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Short, plain-English reads on what changed, why it matters, and the move to make next.
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- Jun 17, 2026
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Meta Advantage+ is the default now. Where your budget moves
Meta Advantage+ is the default now. Where your budget moves
Meta merged manual and Advantage+ into one flow, so AI sets targeting, placements and budget by default. Here is the leak to plug and the lever that still pays.
Jun 13, 2026 · 5 min read
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Meta CPMs are rising into H2. Protect your payback
Meta CPMs are rising into H2. Protect your payback
Meta CPMs climbed double digits in 2025 and Q4 runs hottest. The levers that hold ROAS and CAC when impressions get more expensive, before you cut spend.
The move. Rising CPMs raise your CAC whether or not your creative changed. The fix is not less spend. It is more creative volume, a stronger offer, and better retention so each customer is worth paying more to win.
AI Overviews are draining your cheapest top-of-funnel
AI Overviews are draining your cheapest top-of-funnel
Google answers most informational searches on the page now. Here is what that does to your blended CAC and the budget moves that still pay back.
The move. The free clicks at the top of the funnel are repricing toward paid. Defend branded search, build buying-intent pages, and win local before your CAC catches up.
Google Ads gave you back three controls. Use them to stop waste
Google Ads gave you back three controls. Use them to stop waste
Performance Max was a black box. In 2026 you can see search terms, block placements account-wide, and add negatives. Here is how each one protects budget.
The move. Three new controls let you stop Performance Max from spending on junk and from buying back your own brand. Turn them on and you recover budget that was leaking straight out the bottom of the funnel.
When AI recommends a business, what is it buying?
When AI recommends a business, what is it buying?
Half of US shoppers research with AI, and that traffic converts a third better. Here is what the assistants pull from, and how to get named without paying for it.
The move. AI referrals convert about a third better than other channels, and the way in is free: Merchant Center, Perplexity's merchant program, clean schema, and fresh reviews. If you are not in the data, you are not in the answer, and you pay for that buyer somewhere else.
Why your emails hit spam now, and what it costs you
Why your emails hit spam now, and what it costs you
Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook now reject bulk mail that fails authentication. Here is the plain-English setup that protects the cheapest revenue channel you own.
The move. Email is the highest-margin channel you own, and a broken sending setup taxes all of it. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC, add one-click unsubscribe, and keep complaints under 0.1% before bounced revenue piles up.
The one search AI cannot reprice: people typing your name
The one search AI cannot reprice: people typing your name
AI answers are eating generic search and pushing up CAC. Demand for your name is the traffic no model can intercept. Here is how to build it on a small budget.
The move. Branded demand is the lowest-CAC, highest-converting traffic you own, and no algorithm change can reprice it. Build demand for your name, own your first screen, and become the source the AI repeats.