Brand Building Beyond Google: Why Owned Channels Matter More in 2025
Key Highlights
- Google’s shrinking ad share signals a new era for B2B digital strategy.
- AI-driven search is cutting ad clicks, and marketers must adapt SEO and spend.
- Diversify channels now to reduce risk and protect ROI.
- Strengthen owned media to maintain audience engagement as search evolves.
The marketing playbook built around Google’s dominance is rapidly becoming outdated. As AI search engines, social platforms, and retail ecosystems capture users’ attention, marketing leaders must decide whether to double down on traditional SEO or diversify toward new discovery channels. This shift matters for B2B brands whose visibility, ad efficiency, and customer acquisition costs have long hinged on Google’s algorithms. Maintaining ROI now depends on agility, experimentation, and a rebalanced mix of paid, earned, and owned strategies.
For CMOs and demand generation leaders, the stakes extend beyond keyword rankings. AI-generated summaries, declining search quality, and reduced ad clicks threaten both reach and revenue. The disruption also opens an opportunity for brands to lead in the next wave of AI-driven discovery, using data, personalization, and owned media to sustain engagement. The following excerpt by Abby White in “The Fall of a Search Giant? What Google’s Decline Means for B2B Advertising Strategies” on EndeavorB2B explores how Google’s decline signals a turning point for B2B advertising strategies.
“Google’s dominance in search engines and digital advertising has long been a cornerstone of B2B advertising strategies, with marketers designing SEO and content guidelines around Google’s ever-shifting algorithm.
However, recent trends suggest the search giant faces existential challenges and new competitors. The WSJ recently compared the tech behemoth to the Titanic — and we all know how that ended.
With younger users turning to TikTok, Amazon, or various AI tools for search queries, a dwindling number of people are turning to Google as the primary place to find information. In October 2024, the WSJ predicted that, in 2025, Google’s share of U.S. advertising would fall below 50% for the first time in a decade.
Understanding these shifts is critical for B2B marketing professionals, as they have profound implications for digital advertising, search SEO, and content strategies.”
Continue reading “The Fall of a Search Giant? What Google’s Decline Means for B2B Advertising Strategies” by Abby White on EndeavorB2B.
Why It Matters to You:
Google’s weakening hold on search is more than a tech story; it’s a marketing wake-up call. For CMOs and digital leaders, the shift signals a need to rethink where discovery, attention, and ROI will come from next. As AI-driven tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and TikTok change how audiences seek information, marketers must build strategies that go beyond keyword optimization. This moment demands experimentation with new platforms and an agile approach to content distribution, targeting, and measurement.
For B2B teams, these shifts carry both risk and opportunity. Declining Google traffic could erode lead generation pipelines, but brands that adapt early by investing in AI-ready content, owned media ecosystems, and multi-channel ad mixes can gain a competitive edge. Marketing leaders who diversify spend and evolve creative testing around AI search patterns will future-proof visibility, sustain engagement, and protect marketing ROI in an uncertain digital landscape.
Next Steps:
- Audit channel performance: CMOs and digital leads should evaluate Google’s share of traffic and conversions vs. alternative channels to identify diversification priorities.
- Test AI search optimization: Content and SEO teams should pilot content structured for AI answer engines, tracking engagement and referral quality from AI-driven platforms.
- Reallocate paid budgets: Demand generation managers can shift 10–20% of Google ad spend to emerging platforms (e.g., Amazon, LinkedIn, TikTok) and assess ROI after one quarter.
- Strengthen owned ecosystems: Brand and content leaders should grow newsletter and first-party data lists to offset potential declines in organic traffic.
- Upskill teams on AI tools: Marketing operations teams should integrate AI analytics and automation training to accelerate insight generation and campaign adaptability.
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