SEO Tools and Resources

Natural language is quickly becoming the default way people interact with online tools. Instead of typing a few keywords, users now ask full questions, give detailed instructions, and are starting to expect clear, conversational answers. So, how can you make sure your content provides the answer to their question? Or better yet, how can you make it possible for them to interact with your website in a similar way? That’s where Microsoft’s NLWeb comes in. Meet NLWeb, Microsoft’s new open project NLWeb, short for Natural Language Web, is an open project recently launched by Microsoft. The aim of this project is to bring conversational interfaces directly to websites,…

AI-powered search gutted LinkedIn’s B2B awareness traffic. Across a subset of topics, non-brand organic visits fell by as much as 60% even while rankings stayed stable, the company said. LinkedIn is moving past the old “search, click, website” model and adopting a new framework: “Be seen, be mentioned, be considered, be chosen.” By the numbers. In a new article, LinkedIn said its B2B organic growth team started researching Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) in early 2024. By early 2025, when SGE evolved into AI Overviews, the impact became significant. Non-brand, awareness-driven traffic declined by up to 60% across a subset of B2B topics. Ranki…

Google Ads is rolling out a beta feature that lets advertisers connect external data sources directly inside conversion action settings, tightening the link between first-party data and campaign measurement. How it works. A new section in conversion action details — labeled “Get deeper insights about your customers’ behavior to improve measurement” — prompts advertisers to connect external databases to their Google tag. Supported integrations include platforms like BigQuery and MySQL The goal is to enrich conversion metrics and improve performance signals The feature appears in a highlighted prompt within data attribution settings Rollout is gradual …

You can now generate custom PPC tools in plain English. With GPT-5 enabling complete program generation, the competitive edge belongs to those who master AI-assisted automation. Frederick Vallaeys is building tools in minutes, not days or months, with AI. Vallaeys spent 10 years at Google building tools like Google Ads Editor, then another 10 building tools at Optmyzr, where he’s CEO. He’s watched automation evolve firsthand, and vibe coding is the next leap. At SMX Next 2025, he shared his journey with vibe coding. The traditional script problem If you work in PPC, automation has always been top of mind. In the early days, you relied on Google Ads s…

Are you watching your team’s creative operations buckle under mounting pressure? You’re not alone. As project complexity skyrockets and client demands intensify, creative leaders face an unprecedented challenge: scaling operations without sacrificing quality or burning out teams. The solution isn’t working harder, rather, it’s working smarter with technology that transforms your entire content lifecycle. Here’s how forward-thinking creative operations leaders are building resilient, scalable workflows that thrive in 2025’s demanding landscape. The perfect storm facing creative operations Creative teams are caught in a maelstrom of expectations and pressure…

Google is expanding Personal Intelligence across AI Mode, Gemini, and Chrome in the U.S., moving it beyond beta into broader consumer use. Why we care. Personal Intelligence pushes Google further into fully personalized search, using first-party data like Gmail and Photos. That makes results harder to replicate, rank against, or track — especially in AI Mode, where outputs may vary based on user history, purchases, and behavior. The details. Personal Intelligence now works across: AI Mode in Google Search (available now in the U.S.) Gemini app (rolling out to free users) Gemini in Chrome (rolling out) How it works. Users can connect apps like Gmail …

Google withdrew its antitrust complaint against Microsoft after EU regulators opened a new probe into Azure under the bloc’s tough tech rules. Driving the news. Google pulled its 2024 complaint—centered on Microsoft’s allegedly anti-competitive cloud licensing practices—just as the European Commission launched fresh investigations into whether Azure and Amazon Web Services fall under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Google says the withdrawal doesn’t mean it’s backing down. What they’re saying. “We filed our antitrust complaint…to give voice to our customers and partners,” said Giorgia Abeltino, Google Cloud Europe’s head of public policy. She added that Google stil…

Google is now officially testing pushing searchers from AI Overviews in Google Search into the AI Mode interface. When you click on the “Show more” button within some AI Overviews, Google may jump you directly into the AI Mode interface. What Google said. Robby Stein from Google announced this on X, saying, “Today we’re starting to test a new way to seamlessly go deeper in AI Mode directly from the Search results page on mobile, globally.” Here is a video of this in action, with the full message from Robby Stein: (2/2) This means you’ll continue to get an AI Overview as a helpful starting point, and now you can also ask conversational follow-up questions in A…

Since its launch in June we have been rolling out our integration with Site Kit by Google. Every Yoast SEO Premium customer now has access to it. The update brings key Google Analytics and Search Console insights directly into your Yoast Dashboard, giving you a clear view of your site’s performance without switching between tools or tabs. Previously, only users of Yoast SEO (free) and Yoast SEO Premium who already had the Site Kit plugin installed could use the integration. Access is now available to all Yoast SEO Premium customers even if Site Kit is not installed, and it will become available to remaining Yoast SEO (free) users soon. What you can do with the new…

Google has changed its search bar on the Google home page by adding the ability to upload a file or an image, and then the user experience takes you directly to AI Mode. This is different from uploading an image and Google taking you to Google Search with image results and Google Lens features. Instead, this upload feature takes you into the AI Mode experience. What it looks like. Here is a video I made of the searcher’s flow: More AI Mode. Google continues to push searchers away from Google Search’s traditional search results, including AI Overviews, and directly into AI Mode. This includes Google most recently pushing searchers from AI Overviews into A…

A report from AdWeek claimed Google privately told clients it plans to introduce ads in its Gemini AI chatbot in 2026 — but Google’s top ads executive is publicly denying it. Driving the news. AdWeek reported that Google reps, in recent calls with major advertisers, suggested that Gemini would get ad placements in 2026, separate from the company’s existing ads in AI Mode, the AI-powered search experience launched in March. Buyers said no prototypes, formats, or pricing were shown. The conversations were described as exploratory and lacked technical detail. Google says that’s wrong. Dan Taylor, Google’s VP of Global Ads, disputed the report directly on X, w…

In 1997, Apple launched a campaign that became cultural gospel. “Think Different” celebrated the rebels, the misfits, the troublemakers. The ones who saw things differently. The ones who changed the world. Apple understood something fundamental: the constraints that limited imagination weren’t real. They were inherited. Accepted. Assumed. And the people who broke through weren’t smarter or more talented. They simply refused to believe the constraints applied to them. Twenty-eight years later, marketing faces its own Think Different moment. The constraints are gone. Technology has removed them. AI can generate infinite variants. Data platforms deliver real-t…

In 2026 and well beyond, a core part of the performance marketer’s charter is learning to leverage AI to drive growth and efficiency. Anyone who isn’t actively evaluating new AI tools to improve or streamline their PPC work is doing their brand or clients a disservice. The challenge is that keeping up with these tools has become almost a full-time job, which is why my agency has made AI a priority in our structured knowledge-sharing. As a team, we’ve honed in on favorites across creative, campaign management, and AI search measurement. This article breaks down key options in each category, with brief reviews and a callout of my current pick. One ove…

Instagram launched Your Algorithm in the U.S. today, a tool that lets people see – and directly edit – the topics shaping their Reels recommendations. Why we care. This could reshape how users discover content. When people signal interest in specific niches, hobbies, or brands – from running shoes to vintage clothing to home organizers – Instagram may surface more of that content, boosting reach for brands that publish relevant Reels. How it works. A new Reels icon opens a personalized list of topics (e.g., sports, thrifting, horror movies, pop music, chess, day in the life, college football, skateboarding) Instagram believes “you’ve been into” lately, generated b…

Most brands don’t realize how much traffic they lose each day to unauthorized bidding, affiliate violations, and ad hijacking. Industry data shows ad fraud reached an estimated $84 billion of global digital ad spend in 2023. If your branded CPCs keep rising or competitors keep appearing above you in searches for your own name, this PPC brand protection guide can help you understand why – and what to do next. What is brand protection in PPC? Brand protection is the practice of defending your brand from unauthorized use of your branded search terms in PPC and from deceptive or fraudulent ad placements. The goal: make sure people searching for your bran…

Google’s Nick Fox, the SVP of Knowledge and Information at Google, said in a recent podcast that doing optimization for AI search is “the same” as doing optimization and SEO for traditional search. He added, you want to build great sites, with great content, for your users. More details. This came up in the AI Inside podcast with Jason Howell and Jeff Jarvis interviewing Nick Fox. Here is the transcript from the 22 minute mark: Jeff Jarvis ask, “And is is there are there is there guidance for enlightened publishers who want to be part of AI about how they should view, should they view their content in any say differently no?” Nick Fox responded, “The short an…

The new year is here, which means it’s time to deliver your end-of-year (EOY) PPC report. But an EOY report isn’t just a longer version of your monthly performance check-in. It’s typically read by a different audience – often leadership teams who don’t see your regular reporting – and it needs to tell a different story. Done well, your year-end report sets the tone for 2026, earns buy-in for your strategy, and positions you as a strategic partner rather than just a campaign manager. Done poorly, it creates confusion and undermines confidence in your work. Here’s how to build an EOY PPC report that speaks to leadership and sets your work up for succes…

On episode 336 of PPC Live The Podcast, I speak to Anthony Higman, CEO of AdSquire. Anthony’s career journey is a full-circle story: from starting in a law firm mailroom to running his own company with views over Philadelphia. His experiences demonstrate how hard work, learning from mistakes, and perseverance can shape a successful career. Learning from Client Missteps Anthony shares one of his first “F-ups” with clients who forwarded him countless emails promising quick wins. While some were scams, others were legitimate opportunities misaligned with the client’s strategy. At one point, Anthony let a client pursue an SEO agency despite knowing they were unlikely t…

YouTube is upgrading its Promotions tool, letting creators target potential viewers by interests, not just age, gender, or location. What’s new. Creators can now target users by interest categories like Food & Dining. These categories are built from aggregated, anonymized signals, including search behavior and viewing habits. Example: Users who frequently search for recipes and watch cooking content may be grouped into a food-related interest segment. How it works.YouTube uses patterns across Google services to infer interests, then applies those signals at scale — without exposing individual user data. Why we care. Creators who pay to promote vid…

Google Ads simplified access to Manual CPC during campaign setup. Instead of navigating through the “Select a bid strategy directly (not recommended)” option, advertisers now see “Manually set bids” directly under the Conversions goal. The change: Manual CPC is surfaced within Google’s primary bidding flow. Advertisers no longer need to bypass Google’s recommended strategies to access it. The update is visible in campaign bidding settings across the UI. Why we care. Manual CPC remains a go-to bidding strategy for advertisers who want hands-on control, but Google’s setup flow has increasingly nudged users toward automated bidding. This update lowers …

Automation has been reshaping PPC account management for years, from rules, scripts, and API-driven workflows inside Google Ads. Most marketers are already comfortable with automated bidding, data-driven optimization, and other AI-powered enhancements. The next shift goes further. Two developments in particular are changing how PPC campaigns are managed and optimized: AI agents and vibe coding. Together, they point to a more autonomous way of working, where execution increasingly moves to AI – while marketers focus on strategy, systems, and creative direction. This shift unlocks new levels of efficiency and flexibility, but it also changes what effective…

Video is one of the most complex, information-dense marketing assets. For human audiences, it delivers emotional nuance and context far more effectively than the written word. For AI models, it provides a high-density stream of data for more accurate indexing and synthesis. Once upon a time, video was confusing for search crawlers. Now, it’s “watchable” by AI. Models can deconstruct video into parallel visual, auditory, and textual streams. Let’s go through how to optimize video for AI. Why video is important for AI: contextual density optimization In the past, search engines had to read surrounding metadata to understand video. This text…

The search landscape, today’s buyer journey, and the roadmap to digital success aren’t just shifting. They’re being structurally reimagined. To make sense of this shift, I spoke with six of the SEO industry’s most forward-thinking voices and distilled their perspectives into seven core predictions for 2026. What follows is a series of insights into how search is being structurally reimagined. 1. The rise of agentic commerce We are moving past the era of AI as an answer engine and into the era of AI as an executive assistant. “Agentic web” means AI won’t just tell you which running shoes are best. It will actually find your size, apply a coupon, and exec…

Google is experimenting with showing third-party endorsement content directly within Search ads. The test places short endorsements from external publishers under the ad description, including the third party’s name, logo, and favicon. What’s showing up. The test was first spotted by Sarah Blocksidge, Marketing Director at Sixth City Marketing, who shared a screenshot on Mastodon. In the example, a Search ad included the line “Best for Frequent Travelers,” attributed to PCMag, complete with the publication’s favicon. The endorsement appears directly beneath the ad copy, visually separating it from standard advertiser-written text. Why we care. If rolle…

Search marketing is still as powerful as ever. Google recently surpassed $100 billion in ad revenue in a single quarter, with more than half coming from search. But search alone can no longer deliver the same results most businesses expect. As Google Ads Coach Jyll Saskin Gales showed at SMX Next, real performance now comes from going beyond traditional search and using it to strengthen a broader PPC strategy. The challenge with traditional Search Marketing As search marketers, we’re great at reaching people who are actively searching for what we sell. But we often miss people who fit our ideal audience and aren’t searching yet. The real opportunity sits at…