New YouTube Tools Lets You Track All Your Brand Mentions In One Place

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YouTube is making it easy to track mentions of your brand across its platform – including paid ads, collaborations, and organic content – all in one place. 

The new Brand Pulse report tracks brand mentions across the entirety of YouTube in real-time, giving you a full view of your brand’s presence on the platform. 

In the announcement, YouTube said this is the first time that brands can easily monitor their full presence on the platform without multiple tools or manual monitoring:

“Historically, brands have found it difficult to measure the full impact of their presence across organic touchpoints — such as their YouTube channel, user-generated content and creator collaborations — together with their paid advertising.

That’s why today we are introducing the new brand pulse report. The report provides a unified view of your brand’s presence across all of YouTube — paid and organic. You’ll be able to better measure where you’re driving impact across the platform and maximize your return on ad spend.”

What Gets Tracked

Using a new multimodal AI system, the Brand Pulse report tracks every brand mention across YouTube including logos, product shots, text mentions, and even quick name drops. 

The report also includes a number of metrics like “Total Unique Viewers” and “% Share of Watch Time” which give you a better understanding of your audience and contextualize your presence. 

Turning Data Into Actionable Steps

Brands can leverage the insights from the Brand Pulse report to boost popular organic videos with partnership ads and use the data to inform their own content, connect more authentically with their audience, and boost ROI.

The report is already available to some advertisers, and is expected to be widely available soon. 

For more, read the full announcement here.

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Google Introduces New Widgets For Online Retailers

Google has recently added two new widgets that online stores can use to verify they are reliable sellers and win over online shoppers. 

E-commerce retailers can now add two new store widgets to their sites, which highlight their store quality to shoppers. 

Specifically, Google is adding a store quality widget and a store ratings widget to the existing top quality store widget so that brands can choose the most effective and relevant widget for their online store. 

What Do They Do

Each widget is designed to highlight specific performance ratings based on stores’ online sales, which in turn helps shoppers easily identify stores they can trust. As Google said in the announcement:

It addresses two fundamental challenges ecommerce retailers face: boosting visibility and establishing legitimacy. The widget helps you attract customers and encourage them to make a purchase. Businesses using the store widget on their websites saw up to 8% higher sales within 90 days compared to similar businesses without it.

Here’s a little more about each widget:

Top Quality Store Widget

Once a store has earned a Top Quality Store badge, the retailer can then add this widget to their site. The widget highlights top-quality reviews, shipping and return performance, and highly competitive pricing options. 

Store Ratings Widget

The Store Ratings widget is similar to the Top Quality Store widget in that it highlights your performance for the same set of metrics. However, the Store Ratings widget can be added to your website even if you have not earned a Top Quality Store badge yet. 

Store Quality Widget

The Store Quality widget is a streamlined version of the store widget intended for brands that do not have store ratings yet. Instead, it solely showcases your performance ratings for shipping, returns, pricing, and payment options. 

These widgets may not seem like gamechangers, but in a crowded online marketplace with scores of shady businesses, widgets like these can go a long way towards earning consumers’ trust and driving new sales.

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TikTok Says Search Ads Campaigns Drive 2x Purchase Lift

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TikTok says its Search Ads campaigns help drive big increases to both engagement and purchases as its search engine grows in popularity. Since their launch in September, the search ads have helped advertisers claim high-value opportunities on search results with high purchase intent. 

In new data from the company, the campaigns contributed to significantly better performance than mid-funnel campaigns without search ads, including:

  • 2.0x higher purchase lift compared to TikTok initiatives without search campaigns.
  • Enterprise advertisers saw 2.2x purchase lift compared to initiatives without search campaigns. 
  • Enterprise retailers received 1.9x purchase lift and notably higher return on ad spend compared to those without search campaigns. 

While data from social networks themselves will likely always paint a rosy picture, these numbers suggest that Search Ads Campaigns are effective at capturing the attention of high-value searchers and turning those into purchases for advertisers. 

Why It Matters

TikTok is rapidly growing as not just a major social network, but also as a search engine. Younger internet users are increasingly turning to social search engines like one offered by the social network rather than using Google. Recent numbers indicate that TikTok is now processing billions of searches every day – including many with high purchase intent. 

Sissi Xu, TikTok’s Search Ads Product Strategy Lead, says this shift is driven by a desire for more perspectives and more diverse sources compared to traditional search. 

“Every query on TikTok is not only ‘What’s the Answer?’ but also ‘Whose take can I trust?’ Users scan a chorus of creators, friends, experts, and brands before deciding what resonates.”

This mindset may speak to why the company’s data drives 61% more action than other search tools and why 75% of TikTok search users think TikTok is the best place to discover new brands and products.

Search Ads Campaigns are one of TikTok’s first steps into search advertising, and it is already showing to be a powerful tool for those looking to capitalize on the popularity of TikTok search.

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Google Adds Loyalty Offerings To Ads and Product Listings

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Google is giving online retailers new tools to highlight special offers and benefits to their most loyal customers. The new “loyalty offerings” available in Google Ads and Merchant Center add specialized tags to product listings that showcase special member pricing and shipping benefits.

According to Google, 61% of American adults say loyalty programs that are tailored to their preferences are the most attractive aspect of personalized shopping experiences. With these new annotations, retailers can feature their loyalty benefits to their most valuable customers, drive long-term relationships, and emphasize all of the benefits of doing business with them. 

Quick Details

  • Loyalty offerings add personalized annotations that display member-only discounts and benefits on both free and paid product listings. 
  • Retailers can optimize their ad budget with loyalty goals that prioritize ad bids with the most lifetime value.
  • In testing, Sephora US saw a 20% increase in CTRs when using loyalty annotations in personalized ads.
  • In the announcement, Google says the new loyalty offerings “help retailers retain lasting relationships and showcase their programs and Google […] driving deeper engagement with their most valuable shoppers.”
  • Loyalty offerings are available now to retailers based in the US, UK, Germany, France, and Australia. 
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Google Says AI-Generated Images Won’t Hurt Your Site’s Rankings

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Google’s Gary Illyes recently explained that Google’s search engine treats AI-generated images essentially the same as any other images and does not penalize sites for using AI images.

In a Q&A with interviewer Kenichi Suzuki and shared by Search Engine Journal, Illyes explained that AI-generated images have no direct impact on SEO or online rankings. 

Instead, he suggested that any effect to rankings from AI-generated issues may be brought on by technical issues. He suggested that brands may even see increased traffic if they use AI to create unique images. 

How Does Google Handle AI-Generated Content?

Google has largely been trying to take a nuanced approach to how it handles content made with AI. While the company has encouraged those who use AI-generated text content to ensure it is reviewed by humans, they have also taken steps to derank low-quality AI content.

At the same time, Google has not directly addressed how it handles AI-generated images.

About 10 minutes into the recent interview, Illyes was asked if Google would punish a site if some of their images were made with AI:

“Say if there’s a content that the content itself is legit, the sentences are legit, but also there are a lot of images which are relevant to the content itself, but all of them – let’s say all of them are generated by AI. Will the content or the overall site, is it going to be penalized or not?”

In response, Illyes emphasized that AI-generated images don’t affect SEO in any direct way.

“No, no. So AI generated image doesn’t impact the SEO. Not direct.

So obviously when you put images on your site, you will have to sacrifice some resources to those images… But otherwise you are not going to, I don’t think that you’re going to see any negative impact from that.

If anything, you might get some traffic out of image search or video search or whatever, but otherwise it should just be fine.”

In other words, the only major SEO consideration a site should have when using AI-generated content is ensuring the images are small enough and properly optimized to load quickly. 

While brands should consider other potential issues you might encounter using AI-generated images, such as how your audience will respond, Illyes’s comments make it clear that Google won’t be punishing you simply for using AI to create your graphics or pictures.

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Google Says You Don’t Need Special SEO For AI Overviews

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While AI overviews upend much of how we look for information online, marketers have been split on how to respond. Some say that traditional SEO is all that is necessary to get your site cited by Google’s AI overviews, while others have been arguing that a new “SEO for AI” is needed. Now, Google has weighed in. 

During a talk at Search Central Live, Google’s Gary Illyes, told attendees that AI search tools don’t mean marketers need to use a new type of optimization and that standard SEO practices are all that is needed to be included in Google’s AI overviews and AI mode. 

While we were not present at the event, Google Search Advocate Kenichi Suzuki shared a detailed overview of what Gary Illyes discussed, including three main focus areas: 

  1. AI uses traditional SEO infrastructure and signals.
  2. Content quality matters, but so does authenticity
  3. Google has used AI in its traditional search for a long time.

How AI Uses SEO

Illyes emphasized that Google’s AI tools rely on the same basic systems and infrastructure used elsewhere by Google, including relying on the same search signals and indexing approach. 

As Suzuki says:

“[Illyes] explicitly stated that there is no need for a new acronym or a separate discipline. The core principles of creating helpful, reliable, people-first content remain the foundation for visibility in all of search formats.”

Authenticity Matters

Gary Illyes said that while Google does not punish sites that publish content made with AI, it watches for signs of abuse, including sites that churn out tons of low-quality AI content or pages with deceptive information like fake author personas or AI-generated images presented as real. 

Suzuki summed up Illyes’s statements, saying:

“Search Quality Raters are instructed to give the lowest possible rating to any content that is deceptive. This includes creating fake author personas with AI-gen images or churning out content that simply rehashes information from other sources without adding unique value or experience.”

Google Has Been Using AI For a Long Time

Throughout his presentation, Gary repeatedly emphasized that Google’s use of AI goes back years before the current surge in generative AI tools. Specifically, Illyes pointed to Google’s MUM system as a form or predictive AI to understand the intent behind queries.

While the introduction of MUM did cause some shifts in how we approach SEO in general, it did not call for an entirely new optimization discipline, just as new generative AI tools do not require a new “SEO for AI”. 

The Takeaway

While AI is undeniably making us change some aspects of search engine optimization, it doesn’t call for your business to adopt “GEO” or “AI SEO” or any other separate approaches to optimization. 

Instead, it is essential that you adapt your current SEO strategies, focus on providing content that provides real value to readers, and develop strategies to cement your authentic authority in your field.

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LinkedIn Reveals The Recipe For Successful B2B Video Ads

LinkedIn’s Creative Labs has released a comprehensive report on the state of B2B video advertising, breaking down what fuels video views, shares, and engagement based on data from over 13,000 video ads. 

Video Drives Online Success

The rise of online video has been undeniable for some time, with video content outpacing every other type of media in nearly every metric. People are more likely to engage with videos, share them, and remember what they’ve seen in a video. The new report, titled “The Art & Science of Video“, states that videos are shared 20 times more frequently than any other type of content on the platform.  

This makes online video one of the most effective ways to promote your business, products, and services, especially if your business is primarily B2B. 

What Factors Fuel Video Engagement

Anyone who has tried to share videos online (whether they were organic videos or video ads) knows that you can’t upload just anything and expect results. LinkedIn’s team identified specific types of videos that performed best:

  • Cinematic, narrative-driven brand videos received +129% engagement
  • Short, vertical “real talk” videos saw +103% increased dwell time
  • B2B videos with memes received +111% engagement
  • Videos presenting seemingly authentic emotions lifted engagement by +78%

Looking closer, the research uncovered specific themes or approaches that led to the best ad outcomes:

  • Cultural Coding – Top-performing videos showed an authentic connection with the audience through subtle, coded references. These references, whether they are shots of a familiar locale, a knowing reference, or a relevant meme, establish deeper connections that make viewers more invested.
  • Human Touch – Videos that show genuine, unscripted human moments help bring down consumers’ barriers, making them trust your brand on a deeper level than a highly-produced video could. This is why videos with real people showing emotions that felt genuine outperform staged videos across all key metrics, including dwell time, completion rate, clicks, and engagement. 
  • Expert Takes – People want to hear from experts; they just don’t want to feel talked down to. The most effective expert videos didn’t seem sterile or overly formal. They felt conversational and insightful, rather than feeling like a pre-recorded lecture. 
  • Attention Hacking – Successful videos know how to grab attention quickly and keep it – even when someone is watching on mute, on the move, or while multitasking. This was done a number of ways, including using bold colors, dynamic typography, and clear sequencing that made their content easy to understand, no matter the context. 
  • Inspiring Imagination – Despite B2B marketing’s reputation for being stuffy and focused on numbers, the most effective video ads were those with emotionally rich storytelling. Videos that used emotions to connect with their audience saw 36% more engagement than those focused on functionality and stats.

The Big Picture

The findings from LinkedIn’s Creative Labs make it clear: B2B video marketing isn’t just about putting content out there – it’s about creating something that resonates. Whether it’s through authentic human moments, expert insights delivered with warmth, or clever cultural nods, the videos that succeed are the ones that feel real, relevant, and emotionally engaging. The days of overly formal, stats-heavy B2B ads are fading; today’s audiences crave connection, clarity, and creativity.

If you’re investing in video for B2B, this research offers a clear roadmap: lean into storytelling, embrace authenticity, and never underestimate the power of emotion. With the right approach, video can do more than just inform – it can spark attention, build trust, and move people to act.

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Microsoft Ads Removed Over 1 Billion Spam Ads In 2024

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Microsoft Ads removed or restricted over 1 billion ads for policy violations throughout 2024, according to the company’s latest trust and safety summary. The company says the spike in removed or restricted ads comes in response to a rise in more sophisticated scams, deepfakes, and other bad actors online. 

“Microsoft Advertising has remained steadfast in providing a safe and trustworthy platform for its advertisers, consumers, and publishers alike. In a digital landscape where change is constant and threats evolve rapidly, we’ve faced both familiar challenges and emerging risks,” said the company about its efforts to fight AI-generated scam content and deepfake celebrity endorsements appearing on the platform. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of how Microsoft Ads worked to prevent and remove spam on its platform last year:

  • The company removed or restricted more than 1 billion ads. The majority of these were removed or restricted for misleading claims, brand misuse, or gambling content. 
  • Over 75,000 advertiser accounts were suspended for egregious violations of the company’s policies
  • 250,000 publisher pages were demonetized for violating Microsoft Ads content policies

Balancing Enforcement With Fairness

While Microsoft Ads touted its enforcement of its policies last year, it also emphasized its dedication to transparency, fairness, and correcting errors when they are made. The company says it overturned more than 1.5 million ad rejections made last year after appeals, along with reinstating 20,000 accounts based on appeals. 

Why It Matters

While AI has made it easier for people to generate content to educate and entertain, it has also made it easier to produce more convincing and less-easy to detect spam content using realistic depictions of celebrities, deceptive images or videos, and other misleading types of content. 

Microsoft is taking a strong stance against these types of AI misuse and investing heavily in efforts to ensure its ad platform will be a reliable and safe platform for both advertisers and consumers.

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TikTok Adds AI Tools To Create Videos Off Text Or Product Images

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TikTok is rolling out new generative AI tools that will allow brands to create unique video content based on just their product images or short text prompts. 

The new tools are a new part of the social platform’s Symphony suite, a collection of AI tools aimed at brands and content creators. Along with the existing Symphony suite features, TikTok introduced image-to-video and text-to-video options that allow you to create 5-second branded clips and a new Showcase Products feature. 

The text-to-video and image-to-video features are built directly into TikTok, but are also being integrated with Adobe Express and WPP Open. 

The Showcase Products feature is built into the TikTok app and lets you create lifelike videos featuring AI avatars that can hold products, demo apps, or model clothing. All it takes to create one is a visual of the product and a brief description. 

Why Does This Matter

These new tools give brands the flexibility to create short but detailed marketing materials that would typically require an entire team and a sizable marketing budget to create. By integrating with other platforms, TikTok is giving brands more than just new ways to market on their platform – they are giving brands freedom to create for anywhere their brand needs. 

Extra Details

TikTok says that all videos created with its AI tools will be clearly labeled and go through several rounds of reviews to ensure that unsafe or inappropriate materials are not being created. 

Notably, these tools were released right as TikTok was facing a June 19th deadline to sell or divest from parent company ByteDance or be banned from the United States. However, President Trump extended the deadline by 90 days, giving the company more time to find a buyer.

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New Research Shows SEO Is Key For Appearing In AI Overviews

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Based on an analysis of over 25,000 user searches, websites that rank at the top of Google’s traditional search results appeared in AI search answers at least 25% of the time. 

This means that even in the era of increasing zero-click searches and decreasing clicks to search listings, SEO remains a crucial marketing strategy for brands looking to improve their online presence and reach more customers. 

The Study

The findings come from Tomasz Rudzki, co-founder of ZipTie. In an attempt to determine if SEO was losing relevance in the AI age, Rudzki assessed searches from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI overviews. 

What Rudzki saw was clear – sites that rank at the top of Google search results had 1-in-4 odds of being highlighted in AI overviews. The lower the sites were ranked, the lower their chances were of being included in AI responses. 

As Rudzki put it: 

“The higher you rank in Google’s top 10, the more likely you are to appear in AI search results across platforms. This isn’t speculation – it’s based on real queries from real users.”

While this is particularly of interest for Google, Rudzki said this pattern was consistent across all AI search platforms he evaluated, including ChatGPT. 

How AI Search Engines Work

In his report, Rudzki uses information from Google to detail how AI search engines work. 

Pre-selection: In the first step, AI systems select the pages they believe are the most relevant for a query. In most cases, this includes the highest-ranking pages for similar searches. 

Content extraction: Next, AI tools parse the context of the selected pages and pull content directly related to the question it is answering. 

AI synthesis: AI systems finally aggregate the information they have collected from across the web and package them in one easy-to-read response. 

In the process of finding the most relevant and accurate information for a specific question, AI tools heavily favor the sites that are already favored by Google, just as most humans naturally favor the highest ranked sites in organic search results. 

Why AI Sometimes Pulls From Lower-Ranked Sites

When exploring why AI tools sometimes pull information from pages that rank lower, sometimes even falling below the top 10 search results, Rudzki provided a few potential answers. 

The first is search personalization. While a specific site may not typically be included at the top of the search results, there is a chance of it appearing higher in personalized search results. 

The second, and perhaps more notable, reason is a concept called “query fan-out”. 

Google’s AI documentation explains query fan-out like this:

“Both AI Overviews and AI Mode may use a ‘query fan-out‘ technique — issuing multiple related searches across subtopics and data sources — to develop a response.”

In other words, when you ask AI a specific question, it may run several processes to ask questions about specific details of your question or related information. This means that while a selected page may not rank well for your specific question, it may rank well for a particular aspect that the AI system looked into. 

SEO is Here To Stay

There is no arguing that AI tools are drastically changing how we search and access information. While AI overviews are tied to decreasing click-through rates on organic results, brands can still gain ground by positioning themselves as an authority that Google can rely on to provide accurate information. This not only helps mitigate lost traffic from zero-click searches, but can also improve your reputation and connect you with new potential customers.

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