This week on The Media Captain Podcast, we have a lot to catch up on. We sold Derm Warehouse, built our own tool to track how brands show up in AI search, and spent a morning with business students at Ohio State. We also talk through Google’s latest earnings, the projections that have Meta passing Google in ad revenue, and why we still prefer standard Search campaigns over PMax.

00:55 Our AI visibility tracking tool. Why we built our own software to track long-tail searches across Claude, Perplexity, Gemini and ChatGPT.

05:04 Google’s earnings. Ad revenue growth is slowing, and more people are searching on LLMs. Here’s what that means for Google.

09:20 Asking Claude about our own business. We ran some business questions through Claude and didn’t love what it said about us, so we built pages that spell out who we are and what we do.

14:10 Running quotes through AI. Why we started doing this during the sales process and what it taught us about how clients read our pricing.

16:10 Derm Warehouse is joining Dermstore. After 10 years and 145,000 customers, we sold the business. The deal started with a LinkedIn outreach campaign.

23:26 Meta vs. Google. New projections show Meta pulling ahead of Google in total ad revenue.

25:19 What we learned at Ohio State. Almost every student uses ChatGPT, some classrooms ban tech entirely, and a few classes start the day with mindfulness exercises.

30:56 Google Business Profile updates. Business owners now have more control over third-party ordering and scheduling links on their profiles.

34:49 Staying in our lanes. Giving everyone on the team a clear area to own made us more productive and sped up decisions.

39:09 Search vs. PMax. What our campaign data shows and why standard Search keeps bringing in better leads.

40:39 What’s growing and what’s not. Demand for AI search and SEO strategy is way up, while standard web development projects are slowing down.

This episode covers how AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini describe your business (and how to fix it when they get it wrong), why every website needs an AI instructions page, Google’s new emphasis on effort and originality, why Yelp matters more for AI citations, and what happens when AI agents start calling your business on behalf of customers.

If you own or market a local business, this episode will help you show up in AI search, build authority, and avoid wasting budget on unproven ad platforms.

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:37 #1: Why your website messaging matters for AI and LLMs
5:15 #2: Meta launches Muse, its AI personal assistant
11:22 #3: When prospects send their AI agent to ask follow-up questions
15:18 #4: Why you need an AI instructions page on your website
19:29 #5: Google adds effort and originality to its guidelines
25:25 #6: Yelp is becoming a powerhouse for AI citations
28:48 #7: How we use Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT
32:13 #8: 40.2% of local searches now trigger a Google AI Overview
34:58 #9: Authority score and building local backlinks
38:00 #10: Should you advertise on ChatGPT yet?
41:08 #11: Google’s Call Me Now feature lets Gemini call businesses for you
44:45 What we’re excited about

Today, we cover everything from upcoming SEO content strategies and the shifting landscape of social media platforms to a mind-blowing case study where deleting 200 blogs actually multiplied organic traffic! Stay tuned until the end to hear how AI tools like Gemini are transforming travel and ticket booking.

Timestamps:

01:30 - Item 1: Building Content Pillars and Spoke Pages for SEO

04:17 - Item 2: Streamlining Design and Development with Claude Artifacts

07:54 - Item 3: New York City’s Banning and Testing of AI in Pre-High School Education

10:10 - Item 4: Instagram and LinkedIn Cracking Down on AI Slop

12:54 - Item 5: The Rise of the Content SEO Manager Role

15:19 - Item 6: Case Study: Deleting 200 Blogs to 4x Organic Traffic

18:50 - Item 7: Google Ads Migrating Campaign Structures into AI Max

20:40 - Item 8: Review Platforms Partnering with LLMs for Sentiment-Driven AI Search

24:30 - Item 9: Triggering Ad Automation with Meteorological Data and AI

26:18 - Item 10: Why AI Search Tools Bypass Homepages for Inner Core Pages

28:13 - Item 11: Utilizing "Voicemail Drops" for Personalized Client Outreach & Personal Updates

"You can't trick Google." That's the line this week, but plenty of business owners are trying anyway. One client quietly rolled out AI to auto-generate a blog post every single day. Jason and Stefanie explain why that's a fast track to getting your whole site flagged as AI slop, then dig into 10 more marketing moves you need to know about.

Plus, an actual civil war has broken out inside the Media Captain office. Half the team swears by Performance Max campaigns. The other half thinks the results are smoke and mirrors. Jason and Stefanie pick a side and explain why Google's own recommendation might not be the right call for your budget.

In this episode:
0:00 – Why a client's AI blog auto-generator was a huge mistake
2:41 – The hidden cost of a bad SEO strategy (and why "you can't trick Google")
5:01 – Is paying an SEO company to write blogs a waste of money?
9:03 – Why accolades and sourced media mentions matter for AI search
13:04 – New study: schema markup has 0% effect on rankings
14:47 – Google's John Mueller and rumors of an AI content crackdown
16:55 – Why every business needs an internal PR strategy
21:12 – Where AI is actually safe to use in SEO (title tags, meta descriptions)
23:56 – The Performance Max vs. Search Ads debate splitting our agency
26:34 – Google's third major algorithm update of 2026
28:19 – Instagram's new logo, and Meta's $18B settlement over kids' social media addiction

Claude just started adding invisible watermarks to everything it writes. LinkedIn just launched a tool that lets users flag AI slop the same way they'd report spam. Neither of those happened by accident, and the agencies still winning right now are the ones writing like actual humans instead of prompting like robots.

A few small changes are making a real difference lately. A tighter LinkedIn profile gets picked up by AI search tools far more often. Sharper questions on a contact form filter out bad leads before they ever reach a sales call. GoHighLevel keeps prospects warm after they submit a form instead of letting them go cold in an inbox somewhere.

We also built our own AI reporting tool straight into our ad platform APIs, and it's already saving us real money. Ten conversations with business owners taught us that mid sized companies aren't using AI to cut staff yet. They're using it to get sharper, more useful output out of the people already on the team.

Timestamps:
00:50 – Claude incorporating invisible watermarks on generated content
03:41 – Optimizing your personal LinkedIn profile
02:20 – Adding social media profiles to Google Search Console
13:17 – The importance of questions in your website's contact form
16:22 – Processes and strategies for post-contact form submission
21:10 – Implementing an internal AI reporting tool to save costs
23:08 – Insights from conversations with business owners on incorporating AI
26:47 – LinkedIn's feature for calling out "AI slop" posts
29:56 – Putting money behind all organic social media content
32:31 – An update on the Jason's 100-day, 100-video challenge

In the premiere episode of our newly designed studio, we break down 11 crucial marketing insights, software shifts, and agency strategies that are driving results for our clients. From major updates in Google Ads to using conversational AI for technical SEO, we discuss what is working right now in the marketing landscape.

Timestamps:
01:47 – Google Local Service Ads Merging into Google Ads
04:07 – Transitioning to MetaEdits for Social Video Editing
05:28 – The 100 Videos in 100 Days Content Pledge
06:48 – The Future of Marketing with AI Connector Tools
09:36 – Utilizing the Screaming Frog Connector Tool for Technical SEO
12:58 – Rethinking the About Us Page for SEO and AI Rankings
17:23 – Tracking Bookmarks as a High-Intent Social Media Metric
21:15 – Handling the Information Overload and Pressure of Evolving AI
25:30 – Why You Need to Reduce Stock Photos on Your Website
27:37 – Analyzing Competitor Sites on Google for Better AI Search Visibility
30:09 – Book Review (10x Is Easier Than 2x) & The New Studio Setup

Google's March 2026 spam algorithm update rolled out in under 24 hours, the fastest in history, and the local pack is changing in ways that could affect how customers find your business. Jason and Stefanie Parks break down what it all means and share 11 real marketing insights from working with 100+ businesses.

In this episode: how PPC data can sharpen your SEO strategy, why review velocity matters more than review count, the quiet death of the call button on Google Maps, and how AI automation is saving their agency 20 hours a month. Plus, a smarter way to screen job applicants that cuts through AI-generated answers.

We run a digital marketing agency working with hundreds of businesses across the country, and every two weeks we share what we are actually seeing in the trenches. In this episode, we break down 11 marketing items that are top of mind right now, and honestly some of these surprised even us.

Google Ads showing up inside AI Overviews are up 394%. Live chat on your website is becoming a thing of the past. One of our attorney clients was burning $60K a month on ads with conversion tracking so broken it was optimizing for basically nothing. And we have a landscaping client who had 15 separate websites that were all quietly working against each other.

We also get into the AI tools our team is using every day, how to get your business showing up in AI search results, and why Claude just hitting $19 billion in revenue feels a little personal to us since we have been using it since basically day one.

If you are spending money on ads, trying to figure out where AI fits into your marketing, or just want to know what is actually working right now, pull this one up.

In this episode, Jason and Stephanie Parks sit down with Will Crall, President of On3 Sports, one of the fastest-growing college sports media brands in the country.

Will shares how On3 built its empire through passionate fan communities, elite newsbreakers, and a dominant social media strategy, including their acquisition of Rivals from Yahoo in 2025.

The episode also covers the latest digital marketing trends, agency insights on AI automation, why direct mail is making a comeback, and what Jason and Stephanie are personally excited about right now.

Whether you're a college sports fan, business owner, or digital marketer, this episode is packed with actionable insights.

Google and Meta just released their Q4 earnings, and the numbers are staggering. Google pulled in $113B in revenue while Meta hit $60B, but the profit margins tell a different story. We break down what these earnings mean for advertisers, plus why Google's algorithm is causing chaos right now.

In this episode, we also reveal how we're using AI to transform e-commerce SEO (one client went from 8% to 30% visibility), why iPhone videos are outperforming professional content on Meta, and the project management tool that completely changed our agency.

After a 6-year hiatus, sibling co-founders Stefanie and Jason Parks are back with their marketing podcast. They own Media Captain (a marketing agency serving 100+ clients since 2010) and DermWarehouse (an e-commerce company with 200,000+ customers selling 60+ skincare brands). Each 30-minute episode covers marketing news, agency insights, and personal updates.

Marketing News & Trends:

• Google's dominance continues - Alphabet's market cap surpassed $4 trillion, overtaking Apple for the first time since 2019. Only Nvidia is larger.
• AI hasn't killed search - Despite ChatGPT predictions, Google remains critical. The agency emphasizes you can't have an AI strategy without SEO, as AI tools still rely heavily on Google's infrastructure.
• Vibe coding disrupts software stocks - New AI coding assistants allow people to write software using plain English instead of manual coding. This trend has hammered software stocks: Salesforce down 25%, HubSpot down 51%, monday.com down 44% year-over-year as Wall Street predicts increased competition and DIY software development.
• Google's AI commerce revolution - Google is launching AI agents that can handle entire purchasing processes automatically, finding products, comparing prices, and completing purchases without customers visiting websites. Major retailers (Walmart, Target, Shopify) and payment processors (Visa, Stripe) have joined Google's Universal Commerce Protocol. McKinsey estimates this represents a $3-5 trillion opportunity by 2030. Stef and Jason share their thoughts on this.

Agency Insights & Best Practices:

• Authentic storytelling is critical - In an era of AI-generated content, brands showcasing genuine personality and stories stand out.
• LinkedIn personal vs. business accounts - Business owners posting from personal accounts get 10x more engagement than company pages. Personal accounts reach more targeted audiences like CMOs and decision-makers when properly cultivated.
• Multi-channel content strategy - Create high-quality content once and deploy it everywhere. Example: Client video content appears as social posts, paid advertisements, email campaigns, and website embeds for maximum ROI.
• CallRail integration transforms tracking - This $100/month tool provides comprehensive phone call and contact form tracking across all marketing channels.
• Case study: Allergist client success - Created personality-driven content including educational videos about ILIT (a replacement for traditional allergy shots) and an MTV Cribs-style office tour. Content distributed across social media, paid ads, email sequences, and website for multi-channel impact.

Key Takeaways:

• Authenticity beats AI-generated content in building customer connections
• Personal LinkedIn accounts dramatically outperform business pages
• Robust tracking tools like CallRail enable smarter budget decisions
• Create content once, deploy everywhere for maximum efficiency
• Google's ecosystem continues expanding despite AI disruption predictions

Personal Highlights:

The hosts shared their experience hosting a Blue Jackets luxury suite event for clients, including riding the Zamboni as an example of "unreasonable hospitality" that creates unforgettable customer experiences.