Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) is set to change how people discover and buy products online, which will fundamentally change how we approach SEO for eCommerce websites. Instead of sending users to a website to complete a purchase, Google now allows shoppers to buy products directly within its AI-powered experiences, including Search and Gemini. The […]
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Most content audits fail. Not because the data is wrong, but because they don’t change decisions. They produce impressive spreadsheets yet often leave CMOs wondering what to actually do next. A content audit should do the opposite. It should clarify priorities, reduce uncertainty, and point to the actions that will improve performance. Yet in many […]
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Most marketing teams obsess over dozens of performance metrics. Customer acquisition cost. Click-through rates. Conversion rates. Lifetime value. But Jonny Inglis, co-founder of the wine platform Winedrops, says focusing on too many metrics can distract from the one thing that really drives growth. In a recent conversation for my Flipping the Playbook podcast, Jonny explains […]
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AI is now embedded in how customers research, evaluate and compare brands, and CMOs are already restructuring teams, workflows and measurement models around that reality. Marketers are feeling the impact most acutely in content marketing and SEO. If there’s one thing just about everyone agrees on, it’s this: Original, high-quality content is essential. Great content has always been important, and some of us have been […]
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AI crawlers and foundation models are quickly becoming the primary way information is discovered, summarised, and acted upon, often before anyone even sees a traditional search result. For brands and publishers, the real question is no longer just, “Can people find my site in Google?” It is now: “Do AI systems have permission to access, […]
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AI use in content marketing is here to stay. So, what’s the plan? The honeymoon phase of AI is over, and what was initially a shiny new tool is now a strategic conundrum. CMOs are grappling with questions from the board, CEOs, and non-execs alike, including: What is our AI strategy? How is it being […]
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In the first wave of AI search, most of the conversation focused on what is changing. Now the more important question is how to respond. AI search does not replace SEO, but it does change what visibility means. You are no longer optimising just for rankings. You are optimising for inclusion. AI systems increasingly deliver […]
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For a considerable time, searching online was a relatively straightforward exercise. Users would either rely on a short, memorable phrase, known as the “short tail,” or a significantly longer, highly specific phrase, referred to as the “long tail.” The long tail was characterised by queries containing three or more words, often reflecting a user’s advanced […]
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Over the past year or so, I’ve seen a significant increase in the number of businesses affected by Google algorithmic and manual actions. In most cases, these actions are the result of activities carried out to try to increase performance – either directly in search results, or to indirectly influence AI and generative LLMs. In […]
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The moment you stop investing in brand and lean entirely on performance, you start converting demand you’re no longer creating. That’s the reality check from Lottie Norman, VP of Brand Transformation and Strategy at The Travel Corporation, who joined SALT’s Reza Moaiandin on the latest episode of Flipping the Playbook. For CMOs navigating commoditised markets, […]
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Every CMO knows the feeling. A new technology emerges that promises (or threatens) to reshape your marketing strategy. But the path forward isn’t clear. The metrics aren’t standardised. The benefits are still largely theoretical. AI search is the latest disruption demanding attention, nagging you to do something. Perhaps the safe move is to wait. Marketers […]
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Last week I received an email from an agency trying to sell me content marketing services. The tone assumed a level of familiarity that did not exist. The note was full of punctuation and grammar errors. The company tried to school me on why I should be investing in original content which they could create […]
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