Latest news with #SEO
Khaleej Times
an hour ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Absolute Digital Media expands to the UAE with new Dubai headquarters
Performance marketing agency Absolute Digital Media has officially launched its new headquarters in Dubai, coming from the UK. Absolute Digital Media brings its award-winning SEO, PPC, paid social, content marketing, link building and CRO services to one of the world's fastest-growing digital hubs. Absolute Digital Media has built its reputation by delivering high-impact campaigns that generate real commercial growth. With nearly 30-strong in-house team based in the UK, and new staff now on the ground in the UAE, the agency will be supporting businesses locally and internationally with a full-service delivery model. 'Dubai is built for ambition. We're here to partner with brands that want real results, not vanity metrics,' said Ben Austin, founder and CEO. 'Our Dubai HQ isn't just a footprint, it's a commitment to helping the UAE businesses dominate their industries online.' The agency will serve clients across a wide range of sectors including crypto, real estate, finance, healthcare, education, eCommerce, SaaS, and more. Delivery will be handled by teams in both the UK and UAE, ensuring strategic oversight and local execution at scale. What sets Absolute apart in the region: A fully in-house team, no outsourcing, no shortcuts. Proven SEO and PPC strategies that prioritise pipeline over page views. Transparent reporting and performance tracking backed by advanced analytics and AI from in-house built tools. A deep understanding of the commercial challenges and compliance needs of high-growth sectors, including crypto and finance. Absolute Digital Media's Dubai launch is part of a broader international growth plan, with further global rollouts in development. For UAE based businesses serious about digital growth, consultations are now open.
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Why Consistency Is The New Currency In AI Search
Don Dodds, Founder of M16 Marketing and helps brands grow faster using strategy, web design, SEO, KPIs and lead generation. As artificial intelligence reshapes the digital landscape, the way brands are discovered and trusted is rapidly evolving. We're entering a world where AI systems, not just human users, are the primary interpreters of content. From ChatGPT and Perplexity to Google's AI Overviews, intelligent systems are going beyond indexing websites. They are learning from them. In this paradigm, consistency across every digital touchpoint has become a brand's most valuable asset. From SEO To AEO: Training The Machines Traditional SEO focused on optimizing for keyword rankings and earning backlinks to drive human clicks. But AI-powered search changes the equation. These systems synthesize information from multiple sources to produce a single, authoritative answer. This shift demands a new discipline: answer engine optimization (AEO). In AEO, the goal is not just visibility, but verifiability. When AI engines gather fragmented data about your brand across platforms, inconsistencies confuse their models. This could lead to misinformation, or worse, erasure. Brands must now create a cohesive digital footprint that tells the same story wherever it appears, including in metadata, product descriptions, third-party reviews, social content and structured data. The Mechanics Of Machine Learning Models AI models rely on clean data, semantic relationships and reinforcement. When a brand delivers structured content with clear messaging across all surfaces, it provides training signals. These signals help AI associate that brand with specific concepts, solutions and industries. Imagine a company inconsistently described as a "software provider," "app developer" and "digital product studio." An AI model might treat those as three different entities. Now consider the same company using consistent terminology, structured data and rich metadata across their website, press mentions and social platforms. The model doesn't just see them; it learns them. Content As Training Material Every blog post, FAQ, testimonial and knowledge base article becomes part of a feedback loop. But content that isn't structured, updated or contextually aligned across platforms weakens the signal. To train machines to recognize your brand, you must: • Use consistent naming conventions and descriptions. • Implement schema markup across content types. • Maintain semantic clarity in your core messaging. • Ensure data uniformity between owned and earned media. To ensure data uniformity between owned and earned media, brands should maintain consistent messaging and structured data across all owned platforms. Providing clear, accessible media kits helps guide accurate representations in third-party content. For example, if a journalist pulls product details from your press kit, they're more likely to use your correct pricing and features, therefore reducing the chance of misinformation in reviews or articles. Being everywhere isn't enough. You must be the same everywhere. The Brand Knowledge Graph Google's Knowledge Graph functions by building maps of relationships between entities. If your brand is included in these maps, it becomes "known" and can be confidently cited by AI. This inclusion is foundational. You can train machines by intentionally feeding these graphs: • Structured data through • Accurate Wikipedia and Wikidata entries • Consistent citations in press and directories • Reinforced signals through social and UGC platforms It is less about chasing traffic and more about becoming an entity that AI platforms trust. Consequences Of Inconsistency Brands that overlook this shift risk becoming invisible. AI won't rank you lower. It will simply not see you as relevant. For example, if an AI assistant is unsure whether your business serves B2B or B2C markets due to inconsistent messaging across your LinkedIn, website and reviews, it might potentially avoid citing your brand altogether. In a zero-click world, visibility depends not on what you publish, but on what AI systems understand about you. The Future Is Structured As voice search, chatbots and AI agents become primary touchpoints, brands must build for machine readability first. This doesn't mean abandoning creativity but embedding it in a framework that AI can parse. We are moving from the web as a place to be found to a place to be learned. This requires teaching machines (and people) who you are through consistent, structured and contextualized content. Your brand is not just what it says it is. It is what AI believes it is, based on the digital evidence you've published across platforms. Practical Steps To Train Machines To Recognize You • Audit your digital presence. Look for inconsistent job titles, company descriptions, locations and services across all platforms. • Unify your messaging. Develop a brand language guide that includes preferred terms, tone and value statements. • Implement structured data. Use schema markup on your website, especially for products, articles, people and reviews. • Claim and optimize knowledge sources. Update your entries in Wikidata, Crunchbase, Google Business and industry directories. • Distribute with intent. Publish and syndicate your content on platforms that are frequently scraped by AI engines like Wikipedia, Reddit, Medium, YouTube, Quora, LinkedIn and high-authority news sites. These sources are commonly used to train and inform AI models, so maintaining accurate and consistent information there helps shape how AI understands your brand. In an era where AI decides which brands get surfaced, summarized or cited, the question isn't "How can I rank higher?" It is "How do I train the machine to trust me?" The answer: through ruthless consistency, structured communication and a commitment to becoming a brand that is not just seen, but understood. Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
Hospitality Net
6 hours ago
- Business
- Hospitality Net
The Evolving Commercial Landscape: Key Takeaways from HSMAI's 2025 Strategy Conference
Three members of our leadership team from Cogwheel attended The HSMAI Commercial Strategy Conference in Indianapolis in June 2025. The conference was dominated by three major themes: artificial intelligence's impact on marketing, the realignment of commercial strategy through data storytelling, and the growing need for authenticity in audience segmentation. Each insight reflects not only where the hospitality industry is headed but also what hotel marketers and revenue teams must do now to remain competitive. Here are our three top takeaways, with context, facts, and Cogwheel's evolving approach to each. AI, AI, AI… and Yes, More AI—But SEO Is NOT Dead Let's address the elephant in the conference hall: if you didn't hear the term 'AI' at least 15 times per session, were you even paying attention? The HSMAI event made it clear that artificial intelligence is top of mind across all commercial functions, but particularly in marketing and sales. That said, the chatter often masked a more balanced reality—AI is here, but SEO is far from obsolete…and AI is NOT destroying marketing. For starters, what AI giveth, it doesn't always giveth accurately. Studies by Stanford in 2024 show AI language models can deliver factual correctness only around 52%–60% of the time when asked direct queries—a coin toss at best. And while AI is great at binary questions ('Does the Marriott Chicago offer parking?'), it's nearly useless at context-heavy, personalized travel planning. For example, try asking ChatGPT, 'what's the best pet-friendly hotel in Chicago?' At best, you'll get a generic list that you could have gotten through a regular Google search. AI doesn't—and won't for some time—know what is 'best' for you or what you mean by 'nearest' or 'luxury'. Make no mistake…AI HAS and WILL get better. But then there's Google's rollout of Search Generative Experience (SGE) that we have all seen. It gives AI-generated answers into search results, and early data suggests this has triggered traffic declines for hotel brand sites. Some hotels have been quoted they are experiencing a 19% drop in organic search traffic. But we have always known that part of our organic SEO traffic was attributed to simple, black-and-white answer queries like: 'Is the spa open past 9pm?' or 'What's the valet fee at Hotel X?' These queries do not contribute meaningfully to driving new business. With our own Cogwheel Analytics data of the past two years across hundreds and hundreds of branded properties, we are seeing an organic drop…BUT…we are also seeing an INCREASE in 'direct' traffic. This is traffic that comes to a property page with no other link or search assistance. This all combines to point towards the need to focus on ensuring hyper-accurate content, but NOT panicking about a meaningful loss of exposure and awareness. At least not if you prep your property correctly. At Cogwheel, we've been guiding our clients toward GEO With SEO: Generative Experience Optimization with Search Engine Optimization. We're adjusting content strategies to be AI-friendly while still rooted in traditional SEO best practices. That means structured data, schema markup, DEEPLY informative landing pages, and more human-readable content that answers both AI and user intent. Our enhanced SEO packages are future-proofing visibility in both search engine results and AI-fed experiences. Hotel Commercial Strategy Must Be Integrated and Data-Driven One of the most refreshing shifts at this year's conference was the focus on true cross-functional integration. No longer can sales, marketing, revenue, and distribution operate as isolated departments with overlapping agendas. Today's commercial leaders are expected to lead a holistic strategy, and storytelling is their most effective tool. The message was clear: KPIs like ROAS (Return on Ad Spend), once considered the pinnacle metric of performance, are now just one (small!) part of a broader dashboard. Speakers Derek Brewster from Lotte Hotels & Resorts and Dan Fernandez from Concord Hospitality emphasized more multidimensional metrics like booking lift, channel mix, and campaign traffic quality as top indicators of success. These are better aligned with long-term profitability and owner value creation, which is increasingly under scrutiny. Another recurring theme was the misused (but real) concept of the funnel. While some of you roll your eyes at this cliché, the data supports its continued SIGNIFICANT relevance. Expedia's 2023 Path to Purchase report shows that U.S. travelers visit an average of 277 pages of travel content over a 70+ day booking journey…and then take an additional 60 days before their check-in date. The conference presentations backed this up! And while last-minute bookings exist, they're the exception, not the rule. Marketing strategy must reflect this longer research-to-booking cycle. Ownership of results also stood out as a leadership principle. Several panelists shared both wins and failures, emphasizing the importance of learning from both. Campaign didn't meet its goals? Great—what insight did we gain? Campaign exceeded expectations? Perfect—how can we replicate that performance next quarter or next year? At Cogwheel, we're merging storytelling with data through customized analytics dashboards. We help clients visualize multi-channel performance over time, not just week-to-week or month-to-month. And by integrating campaign data with operational results, we're telling stories that resonate with asset managers, ownership groups, and stakeholders—not just marketing teams. Audience Segmentation and the Call for Authenticity The third key takeaway—one still evolving into a broader theme—was the critical importance of segmentation and authenticity. The days of creating marketing for 'everyone' or assuming internal stakeholders know 'our guest' better than the data are over. Let me say that again…they…are…OVER. At HSMAI, several sessions stressed that brands must reassess their true audience. Are your campaigns designed for your loyal customers, or are they reaching potential new ones? The difference is huge and usually overlooked. The key is moving from assumption-based or opinion-based personas to data-defined segments. That means pulling insights from booking trends, user behaviors, geographic origin data, and campaign engagement, not just gut instinct or what your brand-book wants you to be. It also means tailoring tone and content accordingly. Today's traveler is allergic to anything inauthentic. Your messaging can't sound like a brochure for a unicorn petting zoo. It has to be real, grounded, and aligned with the motivations of the customer. Multi-channel engagement is critical here. Effective segmentation doesn't stop at knowing who your audience is—it's about delivering personalized content across platforms where they spend time. Paid media, especially targeted paid social, plays a growing role in this. Simple creative—when it's specific and audience-informed—often outperforms elaborate campaigns. And of course, none of this works if organic and paid channels aren't aligned. At Cogwheel, we're refining our audience segmentation models using both first-party analytics and third-party insights. We're combining that with tailored creative strategies across display, search, paid social, and email, always anchored in authentic messaging. Whether it's a simple story about why a boutique hotel matters to a certain neighborhood or a short-form video on Instagram, the voice must be real. Final Thoughts And, our very own CEO, Stephanie Smith, spoke about the tried and true creation of hotel marketing budgets, which still has a ways to go to truly be done to solve commercial strategy issues. The HSMAI Commercial Strategy Conference reinforced that while technology is changing the landscape, the fundamentals of hospitality marketing remain constant: know your audience, align your strategy, and tell the truth, backed by data. AI is transforming how travelers access information, but it isn't replacing the need for a deep search strategy. Commercial leaders are being asked to connect the dots across departments and timeframes. And marketing content, more than ever, must reflect not just what the brand wants to say, but what the customer needs to hear. At Cogwheel, we're committed to helping our clients navigate all of this change with clarity, creativity, and measurable impact. Because while the tools may evolve, the mission remains the same: reaching the right guest, at the right time, with the right story. About Cogwheel Marketing Cogwheel Marketing™️ is a full service digital marketing agency specializing in branded hotels, first leveraging brand systems then coupling that with supplemental strategies to maximize total online presence. Their reporting and business intelligence tool, Cogwheel Analytics, aggregates data from multiple sources to allow companies to identify trends and opportunities in their online presence. Our defined processes ensure the best positioning for your hotel against the competitive set and against other hotels of the same brand. Let us work with your sales and revenue management teams to identify and close the gaps and target your ideal guests. View source
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Digital Marketing Brisbane Launches SEO Recovery & Redesign Program in Response to Google's June 2025 Core Update
Brisbane, QLD - July 11, 2025 - Digital Marketing Brisbane, a leading local agency specializing in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and conversion-focused web design, is introducing a tailored SEO Recovery & Redesign Program to help Brisbane businesses navigate the impact of Google's latest Core Algorithm Update. Google's latest update has placed stronger emphasis on expertise, real-world experience, and helpful, human-first content. Websites relying on bloated code, generic layouts, or AI-generated filler content have seen notable drops in visibility. According to Brisbane SEO experts, the June 2025 Core Update has triggered intense, industry-wide volatility across Australia, impacting a wide range of small and medium enterprises reliant on local search visibility. This has prompted many to urgently reevaluate their digital strategies as daily performance tracking becomes critical to staying competitive. Alex Zar, the Founder of Digital Marketing Brisbane, emphasized that local businesses should see the update not as a setback but as a chance to build long-term resilience online. 'This is not the time to panic, but to pivot. We're helping businesses turn Google's algorithm update into a growth opportunity by rebuilding authority, improving UX, and integrating smart content structures Google loves.' Digital Marketing Brisbane works closely with affected businesses to build leaner, smarter websites that not only align with Google's new quality standards but are also designed for real users, balancing technical optimization with engaging, relevant content. The agency's tailored approach focuses on four key areas: E-E-A-T and Helpful Content Compliance: Sites are rebuilt to showcase real expertise, trust, and value - core signals Google now prioritises. High-Performance, Mobile-First Design: Websites are optimised for speed, responsiveness, and AI-readability, ensuring better indexation and user experience. Conversion-Driven, Smart Content Architecture: Each site features schema-rich structure and NLP-aligned content to maximise visibility and engagement. Comprehensive 20-Minute Strategy Consults: Brisbane business owners can book a no-obligation call to assess their rankings and recovery options. Digital Marketing Brisbane's SEO Recovery & Redesign Program is uniquely built for local businesses that want to remain competitive in this rapidly changing digital environment. Their hands-on strategy prioritises fixes that deliver the greatest impact first, avoiding unnecessary rebuilds while still addressing critical gaps flagged by the update. With a sharp focus on quality over quantity and the end user experience, the agency aims to future-proof its clients against future algorithm changes by building websites that reflect real expertise and deliver genuine value. For local businesses looking to regain lost traffic or prepare their online presence for the future, Digital Marketing Brisbane offers both insight and practical support. To learn more, please visit To book a free algorithm recovery consultation, please call 0410 343 678 or email admin@ About Digital Marketing Brisbane Digital Marketing Brisbane is a local agency specialising in SEO, web design, and lead generation for Brisbane-based businesses. With a results-driven approach and deep local knowledge, the team helps clients attract qualified traffic, convert visitors, and grow online, combining technical expertise with clear, human-focused digital strategies. Socials: LinkedIn Media Contact Company Name: Digital Marketing Brisbane Contact Person: Alex Zar Email: Send Email Phone: 04-1034-3678 Country: Australia Website:
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Why Scott Keever is the Best Online Reputation Management Expert Named #1 by Tidewater News
Trusted by Fortune 100 companies and public figures alike, Scott Keever sets the gold standard for protecting and elevating online reputations. Your reputation is everything. When it's under threat, you need a trusted expert who can protect what you've built and restore what you value most. In its 2025 review, Tidewater News named Scott Keever the Best Online Reputation Management Expert, an honor that reflects his proven ability to safeguard names, brands, and legacies at every level. Why Scott Keever Is the Best Online Reputation Management Expert Scott Keever is the best online reputation management expert because he delivers results where others fall short. He employs advanced SEO tactics to suppress negative content, cultivates powerful positive media coverage, and tailors every strategy to each client's unique needs. Fortune 100 companies trust him to clean up crises discreetly, high-profile celebrities rely on him to manage damaging headlines, and entrepreneurs depend on him to maintain spotless online profiles that drive real business growth. Recognized by GlobeNewswire and awarded by Tidewater News, Scott combines ethical, proven tactics with relentless attention to detail, ensuring that reputations stay protected and brands stay strong. 100% Confidential & Trusted by the Elite Every client engagement with Scott Keever and Reputation Pros is handled with absolute discretion and tailored care. From crisis response for Fortune 100 executives to long-term profile management for world-renowned celebrities, professional athletes, and high-net-worth individuals, Scott's team safeguards sensitive details. It delivers results that remain behind the scenes. Startups and everyday entrepreneurs benefit from the same gold-standard service, ensuring their reputation goals are met with complete privacy and trusted expertise. About Scott Keever Scott Keever is an entrepreneur, internationally recognized SEO expert, online reputation mastermind, and member of the Forbes Agency Council. He is the founder of award-winning digital marketing agencies: Keever SEO, Reputation Pros, ASAP Digital Marketing, and Pool Pros Marketing. From small business owners to high-profile clients, Scott has successfully improved the online visibility of hundreds of clients worldwide. About Reputation Pros Reputation Pros, founded by Scott Keever, is a premier reputation management agency specializing in removing damaging search results, promoting positive coverage, and providing 24/7 monitoring when reputations need protection most. The firm has been featured in top-tier news outlets as one of the leading online reputation management companie s, trusted by clients who expect world-class results and total confidentiality. Contact Scott Keever and Reputation Pros today to secure your online reputation with complete confidence. View Tidewater's official release here: Media Contact Company Name: Reputation Pros Contact Person: Scott Keever Email: Send Email Address: 1221 SW 2nd Ave City: Miami State: Florida Country: United States Website:
