Social Media Is Dead. 💀We’re Now in the Age of Interest Media.

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube and X may still be called “social media”, but the way people use these platforms has fundamentally changed.

They are increasingly becoming content and interest platforms.

A 2026 Statista Consumer Insights in the USA found that 48% said entertainment was an important reason for using social media. Passing time came in at 41%, communicating with friends and family at 40%, following interests and hobbies at 34%, and finding new content at 32%. Only 31% cited social interactions, while just 25% said meeting new people.

It’s even more interesting among 18–29 year olds. Only 32% said communicating with friends and family was important, while 36% were there to find new content and 37% to pass the time.

That changes everything for businesses and content creators.

Your content isn’t only competing with accounts somebody follows anymore. It is competing with everything the algorithm believes that person will find interesting.

That’s why the opportunity on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube and X is so big.

You don’t necessarily need someone to already know you or follow you. Great content can be distributed to people based on their interests.

Start thinking about attention, interests and content people actually want to consume.

Social media isn’t really social media anymore. It’s interest media.

#SocialMedia #socials #statista #SocialMediaMarketing

Google PMax Campaigns Is Not for 99% of Service-Based Companies

Performance Max is one of Google’s most heavily promoted campaign types, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for every business.

For most service-based companies, I would much rather start with tightly controlled Google Search campaigns.

Why?

If you’re a plumber, lawyer, dentist, accountant, digital agency or another service business, you generally want to reach people who are actively searching for the specific service you provide.

With Search campaigns, you have far greater control over keywords, search terms, negative keywords, ads, landing pages and where your budget is being spent.

Performance Max works across Google’s inventory, including Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps. That reach can be powerful, but more reach does not automatically mean better leads.

For service businesses, lead quality matters far more than lead volume.

Ten genuine enquiries from people actively looking for your service can be worth considerably more than 100 low-quality leads generated cheaply across multiple channels.

PMax absolutely has its place, but don’t use it simply because Google recommends it.

Choose your campaign type based on your business, your customers and the quality of leads you actually need.

#GoogleAds #PerformanceMax #PMax #LeadGeneration #DigitalMarketing

Google’s New /goto URL Redirect Is Big News for SEO

Google has made a significant technical change to the way links work in its search results.

Instead of Google Search always exposing and linking directly to the destination URL, Google is increasingly routing results through a google.com/goto redirect before sending the user to the website.

Why does this matter for SEO?

A huge part of the SEO industry relies on collecting Google search results at scale. Rank trackers, SERP APIs, SEO platforms and other tools need to identify the actual URLs ranking for millions of searches.

Google’s new /goto system can hide the destination URL behind an encoded redirect, making that information considerably harder and potentially more expensive for third-party tools to collect.

This does not mean your website suddenly ranks differently because of /goto.

The bigger issue is SEO data.

Rank tracking, competitor research, SERP analysis and the tools we rely on to understand Google results may have to change the way they collect their information.

For anyone involved in SEO, this is a Google change worth understanding because it could have a major impact on the SEO tools and data we use every day.

Learn more at www.topclick.co.za

#GoogleSEO #SEO #GoogleGoTo #TechnicalSEO #seoSoftware

Do You Still Need a Website in the Age of Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and LLMs?

Absolutely.

Search is changing rapidly. People are using Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and other LLMs to find businesses, products and services.

But your website is still at the centre of your digital presence.

It remains one of the main sources search engines and AI platforms use to understand who you are, what you offer and why they should recommend your business.

And getting found is only half the job.

Your website also has to build credibility, explain your offering properly, differentiate you from competitors and help close the deal.

I’m putting my money where my mouth is.

We’ve completely redone the Top Click website, introduced a new logo, invested in a new design and brought in an expert copywriter to rewrite the website copy properly.

If I didn’t believe websites still mattered, I wouldn’t be spending serious money on mine.

www.topclick.co.za

#WebDesign #SEO #AnswerEngineOptimisation #GoogleAI #DigitalMarketing

DataForSEO is a powerful data platform for SEO, Google Ads, keyword research, competitor analysis, reporting and Answer Engine Optimisation.

Unlike traditional SEO platforms such as Ahrefs and Semrush, DataForSEO gives you direct access to huge amounts of search data through APIs and integrations.

That includes keyword search volumes, CPC data, SERP results, rankings, backlinks, Google Maps data, competitor information and much more.

One of its biggest advantages is how it connects with AI tools through MCP. Connect DataForSEO to ChatGPT, Claude or another compatible AI platform and you can work with real search data using natural language.

This opens up enormous possibilities for SEO and Answer Engine Optimisation. You can research keywords, analyse competitors and SERPs, investigate search visibility and turn large amounts of data into customised reports and actionable insights.

It is more technical than Ahrefs and Semrush and comes with a learning curve, but the flexibility and potential cost savings can be significant.

#DataForSEO #SEO #AnswerEngineOptimisation #Ahrefs #Semrush

What does SEO and Answer Engine Optimisation actually look like when it works?

Take a look at the results we achieved for one of our clients for the highly competitive search “best online school in South Africa.”

Our client is ranking number 1 or being recommended across:

• Google Organic Search

• Google AI Overviews

• Google AI Mode

• ChatGPT

• Gemini

• Claude

• Bing

• Grok

This is what modern search visibility looks like.

Ranking on Google is still incredibly important, but people are no longer searching in one place. They are asking ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Grok for recommendations while Google itself is increasingly answering searches through AI Overviews and AI Mode.

SEO and Answer Engine Optimisation need to work together.

The goal is to make sure that when someone searches or asks an AI platformfor the best businesses, products or services in your industry, your brand is the one being recommended.

This is SEO and Answer Engine Optimisation in practice.

Learn more at www.topclick.co.za/aeo

#SEO #AnswerEngineOptimisation #AEO #AISEO #searchengineoptimization

See Your AI Citations and Improve Your Answer Engine Optimisation with Microsoft Clarity

Microsoft Clarity has introduced a free Citations dashboard that helps website owners understand how their content is being used and cited within AI-generated answers.

This gives businesses valuable insight into their visibility across AI-powered search and answer engines.

The dashboard includes metrics such as:

• Citation Rate – how often your website is cited when eligible for AI grounding

• Page Citations – which pages are being referenced most frequently

• Share of Authority – how your citation visibility compares to competing websites

• Branded vs Non-Branded Citations – whether citations are coming from searches for your brand or from broader industry topics

As Answer Engine Optimisation becomes increasingly important, rankings alone are no longer the full picture.

You also need to understand whether AI systems are using your content as a trusted source when generating answers.

In this video, I show you how to access the Microsoft Clarity Citations dashboard and what the data means for your SEO and Answer Engine Optimisation strategy.

#AnswerEngineOptimisation #MicrosoftClarity #AEO #SEO #AISEO

Check www..co.zak

Google now allows eligible business owners to connect their Google Business Profile to Gemini and manage key parts of it conversationally.

You can use Gemini to help update business information, manage hours and contact details, review customer feedback, draft review responses, create posts and better understand how people are finding your business.

From a local SEO perspective, this is important.

Keeping your Google Business Profile accurate, active and regularly updated can help improve visibility across Google Search and Google Maps. Reviews, posts, categories, business information and profile completeness all play an important role in how customers discover and engage with local businesses.

Gemini can make it easier to manage these elements consistently without constantly jumping between different sections of your Business Profile.

In this video, I show you how to connect your Google Business Profile with Gemini and start using it.

For businesses focused on local SEO, this is a feature worth paying attention to.

#GoogleBusinessProfile #LocalSEO #GoogleMaps #Gemini #SEO