Silverback Strategies

AI continues to reshape ad targeting control, brand visibility, and marketing budget allocation. Google is turning lookalike audiences into AI signals, reducing manual targeting levers in Demand Gen. ChatGPT citations are pulling 44% of references from the first 30% of a page — changing how content needs to be structured. And 42% of B2B tech CMOs say declining traditional search performance is pushing them toward generative engine optimization, with 94% planning to increase GEO investment next year. Catch everything you missed in this week’s roundup 👉 https://hubs.la/Q044XnYF0

Driving qualified organic traffic was only step one. For Johns Hopkins University School of Education, the real opportunity was turning that interest into action. We used SEO-led A/B testing to refine CTA language with real student intent rather than a forced funnel — and unlocked a 32% increase in enrollment clicks. See how we did it 👉 https://hubs.la/Q044dZQq0 #SEO #ConversionRateOptimization #HigherEdMarketing

Focusing SEO on high-intent local pages reversed a multi-year organic traffic decline. For this healthcare brand, organic traffic had been down year over year with no signs of recovery. Blog-led SEO had historically driven growth. But as AI absorbed more top of funnel searches—and search behavior shifted—website traffic dried up fast. Informational content wasn’t pulling its weight anymore. We shifted SEO focus to where intent actually lived: Local SEO. The result: +47% YoY session growth +90%+ lift in engagement All in under 90 days. See what we changed 👉 https://hubs.la/Q0443ynM0 #LocalSEO #SEO #HealthcareMarketing

AI Continues to Reshape Strategy and Measurement Across the Marketing Ecosystem Here are the biggest shifts happening right now: • Platforms are embedding more automation directly into bidding logic. • First-party AI visibility data is emerging. • Creative is expanding as a primary performance lever beyond paid social. • Search behavior is getting longer, deeper, and more monetizable. • The technical foundation of the web is shifting toward AI agent interaction. We break down what it means for strategy, measurement, and where marketers should lean in next. 👉 Read the full POV → https://hubs.la/Q043BN-v0

Clicks are easy to buy. Revenue is harder to prove. That was the challenge for CroppMetcalfe. Branded search looked strong in reports — but the real question was whether it was bringing in new leads, or just taking credit for leads that were already on the path to convert. Branded terms are often treated as “safe,” not strategic. With a limited budget, that assumption needed to be tested — not trusted. So instead of debating dashboards, we ran a real-world test. What we found surprised us: branded search wasn’t just capturing demand — it was creating new business that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. See how we proved it 👉 https://hubs.la/Q043s7p90 #PaidSearch #MediaMixModeling #GrowthStrategy

We’re fired up to welcome Taylor Nelson to Silverback Strategies as our newest Senior Paid Media Manager. Taylor brings 7+ years of experience leading client paid media programs in high-velocity marketing environments. He’s managed multi-million-dollar portfolios. Standardized workflows. Tightened up reporting. Helped teams scale without losing discipline. Taylor holds an MA in Advertising from The University of Texas at Austin and brings an operator’s mindset to everything he touches. Testing. Optimization. Continuous improvement. He’s not here to repeat what worked yesterday. He’s here to find what works next. When he’s not driving performance for clients, you’ll find him hiking the mountains outside Denver, where he proudly calls home. Welcome to the jungle, Taylor. Let’s move fast. 🦍

Google AI Overviews don’t just pull from web pages. They pull heavily from YouTube — now cited in more than 30% of AI-generated search answers on Google. That changes what “SEO-ready” actually means. If your strategy is still focused on text-only optimization, you’re missing how Google’s AI is learning, summarizing, and ranking information. Video structure, authority signals, and how YouTube content aligns with search intent now play a direct role in AI visibility. We break down why YouTube has become so influential in AI Overviews — and what marketers need to rethink about content, search, and discovery in 2026. 👉 Read the full analysis: https://hubs.la/Q043gpsx0

1️⃣ Reddit is entering its performance era. Ad revenue +75%. Lower-funnel conversions doubled. Automation (Reddit Max) cutting CPA. 2️⃣ Alphabet’s Q4 proves AI isn’t killing Search. It’s expanding it. Search +16.7%. Queries are longer. More conversational. More monetizable. 3️⃣ TikTok just exposed the hidden power of creative. Upper-funnel influence can finally be measured beyond last click. 4️⃣ Google Ads has moved from keywords to intent. Exact match keyword strategies built for 2018 won’t survive 2026. Catch everything you missed in our news roundup 👉 https://hubs.la/Q042TJn90

Search results are no longer based only on what someone types. With Google expanding Personal Intelligence into AI Mode, results can now be shaped by emails, purchases, photos, and daily behavior. That’s a fundamental shift. AI search isn’t just reading the web — it’s learning from how people live inside Google’s ecosystem. And that gives Google an advantage no standalone AI model can match. For marketers, this raises the bar: Visibility won’t come from rankings alone. It will come from how well your brand fits into someone’s real life — across content, email, and experience. We break down what’s changing, why it matters, and how to adapt before hyper-personalized search becomes the default. Check out the full analysis here 👉 https://hubs.la/Q042TKVW0

Meta didn’t need more budget. It needed the right conditions to scale. That’s how Armed Forces Mutual unlocked 44% more leads without increasing total spend. Google had plateaued. Meta was struggling to scale. Aggressive growth goals were on the table — and the existing setup wasn’t going to get them there. By rethinking how Meta’s machine learning was supported, Meta went from a secondary digital channel to a meaningful growth driver — helping exceed lead targets by 14%. See how we did it here 👉 https://hubs.la/Q042tLk-0 #PaidSocial #MetaAds #PerformanceMarketing