your brand the easiest source to reference.
They are earned by creating referenceable assets, not just content. Examples include:
Original data or insights: Think mini research drops, annual reports, or proprietary trends. These stand out from the generic web, and LLMs are effective at finding and citing them even when overall citation volume is limited.
Highly scannable definition or explainer pages: When a brand becomes the canonical definition of a concept, it is cited disproportionately. The objective is to become the primary source, as I’ve been saying for a while now.
Useful tools, templates, or calculators: These encourage habitual linking from blogs, forums, and communities, helping brands surface broadly for relevant queries.
Active participation on visible platforms, including Reddit and industry forums, approached as a knowledgeable contributor rather than a brand billboard. These discussions are scraped and can surface in LLM training data.
The most effective outreach for earning brand mentions is relationship-driven and anchored in information value.
Key guidelines include:
Lead with the asset, not the ask: For example: “We published new proprietary data on [X] and thought it might support your upcoming coverage.”
Use narrative relevance, not conditional relevance: Pitch journalists and creators who have recently covered the topic, not those who might someday.
Deliver a clear angle: Providing a ready-made hook, such as a specific data comparison, significantly increases the likelihood of brand inclusion.
Blend outreach with thought leadership: Podcasts, community AMAs, expert panels, and webinars increase surface area for discovery and research.
Follow up with new value, not reminders: If there is nothing new to add, wait until there is.
The long-term objective is to build an outreach engine by developing relationships with writers and personalities who are more likely to reference your brand in future work.
In some cases, there is added value when those relationships extend into content collaboration.
When to bring on a PR resource
Beyond budget considerations, PR support is most effective for building brand mention momentum when:
A strong story or data engine exists, but distribution is limited.
Brand mentions need to scale quickly, such as for fundraising, major launches, or highly competitive categories.
Internal teams are not structured for ongoing media relationship management.
Credibility from tier-one sources, such as The Wall Street Journal or TechCrunch, is needed to strengthen perceived authority in LLM evaluations.
The category is reputation-driven, where trust and authority directly affect rankings. Health, finance, legal, property management, and AI fall into this group.
If technical SEO fundamentals are still unresolved or reference-worthy assets are not yet in place, PR is premature.
When a brand is ready to function as a source, PR accelerates the signal flywheel.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/best-CMS-for-SaaS-companies-AI-Overviews-FDjMIo.webp?fit=1600%2C1180&ssl=111801600http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2026-01-05 14:00:002026-01-05 14:00:00How to earn brand mentions that drive LLM and SEO visibility
SEO now sits at an uncomfortable intersection at many organizations.
Leadership wants visibility in AI-driven search experiences. Product teams want clarity on which narratives, features, and use cases are being surfaced. Sales still depends on pipeline.
Meanwhile, traditional rankings, traffic, and conversions continue to matter. What has changed is the surface area of search.
Pages are now summarized, excerpted, and cited in environments where clicks are optional and attribution is selective.
When a generative AI summary appears on the SERP, users click traditional result links only about 8% of the time.
As a result, SEO teams need a clearer playbook for earning visibility inside generative outputs, not just around them.
This 90-day action plan outlines how to achieve this in a phased, weekly execution, with practical adjustments tailored to the specific purpose of the website.
Phase 1: Foundation (Weeks 1-2)
Define your ‘AI search topics’
Keywords still matter. But AI systems organize information around entities, topics, and questions, not just query strings.
The first step is to decide what you want AI tools to associate your brand with.
Action steps
Identify 5-10 core topics you want to be known for.
For each topic, map:
The questions users ask most often
The comparisons they evaluate
“Best,” “how,” and “why” queries that indicate decision-making intent
Example:
Topic: AI SEO tools
Mapped query types:
Core questions: What are the best AI SEO tools? How does AI improve SEO?
Comparisons: AI SEO tools vs traditional SEO tools.
Intent signals: Best AI SEO tools for content optimization.
Where this shifts by website type
Content hubs (media brands, publishers, research orgs) should prioritize mapping educational breadth – covering a topic comprehensively so AI systems see the site as a reference source, not a transactional endpoint.
Services/lead gen sites (agencies, consultants, local businesses) should map problem-solution queries prospects ask before converting, especially comparison and “how does this work?” questions.
Product and ecommerce sites (DTC brands, marketplaces, subscription ecommerce, retailers) should map topics to use cases, alternatives, and comparisons – not just product names or category terms.
Commercial, long-funnel sites (B2B SaaS, fintech, healthcare) should anchor topics to category leadership – the “what is,” “how it works,” and “why it matters” content buyers research long before demos.
If you can’t clearly articulate what you want AI systems to associate you with, neither can they.
Generative engines consistently surface content that is easy to extract, summarize, and reuse.
In practice, that favors pages where answers are clearly framed, front-loaded, and supported by scannable structure.
High-performing pages tend to follow a predictable pattern.
AI-friendly content structures include:
A short intro (2-3 lines) that establishes scope.
A direct answer placed immediately after the header, written to stand alone if excerpted.
Bulleted lists or numbered steps that break down the explanation.
A concise FAQ section at the bottom that reinforces key queries.
This increases the likelihood your content is:
Quoted in AI Overviews.
Used in ChatGPT or Perplexity answers.
Surfaced for voice and conversational search.
For ecommerce and services sites in particular, this is often where internal resistance shows up. Teams worry that answering questions too directly will reduce conversion opportunities.
In AI-driven search, the opposite is usually true: pages that make answers easy to extract are more likely to be surfaced, cited, and revisited when users move from research to decision-making.
In generative search, content that gets surfaced typically resolves the core question immediately, then provides context and depth.
For many commercial teams, that requires rethinking how early pages prioritize explanation versus persuasion – a shift that’s increasingly necessary to earn visibility at all.
This is where GEO (generative engine optimization) and AEO (answer engine optimization) move from theory into page-level execution.
Add a 1–2 sentence TL;DR under key H2s that can stand on its own if excerpted
Use explicit, question-based headers:
“What is…”
“How does…”
“Why does…”
Include clear, plain-language definitions before introducing nuance or positioning
Example:
What is generative engine optimization?
Generative engine optimization (GEO) helps content get selected as a source in AI-generated answers.
In practice, GEO is the process of structuring and optimizing content so AI tools like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews can interpret, evaluate, and reference it when responding to user queries.
How does answer-first structure change by site type?
Publishers benefit from definitional clarity because it increases citation frequency.
Lead gen sites see stronger mid-funnel engagement when prospects get clear answers upfront.
Product sites reduce friction by addressing comparison and “is it right for me?” questions early.
B2B platforms establish category authority long before a buyer ever hits a pricing page.
Add structured data (high impact, often underused)
Structured data remains one of the clearest ways to signal meaning and credibility to AI-driven search systems.
It helps generative engines quickly identify the source, scope, and authority behind a piece of content – especially when deciding what to cite.
At a minimum, most sites should implement:
Article schema to clarify content type and topical focus.
Organization schema to establish the publishing entity.
Author or Person schema to surface expertise and accountability.
FAQ schema, where it reflects genuine question-and-answer content, can still reinforce structure and intent – but it should be used selectively, not as a default.
This matters differently by site type:
Content hubs benefit when author and publication signals reinforce editorial credibility and reference value.
Lead gen and services sites use schema to connect expertise to specific problem areas and queries.
Product and ecommerce sites help AI systems distinguish between informational content and transactional pages.
Commercial, long-funnel sites rely on schema to support trust signals alongside relevance in high-stakes categories.
Structured data doesn’t guarantee inclusion – but in generative search environments, its absence makes exclusion more likely.
As generative systems decide which sources to reference, demonstrated experience increasingly outweighs polish alone.
Pages that surface consistently tend to show clear evidence that the content comes from real people with real expertise.
Meaning, signals associated with E-E-A-T – experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trust – remain central to how generative systems decide which sources to reference.
Key signals to reinforce:
Clear author bios that establish credentials, role, or subject-matter relevance.
First-hand experience statements that indicate direct involvement (“We tested…”, “In our experience…”).
Original visuals, screenshots, data, or case studies that can’t be inferred or synthesized
This is where generic, AI-generated content reliably falls short.
Without visible signals of experience and accountability, AI systems struggle to distinguish authoritative sources from interchangeable ones.
How different site types should demonstrate experience and authority
Media and research sites should reinforce editorial standards, sourcing, and author attribution to support citation trust.
Agencies and consultants benefit from foregrounding lived client experience and specific outcomes, not abstract expertise.
Ecommerce brands earn trust through real-world product usage, testing, and visual proof.
High-ACV B2B companies stand out by showcasing practitioner insight and operational knowledge rather than marketing language alone.
If your content reads like it could belong to anyone, AI systems will treat it that way.
Certain page types are more likely to be cited in AI-generated answers because they organize information in ways that are easy to extract, compare, and reference.
These pages are designed to serve as reference material – resolving common questions clearly and completely, rather than advancing a particular perspective.
Formats that consistently perform well include:
Ultimate guides that consolidate a topic into a single, authoritative resource.
Comparison tables that make differences explicit and scannable.
Statistics pages that centralize data points AI systems can reference.
Glossaries that define terms clearly and consistently.
Pages with titles such as “AI SEO Statistics (2025)” or “Best AI SEO Tools Compared” are frequently surfaced because they signal completeness, recency, and reference value at a glance.
For commercial sites, citation-worthy pages don’t replace conversion-focused assets.
They support them by capturing early-stage, informational demand – and positioning the brand as a credible source long before a buyer enters the funnel.
Generative systems increasingly synthesize signals across text, images, and video when assembling answers.
Content that performs well in AI-driven search is often reinforced across formats, not confined to a single page or medium.
Add descriptive, specific alt text that explains what an image shows and why it’s relevant.
Create short-form videos paired with transcripts that mirror on-page explanations.
Repurpose core content into formats AI systems can encounter and contextualize elsewhere:
YouTube videos.
LinkedIn carousels.
X threads.
How this supports different site goals
Publishers extend the reach and reference value of core reporting and explainers.
Services and B2B sites reinforce expertise by repeating the same answers across multiple surfaces.
Ecommerce brands support discovery by contextualizing products beyond traditional listings and category pages.
Track AI visibility – not just traffic
As generative results absorb more of the discovery layer, traditional click-based metrics capture only part of search performance.
AI visibility increasingly shows up in how often – and where – a brand’s content is referenced, summarized, or surfaced without a click.
With 88% of businesses worried about losing organic visibility in the world of AI-driven search, tracking these signals is essential for demonstrating continued influence and reach.
Signals worth monitoring include:
Featured snippet ownership, which often feeds AI-generated summaries.
Appearances within AI Overviews and similar answer experiences.
Brand mentions inside AI tools during exploratory queries.
Search Console impressions, even when clicks don’t follow.
For long sales cycles in particular, these signals act as early indicators of influence.
AI citations and impressions often precede direct engagement, shaping consideration well before a buyer enters the funnel.
These tools support different parts of an SEO-for-AI workflow, from topic research and content structure to schema implementation and visibility tracking.
Content and AI SEO
Surfer, Clearscope, Frase
Used to identify gaps in topical coverage and evaluate whether content resolves questions clearly enough to be excerpted in AI-generated answers.
Schema and structured data
RankMath, Yoast, Schema App
Useful for implementing and maintaining schema that helps AI systems interpret content, authorship, and organizational credibility.
Visibility and performance tracking
Google Search Console, Ahrefs
Essential for monitoring impressions, query patterns, and how content surfaces in search – including cases where visibility doesn’t result in a click.
AI research and validation
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini
Helpful for testing how topics are summarized, which sources are cited, and where your content appears (or doesn’t) in AI-driven responses.
The rule that matters most
AI systems tend to favor content that provides definitive answers to questions.
If your content can’t answer a question clearly in 30 seconds, it’s unlikely to be selected for AI-generated answers.
What separates teams succeeding in this environment isn’t experimentation with new tactics, but consistency in execution.
Pages built to be understandable, referenceable, and trustworthy are the ones generative systems return to.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/semrush-discover-ai-optimization-031q2A.webp?fit=800%2C440&ssl=1440800http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2026-01-05 13:00:002026-01-05 13:00:00A 90-day SEO playbook for AI-driven search visibility
In fact, 74% of shoppers give up because there’s too much choice, according to research by Business of Fashion and McKinsey.
Now?
A shopper submits a query. AI gives one clear answer — often with direct links to products, reviews, and retailers. They can even click straight to purchase.
So, how do you make sure AI recommends your fashion brand?
We analyzed how fashion brands appear in AI search. And why some brands dominate while others disappear.
In this article, you’ll learn how large language models (LLMs) interpret fashion, what drives visibility, and the levers you can pull to get your brand visible in AI searches (plus a free fashion trend calendar to help you plan).
There are three ways people will see your brand in AI search: brand mentions, citations, and recommendations.
Brand mentions are references to your brand within an answer.
Ask AI about the latest fashion trends, and the answer includes a couple of relevant brands.
Citations are the proof that backs up AI answers. Your brand properties get linked as a source. This could be product pages, sizing guides, or care instructions.
Citations also include other sites that talk about your brand, like Wikipedia, Amazon, or review sites.
Product recommendations are the most powerful form of AI visibility. Your brand isn’t just mentioned; it’s actively suggested when someone is ready to buy.
For example, I asked ChatGPT for recommendations of aviator sunglasses:
Ray-Ban doesn’t just show up as a mention — they’re a recommended option with clickable shopping cards.
How AI Models Choose Which Fashion Brands to Surface
If you’ve ever wondered how AI chooses which fashion brands to surface, here are the two basic factors:
By evaluating what other people say about you online
By checking how consistently factual and trustworthy your own information is
Let’s talk about consensus and consistency. Plus, we’ll discuss real fashion brands that are winning at both.
Consensus
If you ask all your friends for their favorite ice cream shop, they’ll probably give different answers.
But if almost everyone coincided in the same answer, you trust that’s probably the best place to go.
AI does something similar.
First, it checks different sources of information online. This includes:
Editorial websites, like articles in Vogue, Who What Wear, InStyle, and others
Community and creator content, including TikTok try-ons, Reddit threads, and YouTube product roundups
Retailer corroboration, like ratings and reviews on Amazon, Nordstrom, Zalando, and more
Sustainability verification from third parties like B Corp, OEKO-TEX, or Good On You
After analyzing this information, it gives you recommendations for what it perceives to be the best option.
Here’s an example of what that consensus looks like for a real brand:
Carhartt is mentioned all over the web. They appear in retail listings, editorial pieces, and in community discussions.
The result?
They get consistent LLM mentions.
Consistency
AI also judges your brand based on the consistency of your product information.
This includes:
Naming & colorways: Identical names/color codes across your own site, retailers, and mentions
Fit & size data: Standardized size charts, fit guides, and model measurements
Materials & care: The same composition and instructions across all channels
Imagery/video parity: The same SKU visuals (like hero, 360, try-on) on your site and retailer sites
Price & availability sync: Real-time updates during drops or restocks to avoid stale or conflicting data
For example, Lululemon does a great job of keeping product availability updated on their website.
If you ask AI where to find a specific product type, it directs you back to the Lululemon website.
This happens because Lululemon’s site provides accurate, up-to-date information.
Plus, it’s consistent across retailer pages.
The Types of Content That Dominate Fashion AI Search
Mentions get you into the conversation. Recommendations make you the answer. Citations build the credibility that supports both.
The brands winning in AI search have all three — here’s how to diagnose where you stand.
Let’s talk about the fashion brands that are consistently showing up in AI search results, and the kind of content that helps them gain AI visibility.
Editorial Shopping Guides and Roundups
Editorial content has a huge impact on results.
Sites like Vogue, Who What Wear, and InStyle are regularly cited by LLMs.
These editorial pieces are key for AI search, since they frame products in context — showing comparison, specific occasions, or trends.
There are two ways to play into this.
First, you can develop relationships with editorial websites relevant to your brand.
Start by researching your top three competitors. Using Google (or a quick AI search), find out which publications have featured those competitors recently.
Then, reach out to the editor or writers at those publications.
If they’re individual creators, you might send sample products for them to review.
Looking for mentions from bigger publications?
You might consider working with a PR team to get your products listed in articles.
To build consistency in that content, provide data sheets with information about material, fit, or care.
Second, you can build your own editorial content.
That’s exactly what Huckberry does:
They regularly produce editorial-style content that answers questions.
Many of these posts include a video as well, giving them more opportunity for discovery in LLMs:
Retailer Product Pages and Brand Stores
Think of your product detail page (PDP) as the source of truth for AI.
If you don’t have all the information there, AI will take its answers from other sources — whether or not they’re accurate.
Product pages (your own website or a retailer’s) need to reflect consistent, accurate information. Then, AI can understand and translate into answers.
Some examples might include:
Structured sizing information
Consistent naming and colorways
Up-to-date prices and availability
Ratings (with pictures)
Fit guides (like sizing guides and images with model measurements and sizing)
Materials and care pages
Transparent sustainability modules
For example,Everlane provides the typical sizing chart on each of its products. But they take it a step further and include a guide to show how a piece is meant to fit on your body.
You can even see instructions to measure yourself and find the right size.
That’s why, when I ask AI to help me pick the right size for a pair of pants, it gives me a clear answer.
And the citations come straight from Everlane’s website.
Everlane’s product pages also include model measurements and sizing.
So when I ask ChatGPT for pictures to help me pick the right size, I get this response:
However you choose to present this information on your product pages, just remember: It needs to be identical on all retailer pages as well.
Otherwise, your brand could confuse the LLMs.
User Generated Video Content
What you say about your own brand is one thing.
But what other people say about you online can have a huge influence on your AI mentions.
Of course, you don’t have full control over what consumers post about you online.
So, proactively build connections with creators. Or, try to join the conversation online when appropriate.
This can help you build a positive sentiment toward your brand, which AI will pick up on.
Not sure which creators to work with?
Try searching for your competitors on channels like TikTok or Instagram. See which creators are mentioning their products, and getting engagement.
Search by social channels, and filter by things like follower count, location, and pricing.
Here’s an example: Aritzia has grown a lot on TikTok. They show up in creator videos, fit checks, and unboxing-style videos.
In fact, the hashtag #aritziahaul has a total of 32k posts, racking up 561 million views overall.
Other fashion brands, like Quince, include a reviewing system on their PDPs.
This allows consumers to rate the fit and add pictures of themselves wearing the product.
LLMs also use this information to answer questions.
Creator try-ons, styling videos, and similar content can help increase brand mentions in “best for [body type]” or “best for [occasion]” prompts.
Pro tip: Zero-click shopping is coming. Perplexity’s “Buy with Pro” and ChatGPT’s “Instant Checkout” hint at a future where AI answers lead straight to one-click purchases. The effects are still emerging, but as with social shopping, visibility wins. So, make sure your brand shows up in the chats that drive buying decisions.
Reddit and Community Threads
Reddit is a major source of information for fashion AI queries.
This includes information about real-world fit, durability, comfort, return experiences, and comparisons.
For example, Uniqlo shows up regularly in Reddit threads and questions about style.
You can also find real reviews of durability about the products.
As a result, the brand is getting thousands of mentions in LLMs based on Reddit citations.
Plus, this leads to a ton of organic traffic back to the Uniqlo website.
Obviously, it’s impossible to completely control the conversation around your brand. So for this to work, there’s one key thing you can’t miss:
Your products need to be truly excellent.
A mediocre product that has a lot of negative sentiment online won’t show up in AI search results.
And no amount of marketing tactics can fool the LLMs.
Further reading: Learn how to join the conversation online with our Reddit Marketing guide.
Lab Tests and Fabric Explainers
This kind of content shows the quality of your products.
It gives LLMs a measurable benchmark to quote on things like pilling or color fastness.
This content could include:
“6-month wear” style videos
Pages that explain the fabrics and materials used
Third party tests
Clear care instructions
For example, Quince has an entire page on their website talking about cashmere.
And in Semrush’s AI Visibility dashboard, you can see this page is one of the top cited sources from Quince’s website.
Another option is to create content that shows tests of your products.
Here’s a great example from a brand that makes running soles, Vibram.
They sponsored pro trail runner Robyn Lesh, and teamed up with Huckberry to lab test some of their shoes.
This kind of content is helping Vibram maintain solid AI visibility.
And for smaller brands who don’t have Vibram’s sponsorship budget?
Try doing product testing content with your own team.
For example, have a team member wear a specific product every day for a month, and report back on durability.
Or, bury a piece of clothing underground and watch how long it takes to decompose, like Woolmark did:
Get creative, and you’ll have some fun creating content that can also help your brand be more visible.
Start by checking your AI visibility score. You’ll see how this measures up against the industry benchmarks.
You can prioritize next steps based on the Topic Opportunities tab.
There, you’ll see topics where your competitors are being mentioned, but your brand is missed.
Then, jump to the Brand Perception tab to learn more about your Share of Voice and Sentiment in AI search results.
You’ll also get some clear insights on improvements you can make.
Comparisons and Alternatives Content
AI loves a good comparison post (and honestly, who doesn’t?). So, creating content that compares your products to other brands is a great way to get more mentions.
It helps you get brand exposure without depending on organic traffic dependence. Plus, it helps level the playing field with bigger competitors.
For instance, Quince is often cited online as a cheaper alternative to luxury clothing.
I asked ChatGPT for affordable cashmere options, and Quince was the first recommendation.
So, why is this brand showing up consistently?
One reason is their comparison content.
In each PDP, you’ll see the “Beyond Compare” box, showing specific points of comparison with major competitors.
The right comparisons are handled honestly and tastefully.
Focus on real points of difference (like Quince does with price). Or, show which products are best for certain occasions.
For example: “Our sweaters are great for hiking in the snow. Our competitors’ sweaters are better for indoor activities.”
Comparisons give AI a reason to recommend your fashion brand when someone asks for an alternative.
What This Shift Means for Your Fashion Brand
AI search has changed the way people discover products, and even their path to purchase.
Before, this involved multiple searches, clicking on different websites, or scrolling through forums. Now, you can do this in one simple interface.
So, how is AI changing fashion, and how can your brand adapt?
Editorial, Retailer, and PDP Split
AI search doesn’t treat every source of information equally.
And depending on which model your audience uses, the “default” source of truth can look very different.
ChatGPT leans heavily on editorial and community signals.
It rewards cultural traction — what people are talking about, buying, and loving.
For example, articles like this one from Vogue are a prime source for ChatGPT answers:
Meanwhile, Google’s AI Mode and Perplexity skew toward retailer PDPs.
They look for structured data like price, availability, or fit guides. In other words, they trust whoever has the cleanest, richest product data.
The most visible brands win in both arenas: cultural conversation and PDP completeness.
Here’s What You Can Do
To show up in all major LLMs, you need two parallel pipelines.
Cultural traction: Like press mentions, creator partnerships, and community visibility
Citation-ready proof: For example, complete and accurate PDPs across retailer channels
Here’s an Example: Carhartt
Carhartt is a great example of a brand that’s winning on both sides.
First, they get consistent cultural visibility.
For instance, Vogue reported that the Carhartt WIP Detroit jacket made Lyst’s “hottest product” list. That led to searches for their brand increasing by 410%.
This makes it more likely for LLMs to recommend their products in answers:
This is the kind of loop that works wonders for a fashion brand.
At the same time, Carhartt is also stocked across a huge range of retailers. You can find them in REI, Nordstrom, Amazon, and Dick’s, plus their own direct-to-consumer website.
So, Google AI Mode has an abundance of PDPs, videos, reviews, and Q&A to cite.
This makes Carhartt extremely “citation-friendly” in both models.
No wonder it has such a strong AI visibility score.
Trend Shocks and Seasonal Volatility
Trend cycles aren’t a new challenge in the fashion industry. But it becomes a bigger challenge to maintain visibility when those trends affect which brands appear in AI search.
Micro-trends pop up all the time, triggering quick shifts in how AI answers fashion queries.
When the trend heats up, LLMs pull in brands that appear online in listicles or TikTok roundups.
And when the trend cools? Those same brands disappear just as quickly.
Here’s What You Can Do
To stay present during each trend swing, you need a content and operations pipeline that speaks in real time to the language models are echoing.
Build a proactive trend calendar: Map your content to seasonal moments, like spring tailoring, fall layers, holiday capsules, back-to-school basics, and so on
Refresh imagery and copy to mirror trend language: Update PDPs, on-site copy, and retailer description to match the phrasing used in cultural content
Create rapid-fire listicles and lookbooks: Listicle-style content, creator videos, and other trend-related mentions can help boost visibility. This includes building your own content and working with creators and publications to feature your product in their content.
Anyone who was around for Y2K may have been shocked to see UGG boots come around again.
But the brand was ready to jump onto the trend and make the most of their moment.
Vogue reported that UGG made Lyst’s “hottest products” list in 2024.
Since then, they’ve been regularly featured in seasonal “winter wardrobe essentials” style roundups.
One analyst found that there had been a 280% increase in popularity for the shoes. Funny enough, that trend seems to be a regular occurrence every year once “UGG season” rolls around.
In fact, on TikTok, the hashtag #uggseason has almost 70k videos.
UGG stays visible even as seasons trends shift. That’s because the brand is always present in the content streams that LLMs treat as cultural indicators. By partnering with influencers, UGG amplified its presence so effectively that the boots themselves became a moment — something people wanted to photograph, share, and join in on without being asked.
The result?
They have one of the highest AI Visibility scores I saw while researching this article.
(As a marketer, I find this encouraging. As a Millennial, I find it deeply disturbing.)
Pro tip: Want to measure the results? Track how often your brand or SKUs appear in new listicles per month, plus how they rank in those roundups. Then use Semrush’s AI Visibility Toolkit to track your brand’s visibility using trend-related prompts.
Sustainability and Proof (Not Claims)
Sustainability has become one of the strongest differentiators for fashion brands in AI search.
But only when brands back it up with verifiable proof.
LLMs don’t reward vague eco-friendly language. Instead, they surface brands with certifications, documentation, and third-party validation.
Models also pull heavily from Wikipedia and third-party certification databases. These pages often act as trust anchors for AI search results.
Here’s What You Can Do
You need to build a clear, credible footprint that models can cite.
Centralize pages on materials, care, and impact: Make them brief, structured, and verifiable. Include materials, sourcing, certifications, and repair/resale info.
Maintain third-party profiles: Keep your certifications up-to-date. This includes things like Fair Trade, Bluesign, B-Corp, GOTs, etc.
Standardize sustainability claims across all retailers: If your DTC site says “Fair Trade Certified” but your Nordstrom PDP doesn’t? Models treat that as unreliable.
Here’s an Example: Patagonia
Patagonia is the ruler of AI visibility with a 21.96% share of voice.
In part, this is because of their incredible dedication to sustainability. They basically own this niche category within fashion.
Patagonia’s sustainability claims are backed up by third-party certifications.
And they’re displayed proudly on each PDP.
They’re also transparent about their efforts to help the environment.
They keep pages like this updated regularly.
These sustainable efforts aren’t just big talk.
Review sites and actual consumers speak positively online about these efforts.
They’ve made their claim as a sustainable fashion brand.
So, Patagonia shows up first, almost always, in LLMs when talking about sustainable fashion:
That’s the power of building a sustainable brand.
Make AI Work for Your Fashion Brand
You’ve seen how the top fashion brands earn AI visibility.
The path forward is simple: Consensus + Consistency.
Build consensus by getting people talking: Create shareable content, encourage customer posts, or work with creators and publications.
Build consistency by keeping your product info aligned across your site and retail partners.
http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png00http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2026-01-02 15:14:362026-01-02 15:14:36Fashion AI SEO: How to Improve Your Brand’s LLM Visibility
It has been a busy second half of the year for the Search Central Live (SCL) team! Zipping through
the busy streets of Bangkok to the skyscrapers of Tokyo and the vibrant harbor of Hong Kong, we’ve
been on a mission to connect, share, and—most importantly—listen.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/web-design-creative-services.jpg?fit=1500%2C600&ssl=16001500http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-12-31 06:00:002025-12-31 06:00:00Search Central Live APAC 2025 Recap: A Note of Gratitude
PPC didn’t stand still in 2025. It adjusted. These articles resonated because they answered the real questions advertisers are asking: how to stay competitive, cut wasted spend, work with automation instead of against it, and prepare for what’s next.
Below are links to the 10 most-read Search Engine Land PPC columns of 2025, written by our exceptional subject matter experts.
With the right strategy, even the smallest business can stand out, win customers, and make a lasting impact. Here’s how. (By Sophie Logan. Published Sept. 16.)
Shift your optimization mindset in 2025 with fresh strategies for keywords, Performance Max, and audience targeting. (By Pauline Jakober. Published Feb. 6.)
CPCs are rising – but how fast? Compare ad cost inflation to consumer price index and see what it means for your ad strategy. (By Mark Meyerson. Published April 16.)
AI-driven search is blurring the line between organic and paid. Learn how uniting SEO and PPC boosts visibility, intent, and brand authority. (By Jen Cornwell. Published Oct. 6.)
PPC scripts hit limits. Vibe coding removes the roadblocks. Turn complex seasonal patterns into simple, data-driven planning tools. (By Frederick Vallaeys. Published Aug. 21.)
Speed up your ad creation process without losing your message. Use generative AI to craft relevant, personalized copy that connects. (By Jason Tabeling. Published Aug. 1.)
These filtering tactics help refine your targeting, reduce spend on low-quality clicks, and uncover new keyword opportunities. (By Menachem Ani. Published July 22.)
Streamline campaign management with Google Ads scripts. Get insights, use cases, and practical tips for using automation to boost performance. (By Frederick Vallaeys. Published Jan. 9.)
Fewer clicks mean higher stakes. Win visibility with precise targeting, value-based bidding, and authority across paid and organic search. (By Sarah Stemen. Published Oct. 7.)
Some PPC practices no longer fit today’s automated Google Ads environment. Here’s what to phase out – and what to prioritize next year. (By Sarah Vlietstra. Published Nov. 4.)
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ppc-columns-2025-search-engine-land-FOWDMV.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=110801920http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-12-30 14:00:002025-12-30 14:00:00Top 10 PPC expert columns of 2025 on Search Engine Land
Writing strong page titles is one of the simplest and most impactful SEO optimizations you can make. The title tag is often the first thing users see in search results, and it helps search engines understand the content of your page.
In this article, you’ll learn what SEO page titles are, why they matter, and how to write titles that improve visibility and attract clicks.
Key takeaways
Crafting a strong page title is vital for SEO; it attracts clicks and helps search engines understand your content
An SEO page title appears in search results and browser tabs, serving as the first impression for users
To optimize your page title, include relevant keywords and ensure it aligns with the content to improve your ranking
Yoast SEO provides tools to help check title width and keyword usage, and includes an AI-powered title generator
You can change the page title after publication, and doing so may significantly improve click-through rates
Let’s start with the basics. If you look at the source of a page (right-click on the page, then choose View Page Source), you find a title in the head section. It looks like this:
This is an example SEO title - Example.com
This is the HTML title tag, also called the SEO title. When you look something up in a search engine, you get a list of results that appear as snippets. The part that looks like a headline is the SEO title. The SEO title typically includes the post title but may also incorporate other elements, such as the site name. Or even emojis!
An example of a Google snippet with a favicon, site name, URL, meta description, and title in the largest font
In most cases, the SEO title is the first thing people see, even before they get on your site. In tabbed browsers, you will usually also see the SEO title in the page tab, as shown in the image below.
An SEO title in a browser tab
What’s the purpose of an SEO title?
Your SEO title aims to entice people to click on it, visit your website, read your post, or purchase your product. If your title is not good enough, people will ignore it and move on to other results. Essentially, there are two goals that you want to achieve with an SEO title:
It must help you rank for a keyword
It must make the user want to click through to your page
Google uses many signals when deciding your relevance for a specific keyword. While click-through rate is not a direct ranking factor, user interaction with search results can be a signal that a result matches search intent.
If your page ranks well but attracts few clicks, that may indicate your title doesn’t resonate with searchers. Improving your SEO title can increase clicks and help you perform better over time.
Additionally, as mentioned earlier, Google uses the SEO title specified for your website as a ranking input. So, it’s not just about those clicks; you also need to ensure that your title reflects the topic being discussed on your page and the keyword that you’re focusing on. The SEO title you use has a direct influence on your ranking.
Now that you know the importance of SEO titles, let’s look at how to evaluate and improve them. Tools like Yoast SEO (Free) can help by checking key elements such as title width and keyword usage. Yoast SEO Premium uses generative AI to create titles.
A smarter analysis in Yoast SEO Premium
Yoast SEO Premium has a smart content analysis that helps you take your content to the next level!
Yoast SEO Premium includes an AI-powered title generator that can help you create SEO-friendly page titles based on your content and focus keyphrase. This can be useful for inspiration or for quickly generating alternatives when you’re unsure how to phrase a title.
As with any AI-generated content, it’s best to review and refine the suggested titles to ensure they align with your page’s intent, brand voice, and audience expectations.
Simply hit the Use AI button to have Yoast SEO Premium generate great titles for you
What does the empty title check in Yoast SEO do?
The empty title check in Yoast SEO Premium is self-explanatory: it checks whether you’ve filled in any text in your post’s ‘Title’ section. If you haven’t, you’ll see a red traffic light reminding you to add a title. Once this is filled in, the post title can be automatically added to the SEO title field using the ‘Title’ variable.
You can edit your titles in the Search appearance section of Yoast SEO
Note that your post title is output as an H1 heading. A clear H1 helps users quickly understand what a page is about, improves accessibility for screen readers, and aids search engines in interpreting the page structure. You should only use one H1 heading per page to avoid confusing search engines. Don’t worry; we’ve got a check for multiple H1 headings in Yoast SEO!
What does the SEO title width check in Yoast SEO do?
You will find this check in the SEO tab of the Yoast SEO sidebar or meta box. If you haven’t written an SEO title yet, this will remind you to do so. Additionally, Yoast SEO verifies the width of your SEO title. When it is too long, you will get a warning.
We used to warn you if your SEO title was too short, but we’ve changed that since our Yoast 17.1 release. A title with an optimal width gets you a green traffic light in the analysis. Remember that we exclude the separator symbol and site title from the title width check. We don’t consider these when calculating the SEO title progress bar.
You can find the SEO title width check in the Yoast SEO sidebar or the meta box
How to write an SEO title with an optimal width
If your SEO title doesn’t have the correct width, parts of it may be cut off in Google’s search results. The result may vary, depending on the device you’re using. That’s why you can also check how your SEO title will look in the mobile and desktop search results in the Search appearance section of Yoast SEO. The tool defaults to the mobile version, but you can also switch to view it in the desktop version.
Here’s a desktop result:
The Search appearance in Yoast SEO lets you switch between the mobile and desktop results
And here’s the mobile result for the same URL:
A mobile preview for this particular page
As a general guideline, aim for a title that fully displays on mobile search results, clearly communicates the main topic, and avoids unnecessary filler words. If your title fits visually and still reads naturally, you’re on the right track.
Width vs. Length
Have you noticed that we talk about width rather than length? Why is that? Rather than using a character count, Google has a fixed width for the titles counted in pixels. While your title tags can be long, and Google doesn’t have a set limit on the number of characters you can use, there is a limit on what’s visible in the search results. If your SEO title is too wide, Google will visually truncate it. That might be different from what you want. Additionally, avoid wasting valuable space by keeping the title concise and clear. Additionally, the SEO title often informs other title-like elements, such as the og:title, which also has display constraints.
Luckily, our Search appearance section can help you out! You can fill in your SEO title; our plugin will provide you with immediate feedback. The green line underneath the SEO title turns red when your title is too long. Keep an eye on that and use the feedback to create great headlines.
The Search appearance section in the Yoast SEO for WordPress block editor
The Google preview in Yoast SEO for Shopify
What does the keyphrase in the SEO title check in Yoast SEO do?
This check appears in the SEO tab of the Yoast SEO sidebar in WordPress and Shopify, as well as in the meta box in WordPress. It checks if you’re using your keyphrase in the SEO title of your post or page. This check is intentionally strict because the SEO title plays an important role in signaling a page’s topic to both search engines and users. Since Google uses the title to figure out your page’s topic, not having the focus keyphrase in the SEO title may harm your rankings. Additionally, potential visitors are more likely to click on a search result that matches their query. For optimal results, try to include your keyphrase at the beginning of the SEO title.
This check finds out if you’ve used your focus keyphrase in your SEO title
How to use your keyphrase in the SEO title
Sometimes, when optimizing for a highly competitive keyword, everyone will have the keyword at the beginning of the SEO title. In that case, you can try making it stand out by putting one or two words before your focus keyword, thereby slightly “indenting” your result. In Yoast SEO, if you start your SEO title with “the”, “a”, “who”, or another function word followed by your keyphrase, you’ll still get a green traffic light.
At other times, such as when you have a very long keyphrase, adding the complete keyphrase at the beginning doesn’t make sense. If your SEO title looks weird with the keyphrase at the beginning, try to add as much of the keyphrase as early in the SEO title as possible. But always keep an eye on the natural flow and readability.
How to reduce the chance of Google rewriting your SEO title
Google may rewrite titles when they are overly long, stuffed with keywords, misleading, or inconsistent with the page’s main heading.
To reduce the likelihood of rewrites:
Make sure your SEO title closely matches your page’s H1
Avoid excessive separators, repetition, or boilerplate text
Ensure the title accurately reflects the page content
While rewrites can still happen, clear and concise titles are more likely to be shown as written.
Want to learn how to write text that’s pleasant to read and optimized for search engines? Our SEO copywriting course can help you with that. You can access this course and our other SEO courses with Yoast SEO Premium. This also gives you access to extra features in the Yoast SEO plugin.
Are you struggling with more aspects of SEO copywriting? Don’t worry! We can teach you to master all facets, so you’ll know how to write awesome copy that ranks. Take a look at our SEO copywriting training and try the free trial lessons!
The post title, also known as the H1 heading, is the main heading users see on the page. Its primary role is to help readers understand what the page is about and to add structure to your content. You should always write your H1 with users in mind.
The SEO title is the title that appears in search results and in the browser tab. This title helps search engines understand the topic of your page and influences whether users click on your result.
While the SEO title and H1 can be similar, they do not need to be identical. In WordPress, tools like Yoast SEO allow you to set a separate SEO title, giving you more control over how your page appears in search results without changing the on-page heading.
Should you add your brand to the SEO title?
For quite some time, it was a common practice among some SEOs to omit the site name from the SEO title. The idea was that the “density” of the title mattered, and the site name wouldn’t help with that. Don’t do this. If possible, your SEO title should include your brand, preferably in a recognizable way. If people search for a topic and see your brand several times, even if they don’t click on it the first time, they might click when they see you again on their next page of results.
However, with the site name and favicon updates, be sure to fill in the site settings, upload a favicon, and make general changes to the design of the snippets. This will increase your brand’s visibility in search results. Today, you’ll notice that Google hardly shows your brand name in the snippet’s title. However, Google often has a mind of its own when generating titles to change them for any given reason. The design and function of the SERPs can change at any moment, so we still recommend adding your brand to your titles.
Can you change the SEO title after a page is published?
Yes. You can change the SEO title even after a page has been published, and doing so can improve performance.
At Yoast, we once noticed that although we ranked well for “WordPress security,” the page was not getting as much traffic as expected. We updated the SEO title and meta description to make them more engaging and relevant. As a result, traffic to that page increased by over 30 percent.
The original SEO title was:
WordPress Security • Yoast
We changed it to:
WordPress Security in a few easy steps! • Yoast
This change did not significantly affect rankings, but it did improve click-through rates. The keywords stayed largely the same, but the title became more compelling for searchers.
This shows that optimizing SEO titles after publication can be an effective way to increase traffic, especially if your page already ranks well but receives fewer clicks than expected.
Does Google always use the SEO title you set?
No. Google does not always display the exact SEO title you set in search results.
That said, the HTML title tag is still the most common source Google uses for generating title links. Google Search uses the following sources to automatically determine title links:
Google typically selects one title per page and does not change it for different queries.
What does this mean for you? The SEO title you set remains important for ranking and relevance. Even if Google sometimes displays a different version, your title still helps search engines understand the content of your page.
To stay on top of changes, monitor your key pages in Google Search Console, check how titles appear in search results, and watch for shifts in click-through rates.
Can you use the same title for SEO and social media?
You can, but it is often better not to.
What might be a good SEO title isn’t necessarily a good title for social media. In social media, keyword optimization is less important than creating a title that entices people to click. You often don’t need to include the brand name in the title. This is especially true for Facebook and X if you include some branding in your post image. Our social media appearance previews in Yoast SEO Premium and Yoast SEO for Shopify can help you.
If you use Yoast SEO, you can set different titles for Google, Facebook, and X. Enter your SEO title in the snippet editor, then customize the social media titles in the social tab. If you do not set a specific X title, X will use the Facebook title by default.
This flexibility allows you to optimize your titles for both search engines and social platforms without compromise.
http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png00http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-12-30 13:52:032025-12-30 13:52:03How to craft great page titles for SEO?
Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing in 2025 moved fast and grew more complex.
Google drove many of the year’s most consequential changes, from deeper Search automation with AI Max and ads inside AI Overviews to long-awaited gains in transparency and control for Performance Max.
At the same time, updates to Google Tag Manager and conversion tracking changed how advertisers collect and trust data. Policy shifts, automatic content extraction, and pullbacks from Google Shopping by major advertisers like Amazon and Temu also disrupted auction dynamics, exposing growing tension between platform power, advertiser control, and market stability.
As 2025 winds down, let’s look at the most newsworthy headlines, ranked by pageviews.
10. Google changed how Tag Manager works with Google Ads
March 10 – Google updated Google Tag Manager (GTM) to ensure the Google tag loaded before events fired, improving tracking accuracy and data collection, starting April 10.
For containers with Google Ads and Floodlight tags, GTM now loads the Google tag automatically. Advertisers got easier access to Enhanced Conversions, cross-domain tracking, and auto events directly within tag settings.
The update further simplified data collection and compliance by automatically enabling user-provided data when Customer Data Terms were accepted.
9. Google Performance Max campaign API placement exclusions
The rollout improved transparency and control, addressing long-standing criticism that Performance Max lacked query-level insight.
By tying into recent negative keyword features, the update gave advertisers visibility closer to standard Search campaigns while retaining AI-driven optimization.
7. Google Ads AI Max for Search campaigns beta
May 6 – Google announced AI Max, a new one-click enhancement for Search campaigns using advanced AI to expand reach, generate ads dynamically, and adapt creative in real time.
AI Max combined broad match, keywordless technology, automated text customization, and final URL expansion to help advertisers capture untapped high-intent queries while tailoring headlines, descriptions, and landing pages as user intent emerges.
Confirmed at Google Marketing Live 2025, the rollout placed Search and Shopping ads within or alongside AI-generated summaries at the top of results.
5. Google Ads allowed multiple ads for the same business on one results page
March 31 – Google Ads updated its Unfair Advantage Policy to allow advertisers to show multiple ads for the same business on a single results page, as long as the ads appeared in different locations.
By treating each ad location as a separate auction, Google formalized earlier experiments that expand advertiser presence across the SERP. The change created new opportunities for larger brands to dominate visibility and potentially drive more clicks and conversions.
4. Google launched automatic marketing content extraction
All merchants were auto-enrolled. Google sources the content through marketing emails or direct submissions to a dedicated Google address, though businesses could opt out at any time in Merchant Center.
3. Temu pulled its U.S. Google Shopping ads
April 14 – Temu abruptly shut off its U.S. Google Shopping ads, exposing how heavily its growth relied on paid acquisition. Within days, its App Store ranking fell from the top four to 58 as its impression share collapsed and vanished from auction data.
The pullback aligned with higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports and stricter enforcement of import loopholes, both of which directly weakened Temu’s subsidized, direct-from-manufacturer model.
2. Amazon pulled out of Google Shopping ads
July 25 –Amazon abruptly halted its Google Shopping ads, a move experts called unprecedented and “colossal” given Amazon’s long-standing role in fueling auction competition and Google ad revenue.
The shutdown marked a clear inflection point after a year of gradual cooling. It spanned roughly 20 international markets and removed a dominant bidder that routinely drove up CPCs and captured outsized impression share.
The wizard-style setup supports codeless event detection, flexible form submission tracking, and multiple URL matching options, making conversion tracking far easier to implement.
That’s a wrap
PPC in 2025 was dominated by major talking points that, unsurprisingly, largely centered on Google.
Looking ahead, 2026 is likely to bring even deeper AI integration, with real differentiation coming from experts who can apply AI strategically rather than simply market its use.
