Monday, February 16

🌟 Today’s Highlights:

• LinkedIn launched an SMB-focused Premium dashboard

• Google Ads is testing a ROAS-based tool for conversion value

• You’re probably overbuying martech tools

• 📊 Stat of the Day: 95% of B2B marketers use AI at least weekly, while 65% use it daily or more. (Source: LinkedIn)

• 💡 Today’s Insight: Do you still need a website to rank on Google?

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⚡️ Today’s Headlines ⚡️

💼 LinkedIn added a SMB-focused Premium subscription. The new All-in-One professional dashboard aims to make it easier for SMBs to manage their LinkedIn presence with client prospecting, marketing, and hiring tools all in a single system.

🙏 Could your agency use more clients? CEOs & Founders in my audience ask me for agency recommendations every week. I’m reviewing a few new partners now to recommend now — so see if your agency is a fit here →

🇪🇺 TikTok added new ad options for EU entertainment marketers. The new ad types in the EU include AI-powered Streaming Ads for streaming providers and New Title Launch, which aims to turn cultural moments into ticket and subscription sales.

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💰 Google Ads is testing a ROAS-based tool for valuing new customers. The new feature lets advertisers calculate conversion value for new customers based on a target return on ad spend to help advertisers bid smarter for new customers.

💡 Today’s Insight 💡

Do you still need a website to rank on Google?

🗞 TL;DR - Google’s Search Relations team discussed website relevance in a new episode of its Search Off the Record podcast and didn’t give a one-size-fits-all answer. Search experts Gary Illyes and Martin Splitt explored the question “do you still need a website in 2026?” and repeatedly landed on the same conclusion: it depends.

💡 Insight - How can you rank on Google without a website? By building up your brand platforms like social networks or app stores, with the biggest risk being that the content is hosted on borrowed platforms – aka if Instagram decided to shut down tomorrow, all your brand presence on the platform would be gone.

Google’s experts noted that’s one of the distinct advantages websites still offer – data sovereignty, control over monetization, the ability to host tools and services, and freedom from platform content moderation. That said, websites can be cumbersome to manage and maintain, requiring resources, budget, time, and skills that some businesses just don’t have.

Google’s experts go so far as to say “needing a website” is a business decision that depends on your goals and audience. Websites aren’t necessarily essential, but building on other platforms isn’t necessarily a replacement for a website. The main takeaway: having a website won’t hurt your business (web isn’t dead yet) and it’s the most control you’ll have over how your brand is presented online… but if a website is too ambitious, you can absolutely find success with a great brand on a borrowed platform.

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