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How to Build Topical Authority

MAY 7, 2025

If you want your content to rank, convert, and keep your SEO engine running long-term, building topical authority is the playbook.

Think of it like this: If your website were a person, would it sound like an expert or just someone who read a few blog posts?

Here’s how to build real-deal topical authority:

🔹 Cover a wide range of related topics. Go beyond bottom-of-funnel keywords. Hit top and middle-funnel topics to build trust early.

🔹 Go deep with subtopics. Content hubs, clusters, pillars… make sure you’re diving into every corner of your niche.

🔹 Write content that actually says something. The bar is higher than ever. Add info gain, not noise.

🔹 Have a unique angle. Expert quotes, fresh takes, original research = gold.

🔹 Lock in your brand voice. Consistency builds trust. And trust builds authority.

🔹 Make crawling a breeze. Smart internal linking and clear URL structures ensure that search engines can index your content.

🔹 Publish with purpose. More isn’t always better, but consistency is key.

🔹 Get seen off your site. Guest posts, quotes, partnerships. Get your name out there.

🔹 Update your content. Keep it fresh. Keep it relevant. Keep it ranking.

Check out Clearscope for the full scoop.

Get Your Products on ChatGPT Shopping

MAY 6, 2025

You might have noticed that ChatGPT is now surfacing product recommendations directly in its responses, complete with images, pricing, ratings, and short explanations.

For ecomm brands, that means a new (and free) visibility channel that could drive high-intent traffic, especially since these listings aren’t ad-driven… yet.

So, are your products in a position to be found by ChatGPT?

Sign up for early access. OpenAI is considering a product feed feature. Use this form to get notified when it launches.
Enable crawling. Make sure your site isn’t blocking OpenAI’s bot in your robots.txt file. Allow “OAI-SearchBot” to crawl your content.
Use product schema. Add rich Schema.org markup to your product pages. Include details like colors, styles, dimensions, warranties, and compatibility.
Monitor reviews. ChatGPT pulls from public review platforms like Amazon, Wired, and Business Insider. So, as always, keep your ratings up and visible across channels.
Check who can access your site. Monitor which bots are indexing your products.

Check out PracticalEcommerce for more.

The 2025 State of Creativity Report

MAY 5, 2025

Brands are facing a culture lag.

According to the 2025 State of Creativity Report, only 13% or brands feel confident in their insight development, and just 12% rate their cultural agility as excellent.

This breakdown is undermining creative confidence and slowing brands down when they should be stepping up.

So, what’s holding brands back?

Slow approval processes (40%)
Limited resources and investment (32%)
Misaligned insights and brand vision (9%)

Sound familiar? Here’s how we can respond.

Sharpen your insights. Start by getting better at spotting what qualifies as a strong insight. Dig deeper in your research, collaborate across teams, and look for patterns in culture and behavior that can unlock original creative angles.
Be ready, not just aware.Advocate for faster sign-offs and clearer guardrails so you can jump on the right moments while they’re still relevant. Know which conversations your brand has permission to join and where it should lead.
Build creative confidence.Push yourself and your team to experiment more. As you get better at reading the room and making faster calls, your confidence builds, and so does the work. That’s when big ideas start to land.

Dig into the full report by Lions.

Google Adds Reporting Tools to Performance Max

MAY 4, 2025

Google is rolling out a suite of new features to Performance Max that will make it easier to understand where your results are coming from and how to optimize across Google’s vast ad network.

Here’s what’s new in PMax reporting:

Channel-level reporting (open beta). See how each Google channel (Search, YouTube, Discover, Display, Gmail, Maps, etc.) is performing, identify top-performing platforms, and optimize spend accordingly.
Full search terms reporting. Now, you’ll get the same detailed query data available in Search campaigns. You can use this to create stronger text assets and apply negative keywords for better relevance and performance.
Expanded asset-level metrics. Track clicks, cost, impressions, and more. This will give a clearer picture of what creative is working best and where to focus your content efforts.
Channel distribution table. Get a detailed, downloadable report showing metrics by channel and ad format (e.g., Shopping, video).
New diagnostic insights. This will automatically surface performance issues, like limited reach due to weak landing pages or missing store data, with suggestions to improve.

Check out the Google Ads & Commerce blog for more.

Using The Trigger-to-Outcome Journey

APRIL 28, 2025

In brand strategy, understanding your Customer—the final C in the 3C’s (Company, Competition, Customer)—is crucial for effective positioning.

To position your brand as something customers truly want, use the Trigger-to-Outcome Journey, focusing on six key ingredients:

Buying Triggers: What events push customers to recognize a problem?
Problem: What major problem does your brand solve from the customer’s perspective?
Context: In what situations are your products used, and what do customers want to achieve in those moments?
Specific Actions: What steps do customers need to take to solve their problem?
Objections: What beliefs or doubts prevent customers from buying?
Desired Outcomes: What functional, emotional, and social results are customers seeking?

Get the full tactic from Frontera Brands.

Top Marketing Tools That Offer Nonprofit Discounts

APRIL 26, 2025

In our 2025 Subscriber Survey results, we heard frequently from marketers in the nonprofit space looking for more relevant resources.

Budget constraints are one of the biggest challenges for marketers in nonprofit organizations. But there’s good news. Many marketing tools and services offer discounted pricing for nonprofits.

Here are a few tips for finding them:

Look beyond the pricing page. We found that while most services offer nonprofit pricing, the offers aren’t always prominently featured. You might need to dig deeper into the FAQ or support pages.
Use Google to search for “[Service Name] nonprofit pricing” to locate nonprofit policies that are hiding in a brand’s support documentation.
Be prepared to provide proof of your nonprofit status. Most services will require proof of US 501(c)(3) status (in the U.S.) or comparable certification from other countries.
Know the exclusions. Be aware that each service may exclude certain types of nonprofits (such as political, religious, or healthcare nonprofits). Some offers have geographic restrictions.
Don’t be afraid to ask. If you don’t find clear documentation on a brand’s website, reach out to their customer support or sales team and ask about available discounts.

In a follow-up survey, we asked some of the sharpest nonprofit marketers in our Daily Carnage community to share their favorite tools and we’ve rounded up a list of discounts that you should know about. Check it out!

How to Advertise to Distracted Consumers

APRIL 23, 2025

Can you feel it? It’s getting even harder to capture attention and get noticed.

But a new study published in MIS Quarterly flips old assumptions on their head: distracted consumers might actually be ideal ad targets.

Researchers found that in dynamic, real-life environments—like playing a game while watching TV—people’s mental engagement can spill over, making them more likely to notice and recall pop-up ads.

This goes against traditional dual-task interference (DTI) theory, which says multitasking reduces attention. Thanks to a phenomenon called automaticity, the brain can process both a task and an interruption almost as one event.

Based on the findings, here’s how you can activate this insight:

Use low-distance environments. Deliver ads when all stimuli (content and ad) are close together, like on a single screen.
Tailor ads to the environment. Match the ad content to what the consumer is engaging with (like football-themed ads during a game).
Choose the right timing. Insert ads during less intense moments, like a replay or downtime.
Leverage repetition carefully. Show ads more than once to tap into automaticity, but avoid overdoing it.

Dig into the research at Harvard Business Review.

How to Write Helpful Error Messages

APRIL 22, 2025

Digital products focus only on “happy paths,” neglecting what happens when things go wrong.

As Amy Hupe points out, error messages are a vital but often overlooked part of UX. Poor error messages can leave users frustrated, confused, or even drive them away.

Here’s how to create better error messages:

Identify potential errors. Audit your experience for all possible failure points (e.g., form errors, 404 pages, lost connections).
Write like a human. Avoid robotic language. Imagine sitting next to the user and guiding them calmly.
Skip the whimsy. Humor can easily feel dismissive during stressful moments. Prioritize empathy and clarity.
Use active voice. Make actions and responsibilities clear, like “We couldn’t process your payment” instead of “Payment could not be processed.”
Give a clear next step. Whether users can fix the error or not, always suggest what to do next.
Be consistent. Use repeatable patterns for common errors to make guidance easier to scan and act on.

Check out Piccallili for more.

Emplifi’s 2025 Social Pulse Report

APRIL 21, 2025

According to Emplifi’s 2025 “The Social Pulse” report, nearly half of U.S. consumers made a purchase via social media in the past 90 days.

Promotional offers (60%) were the top driver, followed by active product searches (51%), visually appealing posts (35%), relatable content (28%), and humor (25%).

So, what does that mean for us?

Brands should pin offers, give early access to promotions, and use real customer reviews to build trust, especially since UGC influences 65% of shoppers versus 14% for celebrities.

And with 24% of customers abandoning brands after just one bad experience, every interaction counts.

To stay competitive: