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Top 2025 Google Ads updates.

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The Best Google Ads Updates of 2025

DECEMBER 18, 2025

Google Ads had quite the year.

Here are some of the biggest updates from 2025:

Power Pack launch. Combines Performance Max, Demand Gen, and AI Max to manage awareness, conversion, and full-funnel performance.
AI Max for Search. Enhances Search campaigns with keywordless targeting, Search Term Matching, Text Customization, and URL Expansion.
Performance Max improvements. Adds negative keywords, brand exclusions, expanded reporting, and device/demographic targeting for more transparency and control.
High Value Mode. Allows higher bids for potential long-term customers, optimizing for customer lifetime value.
Smart Bidding Exploration. Uses AI to capture new queries by temporarily adjusting ROAS targets.
Investment Strategy Tool. Suggests where additional budget will be most efficient across campaigns.
Asset Studio. Creates scalable, AI-powered ad creatives with visual and video editing options.
Brand Guidelines integration. Ensures automated creatives stay on-brand, maintaining tone, font, and colors.
Responsive Search Ads Asset Report. Provides performance insights at the headline and description level.
Search Network Performance Reports. Offers visibility into partner site performance.
AI Overviews and AI Mode. Incorporates ads into AI-powered search experiences for better SERP visibility.

Head to Wordstream to drill down into each new feature.

Why Your TikTok is Flopping

DECEMBER 17, 2025

If your TikToks are crawling toward triple digits, there’s usually a measurable reason.

Without views, you don’t get engagement, distribution, or momentum. TikTok rewards trust and traction. The platform wants to know: Is this account real? Is the content original? Do viewers stick around? When those signals are missing or compromised, distribution suffers.

So, consider these 10 common reasons for TikTok flops:

You violated community guidelines. Even borderline content can suppress reach.
Your video isn’t original. Re-uploads or copyrighted clips often get blocked.
Your video is under review. Cross your fingers and check back later.
You’re a brand-new account. TikTok needs proof you’re human, not a bot.
You’re running multiple accounts on one device. This can trigger authenticity flags.
Your first five videos underperformed. Early engagement heavily shapes future reach.
You’re posting at the wrong times. No audience online = no early signals.
TikTok is glitching or down. It happens more than creators think.
Your hashtags are irrelevant or messy. Too broad, too many, or too off-topic.
Your account is private. No For You distribution for you.

Check out the full post by Net Influencer.

YouTube Mentions Improve AI Visibility

DECEMBER 16, 2025

Ahrefs’ latest AI visibility study analyzed 75,000 brands and found that the strongest predictor of whether a brand appears in ChatGPT, AI Mode, or AI Overviews was how often brands show up on YouTube.

YouTube mentions showed the highest correlation with AI visibility across every platform (~0.74), outperforming traditional SEO and authority metrics by a wide margin.

And that makes a lot of sense when you consider the role video plays both as training data and as a citation source. YouTube transcripts are deeply embedded in how modern AI systems learn language and surface examples.

Brand mentions still matter, but how and where brands are discussed matters more than sheer volume of content. Interestingly, the study found almost no relationship between AI visibility and the number of pages a site publishes.

AI systems appear to reward recognition, repetition, and relevance, especially for already-established brands. AI Mode, in particular, favors consensus signals like branded anchors and search volume, while ChatGPT is more forgiving and less gated by classic authority metrics.

Here are the top brand visibility factors:

YouTube mentions (strongest signal overall)
Branded web mentions across contexts
Branded anchors (especially for AI Mode)
Branded search volume
Domain Rating (more relevant for AI Overviews)

Spend some time with the data at Ahrefs.

UGC Hooks That Work

DECEMBER 14, 2025

Brief your creators, ambassadors, or influencers with hook frameworks they can actually use. Here are five that consistently perform because they tap into how people process attention, emotion, and familiarity:

Surprise! Break expectations with unusual visuals, unexpected opinions, or odd props force to a double-take. Emotionally charged surprises are processed faster and remembered longer.
Something satisfying. Think mesmerizing visuals or problem closure. Whether it’s soothing motion or finally solving an annoying pain point, satisfaction keeps people watching.
Verbal +visual hook. Pair sound with sight. A loud noise, bold claim, or price reveal combined with a strong visual creates curiosity and momentum.
Relatability. Familiar situations lower cognitive load. Selfie-style framing, everyday struggles, or universal moments make content instantly understandable (and shareable).
Trending formats. Borrow attention. Stitch, green screen, or remix formats people already recognize so your message rides on proven engagement patterns.

Check out Marketing Examined for more.

Pinterest Predicts 2026

DECEMBER 10, 2025

Pinterest’s 2026 Trend Report is a story about emotional resonance, individual expression, and creative freedom.

These insights can be helpful for anticipating and approximating what kinds of styles, products, or content will resonate in 2026 and why.

So, here’s a quick breakdown of major themes:

Escapism & Emotional Reset. Through aesthetics like “Cool Blue,” cosmic “Extra Celestial,” or nature-inspired “Wilderkind,” people are looking for visual calming or imaginative escapes.
Nostalgia Revisited & Remixed. Trends like “Throwback Kid,” retro toys/fashion, and vintage-inspired décor recycle past styles but with new twist.
Maximalist & Personal Style Revival. Styles like “Glamoratti,” “Neo Deco,” “Khaki Coded,” or “Poetcore” are about bold personal expression, statement fashion, and individuality > minimal uniformity.
Mixing Beauty, Scent, and Sensory Expression. “Glitchy Glam” (bold, imperfect makeup), “Scent Stacking” (layered fragrances), and tactile or textured aesthetics challenge conventions.
Home & Environment as Identity Space. Home décor trends like “FunHaus” (circus-inspired décor), “Neo Deco,” or other bold interior aesthetics show that people are rethinking their living spaces as expressions of personality and mood.

Dig into the full report for more.

Turn Criticism into Ad Concepts

DECEMBER 9, 2025

Sticks and stones may break my bones but insults will help me make a great ad. Or something like that.

Recent research shows using not-so-nice feedback for ad concepts can significantly boost engagement.

A study by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Duke University, and The University of Hong Kong found that reappropriating unfair or irrelevant criticisms can increase ad click-through rates by up to 27%, making brands appear more confident, humorous, and likable.

(Of course, you can preemptively create clever ads without waiting for criticism.)

Here’s how to do it:

Reuse unfair or irrelevant critiques, like a “birdbrain store” can inspire fun bird-themed ads.
Leverage humor. It makes your brand appear warm and confident.
Avoid targeting vulnerable sources. Punch up. It protects brand perception.
Highlight merchandise or campaigns inspired by insults.
Combine with social stances when appropriate to boost engagement.
Test small first to ensure the approach resonates before scaling.

Check out the data from Science Says.

LinkedIn’s New Ad Features for 2026

DECEMBER 8, 2025

LinkedIn has introduced some new ad options to make scaling personalized creative and boosting awareness easier, more efficient, and measurable.

Here’s what’s new:

Reserved ads: Premium placement in the first ad slot of LinkedIn feeds for predictable impressions, high attention, and stronger brand recall. Formats include Video Ads, Thought Leader Ads, Single Image Ads, and Document Ads.
Ad personalization: Tailor messages dynamically using profile-based macros such as first name, job title, industry, or company name. Personalized ads are more relevant, increasing engagement.
AI-Powered creative tools: AI Ad Variants automatically generate multiple creative versions from a single headline or intro.
Flexible ad creation (early 2026): Lets you upload multiple images, videos, and copy variations, with LinkedIn automatically optimizing combinations and shifting budgets toward top performers.

Head to LinkedIn for Marketing to get the full scoop.

YouTube Launches Title A/B Testing

DECEMBER 7, 2025

YouTube has finally rolled out Title A/B testing globally after months of limited access.

Every creator with advanced features can now experiment with up to three titles, thumbnails, or title–thumbnail combos inside the Test & Compare tool.

YouTube is prioritizing watch time as the deciding metric, not CTR. So, instead of rewarding clickbait titles, this system will elevate titles that attract and retain viewers. Not slop.

Here’s what to know:

Test up to three titles, thumbnails, or combinations per video.
Experiments can run for up to 14 days.
Winning variation is chosen based on watch time per impression.
Impressions are distributed as evenly as possible.
Viewer experience stays consistent; each viewer sees only one version.
Works on long-form videos and currently desktop-only.

This is great news for marketers, creators, and anyone who wishes YouTube never got so… weird.

Check out Search Engine Journal for more.

How to Get More Leads from Social

DECEMBER 3, 2025

The secret to generating leads on social is treating it as the top of your funnel, not the entire engine.

Social is a visibility tool. It keeps your brand top-of-mind, shows proof of life, and builds familiarity. But real lead generation comes from what happens after someone discovers you.

Here’s what actually works: