WordPress remains the dominant force in content management systems, powering 43.3% of websites surveyed and holding a 60.7% share among sites using a CMS, according to W3Techs (October 2025). That is still a commanding lead, but it marks a sustained decline from its peak of 65.2% in 2022 and is back to the same level…
Search has never stood still. Every few years, a new layer gets added to how people find and evaluate information. Generative AI systems like ChatGPT, Copilot Search, and Perplexity haven’t replaced Google or Bing. They’ve added a new surface where discovery happens earlier, and where your visibility may never show up in analytics. Call it…
Last week, I shared the largest usability study of AI Mode, and it revealed how users interact with the new search surface: They focus on the AI Mode text first 88% of the time, ignore link icons, and rarely click out. This week, for Part 2, I’m covering what’s measurable, what’s guesswork, and what’s possibly…
When conversational AIs like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Mode generate snippets or answer summaries, they’re not writing from scratch, they’re picking, compressing, and reassembling what webpages offer. If your content isn’t SEO-friendly and indexable, it won’t make it into generative search at all. Search, as we know it, is now a function of artificial…
This post was sponsored by GatherUp. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own. Local Search Has Changed: From “Found” to “Chosen” Not long ago, showing up in a Google search was enough. A complete Google Business Profile (GBP) and a steady stream of reviews could put your client in front of the…
Google’s Robby Stein, VP of Product at Google, explained that Google Search is converging with AI in a new manner that builds on three pillars of AI. The implications for online publishers, SEOs, and eCommerce stores are profound. Three Pillars Of AI Search Google’s Stein said that there are three essential components to the “next…
At the end of 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT and opened up an easy-to-access interface to large language models (LLMs) for the first time. The uptake was stratospheric. Since the explosive launch, ChatGPT hasn’t shown signs of slowing down in developing new features or maintaining worldwide user interest. As of September 2025, ChatGPT now has a…
What I’m about to say will feel uncomfortable to a lot of SEOs, and maybe even some CEOs. I’m not writing this to be sensational, and I know some of my peers will still look sideways at me for it. That’s fine. I’m sharing what the data suggests to me, and I want you to…
What if your SEO strategy could predict what customers want before they even search? The shift from keyword-centric to behavior-driven SEO is important. When you understand why people search, not just what they search for, your content naturally becomes more relevant and your performance more sustainable. Google processes over 5 trillion searches annually, and many…
Our new usability study of 37 participants across seven specific search tasks clearly shows that people: Read AI Mode Rarely click out, and Only leave when they are ready to transact. From what we know, there isn’t another independent usability study that has explored AI Mode to this depth. In May, I published an extensive two-part…