Wednesday, 10 September 2025

HOW ARE FUNNELS EVOLVING IN 2025?

HOW ARE FUNNELS EVOLVING IN 2025?
​The marketing and sales funnel is undergoing a significant transformation in 2025, moving away from a rigid, linear model and embracing a more fluid, data-driven, and customer-centric approach. Here's a look at how funnels are evolving: 

​1. The Death of the Linear Funnel
​The traditional marketing funnel—with its clear stages of Awareness, Interest, Consideration, and Purchase—is becoming obsolete. The modern customer journey is no longer a straight line. Buyers are now fluidly moving across different platforms, skipping stages, and often engaging in a self-directed process.

This shift is driven by: 
​AI-Powered Search: AI-powered search results and "AI Overviews" provide comprehensive answers directly, reducing the need for users to visit multiple websites. 

​The Rise of Social Platforms: Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have become primary discovery and research channels, where users can go from a short video to a purchase in a single session. 

​Customer Autonomy: B2B buyers, in particular, are increasingly driving their own buying process through digital self-service. 

​This has led some to propose new frameworks, such as the "flywheel" or "loop marketing," which focus on building long-term relationships and customer loyalty rather than just a one-time sale. 

​2. The Dominance of AI and Automation
​Artificial intelligence is not just a trend; it's a foundational element of the new funnel. AI and automation are being used to:

​Hyper-Personalization at Scale: AI analyzes vast amounts of data—including browsing history, purchase patterns, and social media activity—to deliver personalized content, product recommendations, and tailored email campaigns.

This allows for a more personal and relevant experience at every stage. 
​Predictive Analytics and Lead Scoring: AI and machine learning are used to forecast consumer behavior and optimize lead scoring with higher accuracy than manual methods.

This helps prioritize high-quality leads and triggers personalized follow-ups in real-time. 

​Automated Workflows:
Automation streamlines tasks like lead nurturing, email sequences, and even proposal generation, which reduces sales cycles and ensures no lead is lost. 

​AI-Driven Ads:
Platforms are using AI to analyze user behavior and serve the right ad to the right audience at the optimal time, improving conversion rates. 

​3. A Focus on Content and Engagement:
​Content is more important than ever, but it has to be more dynamic and interactive.

▪️Key content trends for 2025 include:
​Interactive Content: Polls, quizzes, and AR/VR experiences are becoming essential for driving engagement and gathering first-party data. 

▪️​Video Marketing:
Short-form video on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, as well as live-streamed shopping events, are dominating as a way to quickly capture attention and tell a story.

Video is also being used for educational content, such as webinars and podcasts, to build trust and authority. 

▪️​Content Sequencing: Instead of single, standalone pieces of content, brands are creating a series of interconnected content where each part builds on the last, keeping the audience engaged in a continuous flow. 

​4. Privacy-First and First-Party Data:
​With the decline of third-party cookies, funnels are evolving to prioritize privacy and rely on first-party data. 

▪️​First-Party Data Strategy:
Marketers are shifting their focus to collecting their own customer data through lead magnets, quizzes, and loyalty programs to build resilient, privacy-friendly relationships. 

▪️​Ethical Data Collection:
Consumers are more cautious about their data, so marketers must prioritize transparency and ethical data collection to build trust. 

​5. The Rise of the Omnichannel Approach:
​The customer journey spans multiple channels, and the modern funnel must reflect this reality. 

▪️​Integrated Experiences:
Funnels are becoming "full-funnel," meaning marketing and sales teams must align their data and messaging to provide a seamless and consistent experience across all touchpoints, from social media and email to in-person interactions. 

▪️​Meeting Customers Where They Are: Successful strategies in 2025 meet buyers wherever they prefer to engage, whether through social media, voice search, or a website. 

​In summary, the marketing funnel in 2025 is not a rigid pathway but a flexible, interconnected system. It is powered by AI for personalization and automation, relies on valuable first-party data, and focuses on creating dynamic, interactive, and seamless experiences for customers across all channels.  

Wednesday, 27 August 2025

The Social Media Advantage:

The Social Media Advantage:
Social platforms have become the beating heart of content distribution. With billions of daily users, sites like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter (X) allow affiliates to create authentic, shareable content that weaves affiliate promotions naturally into conversation.

Instagram works best for lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and wellness products. Stories, reels, and carousel posts can all include affiliate links or swipe-ups.

TikTok is ideal for short, viral videos — product demos, quick reviews, or creative challenges. Many affiliates have exploded their earnings by mastering TikTok’s algorithm.

Facebook Groups offer community-driven opportunities. Running a niche group (like “Healthy Recipes for Busy Parents”) can create trust and prime members for affiliate recommendations.

Twitter (X) is better for quick insights, trending topics, and linking to blog posts or promotions.

The key to success on social media is authenticity. Overly promotional content feels spammy, but value-driven posts that educate, entertain, or inspire tend to spark clicks.

Brought to you by 🙋‍♀️ VCashMarketing 🙋‍♀️

Tuesday, 19 August 2025

The implosion of the blogging-for-dollars revenue model..Blogging For Dollars shared Article

Search Engine Land » SEO » Article

The implosion of the blogging-for-dollars revenue model

Published: August 13, 2025 at 9:00 am
Read Time: 9 minutes

Ad-first publishing is collapsing, reshaping search, hosting, and the tools behind the blogging boom. Here’s what’s coming next.

For (dangerously) close to three decades, a large portion of the web was built on a simple and incredibly profitable premise: 

  • Slap some content on a page.
  • Paste with ads.
  • Collect the check. 

This “blogging-for-dollars” model powered the growth of countless niche sites, media empires, and an entire supporting ecosystem of tools, services, and infrastructure. 

But the model that once drove the golden age of attention-optimized publishing – where the sole goal was to generate pageviews, not serve a purpose or sell a product – is falling apart.

And no one should be surprised.

How we got here: Ad revenue was the engine

There were three main ways people got traffic to fuel this model: 

  • Organic search (SEO).
  • Direct or type-in traffic (especially common among domainers and particularly effective with typo domains).
  • Arbitrage. 

In this context, arbitrage meant:

  • Buying low-cost traffic from one source – often PPC ads or social traffic.
  • Funneling it to a site covered in higher-paying display ads in the hopes that the return would exceed the cost. 

It wasn’t really SEO, but it exploited the same economics: get traffic cheap, earn more from impressions.

This wasn’t just a hobbyist strategy. The blogging-for-dollars model powered nearly all of digital publishing. 

From lifestyle bloggers and casual domainers to the biggest legacy news publishers, ad revenue was the engine under the hood.

Even the largest newspapers became reliant on pageview-based monetization, optimizing their content and headlines for traffic over newsworthiness.

As profit targets rose and margins thinned, publishers added more and more ads. One banner ad turned into six. 

Then came sticky footers, full-page interstitials, in-text link ads, autoplay videos, and Taboola-style “recommended content.” 

Pages became more ad than article. Readers noticed, and so did Google.

When users developed banner blindness, advertisers responded with more aggressive formats, often relying on JavaScript to animate or rotate ads or sneak past ad blockers. 

JavaScript often bloated the page, tanked Core Web Vitals, or interfered with crawling altogether. 

This led to lower rankings, less traffic, and even more pressure to add monetization elsewhere.

Sites were slowly strangling their golden goose and calling it optimization.

You might be tempted to blame the boom of these content-for-the-sake-of-content sites on the publishing systems that made spinning up these sites at scale so easy.

But that’s not the way it happened. 

The blogging-for-dollars model didn’t grow out of easy publishing tools. 

The early ad networks and their CPM model planted the seed, and AdSense was the kerosene on the fire.

The fact that you could make real money – sometimes absurd money – just by getting people to your site and showing them ads was a powerful motivator.

It drove the development of easier, faster publishing systems, allowing money to be made quicker and in larger quantities.

The massive demand for content to put the ads on led to the rise of:

  • Content spinners.
  • Auto-blogging tools.
  • Article marketplaces.
  • Micro-niche site templates.

These were built explicitly to scale publishing operations that served ads.

Another industry that really benefited from and leaned into blogging-for-dollars is hosting

Just as the demand for easier and faster publishing systems exploded in response to monetization opportunities, so did the demand for cheap, scalable infrastructure to support them. 

As long as new niche sites were being spun up by the literal millions to support the insatiable appetite for more content, hosting companies enjoyed exponential growth and could offer unsustainably low prices because they were making their profits on volume.

Now, with the implosion of the system that built all of these industries, they’ll all have to figure out new revenue models.

Dig deeper: Is web traffic a vanity metric? Not if you’re a publisher

Why it’s dying

Ad rates keep dropping

Ad revenue has been on a steady decline for well over a decade. 

The glory days of $250 clicks on mesothelioma articles in 2008 are long gone. 

CPMs have dropped, CPCs have become increasingly competitive, and ad networks have gotten smarter about placement and fraud. 

More ad spend is flowing into video, social media, and direct partnerships, while less is going to long-tail, text-based content.

Programmatic doesn’t pay like it used to. Without those fat margins, the model’s economics break down.

AI is stealing the clicks

The introduction of AI OverviewsChatGPT Browse, Perplexity, and Bing Copilot isn’t just a UX upgrade – it’s a structural threat. 

These models are designed to answer questions directly, often summarizing information from multiple sources without requiring the user to click through to the originating site.

Many ad-driven blogs rely on long-tail queries, such as:

  • “How-to” questions.
  • Product comparisons.
  • Informational lookups.

But increasingly, that traffic is intercepted before it even reaches the site.

Being cited in an answer isn’t the same as getting a visit.

The result? Less traffic. Less opportunity to monetize. Less return.

Search behavior has shifted

Even without AI, user behavior has been trending away from generic, thin content. 

Audiences expect fast, clean, useful answers. 

Pages with 10 popups, autoplay video, or 1,500 words of fluff before the answer are getting bounced.

Google has been telling us for years to focus on helpful content. 

But AI and UX trends are now enforcing this by removing the last remaining monetary incentive to publish anything less.

Dig deeper: Niche blogging in the new Google reality: 5 strategies to thrive or die

Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.


The ecosystem is cracking

This isn’t just a blow to the site owners. It’s pulling the rug out from under the entire ecosystem that profited alongside them.

Hosting providers

The ultra-cheap hosting industry was built on volume: 

  • Thousands of made-for-advertising (MFA) sites.
  • Niche blogs.
  • Short-term experiments. 

As that demand dries up, so does the business case. 

Hosting growth will no longer come from an ever-expanding base of casual site spinners. 

Instead, the customers who remain will be more serious and more demanding:

  • Ecommerce businesses.
  • Brands.
  • Professional creators with real revenue models and infrastructure needs. 

These customers aren’t shopping for $1 per month hosting and won’t switch providers just to save a few bucks. 

They’re looking for reliability, security, performance, and long-term support. 

The era of explosive growth fueled by churn is over. 

Hosting providers that want to survive need to shift their focus to delivering exceptional value, not just dirt-cheap plans.

CMSs and page builders

Publishing platforms like WordPress won’t disappear – but like the hosting industry, they’re facing a shift from volume to stability. 

For WordPress.org itself, being open-source and free cushions the blow. 

But this transition is going to hurt the businesses that sprang up around the WordPress ecosystem:

  • Theme developers.
  • Plugin shops.
  • Managed hosting providers.
  • Agencies.

The steep, continuous growth curve that they’ve enjoyed for more than a decade is flattening out. 

Ease of use and rapid scalability won’t be enough. 

What’s going to matter is stability.

  • Not crashing.
  • Not requiring constant emergency patches.
  • Not changing so frequently that shop owners have to relearn or rebuild every few months. 

The next generation of WordPress users won’t be bloggers or hobbyists. They are:

  • Ecommerce operators.
  • Freelancers.
  • Businesses that need their websites to work reliably to earn money.

The shift is away from self-publishing and toward self-employment. 

That means the focus has to be on reliability, not novelty.

Ad networks

The squeeze is on. 

Ad networks that thrived on scale and long-tail filler content aren’t necessarily seeing their inventory shrink.

However, they are struggling with:

  • Falling margins.
  • Tougher publisher demands.
  • Changing expectations from advertisers. 

The rates they can command are dropping, and the quality publishers they rely on are asking for ad delivery methods that don’t interfere with SEO performance or tank Core Web Vitals. 

That makes life harder.

Ad networks certainly won’t disappear entirely. 

But they will have to evolve. 

That includes helping their publishers monetize non-search-dependent traffic sources like newsletters, apps, and direct audiences. 

The future is less about ad impressions at any cost and more about building monetization strategies around sustainable, brand-safe, and technically sound platforms.

Dig deeper: AI isn’t the enemy: How bloggers can thrive in a generative search world

What SEOs and publishers need to do now

If your strategy still relies on ranking for hundreds of low-difficulty, monetizable keywords and stuffing ads around content, it’s time to pivot – quickly.

Shift from volume to value

You don’t need 1,000 articles. You need 10 that actually help people. 

Deep, useful, structured, and credible content is what gets surfaced in AI summaries and cited in real answers.

Build entity-level authority

AI doesn’t just look at page relevance – it looks at entity authority. 

That means authorship, branding, citations, and reputation matter more than ever.

Dig deeper: Inside Google’s secret search systems: 1,200 experiments, AI agents, and entities

Diversify revenue

Stop relying entirely on display ads. Explore:

  • Affiliate partnerships.
  • Premium content.
  • Digital products, services, or memberships. 

The sites that survive will have multiple income streams and a business model that works even with reduced traffic.

Design for the answer layer

Treat your pages as answer sources, not just destinations. That means:

  • Scannable formatting.
  • Front-loaded insights.
  • Clean markup.
  • Clarity over cleverness.

The webmaster welfare era is over

You used to be able to coast – spin up a quick site, churn out AI content or rewrites, and still make a few hundred bucks a month. That time is over.

This is the collapse of webmaster welfare.

AI has raised the bar. 

The economic engine that once fueled low-effort publishing is seizing up. 

If your site can’t prove its value at a glance, it won’t be surfaced. And if it’s not surfaced, it’s not earning.

The future belongs to the ones who build something worth reading, worth referencing, and worth surviving the cut.

Dig deeper: The $1 trillion generative economy that smart SEOs will own


Contributing authors are invited to create content for Search Engine Land and are chosen for their expertise and contribution to the search community. Our contributors work under the oversight of the editorial staff and contributions are checked for quality and relevance to our readers. Search Engine Land is owned by Semrush. Contributor was not asked to make any direct or indirect mentions of Semrush. The opinions they express are their own.


About the Author

Carolyn Shelby
Carolyn Shelby is an SEO & AI Strategist at Yoast, a recognized international speaker, and a trusted authority in technical SEO, content optimization, and AI-driven search strategy. With over 20 years of experience, she helps brands navigate AI-driven search engines like ChatGPT, SearchGPT, and... 

Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.

Wednesday, 30 July 2025

The Most In-Demand Skills for the Next Five Years — And How to Start Learning Them Now!

🌟 The Most In-Demand Skills for the Next Five Years — And How to Start Learning Them Now!

The world of work is evolving at lightning speed. Powered by artificial intelligence, climate-conscious innovation, shifting demographics, and changing business models, the global job market is already being reshaped — and it’s only accelerating.

According to the World Economic Forum, nearly half of today’s job skills will look different by 2030. But this isn’t a threat — it’s an opportunity.

Whether you’re climbing the career ladder, switching industries, or simply future-proofing your income, the next five years will favor the proactive. Those who upskill early will be best positioned to thrive.

💼 What Employers Are Looking For (Now and Next)
Hiring managers and companies are prioritizing a blend of tech-savvy abilities and human-focused strengths. In-demand skills fall into two key categories:

🔧 Technical & Digital Skills (Hard Skills):
These are essential to staying competitive in a tech-driven economy.

▪︎AI & Data Literacy:
Understand how AI works and how to apply it to your job.

Skills like machine learning, data analytics, and prompt engineering are highly sought after.

💰 AI-skilled roles offer salary premiums up to 28%, or $18,000 more on average.

▪︎Prompt Engineering & AI Tool Use:
Learn how to give AI tools (like ChatGPT) precise, context-aware prompts to generate powerful outcomes.

Knowing how to orchestrate multiple tools (AI + automation + databases) will be a major asset.

▪︎Cybersecurity Expertise:
As digital threats grow, so does the need for professionals in data privacy, network security, and risk assessment.

In demand: cybersecurity analysts, ethical hackers, and architects.


▪︎Fintech & Blockchain Skills:
The rise of digital finance, crypto, and decentralized platforms creates ongoing demand for fintech engineers and blockchain developers.

💵 Salaries range from $109,000 to $170,000+.

▪︎Green Tech & Sustainability:
Green careers are booming. Skills in clean energy, circular design, and environmental technology are key.

Roles include climate tech engineers, geologists for geothermal energy, and carbon accounting specialists.

🤝 Human-Centric & Soft Skills:
As automation handles more tasks, human strengths become more valuable.

▪︎Adaptability & Agility:
The ability to learn, unlearn, and pivot quickly is one of the top-rated skills globally.

Be ready to embrace change and navigate uncertainty with confidence.

▪︎Emotional Intelligence (EQ):
Employers seek people who can collaborate, resolve conflict, lead with empathy, and manage emotions effectively.

▪︎Critical Thinking & Complex Problem Solving:
An essential skill across industries — especially in environments driven by innovation and change.

▪︎Leadership & Influence:
The future of work favors people who can guide teams, inspire others, and make strategic decisions.

▪︎Communication & Collaboration:
Clear, effective communication (written and verbal) remains essential in hybrid and global teams.

🚀 How to Start Learning These Skills Now:
You don’t need a full degree to gain these in-demand skills. Many are accessible through flexible, online learning platforms.

🛠 Practical Ways to Get Started:
▪︎Take Online Courses:
Platforms like Coursera, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, and edX offer certifications in AI, data analytics, leadership, cybersecurity, and more.

▪︎Join Bootcamps & Micro-Credentials:
Fast-track programs (e.g., Google Career Certificates, IBM AI Engineering, Cybersecurity bootcamps) offer job-ready skills.

▪︎Practice with Real Tools:
Try ChatGPT, Notion AI, or Midjourney to learn prompt writing.

Use Excel, Tableau, or Google Data Studio for analytics.

▪︎Build a Portfolio:
Document your projects, AI experiments, or green innovations.

Share them on LinkedIn or create a personal website.

▪︎Attend Workshops & Meetups:
Get involved in your local or virtual tech and innovation communities.

▪︎Subscribe to Industry Newsletters:
Stay current with trends in AI, fintech, climate tech, and leadership strategies.

📌 Final Thoughts:
The future of work doesn’t belong to one industry or one skill. It belongs to those who are curious, adaptable, and committed to lifelong learning.

By investing in both future-ready technical skills and human-centric capabilities, you’ll not only increase your earning power but also your relevance and resilience in a fast-changing world.

🔗 Bonus Resources to Explore:
▪︎Coursera – AI for Everyone by Andrew Ng

▪︎HarvardX – Data Science Basics

▪︎LinkedIn Learning – Emotional Intelligence at Work

▪︎Google – Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate

▪︎edX – Climate Change: The Science and Global Impact

▪︎Cybersecurity Bootcamps – Try Hack Me / Cybrary / SANS




Thursday, 23 January 2025

Click2Sell A Self Service Advertising Platform!

https://youtu.be/2WUmnPR-OnQ

Unlock Your E-commerce Potential with Click2Sell Platform

Are you looking to dive into the world of e-commerce but don't know where to start? The Click2Sell Platform might be the perfect solution for you! This innovative self-service advertising platform is designed to help marketers of all skill levels create and manage their own advertising campaigns with ease.

What is Click2Sell Platform?

Click2Sell Platform is a comprehensive tool that allows you to build and design your own advertising campaigns from scratch. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced marketer, Click2Sell offers easy-to-use tools that eliminate the need for hiring designers or market research analysts before launching your campaign.

How Does Click2Sell Work?

Getting started with Click2Sell is simple:

  1. Create a Campaign: Click on "Create a Campaign" and fill out basic information about your campaign, including the name, budget, and duration.

  2. Choose a Category: Select a category for your ad campaign from options like arts & entertainment, business/investing, computers/internet, and more.

  3. Design Your Ad: Choose from ready-made banners and customize the wording of your advertisement.

  4. Target Your Audience: Use the targeting tool to choose the exact ad placement you want users to see on their devices.

  5. Preview and Launch: Preview your advertising campaign before launching it and monitor the results.

Why Choose Click2Sell?

  • User-Friendly: No need for technical expertise or downloads. Just an initial deposit ($250 minimum), and you're ready to go!

  • Cost-Effective: Save on hiring external help by using Click2Sell's comprehensive tools.

  • Flexible: Suitable for both newbies and experienced marketers looking to refine their advertising campaigns.

  • Supportive: Click2Sell provides support for your customers and manages refunds and chargebacks.

Success Stories

Many users have found Click2Sell to be a game-changer in their marketing efforts. From small businesses to large enterprises, Click2Sell has helped them reach their target audience effectively and efficiently.

Conclusion

If you're ready to take your e-commerce game to the next level, Click2Sell Platform is worth considering. With its easy-to-use tools and comprehensive features, Click2Sell makes advertising simple and accessible for everyone.


Click2Sell does have an affiliate program and here's how it works:

  1. Open an Account: Sign up for a free account on Click2Sell.

  2. Choose Products: Select products to promote from the Click2Sell Marketplace.

  3. Get Affiliate Links: Receive your unique affiliate links to start promoting products.

  4. Promote Products: Share your affiliate links through various marketing channels.

  5. Track Sales: Use Click2Sell's affiliate tracking software to monitor your performance and sales.

  6. Earn Commissions: Receive commissions for successful sales, which can be paid via PayPal or Payoneer.

Click2Sell's affiliate program is designed to be user-friendly and effective, helping affiliates earn commissions by promoting products online.

Would you like more details on how to get started with their affiliate program?

Click2Sell's affiliate program is designed to be user-friendly and effective, helping affiliates earn commissions by promoting products online.

Would you like more details on how to get started with their affiliate program? If so, you can check out the link below

www.click2sell.eu

Crypto Currencies; Live Chats Every Friday Night!

https://youtu.be/oqSdRUttcVQ

How To Promote Clickbank Products on YouTube - No Website!

https://youtu.be/wRWgbPiBwsM