This week, Jared Bamman and Thomas Smith sit for another practical episode of the niche Persuses Podcast, diving into some major industry changes.
They talk about how AI search people are changing the way people interact with Google, slow but potentially impressive March 2025 core updates, and the latest AI models from Openai and Anthropic.
They also share their side’s victory and conflict and break up some strange niche sites.
If you want to be ahead in SEO, material construction and AI-operated marketing, then this episode had lots of takeaways.
Watch the full episode
AI search game changing
First, they talk about how Adobe recently released a study analyzing a trillion visit to American retail sites and exposed how to survey 5,000+ consumers how to expose how how AI operated search Search is affecting behavior, engagement and online shopping.
Major findings include:
- 1300% increase in AI search referral during 2024 holiday season compared to last year
- 2000% jumping into AI-operated traffic on cyber Monday alone
- AI search users are more attached: 8% tall time on site, 12% more pages browseed, and 23% lower jump than traditional search users
- 39% of consumers use AI search for purchase, 55% for research and 47% for product recommendations
Why AI search users are more busy
They talk about how Adobe studies show that AI is more effective than traditional discovery in users matching with materials and products that they really want. Many factors contribute to this:
- AI search engines personalize the recommendations based on previous interaction, leading to high conversion rates and engagement.
- Companies are giving priority to AI search experiences, keeping the AI-rich results prominently, which can close high-entant users before reaching the traditional search listing.
- AI search advertisement reduces chaos, making browsing experience more comfortable and reliable.
Constant for material creators and brands
As the AI search obtains traction, brands and publishers must adapt their SEO strategies to be visible. Jreds and Thomas talk about how traditional link-construction can be less impressive because AI search engines only rely more on brand authority, external signals and relevant relevance rather than backlink and keyword adaptation.
For the preparation of the shift, they discuss how brands should focus:
- External mentions and quotes on the web
- Build a strong social media appearance and digital PR strategy
- Using with AI-centric material formats, such as F.AQ-style page and structured data that AI models can easily interpret
Google’s March 2025 core update
After this, they talk about how Google officially launched it March 2025 Corps update A week ago, but the effect has been slow and less unstable than expected. They talk about SEO analyst Barry Shwartz, who notes that some sites report ranking shifts, it is not as comprehensive as the previous update – still.
However, SEO experts such as Glenn Gab suggest that important ranking changes may begin before Google officially announced updates. Google states that earlier ups and downs were unrelated, but the inner sources in the industry suspect that they were part of a comprehensive adjustment process.
Will this update reward high quality material?
Google has indicated that it aims to reward creators and original material publishers in 2025. Jared and Thomas discuss the trends seen so far:
- The original news material is receiving ranking. Unique, timely reporting sites have seen an increase in visibility.
- Video and multimedia materials, especially youtube, tiktok, and shorts, are showing more prominently in the search results.
- No major punishment has been reported, which is good news for many publishers suffering from previous updates.
While we are still waiting for further changes, the creators should closely monitor the traffic and consider adding the news-style or video content to the future stratETGies.
New AI models focus on creativity, not only raw power
Many major AI models have been released recentlyCloud 3.7 from Sonnet in Anthropic and GPT -4.5 from OpenIAI. Instead of emphasizing only for large, more powerful models, these updates are focusing on practical applications such as creativity, logic and user interactions.
Comparison of Cloud 3.7 and GPT-4.5:
- Cloud 3.7 Excel in Creative Writing and User Interaction. This blog is ideal for writing, storytelling and content ideas -ideal for ideas.
- GPT-4.5 improves world knowledge and personality refinement, making it better for structured outputs such as newspapers and motivational writing.
- The raw calculation power is no longer the main focus-these models are adapted to the superiority of the real world rather than only benchmark scores.
Side hustle cinnigs
The episode also included updates on Thomas and Cerede’s side hustles, both revolving around newspapers, but with various strategies.
- JARED weekend development newspaper – Now two years old and contacting 10,000 customers, it focuses on the newspaper Online Business Insight. While the construction of the material has become easier with experience, challenges remain, such as maintaining development and securing sponsorship.
- 9 to 5 news of Thomas – A local newspaper focused on the newspaper San Francisco Gulf region. With over 3,400 customers and 60% open rate, it generates significant engagement and helps in running traffic on its bay area telegraph website, which is masked through mediawin.
- Both newspapers demonstrate the power of stability In the construction of an audience, even if the mudification is different in strategies.
Funny niche sites
Jared and Thomas also highlighted two attractive niche websites:
- Batula exploded – A site that constructs a sequential financial calculator for fire (financial freedom, retired early) movement. Instead of relying on traditional materials, they focus on devices that provide unique values and rank well in search.
- Quick jewelry repair – A jewelry repair business that provides an unexpected service: professional jewelry untangling. Customers can match their complicated necklaces and on $ 15 per item in chains for professional unnecessary, showing how the smallest niche can be converted into a profitable business.
Main takes out for creators and entrepreneurs
The scenario of online search and material marketing is changing rapidly:
- The AI search is reducing dependence on traditional SEO and rewarding brands with a strong online appearance in various platforms.
- Google updates continue to develop, with initial signals, news materials and preference for multimedia are indicated.
- The new AI models are more focused on matters of creativity and practical use rather than raw power only.
Staying optimal, testing new material formats and investing in brand authority will be an important strategy in 2025.
