🤒Bad backlinks.
Google confirms bad backlinks won't hurt your site, WhatsApp surfaces status updates in main chat tab, Instagram enforces strict teen content filters globally, and more.
In this issue
Good morning.
Serious question: Physical book with a lamp, or an eReader?
- The case for a lamp and book: ambiance, no screens, and satisfying page-turners.
- The case for eReader: adjustable brightness, can switch between 1000 books without getting up, and no lamp-turn-off friction.
We have strong arguments for both and honestly, we’re still not sure which camp we’re in.
Stop worrying about bad backlinks and start fixing your page weight
Ew, that site’s links have cooties.
But they aren’t contagious: Google ignores low-quality outbound links rather than weaponising them against the sites they point to, John Mueller confirmed.
So if you’ve been panicking about who’s linking to you, don’t. Spend that energy to build links that earn you some juice.
Next, dates for your calendar: Google Ads scripts are switching to the new Merchant API on April 22nd, and the old API is being retired on August 18th. The new set-up…
- Gives you better control over local inventory, promotions, and product data.
- Speeds up feature rollouts without waiting for full API cycles.
- Adds AI-powered content tools through Google Product Studio.
If you’re managing multiple storefronts or local inventory, this is an improvement over what the old API could do. Make sure you migrate before August 18th. It’s not optional.
Also, no more juggling set-ups: Google is folding enhanced conversions into a single toggle, letting website tags, Data Manager, and API integrations run together.
Cleaner data flows straight into automated bidding, so your campaigns optimize on better signals without extra setup. Full rollout lands in June, and existing users will be auto-migrated.
Lastly, your mobile pages are still carrying some holiday weight: They’re probably three times heavier than they were in 2015, and your users are feeling every byte.
Page weight has ballooned from 845KB to 2.3MB since then, and slow pages mean less conversions. Some weight-trimming can go a long way.
WhatsApp makes status updates impossible to miss while Instagram locks down teen content globally
No need for a map, compass, or metal detector anymore.
What you’re looking for is now right in front of you: WhatsApp is making status updates easier to access.
The new pull-down tray brings status updates from your closest contacts straight to the Chats tab, ranked by who you message most. You don’t have to tab-switch or dig around.
Also, muted contacts’ updates aren’t gone. They are just tucked at the end if you want them.
If your brand or clients post on WhatsApp status, this is free reach from an algorithm doing the work for you.
And Instagram is the world’s strictest babysitter: The platform is now locking every user under 18 into a filtered experience they can’t escape without parental approval.
This update is rolling out globally across restricted accounts, search terms, feed content, DMs, comments, and AI responses.
A new Limited Content setting hands parents even more granular control over what their teens can see.
If your brand targets teen audiences, audit your content against Instagram’s updated 13+ guidelines now, before Instagram buries it from that demographic.
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What should you include in AI brand guidelines?
Most of the time, the problem with your AI’s output isn’t the tool itself. It’s the brief.
AI needs explicit, detailed context, not a vague one-liner like “write conversationally.”
The fix is a brand voice guide built specifically for AI use. A document that covers your tone, and how your content should feel. Here’s what Kaleigh Moore suggests including…
Start with a brand voice and tone document: Most brands have loose style guidelines, such as logo specs, a color palette, and maybe a few notes on tone.
That works fine for humans, who can read between the lines.
But AI can’t. It takes things like “friendly and approachable” literally and fills the gaps with its default patterns, which can often be bland, formal, and oddly corporate.
Your AI-ready guide needs to be more explicit and more example-heavy than anything you’d hand a human writer.
What to include in your AI-ready brand guidelines: Clear definitions. Don’t say “our voice is conversational.” Say “conversational means explaining something to a friend over coffee, not presenting to a board of directors.”
“Do this, not that” examples are the most valuable section. Cover word choice, sentence structure, and tone by context.
This shows the AI exactly what on-brand does and doesn’t look like.
Hard boundaries matter more than you’d think. List your non-negotiables explicitly, for example:
- Never use “leverage,”
- Never open with “So,”
- Never drop in a generic inspirational quote.
Full comparison paragraphs are the ultimate training tool. Write two to three examples labeled clearly: On-brand, too formal, too generic. It’s the difference between describing your house and showing someone a photo.
How to actually use your guide with AI tools: Upload the guide, then tell the tool to use it.
Don’t just attach the file and start prompting; explicit instructions produce meaningfully better outputs.
And don’t forget to treat this as a living document. Update your examples monthly, revise guidelines when the AI consistently misses, and save your best prompts.
The upfront investment pays off fast. Find the full breakdown in the original post. There’s a lot more to get into…
When everyone’s using the same marketing playbook, psychology gives you an edge
Most marketers pull ideas from the same formulas, frameworks, and templates.
There’s no harm in using what works—but it also means your offer risks blending in.
But marketers who understand how people actually make decisions know how to package powerful offers and stand out—even when they’re selling similar things as their competitors.
Want to receive one psychological principle each week so you sharpen your instincts for positioning and persuasion?
B2B buyers are locked in even when they’re not at work
The 9-to-5 is a myth.
B2B buyers don’t stop being professionals just because they’ve switched to their pajamas.
Market trends are the top draw, with 44% of buyers engaging with them in their personal time.
This is followed by news and current events (38%), success stories (29%), and product reviews (28%).
Even educational content holds its own, with 24% of buyers willing to learn on their own time. But that means your content needs to be engaging enough to compete with Netflix.
The Crew’s take: The “professional/personal” divide is dead. Your buyers are always on. If your content is too dry for Sunday afternoon reading, you’re missing a massive window of high-intent attention.
Optimize your content for mobile and “snackable” formats. Think newsletters, carousels, or short podcasts that buyers can consume while commuting or relaxing, too.
B2B buyers are researching at 9 PM on a Sunday—is your content ready for them?
Pro subscribers get data insights on consumption patterns, format optimization, and how to win attention when your competitors think everyone’s offline. $349/year for up to 10 teammates.
AI EDUCATION: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Midjourney… So many names, but what’s actually useful for you in your work? There’s a newsletter called The Deep View that exists to sift through all the noise and get you up to speed on what’s actionable with AI products, and it’s free. Join 512,000+ subscribers with one click and let AI empower you.*
GOOGLE: Your AI is only as sharp as your prompt. Maddie Lightening’s decade in paid media boils down to one lesson: vague inputs make weak outputs, but resisting automation entirely is also a mistake. Set smart constraints to outperform full automation and full avoidance.
ADVERTISING: What brands say and what they plan are two different things. 65% claim budgets are rising, but 58% are modeling cuts. Amazon’s ad share dropped from 56% to 46% in a year and that AI ad spend everyone brags about? Spreadsheet tweaks, mostly.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Aggregator accounts flooding your timeline with stolen reposts are getting a reality check. X is cutting their payouts by 40% over two cycles. Head of product Nikita Bier made it clear that gaming the creator program won’t pay out, even if your reach stays untouched.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Suspending 208 bot accounts per minute sounds impressive, but independent research and the EU both flag that X’s bot problem has gotten worse since Musk took over. With 80% of staff cut and moderation gutted, the cleanup claim needs data behind it before anyone should take it seriously.
SEARCH: Google’s Sundar Pichai sees 2027 as the year when agentic AI stops needing humans in the loop. Search becomes an agent manager, Wing drone delivery reaches 40M Americans soon, and Google runs on its own agentic IDE. Does this mean no more optimizing for clicks, but for agent decisions?
*This is a sponsored post.
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