Most people think staying ahead online is about luck or the latest tool. It’s not. It’s about strategy — knowing what works, why it works, and what’s coming next. I break down digital marketing, AI, and innovation into simple, actionable insights you can actually use. Whether you’re building income streams or just trying to keep up with where the world is heading… you’re in the right place. No hype. No fluff. Just the stuff worth knowing.👉 Sign up for the newsletter and stay ahead of the curve.
Google is keeping 58 of every 100 clicks
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Hey Reader, Welcome to the very first issue of The Digital Strategy Brief. Every Thursday I'll hand you three short lessons, one tool worth your time, and the sources behind every number. Think of it as office hours you can read with your morning coffee. One promise up front: if I quote a stat, I link where it came from. The sources are numbered at the bottom. You deserve receipts, not hype. 01 · SearchGoogle is keeping more of the clicks. Here's your move.Ahrefs just updated its big study on AI Overviews. When an AI Overview shows up, the #1 ranked page gets a 58% lower average click-through rate (comparing December 2023 to December 2025). Even the #2 spot drops about 51%. [1] Pew Research saw the same pattern from the user side. People clicked a regular search result on 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, versus 15% when it didn't. Only 1% clicked a link inside the summary itself. [2] And it's spreading. AlsoAsked found that 97% of Google's "People Also Ask" answers in the first week of September were AI Overviews, up from 86% in August. [3] “
Search is becoming zero-click.
Quick professor's note: Ahrefs is careful to call this a correlation, not proof of cause. Fair. But when two very different studies point the same way, I pay attention. Here's the lesson I teach my students: rankings are rented. Your list is owned. Three moves for this week:
02 · AI4 out of 5 businesses still aren't using AI. That's your window.The U.S. Census Bureau tracks this every two weeks. As of May 3, 2026, 19.8% of U.S. businesses said they were currently using AI. Big firms lead the way: 37% of companies with 250+ employees. But fewer than 20% of firms with four or fewer employees use it, and use among firms under 20 employees didn't change much from December to May. [5] I know the headlines make it feel like everyone figured this out already. The data says otherwise. Most small businesses, side hustlers and busy parents haven't started. You're not behind. You're early. You don't need to become an AI expert. You need one workflow. Your homework: pick one task you repeat every week. A caption. A meeting summary. A reply to a common customer question. Hand it to AI three times this week, in the pockets of your day. Keep what works and toss the rest. 03 · StrategyGoogle is paying publishers for AI. Read the fine print.According to The Information, Google is running an "AI contribution" pilot that pays about 100 publishers when their content feeds Gemini, AI Overviews and AI Mode. Sounds great. But for several small and midsize sites, the payments came to less than one-tenth of 1% of their ad revenue. Some smaller sites earned under $1,000 over several months. [6] This is the same lesson as story #1, from a different angle. Never build your business on a platform's generosity. Use the platforms to be found. Build the relationship somewhere you own it: your email list, your community, your offers. Free for subscribersNeed a head start on that AI homework? My Copy Paste Profit prompts are 10 fill-in-the-blank AI prompts for writing posts, planning content and shaping offers faster. Free.
Hit reply and tell me: what's the one task you'd hand to AI first? I read every reply, and the best questions may end up in a future issue. See you next Thursday, Dave Sources
Free resources only; no income claims. Any results depend on your own effort, skills and market. Some links in future issues may be affiliate links, and I'll always say so. |
Dave -The Digital Strategy Professor
Most people think staying ahead online is about luck or the latest tool. It’s not. It’s about strategy — knowing what works, why it works, and what’s coming next. I break down digital marketing, AI, and innovation into simple, actionable insights you can actually use. Whether you’re building income streams or just trying to keep up with where the world is heading… you’re in the right place. No hype. No fluff. Just the stuff worth knowing.👉 Sign up for the newsletter and stay ahead of the curve.
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