Weekly SEO and Marketing Recap: Jan 06, 2026

New year, same grind—except smarter. You're here because you know the difference between noise and signal.

Let's cut through it.

⚡ Flash Sale Alert — Genspark's New Year Sale

$1,000 OFF Ends January 7th

Genspark is an all-in-one AI workspace platform that combines multiple AI agents, unlimited chat, image generation, and cloud storage into a single subscription. Right now, they're running their biggest sale of 2026 with 40% off all annual plans:

• Plus Annual: $100 OFF (now $11.66/month) with 10,000 monthly credits and 50GB storage

• Pro Annual: $1,000 OFF (now $116.66/month) with 125,000 credits and 1TB storage

• Includes all 2026 feature updates at no extra cost

The clock's ticking—this offer expires January 7th at 6 PM PT.

Lock In Your Discount →

News Publishers Just Got Wrecked by Google's December Core Update​

India-based news sites saw massive visibility drops in U.S. search results, but American publishers got hit hard too across Google News, Discover, and Top Stories.​

Google's December Update: Brands Now Crush "Best Of" Queries​

Generalist publishers lost their grip on product recommendation searches while specialized retailers and brand pages climbed the rankings with category-specific authority.​

Google Says 404 Errors Don't Kill Your SEO—Here's Why​

John Mueller confirmed that 404s aren't quality signals and don't waste crawl budget, making them a normal part of how the web functions.​

Pop-Ups for Affiliates: The 2026 Playbook That Actually Converts​

Exit-intent triggers and scroll-depth timing can maximize conversions without triggering Google penalties when executed correctly.​

Zero-Click Search Is Crushing Forex Affiliates Right Now​

Your rankings might look solid, but something fundamental shifted—and it's hitting forex affiliate revenue hard.​

Reddit Just Crushed TikTok in the UK Thanks to Google and Gen Z​

The platform scored 88% growth over two years to become the UK's fourth most-visited social site, fueled by search algorithm changes and younger users seeking authentic advice.​

Reddit Launches AI-Powered Max Campaigns with "Black Box" Insights​

Early testers saw 17% lower CPA and 27% more conversions with automated targeting that reveals audience personas instead of hiding performance.

TikTok Rolls Out GamePlan Tools for Sports Teams​

The new suite includes in-app destinations for schedules, ticket sales, and fan content creation—capitalizing on 60 million sports creators already on the platform.​

Amazon's $60 Billion Ad Empire Is Squeezing Out the Partners Who Built It​

Tech firms and agencies that helped build Amazon's ad platform now see signs the company is cutting them out to work directly with advertisers.​

Brand Mentions Are the New Backlinks for LLM Rankings​

LLMs evaluate mentions, context, and co-occurrence rather than just links, making brand citations a priority ranking signal for 2026.​

Microsoft and Google Execs Deflect AI Quality Complaints as "Burnout"​

Satya Nadella urged moving past "slop vs sophistication" debates while a Google engineer blamed anti-AI sentiment on users being burned out from trying new tech.

🎯 Scraper's Edge — Geo-Targeted Scraping

Why Your Data Is Wrong

Generic scraping misses the real picture because websites serve different prices, content, and availability based on location. Geo-targeted scraping solves this by routing requests through specific countries or cities to capture what local users actually see.

Key benefits with Decodo's residential proxies:

• Access 195+ locations with city-level targeting for accurate local data ​

• Avoid IP blocks and CAPTCHAs with automatic rotation across diverse ASNs ​

• 99.99% uptime with built-in proxy management—no manual setup required

Try Decodo's Geo-Targeting Free →

🎟️ Event Alert — TES Affiliate Conference

March 2026 - Spain Edition

TES has been running twice-yearly affiliate conferences since 2009, pulling 1,700-2,000 marketers who want actual networking over corporate theater.

The March 2026 event lands in Spain (rotating between Marbella and Sevilla) where attendees build partnerships through organized meet markets, expo floors, and breakout sessions designed for deal-making.

Registration opens with early bird pricing through February, giving you access to:

• Structured networking sessions that connect buyers, sellers, and service providers

• Expo floor with 200+ exhibitors showcasing tools and opportunities

• Private meeting spaces for closing deals on-site

Grab Your Discounted Ticket →

😂 Meme Break

The $50 vs $29 Reality Check 💀

Your generic IP scraper shows $50. Switch to geo-targeted proxies? That same product is $29 in Germany.