Vox Optima

12/19/2025

Harness the power of AI search and GEO

While traditional search engines like Google remain the most popular tools for finding online information, AI search is quickly gaining prominence. Popular tools like ChatGPT have seen their search traffic rise by as much as 950% in recent years, with recent reports suggesting that as many as 50% of modern consumers use AI-powered search in some capacity today.

Maximizing coverage across AI search engines necessitates a slightly different approach to traditional SEO. While both involve the smart use of keywords and the prioritization of useful, engaging content, success in AI search relies heavily on strategic mentions of brands online.

To harness the power of Generative Engine Optimization alongside traditional SEO, brands must secure mentions of their business by name across high-traffic, powerful websites. By positioning your brand at the top of best of lists and as the answer to industry-specific FAQs, you communicate to AI tools that your brand is the obvious answer to users’ search queries. ~ Marian Domingo via Bulldog Reporter

The internet and related technologies continue to transform the PR industry. In 2025, 33% of consumers found new brands and products via search engines, while 30% did so through social media ads, with the value

12/19/2025

No two awards programs are exactly alike, so rubrics for judging submissions will always vary. But most — if not all — have some common elements.

First, they’re looking for a good story. What was the challenge? How was it overcome? And can you provide the metrics that substantiate both. Look for good “characters” in the story that becomes your award submission: maybe it’s an employee that became a changemaker in her field, a customer who dramatically illustrates your unique value proposition, or a community partner that benefitted from your work together. ~ Brendon Shank via Spin Sucks

Awards season doesn’t have to be chaos. Brendon Shank offers a roadmap for building a repeatable, effective awards program that moves the needle.

12/18/2025

As you can see in this explainer email, which was re-shared by social media expert Matt Navarra, some Page and professional mode profiles are being informed of the new organic link limit. As per the notification message:

“Starting December 16, certain Facebook profiles without Meta Verified, including yours, will be limited to sharing links in 2 organic posts per month. Subscribe to Meta Verified to share more links on Facebook, plus get a verified badge and additional benefits to help protect your brand.”

Which is obviously a major change for anyone using Facebook for business, most notably publishers who share links to their posts in the app. Like Social Media Today. ~ Andrew Hutchinson via Social Media Today

Meta could be set to make a big push to increase Verified uptake.

12/18/2025

Good tools don’t drown you in data. Instead, they surface the few signals that move traffic and conversions. When you’re building an SEO strategy, you need information you can do something with. ~ Cassie Wilson Clark via HubSpot

Free keyword research tools can help teams build an SEO strategy that connects with customers. Here's how.

12/17/2025

Visibility Engineering In Motion

Visibility engineering isn’t about gaming algorithms or chasing trends. It’s about making your expertise unmistakable—everywhere decisions get made.

If you keep answering real questions, attaching real people, earning real proof, and measuring signal instead of noise, you won’t need to “start fresh” every January.

You’ll already be in motion. ~ Gini Dietrich via Spin Sucks

TL;DR Visibility engineering isn’t about creating volume—it’s earned through clarity, credibility, and consistency. Over the past five weeks, you’ve seen that the brands that show up earliest in buying decisions are the ones that answer real questions, attach real humans, earn real proof, an...

12/17/2025

Artificial intelligence poses many threats to the world, but the most critical existential danger lies in the convergence of two AI-powered phenomena: hyperpolarization accompanied by hyperweaponization.

Alarmingly, AI is accelerating hyperpolarization while simultaneously enabling hyperweaponization by democratizing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). ~ De Kai via The MIT Press Reader

Isaac Asimov’s “Handbook of Robotics” imagined simple rules for machine morality. But reality is a maze of contradictions, biases, and blind spots.

12/16/2025

Tell a relevant story

Start your presentation with a riveting story that hooks your audience and relates to your main message. Stories have a powerful impact—research shows that information delivered as a story can be remembered up to 22× more than facts alone.

Organize your slides in a clear, sequential way and use visuals that enhance your narrative and evoke emotion to keep your audience engaged. ~ Krystle Wong via Venngage

Discover 15 powerful techniques to captivate your audience from the outset in our comprehensive guide on how to start a presentation.

12/16/2025

Many threat actors, including profit-driven cybercriminals, have been observed exploiting React2Shell to deliver a wide range of malware.

While exploitation by Chinese and North Korean threat actors was previously reported, Google also mentioned seeing attacks conducted by Iran-linked groups. ~ Eduard Kovacs via SecurityWeek

Google has also mentioned seeing React2Shell attacks conducted by Iranian threat actors.

12/15/2025

Podcasts shine a light on real voices.

Podcasts occupy a unique space: they demand time and attention. Whether during commutes, workouts, or quiet moments at home, listeners choose to engage, and that choice builds trust. Audio doesn’t interrupt; it integrates. Unlike one-and-done ad campaigns, podcasts nurture long-term relationships.

Each episode deepens trust, builds community, and increases organic visibility across search, social, and streaming platforms. An engaging podcast provides authenticity and genuine insights that not only showcase the hosts as subject-matter experts but also make them feel like familiar friends sharing a part of their professional, and sometimes even personal, journeys with listeners. ~ Jennifer Lewis via Agility PR Solutions

The way audiences consume content is changing. Once it was visual. Then it was social. Now, it's personal. In an age of fragmented attention, podcasts and branded audio have emerged as among the most intimate

12/15/2025

No. 5. Focus on Transparency and Credibility When Using AI

Morgan Taylor, co-founder of Jolly SEO, notes that regulated industries may also require more transparency when it comes to the use of AI. “Each content piece should also disclose AI involvement, and to what extent, as required by the regional and global regulations,” he says.

AI disclosure isn’t just necessary due to industry regulations, but also because your audience demands it. According to Dentsu, about 75% of consumers said brands should disclose if branded content was created with AI. ~ Steph Davidson via Contently

Learn how to build a compliance-first content strategy for regulated industries, from legal guardrails to workflows that keep every claim accurate.

12/15/2025

In honor of National Cat Herders Day ...

EDS, an HP Company 'Cat Herders'

12/13/2025

C'mon Midshipmen! Beat Army!