The Top Three

🏆 THE INDUSTRY’S MOST IMPORTANT STORIES TODAY

🥇 GMC: NEW BRAND MANAGEMENT FEATURE

Google $GOOGL ( ▼ 0.85% ) has added a new "Brand" tab in Merchant Center Next, giving marketers more control over how they appear across Google. Now available in early access, the feature lets brands:

• Claim your brand profile: Establish and manage your brand presence on Google Search.

• Upload brand images: Curate how customers see your brand.

• Add videos: Integrate social content from YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

• Manage descriptions: Customize brand messaging.

🥈 LINKEDIN BRACES FOR JOB CUTS

LinkedIn is set to face more job cuts as its parent company, Microsoft $MSFT ( ▲ 0.04% ) , announces plans to cut around 6,000 roles, roughly 3% of its global workforce. While the exact number of LinkedIn positions affected hasn’t been disclosed, the company has confirmed LinkedIn will be part of the layoffs. more

• Last year, LinkedIn also reduced its workforce by 200 positions.

• This follows Microsoft’s stronger-than-expected $26 billion in recent quarterly earnings, with LinkedIn seeing a 7% YoY revenue increase.

🥉 GOOGLE ADDS SEARCH CONSOLE ANNOTATIONS

Google is testing a new feature in Search Console that (finally) lets users add custom annotations to performance reports — something SEOs have long requested. A blue highlight at the top of the performance report introduces the feature, with a message: New! Click on "Add annotation" or right-click on the chart to annotate key insights and explain fluctuations in data. more

• This is a native feature being tested, not a third-party browser extension (though many extensions offer similar functionality).

• The feature isn’t available to all accounts yet, but some users are starting to see it in their Search Console.

• No word yet on when it will roll out to everyone.

Today’s Other News

📰 EVERYTHING ELSE THAT MATTERS

• Google is rolling out a new section to restaurant and bar search profiles, that will let owners highlight specials or events directly in search results. Promos will appear under a “This week” section, showcasing things like daily specials or upcoming live music. Owners can manage this manually or link to their social media. more

  • The feature will first launch in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, but the exact release date is still unclear.

• X has updated its in-stream ads for the "Sales" objective, adding a text bar and customizable CTA button below the main image. This new format will display the headline and CTA button beneath the image or video, making ads stand out from regular posts. Organic posts will retain their traditional layout with headlines overlaid on images or videos. more

• FedEx 🤝 Amazon: FedEx $FDX ( ▼ 0.3% ) has signed a multi-year deal to deliver large packages to Amazon’s $AMZN ( ▼ 2.42% ) residential customers, nearly six years after ending its Express and Ground shipping contracts with the e-commerce giant. The two companies recently signed a partnership deal that provides Amazon "cost favorability" when compared to using UPS. Specific details about the deal’s timing and scope have not been disclosed. more

• 🤔 Didn't you already say no to Meta’s AI?: Privacy watchdog Noyb sent a cease-and-desist letter to Meta $META ( ▼ 2.35% ) today, threatening a billion-dollar class action to stop its upcoming AI training in the EU. Noyb pointed out that Meta only recently told EU users they have until May 27 to opt out of having their public posts used for AI training. The group also alleges Meta is forcing users who already opted out in 2024 to do it again or lose the chance to keep their data out of Meta’s models, which they argue breaks privacy laws under the GDPR. more

• Meta has added new features to its video editing app, Edits:

  • “Beat markers” to sync your video clips with the rhythm of the audio.

  • More features in the “Inspiration” tab to help you use audio from other clips or copy their style for your own content.

  • More animation and filter options.

• TikTok is rolling out new accessibility features for users with visual impairments:

  • The platform is testing AI-generated alt text for photos when creators haven’t added it themselves, with the option for creators to edit or add their own descriptions.

  • A new colour contrast toggle will help users adjust text, icons, and UI elements for better visibility.

  • TikTok will now display all text in bold when it detects that users have enabled bold text support on their devices.

• Last year, U.S. B2B marketers focused their investments on marketing tech and direct marketing, with SEO and market research falling to the bottom, according to Sagefrog Marketing Group. more

  • Now 40% report increased marketing spend in 2025.

  • 20% say search engine marketing is their top source for sales and marketing leads in 2025.

And so, that’s it.

What’s next for me? I’ll be back to spending more time at our agency, engageQ.com. We manage social media engagement and moderation for brands. Check us out if you need someone to take the load off!

My wife and I are visiting Australia this summer to visit family. And then I have two websites for you.

1. VIDEO GAMING: The first is just for fun. It's me playing video games while live streaming. It's on Twitch. You can find it at lowefforddad.com. That is my username on Twitch is Lowefforddad. Don't worry, I'm not taking it seriously. I'm not going to become a Twitch streamer full time or anything like that. It's just there for fun if you're a gamer.

2. CANADIAN IDENTITY: Somehow in this whole last few months, I've become a low-key creator on Canadian culture and identity. I don't know how, but it happened. So I have a little side project. Probably, knowing me, in four or five years, it will consume more of my desk than I want it to, and I'll close it down too. 🤣 But for the time being, you can check it out at farandwide.news. It is a little podcast. It's a YouTube channel. It's a newsletter.

3. Finally, you can get my social media links at https://b.link/todsocials 

Thank you so much for being a part of this. Thank you for listening and reading. If you are a premium member, thank you so much for your support of the work. It really did help. In addition to financially, just it helped us realize that people did rely on it, did use it, and that's a great feeling.

You can reach me at [email protected] 

So if I don't see you on Far and Wide, if I don't see you in the Twitch stream, then I hope to see you again at some other time.