"Dan Kurtz - In-Page Push ads and Google Trends newsjacking"

Dan Kurtz on hijacking other people's news sites with unblockable In-Page Push ads and turning Google Trends into AI-built forced-conversion landing pages at half-cent clicks.

On Day 2, Dan Kurtz stepped outside the usual SEO conference track to teach paid ads, specifically In-Page Push (IPP): styled in-page HTML notifications that render on other people's news sites and cannot be blocked by ad blockers, iOS, or Android. His workflow newsjacks Google Trends into AI-generated advertorial "news" landing pages built in Claude and hosted on GitHub Pages or Cloudflare Pages, with menus and footers disabled so only his offers are clickable. He frames it as cheap, high-volume traffic that adapts to affiliate offers and to local lead gen alike.

Main takeaways

1. In-Page Push ads are unblockable styled-HTML notifications. Unlike older browser push (opt-in rates falling, blocked by iOS a couple of years ago), IPP is an HTML element that loads 100% of the time as long as the device renders HTML. It avoids the opt-in entirely. Dan reports clicks as cheap as half a cent and 10x to 100x cheaper per click than normal paid sources.

2. You run on other people's news sites, not your own. Dan describes it as "hijacking other people's news sites for fame and profit." He recommends Roller Ads ($50 minimum deposit) and MyBid ($100 minimum deposit) over Outbrain or Taboola, which he says charge $3,000 to $15,000 to set up. His files include ten total ad networks (two tested, eight untested).

3. Newsjack Google Trends into AI-built forced-conversion landing pages. Export trending topics from Google Trends as CSV, run them through Claude agents to pick an angle and write an advertorial news page, then disable the menu and footer so the only clickable elements are the offers. Advertorial intermediary pages lift conversion from roughly 1 to 3 percent (direct) to about 10 to 13 percent.

4. The same ad playbook adapts to local lead gen, not just affiliate. Swap the prompt to produce a state-specific storm or hurricane "preparedness" page for a roofer, with a click-to-call or a name/email/phone opt-in wired to a CRM. Dan says the same method works for AC, farmers, builders, attorneys (a GLP-1 lawsuit angle), and dietitians.

5. Zone optimization is the single biggest profit lever in push. Cap clicks per zone (for example 100 per zone) to force even traffic distribution and avoid one publisher cluster draining the budget. A "zone" or "source ID" groups publisher sites like zip codes.

Key points

Ad type and economics

• Topic is In-Page Push (IPP): little notification elements that pop up on a page; a newer ad type.
• Key property is that it is unblockable. iOS blocked traditional browser push a couple of years ago; IPP is styled in-page HTML, so ad blockers, iOS, and Android updates do not stop it.
• Old-school push opt-in rates are dropping; IPP avoids the opt-in entirely.
• Push advertising is over a decade old; Dan states it is scheduled to hit a $35.4 billion market in 2026 (figure stated by Dan; source not given).
• Dan claims 10x to 100x cheaper per click than normal paid sources, and reports half-cent clicks.

Networks and setup

• Recommended and tested: Roller Ads (minimum deposit $50) and MyBid (minimum deposit $100); MyBid is the cheaper of the two.
• Contrast: Outbrain and Taboola charge $3,000 to $15,000 to set up.
• Roller Ads: Dan cites 4.5 billion impressions per day and a minimum CPC of one-tenth of a cent ($0.001). (Impression figure stated by Dan; source not given.)
• His files include ten total ad networks (two tested, eight untested) for scaling across platforms.
• Bidding example from his account: bid $0.005 (half a cent), estimated about 16,000 clicks per day (mid-pack on the slider).
• Some networks permit gray markets such as cannabis and gambling; policy varies by network (some ban gambling, tech support, or cannabis).
• Start at $5 per day and scale from there.

Landing-page / forced-conversion build

• Do not send cold push traffic direct to an offer; use an advertorial "new style" news-content intermediary page.
• Conversion lift: direct affiliate offer roughly 1 to 3 percent sale rate; with the advertorial page in between, about 10 to 13 percent. Dan cites a Roller Ads case study where pre-landers generate $22 versus $12 for the same link.
• The page is hosted on GitHub Pages or Cloudflare Pages on a purchased domain matching the site name, so it looks legit. Pages are not interlinked; each is a standalone landing page.
• The advertorial page disables the menu and footer; only the affiliate links or offers are clickable. Dan's framing: "Either get on the page and convert or get the fuck out."
• Live examples shown referenced real trending stories (Capital One, Spirit/Frontier airline).

Newsjacking workflow (Google Trends to Claude)

• Claude project name: "Google Trend Brief Writer."
• Go to Google Trends, Trending Now, set last 4 hours, then Export CSV and drop it into Claude.
• The agent opens the CSV, ranks by volume/percentage, filters out unwanted categories (sports, game scores), picks the top 3, researches, recommends one, and writes a content brief (volume, emotional triggers, push angle, time-to-monetize, audience, monetization ideas).
• Example trends pulled: Capital One, self-checkout bans, voting rights, a Columbus Zoo threat/evacuation, and a library evacuation.
• Take the brief to the next agent, which writes the article, then offers to build a "new style webpage" and outputs an artifact with ad spots already defined; you paste in your offers/URLs and publish.
• Models mentioned in passing ("Opus 4.6," "Opus 4.7X," image model "2.5") are loose references and should not be treated as exact product names.
• Also mentions Feeds / RSS: pipe a filtered trending or local-news RSS feed into a client's site to keep it updated, but filter tightly rather than covering all news.

Local lead-gen adaptation

• For local, use Google Trends Explore / the AI function, set the geo (for example Florida), set the timeframe to the past month, pull top/rising queries, pick one, and build an article and angle.
• Roofing example: a hurricane/storm-preparedness article; the ad reads "Are you sure you know what to do when the hurricane passes? Here's ten tips for your roof" as a newsjack ad sending to your offer.
• Drill down by city or zip in the filter and refine queries (for example "asphalt shingles").
• Swap the offer type via prompt: click-to-call, or a name/email/phone opt-in wired to a CRM. Dan says it works for AC, farmers, builders, attorneys (a GLP-1 lawsuit angle), and dietitians (GLP-1 diet recommendations).

Campaign ops, tracking, and scaling

• Drop your own tracking pixels into the page files; affiliate networks mentioned include Max Bounty and Spring Partner.
• Tracking: DD1 (described as good for affiliate tracking); postback tracking via click ID, where a conversion fires and the result returns. Mentions Microsoft Clarity versus another heatmap tool.
• Bidding ladder: start CPC, then Smart CPC, then a CPA goal once you have conversions.
• Campaign naming convention: vertical / geo / device / OS / test.
• Zone optimization is the most impactful profitability lever. Cap about 100 clicks per zone for even distribution and to avoid draining one publisher cluster. A zone or source ID is a cluster of publisher websites, "like zip codes."
• Real campaign (April 8): 19,000 impressions, 125 clicks, 0.66% CTR, 63 cents spent. A separate 3-day run: about 60 cents in clicks returned a $9 commission.
• Targeting controls: geo tiers (tier 1 for English, tiers 2/3 otherwise), devices, OS, browsers, and connection type (for example Wi-Fi only for residential/roofing). Daily budget $5 to $20.
• Scaling options: vertical (raise bids), horizontal (new offers/locations), or his preferred move, new platforms (max out one network, then duplicate the campaign to the next of the ten).
• Recycle creatives indefinitely until the news story dies (clicks and conversions stop).
• Does not trust the networks' automated optimization tools: "I don't trust it past the end of my fingertips."

Closing sponsor pitch

• A B2B cold-email platform built by Dan and a partner, built on Instantly, charging $1 per 1,000 emails. It does AI inbox follow-up/nurturing, list cleaning, and warm-up; you provide only the domain.
• Feature requests submitted as detailed support tickets are auto-coded by their system and pushed live the next day. The product name and URL were not stated.

Source

Synthesized from Dan Kurtz's portion of the SEO Spring Training 2026 Day 2 session he shared with Brian Kato. Dan spoke from slides that were not provided as files (no deck file exists for his talk; the only deck from this session is Brian Kato's, which is not Dan's). The source notes live in the project knowledge folder, which is not published on the live site.