Michael Rubin

My friend and previous colleague has started a SEO consultancy and accepting new clients!! He is very knowledgeable and experienced, I highly recommend his services. Share with your networks!! #seo #digitalmarketing #freelance

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Question for marketers- has the game changed for SEO? We're kicking off our SEO strategy this quarter, but with Google AI overviews and ChatGPT Search has me questioning the ROI. Any data on this yet?

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🤔Is SEO Dead in the Age of AI? I used ChatGPT Search today. I know this function has been launched for sometimes, but I haven’t had a chance to use it until today. Surprisingly, it wasn’t just faster—it felt smarter. It made me question: is SEO as we know it… over? Traditional SEO relied heavily on keywords and backlinks. Common practice, we all know. But AI-powered search, like ChatGPT, focuses on semantic understanding—delivering precise answers based on intent, not just keyword density. I feel like we might need to marry the traditional SEO techniques with the intent and depth that AI search requires to stay ahead of both algorithms and evolving user expectations. But how? I don’t know yet. #AI #SEO #ContentMarketing #ChatGPT #DigitalMarketing #FutureOfSearch

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I’m gonna mix a little bit of info with a lil sharing. If you know me this is pretty standard behavior. I was chatting with someone about programmatic direct mail and incrementality. When I think of incrementality I think of stickiness vs reach. Showing your ad to a new person is dope, but the data shows that channel diversification is more about breaking through the noise then unlocking a new audience. If you’re spending in the millions there’s a pretty good chance you’re hitting a lot of your target demo on digital channels. Tell me the last 10 meta ads you saw? 5? Tell me one meta ad you saw today? (This brings up another convo of frequency in this evolved digital age but Idk best practices) it takes a lot for something to stick so if you’re going to a new channel for incrementaltiy choose channels that are going to stick. Hence programmatic DM. When you start testing I’d think of it as a lift channel. Part of your lifecycle nurture flow. Test with unconverted audiences and see if it lifts. Then use the lifted to lal for prospecting. Ok the other thing. I was chatting with a brilliant marketer who complemented my posts and it gave me the biggest imposter syndrome ever. I thought about it a bit and I think it’s because all of these posts are the results of failures, experiments, and learning from other great marketers. Plan A has worked so rarely I could count it on my hands. The speedy pivot to plan B, C, & D is the real gold. I’m learning new stuff constantly because I care about marketing (I’m learning about social media right now). I’ll probably suck at it for a bit and then I’ll get good and write something about it if I think it can be helpful. Idk just thought I’d share.

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The backlash against the use of AI in content marketing is getting old. It also screams of insecurity and a fundamental misunderstanding of the technology. Instead of telling companies and marketers why they shouldn't or how they shouldn't use AI, content marketers should be investing their time learning how to use AI to create better content, faster, and at scale. That's where the opportunity lies. Stop wasting energy fighting the inevitable. AI is here to stay, and it will change the content game—whether you like it or not. #contentmarketing #contentstrategy #AI

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To prove a point, I'm putting AI marketers on blast today. *Hot takes incoming* To preface, there is no malice, so I removed the brands name - please focus on the campaign via email and think of the effect it has on your Target Market. (These were well written emails, but a badly put together campaign) The reason organic does better is because someone is thinking with COMMON SENSE. Something AI is clearly lacking... (Hopefully AI doesn't gain common sense, then this post is moot!) However, AI has found a way to replace people in the workplace without getting rid of them. Certain people and businesses rely so much on AI, there is no human element remaining. I received a series of 4 emails, in a row, replying to themself, trying to get me to book a meeting. On email 3, I caught them telling a white lie (A harmless sales trick) to try and get me to book with them. First email: "Become an ******** Partner" (Bleeping company name) Second Email: "Thanks for your interest, become a partner" Third Email: "You recently submitted a form" (No, I absolutely didn't, and up until this point I hadn't opened any of the mail either!) Fourth email: "We are following up on your potential partnership" So first, you cold email, then you follow cold, then you lie to the prospect, then you try cold again. No email opens, not emailed from a new mailbox, just a reply all. ZERO EFFORT. Now the domain is blocked internally and no one in our company is going to get an email again from that brand again. Simply put: IT crushed your COLD AI campaign that had no heart, lacked humanity, and worse lied to a prospect in the same chain they could READ IN REAL-TIME JUST BY SCROLLING TO THE NEXT EMAIL! I LOVE AI, to be abundantly clear I use it every, single, day. But if this came from my company, we would be having a serious conversation about what that does to our brand and trust. Think of how this makes your brand look to prospects and clients. You can't be telling fibs and at NO point should AI be doing every last piece for you. This was a very simple flub that lost a lead. Someone could have easily made these emails with AI, schedule the emails themself the right way and then let AI do the rest. The mess it can make is clear. A little effort would have gone a long way. Email images to follow -

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If I were to turn back time, I'd approach my VP of Marketing role differently. I used to think the job was all about strategy canvases and metrics munching. It is some of that. However, I'd have far more impact had I invested in high-leverage tactics. When B2B SaaS marketers take up such a leadership role, there's pressure to impress the higher-ups. That sometimes leads them to over-index on bold decisions like: - changing the branding - overhauling the website - going through a marketing reorg That's not to say these are necessarily "wrong" decisions. In some scenarios, they might be what's required. Better judgment should prevail. However, such moves require strong "buy-in" and are often met with high internal friction. They also take time to complete which "waterfalls" impact. Then, you have the usual suspects. Talk to customers. Attend sales calls. Meet key accounts. All useful. But apart from that, if I were to do it all over again, I would focus on: 𝗛𝘆𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲. - Identify core pages that are failing to convert. Frame a hypothesis based on available analytics. - Tweak sub-optimal copy and key visuals to quickly lift CVRs. - Consider adding high-fit landing pages. 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 - Create category evangelism content on social media. - Convert topics that resonate with audiences into live webinars. - Record those webinars and distribute snippets across video mediums. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗣𝗥 - Get leadership to share on LinkedIn. I've realized that a CEO that speaks the customer's language bolsters their B2B brand. Helps with inbound too. - How? Record a call with the CEO for 30 minutes every 1-2 weeks on a focused topic, transcribe it, and solicit a writer to turn it into a series of posts. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 - To improve lead gen, I'd need to understand lead quality, objections, ICP issues etc. - so, when aligning with sales/CS, I'd pivot conversations more toward key questions than discuss mere wishlists. 𝗣𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗯 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 - If tracking has gaps, I'd prioritize fixing that and instrumenting full funnel metrics. - I'd build a looker dashboard to consolidate multi-channel reports that I can tell a story with to leadership. 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 - Arming sales with anything that helps them close deals is a top service. - I'd listen to their go-to talk track, read call summaries, hop on calls, talk to customers. - then, for areas where it would help, I'd build out a targeted slide deck, battle card, or interactive demo to better quip them for future deals. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗱 I'd drop the cost per MQL by working with ad specialists to turn off non-performing campaigns till we figure out the right experiment to run. What are your tips?

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Hack: Learn to interview SMEs and not drop the load of creating content entirely on their shoulders > then use AI/Google recordings to transcribe. > Get your content team to add the final polish > Woila! Expert-led content from a one hour interview. This is a gamechanger IMO.

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Good points here. (A "gatekeeper" company is going to get a lot of unwanted attention if they make it really easy to turn off every competitor's cross-context user tracking while leaving their own cross-context user tracking turned on. Whatever form the cookie preference ends up taking, it's going to also have to control Google tracking that isn't technically cookie-based but would otherwise be unfairly/illegally advantaged)

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TikTok Shop > Google PPC to a Shopify store for Ecom. I've been experimenting with growing a brand from scratch as my part of my newsletter, and I can verify this. TikTok has generated organic weekly to biweekly sales for a beginner-level account with a basic content strategy. CPMs are also significantly cheaper. At the same time, we've spent nearly £1,000 in ads spend on a search campaign with only one single conversion. TikTok's reach is way superior, no arguments there. Especially if you know how to create content and take advantage of the live streams. Check out the newsletter in my bio for more details and a breakdown of the numbers. #brand #content #ecom #brandkenstein

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Content Marketing has a PR problem. At least that's what "The State of (Dis)Content" survey is telling me. "[we are] viewed in an org as a service provider, not a strategic partner." "My company refuses to see the strategic role that written content can play." "[When] you also have strategic goals to meet, most of the times the goals are pushed aside for yet another "urgent" ask from sales or execs." Thing is... content is on the front lines of all inbound and bridges the gap between company and customer. So what can content marketers do to become seen as more strategic partners. I've got my own thoughts that I'll share in the final report, but I'm curious to know what you think?

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It's here! I have been floored seeing the care the team has put into writing such a helpful playbook. The value of understanding how all of the measurement methodologies (MTA, MMM, Testing, etc) work together to help direct the future of your marketing strategies is 🔥 I think often we get so lost in the buzzwords in Marketing that we don't understand the specific problems a specific methodology solves or when to use it. If you feel the same way, then this playbook is for you.

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Subliminal advertising has been a topic of fascination since the 1950s, but does it still work in today’s ad-heavy environment? 📺 One fascinating fact: consumers process millions of bits of information unconsciously every day, meaning many ads still affect us even if we don’t realize it. But with attention overload, the real question is—should brands focus on what’s hidden, or on capturing attention openly and authentically? Check out this insightful piece by Infillion’s Jamie Auslander on the evolution of subliminal messaging in advertising. #Infillion #AdvertisingTrends #SubliminalMessaging #ConsumerAttention #MarketingInsights

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Hey - B2B marketers, here's a crazy thing... Apparently, marketing budgets are down (shocker!), but media-buying budgets are flat to up. Think about that for a second - this implies the portion of marketing spend that goes to the least attributable element of the plan (advertising) is up robustly. For those of us in the smaller end of B2B, this probably rings a little hollow, as the pressure to identify the financial impact of every dollar spent does not seem to me to have loosened at all. BUT! Maybe those big media spenders are onto something. Maybe building brand through programs you can't track through Hubspot/Marketo/Salesforce/etc bring a value that needs to be surfaced through data aggregation rather than UTMs. Something to think about - let me know your thoughts! https://lnkd.in/gxdVg43X

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I’ve been avoiding #SEO with a 10-foot pole (not my expertise), but this week pulled me in as part of a broader #GTM strategy🫠. A client wanted to dominate their #digital and grow #acquisition. But SEO is full of landmines 💣 (and why I stayed away). Here are the common ones and how to dodge them: ❌ Pitfall #1: Chasing high-volume keywords - High-volume keywords often miss the mark on user intent.   - Competition here is fierce—everyone’s targeting them, making it hard to rank.   - Content tailored to these keywords can feel generic and miss your audience’s real needs, resulting in low engagement. ✅ Do this instead: Target a range of user queries and intents to cover more ground. This builds your authority across topics, not just one high-volume keyword. A more rounded #content gameplan gets rewarded with better #search visibility, helping you avoid battling the big players. ❌ Pitfall #2: Ignoring adjacent topics - Focusing only on what you know can lead to diminishing returns.   - Overlooking related topics means you’re leaving potential traffic untapped. ✅Do this instead:   Use your authority to target related topics for growth. For example, at theknotww, we didn’t just focus on wedding trends for vendors; we also covered "growing a small business" and "lead follow-up best practices". Aligning your content with broader search intent can capture more traffic and reach a larger audience. Think topics first, not keywords. To choose the right topics: - Start broad: Think about the big topics your market cares about. Don’t just stick to what you know—those adjacent topics can drive real traffic.   - Spy on competitors: Use tools like Ahrefs to see who’s vying for the same traffic. It’s not just your direct competitors; anyone in your space covering topics your audience cares about (that your business has a stake in) is fair game. Call them your "content competitors". - Pick your battles: Focus on topics with good search potential where you can make an impact. ❌ Pitfall #3: Not optimizing your content - Overlooking existing content means you’re missing easy SEO gains.   - Starting fresh without optimizing first slows your path to the top. ✅Do this instead:   Start with what you've got. Repurposing and enhancing is the fastest way to see results. When consulting for a communications-platform-as-a service company (CPaaS), we updated and repurposed existing content into a "CPaaS 101" (ungated) playbook. Within three months, it dominated the first page of SERPs, boosted #organicgrowth by 4x, and drove 30+ additional monthly web #leads. Once optimized, branch out into related areas to keep your strategy balanced. 💡 Pro tip: Visuals matter 👩‍🎨 Check how top-ranking pages use visuals—headings, images, charts, videos for inspiration, and make sure your content stands out. What else would you add? Want to dodge these SEO pitfalls and land a bigger impact on your GTM goals? Let’s chat!

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Hot take: agencies that churn through contractors don’t survive long. The experience is worse for everyone. Clients can’t establish a long-term relationship. The agency CEO spends too much time hiring. Employees don’t work long enough to get context on a project. You can’t just keep hiring and firing and expect to thrive. We retained 100% of our team in 2022 and 92% in 2023. We’ve worked with some clients for years, and kept the same development team throughout the whole process. Thats powerful for both the client and the agency. This keeps the relationship cohesive and helps us work together better.

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ATG Breaks it down… I decided to spend some time breaking this down for you… in my own ATG way. (Source: EMARKETER chart) Digital Media's Absolute Dominance: With a staggering $302.77 billion in ad spending, digital media isn't just leading; it's eclipsing traditional media, which lags far behind at $86.72 billion. This highlights a trend where digital channels are the primary battleground for advertisers. Mobile as the Powerhouse: Among digital devices, mobile emerges as the undeniable powerhouse, commanding $199.41 billion in ad spending. This figure underscores the critical importance of mobile-first strategies for brands aiming to capture consumer attention. Traditional Media's Diminishing Role: Traditional media, while still holding ground with $86.72 billion, is clearly in decline. Linear TV, the largest segment within traditional media at $58.99 billion, is overshadowed by the combined force of digital platforms. Radio, print, and directories, once staples of advertising, are now mere fractions of the total spend, signaling their waning influence. CTV's Strategic Ascent: Connected TV (CTV), with $28.75 billion in spending, represents a significant yet growing player. While still smaller than mobile and desktop/laptop, its presence shows a crucial opportunity for advertisers to reach audiences. The Decline of Legacy Media: Print and directories, with ad spends of $7.72 billion and $0.33 billion respectively, are relics of a bygone era. Their minimal contributions reflect their rapid descent as advertisers pivot toward more dynamic, measurable, and impactful channels.

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