May 2026 Newsletter

Hello friends!

Somehow, May nearly crept past us. Summer is right around the corner, projects are picking up speed, and this month has been full of meaningful connections and important shifts in the digital world.

One of the biggest highlights of this month was joining one of our clients in DC for Lawyers Have Heart, where we spent the day capturing content, reconnecting with familiar faces, and supporting an incredible cause through the American Heart Association. Moments like these are always a reminder that the best part of this work are the relationships built along the way.

We’ve been paying very close attention to several major changes happening across social media, websites, SEO, and AI-powered search.

Search is pulling more from socials. Educational content is becoming more valuable. Businesses are increasingly being discovered through blogs, videos, social media posts, reviews, and community conversations rather than websites alone. And while AI tools are making content creation faster than ever, strategy, authenticity, and strong messaging are becoming increasingly important.

This month, we’re breaking down some of the biggest shifts we’re watching and what they may mean for small businesses moving forward.

What Changed in May

Search is becoming more social, which means your social media platforms are more important than ever. Your digital presence should not just be your website. Instead, your website should be a platform that everything else builds off of.

Google and AI-powered search tools are increasingly pulling from places like Reddit, forums, YouTube, LinkedIn, and other social/community spaces when answering questions. 

Your posts, captions, FAQs, reviews, blog content, video descriptions, and even the way people talk about your business online can all contribute to how discoverable and trustworthy you appear.

We are seeing stronger performance from websites that provide clear educational content and highly specific expertise.

This is one of the reasons we encourage businesses to create content that answers direct questions instead of focusing only on keywords or sales language.

Need help with your content? Let’s work together on your social media, blogs, newsletters, or website.

Longer educational content is gaining traction again. 

While short-form content is still everywhere, platforms are also making more room for longer videos, deeper explanations, storytelling, and educational content.

That’s good news for businesses with expertise to share!

We are seeing increased value in thoughtful blogs, behind-the-scenes explanations, content that teaches instead of selling, and long-form videos.

The businesses building trust online are often the ones willing to explain, educate, and share perspective rather than simply pushing promotions.

AI tools are making content creation easier, but strategy matters more than ever.

AI tools are making it faster and easier for businesses to generate websites, captions, blogs, graphics, and marketing ideas.

At the same time, we are seeing more businesses struggle with sounding generic, blending together, or publishing content without a clear strategy behind it. Audiences are also picking up on what sounds “AI written”, and most report it is a turn-off.

The businesses standing out are the ones with clear messaging, strong structure, authentic perspective, consistency, and intentional branding. 

Tools can speed up execution, but they cannot replace strategy, voice, or genuine understanding of your audience.

The human layer still matters deeply.

This Month's Featured Blog

All of these changes ultimately point back to one very important question:

Is your website (and the person or business helping you build it) actually preparing your business for where the digital world is heading?

As websites, social media, SEO, AI search, and content strategy become more interconnected, choosing the right web designer is about much more than aesthetics alone. Business owners deserve to understand what they are paying for, what questions to ask, what ownership should look like after launch, and how a website should function within a larger digital ecosystem.

That is exactly what inspired this month’s featured blog:



What Small Businesses Should Look for in a Website Designer

Looking Ahead

As we look ahead to summer, we’re also entering one of the busiest planning seasons for larger digital projects. 

Summer is often when businesses finally have the breathing room to step back and evaluate the bigger picture: outdated websites, SEO structure, content strategy, migrations, back-end cleanup, platform changes, and long-term visibility goals.

One of the projects we’re currently preparing for started with a simple website audit. From there, it evolved into edits, expanded service pages, SEO improvements, strategy conversations, and eventually a full migration plan. Honestly, that progression is incredibly common. 

Many businesses know something feels “off” with their digital presence long before they fully understand the root cause. Sometimes it’s the website itself. Sometimes it’s visibility. Sometimes it’s platform limitations or simply outgrowing an old system.

That’s why we encourage businesses to start planning larger projects early. 

Strong digital work takes strategy, structure, collaboration, and time. The businesses seeing the best long-term results are often the ones thinking proactively rather than waiting until something completely breaks. 

If a larger project has been sitting on the back of your mind, summer can be a great time to start the conversation. 

Speaking of planning ahead, we’re also including June’s “Something to Post About Every Day” content calendar below to help spark ideas for your social media, blogs, newsletters, and promotions throughout the month ahead.

More Soon,

Bernice Bethke

Founder & Digital Strategist at Threadlined Presence