Google makes links easier to spot

Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ MarketingShot.

Google is making your links easier to spot in AI answers LINK

• Google rolled out several changes to AI Mode and AI Overviews in Search, adding more inline links inside the text and placing them higher in responses so sources are easier for people to spot and click.
• For tasks with only a few official sources on the web, Google now shows those links in a dedicated section at the top of the AI response, with context explaining why each link is useful.
• Google said Preferred Sources grew 7x this year, but it still does not break down click data in the AI performance reports within Search Console, leaving it unclear whether searchers actually click these links.

Report reveals big brands cut ad spend as share of sales LINK

• A WARC report found the world's biggest brands are spending a smaller share of their sales on advertising, with large technology groups driving the decline across 25 major US-listed companies reviewed.
• The combined ad-to-sales ratio across those firms slipped from 6.1% in 2019 to 5.5% in 2025, as advertising spend rose but trailed revenue growth over the period.
• The steepest drop came from Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and Netflix, which more than halved their joint ad-to-sales ratio; had they held the 2019 level, they would have spent $52 billion more on advertising in 2025.

Meta lets one brand own your first Facebook ad daily LINK

• Meta is testing First Impression Ads, a premium Facebook Feed placement that lets a single brand per day own the first ad someone sees when opening the app.
• The test, running in the United States, is limited to one advertiser daily, making it an exclusive spot for brands aiming to grab maximum visibility at the top of the Feed.
• The placement is still an early, limited U.S. test rather than a widely available product, so most advertisers cannot book it yet.

Retail media budgets grow, but advertisers are losing patience LINK

• Retail and commerce media budgets keep climbing, with 85% of advertisers planning to spend more over the next year, but many are running out of patience with how long it takes to build audiences and get results.
• Half of advertisers wait four days or longer for a custom audience segment, and 86% say slow fulfillment would push them to cut spend or leave a partner, while 92% would spend more with a faster one, per "The 2026 Commerce Media Investment Index" from GrowthLoop and Ascend2.
• Measurement stays the weak point: nearly half wait over a week for post-campaign data, only 32% can consistently use results to sharpen future targeting, and 32% have reduced, paused, or reconsidered spending because proving ROI was hard.

Strategies & Tactics

> Google Ads Lead Form Adds Lead Scoring For Lead Qualification: Google Ads now lets advertisers mark which lead form answers count as qualified, filtering out weak prospects so sales teams chase higher-quality leads.

> The marketing automation model that drove 9x qualified lead growth in a secondary market: Split marketing automation into a technical builder and a local cultural validator so secondary markets can be rebuilt fast without hiring regional specialists.

> How to Pitch Local Newsrooms in the US (Your Definitive 2026 Guide): Pitch the most relevant local reporter first with a ready-to-run story and a clear community angle, since shrinking newsrooms leave overloaded journalists no time to chase details.

> Make every page count before publishing more for SEO: Audit and improve the pages you already own before publishing new ones, since search and AI engines reward the best answer, not sheer volume.

> How to Turn Your SaaS Pricing Page Into a First 30 Days Conversion Tool: Design the pricing page to serve trial users across all 30 days, keeping prices identical everywhere and timing upgrade asks to when users hit real limits.

> We Now Know the #1 Ranking Factor for AI and LLMs, The Data.: Winning AI recommendations correlates most strongly with many backlinks from topically related pages, though link counts alone won't predict exact rankings.

Other news you might like

• Optimizing ad spend ahead of Black Friday: What the numbers say LINK

• AI search transactions soar 553% as revenue jumps 312% LINK

• Meta will turn on product browsing in existing ads on October 28 LINK

• LinkedIn Rolls Out In-Stream Video Ads, Expands Creator Marketplace to Target Gen Z B2B Buyers LINK

• YouTube Pilots Monthly Shorts Bonus Program Tied to Upload Consistency and Views LINK

• Meta's Muse gains a 33% share of AI browser traffic in 9 days, DataDome finds LINK

• X Pilots $3,000 Bonus Program for Creators Who Post Vertical Video LINK

• What I learned at Semrush Spotlight about visibility in AI search LINK

Trending tools

Spira Maxima: converts scripts, photos, or recordings into finished social videos with presenters, B-roll, motion graphics, captions, and music ready to publish. LINK

GenPage 3.0: builds personalized landing pages for each ad, keyword, or account, then auto-tests them to convert more traffic into pipeline and revenue. LINK

Naoma AI Demo Agent V2: an AI account executive that runs live product demos, answers questions, qualifies prospects, books meetings, and syncs sessions to your CRM LINK

Anysite.​io: delivers targeted B2B company and contact lists to AI agents through MCP or REST, skipping scraping and infrastructure setup entirely. LINK

instagram-skills: provides Instagram marketing skills for Claude Code and Codex, generating captions, carousels, hooks, hashtag strategies, and weekly plans for publishing via Publora. LINK

millionsend: an open-source email platform that sends emails via your own AWS SES or the cloud, with a Resend-compatible API. LINK

See you tomorrow for a new dose of ☕️ MarketingShot!