In the fast-changing world of digital marketing, one of our commitments here at Digital Copywriter is to keep you abreast of the most important changes… and, in particular, how they can lead to new opportunities for you.
Let’s dive into what’s in the news this month!
Finally, an Easy-to-Interpret Roundup of Free SEO Tools
All right, to be fair, this isn’t really a news item. But it’s super helpful for you as a digital copywriter…
When it comes to keyword research and understanding things like search volume and intent, you need tools.
And typically, those tools come with a hefty price tag. Or, they let you do just a couple of free searches each day. Or, they give you unlimited searches, but don’t let you see all the results of any given search.
It can make it frustrating to try to figure out what you need to be writing about and how your audience thinks about it. Which is why it’s so great that Search Engine Watch put together a directory of free tools that includes what “free access” gives you for each.
If you’re starting out and don’t have a big budget for tools, this directory can help you build an effective SEO research stack without any financial outlay. Check it out!
100+ Best Free SEO Tools in 2026: Actually Free Options
Retail Stores Are Seeing a Boost in Sales From AI-Assisted Shopping
When people use conversational search paired with an AI-powered experience to find products at their favorite grocery store site, for example, those sites are seeing a 10% to 26% increase in the average purchase.
That’s a sizable increase, so it’s no surprise retailers are taking notice.
So, what’s really happening? Retail sites that have large catalogs are using AI-powered search to better match their customers with the products they need.
This is still in the early stages, but there’s potentially a big opportunity taking shape for writers.
Traditional product pages are written to be informative and persuasive, but also fairly minimalistic in their copy. For AI tools to make sense of these pages, there needs to be a writer/consultant who understands what questions people ask on their path to finding the product and who then makes sure the product page contains that information in a way AI can easily parse.
Read more about this development here.
Video Drives B2B Buying Decisions
Yes, AI is on everyone’s mind. And yes, everyone is tracking carefully how AI is going to influence and change marketing strategies.
But, amidst all that discussion, it’s important not to lose sight of the things companies are doing that actually drive purchasing decisions.
In B2B, that’s video. And smart B2B companies are spending more on video. Which means, they need more digital copywriters capable of writing clear, compelling scripts.
Read more: B2B video needs a bigger boat
Influencer Marketing Continues to Grow
Companies that use influencers as part of their marketing strategy typically see somewhere around $6 for every one dollar they spend.
For companies using influencer marketing or looking to break into using it, there’s a lot of collateral they need:
- Messaging playbooks for creators
- Campaign briefs
- Product education
- Positioning strategy
- Influencer onboarding
Those are all opportunities for writers like you.
Read more about how influencer marketing is growing here.
Help Your Ecommerce Clients Win This Holiday Season
Google just released “The Retail Marketer’s Guide to the AI-Powered Holiday Season.”
Inside they provide guidance to retail companies to help them get ready for how shopping has changed in the past year.
You can help your clients by reading through the guide and letting them know key changes you can help them make to their product pages, ad campaigns and more.
That’s it for this month’s roundup. Your key action items?
- Add a new SEO tool or two to your repertoire. The free options listed by Search Engine Watch can help you take a more informed approach with your clients.
- Learn more about AI-assisted shopping and consider how you might turn this trend into an opportunity.
- If you’re working with B2B clients, take a look at how they’re using video and make some suggestions for what they might add.
- Ask your existing clients about their influencer-marketing campaigns… and then pitch a way to help make what they’re doing easier and/or more profitable.
- Read Google’s holiday-marketing guide and put together an offer to send your clients and prospects this month.