SEO Tools and Resources

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-…

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…

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…

Google is testing placing special and very clickable links in its AI Overviwws, but not to publishers or your own website, but rather back to its own search results. You got that right, Google is testing linking the AI Overviews back to new search queries on Google.com. What it looks like. I posted a screenshot and video from Sachin Patel who spotted this change on the Search Engine Roundtable – here they are: Clicking on those underlined links in the text of the AI Overview, both at the top and in the middle section, will take you back to a new Google Search. The smaller link icons take you to the side panel links, those go to publishers and external website…

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…

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…

Sick of seeing the error “Discovered – currently not indexed” in Google Search Console (GSC)? So am I. Too much SEO effort is focused on ranking. But many sites would benefit from looking one level up – to indexing. Why? Because your content can’t compete until it’s indexed. Whether the selection system is ranking or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), your content won’t matter unless it’s indexed. The same goes for where it appears – traditional SERPs, AI-generated SERPs, Discover, Shopping, News, Gemini, ChatGPT, or whatever AI agents come next. Without indexing, there’s no visibility, no clicks, and no impact. And indexing issues…

With the rise of AI-powered search and steady increases in monthly LLM referral traffic, many of our SEO clients are asking how they can improve their visibility and brand sentiment in AI responses. One of the biggest challenges, though, is that most marketing teams don’t have a dedicated generative engine optimization (GEO) budget or team members with the bandwidth to fully support large-scale AI search optimization initiatives. The good news? There are several strategies that can benefit both your traditional SEO and AI visibility. These optimizations can help make your content digestible for search engines, relevant for AI-generated responses, and mor…

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 …

It’s frustrating. You put time, energy, and a lot of hope into a webpage. But it just won’t rank. Your competitors’ pages are ranking well, even though (subjectively) they’re worse. Yours deserves to be top of Google. So, why isn’t it? Figuring out the levers to pull to get your content to the top of Google isn’t quick, but it can be done. Identifying the problem The key to identifying why your page isn’t ranking is to systematically rule out the other possibilities. For this, you’ll need data, industry context, and a methodical approach. Firstly, you need to verify if the page is not ranking at all versus not ranking well. This is key. If a pa…

Jerry Dischler, the former Google executive who was in charge of Google Ads is now leaving the company right before his 20th year work anniversary. Dischler in November 2023 stepped down as the ad boss, during the height of the DOJ Google anti-trust case. What Dischler said. Jerry Dischler announced today that it would be his last day at Google. He posted a message on LinkedIn. He said, “After nearly 20 years, I’ve decided to leave Google, and today is my last day.” Here is the full post: After nearly 20 years, I’ve decided to leave Google, and today is my last day. Google is a remarkable company and I’m proud of the incredible things we’ve accomplished in …

Google AI Overviews are now available in more countries and regions and in more languages. Google announced today at Google I/O that AI Overviews are now available in over 200 countries and territories and more than 40 different languages. AI Overviews for more Google searchers. Google said they have expanded access to AI Overviews within Google Search to more searchers. In October, Google released them in over 100 countries and regions, now they are available in over 200 countries and regions. Google added more support for languages including support for for Arabic, Chinese, Malay, Urdu and more. You can see the full list of countries and territories that Go…

With Google’s introduction of its vision match feature, users can now describe a product they’re looking for, and AI will generate suggestions similar to that item. The real kicker is that the product generated likely doesn’t exist. The AI will create something that you want, show you the product, and then try to match the AI product with items from the real world. It sounds like a streamlined, user-friendly shopping experience that could revolutionize online shopping yet again. But does it actually enhance our shopping journey? Are these AI-generated results truly more effective than the product results we get from traditional Google search? …

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…

Email is more than just a communication tool. It serves as the backbone of first-party data, identity resolution, and personalized marketing strategies — all essential for success in today’s privacy-first, omnichannel landscape. In this new white paper from AtData, Is Email Dead? Exploring the Evolution and Vitality of Email, readers will find a data-backed look at why email continues to deliver — and how both brands and agencies can leverage it to power better targeting, engagement, and ROI. It covers: Why email remains one of the most cost-effective, high-impact tools in the marketing stack How validated, enriched email data supports identity resolution and …

You need compelling titles and meta descriptions to attract visitors from search results and encourage users to click. Manually writing these elements for every page can be quite challenging. Generative AI can streamline this process by automating it. However, you should check the AI-generated suggestions critically. This post will show various methods for generating effective titles and meta descriptions using generative AI for SEO. Table of contents AI titles and meta descriptions for SEO Use the AI in Yoast SEO Premium to generate titles Using generative AI to create powerful titles Checking generated content using human expertise Balancing SEO optimization and u…

Apple is officially dropping the “Search” from Search Ads to better represent its expanding ad placements across the App Store. The rebrand reflects Apple’s growing ad footprint beyond App Store search results — a signal that the iPhone maker is eyeing a more aggressive play in the broader digital ad market. What’s changed: The original Search Ads product, launched in 2016, showed promoted apps at the top of App Store search results. Ads now appear in the Today tab and in app listings under “You Might Also Like.” The rebrand aligns with Apple’s naming convention (think Apple Music, Apple TV+) and sets the stage for future ad expansion. Between the …

Temu completely shut off Google Shopping ads in the U.S. on April 9, with its App Store ranking subsequently plummeting from a typical third or fourth position to 58th in just three days. The company’s impression share, which measures how often their ads appear compared to eligibility, dropped sharply before disappearing completely from advertiser auction data by April 12. The timing coincided with the The President administration’s hardened stance on Chinese imports, raising tariffs to 125% while maintaining a more moderate approach to other trading partners. First seen. Mike Ryan, head of ecommerce insights at Smarter Ecommerce, shared this news on LinkedIn…

In the era of Google’s smart bidding, we’ve come to appreciate the power of feeding solid data to AI. But that data can do more than just improve bids. When connected to a large language model (LLM), it opens up entirely new ways to manage and optimize your PPC accounts. As generative AI becomes more embedded in our daily workflows, it’s worth exploring the latest methods for connecting it with your performance data. This way, it can deliver insights that are not just creative but also grounded and actionable. Sure, you could manually upload a CSV or paste metrics into each prompt, but that defeats the very promise of AI: faster, smarter, and more ef…

A few weeks ago, we caught Google linking text within its AI Overviews to its own search results. Well, today that has become a new official feature within AI Overviews. “To help people more easily explore topics and discover relevant websites, we’ve added links to some terms within AI Overviews when our systems determine it might be useful,” a Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land. What it looks like. Here is a screenshot we posted of this back then: Clicking on those underlined links in the text of the AI Overview, both at the top and in the middle section, will take you back to a new Google Search. The smaller link icons take you to the side panel lin…

Uber Advertising will integrate Instacart’s Carrot Ads solution to extend the reach of Uber Eats’ Sponsored Items to more Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) advertisers in the U.S. market. By the numbers. Instacart’s advertiser network includes more than 7,000 brands. More than 220 retailer banners use Carrot Ads to power their retail media. How it works. Starting this month, CPG advertisers can create campaigns through Instacart Ads Manager that will automatically extend across both Instacart’s ecosystem and the Uber Eats marketplace, reaching millions of high-intent grocery shoppers. Why we care. CPG brands of all sizes now have a powerful new advertising…

With YouTube Shorts now reaching 2 billion monthly users and generating approximately 70 billion daily views, this rapidly growing format represents an untapped opportunity for many brands. When used effectively, Shorts unlock multiple benefits that other platforms can’t match: Faster channel growth. Higher engagement rates. New monetization streams. A massive established user base of over 122 million daily viewers. Powerful cross-promotion between short and long-form content. Plus, YouTube’s established reputation provides a level of stability that newer platforms like TikTok can’t guarantee. But despite all this potential, many marketers…

With the rise of AI-powered features, search engines are not just directing users to information but delivering answers directly. This shift is redefining how people interact with the web, raising questions about the future of SEO, content discovery, and digital marketing. Here’s what’s coming next. From ChatGPT to Grok 3: The breakneck pace of AI advancements The world has seen rapid and significant advances in AI technology and large language models (LLMs) within two years. Looking back just three years ago, Google’s Gemini and Meta’s LLAMA did not exist, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT was later released in late November 2022. Fast-forward to January 2…

If you’ve tried to figure out how your brand shows up in ChatGPT or Gemini, you aren’t alone – and you’ve probably realized there’s no easy answer. With new AI visibility tools hitting the market, knowing which one to trust is half the battle. Vetting AI visibility platforms: Trial, error, and endless demos As AI search becomes a growing part of how consumers find information, brands face a new challenge: understanding and managing their presence in these AI answer engines. Unfortunately for marketers, many tools promising to help are as new as the challenge itself. Information is sparse, comparison is tricky, and reliability with many of these tools…

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…