SEO Tools and Resources

Google will now associate your booking links it finds in your Google Business Profiles automatically with your Google Local Service Ads. And when a searcher fills out that booking link, that will be charged to your ads account as Google would charge you for a phone call or message within Local Service Ads. What is changed. Google said that starting yesterday, February 25, 2025, if Google detects a booking link associated with your Google Business Profiles, Google will start showing those booking links on your Local Service Ads. Google said you will be charged for those bookings like you would be charged for calls or messages through Local Service Ads. Why this…

Google gives local businesses two main ways to generate PPC leads online: Local Services Ads (LSAs) and Search campaigns. LSAs are pay-per-lead campaigns – for actions such as calls, messages, or booked appointments – with a quick setup process that involves verifying your business. After that, Google automates most of the ad and keyword setup. Search campaigns are more complex but offer far greater control over ad copy, keywords, and optimization. Understanding how each format works – and when to use them – can help you get more qualified leads and make smarter use of your ad budget. Most advertisers use both and shift budgets based on which delivers bet…

Google reduced the minimum audience size requirement to just 100 active users across all networks and audience types, making remarketing and customer list targeting far more accessible—especially for smaller advertisers. What’s new. Audience segments with as few as 100 users can now be used across Search, Display, and YouTube, including both remarketing lists and customer lists. The same 100-user threshold now applies for segments to appear in Audience Insights, down from 1,000. Catch up. The shift toward smaller audience thresholds began in May, when Google lowered the minimum user requirement for Customer Lists in Search campaigns from 1,000 to 100. Why …

Google is expanding access to incrementality testing, rolling out major updates designed to help advertisers of all sizes measure the true, causal impact of their ads — what’s driving results and what’s not. Driving accessibility and accuracy. Google has slashed the minimum spend for incrementality tests from around $100,000 to just $5,000, dramatically lowering the barrier for smaller advertisers to measure ROI with scientific precision. Marketers can now run controlled experiments to isolate the lift generated by their campaigns and optimize budgets accordingly. At the same time, Google says it has improved the methodology behind incrementality testing through n…

Google is rolling out new Google Maps features that will show searchers more information about nearby businesses and events. Plus, Google is allowing reviewers to use nicknames instead of their real names when leaving a review. Know before you go. Google is rolling out the “know before you go” feature within Google Maps. This is a feature we saw being tested before, both in Search and in Maps, but now it is officially rolling out in Google Maps. When you search for places in Google Maps, Google will show you a new section with “know before you go” tips. Google will show you information like parking tips, secret menu items, the best way to book a reservation, and d…

Advertisers are spotting a fresh Google Maps ad format featuring scrollable light blue sitelinks beneath promoted pins. The new layout gives brands more clickable real estate directly inside Maps. Update confirmed. Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed the rollout, saying the feature is now fully launched. The update allows sitelinks — already common in Search ads — to appear in Maps ads, linking users to specific pages on an advertiser’s website. How it works. These sitelinks can show from Search or Performance Max (PMax) campaigns. To enable them you’ll need at least two sitelinks for both desktop and mobile. Sitelinks can be added at the acco…

Google is launching Ask Maps, a conversational AI feature that lets users ask Google Maps complex, real-world questions and get personalized, actionable answers — powered by the company’s Gemini AI models. What’s new. Users can now ask Maps questions like “Is there a public tennis court with lights on that I can play at tonight?” or “My phone is dying — where can I charge it without a long wait?” and get a conversational answer with a customized map view. Key capabilities include: Personalized recommendations — Results are tailored based on your search and save history, so Maps already knows, for example, that you prefer vegan restaurants before you ask. …

Google has released the March 2025 core update today, Google said this core update “rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete.” Core updates happen multiple times per year. Core updates can have significant, broad changes to Google’s search algorithms and systems, which is why Google announces them. This is the first core update of the 2025 year. This core update happened a few months since the last core update, the December 2024 core update. What to do if you are hit. Google has given advice on what to consider if you are negatively impacted by a core update in the past. Google has not really given much new advice here but here is the past advice the company…

The first core update of the 2025 year, the March 2025 core update, is now done rolling out and complete. It started on March 13, 2025 and completed about 7 days later on March 27, 2025. This update was a typical core update where Google updates its core ranking system to make search results more relevant and helpful. This update followed the December 2024 core update. It took a few months for Google to release a new core update despite expecting the core updates to be more frequent in 2025. What Google said. Google said about this core update: “The rollout was complete as of March 27, 2025.” What we saw. The initial rollout seemed to kick in within a …

Google released the March 2026 core update today, the company announced. This is the first core update from Google in 2026, and follows the quick March 2026 spam update from a couple of days ago. It also follows the February 2026 Discover update. What Google is saying. Google updated its Search Status Dashboard to state: “Released the March 2026 core update. The rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete..” Google added on LinkedIn: “This is a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites. The rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete..” About core updates. Core updates roll out sev…

The March 2026 core update finished rolling out today after 12 days and 4 hours, completing Google’s first broad ranking update of the year. What happened. Google confirmed the rollout ended at 06:12 PDT, per its Search Status Dashboard. The update began March 27 and impacted search rankings globally. Google previously said this was “a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites.” The timeline. Google originally estimated the March 2026 core update would take up to two weeks to complete. Started: March 27. Completed: April 8. Total rollout: 12 days, 4 hours The context. This was t…

Google released the March 2026 spam update less than 24 hours ago and it is already done rolling out. The update finished today, March 25, 2026 at 10:40am ET. This update was released yesterday, March 24, 2026 at 3:20 p.m. It took 19 hours and 30 minutes to fully rollout, which is super fast. Why we care. This is the second announced Google algorithm update of 2026. It’s unclear what spam this update targets, but if you see ranking or traffic changes in the next few days, it could be due to it. More on spam update. Google’s documentation says: “While Google’s automated systems to detect search spam are constantly operating, we occasionally make notable im…

Google is launching Marketing Advisor, as announced today at Google Marketing Live 2025. Marketing Advisor is a new AI-powered assistant that lives directly in the Chrome browser and is designed to help advertisers manage marketing tasks across Google platforms and beyond. Driving the news. Marketing Advisor is an AI agent that marketers can install as a Chrome side panel. Once connected to a user’s Google account and Ads campaigns, it tailors insights and support based on their goals. It offers step-by-step guidance on the websites and tools marketers use daily, from campaign dashboards to CMS systems. Unlike traditional chat assistants, it can proactively as…

Google Marketing Live 2025 was – no surprise – all about AI. Again. Google Marketing Live 2025 made one thing clear: AI isn’t just an assistant anymore. It’s becoming a co-strategist. This year’s event was packed with updates where AI played a central role, powering everything from bidding and creative to product listings and campaign insights. Google announced the expansion of ad placements, cinematic creative AI tools, real-time campaign copilots, AI agents that do the work for you, and more. This year’s updates are designed to make Google’s tools more autonomous, immersive, and interconnected. Here’s a recap of everything that matters from Google Marketi…

Google has confirmed that Google Marketing Live 2026 will take place on May 20, when the company is expected to unveil its latest updates across advertising, AI, measurement and campaign automation. The date surfaced in an email received by PPC News Feed owner Hana Kobzová from the Accelerate with Google program, which invited participants to submit entries for the Google Ads Impact Awards. According to the message, winners of the awards will be announced during Google Marketing Live 2026. Why we care. The annual event has become one of the biggest announcement days for advertisers using Google Ads. Google Marketing Live is where Google typically announce…

Google Marketing Live 2026 made one thing clear: Gemini is no longer just powering features — it’s becoming the operating system behind Google’s advertising, commerce and measurement ecosystem. This year’s event focused heavily on agentic AI, conversational Search, automated creative production and AI-assisted shopping experiences. Across Search, YouTube, Merchant Center and Analytics, Google introduced new tools designed to make campaigns more autonomous, predictive and interconnected. Here’s a recap of the biggest announcements from Google Marketing Live 2026. Google introduces a new generation of AI-powered Search ads Google announced several new Gemini-…

Google is gearing up for its annual Google Marketing Live event, set to stream on Wednesday, May 21, at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT. What’s new: Ginny Marvin, Google Ads Liaison, announced the date on LinkedIn and encouraged advertisers to register for the event Vidhya Srinivasan, Google’s VP of Ads, shared a letter previewing the company’s focus on reimagining ads across platforms like Search and YouTube. AI advancements will play a major role in helping advertisers create tailored experiences and improve business outcomes. You can register here. Why we care. Google Marketing Live is a key event for advertisers, offering insights into the company’s lates…

Google AI Overviews are spiking again. The latest huge and rapid expansion happened in travel and entertainment keywords, according to new data from enterprise SEO platform BrightEdge. By the numbers. Starting April 25-26, here’s how AI Overviews grew, by industry: Entertainment: Up 175.68%, with 76% of new keywords focusing on movies (e.g., [jennifer love hewitt movies], [bruce dern movies). Travel: Up 108.09%. The Things to do trend is booming – 93.78% of new travel AI Overviews focus on location-specific activities (e.g., [things to do in Buffalo NY], [things to do in Providence this weekend]) and trigger full AI-generated destination guides. Insurance: …

Google released the May 2026 core update today, the company announced. This is Google’s second core update of 2026. It follows the March 2026 core update, and then the March 2026 spam update and the February 2026 Discover update. What Google is saying. Google updated its Search Status Dashboard to state: Released the May 2026 core update. The rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete. Google posted on LinkedIn saying: This is a regular update designed to better surface relevant, satisfying content for searchers from all types of sites. The rollout may take up to 2 weeks to complete. About core updates. Core updates roll out several times each ye…

SEO has always been a fight for the first page of Google. Every toolchain, audit, and content brief assumes that Google’s ranking systems evaluate a relatively fixed set of roughly 20 to 30 candidate pages before final rankings are determined. Google has kept that set small because evaluating more pages is computationally expensive. Google’s VP of Search acknowledged the constraint in federal court. The company’s CEO later confirmed the hardware bottleneck behind it. Google’s research division has now published a technique designed to reduce those costs. If the candidate set widens, the rules of the last decade stop working. Why the ranking window is 20 to…

Google may finally be starting to address a popular SEO and AI visibility “tactic”: self-promotional “best of” listicles. That’s according to new research by Lily Ray, vice president, SEO strategy and research at Amsive. Across several SaaS brands hit hard in January, a pattern emerged. Many relied heavily on review-style content that ranked their own product as the No. 1 “best” in its category, often updated with the current year to trigger recency signals. What’s happening. After the December 2025 core update, Google search results showed increased volatility throughout January, according to Barry Schwartz. Google hasn’t announced or confirmed any updates this y…

Google is exploring ways to give site owners a way to prevent Google from using its content for Search AI generative features including AI Mode and AI Overviews. Google said this is based on the new requirements from UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and any measures must avoid breaking how Google Search works. What Google said. Google wrote: “We’re now exploring updates to our controls to let sites specifically opt out of Search generative AI features.” Google added that these options cannot break Google Search, Google said: “Any new controls need to avoid breaking Search in a way that leads to a fragmented or confusing experience for people.…

If users don’t interact with your page in Google’s search results, Google may remove that page from its results – or possibly even its index. That’s according to a recent short video Google’s Martin Splitt posted on the Google Search Central YouTube channel. This information confirms what Google said in their recent (since 2019) communication and once again with the Navboost details from the DOJ trails, and the data leak. What Google said. Here is a partial quote from the video, which I will embed below: “If they are not showing up so it’s either that the query is a bit weird or that the query hasn’t actually been asked that much or that we have other pag…

Google introduced a new availability value in Google Merchant Center — built specifically for vehicle sellers who don’t carry every model on the lot. The new attribute, “build to order,” lets dealers flag vehicles that aren’t physically in inventory but can be customized and ordered by customers. What needs to change. Sellers must update two areas: their structured data (set availability to BuildToOrder) and their Merchant Center feed (set availability to build to order). Consistency between structured data and feed submissions is critical to avoid disapprovals. [availability] Why we care. Until now, sellers had limited ways to signal that a vehicle wasn’t avai…

Google has introduced a “Creative Content” section in Merchant Center, giving brands the ability to manage video assets directly alongside product listings. The feature enhances both paid and organic visibility across Google surfaces. Why we care. Videos uploaded here automatically sync with the Google Ads asset library for linked accounts — streamlining creative management and strengthening brand storytelling across campaigns. Where to find it. If available in your account, look under Creative content → Video assets, just below Product Studio. Video sources: Social channels (including TikTok) Your website Google’s Product Studio The cool par…