March 2025 Edition

This month Pat highlighted a volatility spike on March 6-7th that quickly subsided with minimal impact. While most sectors showed stable results, Reddit continued its upward trend with a 3% monthly gain and 12% growth since January. In hospitality, IHG and Four Seasons demonstrated impressive annual growth (35% and 33%) despite modest monthly gains.

Pat emphasized the need to rethink traditional metrics as AI increasingly impacts search behavior. With AI Overviews and LLMs reducing click-through rates by over 80%, traffic and rankings are becoming more directional indicators. The focus should shift to quality metrics like conversions and engagement to ensure you're attracting the right audience rather than just more visitors.

The latest data shows AI Overviews appearing in approximately 7% of queries, with 71% occurring on smartphones and significant growth in education services (+25%), pharmaceuticals (+24%), and healthcare (+10%). Google's AI Mode has entered Labs, though Pat expressed some skepticism about Google's claims without supporting data.

This month Pat covered:

• March Industry Review - What I’m Seeing & Hearing
• Is It Time To Re-Think Your Metrics? Probably
• Updated AIO Trend Data
• Google’s AI Mode Is Available In Labs, The Googs Claims Users Find It “Incredibly Helpful”