Leaked internal documents suggest Meta may earn around $16 billion in 2024 from scam advertisements and banned goods, nearly 10% of its total revenue. Reports indicate the company displayed about 15 billion high risk scam ads daily and that such ads generated roughly $7 billion annually. Despite knowing key offenders, Meta allegedly failed to act quickly, allowing some high spending accounts to continue operating after hundreds of violations. Meta disputed the figures, claiming progress in reducing scam reports by over half. The revelations raise concerns about Meta’s ability and willingness to curb fraudulent advertising and protect user trust.
TLDR: Google Ads turns 25, evolving from manual keyword campaigns to AI-driven automation. Semrush launches a tool to track visibility across traditional and AI search. Leaked Meta docs reveal $16B in projected scam ad revenue, raising trust concerns. Google trims lesser-used SERP features to prioritise AI-driven results. Brands boost affiliate marketing spend for better ROI amid rising costs, while retail media ad spend surges toward $200B by 2027, set to overtake TV.
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25 years of Google Ads
Over twenty five years, Google Ads has evolved from a simple keyword based system into an AI driven marketing platform. Early AdWords offered full control and transparency but required manual effort and technical skill. Today’s Google Ads delivers automation, scale, and multi-channel reach through tools like Performance Max and Gemini AI, though at the cost of granular control. Modern advertisers focus more on data strategy and privacy compliance than on manual optimisation. Google continues to balance automation with transparency, responding to feedback and tightening trust. Ultimately, whether Google Ads was better then or now depends on what advertisers value most.
Semrush launches tool to measure performance in AI & traditional search
On November 7, Semrush released its AI vs SEO Comparison tool beta, designed to provide marketers with a single report showing their brand’s visibility in both traditional search rankings and the new AI answer formats, including Google’s AI Mode/Overviews and ChatGPT.
For Semrush users, this tool provides the necessary data to integrate AI visibility into their existing competitive strategies. By offering metrics from both environments, the tool enables users to shift their focus from just securing the top blue link to achieving mentions and citations in AI. Marketers can now accurately gauge dual performance and adjust their content specifically to be both highly ranked and easily sourced by AI systems, giving Semrush users a new analytic advantage.
Google streamlines search results by removing rarely-used features
Google is simplifying its Search Engine Results Page (SERP) by discontinuing support for several niche structured data types and low-engagement features. This ongoing cleanup includes eliminating certain schema markup, like ‘Practice Problem’ data, and minor display elements, like the ‘Today’s Doodle’ box, that were rarely used.
This is a strong signal that Google is focusing its resources on its AI-powered features. Marketers should stop dedicating time to optimising for the discontinued rich results and instead concentrate on creating content that is highly trustworthy and logically structured. In the new landscape, content that is easy for Google’s AI models to read and summarise will secure visibility in prominent areas like AI Overviews.
Brands invest in affiliate marketing as other costs rise
Global retail media ad market set to hit $200bn
Global investment in retail media advertising is forecast to exceed $200 billion by 2027, according to Warc Media. The market is currently valued at around $174.9 billion in 2025, representing a 13.7% increase from 2024, with growth expected to reach $196.7 billion by 2026. While expansion is slowing compared to the rapid 38.6% surge seen in 2021, retail media remains one of the fastest growing digital channels and is set to surpass combined linear and connected TV ad spend by 2026. Growth in Europe is particularly strong, outpacing the broader digital ad market, as brands increasingly integrate retail media across display, social, TV, and audio formats to reach consumers closer to the point of purchase.
For more information on any of these stories, or for support with your digital marketing campaigns, get in touch with our expert team. Whether you need Google Ads support, you’d like to try affiliate marketing or you want to dive into the world of MMM, send us an email to team@modo25.com
