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Industry Insights
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Search Influence Joins the 2026 UPCEA Annual Conference in New Orleans
The 2026 UPCEA Annual Conference, taking place April 15–17 in New Orleans, will bring together leaders across online and professional education to discuss the future of higher education strategy, technology, and student engagement. Search Influence will participate in this year’s event through speaking sessions, thought leadership, and in-person conversations with …
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The Hidden Cost of “Good Enough” SEO in the Age of AI
Key Insights Traditional SEO still matters. Technical health, keyword research, authority signals, and high-quality content remain the foundation of search visibility in the age of AI. AI search changes how visibility is earned. Ranking in traditional search results is no longer enough. Institutions must also earn citations in AI summaries, …
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What Are Google Performance Max Campaigns? Strategy, Best Practices, and Optimization Guide
Key Insights Performance Max campaigns expand reach across all of Google’s channels from a single campaign. AI optimizes placements and bidding to drive conversions across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, and more. Performance Max works best alongside Search campaigns. Search captures high-intent demand, while PMax identifies incremental opportunities and new customer …
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Will Scott Named to UPCEA Board of Directors as Corporate Partner Representative
Search Influence is proud to announce that CEO and Co-Founder Will Scott has been named to the UPCEA Board of Directors as Corporate Partner Representative for a one-year term (2026–2027). His appointment reflects his leadership in higher education digital marketing and Search Influence’s longstanding collaboration with UPCEA, the leading association …
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Paid Search vs. Paid Social in an AI-Driven Funnel
Key Insights Paid search and paid social do not compete. They complement each other. Paid social creates demand and brand awareness, while paid search captures high-intent users actively searching for solutions. AI has compressed the marketing funnel. Users now move fluidly between social media feeds, AI Overviews, and search engine …
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Will Scott Shares Higher Education AI Search Research in Search Engine Land Article
Search behavior has evolved. Most SEO strategies haven’t. AI Overviews appear before organic listings. LLM answers shape early trust. Citations determine which brands make it onto a user’s shortlist at all. New AI search research makes that shift impossible to ignore. In a recent article published in Search Engine Land, …
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Foundational SEO vs AI SEO: Paula French on What Businesses Actually Need
Search is evolving fast. But that doesn’t mean the foundation disappears. On February 6, Paula French, Director of Sales and Marketing at Search Influence, joined the SEO On-Air podcast to unpack one of the biggest questions in digital marketing right now: what is the real difference between foundational SEO and …
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Will Scott Returns to SMX Online With Generative Engine Optimization Master Class
On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, Will Scott, Co-Founder and CEO of Search Influence, returns to SMX Online to teach his Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Master Class, the best-selling Master Class in SMX Online history. The live, online session runs from 11:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET and is available both …
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Inside Bing’s New AI Performance Report: What 20,000 Copilot Citations Taught Us
Bing launched an AI Performance report inside Webmaster Tools earlier this month. We pulled our data the same day. 91 days of Copilot citation data. 19,717 total citations across 86 pages. One page accounting for 69% of all of them. We’ve been tracking AI search visibility for clients using Scrunch …
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Your AI Traffic Has Plateaued. Now What?
Key Insights The AI traffic plateau is real and expected. The experimental growth phase is over; we’ve entered an optimization and efficiency phase. AI-referred traffic is smaller but higher quality. Engagement time and intent consistently outperform traditional organic sessions. Visibility ≠ measurability. AI Overviews and AI Mode remain partial black …
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