SEO Tools and Resources

Google concluded a 14-year legal battle over advertising billing practices, agreeing to a substantial settlement without admitting any wrongdoing. The resolution marks a significant moment in the company’s complex history of digital advertising regulations. The big picture. The lawsuit centered on allegations that Google manipulated its AdWords platform between 2004 and 2012, specifically targeting two key issues: artificially reducing advertiser discounts through Smart Pricing and distributing ads beyond advertisers’ designated geographic location. Context. Advertisers accused Google of violating California’s unfair competition law, claiming the tech giant misled…

Google today published new guidance on how to “succeed” in its evolving AI-powered search experiences. What’s new. The only real (sort of) news here is that Google has put into writing what Google’s Elizabeth Reid and others have said in recent months – that AI-driven searches are increasing engagement and creating higher-quality clicks. Also: Google said tools like nosnippet and max-snippet apply to AI content as well. This is more of a reminder that you can limit how your website appears – or doesn’t – in AI Overviews. Google suggested going beyond text and thinking multimodal. In other words, use high-quality images and videos, plus make sure your Merchant…

Google released new information about its ad review process, explaining its hybrid approach to enforcing policy violations across its advertising ecosystem. The details. Google’s clarification emphasizes: Reviews use a combination of AI systems and human evaluators Multiple information sources factor into violation determinations Content removal decisions apply to ads, assets, destinations, and entire accounts English remains the official language for policy enforcement Between the lines. This transparency update comes as regulatory scrutiny of digital advertising platforms increases globally, with lawmakers demanding more accountability around conte…

In her third annual letter, Vidhya Srinivasan, VP/GM of Ads & Commerce at Google, lays out how AI is transforming shopping and advertising in 2026 — making experiences faster, more personal, and more seamless for both consumers and businesses. Key trends: Creators to commerce: YouTube continues to be a discovery hub, with creators acting as trusted tastemakers. AI is helping match brands to the right creators, turning influence into measurable business impact. Search ads evolve: With conversational and visual queries on the rise, AI Mode is reimagining ads as part of the discovery journey. New formats, like sponsored retail listings and Direct Offers…

Google updated its Google Tag Manager (GTM) conversion tag, removing the ability to configure user-provided data for Enhanced Conversions directly in the tag. What’s new. The Enhanced Conversions setup option has been removed from the standard Google Ads Conversion Tracking tag in GTM. Instead, Google has introduced a dedicated tag specifically for Enhanced Conversions for Google Ads. The big picture: The move separates the main conversion tracking functionality from Enhanced Conversions, likely to streamline setup and reduce confusion. Why we care. Enhanced Conversions help advertisers improve conversion measurement by sending hashed first-party custo…

A core targeting lever in Google Demand Gen campaigns is changing. Starting March 2026, Lookalike audiences will act as optimization signals — not hard constraints — potentially widening reach and leaning more heavily on automation to drive conversions. What is happening. Per an update to Google’s Help documentation, Lookalike segments in Demand Gen are moving from strict similarity-based targeting to an AI-driven suggestion model. Before: Advertisers selected a similarity tier (narrow, balanced, broad), and campaigns targeted users strictly within that Lookalike pool. After: The same tiers act as signals. Google’s system can expand beyond the Lookalike list t…

Google now lets merchants add their shipping and return policies to Google Search without having a Google Merchant Center account. You can do this within Google Search Console and/or by using new structured data. Google wrote: “We’re excited to announce that we’re now expanding the options for merchants to provide shipping and returns information, even if they don’t have a Merchant Center account. Merchants can now tell Google about their shipping and returns policies in two distinct ways: by configuring them directly in Search Console or by using new organization-level structured data.” Search Console. If Google determines that your site makes sense to add …

Google is quietly testing a new way to make Shopping ads feel more local. Select ads using local inventory feeds now display the merchant’s city or town directly above the product title — think “London” or “Tonbridge” — giving shoppers a clearer sense of where the store is based. Why we care. The new location labels make Shopping ads feel more local and trustworthy, helping nearby retailers stand out in crowded results. Clear city or town indicators can increase click-through rates and drive more in-store visits from shoppers who prefer buying close to home. It also gives merchants using local inventory feeds a competitive edge by highlighting proximity without n…

Google Shopping API migration deadlines are approaching, and advertisers who don’t act risk disrupted Shopping and Performance Max campaigns. What’s happening. Google is sunsetting older API versions and pushing all merchants toward the Merchant API as the single source of truth for Shopping Ads. Advertisers can confirm which API they’re using in Merchant Center Next by checking the “Source” column under Settings > Data sources, where any listing marked “Content API” requires action. Why we care. Google is actively reminding advertisers to migrate to the new Merchant API, with beta users required to complete the switch by Feb. 28th, and Content API users …

Google has begun showing the ‘Price at Checkout’ within Google Shopping listings, both for paid ads and organic results. Merchants who alter prices at checkout risk suspension from Google Shopping, but this new feature provides an added layer of clarity for users. The big picture: Google has strict policies against misleading pricing, and this enhancement aligns with its broader efforts to improve trust in Shopping listings. Transparency in pricing could also pressure retailers to maintain consistency between advertised and final prices. Why we care. Online shoppers often encounter price discrepancies between initial listings and final checkout prices, lea…

Google today rolled out new AI-driven shopping features to help users visualize and try on fashion and beauty products virtually. These updates aim to make online shopping more interactive and personalized. Key features: Vision match. Users can describe desired clothing items and AI generates visual suggestions with similar shoppable products. For example, search for a garment, scroll to “Can’t find it? Create it” prompt, refine the AI-generated ideas, and browse shoppable products. Virtual makeup try-on. Shoppers can test celebrity-inspired makeup looks using AR, combining products from multiple brands. For example, search for celebrity looks or trends l…

Google is changing how Google Analytics and Google Ads share consent signals — a shift that could have major implications for marketers’ tracking setups starting this summer. What’s happening. Beginning June 15th, Google Ads data collection will rely solely on the ad_storage consent setting, removing a layer of complexity that previously came from linked Google Analytics configurations. Until now, ad data flows between Analytics and Ads were influenced by both Consent Mode and Google Signals settings inside GA. That created confusion for marketers, especially because some of the controls were buried in Analytics settings rather than clearly surfaced in ad consent …

Google reduced the minimum audience size requirement for customer match lists in Search campaigns from 1,000 to just 100 users — a significant update for small and midsize businesses. The big picture. This update makes precision targeting more accessible to SMBs, who often struggle to meet high list-size minimums. According to Google’s documentation, the new threshold applies only to customer match lists — not to remarketing lists or other audience types. It also mirrors YouTube’s recent customer list minimums, signaling a broader push for consistency across Google’s platforms. Why we care. Previously, advertisers needed at least 1,000 users to qualify a c…

Google has posted that it may now use your search spam reports for manual actions and that the text used in those spam reports may be sent along “verbatim” to the site owner being reported. What Google said. Google wrote it has “Clarified that Google may use spam report submissions to take manual action against violations.” The new text says: “Ranking manipulation techniques that attempt to compromise the quality of Google’s search results violate our spam policies and can negatively impact a site’s ranking. Google may use your report to take manual action against violations. If we issue a manual action, we send whatever you write in the submission report ve…

Google updated its spam report page for the second time in the past week or so, this time to say that if you include personally identifying information, the spam report will not be processed or used. This comes just a week after Google said that information would be used and passed along to the reported site. What changed. Google posted on its spam report page a new highlight box which says two points: (1) Don’t include personally identifying information in your spam report. (2) If you do include personally identifying information, then Google won’t process your submission. The text block reads: “Don’t include any personally identifying information i…

Google has begun placing sponsored ad units directly inside the Images tab of mobile search results — a new placement that eligible campaigns can access without any changes to existing keyword targeting. What’s happening. When a user navigates to the Images tab within Google Search on mobile, they may now see sponsored units appearing within the image grid. Each unit shows a full image creative as the primary visual alongside text, and is clearly labelled “Sponsored” — consistent with how Google labels ads elsewhere in search results. How it works. Eligible campaigns can serve into the Images tab without any changes to keyword targeting or campaign structure. The …

Chegg, the publicly traded education technology company, has sued Google over its AI Overviews, claiming they have hurt its traffic and revenue. The company said that AI Overviews is “materially impacting our acquisitions, revenue, and employees.” What Chegg said. Chegg wrote: Second, we announced the filing of a complaint against Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. These two actions are connected, as we would not need to review strategic alternatives if Google hadn’t launched AI Overviews, or AIO, retaining traffic that historically had come to Chegg, materially impacting our acquisitions, revenue, and employees. Chegg has a superior product for education, as evident b…

Google said today that it is suing SerpApi, accusing the company of bypassing security protections to scrape, harvest, and resell copyrighted content from Google Search results. The allegations: Google said SerpApi: Circumvented Google’s security measures and industry-standard crawling controls. Ignored website directives that specify whether content can be accessed. Used cloaking, rotating bot identities, and large bot networks to scrape content at scale. Took licensed content from Search features, including images and real-time data, and resold it for profit. What Google is saying. “Stealthy scrapers like SerpApi override [crawling] directives and …

Google released comprehensive answers to the most frequent questions about Performance Max, based on feedback from webinars, advertiser roundtables, and account team interactions. The big picture. Performance Max has become a central piece of Google’s advertising ecosystem, but marketers have expressed concerns about its “black box” nature and effectiveness across different business goals. Why we care. As advertisers grapple with Google’s AI-powered Performance Max campaigns, the company addresses crucial questions about transparency, lead quality, and campaign optimization. Key concerns addressed: Channel-level reporting transparency Lead quality …

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. …

Google appears to be testing channel reporting functionality for Performance Max campaigns, potentially addressing a major advertiser criticism of the automated campaign type. Driving the news: Documentation about Channel reporting coming to Performance Max was reported by Kirk Williams, Founder of Zato, with Google Search Lead Tetsuo Konno tagged in the reference on X. A screenshot from the Google Think event in Amsterdam was shared by Arjan Schoorl showing apparent channel breakdowns on LinkedIn: Christopher Bell, Head of PPC at Kelkoo, claims a large advertiser account has already received access to the feature. Why we care. Since launchin…

Google is testing a new search results display for a small group of EU users when they search for products, restaurants, flights, and hotels. The test is part of Google’s efforts to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act. What’s happening. According to a report from Dow Jones Newswires: “Under the test started Monday, Google has set up new units for users to choose between results from price comparison sites such as Booking Holdings’ Booking.com and results that take them directly to supplier websites when they are searching for products, restaurants, flights or hotels.” What Google EU search results look like. Here are screenshots showing what it looks lik…

Google is quietly testing a new “App Labs” beta inside Google Ads, giving app advertisers early access to experimental campaign features before wider rollout. What’s new. A dedicated tab within the App advertising hub where advertisers can try limited-time experiments, provide feedback, and explore tools still in development. Why we care. Google is giving early access to experimental features in Google Ads before they roll out widely. That means a chance to test, learn, and optimize ahead of competitors. Those who adopt early can gain a performance edge and adapt faster as new tools become standard. Zoom in. Features in App Labs are not guaranteed to launc…

Google is preparing a new Search bidding model called Journey Aware Bidding, designed to factor in the entire customer journey — not just the final biddable conversion — to improve prediction accuracy and campaign performance. How it works: Journey Aware Bidding learns from your primary conversion goal plus additional, non-biddable journey stages. Advertisers who fully track and properly categorize each step of their purchase funnel stand to benefit the most. Google recommends mapping the entire journey — from lead submission to final purchase — and labeling all touchpoints as conversions within standard goals. Why we care. Performance advertisers h…

Google appears to be testing a new “Sponsored Shops” format in Google Shopping results that highlights entire stores instead of individual products — a potential shift in how brands compete in Shopping ads. What’s happening. Instead of displaying only single product listings, the new block groups multiple products from the same retailer into one sponsored unit. The format features the store name, several products from that shop, and signals such as ratings and brand presence, effectively creating a mini storefront directly inside the Shopping results. Why we care. The new “Sponsored Shops” format in Google Shopping could shift competition from individual produ…