The Brief, Episode 34

By Lucy

Shorts > Shortcuts

We’re a few weeks into the Google June 2025 Core Update, and the SERPs are officially having a moment.

Some sites flattened by past updates — especially the 2023 Helpful Content purge — are finally seeing glimmers of recovery: partial traffic rebounds, rich snippets returning, and a few surprise keyword comebacks. But don’t celebrate too soon — there’s still another few days of rollout to go.

This is Google’s second core update in three months, and the message is clear: updates are hitting faster and harder, rewarding genuinely useful, people-first content. If your SEO strategy still hinges on keyword-stuffing and weak backlinks, it’s time to pivot.

Right now, smart brands should be focusing on:

Stronger brand recognition
Highly useful, link-worthy, human-led content
Online visibility beyond your own site

While the SEO world watches rankings fluctuate, Google’s been quietly prioritising short-form video in search results. Reels, TikToks, and Shorts are showing up more frequently — not just in video tabs, but in core results, featured snippets, and Discover.

And it’s no accident. These videos are fast, mobile-friendly, and give users exactly what they want in 15 seconds or less. In the lead-up to the core update rollout, we’ve seen even more of this shift, especially for how-to queries, lifestyle content, product searches, and trend-driven topics.

Which makes Instagram’s latest move less surprising…

SEOcial Media

From July 10, Instagram has begun allowing Google to index public posts from professional accounts (business and creator profiles, age 18+). That means your Reels, carousels, photos and videos can now show up in organic search results — right alongside TikToks, YouTube Shorts, and blog posts.

This is a fundamental shift in how brands think about visibility and content strategy. The line between social and SEO is officially blurred. Social teams can no longer create only for in-app metrics, as now they will need to consider how posts might rank, appear, and convert in the wider web.

So what should brands do?

Write captions with search in mind, especially the first line (it works like a headline)
Use alt text strategically — for accessibility and indexing
Think beyond trends — pair reactive content with evergreen posts like how-tos and collabs
Build creator content that lasts — influencer posts can now rank, making them even more valuable

And if you’re not on board with being searchable? That’s fine too as only public pro accounts are included (at least for now) with personal profiles and private accounts remaining untouched (or you can opt out in settings).

But for everyone else, it means Instagram’s no longer just a social channel — it’s part of your search ecosystem, so you need to treat it like one.

Meh-Ta Descriptions

Should you stop writing meta descriptions altogether?

That’s what SEO consultant Mark Williams-Cook reckons after testing thousands of pages and seeing a 3 percent average traffic lift when no meta description was used.

His logic is based on this:

– Google rewrites approximately 80 percent of them anyway
– Query-specific snippets outperform static ones
– Writing them is a waste of time (yes, even with AI)

But not everyone’s buying it. Enter Jono Alderson, who claps back with a spicy article calling most SEO tests “performative theatre”:

“SEO isn’t a closed system. Your site doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Even the weather can affect click-through rates.”

He’s correct in that testing one tweak on a live site is messy, but that doesn’t mean Mark is wrong. In a search world increasingly run by Google’s own logic and language models, it seems like a fair hypothesis that letting Google write Meta descriptions for you is likely to produce better results.

In summary, the real takeaway here for those who write or upload content to websites is this: if your meta descriptions are boring, irrelevant, or mass-generated, you might be better off forgetting about them, and spending your time elsewhere – like optimising your structured data, backlinking, and Google Business Profile.

You can read it all here.

Prompt Potion

If you’re using AI tools like ChatGPT for SEO or content and still feel like you’re winging it, this LinkedIn post from Ahrefs is a goldmine.

Tim Soulo (Ahrefs’ CMO) shared the exact 10-step prompt workflow their content team uses to create AI-generated blog posts good enough to publish on the Ahrefs blog (they’ve already published at least four posts to double-check).

Tim’s tips cover:

Generating keyword ideas and topical clusters
Writing detailed outlines and content briefs
Drafting first versions with built-in SEO logic
Editing and polishing with a human touch

It’s not a “hit enter and pray” approach. It’s a strategic, scalable process, and a great blueprint for anyone trying to blend AI with high-quality content marketing.

Farewell Funnel

Did Gen Z just chuck the traditional marketing funnel in the bin? That’s the question UK Advertising and The News Movement put to industry leaders at a recent Cannes Lions roundtable.

Forget Awareness > Consideration > Conversion. Gen Z looked at that neat little ladder and said, “yeah nah” to the traditional marketing funnel

Their decision-making process is chaotic, non-linear, and hyper-social:

They discover brands on TikTok before Googling them
They seek out community reviews over polished campaigns
They bounce from YouTube comments to group chats to Reddit threads and maybe, convert a week later (if the vibes are right)

It looks far less like a funnel, and a lot more like a feedback loop. One where trust and peer validation hold the most weight.

So for marketers, this is a heads up that you need more brand energy. More authenticity. And a willingness to play the long game across channels, formats and communities without demanding instant conversion.

Simple Logos Still Slap

Minimalist logos aren’t just a trend — they’re science-backed, scroll-friendly, and built for brains in a hurry. According to a recent Medium article, 75% of consumers can link simple logos with specific brands, and there’s a reason: our brains process less faster.

As screens shrunk and digital real estate tightened, brands evolved. Enter responsive logos (think Google’s full wordmark vs. just the “G” on your phone), visual systems that scale and shift with context. The takeaway?

Simple = recognisable. And recognisable means buyable.

But, if you opt for minimalism without meaning, it can be a big risk. Brands that go too far, too fast (hi Gap’s 2010 logo update, and continued debate over Jaguar’s recent “woke” rebrand?) can cause brand amnesia. Evolution is the name of the game, not erasure.

Our take: A strong logo today needs more than aesthetic restraint. It needs memory hooks, visual consistency, and just enough soul to stop the scroll. Strip it back, sure — but make sure you’re leaving the right things behind.

Keen To Dive In?

If you love what we’ve shared above and want to be kept in the loop with our weekly email, The Brief, you can sign up here. We’ll only send you things we love and think you’ll find useful, and you can unsubscribe at any time. And if you need some help exploring any of the above within your own marketing strategy, or you need a rebrand, a custom website built from scratch, Google or social ads, print materials, blog posts – or the whole lot – we’d love to chat. Drop us a line here.

Related News

News

Interview

Risky Business Ep. 5: Sliding Doors, Second Acts & Finding Clarity in the Chaos with Libby Munro

In this episode of Risky Business, we speak to actor, entrepreneur and hat maker, Libby Munro. Her journey is part pivot, part identity reckoning, and part masterclass in backing yourself when it matters most.

Article / Creative / Digital

The Brief | The first all AI ad, Apple updates & Gen Z’s going bush

Marketing, digital, design and tech news for the third week of June, 2025.