Oct 7 2025
Search Atlas Announces New Features For Agencies via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Search Atlas held an event last week to showcase new capabilities and improvements to their SEO platform which make it easier for digital marketer to scale SEO and take on more clients.

The new features enable marketers to more easily handle on-page and off-page SEO, paid search, impact and track LLM visibility, and scale Google Business Profile management, and that’s just a sample of all the new functionalities coming to the platform.

Auto PPC Retargeting

Search Atlas introduced a new new retargeting feature in Otto PPC. This new feature is designed for agencies and advertisers that are managing paid media. It simplifies campaign setup with a quick-start wizard that enables retargeting site visitors, which they claim can be launched in under 60 seconds.

Manick Bhan, founder of Search Atlas explained:

“The hardest thing about taking paid media business from a client is doing it justice, doing a good job, right? Because every time they get a click, they’re paying for it. The best way that you can show a client ROI on paid media is through retargeting. Run a retargeting campaign, retargeting the traffic that they already have on their website.

We wanted to be able to make this easy for you, so all you have to do is enable it inside Otto PPC, and you’re able to run retargeting campaigns now. So we have a wizard set up for you — just a couple clicks and you can launch a retargeting campaign in less than 60 seconds. It’s that easy.”

GBP Galactic

Search Atlas announced a feature for digital marketers who handle Google Business Profiles for clients. The GBP Galactic feature now has Service Area Business (SAB) support. GBP Galactic offers integration with social media auto-posting to Facebook and Instagram, with plans to add more social networks soon.

Bhan explained the social network autoposting:

“We’ve learned the LLMs they want to see your information not just on your website and GBP profile, they want to see your data in the social media platforms.. So what we can do now is, one time, build our GBP posts, and publish to all social networks, which will increase your visibility in the LLMs. And instead of having to use third-party tools to do this, it will be completely integrated.”

Bhan also shared about their citation network:

“We also added support for service area businesses in our citations product, so now you can even build aggregator network citations and put yourself into the aggregator networks for your service businesses… Because normally these aggregator networks, they want an address. We figured out how to do it so we can get you in without one. Pretty cool.

…ChatGPT, Claude, all the LLMs pay for the data from all the aggregator networks. So if you want to put your local business into the aggregators, as well as into all the websites, the aggregator networks are a shortcut to being able to do that and upload directly to ChatGPT.”

LLM Visibility

Another useful feature is LLM Visibility tracking and sentiment analysis. LLM visibility is now measurable directly in Search Atlas. It also tracks brand presence across ChatGPT, Claude, and other LLMs and is able to identify visibility trends beyond Google Search.

Expanded Press Release Network

Bhan announced that Signal Genesys, a press release company they acquired last year, has expanded their distribution to financial news and with a local news media network.

Bhan commented:

“The financial news network costs a whopping $10. And then the news media network costs about $20. So these are really cost-effective, especially for agencies. If you are working with clients and you need to keep prices low for yourselves, there’s a lot of margin in there for you.

And these networks in particular we found were indexed very well in ChatGPT.”

On-Page SEO

Interesting feature launched in their Otto product is a module called Domain Knowledge Network which assists users in building topical relevance with a semantic interface, just speak instructions to it and it will analyze the brand and suggest a content topic structure.

Revamped WordPress Plugin

Their WordPress plugin has been overhauled to make it more user-friendly. It now includes one-click installation to connect WordPress directly to Search Atlas, two-way synchronization that keeps Otto data and WordPress in sync in real time, and auto-publishing that enables SEO fixes generated in Otto to be deployed directly into WordPress.

Universal CMS Integration

Search Atlas is aiming to become CMS-agnostic, able to integrate with any website regardless of the CMS for publishing blog posts and landing pages in one click through their Content Genius feature. Right now Search Atlas can work with Drupal, HubSpot, Magento, Wix, and WordPress. They are also testing to integrate with Joomla, Shopify, and Webflow. Soon they’ll be able to integrate with ClickFunnels, Contentful, Duda, Ghost, and Salesforce.

Near Future: Otto Agent

Otto Agent represents the future of Search Atlas’s agentic revolution, replacing traditional UI-driven workflows with natural-language commands. It’s currently available as a beta program. Users can speak to the platform (via text or voice) to perform SEO actions directly. Otto Agent can execute end-to-end actions: site audits, fixes, title/meta/image optimization, GBP posts, and content generation.

Spending the day listening to their presentations, it became evident that Otto Agent typified Search Atlas’s approach toward developing an SEO platform that is useful. Having come from an SEO agency background, they understand what agencies need and aren’t waiting for competitors to do things first, they’re just moving forward with features that they feel agencies will find useful.

Otto Agent is an example of that forward-looking approach because it’s built on the idea that managing SEO will become agentic, conversational, and autonomous.

I didn’t know that much about Search Atlas before attending the event but now I have a better understanding of why so many agencies embrace Search Atlas.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Digitala World

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Oct 6 2025
Are AI Tools Eliminating Jobs? Yale Study Says No via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Marketing professionals rank among the most vulnerable to AI disruption, with Indeed recently placing marketing fourth for AI exposure.

But employment data tells a different story.

New research from Yale University’s Budget Lab finds “the broader labor market has not experienced a discernible disruption since ChatGPT’s release 33 months ago,” undercutting fears of economy-wide job losses.

The gap between predicted risk and actual impact suggests “exposure” scores may not predict job displacement.

Yale notes the two measures it analyzes, OpenAI’s exposure metric and Anthropic’s usage, capture different things and correlate only weakly in practice.

Exposure Scores Don’t Match Reality

Yale researchers examined how the occupational mix changed since November 2022, comparing it to past tech shifts like computers and the early internet.

The occupational mix measures the distribution of workers across different jobs. It changes when workers switch careers, lose jobs, or enter new fields.

Jobs are changing only about one percentage point faster than during early internet adoption, according to the research:

“The recent changes appear to be on a path only about 1 percentage point higher than it was at the turn of the 21st century with the adoption of the internet.”

Sectors with high AI exposure, including Information, Financial Activities, and Professional and Business Services, show larger shifts, but “the data again suggests that the trends within these industries started before the release of ChatGPT.”

Theory vs. Practice: The Usage Gap

The research compares OpenAI’s theoretical “exposure” data with Anthropic’s real usage from Claude and finds limited alignment.

Actual usage is concentrated: “It is clear that the usage is heavily dominated by workers in Computer and Mathematical occupations,” with Arts/Design/Media also overrepresented. This illustrates why exposure scores don’t map neatly to adoption.

Employment Data Shows Stability

The team tracked unemployed workers by duration to look for signs of AI displacement. They didn’t find them.

Unemployed workers, regardless of duration, “were in occupations where about 25 to 35 percent of tasks, on average, could be performed by generative AI,” with “no clear upward trend.”

Similarly, when looking at occupation-level AI “automation/augmentation” usage, the authors summarize that these measures “show no sign of being related to changes in employment or unemployment.”

Historical Disruption Timeline

Past disruptions took years, not months. As Yale puts it:

“Historically, widespread technological disruption in workplaces tends to occur over decades, rather than months or years. Computers didn’t become commonplace in offices until nearly a decade after their release to the public, and it took even longer for them to transform office workflows.”

The researchers also stress their work is not predictive and will be updated monthly:

“Our analysis is not predictive of the future. We plan to continue monitoring these trends monthly to assess how AI’s job impacts might change.”

What This Means

A measured approach beats panic. Both Indeed and Yale emphasize that realized outcomes depend on adoption, workflow design, and reskilling, not raw exposure alone.

Early-career effects are worth watching: Yale notes “nascent evidence” of possible impacts for early-career workers, but cautions that data are limited and conclusions are premature.

Looking Ahead

Organizations should integrate AI deliberately rather than restructure reactively.

Until comprehensive, cross-platform usage data are available, employment trends remain the most reliable indicator. So far, they point to stability over transformation.

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Oct 6 2025
OpenAI Launches Apps In ChatGPT & Releases Apps SDK via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

OpenAI has launched a new app ecosystem within ChatGPT, along with a preview of the Apps SDK, enabling developers to create conversational, interactive applications based on the Model Context Protocol.

These apps are now accessible to all logged-in ChatGPT users outside the European Union, across Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans.

Early partners include Booking.com, Canva, Coursera, Expedia, Figma, Spotify, and Zillow.

How ChatGPT Apps Work

Apps naturally integrate into conversation, and you can activate them by name, such as saying, “Spotify, make a playlist for my party this Friday.’

When using an app for the first time, ChatGPT prompts you to connect and clarifies what data might be shared. For example, OpenAI demonstrates ChatGPT suggesting the Zillow app during a home-buying discussion, allowing you to browse listings on an interactive map without leaving the chat.

John Weisberg, Head of AI at Zillow, said:

“The Zillow app in ChatGPT shows the power of AI to make real estate feel more human. Together with OpenAI, we’re bringing a first-of-its-kind experience to millions — a conversational guide that makes finding a home faster, easier, and more intuitive.”

Developer Opportunities & Reach

OpenAI positions the Apps SDK as a way to “reach over 800 million ChatGPT users at just the right time.”

The SDK is open source and built on MCP, allowing developers to create their own chat logic and custom interfaces. You can also connect to your own backends for login and premium features, and easily test everything through Developer Mode in ChatGPT.

OpenAI has provided detailed documentation, design guidelines, and example apps to support developers.

Submission & Monetization

Developers can begin building immediately. OpenAI has announced that formal app submissions, reviews, and publication will commence later this year, along with a directory for browsing and searching apps.

Additionally, the company plans to disclose monetization details, including support for the Agentic Commerce Protocol, which enables instant checkout within ChatGPT.

Safety & Privacy

All apps must follow OpenAI’s policies, be audience-appropriate, and have clear third-party rules. Developers should provide privacy policies, collect only necessary data, and be transparent about permissions.

OpenAI’s draft guidelines also require apps to be purposeful, avoid misleading designs, and manage errors effectively. Submissions must demonstrate stability, responsiveness, and low latency; apps that crash or hang will be rejected.

Rollout & Availability

Today’s rollout does not include EU users, but OpenAI has announced plans to introduce these apps to that region soon.

Additionally, eleven more partner apps are scheduled for release later this year. OpenAI also intends to expand app availability to ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, and Education plans.

Looking Ahead

Apps that appear within AI-led conversations could transform the way services are found and accessed.

Instead of relying on traditional rankings or app-store positions, visibility might be driven more by conversational relevance and demonstrated value within the chat.

Teams responsible for app functionality should think about how users will naturally request these services and identify the key moments when ChatGPT is likely to recommend them.

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Oct 6 2025
YouTube View Drops Likely Tied To Ad-Block List Change via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Creators have reported view declines on YouTube since mid-August.

YouTube’s official Liaison account says the change wasn’t on YouTube’s side and points to a widely shared explanation on X: an ad-blocking list update that interferes with how views are logged.

What YouTube Has Said

Responding to creators, YouTube’s Creator Liaison wrote:

“The change wasn’t on YouTube’s side… this is the most common explanation I’ve personally seen.”

The post links to an analysis that attributes the decline to the EasyPrivacy update. YouTube hasn’t announced any separate product or policy changes related to view counting.

What Changed

Tech creator ThioJoe highlighted an EasyPrivacy update that added a rule blocking the request youtube.com/api/stats/atr.

The thread argues that blocking this request may prevent the player from sending the data YouTube uses to log a view.

The EasyPrivacy commit shows the single-line addition in easyprivacy_specific.txt for ||youtube.com/api/stats/atr.

EasyPrivacy is a community-maintained filter list developed by the EasyList project. Ad blockers use these lists to determine which network requests to block. EasyPrivacy specifically targets tracking requests like analytics and behavioral beacons to help reduce data collection.

Several popular ad blockers, such as uBlock Origin Lite, include EasyPrivacy as part of their default or recommended list of filters.

Why This Affects YouTube Views

When a YouTube video plays, the player sends small background requests to log what happened. Think of them as receipts that say a playback started or progressed.

The thread at the center of this discussion points to one of those requests, …/api/stats/atr, as being blocked by the EasyPrivacy change.

If that request is blocked, a playback may not be recorded as a view in analytics even though the video still loaded for the viewer.

What Creators Reported

Posts discussing the issue indicate that the timing of the drops coincides with the EasyPrivacy change, and the rule was incorporated into uBlock Origin Lite shortly afterward, according to posts in the same thread.

These posts also note that the impact is most noticeable on desktop, where browser extensions are more common, while mobile app viewing seems less affected. Some creators have mentioned that their RPM remained relatively stable despite a decrease in raw views, and their like-to-view ratios increased because likes still count even when some views do not.

These insights come from public threads and are not official platform-wide metrics from YouTube.

Why This Matters

If you noticed unexplained drops starting mid-August, some of the decline might be due to ad-blocked sessions rather than a change in audience interest or YouTube policies.

For reporting and planning, compare trends on desktop and mobile, review revenue and watch-time alongside view counts, and note the affected period for teams and clients.

The key takeaway is that updates to third-party filter lists can influence your analytics data even if the platform itself remains unchanged.

Featured Image: miss.cabul/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Oct 6 2025
Builderius Brings AI-Assisted GraphQL Development To WordPress via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Builderius WordPress website builder announced the ability to develop sites using GraphQL together with AI. The new functionality enables developers to use the power of GraphQL with the assistance of AI.

Why GraphQL

GraphQL can be a more efficient way to fetch data than traditional approaches in WordPress, using visual query builders, PHP, or REST API. It enables websites, or in this case Builderius, a visual builder for WordPress, to fetch only the specific data they need in one request, reducing the inefficiencies of how dynamic data is typically fetched within WordPress. Unlike the WordPress REST API, which delivers fixed sets of data from multiple endpoints, GraphQL gives developers more control and efficiency by returning exactly what’s asked for in a single query.

AI-Assisted Learning Setup

Builderius provides schema documentation and setup instructions that enable AI tools (like Claude or ChatGPT) to function as teaching assistants for learning GraphQL. Users are able to learn GraphQL through step-by-step project work as the AI guides them, explaining, structuring, and improving queries. This approach helps users learn GraphQL concepts while applying them in actual WordPress projects, supporting both productivity and ongoing learning.

Builderius is providing schema documentation and configuration guides that enable AI tools to act as interactive learning partners for getting started using GraphQL within Builderius. Instead of merely generating code, the AI integration helps users understand the structure and reasoning behind queries, enabling them to apply GraphQL concepts effectively in real development work. This approach blends hands-on learning with practical application, helping developers become proficient while building dynamic WordPress sites.

According to Builderius:

“Once configured, you can simply start new conversations by asking what you want to build. The AI will remember its role and your learning progression across all chats in the project.

…Your AI will explain the relationship between built-in WordPress queries, custom GraphQL queries, and dynamic data tags. You’ll understand how data flows from your queries into your visual layouts, with concrete examples.”

Read more at Builderius:

Master GraphQL by Building: AI as Your WordPress Development Partner

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Jozsef Bagota

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Oct 3 2025
Microsoft Launches New Bing Places For Business via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Microsoft has rolled out a redesigned Bing Places for Business platform, moving business listing management to bing.com/forbusiness and introducing a new recommendation tool with streamlined import workflows.

The platform lets businesses create and manage listings across Bing Search and Bing Maps at no cost. Consolidating the experience under the Bing.com domain is meant to make the product easier to find and use.

Why Did Microsoft Rebuild It?

Microsoft says the redesign follows months of research with business owners who reported difficulty discovering the product, navigating the interface, and importing locations at scale.

Microsoft wrote:

“Before we wrote a single line of code, we spent months listening to business owners about their challenges and goals.”

Here’s what Microsoft added after those discussions.

What’s New?

Improved Google Business Profile Import

For multi-location brands and agencies, Microsoft has overhauled the Google import flow.

The update aims to preserve key attributes, such as names, hours, and contact details, while also introducing more efficient management features, including dashboards, bulk editing, and real-time status updates.

Recommendation Tool

A new Recommendation Tool evaluates listing health and suggests specific additions, such as photos, website and social links, hours, and category-specific items. For restaurants, that can include menu links or online ordering.

The feature is designed to help owners who may be newer to local SEO prioritize high-impact fields.

Automatic Migration

Current Bing Places users and their listings are being migrated automatically. Logging in with existing credentials redirects to the new experience.

What’s Next

Microsoft says more updates will roll out in the coming months, including deeper integrations with Bing Maps and Copilot and expanded support for agencies and partners.

Why This Matters

A Bing Places profile can appear in Bing search results and on Bing Maps. That includes the map results and the place page people see when they click through for directions, call, or website info.

Claiming and keeping your listing up to date helps Microsoft show accurate location, hours, and contact details across Bing’s local results and Maps. In short, you control what customers see when they find you on Bing.

The improved Google import process simplifies keeping your Bing listing in step with your Google Business Profile.

Availability

The new Bing Places for Business is live at bing.com/forbusiness.

Featured Image: PixieMe/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Oct 3 2025
New Report Reveals An 8% Mobile Landing Page Conversion Gap via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

A report from Unbounce shows that unoptimized mobile landing pages are costly, finding 83% of visits come from mobile devices, yet desktop pages convert 8% better.

Based on over 57 million conversions and 41,000 pages, the study highlights the need for the industry to adapt as mobile traffic increases but underperforms.

Highlights From The Report

Mobile Optimization: The Overlooked Priority

Unbounce’s Conversion Benchmark Report has a clear message:

“If you’re still building your landing pages for desktop first, with the mobile version being just a quick box to check before publishing, chances are you’re missing out big time.”

While mobile accounted for the vast majority of landing page visits, desktop pages outperformed by a notable margin.

The report asserts:

“An 8% gap in conversion rates is significant, but it gets even worse when you look at the number of conversions lost. If all industries optimized their pages, we might have reported over 1.3 million more conversions.”

Industry-Wide Benchmarks

Unbounce’s research indicates that the median conversion rate across all industries is 6.6 percent, with specific verticals varying from 3.8 percent to 12.3 percent.

Marketers can use this benchmark as a reference point, the report notes:

“Higher than the median? Your page is converting better than most. Lower than the median? Your page is converting worse than most.”

It warns that benchmarks only measure how often conversions happen, not their value or quality. This is especially important for campaigns aimed at high-value leads or sales, where just the raw conversion rate might not provide the full picture.

Simple Copy Converts

The research highlights that simpler language on landing pages tends to perform better.

Pages written at a 5th to 7th grade level see an 11 percent conversion rate, which is 56 percent higher than pages at an 8th to 9th grade level, and more than twice as effective as professional-level writing.

Unbounce warns:

“There’s a high likelihood that your conversion rate will drop as you add more difficult words to the page.”

Complex words with three or more syllables have a negative impact, showing a 24.3 percent decrease in connection with conversion rates.

As Unbounce puts it:

“Simple copy converts.”

Email & Paid Social Lead

Analyzing conversion performance across paid and organic channels, the report reveals that email is the top performer with an average conversion rate of 19.3 percent.

Paid social platforms such as Instagram (17.9 percent) and Facebook (13 percent) also perform well, surpassing paid search channels like Google Ads.

Why This Matters

As digital marketing evolves to prioritize mobile users and attention spans become shorter, maintaining fresh and optimized landing pages is key to ensuring your campaigns succeed.

These findings align with industry trends toward minimal UX, more A/B testing, and re-evaluating marketing channels.

Looking Ahead

Unbounce’s study serves as a reminder to examine landing pages more closely, particularly on mobile devices, and benchmark results against industry standards.

The full report provides practical advice, including optimizing for various devices, simplifying landing page messaging, and implementing A/B testing. Acting on these insights could help recover lost conversions.

Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Oct 2 2025
Perplexity Launches Comet Browser For Free Worldwide via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Perplexity released its Comet browser to everyone today, shifting from a waitlist to free desktop downloads worldwide.

Comet bakes an AI assistant into every new tab so you can ask questions, summarize pages, and navigate without jumping between search results and multiple tools.

Perplexity first introduced Comet in July in a limited release. Since then, the company says “millions” have joined the waitlist, and early users asked 6–18 times more questions on day one.

The move poses a challenge to traditional search engines and browsers by adopting an AI-first approach to web navigation, which reduces the need for multiple searches and the management of numerous tabs.

What Makes Comet Different

At the core of Comet’s functionality is the Comet Assistant, an AI-powered helper that browses alongside users and handles tasks such as research, meeting support, coding assistance, and e-commerce activities.

The assistant appears in every new tab, ready to answer questions or complete actions without requiring users to navigate away from their current workflow.

Unlike traditional browsers where users must open a separate search engine, copy information between tabs, or use multiple tools, Comet integrates assistance directly into the browsing experience. You can ask questions in natural language, and the assistant provides answers drawn from web sources.

Background Assistants

Perplexity also announced Background Assistants today. These assistants work simultaneously and asynchronously in the background, handling tasks without requiring active user supervision.

The Background Assistants join the recently announced Email Assistant, currently available to Max Subscribers. The Email Assistant can be cc’d on email threads to handle scheduling, draft replies, and manage inbox tasks without opening a separate application.

Mobile & Voice Coming Soon

While Comet has been desktop-only since its July launch, Perplexity recently previewed mobile versions for iPhone and Android.

The mobile version will include voice technology, allowing users to interact with Comet assistants through speech rather than typing.

Availability

Comet is now available for free download at perplexity.ai/comet for desktop users.

For tips on using the browser, see Perplexity’s resource hub.

Featured Image: Sidney van den Boogaard/Shutterstock

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Oct 2 2025
W3C Rolls Out A New Evocative Logo via @sejournal, @martinibuster

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) unveiled a new logo for the organization that is designed to transcend one language family and expresses abstract qualities like timelessness and reliability. The result is an abstract logo in the familiar blue and white colors, purposely designed to be evocative, to suggest but not concretely explain.

This evocative way of communication is called polysemy, where something can represent multiple related things, depending on the viewers personal experience and subjective interpretation. It’s a valid design choice for an organization that extends around the world and involves people with diverse backgrounds.

Transcending Language Family

The previous W3C logo emphasized the letters and numbers W3C. That works for English users but probably less so for users who speak other languages, especially those who use other kinds of letter scripts, and for people who are oriented to RTL (right-to-left) spelling.

The goal of creating a logo with a “style that transcends a single language family” makes sense for a global organization.

The W3C explains:

“We moved from using distinct letters and numerals in the logo to creating an abstract symbol to represent W3C. We chose a forward-looking style that transcends a single language family. This approach emphasizes W3C’s worldwide connection.”

What Does The Logo Symbol Mean?

What the symbol means requires multiple mixed metaphors. The explanation is that the circle depicts unity and forward motion. The symbol within the circle is a coil, which they explain is openly evocative of many things like a wave, a hand, or DNA. They also say that part of the coil is evocative of a heart.

Screenshot Of New W3C Logo

They essentially chose a symbol that does not represent anything but is evocative of whatever the individual sees in it.

Here’s how it’s explained:

“This circle depicts unity, constant motion, and moving forward. The symbol is a coil, inspired by the concepts of completion and progress reflected in our work. To some, the coil evokes waves — to others, a hand, or the spiral structure of a DNA helix. It has a curl that resembles a heart. This imagery communicates that W3C is the ‘DNA at the heart of the web’.”

W3C Video About The Logo

There is a video that accompanies the logo that helps explain how the logo reflects the mission of the W3C as a global non-profit entity that champions ideals of accessibility, internationalization and so on. Like the logo, it expresses ideas in the form of concepts, expressed in a poetic style.

Part of it explains:

From the very beginning, from a single dot to a complex system, we are open, we are human, we are innovative, we are inclusive, we are for you, we are for everyone.
We champion accessibility.  We champion internationalization.  We champion privacy. We champion security.”

What do you think? Does the new logo work for you?

Read more about the new logo at the W3C:
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) adopts a new logo to signal positive changes

Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments