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THE DIGITAL DOWNLOAD - SAM TOMLINSON

Weekly insights about what's going on and what matters - in digital marketing, paid media and analytics. I share my thoughts on the trends & technologies shaping the digital space - along with tactical recommendations to capitalize on them.

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Issue #142 | What We Think We Know About AIO + GEO

Happy Sunday, Everyone! I trust you’re all enjoying the last few weeks before the Holiday rush begins. It’s hard to believe we’re less than 10 business days from BFCM and that 2026 dates are appearing on the extended forecast. As I’ve had some time to reflect on conference season, there’s been one topic that has dominated almost every conversation: how to “win” AI search. That’s the question marketing execs everywhere - legal, senior living, B2B SaaS, eComm, even CPG - are trying to solve. I...

Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you all have enjoyed the extra hour of sleep (yes, it’s clock change weekend) – it’s hard to believe, but the year is 83% over. BFCM is on the extended forecast. Costco is starting to put out Spring stuff (yes, really - and no, I’m not happy about it). For me, November marks the end of conference season (this was a particularly busy one - 6 straight weeks of travel) and the unofficial start of 2026. In the past few weeks, over 1,000 people have signed up - so if...

Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying the last weekend before November! We’re officially less than a month from the start of the BFCM week – and (at least where I am), the leaves have turned, the fall chill is in the air and we’re neck-deep in holiday + 2026 planning. The big theme I’ve been hearing from virtually everyone is growth – every brand wants more sales, more leads, more subscribers, more revenue. Those conversations got me thinking: where is that growth coming from?...

Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying a wonderful, relaxing fall Sunday morning with friends, family or some well-deserved peace & quiet. I spent the last few days in Boston, speaking at the legal technology conference ClioCon (shout out to the organizers - this was one of the most impressively-run and organized events I’ve been to this year). Most impressively, they cracked the code on getting people to stay for the full event by renting out Time Out Boston (a solid 1,000+...

Happy Sunday, Everyone! I trust you’re all enjoying Fall’s prime - the changing leaves, the brisk mornings, the football-filled weekends and the never-ending onslaught of conferences…all taking place in the shadow of Q4 goals + BFCM. Somehow, Thanksgiving is already on the extended forecast (the really, really extended one, but still), with the winter holidays and 2026 not far behind. During the first run of Fall conferences, I had the opportunity to meet with several folks from Meta, who...

Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying playoff baseball and the first weekend of Q4! I just returned from Groceryshop (an absolutely wonderful show) and am off the road for a few weeks – then it’s back to Vegas, California & Boston for a series of events focused on Senior Living, Legal & Tech. We’re back with the second half of the Meta Ads Audit Guide. Last week’s issue dove deep into the side of Meta most marketers skip: the foundation. We talked about understanding the business...

Happy Sunday, Everyone! I trust you’re enjoying the first real hints of fall - the cooler mornings, football weekends and the final few days of Q3 (hard to believe October begins this week). For most brands, the next 90 days will decide how 2025 ends. And for those brands, Meta remains the single most powerful lever available to them finishing what has been a volatile, unpredictable and all-around rough year strong — but only if the account is set up and managed the right way. In the past few...

Happy Sunday, Everyone! I spent much of this past week in Chicago (it was surprisingly nice…) at ShopTalk Fall. While there, I had the opportunity to share the stage with two fantastic marketers - Nick Hasselberg of Every Man Jack and Lauren Price of COS - for a discussion on Winning Brand Expression Across Platforms. That session had an exchange about both the purpose of marketing and how it ought to be evaluated…which dovetailed nicely into the topic I wanted to write about this week: what...

Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying the start of fall – the leaves are changing, football is back, conference season is upon us (well me) and Thanksgiving is 74 days away (yes, really). Over the next six weeks, I’ll be speaking at 6 different events - starting with ShopTalk this coming week in Chicago, then BrightonSEO San Diego/HeroConf, GroceryShop, Senior Living Innovation Forum, ClioCon and Senior Care Marketing & Sales Summit. If you’re attending any of those, don’t be a...

Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying the first weekend of fall – football is back, PSLs are everywhere, leaves are even falling here in Maryland. And, as happens most years, the return of fall has also heralded a return of many clients / brands who were away for the summer, all locking in (to borrow a Gen-Z term) for end-of-year sprint. Needless to say, it’s been busy. Much of the focus (understandably) from clients (current and potential alike) over the last week-plus has been...