In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, Performance Max has become a cornerstone of Google Ads strategy. While its machine learning capabilities promise optimized performance, many marketers view it as a black box that limits their analysis & control. We're here to challenge that perspective and show you how strategic implementation of Performance Max can drive remarkable results for fashion ecommerce—particularly when it comes to new collection launches.
The Paid Search Association recently held their 2025 digital conference featuring a full day of sessions from the industry’s top speakers from around the world. The event covered a wide range of topics ranging from display, video, search, artificial intelligence, & more. We wanted to share our top takeaways from the conference and how advertisers can make the most of the insights shared.
A big theme of the day was without a doubt AI. Multiple sessions including those from Fred Vallaeys & Mike Rhodes covered ways to integrate AI into paid marketing. For example, Mike discussed how to use AI to help create intricate scripts to help gain valuable insights into paid ad accounts. Fred shared a number of advanced ways to utilize AI like using search terms to then suggest blog ideas and creating different personas to provide feedback from various points of view. However, the session that stayed with me was the one that kicked the event off by Ameet Khabra. Her topic surrounded AI in PPC and where AI shined vs where humans shined. The cases Ameet shared included one where they put AI up against a copywriter to see who could produce the top performing ad copy, spoiler the human won. She also shared how AI is able to help scale the ad creation process for businesses. Ultimately Ameet’s presentation wasn’t about one being better than the other, but that together marketers can play off AI’s strengths while injecting our own knowledge of our client’s businesses and best practices to drive the best results.
If you’d like to dive deeper into AI and how to rank in AI results be sure to read this article on Generative Engine Optimization.
Another topic I found interesting is Navah Hopkins’s presentation on challenging PPC biases with data. A key value we share at Revel is strategic impact, which means we are constantly looking at the data to identify actionable insights we can use to achieve our goals, which aligns perfectly with Navah’s topic. She started the discussion defining biases and why people might have them when it comes to their PPC advertising, examples such as, information delivered from a supposed “expert” or a norm in the industry that people are comfortable without questioning. Navah then went on to dispel multiple common beliefs in the PPC industry, backed by data from Optmyzr.
One example of a bias in PPC is search ad capitalization. In every agency I have worked at, the best practice has always been to write all search ads in title case, capitalizing the first letter in every word of an ad. With Navah’s data she shared, it showed that sentence casing, capitalizing the first letter of every sentence in an ad, overall performed better than title casing! This and the other data she shared has been a great conversation starter for our teams internally identifying other biases we would like to test against the data we have for our clients.
The day closed out with a presentation from Ginny Marvin, Google’s Ad Liaison, on Google Ads in 2025. In PPC everything is constantly evolving and Ginny was able to share a recap of some of the recent changes to Performance Max & Demand Gen campaign types. While she wasn’t able to share any brand new updates with us, she did say that with AI overviews playing a more critical role in the SERP, Google is testing new ways to deliver the best value for users and advertisers. Also, to keep an eye out for new ways to reach users in the near future.
With that, the PSA Conference 2025 came to a close. We greatly appreciated hearing from such a fantastic group of speakers and look forward to next year’s event! To watch the full 2025 conference be sure to visit the Paid Search Association’s YouTube channel and for other digital marketing news stay tuned to the Revel Interactive blog.
Photo: © ChristianChan from Getty Images
Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the latest digital marketing toolkit required to respond to the way people search and interact with information online.
According to Christina Adam of Search Engine Journal:
“GEO stands for ‘generative engine optimization’ which means the process of optimizing your website’s content to boost its visibility in AI-driven search engines such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and Google AI Overviews.”
Both Generative Engine Optimization and Search Engine Optimization are fundamental to modern digital marketing, but they operate in distinct ways.
GEO strategies aim to surface your content in a summary of information or a conversational reply to a user’s query, while traditional SEO aims to provide a specific page of your website to answer a user's query, and drive traffic to your website.
Traditional Search will be less important going into the future. According to research conducted by Gartner:
“Gartner predicts a significant drop in traditional search volume by 25% by 2026, with organic search traffic expected to decrease by over 50% as consumers embrace AI-powered search. Additionally, 79% of consumers are expected to use AI-enhanced search within the next year and 70% already trust generative AI search results.”
ChatGPT’s developer Open AI recently launched a prototype of SearchGPT, and we expect to see more AI powered search engines enter the market alongside it. Open AI defines SearchGPT as “a prototype of new AI search features that give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.” On the surface, this sounds like the mission of traditional search. But, the overall goal of the AI-powered search engine is to introduce a more conversational format with clear sources for the best possible user experience, beyond the traditional search experience of compiling information across multiple website visits.
SEO optimizes for traditional search engines that present a list of links, while GEO focuses on AI systems that synthesize and prioritize information for quick, comprehensive responses.
GEO ensures content is contextually relevant, enabling AI to generate accurate responses, whereas SEO emphasizes optimizing content with keywords and meta tags.
SEO aims to improve the ranking of individual pages, while GEO focuses on how AI integrates content from multiple sources to deliver comprehensive answers.
Generative Engine Optimization uses advanced AI to better interpret and anticipate user intent, offering more nuanced responses than traditional SEO.
GEO requires ongoing adaptation to the evolving capabilities and methodologies of AI, beyond the updates in traditional search engine algorithms.
Generative Engine Optimization optimizes content for AI parsing, including structured data and natural language formats, while SEO focuses on traditional search engine formats.
GEO strategies are informed by analyzing AI content structures and citation patterns, while SEO relies on keyword research and technical analysis.
Generative Engine Optimization tracks referral traffic from AI engines and how content is prioritized by AI, whereas SEO monitors keyword performance and search rankings.
Generative Engine Optimization brings many benefits to users both now and in the future including:
GEO leverages AI-driven content to expand visibility, reaching broader and more diverse audiences.
By generating personalized content, Generative Engine Optimization delivers more relevant and engaging experiences tailored to user needs.
GEO's ability to produce dynamic content gives you an edge by quickly adapting to market trends and customer preferences.
Generative Engine Optimization strengthens your brand by consistently generating high-quality, authoritative responses, reinforcing trust with your audience.
GEO harnesses AI to analyze and optimize content performance, driving smarter decision-making.
Generative Engine Optimization provides ecommerce businesses with new opportunities in how people use Search Engines to find their products and discover their brand.
While GEO is a new and evolving landscape some pioneers in the space published research on key factors that contribute to visibility in AI-generated responses.
The first large-scale study on these factors was conducted by researchers from Princeton, Georgia Tech, The Allen Institute of AI and IIT Delhi. They identified the most influential GEO methods to be statistics addition, quotation addition, and citing sources. Fluency optimization and readability also contributed to measurable improvements in metrics they used to evaluate GEO success. Keywords, which tend to hold high-importance on the SEO side, interestingly offered little to no improvement as a GEO strategy.
NP Digital studied several factors that contribute to ranking Ecommerce Brands in ChatGPT and found that relevancy and brand mentions were top factors. This study defined relevancy as the “correlation between the keywords in the question we asked ChatGPT and the products and companies it recommended” based on “pages around the web mentioning the product and service mentioned.” Note, this does not mean the keywords on the site itself, rather the way people speak about the brand on other pages. Brand mentions here mean the more often a brand was mentioned, the more likely it was that ChatGPT would recommend it.
Similar to SEO, GEO gets its benefit from repeatable content patterns that you can integrate into your ecommerce website.
You can increase your ecommerce website rankings for Generative Search Engines by improving Generative Engine algorithm ranking factors. Revel has identified some ecommerce-first recommendations to improve your brands’ presence in generative responses.
Given the impact of relevancy, brand mentions, and quotation additions from cited sources, Revel recommends a focus on digital PR and affiliate content partnerships. The higher volume of references back to your ecommerce website from credible sources, the more likely your brand name is to show up.
Add relevant citations and use quotations from credible sources on your ecommerce site. In practice, this means you should add any press mentions to your website. Add an “in the press” section on your ecommerce website to cross post press mentions and celebrity endorsements. If your product earned a spot on a top 10 listicle, for instance, make sure that’s included on the product page. Use your homepage to share “As seen in…” callouts. Quotation addition is also relevant when speaking to customer testimonials. Wherever possible, highlight product reviews and approved customer testimonials.
Add statistics to your Ecommerce website. This can look different depending on your product, but reviews, purchase behavior and product studies are a great place to start. Statistics from reviews may be callouts that “90% of customers say this item fits true to size” or “94% of respondents would recommend this to a friend.” In many industries, products are independently tested for effectiveness. You can use these results to highlight statistics as well. For example, in skincare you could share that “75% agreed skin felt smoother after daily use.”
As the digital marketing landscape continues to evolve, integrating Generative Engine Optimization with Search Engine Optimization is crucial for maintaining your brand’s competitive edge. By understanding and leveraging the unique strengths of both, brands can create a robust digital presence that meets the needs of today’s consumers and positions them for success in the future. Are you ready to supercharge your Brands’ Generative Engine Optimization efforts? Schedule a consultation with our optimization specialists and get started today!
Photo: © KHUNKORN from khunkorn
TikTok’s popularity among marketers is rapidly growing, with businesses worldwide utilizing the platform to advertise their brand and products. In 2023, more than 35,500 brands spent $3.8 billion advertising on TikTok (Marketing Brew). TikTok has emerged as a powerhouse platform, not just for entertainment but also as a dynamic space for brand promotion and engagement. Central to TikTok's success in facilitating brand growth is its innovative integration of artificial intelligence technologies.
From content recommendation and targeted advertising to creative enhancement tools and influencer partnerships, TikTok's AI capabilities offer a comprehensive suite of solutions tailored to elevate brand visibility, engagement, and ultimately, conversion rates on the platform. Just this year, TikTok has rolled out a number of new AI components to assist brands.
What are some of TikTok’s AI capabilities for brands?
TikTok Creative Assistant: Within the TikTok Creative Center, TikTok Creative Assistant is an AI-powered virtual assistant that provides recommendations to improve ad creative elements such as video duration, aspect ratio, and content style. The Creative Assistant leverages TikTok's AI algorithms to analyze historical performance data and identify trends, offering actionable suggestions to enhance ad effectiveness. This tool aims to empower advertisers to create more engaging and effective ads but ultimately brands are in control and have the option to use, discard, or edit the materials.
TikTok Symphony: TikTok Symphony is a new AI suite that combines human creativity and AI-powered technology to help brands scale content development and productivity on the app. Symphony helps with everything from writing scripts to generating videos using assets already uploaded to TikTok Ads Manager or based on product information. Additionally, it can help fix or optimize a brand's existing videos to make it stand out from competitors.
Avatars: One of the newest additions to the Symphony Creative Studio is avatars. There are a range of different avatars that brands can use in their content. They are highly customizable and human-like, fully generated by AI. Marketers can be modified by their appearance, style, and environment they are in. They can also read off scripts for content and can also translate these scripts into different languages.
Content creation is one of the biggest barriers to enter and compete in the TikTok game, whether that’s due to lack of resources or time to create engaging content. With these AI capabilities, TikTok does most of the work for you, and you still have a large amount of control over the content that is produced. AI can be daunting, but TikTok’s offerings put you in charge of how you want your creative to look, feel, and align with your brand completely.
Overall, TikTok’s AI capabilities offer significant advantages in content creation, audience engagement, trend analysis, advertising efficiency, and strategic insights, making it a valuable platform for brands looking to enhance their digital marketing efforts. There is much more to come for TikTok and AI, we are just seeing the first round of options available to brands.
Photo: © cottonbro studio
As AI advances exponentially, expect to see drastic changes in Google’s generative AI models in the coming years. Google’s recent integration of Gemini Imagen 2 into Google Ads emphasizes the importance of leveraging generative AI capabilities, expanding image display options and embracing generated content.
Digital marketing has changed a lot over the years. With advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), marketers can do amazing things in a short amount of time. But human input is still essential even with all these new tools. In this blog post, we’ll explore how mixing AI tools and insights with human creativity ensures success in paid media campaigns.
AI is like a super-brain for digital marketing. It can look at vast amounts of data quickly. Imagine reading a thousand books to find out what people like to buy. That would take a while (and most likely be outdated information by the time one finished but I digress)! But AI can do it in minutes. Here’s how AI helps in digital marketing:
Data Analysis: AI can look at data and tell us what’s working and what’s not. This helps marketers make better decisions.
Efficiency: Because AI works so fast, it saves marketers a lot of time. They can spend this extra time being creative.
Ad Placements: AI can find the best places to put ads so the right people see them in optimized places.
Targeting Strategies: AI helps determine who will likely buy a product so ads can be shown to the right people.
Personalized Marketing: AI can create personalized ads that display people’s interests at the right time.
Using AI in marketing helps companies stay ahead of the game. It keeps them competitive because they can quickly adapt to what people want. It also sparks innovation because marketers can try new things without spending too much time on the basics.
Even though AI is extremely useful, it can’t do everything. Here are some reasons why human involvement is still necessary:
Lack of Context: AI might not know all the details about a product. For example, if an AI creates an ad for a moisturizer, it might miss the special ingredients that make the product unique. Sure, AI prompts can help get one closer to a better end-result but a heavy human hand is still essential. Pro Tip: asking AI to help set objectives will get you one step closer to an optimized response.
Brand Nuances: Each brand has a unique voice and style. AI often does not understand these subtle differences. This is where human creativity shines. Be sure to do the pre-work of prompting audience personas, content pillars, as well as brand USPs.
Campaign Subtleties: Marketing campaigns often have subtle messages. AI might miss these, but humans can pick up on them and ensure the campaign’s success.
Let’s look at a real example that we whipped up to further our points in this post with Google’s Gemini AI tool. LATHER is a client of Revel’s and a skincare brand that uses natural ingredients. We asked Google’s AI to create an ad for their Sweet Almond Face Moisturizer against a scenic backdrop, keeping in mind their branding. The AI did poorly, missing the brand's essence and not highlighting the natural ingredients that make LATHER unique. This is where humans stepped in and adjusted the ad to reflect the brand’s true nature. Of course, being a great prompt creator is important with crafting desired outcomes from AI, but illustration below as an example without further prompts.
At Revel Interactive, we believe in using AI to improve our work. AI helps us analyze data, save time, and reach the right people. It keeps us competitive and innovative. But we also know that AI has its limits.
We make sure that humans are always involved in the process. Human creativity ensures that our campaigns have the right touch. We look at the details, understand the brand, and connect with the audience on a deeper level.
By blending AI with a human touch, we create long-term success for our clients. We embrace AI for what it does best but always keep an eye on the bigger picture. This balanced approach keeps us ahead of the curve and ensures that our marketing efforts are always top-notch.
Learn About AI Tools: Start by researching different AI tools available for marketers. Look for ones that fit your needs.
Analyze Your Data: Use AI to look at your marketing data. Find out what’s working and what needs improvement.
Save Time: Let AI handle repetitive tasks like data analysis and ad placements. Use the saved time to brainstorm creative ideas.
Personalize Your Campaigns: Use AI to create personalized ads that speak directly to your audience.
Monitor and Adjust: Always keep an eye on your AI-generated content. Make sure it aligns with your brand’s voice and message.
Review AI Work: Always review the work done by AI. Ensure it captures your brand’s essence.
Add Creativity: Use your creativity to add a unique touch to your campaigns. Remember, people connect with stories and emotions.
Understand Your Audience: Get to know your audience on a personal level. Use this understanding to create more impactful campaigns.
Stay Informed: Keep learning about new AI developments and how they can help your marketing efforts.
Balance AI and Human Efforts: Find the right balance between AI efficiency and human creativity for the best results.
The world of digital marketing is constantly evolving. AI brings a lot of power and efficiency to the table. But it’s (for now) the human touch that ensures campaigns are brand-right, meaningful and engaging. By leveraging AI and adding human creativity, marketers can achieve great success. At Revel Interactive, we blend the best of both worlds to create lasting impact for our clients.
While we have to embrace AI, and have been leaning into automation for years now, also recognize its limits as it develops, and marry the human touch in digital marketing while things evolve.
Photo: © Blue Planet Studio
