Plus, our latest core update analysis and tips to battle bot traffic  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Raptive News FEBRUARY 4, 2026 By Emily Rose VP, Content Marketing Hi Raptive, The uncertainty many of us are feeling right now, driven by larger events unfolding across the world, is also impacting the ad spend we’re seeing so far this year. Last week’s Digiday reporting says this shift is happening throughout the industry. Advertisers are treading carefully with their dollars, planning in shorter cycles, and prioritizing flexible budgets over long-term commitments so they can adjust quickly as conditions change. Key moments like the Super Bowl and Presidents’ Day have historically unlocked more spending, so we’re optimistic we’ll see more lift soon. There are also reports suggesting ad spend could grow 9.5% year-over-year, supported by some of these events. However, we want to be transparent with you: the overall tone across the industry remains extremely cautious, and advertisers are not spending as aggressively at the start of this year as they have in past cycles. We’re navigating it all with you, staying focused on what we can control and pushing for the best possible performance as the year continues. This week’s newsletter also covers: • Our analysis of Google’s last core update • A new Grocers List feature • What to know about bot traffic What’s new What mattered most in Google’s December 2025 core update Google’s final core update of 2025 reinforced one clear message: quality still wins. In our new analysis on the Blog, the SEO team breaks down the key factors that separated sites that gained visibility from those that didn’t—looking at page experience, authority, content freshness, and more. The data confirms what matters most now and explains how even small issues can hurt an otherwise strong site. Get the latest insights → Grocers List releases new ‘first comment’ feature Grocers List recently shared a new feature that automatically grabs the link for DM automations from the first comment on Facebook and Instagram posts, rather than the caption. This allows creators and publishers to schedule comments that include the link and avoid Facebook warnings that say links in the caption can decrease your reach. See more Grocers List tips → Having trouble with older links? Last week, we heard from a few creators that links in older emails weren’t working. Salesforce Marketing Cloud (the platform we use to send emails) rolled out a security update that caused tracked links in emails sent before January 21, 2026, to expire. If you clicked a link in one of those older emails, you may have landed on a Salesforce error page, even though the email itself was fine. Emails sent after January 21, 2026, aren’t affected. The good news: you can always find past issues of Raptive News (with working links) in our new ✨newsletter archive!✨ If you’re having trouble with links from a non-newsletter email, please submit a support request and include the email subject line (or a screenshot). We’ll send you an updated link right away. Top resource Bad traffic, bots, and what you can do Bot traffic makes up over half of all web traffic, and of that, 37% is considered “bad bots.” In this new Help Center guide, learn more about how to spot this bad traffic, how it may be impacting your site, and what you can do to protect your revenue and reputation. Stop bad traffic → Quick tip Your email consistency matters more than frequency “Sending more emails doesn’t automatically drive more engagement. A predictable cadence builds reader habits, while sudden spikes in volume tend to drive fatigue. For most newsletters, 2–3 sends per week strikes the right balance between staying top of mind and respecting inbox attention. If you send more often, make sure each email delivers clear, standalone value. If you send less often, consistency becomes even more important.” Trevor Dye Senior Director, Email Solutions In case you missed it PODCAST RECAP Ctrl Alt Ask Episode 9: The discoverability hack for small entertainment sites “Smaller entertainment sites are the Avengers, fighting to be seen in a world dominated by tentpole publishers,” says Jamie Broadnax of Black Girl Nerds. Jamie was our latest guest on last week’s episode of Ctrl Alt Ask, talking with host Stephanie Woodin and Raptive SEO expert Eddie Mercado about the unique challenges for smaller news and entertainment creators. Catch up on the episode for tips from Eddie on leaning into your niche, sharing your unique perspectives and opinions, and building greater trust and authority to reach new audiences. Listen now → In the news Our take on Google’s forced AI opt-out Raptive Chief Strategy Officer, Paul Bannister, calls out Google’s AI crawler (gated content) for stacking the deck in its own favor and forcing publishers to choose between visibility and control when opting out of AI features. Paul shared his thoughts about separating Google’s AI and search crawler. “I think if Google actually wanted to do it and it was in their interest, they could do it by tomorrow. It’s easy and straightforward and they don’t do it because it gives them a competitive advantage over OpenAI and others.” Paul Bannister What we’re reading Catch up on news from around the industry • WTF is vibe coding? (Digiday | Gated) • From the CEO: What’s coming to YouTube in 2026 (YouTube Official Blog) • From Clawdbot to Moltbot to OpenClaw: Meet the AI agent generating buzz and fear globally (CNBC) Question of the week How did your site perform after Google’s latest core update? 📈 Strong gains I saw greater visibility in search traffic and rankings 📉 Traffic dips My site wasn’t a winner, so I’m regrouping 🔄 No major change Things are steady for now 🤔 Not sure I’m still gathering data and insights Was this email helpful? You’re receiving this email because you help manage a site that works with Raptive. To ensure our emails reach your inbox, add hello@email.raptive.com to your email contacts. Want to stop receiving Raptive News emails? You can update your preferences anytime. 1411 Broadway, 27th Floor New York, NY, 10018, US © 2026 Raptive. All rights reserved. Unsubscribe | View online