SEO Tools and Resources

Google will soon fully transition to automatically generated publication pages next month, in March. Back in April 2024, Google told us Publisher Center will soon stop allowing you to add publications and now this is the next step. This means that all publication pages in Google News will be generated automatically by Google. What Google said. Google wrote: Following our announcement in April 2024 last year, Google News will fully transition to automatically generated publication pages in March. This change improves our existing publisher workflow and simplifies our current product experience. Moving forward, all publication pages in Google News will be genera…

Coding websites was my personal Everest in college, when I first started to learn WordPress to help my dad build his domain portfolio. He had registered thousands of domains while flipping through the dictionary in the early ‘90s, and if I had AI capabilities back then, I’d be retired by now. Alas, we’re finally living the future. Last week, I individually built 12 landing pages in two days using Cursor, an AI-powered code editor that allows you to generate and edit landing pages using simple prompts, no hand-coding required. What used to take me a marketing manager, copywriter, designer, developer, and weeks of production, was suddenly handled in a fr…

Google Ad Manager and other ad services, including Campaign Manager 360 and Display & Video 360, are experiencing technical issues, causing disruptions for advertisers and publishers. What’s happening. Google Ad Manager. Users have reported error messages, high latency, and other unexpected behavior since 10:00 UTC on Feb. 12. Some hosted video creatives are stuck in “Transcoding in progress.” Campaign Manager 360 & Display & Video 360. Issues began earlier, at 06:00 UTC on Feb. 11, affecting advertisers using these platforms. Why we care. Google’s ad platforms are critical for digital advertising, and any downtime can impact campaign perfo…

Public relations (PR) is no longer just a supporting tactic, it’s becoming a core strategy for brands looking to stay visible in the age of AI search. AI-powered search engines increasingly rely on brand mentions, reputation, and authority signals pulled from across the web – areas where PR excels. In this new landscape, the question isn’t whether PR matters to search – it’s how much it now leads the charge. AI is changing human content discovery habits The rise of AI-powered search engines is radically changing how people discover information online. Traditional “blue links” on Google’s search results pages (SERPs) are being displaced by: AI-ge…

YouTube citations in Google AI Overviews grew 25.21% since Jan. 1 – and this surge was particularly seen in the healthcare industry, according to new data from enterprise SEO platform BrightEdge. Why we care. Even though Google’s lawyer said less than 1% of YouTube video views come from search, Google continues to give preference to videos from its YouTube platform – especially for visual demonstrations, step-by-step tutorials, and product comparisons. If you want to be visible in AI Overviews, you may want to align your YouTube and SEO strategies so your videos are cited in AI Overviews. By the numbers. Here is where YouTube’s presence in AI Overviews increas…

Based on the hundreds of conversations I’ve had with B2B and lead generation brands over the years, this could be an annual – if not monthly or even weekly – topic. Lead quality remains a constant challenge, regardless of shifts in the advertising landscape. In 2025, my top PPC strategies for improving lead quality blend time-tested fundamentals with newly released features. If you implement everything on this list, you’ll stay ahead of the curve – and you’ll see your marketing dollars drive greater down-funnel impact. 1. Nailing the basics This falls into the evergreen category, but I still see brands coming up short. To assess lead quality, you …

Google is capping Customer Match list durations at 540 days, a significant shift that could impact advertisers’ targeting strategies and campaign performance. By the numbers: New maximum duration: 540 days Implementation date: April 7, 2025 Affects: All Google Ads and Display & Video 360 platforms The big picture. The change aligns with growing privacy concerns and Customer Match best practices, forcing advertisers to maintain more current customer data. What’s happening. Google will automatically update existing Customer Match lists that have no expiration date or durations longer than 540 days to comply with the new maximum timeframe. Why …

Google AI Overviews are now available in several new European regions today, after Google began testing them earlier this month. As a reminder, Google has expanded its AI Overviews within Google Search to over 100 different countries. This is up from just several countries last year, including the US, UK, India, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico and Brazil. Then last October AI Overviews expanded to an additional 100+ countries. New regions. Google rolled out AI Overviews in these EU regions today: Germany (German and English) Belgium (English only at launch) Ireland (English) Italy (Italian and English) Austria (German and English) Poland (Polish and …

Google Ads rolled out a new Performance Max Usefulness Indicator, designed to help advertisers assess the incremental traffic impact of their search themes. The big picture: Performance Max campaigns already leverage AI to automate ad placements across Google’s properties. The new indicator evaluates whether added search themes generate new, incremental traffic or simply overlap with existing signals. This helps advertisers refine their strategies and allocate budgets more effectively. Why we care. The update, which we were told was coming in January, gives advertisers more visibility into how search themes contribute to campaign performance, allowing f…

SEO agencies are perfectly positioned to expand their services to include website management. The connection between SEO and site maintenance is clear: both prioritize keeping websites fast, functional, and optimized for search engines. Tasks like improving load times, fixing errors, and maintaining security align with what SEO agencies already do. By offering website management alongside SEO, agencies can build new revenue streams, potentially including reselling site hosting. Unlike project-based SEO work, site management creates opportunities for ongoing, predictable income through recurring service plans. This is a strategic way to grow your business and…

AI-powered search engines (e.g., OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Perplexity) are failing to drive meaningful traffic to publishers while their web scraping activities increase. That’s one big takeaway from a recent report from TollBit, a platform that says it helps publishers monetize their content. CTR comparison. Google’s average search click-through rate (CTR) was 8.63%, according to the report. However, the CTR for AI search engines was 0.74% and 0.33% CTR for AI chatbots. That means AI search sends 91% fewer referrals and chatbots send 96% less than traditional search. Why we care. This is bad news for publishers because it shows AI search won’t replace traditional search …

Google today rolled out a new feature that automatically uses businesses’ marketing content to enhance their visibility across Google products. All merchants will be automatically enrolled in the marketing content usage program. You can opt out at any time through Merchant Center settings. How it works. Google will extract marketing information in two ways: Automatic signup to businesses’ marketing communications. Direct submission when merchants add Google’s dedicated email address (marketingemailtogoog@gmail.com) to their marketing lists. Why we care. Google can now extract and display information about your promotions, new products, and social media…

English-language keywords are becoming more competitive daily, making it harder to rank for popular terms – even with an unlimited budget. To maximize your efforts, consider alternatives like multilingual or international SEO. Before we dive in, let’s clarify the difference: Multilingual SEO involves multiple languages, regardless of the target country. For example, adapting a U.S. website into Spanish or Traditional Chinese for U.S. residents is multilingual but not international. International SEO targets different countries. A U.S. company expanding to Canada, the U.K., or Australia would be engaging in international SEO but not multilingual. This…

Yelp announced 15 new features and updates to make it faster and easier for users to hire service professionals and for restaurants to manage their front-of-house operations. Many of these upgrades are powered by AI. Details. Yelp Assistant, launched in 2024, now uses AI-powered photo recognition to identify project needs. Users can simply upload a photo (e.g., a leaking pipe, car damage) and Yelp will quickly match them with the right service pro. Alongside smarter matching, Yelp is debuting AI-driven “response quality badges” to spotlight service providers who give clear, helpful replies. Businesses are rated based on whether they quote pricing, …

Google has added multimodal capabilities to its new AI Mode feature, letting you ask your questions with the assistance of uploading an image. Plus, Google announced it is rolling out AI Mode to millions of more Labs users in the U.S. AI mode with images. Google AI Mode now lets you upload an image via upload or your camera to ask AI Mode questions with images. Google calls this multimodal capabilities, which is launched years ago in other areas of Search. “With AI Mode’s new multimodal understanding, you can snap a photo or upload an image, ask a question about it and get a rich, comprehensive response with links to dive deeper,” Robby Stein, VP of Product, Googl…

Gen Z consumers use Instagram and TikTok more often to discover products than Google. That’s according to a new survey from GRIN, a creator management platform. By the numbers. Asked where they most often discover new products, 18- to 27-year-old consumers said: Instagram: 30.4% TikTok: 23.2% Google: 18.8% YouTube: 14.5% However, Google isn’t going away anytime soon. Millennials (42.45), Gen X (41.1%), and Boomers (55.9%) and still rely on Google Search first. Why we care. Younger consumers search differently. They have more widely adopted social search than classic search compared to other generations. Social platforms have become hubs of inform…

Search and Shopping ads in AI Overviews are now rolling out to desktop users in the U.S., as announced today at Google Marketing Live 2025. Driving the news. Starting today, desktop users in the U.S. will begin seeing Search and Shopping ads embedded within AI Overviews. Later this year, these ad formats will expand globally to select countries on both mobile and desktop, focusing on English-language queries. Google is also testing ads in AI Mode, the company’s advanced AI search experience, designed for complex, follow-up-heavy queries. How it works. In AI Mode, users can ask open-ended questions and receive in-depth, conversational responses, com…

Google will begin redirecting its country code top-level domain names (ccTLD) versions of its Google domain to Google.com. That means if you frequent google.fr (in France), google.ng (in Nigeria) and so on, you will be redirected to Google.com. Why the change. Google said, “Over the years, our ability to provide a local experience has improved. In 2017, we began providing the same experience with local results for everyone using Search, whether they were using google.com or their country’s ccTLD.” “Because of this improvement, country-level domains are no longer necessary,” Google added. Google said, “we’ll begin redirecting traffic from these ccTLDs to google.com…

For years, digital marketing has seen constant debates about the “death” of SEO. But as long as people search for information, products, and services online, optimization will remain essential. Search platforms may evolve – whether Google, social media, ecommerce, or AI-driven search – but the core principle stays the same: content must be optimized for discoverability. This article examines: Why optimization remains crucial across search platforms – from Google to social media, ecommerce, and beyond. The enduring relevance of SEO. Its evolution in an AI-driven landscape. Understanding SEO beyond Google SEO is often associated solely with …

Google Analytics now allows administrators and editors to customize report collections and groupings, making navigation more tailored to business needs as announced by Carly Boddy, Product Manager at Google Analytics. How it works. Creating a Collection: Admins and editors can create up to seven collections per property. Navigate to Library in the left-side menu. Click Create new collection and choose either a blank collection or a predefined template. Add a Collection Name and create up to five topics. Drag and drop Detail and Overview reports into the topics (each topic can hold up to 10 reports). Click Save and Publish to make the collection…

Google processes more than 5 trillion searches per year. This is the first time Google has publicly shared such a figure since 2016, when the company confirmed it was handling “more than 2 trillion” queries annually. By the numbers. Google revealed the new figure in a blog post today, saying it is based on internal Google data: “We already see more than 5 trillion searches on Google annually.” Google added another tidbit in the same blog post: that “the volume of commercial queries has increased” since the launch of AI Overviews. However, Google didn’t share any data or a percentage to explain how much commercial queries have increased. Searches per secon…

Reddit isn’t just a place for memes and viral debates – it’s a powerful tool for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) looking to boost visibility, connect with audiences, and even boost SEO. While most marketing advice for Reddit focuses on big brands, SMBs can use the platform effectively to engage with potential customers, build trust, and drive real results. Consider Reddit as another social platform So why should an SMB consider using Reddit? Unlike other social media channels, such as Instagram, where you’re forced to keep up with every new feature so the algorithm will push your account, Reddit doesn’t really change. It’s a forum-style site…

Adding both “Date published” and “Date updated” to articles can confuse Google, causing it to display outdated dates in search results. The impact? A 22% drop in CTR for one site, according to an SEO case study shared by SEO professional Abby Gleason on LinkedIn today. Why we care. Your position in the search results only matters if people click. Searchers may be less likely to click on your fresh content if Google displays an older publication date. What happened. Gleason shared this screenshot of an unspecified website and explained what happened: The site in question saw a sharp decline in CTR starting in late August, when “Date updated” was added…

Google Ads scripts have long been a powerful way to automate account management, improve efficiency, and reduce manual work. Whether it’s managing search terms, optimizing bids, or generating reports, scripts allow you to scale your efforts while maintaining control over your campaigns. Now, with generative AI, particularly GPT, scripts are becoming even more accessible and adaptable. Advertisers no longer need to write every line of code manually or rely solely on predefined automation rules. GPT can generate, refine, and enhance scripts based on simple prompts, allowing even those with little coding experience to build powerful automation tools. A…

Google’s AI-powered match type Search Max is rolling out to more accounts, bringing automated ad optimization to Search campaigns. How it works: Expanded search term matching. Google extends beyond existing keywords and match types, using landing pages, headlines, and descriptions to surface new, relevant searches. Text & URL optimization. Google dynamically selects the most relevant landing pages and pairs them with optimized headlines and descriptions. Automatically created assets. Search Max now incorporates AI-generated ad components, further streamlining ad creation. Why we care. Search Max aims to increase conversions by dynamically tailoring…