Josh Maraney - SEO, Google Ads and Answer Engine Optimisation Podcast

ChatGPT Is Now Handling Search Activity Equivalent to 20% of Google Searches!

That’s a massive number, and something every business owner and digital marketer should be paying attention to.

According to OpenAI, the number of searches happening on ChatGPT is now equivalent to approximately 20% of Google’s search volume.

Now, the exact figures are debatable, and Google’s own search numbers aren’t always clear. But regardless of the precise percentage, one thing is certain.

An enormous amount of searching is now happening on ChatGPT!

And here’s what I find particularly interesting.

Despite all these searches, research from Ahrefs shows that ChatGPT still sends nowhere near the amount of website traffic that Google does.

And when you think about it, that makes sense.

People are asking ChatGPT questions, getting their answers and often never clicking through to a website.

They might even discover a business on ChatGPT and then go directly to Google to search for that brand.

So just because you’re not seeing much traffic from ChatGPT doesn’t mean people aren’t discovering your business there.

This is something I think far too many businesses are overlooking.

Yes, ChatGPT advertising is exciting, and there’s definitely an opportunity there.

But what I’m far more interested in is whether businesses are actually appearing organically when people ask ChatGPT for recommendations.

And the same goes for Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews.

That’s why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) are becoming so important.

Google is still incredibly powerful, but the way people search and discover businesses is changing.

The question you need to ask yourself is simple: When someone asks ChatGPT about the products or services you offer, does your business come up?

#ChatGPT #AnswerEngineOptimization #SEO #DigitalMarketing #AISearch

Big Brands Bullying Content Creators!

How’s this for chutzpah?

A leading technology brand in South Africa recently approached me to promote their products through video reviews.

They loved my content, wanted to work with me and thought I’d be a great fit for their brand.

Sounds fantastic, right?

Until we started discussing payment!

They wouldn’t pay me per video. They wouldn’t offer commission on sales. And they wouldn’t even let me keep the products I was reviewing!

So essentially, they expected me to create content, promote their products and give them exposure, all for absolutely nothing.

And here’s where it gets even more ridiculous.

They genuinely believed THEY were doing ME a favour!

Apparently, the privilege of being associated with their brand was supposed to be enough compensation because it might lead to other opportunities in the future.

Are you serious?

Content creation takes time, effort, experience and resources. Just because a company has a big name doesn’t mean it gets to demand free work from creators.

And what really concerns me is how smaller content creators might feel pressured to accept these arrangements because they’re desperate for exposure or opportunities.

Exposure doesn’t pay the bills, and a big brand name doesn’t give a company the right to take advantage of people.

I turned down the offer immediately.

I have no problem working with brands, but there needs to be mutual respect and a fair exchange of value.

Am I being unreasonable, or are some big brands becoming far too comfortable expecting content creators to work for free?

#ContentCreators #InfluencerMarketing #BrandPartnerships #CreatorEconomy #ContentMarketing

Vagueness Is the Enemy of Digital Marketers!

One of the biggest problems I see in digital marketing isn’t a lack of knowledge, experience or even budget.

It’s vagueness!

Whether you’re dealing with SEO, Google Ads, social media advertising or Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), being vague can seriously affect your results.

I’ve seen it countless times when dealing with clients, employees and other digital marketing professionals.

People ask vague questions, give incomplete answers, overlook important details and then wonder why they’re not getting the results they expected.

If you don’t properly understand the problem, how can you possibly find the right solution?

Digital marketing is all about understanding the details.

What exactly are you trying to achieve? What’s working? What’s not working? Where are the problems? What does the data actually tell you?

Don’t settle for vague explanations or answers that don’t address the real issue.

Ask better questions. Give more detailed answers. Be specific about your objectives, your strategy and your results.

Sometimes providing more information rather than less can make all the difference.

The best digital marketers are the ones who pay attention to the smallest details and refuse to settle for vague answers.

If you want to build a successful digital marketing team and deliver outstanding results, make attention to detail part of everything you do.

#DigitalMarketing #SEO #GoogleAds #MarketingStrategy #DigitalMarketingTips

ChatGPT Ads Are Great, But Organic Results Are Even Better!

Since announcing that ChatGPT advertising is coming to South Africa, I’ve been flooded with enquiries from businesses wanting to get their ads onto the platform.

And I completely understand why!

But here’s what so many businesses are overlooking.

Why focus only on paying for advertising on ChatGPT when you could also be getting your business discovered organically?

Think about it.

Millions of people are turning to AI platforms to research products, compare services, discover businesses and make purchasing decisions.

The real opportunity isn’t just advertising to these people. It’s making sure your business appears organically when they’re asking relevant questions.

And I’m not just talking about ChatGPT.

I’m talking about Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and traditional Google organic search results.

This is exactly why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) are becoming increasingly important.

Advertising is fantastic, but the moment you stop paying, your ads stop appearing.

Organic visibility, on the other hand, is a long-term investment that can continue generating traffic, leads and sales without paying for every click.

The biggest opportunity is building a business that people can discover across search engines and AI platforms, whether you’re paying for advertising or not.

Don’t become so obsessed with ChatGPT Ads that you overlook the potential of organic search and AI visibility.

Here’s the question every business owner should be asking: When someone asks ChatGPT to recommend a business like yours, does your company appear?

#ChatGPT #AnswerEngineOptimization #AEO #SEO #ChatGPTAds 

Google Is Poisoning Search Results! Can You Still Trust Your SEO Rankings?

This is massive news for the SEO industry, and something every SEO agency, digital marketer and website owner needs to know about!

Google is reportedly showing different search results to third-party SEO tracking tools compared to what real users are seeing on Google.

And the implications are enormous!

Ahrefs has officially reported that between 5% and 20% of search results are being affected, depending on the data provider.

We’re talking about tools that millions of SEO professionals rely on, including Ahrefs, Semrush, SE Ranking and other ranking platforms.

Think about what this means.

You could be reporting that a client’s rankings have dropped dramatically when, in reality, their rankings haven’t changed at all!

Or even worse, your SEO reports could be showing fantastic improvements that aren’t reflected in actual Google searches.

This raises serious questions about the accuracy of SEO reporting, competitor analysis and keyword tracking.

My advice? Don’t blindly trust third-party SEO data!

Check the actual Google search results, compare your findings with Google Search Console and investigate unusual ranking fluctuations before drawing conclusions.

Third-party SEO tools remain incredibly valuable, but understanding their limitations has never been more important.

If you’re paying an SEO agency, how confident are you that the rankings they’re reporting are accurate?

#SEO #GoogleSearch #Ahrefs #Semrush #SEOTools

Google Search Is Dying? Explain This $82 BILLION!

While everyone is talking about ChatGPT replacing Google, Google has just delivered one of the biggest reminders of who’s still dominating online advertising.

$82 BILLION in advertising revenue. In just THREE MONTHS!

That’s almost $900 MILLION every single day!

And here’s what makes these numbers even more interesting.

Google Search and related advertising alone generated over $63 billion, and Google reported its strongest year-on-year growth in search queries in five years.

So much for Google Search being dead!

Yes, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and other AI platforms are growing rapidly. But that doesn’t mean people have suddenly stopped using Google.

In fact, Google is evolving too, with AI Overviews, AI Mode and increasingly sophisticated search experiences.

Here’s what I think businesses need to understand.

Your potential customers are still searching on Google every single day. They’re looking for products, comparing services, researching businesses and making purchasing decisions.

And if your business isn’t visible through Google Ads, Shopping, organic SEO or AI-powered search results, you’re potentially handing those customers straight to your competitors.

AI is changing search, but it certainly hasn’t killed Google.

Stop listening to people telling you Google is dead. Start looking at the numbers!

#GoogleAds #GoogleSearch #alphabet #google #goog 

Why Big Companies and Brands Often Ignore Their SEO

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that the bigger the brand, the more likely they are to overlook serious problems with their SEO.

And what’s even more surprising is that many of them don’t seem particularly concerned when these issues are brought to their attention.

Why? Because sales are doing well, so they assume their SEO must be performing well too.

But here’s what many businesses don’t realise.

A significant portion of their organic traffic and sales often comes from branded searches, either people searching for their company name or the well-known brands they sell.

What they’re missing is the enormous opportunity to attract new customers through non-branded keywords, where potential customers are searching for products and services without knowing which company to choose.

I’ve audited major retailers where organic rankings and traffic have declined dramatically, with some potentially missing out on 25,000 additional website visitors every month.

Yet despite seeing the data, some businesses simply aren’t interested.

And that’s what separates companies that are comfortable with their current performance from those that are serious about growth.

The businesses I love working with are the ones that recognise opportunities, even when they’re already successful.

Just because your sales are doing well doesn’t mean your SEO is doing well.

You could be missing out on thousands of potential customers every single month without even realising it.

If you want to understand how your website is really performing and identify opportunities to increase your organic traffic, get in touch for a professional SEO audit.

www.topclick.co.za

#SEO #OrganicTraffic #GoogleRankings #searchengineoptimization  #google 

Check If Google Has Turned On AI Max In Your Google Ads Account!

If you’re running Google Ads Search campaigns, there’s an important setting you need to check immediately.

It’s called AI Max, and we’ve been finding it enabled in a significant number of Google Ads accounts we’ve recently audited.

Google now enables AI Max by default when creating new Search campaigns, and certain existing campaigns have also been automatically upgraded.

Here’s why I’m concerned.

When AI Max is enabled, Google can:

1. Expand Your Keyword Targeting: Show your ads for additional search terms beyond your existing keywords, potentially attracting irrelevant traffic.
2. Automatically Generate Ad Copy: Create headlines and descriptions using content from your website, potentially producing messaging you never approved.
3. Expand Your Landing Page URLs: Direct visitors to other pages on your website, including pages you might not want to use for advertising.

In many of the accounts we’ve audited, we’ve found extremely poor search terms and questionable targeting.

And remember, AI Max is not the same thing as advertising within Google’s AI Overviews.

Here’s How To Check:

Open Google Ads → Select Your Search Campaign → Settings → AI Max.

Review the settings, check your Search Terms Report and understand exactly what Google is doing with your advertising budget.

My recommendation? Don’t leave AI Max enabled unless you understand exactly how it works and have reviewed the results.

If you want a professional Google Ads audit, visit topclick.co.za or send me a DM.

#GoogleAds #AIMax #PPC #GoogleAdvertising #DigitalMarketing

If You Don’t Pay Your Invoices, You’re a Criminal!

One of the most frustrating things about running a business is dealing with clients who simply refuse to pay for work that’s already been completed.

You agree on a price, sign a contract, deliver the work as promised, send the invoice, and then suddenly the excuses begin.

Cash flow problems. Delayed payments. Promises to pay later. Or even worse, complete silence.

What some people don’t seem to understand is the enormous stress this puts on business owners.

Businesses rely on those payments to cover salaries, suppliers, stock, operational expenses and everything else that keeps a company running.

Your cash flow problems should not become someone else’s financial burden.

I’ve spoken to countless business owners who have experienced exactly the same thing, and it’s unacceptable.

If someone has delivered the work you agreed to pay for, honour your commitment and pay your invoice when it’s due.

Not every unpaid invoice is legally a criminal offence, but deliberately refusing to pay for work you’ve received is completely unacceptable.

Stop making excuses. Pay people what you owe them.

#LatePayments #CashFlow #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #BusinessOwners

ChatGPT Ads Have Officially Launched in South Africa!

This is massive news for digital marketing in South Africa!

OpenAI has officially announced that ChatGPT advertising is expanding into South Africa, opening up an entirely new advertising channel for businesses.

And this is a big deal.

People are increasingly using ChatGPT to research products, compare services, find businesses and make purchasing decisions.

Now advertisers have an opportunity to reach potential customers while they’re actively researching and considering their options.

Here’s what you need to know:

• ChatGPT Ads will appear on Free and Go subscription plans.
• Advertisements will be clearly labelled as sponsored and displayed separately from ChatGPT’s answers.
• Ads can be relevant to the context of conversations and what users are looking for.
• Advertising will not influence ChatGPT’s organic answers or recommendations.
• Businesses can access the advertising platform through supported partners or Ads Manager, subject to account availability.

According to OpenAI, more than 100,000 advertisers have already run campaigns on ChatGPT globally.

For South African businesses, this introduces another potential channel alongside Google Ads, SEO, Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) and social media advertising.

The big question now is how effectively these advertisements will generate traffic, leads and actual sales.

Are ChatGPT Ads going to become the next major digital advertising platform in South Africa?

#ChatGPTAds #ChatGPT  #SouthAfrica #advertising  #AEO