In 2025, people aren’t just searching for answers anymore.
They’re looking for genuine responses from the people they trust most:
Creators.
Communities.
Fellow brand supporters.
In many ways, community has become an algorithm of its own.
AI-powered tools like Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Perplexity have made knowledge more accessible than ever.
But in doing so, they’ve also flattened it.
Answers feel repetitive, citations pull from the same limited sources, and brand voices risk becoming interchangeable.
That’s where community comes in.
While generative AI commoditizes information, community restores individuality.
It offers what no model can compress into tokens:
Authentic connection.
Lived experience.
Trust.
When democratized information becomes homogenized
I can still remember when Google – and later YouTube – made information feel democratized, putting knowledge at our fingertips like never before.
But with the rise of AI, that same accessibility now comes at a cost: everything starts to sound the same.
Every brand competing for similar keywords risks becoming interchangeable, sounding the same in AI-generated summaries that deliver information without distinction.
Meanwhile, authority is concentrated into a small set of repeatedly cited sources, so users encounter little variation in what LLMs surface.
AI responses are built around compression – getting audiences to an answer as quickly and concisely as possible.
Community, on the other hand, expands.
AI platforms tend to generalize first, then personalize only when prompted.
Community works the opposite way: it personalizes from the start.
In my view, that’s the kind of user experience audiences will ultimately prefer – and it’s how brands will become the choice within their niche.
Think about:
A Reddit thread that discusses your product specifically. That’s not just another citation. It’s a living testimonial, open to being challenged or reinforced in real time.
A Discord server filled with engaged users doesn’t just provide customer support – it showcases the culture and identity your brand is building.
Social comment threads around a creator’s content show personality, emotion, and authenticity that no LLM can replicate.
Ultimately, your community gives your brand the one thing AI can’t compress or flatten into tokens: individuality.
In a world of sameness, community is what gives your brand its voice back.
UGC? Hello, UGT!
User-generated content (UGC) has long been viewed as central to search marketing – a key driver of discoverability.
That’s still true, but the conversation has matured.
It’s no longer just about “content.” What truly matters now is user-generated trust(UGT).
This may sound like a subtle mindset shift, but it changes everything.
Search marketing teams should focus on the real, ongoing conversations within communities that validate products and learn how to leverage those conversations wherever possible.
That’s where genuine user advocacy emerges. And it’s advocacy that increasingly shows up in SERPs and AI responses.
Whether it’s a YouTube video featured in search results, a Reddit thread highlighted in an AI answer, or a TikTok creator’s series, UGT creates organic momentum.
It sends signals to both people and algorithms that your brand is credible, trustworthy, and the preferred choice.
Backlinks can be gamed, and citations scraped or manufactured.
UGC is about output. And UGT? It’s about advocacy and credibility – and that’s exactly what search marketing teams need to drive lasting results.
Why community is the secret sauce of search everywhere
Here’s a sobering thought: AI is only going to get better.
They’ll become more skilled at surfacing consensus and amplifying shared rhetoric.
But consensus doesn’t drive differentiation. Community does.
A backlink can be replicated. A feature in a listicle can be matched. That’s just search marketing ping-pong.
A community, on the other hand, can’t be scraped, cloned, or copied.
Brands that invest in their communities today aren’t just building engagement.
They’re building something much more powerful: a moat of differentiation and individuality.
Community resists the sameness of AI-driven search. It’s what ensures your brand’s voice doesn’t just show up, but truly stands out.
LEGO Ideas: Community in action
One brand that proves the power of community as a competitive advantage – especially in an AI-driven world – is LEGO.
Through its LEGO Ideas platform, the company has turned its community into a creative engine for product ideation and a discovery layer that informs both content and product development.
Fans submit their ideas and vote on their favorites. The best and most popular are turned into real products.
Everything from pop culture tie-ins (recently, a Wallace and Gromit set was greenlit) to architectural replicas has emerged through this process.
So why is this powerful from a search perspective?
There are two key reasons.
Authenticity at scale, organically
Every submission, vote, and comment is UGT in action.
The community validates which ideas deserve attention, creating a visible signal of credibility long before a set hits the shelves.
Fan conversations fuel visibility
The conversations, forums, and social amplification around these fan-led projects fuel organic visibility.
A single fan concept can spark thousands of blog posts, Reddit threads, YouTube videos, and TikToks – surfacing LEGO in contexts no AI citation list could ever replicate.
While competitors battle for presence in AI summaries or listicle roundups – vying to be labeled “Best Construction Toy” – LEGO has built differentiation through something much harder to copy: a living, breathing community that fuels product innovation, search visibility, and brand preference.
No amount of AI summarization can flatten a brand’s individuality when its users are constantly creating new stories about it.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Why-community-is-the-antidote-to-AI-overload-in-search-marketing-r8qF5I.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=110801920http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-08-25 13:00:002025-08-25 13:00:00Why community is the antidote to AI overload in search marketing
For years, remarketing hinged on clicks: someone had to visit your site, trigger a pixel, and leave behind a trail you could follow with ads.
But what if you could build your remarketing audience before they ever click?
That is the core promise of impression-based remarketing – a Microsoft Advertising-exclusive capability that lets advertisers build audiences (or exclusions) simply from users seeing their ads.
No click. No form fill. Just an impression.
In a world of privacy shifts, AI-driven search, and fractured attention spans, this approach may not just be a nice-to-have – it could be the future.
(Disclosure: I work as Microsoft’s product liaison, and the perspectives shared here reflect my role inside Microsoft Advertising.)
What is impression-based remarketing?
Impression-based remarketing is Microsoft Advertising’s super-powered audience targeting method.
Instead of waiting for a user to take an action such as visiting your site, it lets you track and segment audiences based solely on ad visibility.
Here is how it works in plain terms:
If your ad is displayed on Bing search results, native placements, Copilot, or other Microsoft inventory, the person who saw it can be added to a remarketing list.
That list can then be used for targeting, exclusions, or bid adjustments across eligible campaigns.
Key operational details:
You can define up to 20 sources (campaigns or ad groups that feed your remarketing lists).
The audience membership window can be 1-30 days (seven days is often the sweet spot for balancing awareness and consumer sentiment).
Any campaign type can be a source, but not all can be a target. For example, Premium streaming can feed lists but cannot be targeted directly.
Emerging surfaces like Copilot impressions are eligible as both sources and targets, though granular reporting is not yet fully available. To clarify, only Showroom ads (currently in closed beta) can specifically target Copilot placements.
If you use autobidding, Microsoft’s system will factor in your bid adjustments, meaning a +20% bid really will raise CPC or CPM.
In short, it is the ability to remarket to people who have only seen your ad, which opens up a broader, top-of-funnel opportunity while respecting the growing limitations on tracking.
Think of impression-based remarketing in two phases:
Functional setup: The technical nuts and bolts.
Strategic execution: Deciding which campaigns feed the lists, which campaigns target them, and what creative to use.
Functional setup
Build your audience lists
Identify the campaigns or ad groups that will act as sources.
These are the ads whose impressions will populate your lists.
Create associations
Associate your sources with the target campaigns where you will use the audiences for targeting, exclusions, or bid adjustments.
At least one audience ad must be in your associations to make all campaign types eligible to target.
Decide on membership duration
Seven days is often ideal to balance recency with volume, but your industry’s buying cycle may warrant shorter or longer windows.
Layer on bid strategies
Keep in mind that bid adjustments impact CPC or CPM directly under auto-bidding.
Strategic execution
This is where impression-based remarketing can go from “neat” to “needle-moving.”
Empathize with the customer journey
A first-time viewer is not ready for the same message as a warm lead.
The most common mistake in Impression-based remarketing is running the same creative to people regardless of where they are in the funnel.
For example:
Cold audience (first exposure): Focus on brand awareness and curiosity hooks.
Warm audience (saw an ad, maybe interacted with other brand assets): Lean into unique value propositions and proof points.
Hot audience (familiar, showing intent signals): Shift toward urgency, offers, or clear conversion CTAs.
Tailor messaging to decision-makers vs. influencers
Not all buyers are the same. In B2B, especially, the person seeing your ad may not be the one signing the check.
Decision-maker personas respond to concrete ROI, cost, terms, and support benefits.
Influencer personas, those who need to convince the buyer, often respond better to emotional appeals, user stories, or tips on how to get leadership buy-in.
Use micro-steps in the buyer’s journey
Since the trigger is just an impression, do not assume you can skip stages.
Instead of expecting someone to leap from “saw ad” to “buy,” map out micro-conversions:
Move from awareness to engagement (click, video view).
From engagement to consideration (content download, add to cart).
From consideration to decision (purchase, sign-up).
Sometimes this means setting ad groups, not just campaigns, as your sources and targets to allow for precise audience control.
Budget with conversion thresholds in mind
If your targeting is too narrow, you might never gather enough impressions to reach performance significance.
Budgets should align with the audience sizes needed to meet your conversion goals.
The shift to impression-based remarketing is not just about Microsoft offering a new targeting lever.
It’s about survival in a rapidly changing ecosystem.
1. Privacy is rewriting the rules
With cookie deprecation, consent restrictions, and stricter data privacy laws, the reliable, click-based remarketing audiences of the past are disappearing.
An impression, recorded server-side, does not rely on a user’s browser for tracking, making it a more resilient signal.
2. AI-powered search changes user behavior
As conversational AI like Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and other assistants take center stage, the traditional search journey (“type query → click site → take action”) is being replaced.
In many cases, users will get answers without ever clicking a link.
This means advertisers must reach and influence people before they click, or even without them clicking at all.
The old metrics, such as CTR, do not tell the whole story when much of the journey happens off-site.
The future winners will be brands that:
Create memorable touchpoints.
Build positive sentiment before a user enters the buying stage.
Stay top-of-mind when the moment of need arises.
Impression-based remarketing allows you to intentionally re-engage based on visibility alone, which aligns perfectly with these goals.
4. Redeeming undervalued placements
Historically, advertisers have excluded certain placements, such as mobile games or sites with high ad density, because they seemed “low quality” in a click-through world.
Those same environments can be very effective for brand imprinting.
The user might not click in the moment, but repeated impressions in familiar contexts can drive recall later.
Impression-based remarketing allows you to capitalize on these “slow burn” touches without overvaluing accidental clicks.
Takeaways for advertisers
If you are planning campaigns for the holiday season or for the AI-driven world we are already stepping into, here is the checklist to make impression-based remarketing work for you:
Set it up now
Build your sources and associations.
Keep the target list broad, but be selective with your sources.
Map the journey
Identify what someone needs to see first, second, and third.
Create dedicated creative for each stage.
Respect personas
Decision-makers and influencers need different messaging.
Avoid “one size fits all” creative blasts.
Budget for volume and thresholds
Without enough impressions, your targeting power fades.
Ensure campaigns have enough spend to feed the machine.
Think beyond clicks
Use impression-based lists to drive brand familiarity, not just immediate conversions.
Measure impact with recall and sentiment studies where possible.
Impression-based remarketing: From feature to future
Impression-based remarketing is not just another targeting option.
It is a structural shift in how advertisers can build relationships with their audiences.
In a clickless, AI-mediated future, it lets you control the who and when of your targeting, even if the how of user interaction changes completely.
Microsoft might have positioned it as a feature, but for savvy advertisers, it is a competitive moat.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Microsoft-Ads-impression-based-remarketing-How-to-use-it-E28093-functionally-and-strategically-Xs9Rj2.png?fit=849%2C617&ssl=1617849http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-08-25 12:00:002025-08-25 12:00:00The future of remarketing? Microsoft bets on impressions, not clicks
If you’ve noticed your organic traffic shrinking even though you’re ranking well, you’re not imagining it. AI-driven engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews are answering questions before people click any links.
Generative engine optimization is how you fix this. It’s the practice of shaping your content so these AI systems pull it into their responses. Instead of someone getting a generic AI answer, your brand becomes part of that answer.
I’ve watched too many marketers ignore this shift because their SEO dashboards still look decent. The real problem? Clicks are happening inside the answer box now. If you want to stay visible where decisions actually start, you need GEO working alongside your traditional SEO.
Key Takeaways
Generative engine optimization puts your brand in AI answers, making your content easier for AI platforms to find, understand, and cite.
Search is no longer just about website links. People are getting answers from AI summaries without ever clicking to a website.
Traditional SEO still matters, but it’s not enough. GEO works alongside SEO to keep you visible in both search results and AI-generated responses.
Early adopters win the visibility battle. The sooner you adapt, the better your chances of being a source AI engines trust.
GEO is a new skillset for marketers. GEO requires smart keyword usage, creating strong E-E-A-T signals, and producing content formats AI can process.
Generative Engine Optimization Definition
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is how you shape your content so AI-driven platforms can easily pull it into their answers. These platforms don’t work like Google’s ranking algorithm. They combine semantic search with large language models to generate responses, pulling from sources they trust. Instead of giving you a list of website links, they often just give you the answer.
That changes everything. You’re not just trying to rank high anymore. You need to be a source the AI engine chooses to include. GEO builds on SEO basics like clean site structure, strong topical authority, and keyword alignment, but adds a layer focused on how AI systems interpret and present your expertise.
Why Generative Engine Optimization Is Important
AI-driven results are now part of search. Google’s AI Overviews, Bing’s Copilot, and platforms like Perplexity deliver full answers right in the results. Users often don’t click anything.
Nearly 60% of U.S. and EU searches end without an external click, according to SparkToro’s 2024 zero-click study. For marketers, that means less traffic from rankings alone.
GEO gives you another path. Structure your content so AI platforms can cite it, and you still get visibility even if users never leave the results page. In a zero-click world, being part of the answer matters as much as being part of the rankings.
How To Implement Generative Engine Optimization
GEO isn’t a single tactic. You’re better served treating it as a set of evolving practices that make your content easier for AI engines to find, interpret, and use in their answers. Like SEO, it combines strategic content creation, technical optimization, and authority building.
The next sections break down the core areas to focus on, starting with brand authority and moving through technical and content-based strategies.
Build Brand Authority
AI engines pull answers from sources they trust. If they don’t know you or can’t verify your expertise, you’re less likely to get cited.
Start by making your author profiles work harder. Put a name and face to your content, and back it up with credentials or proof you’ve done the work. Use examples from your own experience, share data you’ve collected, and show insights that are hard to fake.
Don’t stay in your own bubble. Get your name and brand into respected publications in your industry. Offer quotes, share original stats, or write guest content for sites your audience already trusts. Our VP of SEO, Nikki Lam, for example, is a regular contributor to Search Engine Land.
The more these connections appear online, the stronger your authority signal becomes, and the better your odds of showing up in AI-driven answers.
Show experience by sharing real examples, case studies, and first-hand insights. Make your expertise visible with clear author attribution, relevant credentials, and links to other respected work you have done. Build authority through backlinks from reputable sites in your field. Strengthen trust by being transparent with tactics like using HTTPS, list contact information, and publish accurate, well-sourced data.
Treat E-E-A-T as a checklist for every piece of content you publish. While not a direct ranking factor, it consistently improves your chances of performing well and increases your chances of showing up in tomorrow’s AI-generated results.
Reinforcing Your Site’s Technical SEO
If search engines cannot crawl, index, and understand your site, AI engines will not either. Technical SEO is the backbone that supports both.
Keep your site fast. Optimize images, reduce unused code, and use a content delivery network (CDN) if you have a global audience. Make sure your site works well on mobile and passes Core Web Vitals benchmarks. Use a logical URL structure and internal linking, so important pages are easy to find.
Regularly run site audits to catch broken links, duplicate content, or indexing issues before they hurt your visibility. Tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, and Ubersuggest can make this part easier. The cleaner your technical setup, the better your chances of being surfaced in both search results and AI-generated answers.
Write Like People Talk
AI search engines handle queries differently from traditional search engines. People type full questions, not just keywords, into AI searches. To match that, your content needs to read like a direct answer.
Use long-tail, conversational phrases that mirror how someone would ask the question out loud. Include common “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” and “how” formats in your headings and subheadings. Break down complex answers into short, scannable sections so AI can easily extract them.
Skip the keyword stuffing. Focus on clarity and context instead. Your content should sound like something a real person would say. That makes it more likely to align with how AI models interpret and deliver answers.
Moving Beyond Text
AI engines do not just pull from written articles. They can reference videos, podcasts, and visual content when it adds value to the answer. That means your expertise should show up in multiple formats. Certain types of videos are more likely to get citations, as you can see from the example below.
Add original images, charts, and infographics to explain complex points visually. Short videos or audio clips that summarize key takeaways from your content are valuable as well, but there’s some added nuance here. Right now, AI isn’t listening to podcasts or watching videos. It extracts info through optimizations like meta data, alt text, structured data, and captions. When all that’s done, host them on platforms like YouTube or as embedded media on your site so they are easy for AI search engines to find, like the example below..
Diversifying your formats helps you reach audiences who prefer to watch or listen, and it gives AI more ways to surface your content. If you are only publishing text, you are leaving potential visibility on the table.
Use Digital PR to Build Expertise
Digital PR is one of the fastest ways to build the kind of authority AI engines look for. When trusted publications, influencers, or industry sites talk about your brand, those mentions strengthen your credibility.
Pitch guest articles or expert quotes to sites your audience already reads. Share original research or unique data that journalists can cite. Monitor platforms like HARO or Qwoted for opportunities to contribute insights on relevant topics.
The goal is consistent, high-quality mentions across the web. Over time, this builds a visible footprint of credibility that tells AI models your expertise is recognized beyond your own website, making you a stronger candidate for citation in generated answers.
Vary Content Distribution
AI tools do not only pull from traditional websites. They scan public content on forums, Q&A platforms, and social channels. If your brand shows up in those spaces, you give the engines more opportunities to connect your name to your expertise.
Join relevant discussions on platforms like Reddit, Quora, and niche industry forums. Share insights, answer questions, and link to deeper resources when it adds value. Repurpose your blog posts into short LinkedIn updates or Twitter threads so your ideas travel beyond your own site.
The more your expertise appears across different platforms, the more signals AI engines have to work with, and the more likely they are to surface your content in their answers.
GEO and Search Everywhere Optimization
Search is no longer confined to Google. People look for answers on social media, YouTube, forums via AI searches and more. Search Everywhere Optimization is about showing up in all of those places.
Map out the platforms your audience uses most, then adapt your content for each one. That could mean shorter video explainers for social, structured Q&A formats for forums, and well-formatted long-form articles for web search. The more channels you optimize for, the more resilient your visibility becomes. GEO extends this strategy by making your content easy for AI systems to cite.
The Future of GEO
Search is changing fast, and GEO is going to change with it. Here are three shifts you cannot ignore if you want to stay in front of your audience.
AI Mode in Google Google is testing AI Mode that gives people a complete AI-written answer before they ever see a list of website links. If this approach becomes permanent, those AI boxes will be the first thing people read — and if your brand is not in them, your visibility will shrink dramatically. To compete, you need content that is structured, well-sourced, and easy for Google’s systems to pull into those summaries.
Predictive and Multimodal Search Search is evolving to work ahead of the query. Predictive tools deliver answers based on a user’s behavior, location, and history. Multimodal search lets people combine text, images, and video into one request. To show up here, your content has to work in every format: clear copy, keyword-rich image descriptions, transcripts for videos, and structured data that connects it all together.
Voice and Visual Search More people are asking questions out loud to their phones or smart speakers. Others are pointing their camera at an object and letting a tool like Google Lens do the searching. To win here, you need natural, conversational answers for voice search and highly detailed, optimized, context-rich visuals for image search.
GEO is not standing still, and neither should you. Keep an eye on where people are searching, watch how AI answers are built, and adapt. The brands that move with the trend will keep showing up, no matter how search results evolve.
FAQs
What is generative engine optimization?
Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the process of creating and structuring content so AI-driven platforms, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews, can easily find, interpret, and cite it in their answers.
How is GEO different from SEO?
SEO focuses on improving rankings and visibility in traditional search results extends beyond that by targeting AI engines, ensuring your content appears in AI-generated answers.
Do I need to change my existing SEO strategy for GEO?
Not entirely. GEO builds on a strong SEO foundation. If your technical SEO, site structure, and content quality are already solid, the next step is formatting and distributing content in ways that AI systems can process and trust.
What types of content work best for GEO?
Clear, well-structured, and factually accurate content that answers specific questions tends to work best. Adding supporting data, original research, and multimedia formats can increase your chances of being cited.
How can I track GEO performance?
Tools in this area are still emerging. Some companies, like Profound, have technology specifically to help brands measure performance in LLMs and AI search. Additionally, there are traditional SEO tools that are expanding their capabilities. For example, Semrush now reports on AI Overview rankings in addition to standard SERP results.
Conclusion
GEO isn’t a “later” project. It’s already reshaping how people find information, and every month more searches are ending inside AI-generated answers. If your brand isn’t showing up there, you’re losing visibility you might not get back.
The shift is in how you present and distribute that expertise so AI engines can understand and trust it. That means stronger E-E-A-T signals, content in multiple formats, and a presence in the places your audience is asking questions.
You don’t have to overhaul everything at once. Start with your highest-value content, make it more AI-friendly, and track where it appears.
Trusted contributors get invited back and land bigger features faster.
-Send thank-yous
-Offer value beyond the pitch
-Track warm journalist relationships in a simple CRM
For instance, let’s say you’re a B2B SaaS marketer trying to rank a key feature page.
Look for HARO or Qwoted queries where the topic aligns with the problem your product solves.
If you can offer a helpful, relevant perspective — one that happens to mention your company or approach — that’s a win. Even if the link doesn’t show up right away.
The bottom line?
When you know what wins you’re aiming for, you’re far more likely to hit them.
Greg Heilers, co-founder of Jolly SEO, puts it simply:
“Depending on your criteria, writing skill, and site/figurehead optimization, you can achieve a win as frequently as 1 in every 3 pitches.”
Step 2: Establish Realistic Expectations (This Will Save Your Sanity)
Most people give up on journalist outreach too soon.
Not because the tactic doesn’t work — but because their expectations are wildly off.
They expect quick wins, a high response rate, and instant SEO impact.
The reality is slower, less glamorous, and a lot more sustainable if you approach it with the right mindset.
Typical Success Rates (and What to Expect Over Time)
Even top-tier media outreach experts don’t land every pitch.
For beginners, a 3–5% response rate is normal. As you gain experience, that can climb to 8–12%, and with refined systems and strong positioning, 15–20% is achievable.
That means you might need to send 10–30 pitches just to earn one mention.
This isn’t failure — it’s the math behind consistent results.
So, what does that actually look like over time?
Month 1: You’re learning the workflow. Scanning opportunities, testing your messaging, and getting familiar with the process. Landing even one or two mentions is a meaningful start.
Month 3: You start to see patterns. Which types of queries are worth your time. Which angles tend to get picked up. You might even get quoted by the same journalist twice.
Month 6: You have momentum. Pitches get easier. You might even start getting inbound requests from writers who’ve seen your previous contributions.
The payoff builds slowly — but it compounds.
Beyond the byline: Search is evolving fast. Journalist quotes are now surfacing in tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. If you’re featured in a top-tier article, there’s a real chance your name, company, or insight will show up in AI-generated answers.
Why Most Pitches Fail (And It’s Not Your Fault)
The biggest myth in journalist outreach is that great writing is enough.
Spoiler: It’s not.
Journalists get dozens — sometimes hundreds — of pitches for a single request.
Many already have sources in mind.
Others are on tight deadlines and go with the first relevant response they see. If your pitch arrives an hour late, it might not get opened at all.
This doesn’t mean your pitch was bad. It means timing and fit beat polish more often than not.
Step 3: Set Up Your Inbox and Tracking
The fastest way to burn out in journalist outreach?
Drowning in irrelevant pitches, deadlines you’ll never meet, and inbox chaos.
Here’s the good news: A few quick workflows can save you hours a week and help you stay consistent over time.
Make Your Emails Credible at a Glance
Journalists scan dozens of emails a day, and first impressions matter.
A polished inbox setup instantly signals trust and professionalism.
Include:
Branded email address: Avoid generic Gmail accounts when possible. Use a domain-linked email to show legitimacy.
Uploaded headshot: Many platforms now require it
Branded signature: Add your name, title, company, LinkedIn, and a link to your website. Make it easy for journalists to verify who you are.
You don’t need a huge platform. You just need to look like someone worth quoting.
Build a Simple Filtering System
Start by organizing your inbox to reduce the cognitive load.
Create folders or labels by platform (e.g., “HARO Outreach”), and add filters to automatically route incoming queries.
Then, block off 15-minute review windows, no more than three times a day.
You don’t need to monitor your inbox all day — just be consistent.
Use the “5-second scan” rule: if it’s not clearly relevant within a few seconds, archive and move on.
Use Fast, Practical Qualification Criteria
Not every opportunity is worth your time — and trying to pitch everything will tank your efficiency.
For each request, ask:
Is this in my area of expertise? If not, don’t force a fit. Weak relevance leads to ignored pitches.
Do I meet the specific requirements? Many queries ask for certain job titles or credentials. Skip it if you’re not eligible.
Is the deadline realistic? If you can’t hit the cutoff, don’t let it clog your pipeline.
Is the publication worth your time? Not every outlet will align with your goals. Use your win criteria (from Step 1) to filter.
For instance, if you’re a freelance content strategist, a request asking for insights from “Fortune 500 CEOs” is a clear pass.
Save your effort for a request that matches your actual experience.
Step 4: Choose Your Platforms Strategically
Not all journalist outreach platforms are created equal.
Some are great for quick wins. Others shine when you’re targeting high-authority publications or niche audiences.
The key isn’t choosing the platform with the most opportunities — it’s choosing the one that aligns with your actual goals.
That means considering more than just volume.
You’ll want to look at average link quality, pitch-to-publication turnaround, cost, and whether the requests match your expertise.
Note: We’re gathering updated data on additional platforms like Qwoted and will expand this comparison in future updates.
Platform
Best For
Avg DR
Cost
Turnaround
Featured
Easy wins, building confidence
70
Free/Paid
23 days
Help a B2B Writer
B2B content, SaaS brands
73
Free
44 days
ProfNet
Premium publications
79
Paid
39 days
HARO
Broad topics
76
Free/Paid
37 days
Source of Sources
Niche expertise
81
Free
35 days
Don’t feel like you need to master every platform out of the gate.
Start with one or two that align with your goals, get really good at using them, and expand once your workflow is dialed in.
How to Choose the Right Platform (Fast)
Not sure where to start? Think of this as your cheat sheet for getting started.
Just getting your reps in? Start with Featured — it’s simple, fast, and great for building confidence early.
Need high-authority links that actually move rankings? Go with Qwoted — it consistently surfaces high domain rating (DR) opportunities from recognizable media outlets.
Want placements in premium, name-brand publications? Choose ProfNet — fewer opportunities, but often higher caliber if you have the budget.
Targeting marketers, founders, or SaaS buyers?Help a B2B Writer delivers curated, niche-relevant requests in your exact lane.
Need a high volume of relevant opportunities to work with?Source of Sources gives you a steady stream of niche pitches — just be ready to filter.
Looking for general-topic visibility at scale?HARO still delivers breadth and quantity — just expect to dig for quality.
Looking for country-specific platforms?
Many regions have their own journalist request tools worth exploring. For example, SourceBottle is widely used in Australia, and ResponseSource is popular among PR pros and journalists in the U.K.
Just try a quick Google search like “journalist request platform [your country].”
You’ll usually uncover a few local options — no massive directory needed.
Step 5: Write Pitches That Win (Without Taking Forever)
The best pitches don’t win because they’re long or clever.
They win because they’re skimmable, useful, and immediately quotable.
Your job isn’t to impress the journalist — it’s to make their job easier.
Establish Credibility in 8 Words or Less
Start with a strong subject line. Greg emphasizes combining relevance with instant credibility.
Use this structure:
Subject line formula: [Your credentials] + [specific value] + [topic]
Examples:
SaaS CEO’s Take on Fixing Churn
SEO Consultant’s Local Link Playbook
Copywriter’s Formula for High-Converting Headlines
Then, build your pitch. It should look something like this:
Hi [first name],
I’m [name], [title] at [company]. [One-line credibility builder].
Pro tip: AI tools can help you brainstorm angles — but the final quotes should sound human, specific, and ready to publish. Use AI for speed, not substitution.
Make Your Quotes Instantly Usable
Journalists aren’t grading your writing.
They’re looking for clean, usable quotes they can drop straight into a draft.
As Greg puts it:
“Journalists want quotes they can immediately copy and paste into their articles, no changes needed.”
Here’s how to make that happen:
Pro tip: For the full checklist — and why each step matters — use the Pitch Checklist tab in our journalist outreach toolkit.
Not all pitches are created equal.
Here’s what gets picked up — and what gets ignored.
❌ Bloated, vague, and completely unusable:
✅Clear, specific, and quote-ready:
Pitch Faster Without Losing Quality
Greg recommends prewriting as much as possible so you’re never starting your press outreach from scratch.
Have 3–4 versions of your bio ready to go, tailored for different beats (e.g., SaaS, marketing, AI).
Build a few quote templates for your most common talking points. And give yourself a hard limit: Aim to finish each pitch in 10 minutes or less.
The more reps you get, the easier this becomes.
Don’t forget your first line does heavy lifting. It shows up in inbox previews and often determines whether your pitch even gets opened. Make it count.
Caveat: Structure helps, but sameness kills. AI tools and mass pitching have flooded inboxes with lookalike answers. Don’t just fill in a template — say something only you would say. That’s what gets quoted.
Yes, You’re Qualified. Here’s Why.
One of the biggest blockers in journalist outreach? Thinking you’re not “qualified” to respond.
But here’s the truth: You don’t need a blue checkmark or a book deal to be helpful.
If you can help readers understand something better or offer a useful perspective, you’re already ahead.
Credibility doesn’t mean status. It means relevance.
That could be your job title, your years of experience, a client result, or just a smart way of framing the problem.
When in doubt, try this five-part framework to surface story ideas from your own work:
The situation: What were you working on?
The challenge: What made it tricky?
Your approach: What did you try or test?
The result: What changed? What worked?
The insight: What do you wish you’d known earlier?
The bottom line?
If you’ve solved what they’re writing about, you belong in their inbox.
Step 6: Master the Follow-Up (Without Being Annoying)
It’s tempting to send a pitch and move on.
But following up is one of the easiest ways to multiply the value of your efforts.
It’s low-effort, high-return, and totally underused.
The key is to keep it respectful, useful, and brief. Here’s how to do it without sounding pushy.
Turn Mentions Into Links
Let’s say you’ve been quoted but not linked.
Here’s a simple, polite ask that turns visibility into real SEO value:
Hi [Name],
Thanks so much for including me in the [article title]!
If it’s possible to link my company name to [URL], that would be amazing—but I totally understand either way. Appreciate your great work on this piece.
Best, [Name]
Turn Replies Into Relationships
The journalists who quote you today could become recurring collaborators — if you give them a reason to remember you.
Hi [Name],
Loved your recent piece on [topic]. Your point about [specific insight] really resonated.
I’m always happy to contribute insights on [your expertise areas] if you’re working on related stories.
Best, [Name]
Done right, a follow-up turns one good pitch into long-term visibility, stronger links, and a journalist who might actually remember your name.
Step 7: Find Hidden Wins (Most People Miss These)
You might already be getting results — and not even know it.
“People message me and say, ‘I’ve sent dozens of pitches, but I can’t get any wins. What am I doing wrong?’
My first question is always: ‘Have you tried looking for them yet?’”
The good news?
You don’t need expensive tools or a manual content audit. A few smart searches and a weekly routine are all it takes.
Use Google Search Operators
Advanced search syntax lets you find live mentions with precision. Run these searches weekly to uncover wins:
“Your Name” + “Your Brand Name”
“CEO of [Brand]” site:targetpublication.com
“[Your unique quote]” site:[domain]
Use quotes to force exact matches and ”site:” to limit the search to specific outlets.
Set Up Google Alerts
Track new mentions passively by creating alerts for:
Your name + company
Your job title (e.g., “CMO of Backlinko”)
Distinctive quotes or phrasing you tend to use
This won’t catch everything, but it will help surface a steady stream of new wins.
Manual Checking Schedule
Most people stop after they hit “send.”
But Greg estimates you’ll never be told about 90% of your wins.
So if you don’t go looking, you’ll never even know they happened.
Build a simple check-in routine:
Weekly: Run your branded Google searches
Monthly: Review recent articles from journalists you’ve pitched
Quarterly: Use SEO tools (like Ahrefs or Semrush) to spot backlinks or citations
Pro tip: Use the Win Finder (in the toolkit) to uncover hidden mentions.
Step 8: Build Your Journalist Network
Every pitch is more than a one-time shot at a link — it’s the start of a potential relationship.
If a journalist quotes you once, there’s a good chance they’ll want insights from you again.
But only if you make it easy, relevant, and respectful to stay in touch.
Track Relationships Like You Track Links
Use a simple CRM (even a spreadsheet works) to track journalist contacts the same way you’d track sales prospects:
Name + outlet
Contact info + beat
History (quoted, linked, mentioned)
Relationship stage (cold, warm, repeat, advocate)
Last contact date + next follow-up
If you’ve contributed to multiple stories or gotten links from the same writer, mark them as high-priority for future outreach. These are your warmest leads.
Build Trust Without Pitching
You don’t need a quote request to stay visible.
In fact, the best relationship-building moments often happen when you’re not asking for anything.
Promote their articles on social with a thoughtful comment — not just a tag. If you come across a story angle or source that fits their beat, send it their way.
If they mentioned a topic they’re covering next month, follow up. Even better: introduce them to another trusted source in your network.
These small, useful gestures build familiarity over time.
That’s how you become more than a random inbox name. You move from pitching to being pitched.
Pro tip: Use our Outreach CRM Tracker (in the toolkit) to start tracking pitches and wins instantly.
Step 9: Measure and Prove ROI
If you’re investing time, you need to show what it’s worth — to your team, your stakeholders, or your clients.
That means going beyond raw link counts and telling the full story of impact.
Track What Matters
Link counts are a starting point, but they’re not the whole picture.
Look at which platforms consistently deliver wins, how many hours go into each link, and which journalists become repeat collaborators.
Track your mentions, even when there’s no link.
Watch for traffic spikes after a story goes live, and pay attention to whether rankings improve on pages earning coverage.
For example, if a single article mention leads to a 12% lift in branded search and earns a backlink to your pricing page, that’s clear momentum.
When you combine reach, effort, and outcome, you start to see the full return.
Use a Simple ROI Framework
When you need to quantify results for stakeholders, use this basic formula to translate time and effort into value:
Link Value = (Average link cost in your industry) × (number of links)
Time Investment = (Hours spent) × (Your hourly rate)
ROI = (Total link value – Time investment) / Time investment × 100
For example:
You earned five links in a month — all from DR 70+ publications.
Let’s say the average market cost for that caliber of link is $800, and you assign a DR adjustment factor of 1 (used to reflect link quality; 1.0 = solid, relevant fit):
Link value: $800 (avg. link cost) x 5 links = $4,000
Time investment: 12 hours × $100/hr = $1,200
ROI: ($4,000 – $1,200) / $1,200 × 100 = 233%
Now compare that to sponsored content, digital PR retainers, or even PPC — and suddenly, this starts looking like a serious channel.
Build a Stakeholder-Ready Report
The final piece is packaging your results in a way that stakeholders understand and care about.
Keep it simple, visual, and focused on outcomes:
A summary of links earned by domain authority range
Growth in brand mentions across media and social
Traffic lift or ranking movement tied to earned placements
Estimated link value compared to paid alternatives
A standout example or case study from that month
When stakeholders can see the momentum — not just the metrics — they’re far more likely to stay bought in.
Start Earning Links That Actually Matter
You’ve got everything you need to get started. Now, it’s time to make your move.
http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png00http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-08-20 13:30:372025-08-20 13:30:37Journalist Outreach: How to Earn High-Authority Links in 9 Steps
We’re very excited to announce that Search Central Live is coming back to Ciudad de Mexico
on September 25! Following successful events throughout the world earlier this year, we’re
continuing our mission to helpyou enhance your site’s performance in Google Search.
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.png2025-08-20 06:00:002025-08-20 06:00:00Search Central Live is back to Mexico City
Google has remained a stable source of traffic to news publishers over the past year. Although many websites have seen their traffic significantly impacted by Google’s AI Overviews, Chartbeat data shows that for 565 U.S. and UK news publishers:
Search referrals made up 19% of traffic in July, little changed since early 2019.
Google dominates search traffic: 96% of publisher referrals.
Yes, but. “Search” here includes Google Discover, which is not traditional search. Discover is now the primary driver of Google referrals.
Why we care. Search traffic hasn’t collapsed. However, the stability is somewhat masked by a shift from traditional Google Search to Google Discover.
Direct traffic is shaky. Efforts to build a loyal, “type-in” audience have largely stalled, leaving publishers more dependent on Google and aggregators. Direct traffic to homepages and landing pages has fallen to 11.5% from a pandemic-era high of 16.3%.
Social keeps sinking. Social’s decline means fewer diversified referral sources:
Facebook referrals are down 50% since 2019, despite a recent bump.
X traffic is down 75% vs. 2019.
Only Reddit is surging – up 220% since 2019, boosted by Google visibility and an AI training deal (but it still sends less referrals than Facebook and X).
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/how-publisher-traffic-referral-types-are-stacking-up-T7pCfN.png?fit=1220%2C758&ssl=17581220http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-08-19 18:06:512025-08-19 18:06:51Google traffic to news publishers is steady, but it isn’t traditional Search
Advertisers can now see exactly where their Search, Shopping, and App campaign ads are running across the Search Partner Network (SPN), with full site-level impression data.
How it works:
Reports list all SPN sites where your ads appeared.
Impression data is broken down at the site level.
Works like existing placement reports in Performance Max.
Why we care. Transparency has long been a sticking point with SPN. This update gives advertisers the visibility they’ve been asking for – and the ability to make smarter, brand-safe decisions.
The big picture. This change empowers advertisers to:
Audit brand suitability more effectively.
Optimize spend by analyzing which sites drive value.
Gain tighter control over campaign performance.
First seen.This update was first noted by Anthony Higman, founder and CEO of ADSQUIRE. He is still skeptical of Search Partner Networks despite it being an answer to a request advertisers have made for years:
“Still Most Likely Wont Be Participating In The Search Partner Network But This Is Unprecedented And What ALL Advertisers Have Been Requesting For Decades Now!!!”
Bottom line. Advertisers finally have the transparency and control needed to run on SPN confidently and optimize placements for better results.
Google announced it will shut down the Content API for Shopping on Aug. 18, 2026, officially making the Merchant API the new standard for managing Merchant Center accounts.
Why we care. For over a decade, advertisers and retailers have relied on the Content API to push product data into Google Shopping. The new Merchant API promises a simpler, more powerful way to control how products appear across both organic and ad surfaces – but it means developers and PPC teams need to start planning migrations now.
Details:
The Merchant API has been available in beta since May 2024, but is now generally available.
Google describes it as a “simplified interface” for scaling product feeds and gaining programmatic access to data, insights, and unique capabilities.
It will serve as the primary tool for product data management, spanning both paid and organic listings.
What’s next. The Content API remains available until August 2026, but Google urges advertisers to migrate sooner.
Help docs are live to guide developers through the transition.
Expect growing forum chatter as advertisers share migration challenges and best practices.
Bottom line. If your ecommerce business relies on the Content API, the clock is ticking. Moving to the Merchant API isn’t optional, and early adopters may gain a smoother path to scaling feeds and campaigns.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Google-Shopping-Ads-Google-Ads-VSHoy9.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=110801920http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-08-19 15:26:462025-08-19 15:26:46Google replaces Content API for Shopping with new Merchant API
Generative AI is reshaping how people find information — but it hasn’t replaced search engines like Google. That’s according to a new Nielsen Norman Group study:
While users increasingly experiment with ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews, most still default to old habits: starting with Google.
Why we care. Google is a habit – and habits are hard to break. That gives Google a built-in edge: even as AI eats into clicks, Google remains the default starting point for users. That means organic visibility still matters for brands and businesses. AI is reshaping the journey, but it won’t erase search overnight.
The big picture. According to the study:
AI overviews = fewer clicks. People notice and often rely on Google’s AI summaries, reducing the need to visit websites. Not new, and still bad news for publishers.
AI chat boosts efficiency. Once users tried Gemini or ChatGPT for complex tasks, they found them faster and more useful than traditional search.
Search isn’t gone. Even heavy AI users still cross-check with Google or visit content pages. No participant relied solely on AI for all information needs.
Familiarity wins. Just as “Google” became a verb, some users now casually call ChatGPT “Chat.” Brand familiarity may be the biggest advantage in AI search.
Bottom line. Generative AI is changing how people research – but it’s an evolution, not a revolution. The biggest barrier to AI adoption isn’t accuracy or UX, it’s human habit.
About the data. Nielsen Norman Group conducted remote usability testing with nine participants in North America and UK, representing diverse demographics and levels of AI experience. Sessions explored how users approached real research tasks with search engines and AI tools.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/generative-ai-search-google-5vSPei.webp?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=110801920http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-08-19 15:12:532025-08-19 15:12:53Generative AI is changing search, but Google is still where people start: Study
After Amazon pulled its ads from Google Shopping on July 23, clicks became cheaper, and volumes rose, but the value of that traffic dropped. That’s according to a new study from Optmyzr, which analyzed 6,137 advertiser accounts.
By the numbers (all categories combined):
Clicks: +7.8%
CPC: -8.3%
Conversion Value: -5.5%
ROAS: -4.4%
Why we care. Less competition doesn’t automatically help advertisers, and more traffic doesn’t always mean better business. Amazon-trained shoppers still expected rock-bottom prices, fast shipping, and seamless buying. When competitors couldn’t deliver, conversion value fell.
Category winners and losers. Electronics was the clear winner. Retailers like Best Buy and Apple matched Amazon’s offer, driving +81% conversions and +7% ROAS. In other categories:
Home & Garden, Sporting Goods, Tools, Apparel: Fell into the volume trap – more clicks, but lower value and weaker ROAS.
Health & Beauty: Traffic converted, but at a lower per-sale value.
Apparel & Accessories: The largest category by volume, but saw a -9.5% drop in conversion value.
Between the lines. Amazon wasn’t just another bidder – it was shaping shopper expectations across categories. When Amazon left, those expectations didn’t reset, the study suggests.
Bottom line. For PPC advertisers, cheaper clicks aren’t a win if they don’t turn into profitable customers. Without Amazon-level pricing and convenience, many brands risk falling into the volume trap.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-19-at-13.36.28-Vcw75n.webp?fit=882%2C631&ssl=1631882http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-08-19 14:21:112025-08-19 14:21:11Clicks rose, ROAS fell when Amazon left Google Shopping
Clicks: +7.8%
CPC: -8.3%
