July Marketing updates
Instagram Grid Glow-Up, Google’s AI Ads, AI Traffic Trends & Facebook Reels
Reorder your Instagram Grid 🎉
The anxiety forced upon us by the pressure to have the ‘perfect’ aesthetic Instagram Grid is almost over (kinda) … after years of hoping, you’ll soon be able to rearrange your grid (yes, really!), and even post to your profile without it showing up in the feed, ideal for keeping the aesthetic without the pressure. Big yes to this!
All Facebook Videos are now ‘Reels’ 📲
Every video you now post to Facebook (excluding lives) will be classified and displayed as a Reel.
- Feed videos and Reels are now one and the same. All video content will use the Reels tools and appear in the Reels feed.
- Videos of any length, from 15 seconds to 5+ minutes, are now Reels.
- All video performance data will now live in the Reels dashboard.
- Reels is now the main video destination on Facebook.
Why we love it:
- No more juggling separate formats, just one video strategy across the board.
- Longer videos can now compete in the Reels ecosystem, blending storytelling with discoverability.
Reels aren’t just a content type anymore; they are Facebook video. Time to rethink your video strategy with this in mind? Get in touch!
AI visitors convert better (but engages less) 🤖
A new Ahrefs study across 82,000 websites shows AI-driven traffic from platforms like ChatGPT behave very differently from traditional search.
While it often results in higher conversion rates (up to 12% better than organic search), engagement is notably lower, think, fewer pages per session, and shallower site exploration (eg people aren’t scrolling as far down your web page).
Why? AI users tend to arrive with specific intent. They’ve already narrowed their options via an AI chat, so they land, scan, and decide…fast.
Our takeaway:
- Make sure landing pages are laser-focused and CTA-ready.
- Traditional engagement metrics might not tell the full story anymore.
- Bounce rate isn’t the villain if your AI visitors are converting.
- AI traffic isn’t better or worse, it’s just different.
- Treat it like a new channel, not a copy of search.
And, incase you haven’t heard we’re proudly front footing AI Search for our business, check out our new AI SEO service here.
Google Supercharges Search Ads with AI Max 🚀
Google is expanding AI Max, (we refer to it as Performance Max or P-Max if we’re feelin’ sassy) its an AI-powered Google campaign type that blends broad match keywords, automated ad copy, and smart targeting to boost conversions with less manual effort.
Here’s what’s new:
- Broader rollout of AI Max – More advertisers can now access this smart, hands-off campaign type.
- Heavy use of broad match keywords – Gives the AI more room to find relevant search queries.
- Auto-generated ad copy – Google writes headlines and descriptions based on user intent.
- Improved reporting – Better attribution insights and clarity on what’s actually driving results.
This type of Google Ad campaign does come with limitations but, if you’re DIY’ing your Google Ads, this is a great way to stay visible without the usual keyword micromanagement.
Published on 16 July 2025 by Ashleigh Rushton