Digital Marketing Update September 2025

Here’s your digital marketing update for September 2025.

Social Media Updates from September 2025

Meta launches Vibes

Vibes is a new platform where users can create and share short-form AI generated videos. Users can make content from scratch, work with content they already have, or remix a video from the feed, as well as layering in new visuals or music. Content can be uploaded to the Vibes feed or cross posted to Instagram or Facebook. Vibes will be rolled out to the Meta AI app on Thursday. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one.

Multi-Part Reel Linking

Instagram has launched multi-part reel linking, making story-driven content easier to follow. Creators can now link reels in a sequence so viewers can easily watch parts 1, 2, 3 etc. without having to search through a profile. I see this as a great way to encourage repeat engagement. I can see it working well for behind the scenes, multi-step tutorials or anything with a story arc.

LinkedIn Analytics Gets a Refresh

LinkedIn now has rolling 3 and 7 day post metrics for creators, giving quicker feedback on engagement and reach. But also, LinkedIn is currently rolling out two new metrics (which I’m loving the sound of. I know. Geek here 🤓):

Saves. This gives data on how many people have bookmarked your posts.

Sends. This shows how often a post was shared in a private message.

I feel like these two metrics could fill that void between engagement and lead. (Once rolled out, both can be found within social engagement tracking in LinkedIn Analytics). 

Search Updates from September 2025

Google Spam Update

Google’s August 2025 spam update completed its rollout in September. As a result, if your web content is thin, repetitive or unoriginal, it may have taken a bit of a nose dive in the search results in September. In short, you need to focus on content quality. (Same as always really). 

Search Console Reporting Glitch

If you noticed your data in Google Search Console plummet between 9 and 15 September, don’t panic. Your traffic didn’t actually dip. There was just a reporting bug with Google Search Console. All should be back to normal now.

Search Preffered Source Experiment

Google is rolling out it’s preferred sources feature in the US and India. This feature lets searchers specify which sites they want to see in the Top Stories section of Google Search. According to Google, it “is designed to give people more control over their Search experience, by enabling them to select the sites they want to see more of in Top Stories, whether that is a favorite blog or their local news outlet.” If rolled out widely, it could give charities and attractions more control over visibility. I’ll be interested to see how publishers encourage loyal supporters to select their site as a preferred source. If you want to do some further reading on search, this ‘Search Engine Roundtable’ is a great resource. 

Advertising Updates from September 2025

Google Ads Performance Max Upgrade

Google announced a wave of updates this month affecting Performance Max (PMax): 

Campaign level negative keyword lists

You can now apply negative keyword lists at the campaign level across PMax, which helps you exclude undesirable query traffic more efficiently. 

Asset level insights

More visibility is now offered into how individual assets (headlines, images, videos) are performing within PMax, with clicks, spend, and conversion data.

Unified web and app delivery for campaigns

Google is pushing to let Search, Shopping, PMax, and Demand Gen campaigns more seamlessly support both web and app platforms. More on this from Google here. 

I’d definitely say it’s worth reviewing your Pmax campaigns in light of recent changes.

Tik Tok Mandates GMV Max Automation

If you run ads tied to TikTok Shops or commerce initiatives, there’s a big mandate to be aware of: from September 1, many brands are required to use GMV Max, TikTok’s AI tool that fully automates how ad budgets are allocated to maximise sales. In effect, (just like Meta) TikTok is pushing marketers away from manual targeting and toward algorithmic control. You pick products, budget, and performance targets, and the algorithm does the rest.

View From The Den September 2025

Anyone else noticing a trend here? The platforms want to steer the ship. Call me a cynic… But remember the platforms are trying to make money out of you. So always proceed with caution and continue to test. Sometimes your brain will trump the automated recommendations. 

I hope you found our digital marketing update for September 2025 helpful.

Come back next month for more digital marketing updates from The Marketing Den 😊

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