Mariana Costa

Old SEO was about beating algorithms. New SEO is about earning trust. And if you're still optimizing for 2019, you're already behind. Here's what changed: Old SEO = Visibility → Race to page one → Win with keywords and backlinks → Traffic was the victory metric New SEO = Credibility → Be cited across platforms (Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity) → Win with authority and structure → Trust is the victory metric The implications for growth teams: 1. Content isn't just for Google anymore → GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) - be the source AI cites → AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) - own the zero-click results → AIO (AI Integration Optimization) - get known by the model itself 2. Discovery happens everywhere now → Reddit, Quora, niche communities → AI summaries and recommendations → Search is just one touchpoint 3. The funnel changed → Old: Rank → Click → Convert → New: Get cited → Build trust → Get chosen This isn't a marketing problem. It's a growth systems problem. Because when discovery fragments across platforms, you need: → Unified measurement (not just Google Analytics) → Authority-first content (not just keyword-first) → Multi-platform presence (not just your website) The companies that win in New SEO won't just rank. They'll be the answer AI gives when someone asks. That's the shift. Big thanks to Chris Donnelly for the breakdown. * * * 📈 I talk about the mechanics of turning visibility into growth. Follow me, David Manela, for more.

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A common reason advertisers get lost comparing Meta Ads and Google Ads is that their attribution models are fundamentally different. Here’s the breakdown: Meta Ads - Click-through attribution can be set to 1, 7, or 30 days. - View-through attribution is capped at 1 day. - Default: 7-day click + 1-day view. - Meta also counts engaged views (e.g. someone watches 10+ seconds of a video and later converts). Google Ads - Click-through attribution defaults to 30 days, and can extend to 90 days. - View-through applies to Display and YouTube, but the rules are not the same as Meta’s. - Engaged-view conversions exist for YouTube, but they’re defined differently than Meta’s. - Tracking is more click-driven, meaning Google usually reports fewer conversions but with “harder” credit. The result: - Meta typically reports higher numbers (softer, broader credit). - Google typically reports lower numbers (stricter, click-driven credit). - If you compare dashboards side by side, you’re not looking at the same thing.

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How to Answer Case/Optimization Questions in a Programmatic Interview 💡 “Your campaign’s CTR is dropping. What steps would you take?” or “Your pacing is falling behind. How would you troubleshoot it?” If you’ve ever been in a programmatic interview, you’ve probably faced some version of these questions. Here’s the thing: interviewers don’t just want a quick fix; they want to see your thinking process. So how do you tackle these? 👉 Step 1: Break it down (don’t rush!) ▪️Clarify the KPI, campaign type, and platform. ▪️If certain levers are fixed (e.g., budgets can’t be moved, audiences are locked, or geos are fixed), acknowledge that upfront. ▪️Asking the right clarifying questions shows you’re structured, not reactive. 👉 Step 2: Refine with DSP insights ▪️Check the reporting dashboards, charts, or troubleshooters inside the DSP. ▪️Look at filtering insights, where are the bids getting dropped? Is it inventory, targeting, or bid competitiveness? ▪️Confirm if the issue is consistent or just a short-term fluctuation. 👉 Step 3: Diagnose the root cause ▪️CTR drop → check creatives (fatigue, relevance), audience quality, reach size. ▪️Pacing drop → review inventory availability, targeting restrictions, or overly low bids. 👉 Step 4: Suggest optimizations When you present solutions, keep them practical: ▪️For CTR: A/B test creatives, refresh formats, expand audiences, trim low-performing domains/apps, etc. ▪️For pacing: slightly increase frequency (within allowed thresholds), remove restrictive filters, revisit and adjust bids (raise/lower if too restrictive), or expand inventory access, etc. 👉 Step 5: Think aloud & prioritize Walk the interviewer through your logic. Highlight what you’d check first and why. This shows a methodical approach. ⚡ Pro Tip: Before interviews, prepare for common triggers, dropping CTR, high CPM, pacing issues, and think through the top areas you’d check for each. At the end of the day, case questions are about showing that you can analyze, troubleshoot, and optimize in a structured way. ✨ For more such questions, structured answers, and other Q&As to help with programmatic interview prep, check the link in my bio. #ProgrammaticAdvertising

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10 Big New Google Ads Updates (You really don’t want to miss these) 👇 1. Cross-Channel Budget Pacing Insights added to PMax → Google now shows daily pacing breakdowns across channels within Performance Max. → You can finally see how much budget is being consumed on YouTube vs. Search vs. Display, day by day. 2. Custom Conversion Value Rules now support GA4 audiences → You can assign different values to conversions based on GA4 audience signals. → Great for segmenting high-LTV users or rewarding early-funnel actions differently. 3. Negative Keywords for Broad Match campaigns get smarter → Google now suggests negative keywords automatically in Broad Match campaigns using AI to detect poor matches. → Prevents wasted spend before it scales. 4. “Conversational Campaign Builder” expands to more accounts → An AI-powered chat assistant now helps you build Search and PMax campaigns inside Google Ads. → Feed it goals, landing pages, and it drafts headlines, keywords, assets, even targeting. 5. Search Term Insights for PMax asset groups added → Google launched a new report surfacing search queries that triggered PMax ads, at the asset group level. → A step toward better transparency on creative performance by keyword intent. 6. First-party data strength score now visible → Google added a "Data Strength" rating showing how well your Customer Match lists or tag-based audiences are performing. → Useful for diagnosing poor audience match rates or data freshness issues. 7. “Brand Restrictions” expanded in Broad Match beta → You can now use Broad Match while restricting certain competitor brands from triggering ads. → Helps protect brand reputation and CPCs in tightly regulated industries. 8. YouTube Shorts ad placements now separated in reporting → Shorts inventory is broken out from standard YouTube video placements in campaign reporting. → Allows more tailored bidding and creative choices for vertical, short-form formats. 9. “Quick Win Audiences” suggested during campaign setup → Google now recommends pre-built audience segments during campaign creation, based on your website, product feed, or past converters. → A smart way to speed up new campaign launches. 10. Broad Core Web Vitals impact ad Quality Score → Google confirmed that landing page experience, measured via Core Web Vitals, is playing a stronger role in ad Quality Score. → Slow or unstable pages is higher CPCs, lower ad rank. Speed now has ROI. Which of these updates are you already acting on? ___________________ ♻ Repost if you found this helpful! ♻ Follow Marc Jordan Waldeck and Bounce Marketing for more! Need expert management? Book a call! 🤓

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Dear PPC specialists, A lot has happened in the past 7 days 👇 ☑️ Filter Multiple Campaigns with Checkboxes Select multiple campaigns directly in the table to create a filtered view easily. https://lnkd.in/eJzF9JpB 💬 Facebook and Zalo Added to Message Extensions The message extension now supports Facebook and Zalo, alongside WhatsApp and SMS. https://lnkd.in/epkP4rJq 📊 New Options Under "Adjust" Button in the Graph Conversion delays, anomalies, and notes. All visible right inside the most recent graph experience. https://lnkd.in/ekxwMrWA 📍 Pick Location Assets via Google Maps No need to link a Google Business Profile. Now you can search and select up to 10 locations directly on the map. https://lnkd.in/ez2qVXBz 📺 YouTube May Get Its Own Partner Network Google may separate YouTube from the Search Partner Network into its own "YouTube Network." https://lnkd.in/e3dcW3Jb 🤖 AI Max and the SPN Controversy Some advertisers report over-delivery from AI Max on the Search Partner Network. But Google confirmed this isn’t the intention.  https://lnkd.in/eDQwU_rP 📝 Product Studio Gets AI-Powered Text Generation You can now generate product titles and descriptions through the Merchant API. Not visible in the UI yet. Could it roll out soon? https://lnkd.in/etMPiCaR 📬 Want these in your inbox? Bite-sized and easy to scan. Subscribe free: https://ppcnf.com/5bdI9f #PPC #SEM #GoogleAds #MicrosoftAdvertising

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Want to know how Backlinko has earned more than 1.5 million backlinks and how our strategy is evolving in 2025? Here’s the truth: backlinks still matter. But not for the same reasons they did five years ago. We’re no longer optimizing only for Google PageRank. We’re optimizing for something bigger: presence in the AI era. That means focusing on: -Brand building (being cited alongside trusted names in your space) -Topic associations (training algorithms to connect your brand with key concepts) -Co-citations (earning mentions even without a link) Why? Because large language models like ChatGPT don’t pick sources based on anchor text or DA. They pick sources based on contextual trust. Think about it: -A Reddit, Inc. thread where your product is compared next to HubSpot -A blog post that lists your tool alongside Semrush -A podcast that quotes your insight alongside other industry leaders None of those need a clickable link to move the needle. Yet all of them shape how AI and search engines understand your authority. In other words, the goal has shifted from getting links to becoming part of the conversation. The brands winning in 2025 are doing both: ✔ Building backlinks for search rankings ✔ Earning co-citations for AI visibility and long-term discoverability That’s the playbook we’re using at Backlinko and it’s what’s helping us future-proof our visibility in search and AI.

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The most successful brands I work with don't even look at performance marketing KPIs. No GA4, no attribution, no ad engagement. Think about a typical performance marketing or agency dashboard: • Spend by channel and tactic • Engagement KPIs like CTR, VTR, Hook rate • Some kind of attributed ROAS or similar ROI metric • Drill-downs into the tactics and the sub-campaigns Occasionally you'll get some kind of smart "translation" or "coefficient" work that's happening, in which an MMM or incrementality test places a weigh against these different platform metrics. But in reality, for many brands, it just causes analysis paralysis. Why does it matter if your CTR is going up? Why does it matter if your CPC is going up? Because there's some kind of logical assumption that: • More efficient media = more efficient driving biz results • More engaging media = better targeting, better biz results • Directional "signals" correlate and correspond with the P&L In reality, this is rarely true once you get to a certain size. I think the critical flaw that most people have made in their career is at some point, they were incentivized to achieve some kind of silo metric as their focus area. "Get that ROAS up." "Get the contribution from Google up." "Target on making the most engaging ads." And if they worked at a smaller business (sub $20m/yr in revenue), these things often DO correlate with growth. You see that if you're driving a lot of attributed sales in Meta that you're ALSO driving a lot of sales in Shopify. Unfortunately at a certain point, that kind of simple linear correlation dissipates. And in fact, becomes contradictory. The brands that are winning and growing (our top cohort of brands over $50m/yr in revenue are growing more than 40% this year YOY) are committing to a simpler view: • Trended revenue, costs, and contribution margin • Trended relationship of new vs repeat revenue • The above by product category or relevant segment • A workflow of specific tasks designed at removing "blockers" --- Complete customer survey cohort for October --- Produce these 15 ad variations for this new product --- Secure relationships with 25 new influencers in our List --- Conclude the email send/segment incrementality test etc. They stay focused on specific ACTIVITIES and then closely monitor how those activities relate to their PROFITABILITY. There's none of these logical leaps or inferences of "if only our XYZ got better, then these next fifteen KPIs in the 'funnel' will also all get better!" In reality when a diagnostic metric becomes a goal, it stops being a good measure of health. The more you tell your agency or your team to go and get a certain KPI, the more they will over-rotate and manufacture "wins" against it. • It's human nature to focus on new information • We should have data and clear measurements • But we should make that data and those KPIs relevant to the P&L #mmm #pnl #marketing

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