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Weekly SEO and Marketing Recap: Aug 19, 2025

Author

Ali Akbar
August 19, 2025

🔥 What’s Good, Marketing Legends!

Another week, another batch of wild updates hitting our industry.

LET’S GET STARTED →

After weeks of chaos following June’s core update, tracking tools show calmer SERPs activity—possibly just the calm before another August core update storm.

Source: SELand

Merchants now have a step-by-step framework to prepare Shopify stores for AI-driven search, helping retailers adapt faster to changing algorithms.

Research reveals machine-learning systems often give ranking preference to AI-generated text over human content, raising questions about fairness and authenticity.

Frustrated by manipulative rankings, a software engineer created a new search engine designed to tackle overcrowded spammy results head‑on.

The higher the urgency, and the stronger the push of new acronyms, the more likely they're just making spam and scamming.

— John Mueller (@johnmu.com)2025-08-14T11:31:57.238Z

Reports highlight scammers capitalizing on AI buzzwords to pitch fake SEO solutions, ultimately flooding the space with misleading offers.

Marketers are exploring traffic arbitrage opportunities with publishers, reshaping how affiliate media deals drive conversions at scale.

New guidelines tighten policing of AI content, threatening reach and compliance for affiliates and performance advertisers alike.

Gemini AI has been deployed behind the scenes to detect invalid traffic and weed out ad fraud, boosting advertiser trust in Google Ads.

Evolving platform costs and unpredictable traffic patterns are reshaping the rules of buying media at profitable margins.

Affiliate case studies show dating offers performing strongly when paired with short-form Instagram Reels campaigns.

🎰 Hot Review Alert:
1st.Partners Under the Microscope

Why it’s Buzz-Worthy

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  • A built-in “Smart Link” auto-routes traffic to the highest-converting casino per GEO, saving you tedious split-tests.

  • Real-time BI dashboard tracks FTDs, wagers, and lifetime value so you can prune losers fast and scale winners sooner.

Quick Take
If you run casino, sports, or crypto traffic, 1st.Partners removes the usual headaches—no delayed payments, no opaque stats, just straightforward profit-sharing backed by tier-1 brands. Sign-up takes <5 minutes, so grab your slot before Q4 crush hits.

👉 Read the full 1st.Partners breakdown here - Trust me, you don't want to miss this one!

🔥 Quick-Hit Growth Hacks

  • SERP chill ≠ nap time: Google’s volatility cooled, but history shows August core updates hit without warning—keep monitoring rank swings daily to capitalize on early gains.

  • LLMs love LLM copy: A fresh study confirms AI models up-vote AI-written content; sprinkle framework-driven GPT drafts into your editorial calendar to future-proof rankings.

😱 Scam Watch

“AI SEO” acronym packages are exploding—Google’s John Mueller basically called them snake oil. If a pitch screams AIO or SCO, hit delete and save your budget.

📅 Event to Watch: AFFHUB Warsaw 2025

What’s Happening

  • Europe’s newest mega-conference lands in Warsaw on May 14-15, bringing 2,000+ affiliates, 50+ traffic sources, and 16 vertical tracks under one roof.

  • Expect four stages (SEO, Media Buying, Lead Gen, iGaming), VIP networking lounges, and a founders-only dinner for deal-making after hours.

Why You Should Care
Poland’s ad costs are still 30-40% lower than Western EU averages—AFFHUB is your shortcut to local traffic networks, fintech sponsors, and Slavic creative agencies eager for partners.

👉 Grab your tickets and meet us in Warsaw!

🤖 Meme Break: When AI Becomes Its Own Biggest Fan

Because apparently even algorithms have trust issues with humans now! 😅

That's a wrap for this week! The marketing world never sleeps, and neither do we!
Keep your eyes peeled for more updates, and remember - in this game, adaptation is everything!