SEO Tools and Resources

Artificial intelligence (AI) is upending the economic engine of the web, and Google is at the center of the disruption, according to Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince. What Prince said. In a recent interview with the Council on Foreign Relations, Prince said: “AI is going to fundamentally change the business model of the web. The business model of the web for the last 15 years has been search… search drives everything that happens online.” The Google tipping point. Google’s value exchange with content creators has collapsed, Prince said: “Ten years ago… for every two pages of a website that Google scraped, they would send you one visitor. … That was the trad…

Bad data = bad strategy. Duplicate conversions are one of the most overlooked – and most damaging – problems in conversion tracking. If your reporting inflates the number of conversions, your performance strategy is based on fiction. You’re not just getting the wrong numbers. You’re optimizing toward the wrong outcomes. This issue impacts everything: Bidding. Budget allocation. Long-term growth. This article breaks down: Why duplicate conversions happen. How to find them. Most importantly, how to eliminate them for good. The cost of inaccurate conversion data Paid search loves precision. Conversion data is your nor…

Now that AI Mode is fully live in the U.S. and Google is even testing ads within AI Mode, I noticed that the AI Mode tab under the Google Search bar is consistently on the left side. It even comes before the “All” tab that serves the primary search results. Generally, Google will dynamically show search modes and tabs under the search bar based on the query. So if Google thinks you will want to see the video tab, Google may show that closer to the “All” tab. But with AI Mode, that tab is shown before the “All” tab and always on the left, consistently, for all queries. What it looks like. Here are a few screenshots showing how the AI Mode tab is always on the lef…

Google announced it has refreshed and renamed the Search Console report now known as the Merchant opportunities report. Previously, this report was named the Search Console Shopping tab listings report, when it was introduced in November 2022. The Merchant opportunities report within Google Search Console can show you recommendations for improving how your online shop appears on Google. What Google said. Google posted on LinkedIn about this report saying: “Today we’re refreshing the Search Console Shopping tab listings report to also include details about payments methods and store ratings. To bring the report name in line with its functionality, we’re renami…

Google’s 2024 Ads Safety Report, released today, shows a massive uptick in how AI – particularly large language models (LLMs) – is helping the company block policy-violating ads before serving a single ad, thanks to earlier fraud detection at the account setup stage. By the numbers. Google Ads last year: Removed 5.1 billion bad ads Restricted 9.1 billion ads Suspended 39.2 million advertiser accounts. Enforced against 1.3 billion publisher pages. Blocked or removed 415 million scam-related ads. Introduced 30+ policy updates across Ads and Publisher guidelines. Search Engine Land’s Barry Schwartz has been following these stats for se…

Google Analytics is rolling out major updates aimed at sharpening marketing insights – boosting data completeness, adding richer context, and flagging issues before they become problems. Key updates. Google announced these updates to Google Analytics 4: Enhanced data completeness. New aggregate IDs and smart fallback tools keep reports accurate even without traditional tracking, helping you see campaign performance clearly while honoring user consent. Updated data presentation. Labels like “(data not available)” and “(not set)” add clarity, helping you spot gaps and know where to take action. Proactive issue detection. A new data quality indicator and auto-…

In the early days of SEO, owning an exact match domain (EMD) was like holding a cheat code. If someone searched for “siamese kittens,” you could bet that siamesekittens.com would be sitting pretty at or near the top of the search results. The algorithm heavily weighted the presence of keywords in the domain, and for a while, that simple trick delivered serious ROI. But it’s 2025 now. AI has reshaped search, large language models (LLMs) are rewriting how answers are generated and delivered, and the rules of the game have changed. So, what role – if any – do exact match domains still play? The EMD of yesteryear: Keyword first, brand second In th…

The U.S. Department of Justice successfully prosecuted its antitrust case against Google, with Judge Leonie Brinkema ruling that the company operated an illegal monopoly in the advertising technology industry. The court determined that Google engaged in anticompetitive practices that allowed it to dominate critical components of the digital ad market for more than a decade. The details. From the ruling: U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that Google “willfully engaged in anticompetitive acts” to control the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets. The court found Google illegally tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through both…

In the world of digital advertising, data is king. Yet, many PPC advertisers underutilize one of their most valuable sources of insights: their CRM data. Whether you’re a B2B or B2C marketer, your CRM is a gold mine of customer information that can significantly enhance your paid media strategy. To boost efficiency and scale, focus on the most impactful CRM data, such as: Job titles, industry, company size, and revenue for B2B. Age, gender, location, product preferences, and customer lifetime value (CLV) for B2C. This article tackles how to use CRM data to refine your targeting, craft compelling ad messaging, and create more relevant website con…

Google has doubled down on its automation-first strategy with a key update to Performance Max (PMax) campaigns: some advertisers can now add up to 50 Search themes. Why we care. This update gives advertisers more flexibility and control in guiding Google’s AI-powered targeting. Search themes, which help steer PMax toward relevant search traffic, are increasingly critical for advertisers looking to influence automation without relying on traditional keywords. Catch up quick. Search themes act as keyword-like signals to help Performance Max campaigns align with user intent. The limit started at 10, was raised to 25 in late 2023, and now sits at 50. Between …

Microsoft Bing appears to be testing an aggressive new ad display format that dramatically reduces organic search visibility in favor of sponsored content. The details: Users are reporting search result pages with at least seven paid advertisements. One or two organic results are visible on the first page. The format has been independently verified by multiple users. What they’re saying. The original poster, Red Leaf Web Design, expressed shock at the format, stating “BING Ads Gone Wild!” on X. Several of the Search Engine Land staff were also able to replicate the ad-heavy results, seeing as many as nine ads: Bing Ads Gone Wild! ONE organic result…

Google is rolling out Smart Bidding Exploration, as announced today at Google Marketing Live 2025. This major update is designed to give advertisers more flexibility – and more conversions – by tapping into previously overlooked search queries. What’s new: Flexible ROAS targets. Advertisers (e.g., mortgage lenders) can now broaden their reach beyond narrow, high-intent searches (e.g., “mortgage rates”) to more exploratory ones (e.g., “how to buy a home”). Smarter AI. Built on existing AI-powered tools like AI Max, Smart Bidding Exploration helps campaigns capture high-performing searches from new, unique categories. Why we care. Digital marketers have l…

In 2023, I said that creator-led content marketing would shape the future of search. Two years later, that future has arrived – faster and more broadly than expected. In the past year alone, adoption has surged among consumers and, in turn, brands. The conversation has grown bigger, faster-moving, and more complex than I initially imagined. Today’s users no longer just “Google it.” They discover and trust information through: TikTok videos. Reddit threads. YouTube Shorts. Instagram Reels. Community forums. Google has adapted, integrating user-generated content and lived experiences directly into its search results via feat…

From answering complex queries to generating creative content, large language models (LLMs) are designed to deliver “zero-click” results – concise, direct answers that eliminate the need for further research. This shift raises a critical question: if users no longer need to visit a website to get the information they want, what happens to web traffic? While the broader implications for the future of websites are a conversation for another day, there’s a more immediate and tactical issue worth examining – links. Specifically: What kind of links are LLMs providing, and how can brands generate traffic from them? The critical role of links in LLM outputs L…

Big brands have a blind spot. They talk about “brand health” while ignoring what users are actually asking about their products – on Google, in AI answers, and across search data. Meanwhile, all the signals are right there in the SEO stack. Questions like “Is Gatorade actually good for you?” aren’t just keyword opportunities. They’re warning signs. And if you know how to read them, they expose major gaps in brand trust and positioning. The brand audit hiding in your SEO tools I sent a client a 100+ page audit evaluating their brand (to be fair, there were a lot of screenshots), and their first question was, “Where did you get this data?” It w…

If you try to add a new business to Google Business Profiles today, you may run into difficulties. When you get to the screen where you add your phone number and website address, Google won’t let you proceed to the next step. It is unclear if there is an issue with phone numbers in general, which may be causing this bug, or not. But there are also businesses reporting their phone numbers are being removed and also rejected from their Google Business Profiles. More details. As noted, on this screen, the “Next” button, simply won’t take you to the next screen: Google product expert, Vinay Toshniwal, wrote in the Google Business Profile forums: I’ve com…

We’re celebrating 15 years of Yoast, and we can’t celebrate without offering some SEO insights. So, here are 15 SEO essentials to focus on in this year and beyond. Whether you are a beginner or an SEO expert, these tips will help you focus on what’s important right now. In collaboration with our Principal SEO, Alex Moss Table of contents 1. Embrace AI-powered SEO tools 2. Optimize for zero-click searches 3. Invest in video content 4. Improve e-commerce SEO 5. Prioritize local SEO 6. Improve user experience (UX) 7. Participate in SEO communities 8. Optimize for AI discovery 9. Focus on content pruning 10. Implement structured data markup 11. Keep focusing on mobi…

Modern SEO is all about data. Rankings can change overnight, user behavior as well, and search engines increasingly use AI to power the search results. To be able to respond, your decisions should be dictated by real, measurable insights. This article offers a practical way to turn SEO data into actionable insights. Table of contents The role of data in modern SEO Turning data into insights An example: Addressing brand performance in LLMs Tools and techniques to get data insights Iterative optimization and reporting Towards a data-driven SEO strategy The role of data in modern SEO The search landscape is more complex than ever, so you need all the help yo…

You’ve probably played around with Demographics in your Google Ads campaigns, but have you experimented with Detailed Demographics? This audience targeting technique is a powerful tool for reaching your ideal customers – and excluding your not-ideal customers. This article will discuss: Basic vs. Detailed Demographics: What’s the difference? What type of Detailed Demographics are available in Google Ads? How to use Detailed Demographics in your campaigns Sample use cases for Detailed Demographics Basic vs. Detailed Demographics: What’s the difference? Your basic demographic options in Google Ads are: Age. Gender. Parental status. …

Affiliate networks aren’t one-size-fits-all. Between evolving tracking laws, new tech capabilities, and shifting fee structures, the best choice depends on your business model and goals. This guide breaks down top affiliate networks by use case, so you can make a smarter, more strategic decision. The data-driven approach to choosing an affiliate network If you’re ready to launch an affiliate program – a marketing channel where others promote you on a revenue-sharing or performance basis – but aren’t sure which affiliate network to choose, I’ve got you covered. Over the last 20+ years, I’ve worked as an affiliate, an in-house affiliate manager, managed…

If you’ve been poking around Audience Manager in Google Ads lately, you may have noticed a new Your data segment that looks like this: “Google-engaged audiences – for Account #######” What is that? And what should you do with it? Welcome to the wonderful new world of Google-engaged audiences, a new type of remarketing that you should absolutely be paying attention to. This article will cover: What is a Google-engaged audience? What’s so great about your Google-engaged audience? What are the limitations of Google-engaged audiences? Google-engaged audiences are perfect for small business owners What is a Google-engaged audience? A Google-en…

Tuesday, at Google I/O, Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai keynote led with how AI is transforming Google Search, Liz Reid, Google’s head of Search, called AI Mode the future of search (see video). With all this change to Google Search quickly approaching, SEOs are wondering where this leaves them. Will SEO die again? Are we all out of jobs? What changes do we need to make to adapt to the future of Google Search, AI search engines and new AI experiences? The video. A number of search marketers asked my thoughts, so I thought I’d put together a video with my thoughts on all of this and them summarize it below: After attending Google I/O, watching the keynote, s…

Google AI Mode is now available to all U.S. searchers without having to opt into it within Search Labs. When Google announced AI Mode in March, it was only available to U.S. users to opt into via Search Labs, now you no longer need to opt into it. A new tab for AI Mode will appear under the search bar on Google.com and in the Google Search apps for US searches this week. Google did say recently they have begun testing AI Mode in the wild, without opting into it. But starting today, as announced at Google I/O, AI Mode in the US no longer needs you to opt in to see it. AI Mode has “graduated” Search Labs. Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, said at Google I/O that AI…

While Google still dominates local search, ChatGPT has made notable strides. Its local results, though not yet on par with Google’s, have improved significantly since we ranked it last among AI search tools less than a year ago. The key change? ChatGPT’s integration with Microsoft Bing’s search index last fall. While it now pulls web content from Bing, it applies its own algorithm to organize results. As a result, the best way to make your business visible in ChatGPT is to ensure it’s included in Bing’s index. However, ChatGPT processes local queries differently than Bing does. Here are several key differences I uncovered by running side-by…

Unassigned traffic in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a common headache for digital marketers. It’s like trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces: your data is incomplete, making it hard to measure the success of your marketing efforts. This article covers the common causes of unassigned traffic in GA4 and tips to ensure your campaigns are accurately tracked and optimized. What is unassigned traffic? Unassigned traffic refers to web traffic that isn’t categorized under any of the traffic sources or mediums provided by Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Often, this arises when we use UTMs that reference traffic sources or mediums that GA4 doesn’t recognize. I…