<div><img width="1536" height="1024" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-ai-chatgbt-recommendations.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Google AI ChatGBT recommendations" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-ai-chatgbt-recommendations.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-ai-chatgbt-recommendations-768x512.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px" /></div>Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode and ChatGPT disagree on brand picks nearly two-thirds of the time, new data shows.

<div><img width="1536" height="1024" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-ai-chatgbt-recommendations.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Google AI ChatGBT recommendations" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-ai-chatgbt-recommendations.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-ai-chatgbt-recommendations-768x512.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px" /></div>
<p>Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode and OpenAI&#8217;s ChatGPT often give consumers different brand recommendations – a potential warning sign for marketers chasing AI visibility –&nbsp;according to a new BrightEdge analysis.</p>



<p><strong>The big picture.</strong> ChatGPT and Google&#8217;s AI Mode and AI Overviews disagreed on brand recommendations nearly two-thirds of the time (61.9%), according to BrightEdge&#8217;s analysis of tens of thousands of identical prompts.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Only 17% of queries produced the same brands across all three platforms. This underscores the <a href="https://searchengineland.com/fractured-search-seo-ai-new-rules-461262">fractured state of brand exposure in AI search</a>.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>By the numbers. </strong>Just 33.5% of queries included brands across all three platforms, and only 4.6% had no brands mentioned anywhere. Other key findings:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Google AI Overviews dominate:</strong> Google’s AI Overviews surfaced brands in 36.8% of queries, while ChatGPT led in just 3.9%.</li>



<li><strong>Brand density:</strong> Google AI Overviews averaged <strong>6.02 brands per query</strong>, more than 2.5x higher than ChatGPT’s 2.37 and far ahead of AI Mode&#8217;s 1.59.</li>



<li><strong>Silence rates:</strong> ChatGPT offered no brand mentions in 43.4% of queries. Google AI Mode stayed silent 46.8% of the time, compared to just 9.1% for AIO.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>The citation paradox. </strong>The study also uncovered stark differences in citation behavior:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>ChatGPT mentions more than it cites, with 3.2x more brand mentions (2.37) than citations (0.73).</li>



<li>Google AI Overviews cites far more than it mentions (14.30 citations vs. 6.02 mentions).</li>



<li>Google AI Mode shows an even bigger gap — 6x more citations than mentions (9.49 vs. 1.59).</li>
</ul>



<p>This data may suggest that ChatGPT’s responses lean heavily on its training patterns, while Google emphasizes visible source attribution.</p>



<p><strong>Where platforms align. </strong>The rare moments of brand alignment depended on query intent:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Compare queries:</strong> 80% same-brand agreement.</li>



<li><strong>Buy queries:</strong> 62%.</li>



<li><strong>Where queries:</strong> 38%.</li>



<li><strong>Best queries:</strong> 23%.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Industry breakdown. </strong>Disagreement rates also varied by sector:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Healthcare:</strong> 68.5%</li>



<li><strong>Education:</strong> 62.1%</li>



<li><strong>B2B Tech: </strong>61.7%</li>



<li><strong>Finance:</strong> 57.9%</li>



<li><strong>Ecommerce:</strong> 57.1% (lowest)</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Why we care.</strong> For brands, these findings highlight a volatile AI landscape where visibility is far from guaranteed – and often inconsistent. As BrightEdge notes, the fragmentation creates “massive untapped visibility opportunities” for companies optimizing for generative search.</p>



<p><strong>The report.</strong> <a href="https://www.brightedge.com/resources/weekly-ai-search-insights/chatgpt-vs-google-ai-62-brand-recommendation-disagreement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ChatGPT vs Google AI: 62% Brand Recommendation Disagreement</a></p>


Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode and OpenAI’s ChatGPT often give consumers different brand recommendations – a potential warning sign for marketers chasing AI visibility – according to a new BrightEdge analysis.
The big picture. ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode and AI Overviews disagreed on brand recommendations nearly two-thirds of the time (61.9%), according to BrightEdge’s analysis of tens of thousands of identical prompts.
Only 17% of queries produced the same brands across all three platforms. This underscores the fractured state of brand exposure in AI search.
By the numbers. Just 33.5% of queries included brands across all three platforms, and only 4.6% had no brands mentioned anywhere. Other key findings:
Google AI Overviews dominate: Google’s AI Overviews surfaced brands in 36.8% of queries, while ChatGPT led in just 3.9%.
Brand density: Google AI Overviews averaged 6.02 brands per query, more than 2.5x higher than ChatGPT’s 2.37 and far ahead of AI Mode’s 1.59.
Silence rates: ChatGPT offered no brand mentions in 43.4% of queries. Google AI Mode stayed silent 46.8% of the time, compared to just 9.1% for AIO.
The citation paradox. The study also uncovered stark differences in citation behavior:
ChatGPT mentions more than it cites, with 3.2x more brand mentions (2.37) than citations (0.73).
Google AI Overviews cites far more than it mentions (14.30 citations vs. 6.02 mentions).
Google AI Mode shows an even bigger gap — 6x more citations than mentions (9.49 vs. 1.59).
This data may suggest that ChatGPT’s responses lean heavily on its training patterns, while Google emphasizes visible source attribution.
Where platforms align. The rare moments of brand alignment depended on query intent:
Compare queries: 80% same-brand agreement.
Buy queries: 62%.
Where queries: 38%.
Best queries: 23%.
Industry breakdown. Disagreement rates also varied by sector:
Healthcare: 68.5%
Education: 62.1%
B2B Tech: 61.7%
Finance: 57.9%
Ecommerce: 57.1% (lowest)
Why we care. For brands, these findings highlight a volatile AI landscape where visibility is far from guaranteed – and often inconsistent. As BrightEdge notes, the fragmentation creates “massive untapped visibility opportunities” for companies optimizing for generative search.
The report. ChatGPT vs Google AI: 62% Brand Recommendation Disagreement

Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode and ChatGPT disagree on brand picks nearly two-thirds of the time, new data shows.

Google AI, ChatGPT rarely agree on brand recommendations: Data

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Search marketing jobs" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-550x310.jpg 550w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Land your next job in SEO or PPC. These brands and agencies are hiring to fill open search marketing positions right now.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Search marketing jobs" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-550x310.jpg 550w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>Looking to take the next step in your search marketing career? </p>



<p>Below, you will find the latest SEO, PPC, and digital marketing jobs at brands and agencies. We also include positions from previous weeks that are still open.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-newest-seo-jobs">Newest SEO Jobs </h2>



<style>.wp-block-rss__item-title{padding-top:20px;}</style>



<p><strong>(Provided to Search Engine Land by <a href="https://www.seojobs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SEOjobs.com</a>) </strong></p>


<ul class="has-dates has-excerpts wp-block-rss"><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.seojobs.com/job/local-seo-specialist-mkt-my-mkt/'>Local SEO Specialist ~ Market My Market ~ $50,000-$65,000 per year ~ Remote (USA)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-28T15:30:57-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 28, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">Reporting to the Director of SEO, the Local SEO Specialist will focus on optimizing Market My Market’s clients’ Google Business Profiles and enhancing local SEO performance to attract and convert leads for our clients. Market My Market’s target markets are single event legal, specialty medical and dental clients who are located across the country and […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.seojobs.com/job/head-of-seo-organic-client-growth-eleven-content-limited/'>Head of SEO &amp; Organic Client Growth~  Eleven Content Limited ~ £4,000 – £4,500/m ~ Remote (UK)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-28T13:29:40-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 28, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">Location: Remote (Required to work core business hours for UK/EU time zones) Commitment: Full-time (35 hours/week) About Eleven Eleven is a growth-focused content marketing agency recently acquired by two industry leaders, specialising in high-performing content strategies for global B2B brands, agencies, and digital publishers. Our team thrives on curiosity, collaboration, and a scientific approach to […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.seojobs.com/job/seotechnical-content-writer-focus-digital/'>SEO/Technical Content Writer ~ Focus Digital ~ $50,000-$55,000 per year ~ Remote (USA)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-28T12:30:25-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 28, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">Description Click Here for a Video Overview of the Position At Focus Digital, we help small and medium-sized businesses systematically generate inbound, organic highly qualified leads with SEO, Google ads, and web design. We do this by strategically publishing website content that positions our clients as thought leaders in their industries, thereby driving rankings on Google, […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.seojobs.com/job/editorial-assistant-seo-launch-potato/'>Editorial Assistant, SEO ~ Launch Potato ~ $35,000 – $55,000 per year ~ Remote (USA)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-27T15:30:38-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 27, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">WHO ARE WE? Launch Potato is a digital media company with a portfolio of brands and technologies. As The Discovery and Conversion Company, Launch Potato is a leading connector of advertisers to customers at all parts of the consumer journey, from awareness to consideration to purchase. The company is headquartered in vibrant downtown Delray Beach, Florida, […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.seojobs.com/job/seo-ai-consultant-we-are-rosie/'>SEO/AI Consultant ~ We Are Rosie ~ $85 per hour ~ Remote (USA)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-27T12:30:47-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 27, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">Job Description We are seeking an experienced LLM/AI Strategy Consultant to serve as an extension of our client’s leadership team, working directly with the client’s SEO and Content Leads on a critical strategic initiative. This role requires someone who can both think strategically and execute tactically—a true “thought leader and doer” who can dive deep […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.seojobs.com/job/seo-manager-fusion-ninety-two/'>SEO Manager ~ Fusion92 ~ $60,000 – $80,000 ~ Hybrid or Remote (USA)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-26T15:30:49-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 26, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">ABOUT US: Fusion92 is building the future of marketing through an unparalleled, data-driven approach to solving our clients’ toughest problems. We call ourselves a Marketing Transformation Partner for clients, as through a culture of curiosity, fearlessness, teamwork, and leadership, we turn our expertise toward creating new paths forward where our services and technology together unlock […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.seojobs.com/job/ai-search-seo-and-content-specialist-legion-health/'>AI Search, SEO, and Content Specialist ~ Legion Health ~ $40-$175 per hour ~ Remote (USA)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-26T12:30:10-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 26, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">Part‑time Contractor -&gt; Full‑time Employee • Remote / Hybrid <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/16.0.1/72x72/1f9e0.png" alt="🧠" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> About Legion Health Legion Health is on a mission to deliver the best psychiatric care in the world—and to do it at scale. We’re building a full-stack AI-native psychiatry network—our clinicians provide high-quality care directly to patients, and AI agents automate all parts of our […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.seojobs.com/job/seo-specialist-flint-analytics-llc/'>SEO Specialist ~ Flint Analytics, LLC ~ $55K – $62K ~ Hybrid – Indianapolis, IN (US)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-25T21:53:02-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 25, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">We are looking for an SEO Specialist who is comfortable with the technical details of onsite and offsite SEO such as keyword research, schema, metadata, etc., and also loves to dig into data and analytics to optimize campaigns and client websites. The SEO Specialist is responsible for managing all SEO campaigns and analysis for client […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.seojobs.com/job/seo-strategist-ramp/'>SEO Strategist ~ Ramp ~ $96,400-$147,300 per year ~ Remote (USA)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-25T15:30:00-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 25, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">About Ramp At Ramp, we’re rethinking how modern finance teams function in the age of AI. We believe AI isn’t just the next big wave. It’s the new foundation for how business gets done. We’re investing in that future — and in the people bold enough to build it. Ramp is a financial operations platform […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.seojobs.com/job/senior-seo-manager-the-grit-group/'>Senior SEO Manager ~ The Grit Group ~ $80-100k ~ Remote (US)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-23T13:49:25-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 23, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">The Senior SEO Manager role presents an awesome opportunity to contribute across all facets of SEO in a fast-growing digital marketing agency. As the Senior SEO Manager on the Grit team, you will work closely with other SEO associates to drive SEO strategy, provide content SEO expertise, and manage reporting / analytics across SEO partnerships. […]</div></li></ul>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-newest-ppc-and-paid-media-jobs">Newest PPC and paid media jobs</h2>



<p><strong>(Provided to Search Engine Land by <a href="https://www.ppcjobs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PPCjobs.com</a>) </strong></p>



<style>.wp-block-rss__item-title{padding-top:20px;}</style>


<ul class="has-dates has-excerpts wp-block-rss"><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.ppcjobs.com/job/ppc-contractor-launch-with-us/'>PPC Contractor ~ Launch With Us ~ £1500 – £2000 per month ~ Remote (UK/EU)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-29T15:30:57-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 29, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">Description Role: PPC Contractor Company: Launch With Us Function: PPC | Google Ads | Acquisition Strategy Responsibility: Drive new customer growth via PPC strategies for our e-commerce clients Reports to:         Senior Account Manager Location:         Remote First Compensation: £1500 – £2000 per Month (B2B Contract) Background: Launch With Us […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.ppcjobs.com/job/manager-paid-social-strategy-dept/'>Manager, Paid Social Strategy ~ Dept ~ $73,900 – $90,000 ~ Remote (USA)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-29T12:30:41-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 29, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">WHY DEPT®? We are pioneers at heart. What this means, is that we are always leaning forward, thinking of what we can create tomorrow that does not exist today. We were born digital and we are a new model of agency, with a deep skillset in tech and marketing. That’s why we hire curious, self-driven, […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.ppcjobs.com/job/paid-media-account-manager-greenlane-marketing/'>Paid Media Account Manager ~ Greenlane Marketing ~ $65,000 – $80,000 ~ Audubon, PA  (US)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-28T20:14:02-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 28, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">About Greenlane Marketing Greenlane Marketing is not your average digital marketing agency. We were founded to be a true alternative to the standard agency model, one that prioritizes partnership, transparency, and data-driven results. We are a team of passionate, curious, and dedicated experts who are genuinely excited to tackle complex challenges and create custom strategies […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.ppcjobs.com/job/manager-paid-social-dentsu/'>Manager, Paid Social ~ dentsu ~ $51,000-$83,375 per year ~ Remote (USA)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-28T15:30:53-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 28, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">Job Description: Carat is seeking a Paid Social Manager. In this role, you will lead the implementation and execution of Paid Social campaigns, including review, optimization and reporting. You will be reporting into the Associate Director of Paid Social. This role can be remote but will work EST hours. Responsibilities: ·       Support full-funnel paid social […]</div></li><li class='wp-block-rss__item'><div class='wp-block-rss__item-title'><a href='https://www.ppcjobs.com/job/paid-social-associate-director-jump-450-media/'>Paid Social Associate Director ~ Jump 450 Media ~ $65-80k per year ~ Remote (USA)</a></div><time datetime="2025-08-28T12:30:24-04:00" class="wp-block-rss__item-publish-date">August 28, 2025</time> <div class="wp-block-rss__item-excerpt">Description 100% Remote Position Base Salary: $65-80K Base Jump 450 is known in our industry as being the most elite of its kind when it comes to customer acquisition and media buying. Traditionally, we have hired only experts that pass our rigorous recruitment process to join our team. For the first time since our inception […]</div></li></ul>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-other-roles-you-may-be-interested-in">Other roles you may be interested in</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4273595581/?alternateChannel=search&amp;eBP=NOT_ELIGIBLE_FOR_CHARGING&amp;refId=f8fYHQLh%2FAyQmSw3SpCSwg%3D%3D&amp;trackingId=UZeKRLjXlFrZ9aC7QaInrQ%3D%3D&amp;trk=d_flagship3_search_srp_jobs">Senior Paid Search Marketer</a>, Avenue Z (Miami,FL)</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Salary: </strong>$75,000 &#8211; $90,000</li>



<li>Manage a portfolio of 10 clients, comprising a mix of e-commerce and B2B stores.</li>



<li>Lead weekly client calls to review account performance, marketing KPIs, and provide strategic insights.</li>
</ul>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4285864696/?alternateChannel=search&amp;eBP=NOT_ELIGIBLE_FOR_CHARGING&amp;refId=f8fYHQLh%2FAyQmSw3SpCSwg%3D%3D&amp;trackingId=nGkZe8ttmOgpvdnp5LDU3g%3D%3D&amp;trk=d_flagship3_search_srp_jobs">Digital Marketing Manager</a>, PartsBase Inc. (Remote)</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Salary: </strong>$80,000 &#8211; $110,000</li>



<li>Design, build, and optimize integrated email marketing campaigns targeting our B2B audience.</li>



<li>Manage social media marketing and content initiatives across LinkedIn, Facebook, X (Twitter), TikTok, and YouTube Shorts tailored to PartsBase’s audience.</li>
</ul>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4277219210/?alternateChannel=search&amp;eBP=NOT_ELIGIBLE_FOR_CHARGING&amp;refId=YAmgorbLK7265w0tgmRr9w%3D%3D&amp;trackingId=Ztcv93B%2FZXEeJ7d4BLUNKA%3D%3D&amp;trk=d_flagship3_search_srp_jobs">Search Engine Marketing Manager (SEM)</a>, Yelp (Remote)</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Salary:</strong> $89,000 &#8211; $150,000</li>



<li>Manage the day-to-day operations for our paid search marketing strategy, setting up campaigns, optimizing bids, ad copy, landing pages and more.</li>



<li>Obsess over data. You will analyze performance metrics from internal database tools, third party systems, APIs, and data feeds to drive growth in profit.</li>
</ul>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4267830351/?alternateChannel=search&amp;eBP=NOT_ELIGIBLE_FOR_CHARGING&amp;refId=iIRKhxIGEI8SCCc%2BoZcECg%3D%3D&amp;trackingId=Whu9sxLDOpdiw276xCRKqQ%3D%3D&amp;trk=d_flagship3_search_srp_jobs">SEO Manager, MSNBC</a>, MSNBC (New York, NY)</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Salary:</strong> $85,000 &#8211; $115,000</li>



<li>Develop and enhance SEO strategy for MSNBC articles and videos published, including breaking news, analysis, and opinion content across owned and third-party platforms</li>



<li>Communicate regularly with editorial teams about SEO strategies, tactics, and performance</li>
</ul>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4256085358/?alternateChannel=search&amp;eBP=NOT_ELIGIBLE_FOR_CHARGING&amp;refId=iIRKhxIGEI8SCCc%2BoZcECg%3D%3D&amp;trackingId=83qCYmJFLeyl1dmIXQWRmQ%3D%3D&amp;trk=d_flagship3_search_srp_jobs">Digital Marketing Manager</a>, Kayak (Cambridge, MA)</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Salary:</strong> $75,000 &#8211; $90,000</li>



<li>Strong project management, organizational, and communication skills, with excellent attention to detail</li>



<li>Capability of balancing urgent priorities with strategic long-term objectives</li>
</ul>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4283704102/?alternateChannel=search&amp;eBP=NOT_ELIGIBLE_FOR_CHARGING&amp;refId=iIRKhxIGEI8SCCc%2BoZcECg%3D%3D&amp;trackingId=JbVd1iwgFI4%2FZNErDmAfcw%3D%3D&amp;trk=d_flagship3_search_srp_jobs">Search Engine Marketing Manager</a>, Good Inside</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Salary: </strong>$110,000 &#8211; $125,000</li>



<li>Expert in Google Ads, Bing Ads, and Search Ads 360 (SA360); additional experience with Apple Search, YouTube, or display is a plus.</li>



<li>Strong analytical mindset; fluent in Excel/Google Sheets, and able to derive insights from performance data.</li>
</ul>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4284435739/?alternateChannel=search&amp;eBP=NOT_ELIGIBLE_FOR_CHARGING&amp;refId=iIRKhxIGEI8SCCc%2BoZcECg%3D%3D&amp;trackingId=Pndpah5GRKLm%2Bnugto9edw%3D%3D&amp;trk=d_flagship3_search_srp_jobs">Manager, Paid Search</a>, Lunar Solar Group (Remote)</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Salary:</strong> $80,000 &#8211; $95,000</li>



<li>Drive overall planning, execution, strategy, and optimization of SEM campaigns for clients across Google Ads and Microsoft Ads.</li>



<li>Own client relationships handling day to day communications, weekly/biweekly reporting, and Quarterly Business Reviews.</li>
</ul>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4281707160/?alternateChannel=search&amp;eBP=NOT_ELIGIBLE_FOR_CHARGING&amp;refId=iIRKhxIGEI8SCCc%2BoZcECg%3D%3D&amp;trackingId=Uy3XTnjvZW04Zra3ylAinw%3D%3D&amp;trk=d_flagship3_search_srp_jobs">Manager, Paid Media, WSJ</a>, Dow Jones (Hybrid, New York, NY)</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Salary:</strong> $85,000 &#8211; $105,000</li>



<li>Create an effective strategic framework across paid media platforms including Meta, Google Search, DV360, LinkedIn, X, Reddit and Snapchat.</li>



<li>Optimize media strategies to improve performance and ensure the KPI goals are met.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Are you looking to hire?</h2>



<p>You can <a href="https://forms.gle/1T6Mruk7T34dPmai8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">submit your job listing details here</a> for free. Please include:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Job title.</li>



<li>Company.</li>



<li>Job listing URL.</li>



<li>Date when the job listing closes.</li>



<li>Where the position is located (e.g., remote, city, country).</li>



<li>Salary range (we will not include job listings in this article unless they include this).</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Note:</strong> We update this post weekly. So make sure to bookmark this page and check back. </p>



<p></p>


Looking to take the next step in your search marketing career? 
Below, you will find the latest SEO, PPC, and digital marketing jobs at brands and agencies. We also include positions from previous weeks that are still open.
Newest SEO Jobs 
.wp-block-rss__item-title{padding-top:20px;}



(Provided to Search Engine Land by SEOjobs.com) 

Local SEO Specialist ~ Market My Market ~ $50,000-$65,000 per year ~ Remote (USA)
August 28, 2025 
Reporting to the Director of SEO, the Local SEO Specialist will focus on optimizing Market My Market’s clients’ Google Business Profiles and enhancing local SEO performance to attract and convert leads for our clients. Market My Market’s target markets are single event legal, specialty medical and dental clients who are located across the country and […]

Head of SEO & Organic Client Growth~  Eleven Content Limited ~ £4,000 – £4,500/m ~ Remote (UK)
August 28, 2025 
Location: Remote (Required to work core business hours for UK/EU time zones) Commitment: Full-time (35 hours/week) About Eleven Eleven is a growth-focused content marketing agency recently acquired by two industry leaders, specialising in high-performing content strategies for global B2B brands, agencies, and digital publishers. Our team thrives on curiosity, collaboration, and a scientific approach to […]

SEO/Technical Content Writer ~ Focus Digital ~ $50,000-$55,000 per year ~ Remote (USA)
August 28, 2025 
Description Click Here for a Video Overview of the Position At Focus Digital, we help small and medium-sized businesses systematically generate inbound, organic highly qualified leads with SEO, Google ads, and web design. We do this by strategically publishing website content that positions our clients as thought leaders in their industries, thereby driving rankings on Google, […]

Editorial Assistant, SEO ~ Launch Potato ~ $35,000 – $55,000 per year ~ Remote (USA)
August 27, 2025 
WHO ARE WE? Launch Potato is a digital media company with a portfolio of brands and technologies. As The Discovery and Conversion Company, Launch Potato is a leading connector of advertisers to customers at all parts of the consumer journey, from awareness to consideration to purchase. The company is headquartered in vibrant downtown Delray Beach, Florida, […]

SEO/AI Consultant ~ We Are Rosie ~ $85 per hour ~ Remote (USA)
August 27, 2025 
Job Description We are seeking an experienced LLM/AI Strategy Consultant to serve as an extension of our client’s leadership team, working directly with the client’s SEO and Content Leads on a critical strategic initiative. This role requires someone who can both think strategically and execute tactically—a true “thought leader and doer” who can dive deep […]

SEO Manager ~ Fusion92 ~ $60,000 – $80,000 ~ Hybrid or Remote (USA)
August 26, 2025 
ABOUT US: Fusion92 is building the future of marketing through an unparalleled, data-driven approach to solving our clients’ toughest problems. We call ourselves a Marketing Transformation Partner for clients, as through a culture of curiosity, fearlessness, teamwork, and leadership, we turn our expertise toward creating new paths forward where our services and technology together unlock […]

AI Search, SEO, and Content Specialist ~ Legion Health ~ $40-$175 per hour ~ Remote (USA)
August 26, 2025 
Part‑time Contractor -> Full‑time Employee • Remote / Hybrid  About Legion Health Legion Health is on a mission to deliver the best psychiatric care in the world—and to do it at scale. We’re building a full-stack AI-native psychiatry network—our clinicians provide high-quality care directly to patients, and AI agents automate all parts of our […]

SEO Specialist ~ Flint Analytics, LLC ~ $55K – $62K ~ Hybrid – Indianapolis, IN (US)
August 25, 2025 
We are looking for an SEO Specialist who is comfortable with the technical details of onsite and offsite SEO such as keyword research, schema, metadata, etc., and also loves to dig into data and analytics to optimize campaigns and client websites. The SEO Specialist is responsible for managing all SEO campaigns and analysis for client […]

SEO Strategist ~ Ramp ~ $96,400-$147,300 per year ~ Remote (USA)
August 25, 2025 
About Ramp At Ramp, we’re rethinking how modern finance teams function in the age of AI. We believe AI isn’t just the next big wave. It’s the new foundation for how business gets done. We’re investing in that future — and in the people bold enough to build it. Ramp is a financial operations platform […]

Senior SEO Manager ~ The Grit Group ~ $80-100k ~ Remote (US)
August 23, 2025 
The Senior SEO Manager role presents an awesome opportunity to contribute across all facets of SEO in a fast-growing digital marketing agency. As the Senior SEO Manager on the Grit team, you will work closely with other SEO associates to drive SEO strategy, provide content SEO expertise, and manage reporting / analytics across SEO partnerships. […]

Newest PPC and paid media jobs
(Provided to Search Engine Land by PPCjobs.com) 
.wp-block-rss__item-title{padding-top:20px;}



PPC Contractor ~ Launch With Us ~ £1500 – £2000 per month ~ Remote (UK/EU)
August 29, 2025 
Description Role: PPC Contractor Company: Launch With Us Function: PPC | Google Ads | Acquisition Strategy Responsibility: Drive new customer growth via PPC strategies for our e-commerce clients Reports to:         Senior Account Manager Location:         Remote First Compensation: £1500 – £2000 per Month (B2B Contract) Background: Launch With Us […]

Manager, Paid Social Strategy ~ Dept ~ $73,900 – $90,000 ~ Remote (USA)
August 29, 2025 
WHY DEPT®? We are pioneers at heart. What this means, is that we are always leaning forward, thinking of what we can create tomorrow that does not exist today. We were born digital and we are a new model of agency, with a deep skillset in tech and marketing. That’s why we hire curious, self-driven, […]

Paid Media Account Manager ~ Greenlane Marketing ~ $65,000 – $80,000 ~ Audubon, PA  (US)
August 28, 2025 
About Greenlane Marketing Greenlane Marketing is not your average digital marketing agency. We were founded to be a true alternative to the standard agency model, one that prioritizes partnership, transparency, and data-driven results. We are a team of passionate, curious, and dedicated experts who are genuinely excited to tackle complex challenges and create custom strategies […]

Manager, Paid Social ~ dentsu ~ $51,000-$83,375 per year ~ Remote (USA)
August 28, 2025 
Job Description: Carat is seeking a Paid Social Manager. In this role, you will lead the implementation and execution of Paid Social campaigns, including review, optimization and reporting. You will be reporting into the Associate Director of Paid Social. This role can be remote but will work EST hours. Responsibilities: ·       Support full-funnel paid social […]

Paid Social Associate Director ~ Jump 450 Media ~ $65-80k per year ~ Remote (USA)
August 28, 2025 
Description 100% Remote Position Base Salary: $65-80K Base Jump 450 is known in our industry as being the most elite of its kind when it comes to customer acquisition and media buying. Traditionally, we have hired only experts that pass our rigorous recruitment process to join our team. For the first time since our inception […]

Other roles you may be interested in
Senior Paid Search Marketer, Avenue Z (Miami,FL)
Salary: $75,000 – $90,000
Manage a portfolio of 10 clients, comprising a mix of e-commerce and B2B stores.
Lead weekly client calls to review account performance, marketing KPIs, and provide strategic insights.
Digital Marketing Manager, PartsBase Inc. (Remote)
Salary: $80,000 – $110,000
Design, build, and optimize integrated email marketing campaigns targeting our B2B audience.
Manage social media marketing and content initiatives across LinkedIn, Facebook, X (Twitter), TikTok, and YouTube Shorts tailored to PartsBase’s audience.
Search Engine Marketing Manager (SEM), Yelp (Remote)
Salary: $89,000 – $150,000
Manage the day-to-day operations for our paid search marketing strategy, setting up campaigns, optimizing bids, ad copy, landing pages and more.
Obsess over data. You will analyze performance metrics from internal database tools, third party systems, APIs, and data feeds to drive growth in profit.
SEO Manager, MSNBC, MSNBC (New York, NY)
Salary: $85,000 – $115,000
Develop and enhance SEO strategy for MSNBC articles and videos published, including breaking news, analysis, and opinion content across owned and third-party platforms
Communicate regularly with editorial teams about SEO strategies, tactics, and performance
Digital Marketing Manager, Kayak (Cambridge, MA)
Salary: $75,000 – $90,000
Strong project management, organizational, and communication skills, with excellent attention to detail
Capability of balancing urgent priorities with strategic long-term objectives
Search Engine Marketing Manager, Good Inside
Salary: $110,000 – $125,000
Expert in Google Ads, Bing Ads, and Search Ads 360 (SA360); additional experience with Apple Search, YouTube, or display is a plus.
Strong analytical mindset; fluent in Excel/Google Sheets, and able to derive insights from performance data.
Manager, Paid Search, Lunar Solar Group (Remote)
Salary: $80,000 – $95,000
Drive overall planning, execution, strategy, and optimization of SEM campaigns for clients across Google Ads and Microsoft Ads.
Own client relationships handling day to day communications, weekly/biweekly reporting, and Quarterly Business Reviews.
Manager, Paid Media, WSJ, Dow Jones (Hybrid, New York, NY)
Salary: $85,000 – $105,000
Create an effective strategic framework across paid media platforms including Meta, Google Search, DV360, LinkedIn, X, Reddit and Snapchat.
Optimize media strategies to improve performance and ensure the KPI goals are met.
Are you looking to hire?
You can submit your job listing details here for free. Please include:
Job title.
Company.
Job listing URL.
Date when the job listing closes.
Where the position is located (e.g., remote, city, country).
Salary range (we will not include job listings in this article unless they include this).
Note: We update this post weekly. So make sure to bookmark this page and check back.

Land your next job in SEO or PPC. These brands and agencies are hiring to fill open search marketing positions right now.

The latest jobs in search marketing

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Search fragmentation" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>AI tool use is accelerating in everyday search, with ChatGPT use nearly tripling while Google’s share slips, survey of U.S. users finds.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Search fragmentation" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/02/search-fragmentation-1920.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>Google’s role in everyday information seeking is shrinking, while AI tools – particularly ChatGPT – are quickly gaining ground. That’s according to a new Higher Visibility survey of 1,500 U.S. users.</p>



<p><strong>By the numbers.</strong> Google’s share of general information searches fell from 73% in February to 66.9% in August. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1778" height="1085" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/search-platform-preference-aug-2025.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-461420" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/search-platform-preference-aug-2025.jpg 1778w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/search-platform-preference-aug-2025-768x469.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/search-platform-preference-aug-2025-1536x937.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1778px) 100vw, 1778px" /></figure>



<p>Other survey findings:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>ChatGPT use nearly tripled</strong>, from 4.1% to 12.5% of respondents.</li>



<li><strong>Daily AI tool use doubled</strong>, from 14% to 29%.</li>



<li><strong>Platform switching is up</strong>, with 35% saying they’ve changed how they search, compared to 28% in February.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>The big picture</strong>. Mainstream adoption of, and experimentation with, AI tools is accelerating. The number of people using AI tools daily increased from 14% to 29.2%. Meanwhile, &#8220;never&#8221; users dropped from 28% to 16%</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1823" height="1339" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/search-tool-adoption-august-2025.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-461421" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/search-tool-adoption-august-2025.jpg 1823w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/search-tool-adoption-august-2025-768x564.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/search-tool-adoption-august-2025-1536x1128.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1823px) 100vw, 1823px" /></figure>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Younger users in particular are leading the way, blending TikTok, Instagram, and ChatGPT into their search habits. </li>



<li>In local search – traditionally Google’s stronghold – AI use doubled to 10%.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Why we care.</strong> AI tools are reshaping how users discover, compare, and consume information. <a href="https://searchengineland.com/fractured-search-seo-ai-new-rules-461262">Search behavior is fractured</a>, which means SEOs cannot rely on Google Search alone (though, to be clear, SEO for Google remains as critical as ever). Therefore, SEO/GEO strategies now must account for visibility across multiple AI platforms.</p>



<p><strong>About the data. </strong>The findings compare two identical surveys of 1,500 U.S.-based participants conducted in February and August. Respondents spanned a range of ages, regions, and demographics, allowing Higher Visibility to track trends over time with consistency and validity.</p>



<p><strong>The report.</strong> <a href="https://www.highervisibility.com/seo/learn/how-people-search/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How People Search Today: A Study on Evolving Search Behaviors in 2025</a></p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper. <a href="https://searchengineland.com/ai-search-gaining-traction-not-replacing-google-survey-451667">AI search is gaining traction, but it isn’t replacing Google: Survey</a></em></strong></p>


Google’s role in everyday information seeking is shrinking, while AI tools – particularly ChatGPT – are quickly gaining ground. That’s according to a new Higher Visibility survey of 1,500 U.S. users.
By the numbers. Google’s share of general information searches fell from 73% in February to 66.9% in August. 




Other survey findings:
ChatGPT use nearly tripled, from 4.1% to 12.5% of respondents.
Daily AI tool use doubled, from 14% to 29%.
Platform switching is up, with 35% saying they’ve changed how they search, compared to 28% in February.
The big picture. Mainstream adoption of, and experimentation with, AI tools is accelerating. The number of people using AI tools daily increased from 14% to 29.2%. Meanwhile, “never” users dropped from 28% to 16%





Younger users in particular are leading the way, blending TikTok, Instagram, and ChatGPT into their search habits. 
In local search – traditionally Google’s stronghold – AI use doubled to 10%.
Why we care. AI tools are reshaping how users discover, compare, and consume information. Search behavior is fractured, which means SEOs cannot rely on Google Search alone (though, to be clear, SEO for Google remains as critical as ever). Therefore, SEO/GEO strategies now must account for visibility across multiple AI platforms.
About the data. The findings compare two identical surveys of 1,500 U.S.-based participants conducted in February and August. Respondents spanned a range of ages, regions, and demographics, allowing Higher Visibility to track trends over time with consistency and validity.
The report. How People Search Today: A Study on Evolving Search Behaviors in 2025
Dig deeper. AI search is gaining traction, but it isn’t replacing Google: Survey

AI tool use is accelerating in everyday search, with ChatGPT use nearly tripling while Google’s share slips, survey of U.S. users finds.

ChatGPT, AI tools gain traction as Google Search slips: Survey

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_home-service-professional.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="A professional home service worker in uniform standing next to a clean white work van with subtle branding, parked in a suburban neighborhood." style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_home-service-professional.png 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_home-service-professional-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_home-service-professional-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>Master Google verification for service area businesses. Prepare documents, ace video verification, and keep your profile compliant.

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_home-service-professional.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="A professional home service worker in uniform standing next to a clean white work van with subtle branding, parked in a suburban neighborhood." style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_home-service-professional.png 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_home-service-professional-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_home-service-professional-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>
<p>Getting your service area business verified on Google can be challenging, especially when video verification is required. </p>



<p>What Google expects to see isn&#8217;t always clear, and that uncertainty can lead to denials. </p>



<p>But with a little preparation, you can eliminate the guesswork and ensure a smoother verification process.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Learn how to get your business verified, handle denials, and maintain a compliant profile that lasts.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-service-area-business-on-google">What does it mean to be a service area business on Google?</h2>



<p>Before you begin the verification process, confirm that your business qualifies as a &#8220;pure service area business&#8221; on Google Maps and <strong>not</strong> another business type (i.e., storefront or hybrid).</p>



<p>A service area business delivers goods or services directly to customers at their location rather than serving customers at a storefront.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Unlike a hybrid business, a pure service area business never serves customers at a physical storefront.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This means the business’s address is hidden on <a href="https://searchengineland.com/maximize-local-business-google-maps-presence-439564">Google Maps</a>, and instead of a pin, there is a shaded service area.</p>



<p>While there aren’t many differences between a service area business and a storefront in terms of the live listing, the distinction between these listing types is crucial when it comes to the verification process on <a href="https://searchengineland.com/guide/google-business-profile">Google Business Profile</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-to-properly-verify-a-service-area-business-with-google-business-profile">How to properly verify a service area business with Google Business Profile</h2>



<p>Since a pure service area business doesn&#8217;t have a storefront, there is no need to verify a physical location. </p>



<p>Instead, the business only needs to confirm its existence and demonstrate that it provides the stated services within a specific service area.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Sounds simple, right?</p>



<p>Essentially, Google needs to verify a few key things for your business to pass verification:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>The business is licensed and/or registered in its respective state, city, county, or province.</li>



<li>The business is performing the stated services for customers within the specified service area.</li>



<li>The person completing the verification is an authorized representative of the business.</li>
</ul>



<p>Before you click the “Get verified” button and begin the process, carefully consider these essential elements.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-provide-google-your-business-information-early">Provide Google your business information early</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-business-website">Business website</h3>



<p>A properly set-up business website is crucial for any small business aiming to establish itself in local search results.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While it doesn’t need to be overly fancy, it should include key details such as:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Your business name.</li>



<li>Phone number.</li>



<li>Service area.</li>



<li>Hours of operation.</li>



<li>Descriptions of the services you provide.</li>
</ul>



<p>If you’re creating a new Google Business Profile, add this business information to your website at least a week before attempting verification.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This can actually streamline the verification process and improve your chances of success.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href="https://searchengineland.com/top-seo-tips-for-location-specific-websites-447951">Top SEO tips for location-specific websites</a></em></strong></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-citation-consistency">Citation consistency</h3>



<p>Ensure your business name, phone number, hours, and service area are consistent across other sources Google is likely to check.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For new businesses, building a few high-value citations, like those from BBB, Yelp, or the local Chamber of Commerce, can help establish your legitimacy.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In my experience, just a few key citations are enough to show Google that you’re a legitimate local business.</p>



<p>Not sure which citations to build?&nbsp;</p>



<p>Try searching for your competitor&#8217;s brand name.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Any sites they appear on are likely high-value citations in your local market.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evidence-of-branding-and-the-services-you-provide-nbsp">Evidence of branding and the services you provide&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Google requires proof that your business is actually doing the services you claim in your specified service area.&nbsp;</p>



<p>To provide this, upload photos directly to your GBP or website showing your business in action. This could include:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Photos of branded vehicles or uniforms.</li>



<li>Vanity shots of branded vehicles at local monuments or landmarks.</li>



<li>Signage at storage yards or job sites.</li>



<li>Tools and equipment at the location, on a lot, or in a branded truck.</li>



<li>Branding materials like business cards, yard signs, or advertising materials.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-business-documents">Business documents</h3>



<p>Before attempting to verify, always have supporting documents on hand to send to Google or present during a video verification.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These documents should have the business name and can include:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Business license.</li>



<li>Business registration.</li>



<li>Assumed name/DBA certificate.</li>



<li>Insurance documents.</li>



<li>Utility bills.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-use-a-domain-level-email-for-affiliation">Use a domain-level email for affiliation</h3>



<p>Use a domain-level email whenever verifying a listing, whether it’s new or existing.</p>



<p>An email tied to your business website signals trust and confirms you’re authorized to represent the business.</p>



<p>This can help expedite the verification process.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-google-video-verification-for-home-service-businesses-nbsp">Google video verification for home service businesses&nbsp;</h3>



<p>If you receive the video verification method, don’t panic.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Service area businesses can pass video verification just as easily as storefronts.&nbsp;</p>



<p>To maximize your chances of approval, start by:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Preparing your vehicle(s).</li>



<li>Gathering necessary documentation.</li>



<li>Ensuring your business information on your website is consistent before hitting “Record” to begin the verification video.</li>
</ul>



<p>As you record the video, think of your branded service vehicle as your &#8220;storefront.&#8221;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Here&#8217;s how to approach it:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Park the vehicle at your home, a nearby intersection, or a shopping plaza where you can capture street signs or surrounding businesses.</li>



<li>Make sure the business name on the vehicle is clearly visible.</li>



<li>Show or demonstrate that your vehicle contains the tools necessary for your services.</li>



<li>Unlock and start the vehicle to prove management control.</li>



<li>On camera, present documents like:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Your business registration.</li>



<li>License.</li>



<li>Invoices.</li>



<li>Utility bills.</li>



<li>Assumed name/DBA certificate.</li>



<li>Branded marketing materials.</li>
</ul>
</li>



<li>If the vehicle is unbranded, spend extra time showing documents and other marketing materials.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Important reminder:&nbsp;</strong></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Do <strong>not</strong> include restricted addresses, such as P.O. boxes, virtual offices, or co-working spaces, in the address field.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Even though the address won’t appear on Google Maps, <a href="https://support.google.com/business/answer/13762416?hl=en#zippy=%2Cpo-box-address">Google prohibits these types of addresses</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-verification-is-denied">If verification is denied</h2>



<p>Despite your best efforts, verification may occasionally be denied.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In such cases, Google typically sends an email explaining which requirement(s) you did not meet.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Additionally, a reason for the failure will appear next to the “Get verified” button on your profile.</p>



<p>Here, Google is asking for more evidence that the person recording is affiliated with the business.</p>



<p>Use this feedback to determine your next steps.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Retry the video verification following the prompts.</p>



<p>If necessary, gather additional proof of business operations, such as updated documents or marketing materials.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contact-gbp-support-for-verification-issues">Contact GBP support for verification issues</h3>



<p>If verification continues to fail, you may need to contact Google directly and provide extra proof they request.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Be sure to contact support through the contact button in the verification video workflow or the verification tool workflow.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This will connect you to the appropriate team that can assist with your verification issue.</p>



<p>Reaching out via the general support form may result in the dreaded “no-reply” boilerplate email.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-maintaining-compliance-on-google-as-a-service-area-business">Maintaining compliance on Google as a service area business</h2>



<p>Once your business is verified, it’s essential to keep your listing accurate and compliant to prevent re-verification or potential suspension issues down the road.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-setting-your-service-area">Setting your service area</h3>



<p>Be as specific and accurate as possible when setting your service area.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You can use:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>City names.</li>



<li>Postcodes.</li>



<li>Regions (like counties).</li>
</ul>



<p>However, avoid selecting:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Entire states.</li>



<li>Provinces.</li>



<li>Countries.</li>
</ul>



<p>Google recommends setting your service area within a two-hour driving radius, but this can vary depending on the location.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For instance, businesses in smaller U.S. states like Rhode Island or Connecticut can easily service the entire state within two hours of travel.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Conversely, larger states like California or Texas may have businesses that cannot realistically serve the entire state.</p>



<p>Your service area in Google Business Profile should match the information on your website, such as the “areas we serve” page.</p>



<p>If you have multiple listings for the same brand, do not add overlapping service areas, as this can result in suspension.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: </em></strong><a href="https://searchengineland.com/localized-serps-traffic-leads-service-area-pages-440129"><strong><em>Localized SERPs: Winning traffic and leads with service area pages</em></strong></a></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plan-major-changes-to-the-profile">Plan major changes to the profile</h3>



<p>If you need to make significant changes to the profile, such as updating the address or renaming the business, be aware that this could trigger re-verification.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Before making any major updates to your Google Business Profile (GBP), ensure that the website and other relevant sources are updated first.</p>



<p>Do not make more than one major edit at a time.</p>



<p>Wait 24 to 48 hours between significant edits to reduce the risk of suspension. </p>



<p>Major edits include updates to the:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Business name.</li>



<li>Address.</li>



<li>Phone number.</li>



<li>Website.</li>



<li>Business category.</li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-get-reviews-to-the-profile-consistently">Get reviews to the profile consistently</h3>



<p>Consistent, fresh reviews are a strong signal to Google that your business is active in the area and, therefore, a legitimate operation.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Reviews are one of the most effective actions you can take as a business owner to boost your profile’s visibility on Google and build trust with the platform.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Don’t let up on gathering them!</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: </em></strong><a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-business-profile-frequently-asked-questions-446555"><strong><em>6 Google Business Profile questions asked and answered</em></strong></a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-get-verified-nbsp-and-stay-verified">Get verified&nbsp;– and stay verified</h2>



<p>Google verification may feel overwhelming at first, but a little preparation goes a long way.&nbsp;</p>



<p>By following these steps, you’ll set your business up for smoother approval, stronger visibility, and long-term trust with both Google and your customers.</p>

Getting your service area business verified on Google can be challenging, especially when video verification is required. 
What Google expects to see isn’t always clear, and that uncertainty can lead to denials. 
But with a little preparation, you can eliminate the guesswork and ensure a smoother verification process. 
Learn how to get your business verified, handle denials, and maintain a compliant profile that lasts.
What does it mean to be a service area business on Google?
Before you begin the verification process, confirm that your business qualifies as a “pure service area business” on Google Maps and not another business type (i.e., storefront or hybrid).
A service area business delivers goods or services directly to customers at their location rather than serving customers at a storefront. 
Unlike a hybrid business, a pure service area business never serves customers at a physical storefront. 
This means the business’s address is hidden on Google Maps, and instead of a pin, there is a shaded service area.
While there aren’t many differences between a service area business and a storefront in terms of the live listing, the distinction between these listing types is crucial when it comes to the verification process on Google Business Profile.
How to properly verify a service area business with Google Business Profile
Since a pure service area business doesn’t have a storefront, there is no need to verify a physical location. 
Instead, the business only needs to confirm its existence and demonstrate that it provides the stated services within a specific service area. 
Sounds simple, right?
Essentially, Google needs to verify a few key things for your business to pass verification:
The business is licensed and/or registered in its respective state, city, county, or province.
The business is performing the stated services for customers within the specified service area.
The person completing the verification is an authorized representative of the business.
Before you click the “Get verified” button and begin the process, carefully consider these essential elements.
Provide Google your business information early
Business website
A properly set-up business website is crucial for any small business aiming to establish itself in local search results. 
While it doesn’t need to be overly fancy, it should include key details such as:
Your business name.
Phone number.
Service area.
Hours of operation.
Descriptions of the services you provide.
If you’re creating a new Google Business Profile, add this business information to your website at least a week before attempting verification. 
This can actually streamline the verification process and improve your chances of success.
Dig deeper: Top SEO tips for location-specific websites
Citation consistency
Ensure your business name, phone number, hours, and service area are consistent across other sources Google is likely to check. 
For new businesses, building a few high-value citations, like those from BBB, Yelp, or the local Chamber of Commerce, can help establish your legitimacy. 
In my experience, just a few key citations are enough to show Google that you’re a legitimate local business.
Not sure which citations to build? 
Try searching for your competitor’s brand name. 
Any sites they appear on are likely high-value citations in your local market.
Evidence of branding and the services you provide 
Google requires proof that your business is actually doing the services you claim in your specified service area. 
To provide this, upload photos directly to your GBP or website showing your business in action. This could include:
Photos of branded vehicles or uniforms.
Vanity shots of branded vehicles at local monuments or landmarks.
Signage at storage yards or job sites.
Tools and equipment at the location, on a lot, or in a branded truck.
Branding materials like business cards, yard signs, or advertising materials.
Business documents
Before attempting to verify, always have supporting documents on hand to send to Google or present during a video verification. 
These documents should have the business name and can include:
Business license.
Business registration.
Assumed name/DBA certificate.
Insurance documents.
Utility bills.
Use a domain-level email for affiliation
Use a domain-level email whenever verifying a listing, whether it’s new or existing.
An email tied to your business website signals trust and confirms you’re authorized to represent the business.
This can help expedite the verification process.
Google video verification for home service businesses 
If you receive the video verification method, don’t panic. 
Service area businesses can pass video verification just as easily as storefronts. 
To maximize your chances of approval, start by:
Preparing your vehicle(s).
Gathering necessary documentation.
Ensuring your business information on your website is consistent before hitting “Record” to begin the verification video.
As you record the video, think of your branded service vehicle as your “storefront.” 
Here’s how to approach it:
Park the vehicle at your home, a nearby intersection, or a shopping plaza where you can capture street signs or surrounding businesses.
Make sure the business name on the vehicle is clearly visible.
Show or demonstrate that your vehicle contains the tools necessary for your services.
Unlock and start the vehicle to prove management control.
On camera, present documents like:

Your business registration.
License.
Invoices.
Utility bills.
Assumed name/DBA certificate.
Branded marketing materials.
If the vehicle is unbranded, spend extra time showing documents and other marketing materials.
Important reminder: 
Do not include restricted addresses, such as P.O. boxes, virtual offices, or co-working spaces, in the address field. 
Even though the address won’t appear on Google Maps, Google prohibits these types of addresses.  
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If verification is denied
Despite your best efforts, verification may occasionally be denied. 
In such cases, Google typically sends an email explaining which requirement(s) you did not meet. 
Additionally, a reason for the failure will appear next to the “Get verified” button on your profile.
Here, Google is asking for more evidence that the person recording is affiliated with the business.
Use this feedback to determine your next steps. 
Retry the video verification following the prompts.
If necessary, gather additional proof of business operations, such as updated documents or marketing materials.
Contact GBP support for verification issues
If verification continues to fail, you may need to contact Google directly and provide extra proof they request. 
Be sure to contact support through the contact button in the verification video workflow or the verification tool workflow. 
This will connect you to the appropriate team that can assist with your verification issue.
Reaching out via the general support form may result in the dreaded “no-reply” boilerplate email.
Maintaining compliance on Google as a service area business
Once your business is verified, it’s essential to keep your listing accurate and compliant to prevent re-verification or potential suspension issues down the road.
Setting your service area
Be as specific and accurate as possible when setting your service area. 
You can use:
City names.
Postcodes.
Regions (like counties).
However, avoid selecting:
Entire states.
Provinces.
Countries.
Google recommends setting your service area within a two-hour driving radius, but this can vary depending on the location. 
For instance, businesses in smaller U.S. states like Rhode Island or Connecticut can easily service the entire state within two hours of travel. 
Conversely, larger states like California or Texas may have businesses that cannot realistically serve the entire state.
Your service area in Google Business Profile should match the information on your website, such as the “areas we serve” page.
If you have multiple listings for the same brand, do not add overlapping service areas, as this can result in suspension.
Dig deeper: Localized SERPs: Winning traffic and leads with service area pages
Plan major changes to the profile
If you need to make significant changes to the profile, such as updating the address or renaming the business, be aware that this could trigger re-verification. 
Before making any major updates to your Google Business Profile (GBP), ensure that the website and other relevant sources are updated first.
Do not make more than one major edit at a time.
Wait 24 to 48 hours between significant edits to reduce the risk of suspension. 
Major edits include updates to the:
Business name.
Address.
Phone number.
Website.
Business category.
Get reviews to the profile consistently
Consistent, fresh reviews are a strong signal to Google that your business is active in the area and, therefore, a legitimate operation. 
Reviews are one of the most effective actions you can take as a business owner to boost your profile’s visibility on Google and build trust with the platform. 
Don’t let up on gathering them!
Dig deeper: 6 Google Business Profile questions asked and answered
Get verified – and stay verified
Google verification may feel overwhelming at first, but a little preparation goes a long way. 
By following these steps, you’ll set your business up for smoother approval, stronger visibility, and long-term trust with both Google and your customers.

Master Google verification for service area businesses. Prepare documents, ace video verification, and keep your profile compliant.

How to get your service area business verified on Google

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/The-future-of-SEO-personas-Going-beyond-static-profiles-for-AI-driven-search.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="The future of SEO personas- Going beyond static profiles for AI-driven search" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/The-future-of-SEO-personas-Going-beyond-static-profiles-for-AI-driven-search.jpg 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/The-future-of-SEO-personas-Going-beyond-static-profiles-for-AI-driven-search-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/The-future-of-SEO-personas-Going-beyond-static-profiles-for-AI-driven-search-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>Static personas are obsolete. Build data-rich profiles that help your content surface in AI-driven search.

Simplified personas built as fictional characters with broad pain points are outdated in the future of search. 
Think “Curious Cathy,” who just wants to learn more about your product, or “Technical Tom,” who has years of experience in his field and can handle more detailed breakdowns.
Static personas once helped, but they no longer reveal enough about real people to stay competitive.
AI search demands smarter personas
AI is getting better at understanding people – their needs, context, and intent.
As search becomes more personalized, so should your personas.
By layering in real-world data – like location, industry trends, or other environmental factors – you can create personas that reflect the actual people behind the queries. 
This richer context makes your content more relevant and increases the chances that AI will surface it when your audience is searching.
The current state of SEO personas
Personas for SEO have always been how we attempt to define user intent. They cover:
Basic demographics.
Motivations.
Wants.
Likes.
Dislikes.
Emotions.
Questions. 
But some personas are created only through the lens of a specific product, limiting our understanding of the people behind the queries.
Take a look at this hypothetical, simple persona of a small business owner. 

Look familiar?
This persona structure is still helpful, especially for user journey mapping. 
It gives you clues on tone, style, and even which questions to answer for Small Business Sara.
That’s a strong start. But in the AI-powered search landscape, tone and topics aren’t enough.
High-level and simplified persona models miss that your target customer is more than just your target customer. 
They are living, breathing people, all influenced by outside factors that need to be considered when tailoring content to their needs.
So, what’s missing?
Data on Sara’s environment and what makes her a real human is missing.
You don’t know what’s going on in Sara’s world that could be influencing her intent, needs, and decision-making process when she types in a query.
When crafting our personas, ideally, we would:
Conduct user interviews and testing to help dig into Sara’s life a bit more. 
Find a group of “Saras” who will provide similar answers and tell us about “her” life.
Most of us lack the time, budget, or resources to do this, though, leaving us with a knowledge gap we still need to fill.
If you gathered small business owners from similar industries and asked them to list the steps they took to start, you’d probably get similar answers.
If you think about it from a contextual perspective only, sure.
But if you listen more closely, you’ll likely notice a difference in the order they did things and what answers they found valuable at each stage.
And this order, likely influenced by their environment, impacts what they do and don’t know when they land on the content you assumed would fit their journey.
How environmental factors influence search intent
Environmental factors are going to be complex and difficult to capture in their entirety. 
Let’s explore just how one piece of additional data can provide a little more insight that you might be able to leverage.
Someone in Florida, which has the highest per-capita rate of business owners, will have different needs behind the query “how to start a business” than someone in West Virginia, where that rate is the lowest.
A person in Florida is statistically more likely to know someone who’s started a business, giving them easier access to information and inspiration. 
In 2024, there were just over three business applications per 100 adult residents, according to Census data.
In West Virginia, where there was only one new business application per 100 adults, the story is different. 
A business owner there may have some personal connections, but starting a business is a more novel, less familiar path.
They’re more likely to need guidance on the fundamentals, like business plans and logistics.
While both Saras may search “how to start a business,” what they need from that query isn’t the same. 
The Floridian Sara is probably ready for logistical steps – forming an LLC, building a website – thanks to greater exposure and access to resources. 
West Virginia Sara, on the other hand, needs foundational information first: what a business plan is, how legal structures differ, or where to find funding.
Same question, different needs.
You can’t capture every detail shaping a person’s intent.
Still, even a simple environmental context like this can help you interpret it more accurately – and build personas that feel more human.
Here’s how the intent behind the keyword shifts based on this environmental knowledge:

Small Business Owner in FloridaSmall Business Owner in West Virginia
“How to start a business”Lives in the state with the highest per-capita rate of business owners. 
In 2024, there were 3 new business applications per 100 adult residents.

Looking for the logical order of logistical steps to take to get a business up and running. 
Is familiar with most of the jargon, and is more likely to jump into action with a clear list.Lives in a state with the lowest per-capita rate of business owners. 
In 2024, West Virginia reported about 1 new business application per 100 residents.
Looking for more foundational insights, like:
– Needing a business plan. 
– Things to consider before starting a busines.
Has no idea what any of these things are yet, and isn’t ready for the steps.
Needs more education before taking any action.





You can argue that you have the content that ultimately fits both of these intents. 
But is that content ranking for “how to start a business”? Or is it featured in LLM responses or AI Overviews? 
I know my related content isn’t. 
It’s ranking for “how to write a business plan” and “steps to getting an LLC,” because SEO until now has been about mastering a query, not tailoring your content to a user’s environment.
In my “deprecated” SEO strategy, I have a pillar page for “how to start a business” that covers everything from business conception to making your first sale. 
I’ve got dozens of internal links with beautiful anchor text to every supplemental guide Sara needs. Google loves it. 
This is where my traditional approach to content needs improvement. 
While it’s written for what I consider to be the user, it’s still focused on being thorough enough that Google puts me at the top, and not considering other outside factors that might influence search needs.
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See terms.
How AI factors context into search responses
If you doubt that location changes the needs behind ‘how to start a business,’ compare prompts with and without location in incognito chat.

Now, take a look at how it changes when I say I live in Florida.

It’s a subtle difference, but when you say you live in West Virginia, ChatGPT suggested clarifying your business idea and proper planning as the first step. 
In Florida, it dives right into business structure. 
While AI doesn’t already have everyone’s environmental context in memory, when the user includes context in prompts, ChatGPT attempts to adjust its response. 
Assuming everyone searching for “how to start a business” is looking for the same info might let you rank in a traditional blue-link search result.
However, this example shows that this shift to context-driven prompts influences how AI generates a response. 
This is just one data point. A full strategy needs deeper environmental context than business applications or economic stats alone.
What this means for content strategies
AI search – whether through AI Overviews or LLMs – is built to reduce the cognitive overload of digging through multiple articles, clicks, and follow-up searches. 
It leverages user context to deliver a succinct, relevant answer.
Take the earlier example: you could create 51 articles for every state and Washington, D.C. 
In traditional search, that might help you rank for “how to start a business in (state).” 
I’ve done this – customizing each article with state-specific agencies and forms – but without weaving in the deeper context of what’s happening in those states.
Traditional SEO still depends on comprehensive coverage, query mastery, and strong site structure to win blue-link rankings. 
But AI retrieval and AI Overviews weigh context, clarity, and modular chunks of information that can be pulled into responses. 
Both matter – they just reward different optimizations.
The goal isn’t to overhaul your entire strategy overnight. 
Start testing ways to incorporate more context over time. Revisit your core content and weave in focused examples or localized insights. 
Not every topic needs a “personalized” version.
Instead, find places where you can speak to your audience more directly, whether through localized callouts, customer-focused CTAs, or targeted subsections within existing content.
With clicks declining across the board, optimizing for conversion when you do get traffic is critical to proving the value of search. 
Even if you’re focused on just one “Sara,” you still need to understand which end of the spectrum you’re targeting – and adjust your content to meet that audience where they are in the moment.
Digging deeper into environmental data helps you prioritize information gain – the key to becoming the most valuable answer a platform can surface. 
The more clearly you understand who you’re creating for, the better positioned you are to deliver that value.
Environmental data isn’t the only input that matters. It’s one piece of a holistic persona-building approach. 
The real advantage comes from layering these insights with conversion data, click and impression metrics, rankings, LLM visibility, and referrals. 
Environmental context is simply one more tool in a stronger, more adaptive strategy.
Start by enhancing the data you already have
Hopefully, your personas are already rooted in data.
But what kind of SEO would I be if I didn’t ask for more data?
Adding environmental data from third-party sources helps you stand out, prioritize opportunities, and reach the right people at the right time. 
It’s most powerful when combined with multiple data sources, environmental factors, and qualitative insights.
Scaling your approach
Digging into every persona or segment at once can be overwhelming. 
Start small: choose one persona and one or two environmental factors to explore. 
Use that real-world context to adjust a few pieces of content, then test and measure the impact.
Focus on small, incremental adjustments for long-term gains, not a full content overhaul.
The suggestions below are meant to show you where to start – not to imply you need to do it all at once. 
Data exploration options
The data you need to understand environmental context rarely lives in-house. 
Your BI team can share valuable insights on where you’re winning or growing, but external sources will help you transform personas into richer, more actionable profiles.
First, make sure your base persona includes core demographics such as:
Age.
Gender.
Race.
Location.
Education level.
Income.
If you’re missing these basics, start with publicly available data like the U.S. Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), or Statista.
For example, in the business-owner scenario, I used Business Formation Statistics from the Census and population estimates.
The Census Annual Business Survey program also provides insights like:
Business owners’ age.
Education.
Country of birth.
The BLS can help you see which states are experiencing growth in new businesses, while Census tables provide demographic breakdowns for those states. 
And if you know your target industry, Labor Force statistics can help you understand the age ranges most active in that space.
While this example focused on location as an environmental factor, age alone is another strong starting point. 
There’s ample research on what each generation values, fears, and prioritizes at different stages of their careers.
Here’s a list of environmental questions you can aim to answer and how that might inform your strategy:

QuestionWhat it will tell youPotential sources
Where is this business or industry most popular? Is my target demographic in an oversaturated, undersaturated, or normal market?This helps give some insight into the competitive nature of your target audience and the resources they might have access to. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Industry-specific reports
What are the common problems this industry faces? What’s in the news related to this space? Things like tariffs, over-saturation, demand for your persona’s product or service, lack of consumer awareness, etc. 
Are all the environmental factors that can be used in examples in your content and CTA opportunities to better speak to your audience?Google News searches, Industry-specific websites
What challenges does this demographic face in their personal and professional life? What norms is this group trying to beat? Understanding things like pay gaps, underrepresentation, and cultural challenges influences how someone makes a decision and the tone you can use to resonate with them. Pew Research, Census Newsroom, Google News, Academic Research
What does this demographic value? What are their personal beliefs?If you can dig into what your audience stands for and cares deeply about, you can use this in your marketing content to speak to them in a way that resonates with their beliefs. 
People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.Pew Research, Consumer Studies like Kantar
What websites does this audience visit? Knowing the websites they visit and the way these websites communicate can also give context.SimilarWeb, Semrush Audience Insights





If you’re already a power creator – or have the budget – paid tools like Semrush, SimilarWeb, or Kantar can deliver deep audience insights.
If not, free sources like Census Data Tools, BLS tables, and some old-fashioned desktop research are still excellent for uncovering the data you need to better understand your audience.
Enriching personas with environmental data
Combine internal data with public sources to identify your top demographics and refine user journey mapping. 
Environmental research helps you tailor content to real needs instead of covering everything broadly. 
When layered with behavioral signals, technical SEO, and testing, these insights multiply visibility and conversions.
Marketers may not master the human mind, but we excel at interpreting data. 
Apply that skill to strategy: focus on context, clarity, and information gain so your content becomes the answer AI and users trust.
Strong technical fundamentals still drive rankings, but environmental context boosts your chances of surfacing in AI responses. 
Amid all the AI hype, the cornerstone of search is still the person behind the persona.

Static personas are obsolete. Build data-rich profiles that help your content surface in AI-driven search.

SEO personas for AI search: How to go beyond static profiles

<div><img width="1920" height="1097" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-chart-decline-1920.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-chart-decline-1920.jpg 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-chart-decline-1920-768x439.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-chart-decline-1920-1536x878.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>The issue began on August 8, 2025 and is now being resolved. It is unclear what percentage of sites were impacted.

<div><img width="1920" height="1097" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-chart-decline-1920.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-chart-decline-1920.jpg 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-chart-decline-1920-768x439.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-chart-decline-1920-1536x878.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>
<p>Google has confirmed it fixed an issue with its crawlers impacting &#8220;some sites.&#8221; The issue was &#8220;reduced / fluctuating crawling&#8221; from Google&#8217;s end with Googlebot.  It is now resolved and Google said the crawling should pick back up in the near future.</p>



<p><strong>What happened. </strong>Starting around August 8, 2025, a number of savvy SEOs and site owners started to notice a drop in the crawl rate from Google within Google Search Console.  I <a href="https://www.seroundtable.com/google-crawl-rate-decline-40013.html">covered a lot</a> of those reports on the Search Engine Roundtable but here are some:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Heads-up. There are several posts in the Search Central Forum about this, and I just saw the issue pop up for a client. Google&#39;s Crawl Stats reporting drops heavily around 8/8. There is no impact to rankings and traffic, but all the sites posting about this see it happen on 8/8.… <a href="https://t.co/6mN79X8CGs">pic.twitter.com/6mN79X8CGs</a></p>&mdash; Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) <a href="https://twitter.com/glenngabe/status/1960668102108029173?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Most of all GSC accounts show crawl requests dropping to zero on Aug 20. Anyone else seeing this? Bug in reporting? <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnMu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JohnMu</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/googlesearchc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@googlesearchc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/rustybrick?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rustybrick</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/seroundtable?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@seroundtable</a> <a href="https://t.co/yVXbHxnyDi">pic.twitter.com/yVXbHxnyDi</a></p>&mdash; Dhruv Pandya (dp) (@dhruvpandyadp) <a href="https://twitter.com/dhruvpandyadp/status/1959978072297370102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p><strong>Google confirmed. </strong>This morning, John Mueller from Google confirmed the issue both on <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/johnmu.com/post/3lxhng7ua5k2d">Bluesky</a> and on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7366789485348487169?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A%28ugcPost%3A7366789485348487169%2C7366823303501590530%29&amp;dashCommentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_comment%3A%287366823303501590530%2Curn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A7366789485348487169%29">LinkedIn</a>, he wrote:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>&#8220;This was an issue on our side, and is now resolved. It&#8217;ll catch back up automatically in the near future. Sorry for the crawl-blip! It was reduced / fluctuating crawling from our side, for some sites.&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>



<p><strong>Why we care. </strong>If you noticed crawling drops in August, it should resolve itself over the coming days. If it does not resolve, then it might be another issue, unrelated to this Google crawling bug.</p>



<p>That being said, it is unclear how much of an issue this caused in terms of ranking new content and updated content. It is also unclear how many sites were impacted.</p>



<p>You can check your crawl rate in Google Search Console within Settings and then the crawl rate report. Again, many sites, maybe most sites, were not impacted by this. </p>


Google has confirmed it fixed an issue with its crawlers impacting “some sites.” The issue was “reduced / fluctuating crawling” from Google’s end with Googlebot.  It is now resolved and Google said the crawling should pick back up in the near future.
What happened. Starting around August 8, 2025, a number of savvy SEOs and site owners started to notice a drop in the crawl rate from Google within Google Search Console.  I covered a lot of those reports on the Search Engine Roundtable but here are some:


Heads-up. There are several posts in the Search Central Forum about this, and I just saw the issue pop up for a client. Google's Crawl Stats reporting drops heavily around 8/8. There is no impact to rankings and traffic, but all the sites posting about this see it happen on 8/8.… pic.twitter.com/6mN79X8CGs
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) August 27, 2025






Most of all GSC accounts show crawl requests dropping to zero on Aug 20. Anyone else seeing this? Bug in reporting? @JohnMu @googlesearchc @rustybrick @seroundtable pic.twitter.com/yVXbHxnyDi
— Dhruv Pandya (dp) (@dhruvpandyadp) August 25, 2025





Google confirmed. This morning, John Mueller from Google confirmed the issue both on Bluesky and on LinkedIn, he wrote:
“This was an issue on our side, and is now resolved. It’ll catch back up automatically in the near future. Sorry for the crawl-blip! It was reduced / fluctuating crawling from our side, for some sites.”
Why we care. If you noticed crawling drops in August, it should resolve itself over the coming days. If it does not resolve, then it might be another issue, unrelated to this Google crawling bug.
That being said, it is unclear how much of an issue this caused in terms of ranking new content and updated content. It is also unclear how many sites were impacted.
You can check your crawl rate in Google Search Console within Settings and then the crawl rate report. Again, many sites, maybe most sites, were not impacted by this.

The issue began on August 8, 2025 and is now being resolved. It is unclear what percentage of sites were impacted.

Google fixes reduced crawling issue impacting some websites

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Why-your-Amazon-Ads-arent-delivering-6-critical-issues-to-fix.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Why your Amazon Ads aren&#039;t delivering: 6 critical issues to fix" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Why-your-Amazon-Ads-arent-delivering-6-critical-issues-to-fix.jpg 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Why-your-Amazon-Ads-arent-delivering-6-critical-issues-to-fix-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Why-your-Amazon-Ads-arent-delivering-6-critical-issues-to-fix-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>Many Amazon ad delivery issues have little to do with bids. Find out what really stops ads from running – and how to prevent it.

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Why-your-Amazon-Ads-arent-delivering-6-critical-issues-to-fix.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Why your Amazon Ads aren&#039;t delivering: 6 critical issues to fix" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Why-your-Amazon-Ads-arent-delivering-6-critical-issues-to-fix.jpg 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Why-your-Amazon-Ads-arent-delivering-6-critical-issues-to-fix-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Why-your-Amazon-Ads-arent-delivering-6-critical-issues-to-fix-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>
<p><a href="https://searchengineland.com/amazon-advertising-ultimate-guide-447121">Amazon advertising</a> operates within its own closed ecosystem, making ad delivery very different from other platforms. </p>



<p>If you come from a Google or Bing background, you may be surprised to learn why your ads aren’t delivering. </p>



<p>Often, it’s not about spending more or targeting. It’s about quickly identifying the real cause.</p>



<p>After reviewing hundreds of accounts, we’ve found the problem is rarely ad copy or targeting. Instead, it’s something more fundamental.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Amazon’s ad system is tightly tied to your listings, inventory, and account health.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If these aren’t aligned, even perfectly targeted campaigns with the right bids and budgets can stop delivering.</p>



<p>Over years of auditing accounts, we’ve found six issues that cause most Amazon ad delivery problems.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-buy-box-featured-offer-issues-the-foundation-of-ad-eligibility-nbsp">1. Buy box (featured offer) issues: The foundation of ad eligibility&nbsp;</h2>



<p>No matter how strong your keywords or bids are, if you don’t have the buy box, Amazon won’t run your sponsored products or sponsored display ads. (Sponsored brand ads will still run without the buy box.)</p>



<p>Since sponsored products usually make up the bulk of your ad budget, losing them can cause a sharp drop in sales.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You can lose the buy box either through suppression of the listing itself or your specific offer.</p>



<p><strong>Reasons you might lose the buy box for your products:</strong></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Other sellers on the same listing have a lower or similar price with an FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) offer. </li>



<li>Your current price is significantly higher than the reference price for that same listing over the last 30 days. </li>



<li>Your seller metrics have declined (late shipment rate, order defect rate, cancellation rate).</li>



<li>Your inventory is fulfilled by merchant (FBM) while competitors use FBA.  </li>
</ul>



<p><strong>How to fix it:</strong>&nbsp;</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>If you are the brand owner, limiting the number of resellers will give you the most control over your ability to run advertising for your products. </li>



<li>Review your pricing strategy and ensure you&#8217;re competitive. Basically, match or beat competitor pricing. </li>



<li>Switch from FBM to FBA if possible. Consider switching eligible and profitable ASINs to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) if you&#8217;re currently using Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM).</li>
</ul>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1214" height="426" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Buy-box-featured-offer-issues-The-foundation-of-ad-eligibility.png" alt="Buy box (featured offer) issues: The foundation of ad eligibility " class="wp-image-461294" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Buy-box-featured-offer-issues-The-foundation-of-ad-eligibility.png 1214w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Buy-box-featured-offer-issues-The-foundation-of-ad-eligibility-768x269.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1214px) 100vw, 1214px" /></figure></div>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-suppressed-buy-box">Suppressed buy box</h3>



<p>The other most common reason ads might stop being delivered is that Amazon has detected a lower price on Amazon.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Amazon reviews prices from many ecommerce retailers.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If they see a significantly lower price on another platform, they will suppress the buy box on that listing and prevent your advertising from being delivered.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Example:&nbsp;</strong></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>You have a product listed on Amazon at $19.99. You also sell on Walmart, and it is being offered there for $15.50. </li>



<li>Amazon will remove the buy box on your listing until you lower the price to match Walmart’s or raise the price on Walmart to match your Amazon offer. </li>
</ul>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="436" height="216" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/New-Verbiage-for-a-suppressed-buy-box-on-Amazon.png" alt="New Verbiage for a suppressed buy box on Amazon" class="wp-image-461295"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>New Verbiage for a suppressed buy box on Amazon</em></figcaption></figure></div>

<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="592" height="432" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/No-featured-offers-available.png" alt="No featured offers available" class="wp-image-461296"/></figure></div>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-suppressed-listings-policy-violation-voice-of-the-customer-or-compliance">Suppressed listings: Policy violation, voice of the customer, or compliance</h3>



<p>Listings can also be suppressed for:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Missing details (unit count, images, structured data).</li>



<li>Negative customer experience (NCX) issues flagged in Voice of the Customer.</li>



<li>Compliance requirements, such as safety testing or restricted terms.</li>
</ul>



<p>Policy violations are another culprit.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For instance, using a term like “anti-microbial” could flag your listing as a pesticide.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Understanding Amazon’s policies not only helps prevent these errors but also speeds up troubleshooting when ads stop delivering.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href="https://searchengineland.com/amazon-advertising-match-types-454405">Amazon advertising match types: What you need to know</a></em></strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-out-of-stock-inventory-nbsp">2. Out of stock inventory&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Amazon ads will not deliver when your product is out of stock for sponsored products and sponsored display.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Unlike Google and Bing, Amazon benefits the most when an ad is shown and that impression causes a sale on the platform.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Maintain at least 4-6 weeks of inventory based on your daily sales velocity&nbsp;for advertised ASINs.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For many of our clients, we also turn off ads for products with less than two weeks of inventory.&nbsp;</p>



<p>We then keep those ads off until the inventory becomes fully available at the FBA warehouses.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This helps ensure that our clients spend money on advertising only when the product will convert the best. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-adult-product-classification">3. Adult product classification</h2>



<p>If Amazon&#8217;s system flags your product as adult content, your ads won&#8217;t be delivered through standard advertising placements.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If you sell adult products, you are probably already familiar with the challenges of promoting them. </p>



<p>You might think, “Well, my product is not an adult product, so this doesn’t apply to me!”&nbsp;</p>



<p>Even if you sell in other categories, this is important to know.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It is a common black hat tactic to report a competitor as selling an adult product to remove their ability to advertise.&nbsp;</p>



<p>We have seen everything from baby spoons to gardening tools be flagged with an adult or sexual wellness flag.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This classification can also happen automatically by mistake. You don’t have to sell anything explicit to get flagged.</p>



<p>Certain keywords, phrases, or images can trigger this classification, which removes your ads from general placements.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Common triggers for adult classification:</strong>&nbsp;</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Products containing suggestive imagery or language. </li>



<li>Health and wellness items with specific keywords.</li>



<li>Products that mention body parts or intimate functions.</li>



<li>Items that could be considered mature or sensitive content.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>How to diagnose:</strong> </p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Check your product listing for an &#8220;adult product&#8221; designation in your product details page. </li>



<li>You can also review your advertising campaign reports for any policy violations.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href="https://searchengineland.com/amazon-ads-boost-efficiency-reduce-wasted-spend-445416">Amazon Ads: How to boost efficiency and reduce wasted spend</a></em></strong></p>



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<hr class="wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-css-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-restricted-product-categories-nbsp">4. Restricted product categories&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Certain product types and categories are either prohibited from advertising on Amazon or require pre-approval to run ads, regardless of whether these products are allowed to sell on the platform.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If your product falls into one of these, you’ll either need to request approval or reposition your product to meet guidelines.</p>



<p><strong>Commonly restricted categories include:</strong>&nbsp;</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Political figures, campaigns, or political merchandise. </li>



<li>Sexual wellness products (though some exceptions exist). </li>



<li>“Embarrassing” products. </li>



<li>Tobacco and tobacco-related products. </li>



<li>Alcohol and specific alcohol-related products. </li>



<li>Products depicting violence or weapons. </li>



<li>Items related to illegal activities. </li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-category-and-targeting-misalignment-nbsp">5. Category and targeting misalignment&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Remember that Amazon benefits the most if your ad leads to a conversion.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If your listing’s backend category doesn’t align with the category you’re targeting, Amazon will often suppress your ads.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Relevancy is much easier for Amazon to identify because of the way the platform is designed.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Common misalignment issues:</strong>&nbsp;</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Product listed in &#8220;home and kitchen&#8221; but targeting keywords like “dog treats for big dogs.” </li>



<li>Targeting competitor ASINs from different categories. </li>



<li>Using broad match keywords that span multiple unrelated categories. </li>



<li>Category selection that doesn&#8217;t reflect your product&#8217;s primary use case. </li>
</ul>



<p><strong>How to fix it:</strong>&nbsp;</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Ensure your products are listed in the most relevant category. </li>



<li>Align your keyword targeting with your product&#8217;s category. </li>



<li>If your product fits multiple categories, consider creating separate campaigns for each. </li>



<li>Use category-specific keywords that match where your product is positioned. </li>
</ul>



<p>Sometimes moving your product to a more appropriate category can solve both targeting issues and improve organic visibility.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-6-bid-too-low-for-the-competitive-landscape-nbsp">6. Bid too low for the competitive landscape&nbsp;</h2>



<p>There are times when your bids or budget are just too low for delivery.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Amazon’s auction system won’t serve your ad if you don’t meet the minimum bid threshold for the placement you want.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If your maximum bid is significantly lower than what competitors are willing to pay, your ads won&#8217;t show, and no placement means no delivery.</p>



<p><strong>Why low bids fail:</strong>&nbsp;</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Amazon&#8217;s auction prioritizes both bid amount and ad relevance. </li>



<li>Popular keywords in competitive categories require higher bids. </li>



<li>Your bid may have been competitive when you set it, but market conditions changed. </li>
</ul>



<p><strong>How to diagnose:</strong> </p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Check your campaign reports for keywords with zero impressions. Use Amazon&#8217;s suggested bid ranges as a baseline for competitive positioning. </li>
</ul>



<p><strong>How to fix it:</strong>&nbsp;</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Review keywords with zero impressions in campaign reports.</li>



<li>Increase your bids gradually, starting with 10-20% increases.</li>



<li>Use Amazon&#8217;s suggested bid tool to understand competitive ranges. </li>



<li>Focus on long-tail keywords where competition may be lower. </li>



<li>Consider automatic targeting to let Amazon optimize bids for you. </li>
</ul>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href="https://searchengineland.com/amazon-ads-vs-google-ads-ecommerce-433186">5 reasons Amazon Ads is better than Google Ads for ecommerce</a></em></strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keeping-your-amazon-ads-running-smoothly">Keeping your Amazon Ads running smoothly</h2>



<p>Amazon ad delivery issues can be frustrating, but they&#8217;re generally solvable once you identify the root cause.&nbsp;</p>



<p>By systematically checking each of these six areas, you can diagnose and resolve most delivery problems quickly.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Remember that preventing these issues is more efficient than fixing them after they occur.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Build these checks into your campaign launch process and ongoing account management routine to maintain consistent ad delivery and maximize your advertising ROI.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The key is approaching Amazon advertising as a system where multiple elements must align for success.&nbsp;</p>



<p>When your ads aren&#8217;t delivering, it&#8217;s the system telling you that something needs attention, and now you know exactly where to look.</p>

Amazon advertising operates within its own closed ecosystem, making ad delivery very different from other platforms. 
If you come from a Google or Bing background, you may be surprised to learn why your ads aren’t delivering. 
Often, it’s not about spending more or targeting. It’s about quickly identifying the real cause.
After reviewing hundreds of accounts, we’ve found the problem is rarely ad copy or targeting. Instead, it’s something more fundamental. 
Amazon’s ad system is tightly tied to your listings, inventory, and account health. 
If these aren’t aligned, even perfectly targeted campaigns with the right bids and budgets can stop delivering.
Over years of auditing accounts, we’ve found six issues that cause most Amazon ad delivery problems.
1. Buy box (featured offer) issues: The foundation of ad eligibility 
No matter how strong your keywords or bids are, if you don’t have the buy box, Amazon won’t run your sponsored products or sponsored display ads. (Sponsored brand ads will still run without the buy box.)
Since sponsored products usually make up the bulk of your ad budget, losing them can cause a sharp drop in sales. 
You can lose the buy box either through suppression of the listing itself or your specific offer.
Reasons you might lose the buy box for your products:
Other sellers on the same listing have a lower or similar price with an FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) offer. 
Your current price is significantly higher than the reference price for that same listing over the last 30 days. 
Your seller metrics have declined (late shipment rate, order defect rate, cancellation rate).
Your inventory is fulfilled by merchant (FBM) while competitors use FBA.  
How to fix it: 
If you are the brand owner, limiting the number of resellers will give you the most control over your ability to run advertising for your products. 
Review your pricing strategy and ensure you’re competitive. Basically, match or beat competitor pricing. 
Switch from FBM to FBA if possible. Consider switching eligible and profitable ASINs to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) if you’re currently using Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM).

Suppressed buy box
The other most common reason ads might stop being delivered is that Amazon has detected a lower price on Amazon. 
Amazon reviews prices from many ecommerce retailers. 
If they see a significantly lower price on another platform, they will suppress the buy box on that listing and prevent your advertising from being delivered. 
Example: 
You have a product listed on Amazon at $19.99. You also sell on Walmart, and it is being offered there for $15.50. 
Amazon will remove the buy box on your listing until you lower the price to match Walmart’s or raise the price on Walmart to match your Amazon offer. 
New Verbiage for a suppressed buy box on Amazon

Suppressed listings: Policy violation, voice of the customer, or compliance
Listings can also be suppressed for:
Missing details (unit count, images, structured data).
Negative customer experience (NCX) issues flagged in Voice of the Customer.
Compliance requirements, such as safety testing or restricted terms.
Policy violations are another culprit. 
For instance, using a term like “anti-microbial” could flag your listing as a pesticide. 
Understanding Amazon’s policies not only helps prevent these errors but also speeds up troubleshooting when ads stop delivering.
Dig deeper: Amazon advertising match types: What you need to know
2. Out of stock inventory 
Amazon ads will not deliver when your product is out of stock for sponsored products and sponsored display. 
Unlike Google and Bing, Amazon benefits the most when an ad is shown and that impression causes a sale on the platform. 
Maintain at least 4-6 weeks of inventory based on your daily sales velocity for advertised ASINs. 
For many of our clients, we also turn off ads for products with less than two weeks of inventory. 
We then keep those ads off until the inventory becomes fully available at the FBA warehouses. 
This helps ensure that our clients spend money on advertising only when the product will convert the best. 
3. Adult product classification
If Amazon’s system flags your product as adult content, your ads won’t be delivered through standard advertising placements. 
If you sell adult products, you are probably already familiar with the challenges of promoting them. 
You might think, “Well, my product is not an adult product, so this doesn’t apply to me!” 
Even if you sell in other categories, this is important to know. 
It is a common black hat tactic to report a competitor as selling an adult product to remove their ability to advertise. 
We have seen everything from baby spoons to gardening tools be flagged with an adult or sexual wellness flag. 
This classification can also happen automatically by mistake. You don’t have to sell anything explicit to get flagged.
Certain keywords, phrases, or images can trigger this classification, which removes your ads from general placements. 
Common triggers for adult classification: 
Products containing suggestive imagery or language. 
Health and wellness items with specific keywords.
Products that mention body parts or intimate functions.
Items that could be considered mature or sensitive content.
How to diagnose: 
Check your product listing for an “adult product” designation in your product details page. 
You can also review your advertising campaign reports for any policy violations. 
Dig deeper: Amazon Ads: How to boost efficiency and reduce wasted spend
Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.
  
				
								
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See terms.
4. Restricted product categories 
Certain product types and categories are either prohibited from advertising on Amazon or require pre-approval to run ads, regardless of whether these products are allowed to sell on the platform. 
If your product falls into one of these, you’ll either need to request approval or reposition your product to meet guidelines.
Commonly restricted categories include: 
Political figures, campaigns, or political merchandise. 
Sexual wellness products (though some exceptions exist). 
“Embarrassing” products. 
Tobacco and tobacco-related products. 
Alcohol and specific alcohol-related products. 
Products depicting violence or weapons. 
Items related to illegal activities. 
5. Category and targeting misalignment 
Remember that Amazon benefits the most if your ad leads to a conversion. 
If your listing’s backend category doesn’t align with the category you’re targeting, Amazon will often suppress your ads. 
Relevancy is much easier for Amazon to identify because of the way the platform is designed. 
Common misalignment issues: 
Product listed in “home and kitchen” but targeting keywords like “dog treats for big dogs.” 
Targeting competitor ASINs from different categories. 
Using broad match keywords that span multiple unrelated categories. 
Category selection that doesn’t reflect your product’s primary use case. 
How to fix it: 
Ensure your products are listed in the most relevant category. 
Align your keyword targeting with your product’s category. 
If your product fits multiple categories, consider creating separate campaigns for each. 
Use category-specific keywords that match where your product is positioned. 
Sometimes moving your product to a more appropriate category can solve both targeting issues and improve organic visibility. 
6. Bid too low for the competitive landscape 
There are times when your bids or budget are just too low for delivery. 
Amazon’s auction system won’t serve your ad if you don’t meet the minimum bid threshold for the placement you want. 
If your maximum bid is significantly lower than what competitors are willing to pay, your ads won’t show, and no placement means no delivery.
Why low bids fail: 
Amazon’s auction prioritizes both bid amount and ad relevance. 
Popular keywords in competitive categories require higher bids. 
Your bid may have been competitive when you set it, but market conditions changed. 
How to diagnose: 
Check your campaign reports for keywords with zero impressions. Use Amazon’s suggested bid ranges as a baseline for competitive positioning. 
How to fix it: 
Review keywords with zero impressions in campaign reports.
Increase your bids gradually, starting with 10-20% increases.
Use Amazon’s suggested bid tool to understand competitive ranges. 
Focus on long-tail keywords where competition may be lower. 
Consider automatic targeting to let Amazon optimize bids for you. 
Dig deeper: 5 reasons Amazon Ads is better than Google Ads for ecommerce
Keeping your Amazon Ads running smoothly
Amazon ad delivery issues can be frustrating, but they’re generally solvable once you identify the root cause. 
By systematically checking each of these six areas, you can diagnose and resolve most delivery problems quickly. 
Remember that preventing these issues is more efficient than fixing them after they occur. 
Build these checks into your campaign launch process and ongoing account management routine to maintain consistent ad delivery and maximize your advertising ROI. 
The key is approaching Amazon advertising as a system where multiple elements must align for success. 
When your ads aren’t delivering, it’s the system telling you that something needs attention, and now you know exactly where to look.

Many Amazon ad delivery issues have little to do with bids. Find out what really stops ads from running – and how to prevent it.

Why your Amazon Ads aren’t delivering: 6 critical issues to fix

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_search-and-generative-engines.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="How to create content that works for both search and generative engines" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_search-and-generative-engines.png 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_search-and-generative-engines-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_search-and-generative-engines-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>Understand the key differences between search rankings and AI citations, and how to create content that performs in both.

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_search-and-generative-engines.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="How to create content that works for both search and generative engines" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_search-and-generative-engines.png 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_search-and-generative-engines-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_search-and-generative-engines-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>
<p>For years, optimizing content meant focusing almost entirely on Google and other traditional engines.&nbsp;</p>



<p>But with the rapid rise of generative AI chatbots – tools that don’t just link but summarize – content strategies need to adapt.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It’s no longer enough to rank in search; you now need to be referenced, cited, and surfaced by AI systems as well.</p>



<p>This shift raises a critical question: how do we write content that satisfies both worlds – Google’s algorithmic complexity and AI’s citation-driven simplicity?</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-users-are-going-search-vs-generative-ai">Where users are going: Search vs. generative AI</h2>



<p>Statcounter’s <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Search Engine Market Share data</a> suggests that Google is still firmly on top, but those numbers only measure traditional search engines.&nbsp;</p>



<p>They don’t reflect the growing number of users turning to AI chatbots for answers, which is why separate measures – like <a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/ai-chatbot-market-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AI Chatbot Market Share</a> – are starting to emerge.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For now, the two data sets can’t be directly compared.</p>



<p>AI chatbots generated <a href="https://onelittleweb.com/data-studies/ai-chatbots-vs-search-engines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">34 times fewer visits</a> than search engines, per One Little Web’s April 2025 study. Even so, chatbot traffic grew 80.9% between April 2024 and March 2025.&nbsp;</p>



<p>They may still be the underdog, but the growth trajectory is hard to ignore.</p>



<p>By June 2025, Chillibyte found that ChatGPT alone had attracted 55.2 billion visits in that same 12-month period – an <a href="https://www.chillibyte.co.uk/google-vs-ai-chatbots-whos-winning-the-traffic-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">80% year-over-year increase</a>.</p>



<p>Chillibyte noted that chatbots seem to be supplementing search engines rather than replacing them.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Still, divided usage between search engines and AI will inevitably chip away at Google’s overall share.&nbsp;</p>



<p>That’s why content strategies now need to account for both search engines and generative AI.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href="https://searchengineland.com/optimize-content-strategy-ai-powered-serps-llms-451776">How to optimize your 2025 content strategy for AI-powered SERPs and LLMs</a></em></strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-search-rankings-differ-from-ai-citations">How search rankings differ from AI citations</h2>



<p>Creating content for both search and AI starts with understanding how each cites or ranks information.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-search-engines-simple-inputs-complex-algorithms">Search engines: Simple inputs, complex algorithms</h3>



<p>Search engines typically receive simpler input and deliver simple output.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For example, the keywords you type into Google are usually shorter and less complex than an AI prompt.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Google&#8217;s output is also simpler. (This is changing with AI Mode, though. We’ll focus here on traditional output rather than modern AI-driven results.)</p>



<p>Typical search engine input and output:</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1456" height="1600" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-search-classic-car-insurance-uk.png" alt="" class="wp-image-461287" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-search-classic-car-insurance-uk.png 1456w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-search-classic-car-insurance-uk-768x844.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/google-search-classic-car-insurance-uk-1398x1536.png 1398w" sizes="(max-width: 1456px) 100vw, 1456px" /></figure></div>


<p>A simple query usually produces a simple list of URLs.&nbsp;</p>



<p>But does that mean search engines are less complex than their generative AI counterparts?&nbsp;</p>



<p>Not at all.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While input and output may look simple, search engines are algorithmically complex in determining what that output should be.</p>



<p>Once a query is processed, layered algorithms define the results. Users can’t see this layer, but it’s always at work. A search engine may consider:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Content relevance, including metadata, headings, and keyword use.</li>



<li>Content quality, trustworthiness, and authority (e.g., <a href="https://searchengineland.com/guide/google-e-e-a-t-for-seo">Google’s E-E-A-T</a>).</li>



<li>Popularity signals such as inbound links.</li>



<li>Link quality, with filters against spammy practices.</li>



<li>Pricing for product results.</li>



<li>Local signals.</li>



<li>Schema and structured data.</li>



<li>Reviews and testimonials.</li>
</ul>



<p>Over the years, Google has evolved to disqualify pages that rely on manipulative techniques. </p>



<p><a href="https://searchengineland.com/library/platforms/google/google-algorithm-updates">Algorithm updates</a> like <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-penguin-algorithm-update-395910">Penguin</a> (targeting spammy link practices), Caffeine, Panda, Mayday, and Farmer were eventually folded into Google’s core algorithms.</p>



<p>The point is clear: Google remains algorithmically complex.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-generative-engines-complex-prompts-simpler-filters">Generative engines: Complex prompts, simpler filters</h3>



<p>In contrast, AI chatbots handle richer input and produce more complex output.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Their defensive algorithmic layer, however, is far less developed than that of leading search engines.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Simply put, generative engines have had less time to build the protective algorithms that surround vectorized, LLM-based response systems.</p>



<p>Here’s an example of typical generative engine input and output:</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1427" height="1600" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/chatgpt-classic-car-insurance-uk.png" alt="chatgpt - classic car insurance uk" class="wp-image-461288" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/chatgpt-classic-car-insurance-uk.png 1427w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/chatgpt-classic-car-insurance-uk-768x861.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/chatgpt-classic-car-insurance-uk-1370x1536.png 1370w" sizes="(max-width: 1427px) 100vw, 1427px" /></figure></div>


<p>Both the input and the output are clearly more complex.&nbsp;</p>



<p>That said, generative engines are usually algorithmically simpler.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Yes, they can crawl the web for new information when their LLM lacks the required data.&nbsp;</p>



<p>But they’re far less sophisticated in determining which information to surface as authoritative or trustworthy.</p>



<p>A <a href="https://searchengineland.com/how-to-get-cited-by-ai-seo-insights-from-8000-ai-citations-455284">study</a> I published here on Search Engine Land shows that AI RAG agents rely on far fewer sources than search engines.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Generative engines also place greater value on co-citations – mentions of a term alongside a brand, even without a link – than on traditional backlinks.</p>



<p>This presents new opportunities for content creation and placement. </p>



<p>Many tactics that Google’s algorithmic complexity has pushed aside could be adapted and repurposed to earn AI citations and traffic. </p>



<p>In that sense, AI offers a fresh marketing opportunity. </p>



<p>AI may not yet command the lion’s share of traffic – but the traffic it does generate is, in many ways, more accessible.</p>



<p>That’s why it’s essential to include AI in your marketing mix and consider how to produce content that satisfies both search engines and generative engines.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href="https://searchengineland.com/content-invisible-ai-search-engines-456496">Why your best content is invisible to AI search engines (and how to fix it in 30 minutes)</a></em></strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-producing-content-that-serves-search-and-generative-engines">Producing content that serves search and generative engines</h2>



<p>Fortunately, much of what search engines prefer also works well for generative AI. For native content:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Create well-structured pages with clear headings, supporting statistics, and rich media.</li>



<li>Ensure content is accessible, even with JavaScript disabled. (Less of a problem for Google now, but AI crawlers are less sophisticated.)</li>



<li>Build strong <a href="https://searchengineland.com/guide/google-e-e-a-t-for-seo">E-E-A-T</a> signals for your content, authors, and brand.</li>



<li>Address code elements such as alt text and metadata so they properly support your content.</li>



<li>Use accessible, indexable URLs with unique, descriptive slugs.</li>



<li>Cover topics in depth, including related keywords and common questions. Repeating exact-match keywords is no longer effective for <a href="https://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo">SEO</a> and even less so for AI. Instead, use semantic richness and engage with broader search entities.</li>



<li>Include Q&amp;A or answer-style formatting, since AI prompts are often phrased as questions.</li>



<li>Don’t hide primary content (e.g., in linked PDFs).</li>



<li>Provide summaries and key takeaways.</li>
</ul>



<p>Because AI interrogates vectorized information, additional techniques apply:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Co-citations are often more valuable than hyperlinks. Being cited alongside key terms on a high-authority site can be more effective for AI than earning a traditional link.</li>



<li>External placement may help. Even without a link, branded citations can improve the likelihood of AI recognition.</li>



<li>Consistency matters. AI blends vectorized information, so once citations enter the LLM, they may no longer be treated as separate documents. Consistent details (addresses, phone numbers, etc.) remain essential – don’t let local SEO slip.</li>



<li>Disambiguation works differently for AI. In SEO, trying to clarify that you <strong>don’t</strong> provide a service can ironically increase rankings for that service. AI, however, is better at separating negatives from positives.</li>



<li>Structured summaries are especially valuable. While they also help search engines, generative AI relies more heavily on them when interpreting main content.</li>



<li>Keep critical information concise. Short, precise statements of facts or data vectorize more effectively.</li>



<li>Shorter search terms still matter. RAG agents often distill compact terms from complex prompts, making FAQ-style content important for both SEO and AI.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href="https://searchengineland.com/search-visibility-framework-461243">The search visibility framework: Dominating every corner of the SERP in 2026</a></em></strong></p>


For years, optimizing content meant focusing almost entirely on Google and other traditional engines. 
But with the rapid rise of generative AI chatbots – tools that don’t just link but summarize – content strategies need to adapt. 
It’s no longer enough to rank in search; you now need to be referenced, cited, and surfaced by AI systems as well.
This shift raises a critical question: how do we write content that satisfies both worlds – Google’s algorithmic complexity and AI’s citation-driven simplicity?
Where users are going: Search vs. generative AI
Statcounter’s Search Engine Market Share data suggests that Google is still firmly on top, but those numbers only measure traditional search engines. 
They don’t reflect the growing number of users turning to AI chatbots for answers, which is why separate measures – like AI Chatbot Market Share – are starting to emerge. 
For now, the two data sets can’t be directly compared.
AI chatbots generated 34 times fewer visits than search engines, per One Little Web’s April 2025 study. Even so, chatbot traffic grew 80.9% between April 2024 and March 2025. 
They may still be the underdog, but the growth trajectory is hard to ignore.
By June 2025, Chillibyte found that ChatGPT alone had attracted 55.2 billion visits in that same 12-month period – an 80% year-over-year increase.
Chillibyte noted that chatbots seem to be supplementing search engines rather than replacing them. 
Still, divided usage between search engines and AI will inevitably chip away at Google’s overall share. 
That’s why content strategies now need to account for both search engines and generative AI.
Dig deeper: How to optimize your 2025 content strategy for AI-powered SERPs and LLMs
How search rankings differ from AI citations
Creating content for both search and AI starts with understanding how each cites or ranks information.
Search engines: Simple inputs, complex algorithms
Search engines typically receive simpler input and deliver simple output. 
For example, the keywords you type into Google are usually shorter and less complex than an AI prompt. 
Google’s output is also simpler. (This is changing with AI Mode, though. We’ll focus here on traditional output rather than modern AI-driven results.)
Typical search engine input and output:

A simple query usually produces a simple list of URLs. 
But does that mean search engines are less complex than their generative AI counterparts? 
Not at all. 
While input and output may look simple, search engines are algorithmically complex in determining what that output should be.
Once a query is processed, layered algorithms define the results. Users can’t see this layer, but it’s always at work. A search engine may consider:
Content relevance, including metadata, headings, and keyword use.
Content quality, trustworthiness, and authority (e.g., Google’s E-E-A-T).
Popularity signals such as inbound links.
Link quality, with filters against spammy practices.
Pricing for product results.
Local signals.
Schema and structured data.
Reviews and testimonials.
Over the years, Google has evolved to disqualify pages that rely on manipulative techniques. 
Algorithm updates like Penguin (targeting spammy link practices), Caffeine, Panda, Mayday, and Farmer were eventually folded into Google’s core algorithms.
The point is clear: Google remains algorithmically complex.
Generative engines: Complex prompts, simpler filters
In contrast, AI chatbots handle richer input and produce more complex output. 
Their defensive algorithmic layer, however, is far less developed than that of leading search engines. 
Simply put, generative engines have had less time to build the protective algorithms that surround vectorized, LLM-based response systems.
Here’s an example of typical generative engine input and output:

Both the input and the output are clearly more complex. 
That said, generative engines are usually algorithmically simpler. 
Yes, they can crawl the web for new information when their LLM lacks the required data. 
But they’re far less sophisticated in determining which information to surface as authoritative or trustworthy.
A study I published here on Search Engine Land shows that AI RAG agents rely on far fewer sources than search engines. 
Generative engines also place greater value on co-citations – mentions of a term alongside a brand, even without a link – than on traditional backlinks.
This presents new opportunities for content creation and placement. 
Many tactics that Google’s algorithmic complexity has pushed aside could be adapted and repurposed to earn AI citations and traffic. 
In that sense, AI offers a fresh marketing opportunity. 
AI may not yet command the lion’s share of traffic – but the traffic it does generate is, in many ways, more accessible.
That’s why it’s essential to include AI in your marketing mix and consider how to produce content that satisfies both search engines and generative engines.
Dig deeper: Why your best content is invisible to AI search engines (and how to fix it in 30 minutes)
Producing content that serves search and generative engines
Fortunately, much of what search engines prefer also works well for generative AI. For native content:
Create well-structured pages with clear headings, supporting statistics, and rich media.
Ensure content is accessible, even with JavaScript disabled. (Less of a problem for Google now, but AI crawlers are less sophisticated.)
Build strong E-E-A-T signals for your content, authors, and brand.
Address code elements such as alt text and metadata so they properly support your content.
Use accessible, indexable URLs with unique, descriptive slugs.
Cover topics in depth, including related keywords and common questions. Repeating exact-match keywords is no longer effective for SEO and even less so for AI. Instead, use semantic richness and engage with broader search entities.
Include Q&A or answer-style formatting, since AI prompts are often phrased as questions.
Don’t hide primary content (e.g., in linked PDFs).
Provide summaries and key takeaways.
Because AI interrogates vectorized information, additional techniques apply:
Co-citations are often more valuable than hyperlinks. Being cited alongside key terms on a high-authority site can be more effective for AI than earning a traditional link.
External placement may help. Even without a link, branded citations can improve the likelihood of AI recognition.
Consistency matters. AI blends vectorized information, so once citations enter the LLM, they may no longer be treated as separate documents. Consistent details (addresses, phone numbers, etc.) remain essential – don’t let local SEO slip.
Disambiguation works differently for AI. In SEO, trying to clarify that you don’t provide a service can ironically increase rankings for that service. AI, however, is better at separating negatives from positives.
Structured summaries are especially valuable. While they also help search engines, generative AI relies more heavily on them when interpreting main content.
Keep critical information concise. Short, precise statements of facts or data vectorize more effectively.
Shorter search terms still matter. RAG agents often distill compact terms from complex prompts, making FAQ-style content important for both SEO and AI.
Dig deeper: The search visibility framework: Dominating every corner of the SERP in 2026

Understand the key differences between search rankings and AI citations, and how to create content that performs in both.

How to create content that works for search and generative engines

<div><img width="2048" height="1152" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-feature-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-feature-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-feature-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-feature-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></div>AI can distort your brand narrative and erode trust. Learn the four layers of brand control and how you can proactively manage AI semantic drift.

<div><img width="2048" height="1152" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-feature-scaled.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-feature-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-feature-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-feature-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></div><div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="2048" height="1152" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-feature-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-461173" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-feature-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-feature-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-feature-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></figure></div>


<p>Your brand message is no longer entirely yours to control.&nbsp;</p>



<p>AI systems have become storytellers, shaping how consumers discover and understand your brand. Every customer review, social media post, news mention, and errant leaked internal document can feed AI models that generate responses about your company.&nbsp;</p>



<p>When these AI-generated narratives drift from your intended brand message, a phenomenon we can define as <a href="https://www.neurospicy.agency/post/coining-ai-brand-drift-a-formal-definition" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow"><strong>AI brand drift</strong>,</a> the results can be devastating.</p>



<p>Your official brand voice, customer complaints, and leaked memos are LLM fuel. AI synthesizes everything into responses that millions of consumers encounter daily.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1600" height="900" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-header-.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-461174" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-header-.jpg 1600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-header--768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-header--1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /></figure></div>


<p>Your brand messaging competes with unfiltered customer sentiment and information that was never meant for public consumption. AI-driven misrepresentations can instantly reach global audiences through search results, chatbot interactions, and AI-powered recommendations. Mixed brand signals can reshape how AI systems describe your company for years to come.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This guide will show you how to identify AI brand drift before it damages your market position and provide actionable strategies for regaining control.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-complete-brand-spectrum-4-layers-you-can-t-afford-to-ignore">The complete brand spectrum: 4 layers you can&#8217;t afford to ignore</h2>



<p>Large language models aggregate every available signal about your brand, turn around, and synthesize authoritative-sounding responses that consumers accept as fact. Companies confirm that phantom features proposed by ChatGPT cause support tickets, but are also considered part of the product roadmap.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7353384798834307072/" target="_blank" rel=" noopener"><img decoding="async" width="667" height="409" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-linkedin-myriam.png" alt="Linkedin post saying a week ago: “Adding a feature because ChatGPT hallucinates it exists. Is that going to potentially be a thing if enough people complain to support about features they swear exist because an LLM told them so?” reposted later with the addition of “A lovely friend, this afternoon” this is interesting, did you hear of other cases of ChatGPT hallucinating a feature, and the company building it because it sent users their way?”" class="wp-image-461096"/></a></figure></div>


<p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/pwnyy.tv/post/3lukjt6hig22g" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow">This is the case for the company Streamer.bot:&nbsp;</a></p>



<p><em>“We often have users joining our Discord and say ChatGPT told said xyz. Yes the tool can,however their instructions are wrong 90% of the time. We end up correcting their attempts to get it working how they want, still creates support tickets.”</em></p>



<p>Brand stewardship now requires managing four distinct but interconnected layers. Each layer feeds AI training data differently. Each carries different risk profiles. Ignore any layer, and AI systems will construct your brand narrative without your input.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-brand-control-quadrant-frames-these-layers-nbsp">The Brand Control Quadrant frames these layers:&nbsp;</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Layer</strong></td><td><strong>Description</strong></td><td><strong>AI Impact</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Known Brand</td><td>Official assets: logos, slogans, press kits, brand guides.</td><td>Semantic anchors for AI; most controlled, but only the tip of the iceberg.</td></tr><tr><td>Latent Brand</td><td>User-generated content, community discourse, memes, cultural references.</td><td>Fuels AI’s understanding of brand relevance and relatability.</td></tr><tr><td>Shadow Brand</td><td>Internal docs, onboarding guides, old slide decks, partner enablement files—often not public.</td><td>The risk: LLMs can inject outdated or off-message info into AI summaries.&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>AI-Narrated Brand</td><td>How platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity describe your brand to users.</td><td>Synthesis of all layers. Answers served as “truth” to the world. This leads to a high risk of misalignment and distortion.</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-insight-ai-reconstructs-your-brand-from-all-accessible-layers-ai-co-authors-brand-narratives-nbsp">Key insight: AI reconstructs your brand from all accessible layers. AI co-authors brand narratives.&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Here’s a concrete example: BNP Parisbas’ logo is contextualized by Perplexity.ai using a “Bird Logos Collection Vol.01” Pinterest board.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="651" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-BNP-parisbas.png" alt="Screenshot showing a search result for the query &quot;what can you tell me about this brand,&quot; with a Pinterest link used to contextualize the BNP Paribas logo, which features four stylized white birds on a green background." class="wp-image-461097"/></figure></div>


<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-technical-flaw-to-brand-crisis">From technical flaw to brand crisis</h2>



<p><em>“Semantic drift describes the phenomenon wherein generated text diverges from the subject matter designated by the prompt, resulting in a growing deterioration in relevance, coherence, or truthfulness.” </em>&#8211; <a href="https://aclanthology.org/2024.naacl-long.202.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow">A., Hambro, E., Voita, E., &amp; Cancedda, N. (2024). Know When To Stop: A Study of Semantic Drift in Text Generation</a>.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7327706365819285504/" target="_blank" rel=" noopener"><img decoding="async" width="683" height="826" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-campire.png" alt="LinkedIn post explaining that incorrect information is being shared by ChatGPT about a company" class="wp-image-461100" style="width:683px;height:auto"/></a></figure></div>


<p>When AI-generated content gradually strays from your brand’s intended message, meaning, or facts as it unfolds, <strong>you know you are dealing with a brand drift crisis</strong>. This can take several forms:</p>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Factual drift:</strong> The model starts out as factual but introduces inaccuracies as the conversation progresses.</li>



<li><strong>Intent drift:</strong> Facts are retained, but the underlying intent or nuance is lost, leading to brand misrepresentation or confusion with competitors.&nbsp;</li>



<li><strong>Shadow brand drift:</strong> AI-powered search may surface outdated product specs, misquote leadership, or reveal elements meant for internal communication only.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>



<p><strong>Key insight: </strong>Even well-trained AI can quickly undermine brand clarity, consistency, and trust if not closely managed.</p>



<p><strong>This can also create cybersecurity issues. </strong>Netcraft published a study concluding that 1 in 3 AI-generated login URLs could lead to phishing traps. Between <a href="https://www.holovaty.com/writing/chatgpt-fake-feature/" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow">fake features</a> and dodgy login pages, monitoring is key!</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7352921109438124032/" target="_blank" rel=" noopener"><img decoding="async" width="604" height="489" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/Semrush-20250828-netcraft-linkedin.png" alt="Carl Hendy reporting on LinkedIn that Netcraft published a study concluding that 1 in 3 AI-generated login URLs could lead to phishing traps. " class="wp-image-461103"/></a></figure></div>


<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-ai-brand-drift-unfolds-nbsp">How AI brand drift unfolds&nbsp;</h2>



<p>LLMs generate text sequentially, with each new word based on the prior context. There’s no “master plan” for the entire output, so drift is inherent.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Most factual or intent drift occurs early in the output, according to a <a href="https://aclanthology.org/2024.naacl-long.202.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow">2024 study of semantic drift</a> in text generation. Errors are compounded in<a href="https://arize.com/glossary/multi-turn-semantic-drift/" target="_blank" rel="noopener sponsored nofollow"> multi-turn conversations</a>: initial misunderstandings are amplified and rarely corrected without a context reset (starting a new conversation for example).&nbsp;</p>



<p>Marketers must be aware that they face critical vulnerabilities, identified by leading experts at Meta and Anthropic:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Loss of coherence: </strong>This manifests as diminished clarity, disrupted logical progression, and a breakdown in self-consistency within the narrative.</li>



<li><strong>Loss of relevance:</strong> This occurs when content becomes saturated with irrelevant or repetitive information, diluting the intended message.</li>



<li><strong>Loss of truthfulness</strong>: This is characterized by the emergence of fabricated details or statements that diverge from established facts and world knowledge.</li>



<li><strong>Narrative collapse</strong>: When AI outputs are used as new training data, the original intent can morph entirely.&nbsp;</li>



<li><strong>Zero-click risk</strong>: With Google AI Overviews becoming the default in search, users may never see your official content. They would rely only on the AI’s synthesized, potentially drifted version.</li>
</ul>



<p>AI-generated content sounds plausible and on-brand but could subtly distort your message, values, or positioning. This drift can erode brand equity, undermine consumer trust, and potentially introduce compliance risks.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-hidden-driver-of-drift">The hidden driver of drift</h2>



<p>The shadow brand is the sum of internal, proprietary, or outdated digital assets your organization has created but not intentionally exposed:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Onboarding documents.</li>



<li>Internal wikis.</li>



<li>Old presentations.</li>



<li>Partner enablement files.</li>



<li>Recruitment PDFs.</li>



<li><em>And any other information that is not meant for public consumption.</em></li>
</ul>



<p>If these are accessible online (even buried), they are “trainable” by LLMs. If it’s online, it’s fair game for LLMs (even if you never meant it to be public).&nbsp;</p>



<p>Shadow assets are often off-message. Outdated or inconsistent materials can actively shape AI-generated answers, introducing narrative drift. Most teams do not track their shadow brand, leaving a major gap in their narrative defense.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-drift-to-distortion-the-brand-risk-matrix">From drift to distortion: The brand risk matrix</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Drift Type</strong></td><td><strong>Brand Risk</strong></td><td><strong>Example Scenario</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Factual Drift</td><td>Compliance violations, misinformation, legal exposure, customer confusion.</td><td>AI lists outdated features as current, invents product capabilities, or misstates regulatory claims.</td></tr><tr><td>Intent Drift</td><td>Value misalignment, loss of trust, diluted brand purpose, reputational damage.</td><td>Sustainability message is reduced to a generic “green” platitude, or brand values are misrepresented.</td></tr><tr><td>Shadow Brand Drift</td><td>Narrative hijack, exposure of confidential or sensitive info, competitor leakage, internal miscommunication.</td><td>Old partner deck surfaces, referencing past alliances; internal docs or leadership quotes go public.</td></tr><tr><td>Latent Brand Drift</td><td>Meme-ification, tone mismatch, off-brand humor, loss of authority.</td><td>AI adopts community sarcasm or memes in official summaries, undermining professional tone.</td></tr><tr><td>Narrative Collapse</td><td>Erosion of brand story, loss of message control, amplification of errors.</td><td>AI-generated errors are repeated and amplified as they become new training data for future outputs.</td></tr><tr><td>Zero-Click Risk</td><td>Loss of audience touchpoint, diminished traffic to owned assets, lack of context for brand story.</td><td>AI Overviews in search engines present a drifted summary, so users never reach your official content.</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-regaining-brand-narrative-control">Regaining brand narrative control</h3>



<p>You should audit and map all four brand layers:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Known Brand: </strong>Ensure all official assets are up-to-date, accessible, and semantically clear. Create a “brand canon,” a centralized, authoritative source of facts, messaging, and positioning, optimized for AI consumption.</li>



<li><strong>Latent Brand: </strong>Monitor UGC, community forums, and cultural signals; use social listening to spot emerging themes.</li>



<li><strong>Shadow Brand: </strong>Conduct regular audits to identify and secure or update internal docs, old presentations, and semi-public files.</li>



<li><strong>AI-Narrated Brand: </strong>Track how AI platforms summarize and present your brand across search, chat, and discovery.<strong> Implement LLM observability along with methods to detect when AI-generated content diverges from brand intent.&nbsp;</strong></li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lead-the-ai-brand-narrative">Lead the AI brand narrative</h2>



<p>Brand is no longer just what you say, it’s what AI (and your customers) says about you. In the generative search era, narrative control is a continuous, cross-functional discipline.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Marketing teams must actively manage all four layers, own the shadow brand, and measure semantic drift. Track how meaning and intent evolve in AI outputs in order to establish rapid responses to correct drifted narratives, both in AI and in the wild.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As Philip J. Armstrong, GTM Head of Insights &amp; Analytics at Semrush, puts it, “Keeping an eye on brand drift protects your hard-earned brand reputation as consumers move to AI to evaluate products and services.”</p>


Your brand message is no longer entirely yours to control. 
AI systems have become storytellers, shaping how consumers discover and understand your brand. Every customer review, social media post, news mention, and errant leaked internal document can feed AI models that generate responses about your company. 
When these AI-generated narratives drift from your intended brand message, a phenomenon we can define as AI brand drift, the results can be devastating.
Your official brand voice, customer complaints, and leaked memos are LLM fuel. AI synthesizes everything into responses that millions of consumers encounter daily. 

Your brand messaging competes with unfiltered customer sentiment and information that was never meant for public consumption. AI-driven misrepresentations can instantly reach global audiences through search results, chatbot interactions, and AI-powered recommendations. Mixed brand signals can reshape how AI systems describe your company for years to come. 
This guide will show you how to identify AI brand drift before it damages your market position and provide actionable strategies for regaining control. 
The complete brand spectrum: 4 layers you can’t afford to ignore
Large language models aggregate every available signal about your brand, turn around, and synthesize authoritative-sounding responses that consumers accept as fact. Companies confirm that phantom features proposed by ChatGPT cause support tickets, but are also considered part of the product roadmap. 

This is the case for the company Streamer.bot: 
“We often have users joining our Discord and say ChatGPT told said xyz. Yes the tool can,however their instructions are wrong 90% of the time. We end up correcting their attempts to get it working how they want, still creates support tickets.”
Brand stewardship now requires managing four distinct but interconnected layers. Each layer feeds AI training data differently. Each carries different risk profiles. Ignore any layer, and AI systems will construct your brand narrative without your input. 
The Brand Control Quadrant frames these layers: 

LayerDescriptionAI Impact
Known BrandOfficial assets: logos, slogans, press kits, brand guides.Semantic anchors for AI; most controlled, but only the tip of the iceberg.
Latent BrandUser-generated content, community discourse, memes, cultural references.Fuels AI’s understanding of brand relevance and relatability.
Shadow BrandInternal docs, onboarding guides, old slide decks, partner enablement files—often not public.The risk: LLMs can inject outdated or off-message info into AI summaries. 
AI-Narrated BrandHow platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity describe your brand to users.Synthesis of all layers. Answers served as “truth” to the world. This leads to a high risk of misalignment and distortion.






Key insight: AI reconstructs your brand from all accessible layers. AI co-authors brand narratives. 
Here’s a concrete example: BNP Parisbas’ logo is contextualized by Perplexity.ai using a “Bird Logos Collection Vol.01” Pinterest board. 





From technical flaw to brand crisis
“Semantic drift describes the phenomenon wherein generated text diverges from the subject matter designated by the prompt, resulting in a growing deterioration in relevance, coherence, or truthfulness.” – A., Hambro, E., Voita, E., & Cancedda, N. (2024). Know When To Stop: A Study of Semantic Drift in Text Generation.

When AI-generated content gradually strays from your brand’s intended message, meaning, or facts as it unfolds, you know you are dealing with a brand drift crisis. This can take several forms:
Factual drift: The model starts out as factual but introduces inaccuracies as the conversation progresses.
Intent drift: Facts are retained, but the underlying intent or nuance is lost, leading to brand misrepresentation or confusion with competitors. 
Shadow brand drift: AI-powered search may surface outdated product specs, misquote leadership, or reveal elements meant for internal communication only. 
Key insight: Even well-trained AI can quickly undermine brand clarity, consistency, and trust if not closely managed.
This can also create cybersecurity issues. Netcraft published a study concluding that 1 in 3 AI-generated login URLs could lead to phishing traps. Between fake features and dodgy login pages, monitoring is key!





How AI brand drift unfolds 
LLMs generate text sequentially, with each new word based on the prior context. There’s no “master plan” for the entire output, so drift is inherent. 
Most factual or intent drift occurs early in the output, according to a 2024 study of semantic drift in text generation. Errors are compounded in multi-turn conversations: initial misunderstandings are amplified and rarely corrected without a context reset (starting a new conversation for example). 
Marketers must be aware that they face critical vulnerabilities, identified by leading experts at Meta and Anthropic:
Loss of coherence: This manifests as diminished clarity, disrupted logical progression, and a breakdown in self-consistency within the narrative.
Loss of relevance: This occurs when content becomes saturated with irrelevant or repetitive information, diluting the intended message.
Loss of truthfulness: This is characterized by the emergence of fabricated details or statements that diverge from established facts and world knowledge.
Narrative collapse: When AI outputs are used as new training data, the original intent can morph entirely. 
Zero-click risk: With Google AI Overviews becoming the default in search, users may never see your official content. They would rely only on the AI’s synthesized, potentially drifted version.
AI-generated content sounds plausible and on-brand but could subtly distort your message, values, or positioning. This drift can erode brand equity, undermine consumer trust, and potentially introduce compliance risks.
The hidden driver of drift
The shadow brand is the sum of internal, proprietary, or outdated digital assets your organization has created but not intentionally exposed:
Onboarding documents.
Internal wikis.
Old presentations.
Partner enablement files.
Recruitment PDFs.
And any other information that is not meant for public consumption.
If these are accessible online (even buried), they are “trainable” by LLMs. If it’s online, it’s fair game for LLMs (even if you never meant it to be public). 
Shadow assets are often off-message. Outdated or inconsistent materials can actively shape AI-generated answers, introducing narrative drift. Most teams do not track their shadow brand, leaving a major gap in their narrative defense. 
From drift to distortion: The brand risk matrix

Drift TypeBrand RiskExample Scenario
Factual DriftCompliance violations, misinformation, legal exposure, customer confusion.AI lists outdated features as current, invents product capabilities, or misstates regulatory claims.
Intent DriftValue misalignment, loss of trust, diluted brand purpose, reputational damage.Sustainability message is reduced to a generic “green” platitude, or brand values are misrepresented.
Shadow Brand DriftNarrative hijack, exposure of confidential or sensitive info, competitor leakage, internal miscommunication.Old partner deck surfaces, referencing past alliances; internal docs or leadership quotes go public.
Latent Brand DriftMeme-ification, tone mismatch, off-brand humor, loss of authority.AI adopts community sarcasm or memes in official summaries, undermining professional tone.
Narrative CollapseErosion of brand story, loss of message control, amplification of errors.AI-generated errors are repeated and amplified as they become new training data for future outputs.
Zero-Click RiskLoss of audience touchpoint, diminished traffic to owned assets, lack of context for brand story.AI Overviews in search engines present a drifted summary, so users never reach your official content.






Regaining brand narrative control
You should audit and map all four brand layers:
Known Brand: Ensure all official assets are up-to-date, accessible, and semantically clear. Create a “brand canon,” a centralized, authoritative source of facts, messaging, and positioning, optimized for AI consumption.
Latent Brand: Monitor UGC, community forums, and cultural signals; use social listening to spot emerging themes.
Shadow Brand: Conduct regular audits to identify and secure or update internal docs, old presentations, and semi-public files.
AI-Narrated Brand: Track how AI platforms summarize and present your brand across search, chat, and discovery. Implement LLM observability along with methods to detect when AI-generated content diverges from brand intent. 
Lead the AI brand narrative
Brand is no longer just what you say, it’s what AI (and your customers) says about you. In the generative search era, narrative control is a continuous, cross-functional discipline. 
Marketing teams must actively manage all four layers, own the shadow brand, and measure semantic drift. Track how meaning and intent evolve in AI outputs in order to establish rapid responses to correct drifted narratives, both in AI and in the wild. 
As Philip J. Armstrong, GTM Head of Insights & Analytics at Semrush, puts it, “Keeping an eye on brand drift protects your hard-earned brand reputation as consumers move to AI to evaluate products and services.”

AI can distort your brand narrative and erode trust. Learn the four layers of brand control and how you can proactively manage AI semantic drift.

How generative AI is quietly distorting your brand message by Semrush Enterprise

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/viral-post-google-spam.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Viral post Google spam" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/viral-post-google-spam.png 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/viral-post-google-spam-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/viral-post-google-spam-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>After Google announces its latest spam update, a post roast AI Overviews for violating Google’s own spam policies.

<div><img width="1920" height="1080" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/viral-post-google-spam.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Viral post Google spam" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/viral-post-google-spam.png 1920w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/viral-post-google-spam-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/viral-post-google-spam-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></div>
<p>A viral social media post is roasting Google’s AI Overviews – the company’s AI-generated answers in search results – accusing it of breaking the spam policies Google enforces on everyone else.</p>



<p><strong>The post</strong>. It was published by <a href="https://x.com/natejhake/status/1960382308789125494" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nate Hake on X</a>, minutes after Google&#8217;s announcement about the release of the <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-releases-august-2025-spam-update-461232">August 2025 spam update</a>:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to report a spammer called &#8220;AI Overviews&#8221; </p>



<p>It&#8217;s coming up #1 for a ton of queries &amp; violates all these Google policies: </p>



<p>-No first-hand experience <br>-Uses extensive automation <br>-No expertise <br>-Primarily summarizes what others have written</p>
</blockquote>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1297" height="1373" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/nate-hake-x-spammer.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-461282" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/nate-hake-x-spammer.jpg 1297w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/08/nate-hake-x-spammer-768x813.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1297px) 100vw, 1297px" /></figure>



<p>Screenshots of Google’s own guidelines accompanied his critique, making the punchline hit even harder.</p>



<p><strong>Why we care. </strong>Many websites have been losing organic search traffic since the arrival of Google&#8217;s AI Overviews last year. We&#8217;ve also seen <a href="https://searchengineland.com/great-decoupling-search-agentic-web-459424">the great decoupling of search</a>, with impressions up and clicks down. AI has been accused of contributing to the <a href="https://searchengineland.com/ai-killing-web-business-model-455157">death of the business model of the web</a>, as Cloudflare put it.</p>



<p><strong>Flashback</strong>. In 2014, a similar viral moment hit when digital marketer Dan Barker quipped that <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-scraper-tweet-185684">Google itself was a “scraper site”</a> – using Google’s own definition box as proof. That tweet, echoing frustrations among SEOs, racked up more than 14,000 retweets. </p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Publishers who thought Google was borrowing content too heavily from other sites to generate the direct answers it displayed in its own search results in 2014 would be horrified by Google 2025. And indeed, many of us have been.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>The big picture</strong>. Google’s AI Overviews have been under heavy scrutiny for accuracy, usefulness, and their impact on publishers. By highlighting Google’s own rules, this viral post crystallizes a long-running tension: search engines taking more space at the top of results while holding websites to standards they don&#8217;t meet themselves.</p>


A viral social media post is roasting Google’s AI Overviews – the company’s AI-generated answers in search results – accusing it of breaking the spam policies Google enforces on everyone else.
The post. It was published by Nate Hake on X, minutes after Google’s announcement about the release of the August 2025 spam update:
“I’d like to report a spammer called “AI Overviews” 
It’s coming up #1 for a ton of queries & violates all these Google policies: 
-No first-hand experience 
-Uses extensive automation 
-No expertise 
-Primarily summarizes what others have written




Screenshots of Google’s own guidelines accompanied his critique, making the punchline hit even harder.
Why we care. Many websites have been losing organic search traffic since the arrival of Google’s AI Overviews last year. We’ve also seen the great decoupling of search, with impressions up and clicks down. AI has been accused of contributing to the death of the business model of the web, as Cloudflare put it.
Flashback. In 2014, a similar viral moment hit when digital marketer Dan Barker quipped that Google itself was a “scraper site” – using Google’s own definition box as proof. That tweet, echoing frustrations among SEOs, racked up more than 14,000 retweets. 
Publishers who thought Google was borrowing content too heavily from other sites to generate the direct answers it displayed in its own search results in 2014 would be horrified by Google 2025. And indeed, many of us have been.
The big picture. Google’s AI Overviews have been under heavy scrutiny for accuracy, usefulness, and their impact on publishers. By highlighting Google’s own rules, this viral post crystallizes a long-running tension: search engines taking more space at the top of results while holding websites to standards they don’t meet themselves.

After Google announces its latest spam update, a post roast AI Overviews for violating Google’s own spam policies.

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Read the Latest Trends and Headlines in Digital Marketing.

Here are some of the latest headlines on digital marketing insights, search, and ecommerce:

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Reach out with any questions you might have regarding how RSO can help you with digital marketing.

All About
Digital Marketing