SEO Tools and Resources

Google is overhauling its ad blocking controls in AdSense and Ad Manager, replacing the “Ad networks” option with a new “Authorized Buyers” control starting Nov. 6. This move seems designed to give publishers more transparency and control over who can bid on their inventory. The change modernizes Google’s brand safety tools to reflect the current programmatic landscape, shifting focus from traditional ad networks to authorized buyers, including DSPs and trading desks that programmatically access Google Partner Inventory. Driving the news. The new Authorized Buyers page lets publishers allow or block specific buyers from bidding on their inventory and view detailed…

Just 11% of U.S. consumers trust the first tool they use when searching online. That means nearly 9 in 10 Americans double-check or expand their search elsewhere “because they don’t trust the first answer,” according to new survey results from digital presence platform Yext. By the numbers. Discovery is fragmented: Traditional search still leads – 45% of U.S. consumers start product research on a search engine. But AI tools (15%) and review sites (14%) are fast-rising alternatives. Nearly three-quarters (73%) said they’ve used AI-powered search tools more in the past year, and 45% use them daily. Consumers still rely on traditional search for sensitiv…

Search behavior keeps tilting toward AI answers. People still click classic results, but more are starting with AI summaries and only clicking when they want depth, proof, or tools. Your job as an SEO is now twofold: Rank in traditional search. Get your pages cited or summarized inside AI experiences. How do you do both without doubling your workload? How AI-powered search surfaces and cites content Before diving into tactics, it’s worth grounding in what’s actually confirmed about how AI search experiences pull and cite results. AI-powered search engines ground their answers in indexed, high-quality pages Google AI Overviews and AI M…

The Justice Department and Google wrapped a two-week hearing over how to address Google’s illegal monopoly in online advertising technology, setting up a pivotal antitrust showdown that could reshape the digital ad industry. Driving the news. The hearing, held in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, concluded after testimony from more than two dozen witnesses – including Google executives, rival ad tech leaders, publishers, and expert economists. The Justice Department wants Google to sell off its ad exchange and possibly parts of its publisher tools to restore competition. Google argues that a breakup would disrupt publishers and adve…

YouTube launched the YouTube Activation Partners program, a new initiative connecting advertisers and agencies with vetted third-party experts who specialize in YouTube media buying and campaign management. Why we care. As the biggest streaming platform for over two years, according to Nielsen, YouTube continues to dominate attention spans. But as ad strategies become more complex, brands increasingly rely on external partners for campaign optimization and cross-platform efficiency. Driving the news. The new program curates a network of trusted YouTube experts who meet Google’s performance and quality standards. Partners receive a YouTube Activation Partner b…

Google is testing using AI to generate full search result descriptions and/or AI-summaries of your search result snippet, within the Google Search results. There are two variations of this; (1) fully replacing your description with an AI-generated version and (2) an AI-generated summary of the search result snippet. AI-generated description. Recently, both Paul Shaprio on X and Brodie Clark on X shared some screenshots of Google displaying AI-generated search result descriptions. They have a little Gemini logo next to them, which symbolizes it was generated using AI. Here are one of thoe screenshots: This is not just for Reddit results, by the way. …

For years, SEO and PPC defined two sides of search – one focused on organic authority, the other on paid performance. Both aimed to capture traffic but often worked in silos, optimizing toward different goals. Now, that separation is ending. The rise of generative AI has redrawn the map, merging once-distinct disciplines into a single, fluid ecosystem. Search engines like Google and Bing have evolved into conversational AI platforms that deliver instant, often singular answers while seamlessly integrating ads. This shift – marked by zero-click results, conversational interfaces, and pre-packaged information – means no single strategy can guarantee…

In competitive industries where keywords are costly, every edge matters. Beyond keyword targeting, consider layering audience targeting onto your Search campaigns to gather richer performance data. This added layer can improve results within Search and provide valuable insights you can apply to other Google Ads campaigns – or even to PPC platforms like Microsoft Ads, Meta Ads, and TikTok. Key audience targeting options for Search campaigns Here’s a quick overview of audience types you can target in Search campaigns – and how to make the most of each. Demographic audiences. Custom audiences. Remarketing audiences. Interests audiences. Affi…

The search landscape is changing. With the rapid evolution of AI, the Google SERP is no longer a predictable grid of 10 blue links. This shift presents new opportunities for businesses, but it also creates new risks for your brand. Competitors, affiliates, and bad actors can now use sophisticated tactics to hijack your presence, mislead customers, and drain your budget. Your brand’s visibility is never fully secure, and these hidden threats don’t just waste money – they suppress your growth and limit your ability to acquire new customers. Protecting your brand isn’t a defensive chore; it’s a proactive strategy for unlocking budget and fueling your growth. …

If you have ever run your writing through a readability checker like Yoast SEO, you have probably come across the Flesch reading score. This metric was developed more than 70 years ago and is still one of the most widely used ways to measure how easy your text is to read. But what does it actually mean, and how does it affect your writing for the web? In this guide, we will explain how the Flesch reading score works, why it became so prominent in publishing and SEO, and how you can use it effectively today. We will also show you where it fits into the Yoast SEO plugin and why we have introduced new readability checks alongside it. Table of contents What is the F…

Google confirmed an ongoing issue with serving search results in Google Search. This is impacting some locales, Google added. Google said this is an “ongoing issue” and will update us again “witin 24 hours” with more details. What Google said. Google wrote: There’s an ongoing data center issue that may impact serving of some pages in some locales. We’re working on identifying the root cause. The next update will be within 24 hours. When? This was posted at 5:21 pm ET. What is a serving issue. A serving issue is when Google Search has issues showing some or all search results to the searcher. This is when Google is unable to show some or all search res…

Microsoft is rolling out the new and updated Bing Places for Business. “Today, we are excited to announce the launch of the new Bing Places for Business experience —an evolution shaped by deep user research, thoughtful design, and a commitment to help business owners thrive in local search,” the company announced today. What is new. Microsoft updated the overall design and layout for Bing Places, moved the domain name, improved the import process and added a recommendation tool. Microsoft said the updates “move simplifies access, improves trust, and aligns Bing Places with the broader Bing ecosystem.” They also moved from www.bingplaces.com to www.bing.com/forbusi…

On episode 326 of PPC Live The Podcast I sat down down with Aashna Makin, a senior paid ads specialist with more than eight years of experience, who has managed campaigns worth over $2 million a month across a wide range of industries. She takes us through the story of how a best practice she put in place led to poor results and how looking back she should have taking more care in adding unnecessary negatives. A Costly Keyword Error Aashna recalls one of her earliest career missteps: excluding the keyword “meet up” from a client’s dating events campaign. The impact was immediate and severe—leads dropped sharply, and performance tanked. Luckily, her client succ…

Microsoft Advertising is shutting down its Ads for Social Impact grant program, which provided free ad credits to nonprofits. Final grants will be issued November 30, 2025, with a 45-day window to spend them. Why we care. The decision ends a program that helped nonprofits amplify their missions through free advertising dollars. Starting in 2026, nonprofits that don’t pause campaigns risk being automatically charged on the payment methods tied to their accounts. Driving the news: The program officially ends December 2025, with campaigns required to be paused by early January if funds are exhausted. Microsoft says nonprofits will still have access to discoun…

Google is officially retiring Call-Only Ads, with creation ending in February 2026 and full sunset by February 2027. Advertisers relying on phone leads will need to transition to Responsive Search Ads with Call Assets. How to prepare: Switch campaigns to Responsive Search Ads with Call Assets. Enable call reporting and set call conversions as a primary goal. Use smart bidding, like Maximize conversion value, for better ROI. Link your Google Business Profile for location-based relevance. Restrict calls to business hours to avoid wasted leads. Why we care. Call-Only Ads have been a go-to for businesses that rely on direct phone calls, especially in …

Google Analytics is making it easier for businesses to compare themselves against industry peers by expanding its Benchmarking feature to include 20 new unnormalized metrics, such as New Users and Total Revenue. How it works. Google Analytics estimates benchmark ranges for absolute numbers by multiplying a peer group’s normalized metric by your property’s active user count. For example, benchmarks for Engaged Sessions are calculated as: Peer group’s engaged sessions per active user × your active users. Details: Benchmarks are offered in percentiles (25th, median, 75th) to show performance ranges. Peer groups are determined by industry categories, …

Creating effective ad copy has always been a critical skill for PPC marketers, especially in Google Ads. In the past, it meant hours of brainstorming, drafting, and A/B testing. Today, LLMs like Google’s Gemini can produce high-quality ad copy in minutes. But the results don’t come from the tool alone – they depend on the prompts you use to guide it. Google does offer built-in AI features to suggest ad copy ideas and variants, but that’s not the same as generating ads in batch or scaling copy across titles and descriptions. Earlier this year, Google shared a guide on prompt best practices. This article narrows the focus to what matters most fo…

Google has been layering AI into Search campaigns for years through features like Smart Bidding, Responsive Search Ads, and Performance Max. In May 2025, it announced the next step: AI Max. The feature is now rolling out globally in beta and appearing in many advertiser accounts. (If you don’t see it yet, expect it soon.) Here’s what it is, how it works, and what it means for your campaigns. What is AI Max for Search? AI Max is a feature within your existing Search campaign that you can toggle on or off. Enabling it provides targeting and creative enhancements in an automated way. According to Google, AI Max: Improves search term match…

Brand performance in generative search relies on measurable reputation and entity signals. But those signals are only as good as the infrastructure machines can fetch, parse, and trust. Treat the website, feeds, and APIs as brand training data. Pair technical governance with brand strategy to stop narrative drift and preserve brand equity. Search and brand are one system now, bridging the gap between intent and machine narration. “Google doesn’t just index your pages – it indexes your reputation.” – Jono Alderson That only happens when the site’s performance, semantics, and integrity make the brand easy to select. Machines prefer brands they can read c…

Meta unveiled new AI products – including a “Business AI” concierge, generative video, and creative tools – designed to help advertisers scale faster and more efficiently. Driving the news. The centerpiece is Business AI, an always-on sales agent that guides customers from discovery to purchase across Meta ads, messaging apps, and websites. It learns from posts and campaigns to deliver personalized responses. No coding or setup is required. Meta also introduced new generative AI tools for video that help advertisers create more immersive content, including AI-generated music, multilingual dubbing, and HDR video. Shoppers may soon be able to upload a ph…

Spotify is expanding access to its ad inventory through new partnerships with Amazon DSP and Yahoo DSP, marking a major step in broadening brands’ programmatic buying options. The big picture. Amazon DSP users can now buy Spotify’s ad inventory across nine markets: the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico. Also: Yahoo DSP buyers gain direct access to Spotify Ad Exchange, the platform’s programmatic marketplace. In Europe, Spotify is teaming with ID5 to boost addressability for programmatic campaigns. Spotify also previewed: A new Split Testing tool for creative experiments. A partnership with Smartly to expand inventory …

Meta will soon begin factoring in how people interact with its generative AI tools to personalize the content and ads they see across Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. More than 1 billion people use Meta AI monthly, according to their internal data. By turning AI chats and prompts into signals, Meta is making its recommendation engine more data-rich, potentially boosting ad relevance for brands and personalization for users. Why we care. By adding this new signal to it’s recommendations engine, this could reveal real-time interest and intent, making ad targeting sharper and potentially more effective. By tapping into these AI-driven signals, brands can rea…

AI-powered search is moving fast. The latest shift? ChatGPT Shopping. Since April, OpenAI has been rolling out a shopping experience that surfaces product cards directly inside ChatGPT. Instead of sending users to a long list of search results, the interface now provides curated recommendations with images, labels, and “buy” links. For ecommerce SEOs, this is a new channel with very different rules. Placement isn’t driven by ads or bids, at least not yet. Instead, visibility depends on the quality of product data, structured markup, and external signals like reviews and mentions. The implications are significant. Results are condensed to just a handf…

More than a sales tool, a product demo can be the moment your brand earns credibility and converts prospects. A strong demo proves value in real time, turning curiosity into confidence. Too often, though, demos fall flat – sounding like a scripted feature list instead of a compelling, conversational story. This article shows how to create demos that resonate with real customer needs and differentiate your brand through empathy, consistency, and competitive insight. Know your product, know the problem it solves A demo isn’t about memorizing features. It’s about mastering the problem your product solves. Without this deep understanding, you’re just…

Google sends publishers 831x more visitors than AI systems, according to TollBit’s State of the Bots Q2 2025 report. Even though AI referrals barely register next to Google’s, bots are hammering publisher sites — pushing costs higher, scraping more content, and often ignoring rules meant to limit them. Scraping up, referrals down. AI is scraping the web, but it still isn’t sending meaningful visitors back. Google referrals dropped from 90%+ of all external traffic in Q2 2024 to 84.1% in Q2 2025. AI apps sent just 0.102% of referrals. For every visitor from an AI system, Google delivered 831. Click-through rates from AI interfaces were weak – 91% lower th…