Field notes from the audit desk
Practical, no-fluff thinking on SEO, paid media, UX and the fast-arriving agentic web.
ChatGPT and Google AI Favour Large Retailers Over Independent Stores
AI systems recommend national chains in up to 58% of shopping queries even when smaller stores appear in their sources. Being cited does not mean being recommended, and one word changes the outcome.
ChatGPT and Google AI Favour Large Retailers Over Independent Stores
AI systems recommend national chains in up to 58% of shopping queries even when smaller stores appear in their sources. Being cited does not mean being recommended, and one word changes the outcome.
Desktop CTR fell in Q2 while mobile rose, but Search Console error clouds the picture
Advanced Web Ranking's Q2 report shows desktop CTR down and mobile up, but the data straddles a Search Console logging error that ran until 27 April and distorted impressions, making device trends hard to read.
AI Won't Kill Us All, But Marketers Need to Rethink How They Check Their Work
Search Engine Journal argues AI's real impact sits between existential doom and effortless abundance. The practical middle ground requires ground-truthing, not just fact-checking, and a different approach to consistency.
OpenAI Engineer Said Users "Won't Click" Links, Court Filing Reveals
A court filing in the publishers' copyright case quotes OpenAI staff saying users won't click links in ChatGPT answers. Microsoft data shows Bing Chat click-through rates 87% to 93% lower than search for The New York Times.
Seven AI Search Myths That Don't Hold Up When You Check the Data
Traditional search isn't dying, analytics undercount AI's impact by 97%, and AI-generated content can rank. Seven widely repeated claims about AI search, checked against real studies.
The EU AI Act is live for marketers: what Article 50 actually asks of you
You may have heard the EU delayed the AI Act. It delayed the high-risk rules, not the transparency ones, and those landed on 2 August 2026. Here is what genuinely needs disclosing, what does not, and why a UK or US address does not exempt you.
Claude now watermarks its text: what it means for the AI content on your site
Anthropic has confirmed Claude embeds an invisible, cryptographic watermark in the text it generates, worldwide, with a detection API coming. Here is what it actually detects, what it cannot, and what to change in your content process.
Google ranking volatility spiked around July 11th: what the unconfirmed update means for your site
Rank trackers lit up around 11 July while SEO forum chatter sat at an all-time low, and sites crushed by January’s unconfirmed update are quietly recovering. Here is how to read an unconfirmed update, and what to check before you change anything.
Search Console now tracks your Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube: platform properties explained
Google’s new platform properties show which searches send people to your social and video content on Search and Discover. Here is what the new property type does, what it leaves out, and how to claim yours.
ChatGPT sends 92% of AI referral traffic: what 6.77 million sessions reveal about where yours lands
A 19-month study of 166 sites puts numbers on AI referrals at last: up nearly 10x, utterly dominated by ChatGPT, and landing a quarter of visitors on your internal search. Here is what to do with that.
Google Search Console is finally showing your AI Overviews and AI Mode data: what the new report means
Google is rolling its AI performance report out to far more sites. Here is what the new view actually shows, the one metric it leaves out, and how to read it.
Google, Microsoft and nine others back a discovery spec for AI agents: what ARD means for your site
Eleven companies just published ARD, an open spec that lets AI agents find tools and services across the web at runtime. Here is what it is, who it is really for, and whether you need to act yet.
Bing just handed you AI citation data: what the new Webmaster Tools reports mean
Bing Webmaster Tools now reports the intents, topics and citation share behind your AI answers. Here is what each new view tells you, and how to act on it.
AEO vs SEO: how to stay visible when AI answers the question
Answer engines now sit between your content and the click. Here is how we audit for AI visibility, and what actually earns a citation.
The 7 places your PPC budget quietly leaks every month
A practical teardown of the settings, networks and automations that drain spend while the dashboard still looks healthy.
Is your website ready for AI agents that browse and buy?
Agents already reach your cart. Most stall or get blocked before they buy. Here is what agent-ready really means in 2026.
Core Web Vitals in 2026: what still moves rankings
The honest version: a small ranking nudge, a real conversion lever. What the three metrics are, and the fixes that move them.
From audit to action: turning findings into a 90-day plan
A 200-issue audit is a liability until it is sequenced. The frameworks and cadence we use to turn findings into shipped work.
The conversion killers hiding in your mobile checkout
Stop treating mobile checkout as a shrunk-down desktop form. The biggest wins come from deletion, not redesign.
Get the monthly audit digest
One practical teardown a month. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.