Your website isn’t just a brochure

We recognise the common misconception that a website is that it doesn’t need to be frequently updated with content in order to deliver for the audience. However, that’s just untrue. Yes, a business’s website should absolutely include information regarding the services or products they sell, but it also needs to offer value beyond that.

A website needs to serve its users but also evolve with them in order to retain them. This can be through taking part in trends, creating content optimised for search engines, to add additional value and keep customers returning.

Fresh Content Signals to Google That Your Site Is Active

Search engines tend to favour websites that are regularly updated with fresh and valuable content. Google, for instance, will actually have a preference in how ‘fresh’ content is, depending on how timely the subject matter being handled is. A few examples of timely content include news articles, studies and trends.

This is a consideration that needs to be made when creating content. Having an appreciation for Google’s tendency to favour fresher content for its results, allows you to better strategies how to keep content fresh. If your competitor updates their blog monthly and you haven’t touched your site in 2 years, guess whose site gets crawled more often?

Updated Content Builds Trust with Visitors

It’s apparent when content is dated, whether that’s due to price changes that aren’t reflected in the content, or specific times are included in the content that date it.

Fresh content reinforces the impression that the reader gets, which is that it’s professional, demonstrating an attention to detail, and that your content is relevant. This is especially important in industries like beauty, healthcare, and dentistry, where trust and credibility are key.

Your customer’s questions and concerns will always evolve, which creates an opportunity to constantly make new, useful and fresh content that builds trust with the audience. So even if your services stay the same, your customers’ needs and search habits shift.

There are a handful of instances where content will need to be updated, some examples of this include changing regulations in various industries, any aftercare advice, or seasonal new treatments and industry trends.

Blogging Isn’t Just for SEO — It Shows You’re an Expert

Whilst blogging does serve your business’s SEO needs, it should also showcase your business’s understanding and expertise. Tap into this, create content that demonstrates that level of expertise, whether that’s giving a behind-the-scenes look into a process, sharing case studies, or partaking in client interviews.

Having an active website can do a lot of work for your business; having a dormant site can negatively impact performance and your audience’s trust. Need help identifying where your site content could use a refresh? Let’s review it together!

Google has confirmed that performance data from its new AI Mode will appear in Search Console soon. However, you won’t be able to isolate that data to understand how AI Mode is performing on its own.

What is AI Mode?

AI Mode is part of Google’s growing use of generative AI in search results. Instead of showing traditional blue links right away, AI Mode generates a full answer using AI -pulling together information from various websites.

This can appear as a block of text with links, products, or suggestions before standard search results. It’s designed to give users a fast, direct summary or response and it’s a major shift from how search has worked in the past.

AI Mode was initially tested in Google Labs and has now been rolled out more widely in the US.

What’s happening?

When AI Mode first launched in Google Labs earlier this year, it wasn’t included in Search Console reports. Now that it’s out of Labs, Google plans to include it – but you won’t be able to separate AI Mode traffic from standard search traffic.

Just like with AI Overviews, all data will be lumped into the “Web” search type in your Search Console Performance reports.

What Google has said

Google’s John Mueller confirmed that:

• AI Mode reporting is planned for Search Console
• It will appear as part of the existing “Web” search traffic
• There are no plans for a separate reporting view or API changes

The updated Google help document also confirms that sites appearing in AI Mode and AI Overviews are included in general search performance, not as separate categories.

What about bugs?

There was a bug that initially made AI Mode untrackable, but Google has confirmed this issue was fixed on May 28th. That said, you still won’t be able to isolate or analyse that data separately in your reports.

What about ads?

Google is now testing ads inside AI Mode and AI Overviews. However, advertisers won’t be able to see ad performance data broken out by these AI features. This limits the ability to understand how ads are performing in these new environments.

Despite the emphasis on transparency during Google Marketing Live, this is a clear gap.

Why is AI Mode important for marketers?

AI Mode is expected to reshape how users interact with search results. Instead of browsing multiple websites, users may get what they need from the AI-generated summary – potentially reducing clicks to individual sites.

This matters for both SEO and paid media:

• Organic traffic might drop if AI summaries reduce the need to click
• Featured brands in AI Mode could see a rise in visibility
• Without clear data, it’s hard to optimise for AI-driven search
• Paid media performance is difficult to attribute or assess in this format

In short, AI Mode may change how users engage with your content — but you won’t have the data to adapt your strategy effectively.

Why this matters

AI Mode could significantly shape how people search and how your brand appears in results. But for now, you can’t track AI Mode traffic separately, whether it’s for organic results or paid ads. This makes it harder for digital marketers to:

• Understand where traffic is coming from
• Optimise for AI-generated answers
• Track ad performance in new search formats

What can marketers do?

Unfortunately, not much – yet. While Google may add more reporting in the future, there’s no timeline. For now, all you can do is:

• Keep an eye on general traffic changes in Search Console
• Combine Search Console with Google Analytics to spot shifts
• Continue to give feedback to Google

Many in the industry are pushing for better visibility, but we’re unlikely to see big changes soon.

What are AI Overviews

AI Overviews are AI-generated answers on Google’s search engine results page (SERP) that answer consumer queries. This is beneficial to users because it gives a comprehensive answer to queries by pulling information from all the most reliable sources on the web, meaning users no longer have to click through on to web pages and saving the end user time.

How do AI Overviews affect Website Performance

Since the introduction of AI Overviews, many websites have seen a reduction in traffic on their sites as users can now get their answers directly on the SERP. We can see this in Marisa Jones’ article for EMarketer, “Google AI Overviews in search results significantly decrease clickthrough rates (CTRs) for top ranking pages compared to similar informational keywords without AI Overviews. The presence of an AI Overview in search results correlated with a 34.5% lower average CTR.”

This is currently mainly affecting sites that are ranking for informational and question-based searches, as AI Overviews aren’t being used for searches where users are actively looking to buy something.

Googles Latest Comments

Despite the fact that AI Overviews are affecting CTR to sites, Google has claimed this week that AI Overviews generate the same amount of advertising revenue as traditional search. This may come as a surprise to many who have seen a decline in traffic since the introduction of AI Overviews however, Google is expanding AI Overview advertising with ads being integrated in or near AI overviews on a global scale.

Why should Marketers care?

If Google continues to take the position that AI Overviews are not detrimental to PPC advertising and CTRs continue to drop, then this could be a negative for marketers trying to rank for certain informational queries. A good way to try and combat this is to try and rank for non-informational queries where AI Overviews aren’t currently being used, especially when spending advertising budget.

Quality content doesn’t have to be mystified to those who aren’t writers or marketers; the aspects of what makes quality content can make assessing ‘great’ content simpler.

Here are the key aspects of writing strong copy:

Tone: Is how you choose to represent your brand’s point of view or attitude towards a subject. This can be done through the choice of language, the style used, or the way the sentences are structured.

Clarity: The content needs to be clear for the reader to understand, so make it clear and concise.

Brand Alignment: The Content you create should always align with your brand, and make sure the content is relevant to your business. The best way to make sure the content is aligned is to create content that pertains to the subject or service you offer.

The Perfect Content Checklist

1.      Purpose: Does This Content Serve a Clear Goal?

Any content you produce needs to have an objective to it, whether that’s to increase traffic, convert, educate, inspire, or reassure (this would be relevant to medical copy, for instance).

Ensure the call to action you use is aligned with the content’s purpose, so, for example, you’re creating a blog about the effects of a specific product or treatment, you’ll then want to use the call to action promoting the product to encourage sales.

2.      Audience Fit: Is It Written with the Right Reader in Mind?

You need to write to your audience’s needs, fix their problems and answer their questions. Formatting your content with the search queries in mind allows you to better target keywords.

Write to the level of your customer’s awareness around the subject matter, which includes cutting out jargon or any overly complex language.

3.      Clarity: Is the Message Easy to Understand?

Keep the content easy to read through short sentences and use language that isn’t complicated. Keep the formatting clear with headings, bullet points where needed, and utilising paragraphs to create a readable structure.

Pro tip: Can someone skim and still understand the key points?

4.      Structure: Is It Easy to Navigate and Digest?

Any copy needs to have a clear structure to it, and start with your introduction to the subject, introducing the problem or subject. The body will then contain the value, so any solutions or information around a particular subject will be covered in this section. In the conclusion, you’ll summarise the discussion with a CTA. The call to action should have purpose and help you achieve the objective of the content, whether that’s to convert leads or to encourage engagement. 

Make sure that your content is clearly labelled too, utilising sub-headings to section out content. Subheadings are particularly important for making your content easy to scan when reading.

5.      Value: Does It Say Something Useful or New?

Your content needs to provide some value to the reader, whether that’s introducing a new perspective or offering more insight. You can provide more insight utilising data, graphics, video assets or by utilising a different format type, like using audio instead.

6.      Accuracy & Trust: Can This Content Be Taken Seriously?

Make sure the information you provide is factual; the last thing you want is to be creating content containing misleading information. Inaccurate content is not only penalised by Google, but it also demonstrates a lack of understanding to the reader.

Authority is built on the foundation of assurance that the information your website provides is accurate and authentic. Make sure any old statistics are kept up to date to keep your content continuously relevant.

Another aspect of building trust is by garnering a portfolio of positive reviews, quotes, testimonials, case studies and awards.

7.      SEO Essentials: Is It Findable Online?

Another way to assess if content is ‘good’ is whether it includes the keywords that are going to help you rank for a specific subject. Optimising your page title, meta description, and H1 tag will be particularly useful for ranking on the search engine.

Incorporate any internal links where you can, whether that’s leading to a product/ service page or redirecting to other similar content.

Having a checklist can help you, a non-copywriter, sign off on content with ease, by being able to understand the direction and intent of the content produced. Want content that ticks every box? We’ll help you build a library you’re proud of.

Meta, the company behind Instagram and Facebook, has introduced expanded parental controls across both platforms in a bid to make the online experience safer for teenagers. These new features are designed to give parents more visibility and control over their children’s social media activity, while also helping teens form healthier digital habits. Originally launched on Instagram, these tools are now being extended to Facebook and Messenger.

Stronger Controls for Safer Sharing

One of the most significant changes is that teens under the age of 16 will now need parental approval before they can go live or disable automatic filters that blur potentially explicit images in messages. This aims to reduce exposure to harmful or inappropriate content while giving parents a say in what their children can access or share. In addition, all teen accounts will continue to be set to private by default, meaning their content is only visible to approved followers, offering another layer of protection.

Helping Teens Manage Screen Time

Recognising the growing concern around screen addiction and its impact on mental health, Meta is introducing new features to encourage more mindful use of social media. Teens will now receive prompts to take breaks if they’ve been scrolling for extended periods, and notifications will be automatically muted during sleep hours. These features are designed not just to limit screen time, but to foster better habits around how and when young people engage with social platforms.

More Transparency for Parents

To support parental involvement, Meta has updated its supervision tools to allow caregivers to monitor who their teens follow and interact with and even set daily time limits for usage. These updates are part of a wider initiative by Meta to address mounting criticism over teen safety on its platforms. For marketers and business owners, it’s a clear signal that user wellbeing, especially among younger audiences, is becoming a critical part of platform design and brand trust.

Since the introduction of AI, the way marketers automate their workflows has changed forever. AI can improve productivity, problem-solving solving and even creativity with industry tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini leading the way in the new age of AI. SEOs can use these latest developments in AI technology to help with time-consuming tasks such as On Page SEO, Technical Audits and Competitor Research.

How has AI impacted SEO?

AI has impacted real-time results with SEO as website links are now getting pushed further down the search engine results page (SERP) for AI-generated responses.

This makes it more important than ever to be ahead of the curve on SEO and stand out from competitors, and the SERP is more competitive than ever. Using AI to your advantage to automate tasks i,s therefore a crucial component of appearing high up in search engine rankings in today’s digital age.

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is the process of optimising elements of a web page to improve its performance on search engines. AI can help users with on-page SEO, including allowing users to answer any content-related questions to inform them about the content. Written content can also be optimised and summarised with the help of AI. Finally, AI can analyse web pages given a summary of any improvements that can be made in order to enhance a web page.

Technical Audits

A technical audit is a comprehensive review of a site’s SEO capabilities, including site speed, site errors, image optimisation, title, descriptions and more. AI can be used for technical audits, for example,e creating any title tags and meta descriptions in bulk to specification, helping you understand any site speed issues. As well as explaining how to fix technical issues that may be complex or that you have not encountered before, as can be seen below.

Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis is also another SEO task that can be automated by recent advances in AI technology. These tasks are often time-consuming as multiple websites need to be analysed to make informed decisions on the strengths and weaknesses of competitors. AI tools can analyse the content on websites in a matter of seconds and help users to make quicker decisions on on-page tactics, as well as analyse keywords and content gaps.

AI is here to stay and can be used to automate a number of SEO tasks. The sooner SEOs get to grips with advances in AI the better, as they will be at risk of being left behind by their competitors if they fail to keep up with the latest advancements in AI technology.

Google’s new AI Mode is now live for all users in the U.S. – no special opt-in required. Originally available only through Search Labs (a kind of testing ground for experimental features), it’s now a standard part of Google Search. You’ll find it in a new AI Mode tab just under the search bar on Google.com and in the Google app.

What is AI Mode?

AI Mode is Google’s next step in enhancing how people search. Instead of giving you a list of links, it can break down your query, run multiple related searches in the background, and deliver an in-depth, fully cited response – more like a report than a typical search result. Google says these AI-powered searches are often two to five times longer than standard ones.

New features included in AI Mode

Google has added several powerful tools to AI Mode, some of which are still in beta under Search Labs:

• Deep Search: Offers long-form, research-style answers to complex queries. It automatically pulls together information from hundreds of sources and presents it with citations. Great for marketers researching trends, audiences, or new industries.
• Complex Analysis & Data Visualization: Rolling out soon, this feature uses real-time data to create dynamic charts and visual summaries—especially useful for financial or sports-related searches. You’ll need to opt into this via Search Labs.
• Agent Support (Agentic AI): Google is starting to introduce task-completing agents in AI Mode. For example, if you search for event tickets, it can compare prices and availability across multiple websites and even help pre-fill booking forms—without completing any transactions unless you choose to.
• Shopping Enhancements: AI Mode will soon help with product discovery and checkout by suggesting options based on live availability and pricing.
• Personalised Context: Later this summer, AI Mode will be able to draw from your personal Google services (like Gmail) to tailor results. If you search for “restaurants in Halifax this weekend,” for example, it could suggest places near your hotel or taxi arrival, assuming it can access your relevant bookings. You’ll be able to turn this feature on or off.
• Gemini 2.5: AI Mode is now powered by a custom version of Google’s Gemini 2.5 model, the same technology behind its AI Overviews. This upgrade improves the accuracy, speed, and depth of AI responses.

Why this matters for digital marketers

This is a major shift in how search works. While traditional organic results still matter, AI Mode adds a new layer where Google can summarise content and direct users more efficiently.

Marketers will need to consider:

• Visibility: How do your brand and content appear in AI responses?
• Click-through potential: Will users still click through to your site from these summaries?
• Conversion tracking: Google claims that users who do click through from AI Mode are more engaged and likely to convert. You’ll want to verify that with your own data.

AI Mode might also offer a better experience than the much-criticised AI Overviews, since it’s housed in a separate tab rather than embedded in traditional search results. That gives users more control and clarity.

What’s next?

With AI Mode now live across the U.S., expect more changes to follow. For marketers, it’s a good time to start testing how your content is being handled in AI Mode and see whether it drives traffic and conversions.

Leveraging your commonly asked questions from patients into rich SEO-friendly posts can help funnel in new patients to your practice. One thing we know about ourselves is as patients, we almost always turn to Google to answer our medical/ dental queries.

Whilst yes, your content is there to provide your reader with valuable and accurate information, it also creates a wider opportunity for your business to create content. This applies to long-term content creation, as each question can be made into its own piece of content.

Why FAQ’s are a brilliant marketing asset

FAQ’s can add value to your website, for instance, they’re crafted around your patients’ real concerns, so you can rest assured knowing the information has value for the reader.

This type of content, in particular, contributes towards the trust you build with your audience. This then impacts the level of authority your dental practice has, which impacts rankings on the search engine results page.

This type of content works particularly well for incorporating long-tailed search queries, allowing you to target both primary and secondary keywords. This has an overall positive impact on your SEO efforts, as you’ll be creating content that is more likely to be relevant to what your audience is looking for.

How to source real dental FAQ’s

You can gather material for your FAQ’s using a few different methods. We recommend:

• Using patient interactions (in-person or phone).
• Reception staff’s most commonly asked questions.
• Utilising your social channels, if people ask questions in the comments or in direct messages.
• Google autocomplete can be a handy tool for finding new FAQ’s
• Competitor sites
• Online reviews

The process of creating content from an FAQ

 Structure a Simple Outline

Write your introduction to the topic first, you can do this by acknowledging any concerns the question might address. This typically includes a section defining the issue. You can do this by titling your sub-heading ‘What is *Insert your FAQ topic here*?’.

Then, in your main body of text, you can include information that provides value to the reader. This might include how to treat/fix the issue, as well as what might cause the issue in the first place.

Add value to your content by linking back to treatment pages, or your book a consultation page. Link building will also positively contribute to your search engine optimisation efforts.

Complete your content with a call to action, whether that’s encouraging potential patients to join your dental practice or spurring the patient to book an immediate appointment. Your content should always look to generate leads and nurture the existing audience you have.

Top tip – Avoid using jargon in your copy, stick to using terminology that most people would know. Utilise patient-friendly language too, don’t fear-monger or exaggerate, medical copy should always be factual.

At Google Marketing Live 2025, Google unveiled Smart Bidding Exploration, an AI-driven enhancement to its automated bidding platform. This new feature aims to help advertisers capture more conversions by expanding the range of search queries their campaigns can target. By introducing greater flexibility in return-on-ad-spend (ROAS) goals, it empowers marketers to reach potential customers earlier in their journey without sacrificing performance.

Broader Targeting for Early-Stage Customer Intent

Traditionally, Smart Bidding strategies focus on highly specific, high-intent searches such as “mortgage rates” or “best running shoes.” While effective, this approach can overlook broader, exploratory queries like “how to buy a home” or “top sneakers for beginners.” Smart Bidding Exploration addresses this gap by allowing more flexible ROAS targets that enable campaigns to tap into these earlier-stage search intents. This helps marketers attract a wider audience and uncover new demand without needing to overhaul their existing strategies.

Enhanced AI-Driven Discovery

Built on Google’s advanced AI technology, including AI Max, Smart Bidding Exploration actively identifies valuable but previously underutilised search queries. This enables campaigns to expand reach while maintaining efficiency dynamically. Early internal data from Google shows promising results, with an 18% increase in unique converting search categories and a 19% lift in total conversions during the test period.

Implications for Advertisers

This update reflects Google’s ongoing commitment to AI-powered automation in digital advertising. Advertisers can optimise performance by leveraging machine learning to explore new opportunities while reducing manual targeting efforts. For digital marketers, Smart Bidding Exploration represents a significant step toward smarter, more adaptive campaign management that balances growth and efficiency.

Stay Ahead by Monitoring Google Updates

As Google continues to evolve its advertising tools, marketers must stay informed and monitor these changes closely. Regularly reviewing campaign performance and adapting strategies accordingly will ensure you’re maximising the benefits of new features like Smart Bidding Exploration and maintaining the best possible results.

Meta (the company behind Facebook and Instagram) is facing serious backlash in Europe over its plans to use users’ old posts and comments to train its artificial intelligence (AI) tools. A leading privacy group says this move may break EU data protection laws—and could cost Meta billions. At the heart of the debate is a simple but powerful question: Should companies be allowed to use your data without asking first?

What is GDPR and Why Does It Matter?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a law that protects the privacy of everyone in the European Union. It gives people control over how companies use their personal data. Under GDPR, businesses must clearly explain what data they’re collecting and why—and in most cases, they must ask for your permission first.

Meta plans to use up to 20 years of Facebook and Instagram content, from all EU users, for AI training. But instead of asking people to opt in, they’re asking users to opt out, which puts the burden on the individual. Privacy experts say this is exactly the kind of thing GDPR was designed to stop.

The Legal Challenge

The privacy group noyb (short for “None of Your Business”) argues that Meta’s plan is illegal. They say Meta’s justification—that it has a “legitimate interest” in using the data—has already been rejected by European courts in similar cases about advertising.

Noyb has sent Meta a legal warning and is preparing for court action if the company doesn’t change course. They also suggest a class-action lawsuit could be launched, with potential damages of more than €200 billion.

Why This Matters to You

Even if you think you’ve got nothing to hide, GDPR is about your right to choose. Big tech companies shouldn’t be able to decide what happens to your data behind closed doors. This case is a reminder of how important data protection laws are in an AI-powered world—and how easily they can be challenged. AI Plans Are Stirring Up a Major Privacy Battle in Europe