Link Building Strategies

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...View the full article

Google is testing a new AI assistant in Google Merchant Center named Merchant Advisor. I assume it is similar to Google Ads Advisor and something that Google might announce at Google Marketing Live next week.View the full article

A new study from Ahrefs says that adding schema does not and did not boost citations on any of the AI platforms including Google (AI Overviews or AI Mode), ChatGPT and others. "Adding schema produced no major uplift in citations on any platform," Ahrefs wrote.View the full article

Google at some point added a section to this Google Ads document explaining that because of all the new Google AI search features, like Lens, AI Mode, AI Overviews, or auto-complete searches - the search terms report now may show keywords that "represents the best approximation of the user's intent."View the full article

Google posted a tease for Google Marketing Live where Google Ads will be announcing new dashboards powered by Gemini. Google wrote on X, "Tired of manual reporting? Introducing Dashboards built with Gemini capabilities."View the full article

Google had yet another Search Console reporting bug, this time with the Discover performance report. Between May 7, 2026 and May 8, 2026, Google confirmed a data logging issue that can result in the report showing fewer clicks and impressions. It is a reporting issue only and not a Discover ranking issue.View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...View the full article

Google has released version 24.1 of the Google Ads API, this is a minor release with dozens of updates. This update includes features like mobile device platform segment, classic images in DemandGen, support for passkeys, revamped support of experiments, and support for the new data retention policy.View the full article

Google sent out emails to some advertisers notifying them that after June 10, 2026 they will automatically link your Google Ads account with your YouTube channel. Linking them will give Google Ads data on your YouTube channel.View the full article

Google is expanding its vehicle ads to support more vehicles in the United States. Specifically, All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), RV's Utility Task Vehicles (UTVs), and non-motorized trailers, such as travel trailers and campers are now supported in Google Vehicle Ads.View the full article

Google announced that GA4, Google Analytics, has a new AI Assistant traffic measurement. This allows you to track AI chatbot traffic, like from ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. This is through a new AI Assistant channel in your Default Channel Group reports.View the full article

Over the past day or so, I am seeing a large spike in signs that there is Google search ranking movement and volatility. This is between the SEO community chatter spiking, as well as some of the tools showing some big volatility swings.View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...View the full article

Google is now showing directly hotel booking links directly inside the AI-generated responses within AI Mode. This can lead to sending hotels direct traffic in the AI response, which seems like a win to me. View the full article

Google Ads is testing a new "Create video" beta feature that has the Gemini logo next to it. So this feature uses Gemini, Google's AI, to create the video for you for your Demand Gen campaigns.View the full article

Google updated the leading paragraph in the search spam policies to clarify that the policies apply to the Google Search AI responses, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode (or whatever else is AI-generated). Google said, "the Google Search spam policies also apply to generative AI responses in Google Search."View the full article

Google is testing showing a new icon in the autocomplete search suggestions, as you type your search. The icon has a magnifying glass with the Gemini logo on it. It suggests a longer query, a prompt, and when you click it, it takes you to Google Search but with the AI Overview response expanded and fully open.View the full article

Google's John Mueller said, "The indexing API is inundated by bloggers trying to act like legitimate sites." This means that Google needs to be more careful about who and what they accept through the Google indexing API.View the full article

This week in search I covered, yep, heated Google search ranking volatility kicking in the middle of this week. Google updated its spam policies to say it also applies to Google's AI responses in Search. Google Discover...View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...View the full article

Google AI Mode is now showing an edit and copy button when you mouse your cursor near the search term or prompt. Otheriwse, the edit and copy button go hidden. Copy, copies the prompt and edit lets you edit the prompt. View the full article

Google updated a number of its Google Ads help documentation to say "Primary conversion actions not used for optimization may be used to enhance predictions." It is not clear if this is a change in what is actually happening or just a clarification to the Google help documentation about what was happening already.View the full article

Google Search is sometimes showing a label under the Live search results named "Updated by AI 1 minute ago." So Google is labeling what content was updated using AI, which seems new to me.View the full article

I asked the SEO community if they think AI Mode will replace Google Search. With Google I/O coming up this Tuesday, there is a lot of speculation around this. And with over 1,000 poll results in, I wanted to share that most of you think AI Mode will not replace Google Search.View the full article

On Friday, Google published a new help document named Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search. This document covers much of what Googlers have said over the years, including a myth-busting section that will trigger some in the industry.View the full article