People Don’t Refer Categories. They Refer Moments.

A lot of businesses say they want more referrals.

So they tell people:

“I work with small businesses.” “I’m a marketing consultant.” “I do fractional CFO work.” “I build websites.”

That tells me what bucket you’re in.

It doesn’t tell me when to think of you.

A useful referral trigger sounds more like:

“They’ve been spending on marketing, but nobody can explain why customers should choose them.”

“They’re growing, but the owner still has to approve every financial decision.”

“Their website looks fine, but they keep attracting the wrong leads.”

Those are moments.

Situations people recognize.

And that matters because your referral partners are not walking around mentally sorting everyone they meet into vendor categories.

They notice problems.

They hear complaints.

They recognize situations.

Good positioning doesn’t just help customers understand what you do.

It teaches other people when to remember you.

That may be one of the most overlooked jobs of positioning.

— Brian Griffiths

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Web Jawn

Curated by Seth Goldstein

How to Do Zero Click Marketing? Get People to Care.

On backlinks, humans, and blue spoons. Also, will you be around for LA Tech Week? Please come see me.

The MenuAmanda Natividad

Amanda is the queen of the Zero Click Marketing arena. Her book called Zero Click Marketing (co-written by Rand Fishkin) comes out soon, too.

The State of the CMO

The age of AI is making marketing more important than ever—but more expectations and responsibilities, combined with largely flat budgets, are putting pressure on top practitioners.

Morning BrewKelsey Sutton and Kristina Monllos

Fractional-roles for high level jobs are springing up everywhere. Every event I go to someone is a CXO of something. This in an interesting study for the fractional CMO.

Here’s Everything OpenAI’s Bots (And Others) Have Hacked Or Considered Hacking

It’s getting hard to keep track of all the unauthorized agent activity. Here it is in one place.

Big TechnologyMarty Swant and Alex Kantrowitz

Good grief! This is nuts.

Sam Altman says OpenAI won’t go public until its models are safe

The OpenAI CEO said he didn’t want ‘additional pressure’ from Wall Street.

The VergeHayden Field

I don't believe Sam, not for a minute. The minute it looks like he can do it without looking too much like a schmuck he'll do it.

OpenAI pauses training of latest models after agents searched U.S. government sites in unexpected ways

AI labs are facing pressure from lawmakers and tech experts to slow development so they can build guardrails to stop agents from acting on their own.

NBC NewsThe Associated Press

There's got to be a way to stop AI from going rogue. I think it's between the two ears of the developers over at OpenAI and these models. They need to be held accountable.

Hackers stole millions of US military personnel records during months-long data breach | TechCrunch

The Department of Defense notified millions of current and former U.S. military personnel that their personal information had been stolen in a months-long breach.

TechCrunchZack Whittaker

Yikes!

Trust Everywhere is Falling... EXCEPT Podcasts

+Happy International Podcast Day (Sep 30)

Stories & Strategies Podcasting NewsletterStories & Strategies Podcasting Newsletter

YEP! Podcasts folks! Doug should know too!

Podcasting’s Biggest Platforms Don’t Actually Care About Podcasts

+How to Prevent People just “Clauding” Your Transcript and not Listening & How Important is (or isn’t) Cover Art?

Stories & Strategies Podcasting NewsletterStories & Strategies Podcasting Newsletter

Another good post from Doug! And great use of this meme:

Podcast Movement 2026: Trends and Key Takeaways | Podglomerate

Podcast Movement made its NYC debut at Terminal 5. Here’s what we learned about AI search, podcasting’s history, platform growth, and the industry’s next era.

Podglomerate | We Make Podcasts WorkJoni Deutsch

Some good takeaways from Podglomerate!

WP Engine v. Automattic, Two Years On: Where the WordPress Drama Stands

WP Engine’s lawsuit against Automattic turns two today. From a keynote and an 8% royalty demand to a jury trial that’s a year away, here’s where it stands and why it’s far from over.

The RepositoryRae Morey

How are we still talking about this two years on? Geezus! Enough already.

How Small Podcasts Can Make Money Without Landing a Big Sponsor

You do not need one big-name sponsor to earn from your show. Gratitude Geek host Kandas Rodarte breaks down the realistic mix that actually pays…

Marketing Podcast NetworkChris Slater

A great piece on how to monetize your show without those big sponsors.

Can AI Be Used for Good?

Is the real danger the technology or the companies racing to deploy it?

The Buzz by Geoff LivingstonGeoff Livingston

I think it can, but not at the speed we're going.

Google Updates AI Content Guidelines: Manually Factcheck & Review AI-Generated Content

Google has updated Google Search’s “guidance on using generative AI content on your website” document to tell those who use AI-generated content to “manually factcheck and review all AI-generated content for accuracy and trustworthiness before publishing.”

Search Engine RoundtableBarry Schwartz

Yes, you SHOULD be manually checking what AI puts out there under your brand and/or name. This isn't rocket science folks.

AI Overviews on branded queries tripled in September

Daily SERP tracking on branded keywords. AI Overview presence held near 27 percent for most of September 2026, then rose to 90.5 percent on 27 September and stayed above 80.

DemandSphereRay Grieselhuber

You should be monitoring your brand in AI Search.

#serpsqueezemonday #seofomo | Aleyda Solís | 37 comments

69% more YOY searches, 34% fewer organic clicks? Welcome to the first SERP Squeeze Monday! 👇 Every Monday, I’ll share a popular commercial search query, clicks and Google SERPs shifts in the last year, to show how SERPs changes are squeezing traditional organic results... and website clicks. 🔍 This week’s query: “basketball shoes” in the US. According to Similarweb, comparing August 2026 vs 2025: 📈 Search volume grew from 50.9K to 86.1K: +69% 📉 Organic clicks fell from 18.8K to 12.4K: -34% 📉 Paid clicks also fell, from 14.1K to 4.9K: -65% What changed in the SERP? The August YOY snapshot from Ahrefs shows: * Traditional organic results went from 9 to 7 within the top 10 positions. * A Local Pack and People Also Ask were included. * The Shopping Pack moved from position 10 to position 3. Interesting to note how there’s no AI Overview in this case and it shows how AIO’s are not the only cause of the SERP Squeeze and clicks decrease from SERPs! Are you seeing similar patterns for your commercial queries? Let’s give more visibility to the SERP Squeeze and share your own examples 👀 I’ll be sharing mine every week in the #SERPSqueezeMonday! The most shocking ones will get featured in #SEOFOMO 😉 | 37 comments on LinkedIn

LinkedInAleyda Solís

I'm intrigued...

Prediction: the next massive Google update is around the corner

Google is telling us in writing what it plans to go after next: scaled AI content, fake authors, and the GEO tactics built to game AI answers.

Lily RayLily Ray

Yes, SEO is a circle. Every change is met with the same actions.

How Meta stumbled onto a winning AI strategy

Having tried every bad idea, Meta now has the best vision for the future of AI chatbots. I still don’t recommend it. Here’s why.

ComputerworldMike Elgan

Still don't trust Meta with anything.

OpenAI “rogue” agent activities found on Wikimedia projects

Recently, multiple organisations have disclosed how clusters of so-called “rogue” AI agents attempted to break into websites and online services, sometimes successfully. Agents from OpenAI’s enviro…

DiffSelena Deckelmann

Good grief.

Reddit is killing RSS feeds and ending public API access because of AI bots | TechCrunch

Reddit is ending support for RSS feeds, as the company continues tightening access to its trove of user-generated content.

TechCrunchSarah Perez

Come on, it's definitely not the only reason. It's the reason they are giving and a way to start making more money.

Web Find & Funnies

Curated by Brian Griffiths

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-Seth

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