SEO Tools and Resources

Google is rolling out a new Performance Max beta that lets advertisers pull video assets directly from Merchant Center — a small tweak with big implications for retail and e-commerce. How it works. Google Ads will now: Auto-surface product-associated videos from Merchant Center during PMax setup Shorten creative workflows for retailers and e-commerce teams Improve product-to-creative alignment, increasing ad relevance Boost performance, especially for large SKU catalogs Why we care. This update removes a friction point in PMax: getting high-quality, product-relevant video into campaigns. By auto-pulling videos from Merchant Center, Google is tigh…

UK doctor and YouTuber Dr. Ed Hope said Google’s AI falsely claimed he was suspended by the General Medical Council earlier this year for selling sick notes. Hope called the allegation completely made up and warned that it could seriously damage his career. Google’s AI generated a detailed narrative accusing Hope of professional misconduct, despite no investigations, complaints, or sanctions in his 10-year medical career, he said in a new video. Why we care. Google’s AI-generated answers appear to now be presenting false, career-damaging claims about real people as fact. That raises serious questions about defamation, accountability, and whether AI-generated stat…

On episode 334 of PPC Live The Podcast, I speak to Sophie Fell Head of Paid Media at Liberty Marketing Group about a real PPC mistake involving location targeting. The conversation focuses on how small oversights can have big consequences—and how to recover from them professionally. The PPC F-Up: worldwide location targeting Sophie accidentally launched a campaign with worldwide location targeting enabled instead of restricting it to the client’s service area. In just a couple of days, the campaign generated around 1,500 leads that looked impressive on paper but were unusable because they came from outside the target locations. When great results are a warning …

Google will update its Pharmaceutical policy for AdMob Authorized Buyers in January 2026, allowing prescription drug and prescription drug service ads in select markets — without requiring Google certification — while tightening clarity around what remains strictly off-limits. What’s changing. The policy will be renamed “Pharmaceutical products and services” and updated to allow Authorized Buyers to promote prescription drugs and prescription drug services in certain countries where permitted by local law, without requiring Google certification as is typically mandated in Google Ads. While access is expanding, the underlying rules are not becoming more permissive…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8AfAJUDFWY Search marketers are starting to build, not just optimize. Across SEO and PPC teams, vibe coding and AI-powered development tools are shrinking the gap between idea and execution – from weeks of developer queues to hours of hands-on experimentation. These tools don’t replace developers, but they do let search teams create and test interactive content on their own timelines. That matters because Google’s AI Overviews are pulling more answers directly into the SERP, leaving fewer clicks for brand websites. In a zero-click environment, the ability to build unique, useful, conversion-focused tools is becoming o…

For years, OpenAI set the pace of the generative AI revolution with ChatGPT. Their partnership with Microsoft seemed unbeatable, coupling innovation and enterprise distribution. However, the lead they once held is now in the balance. Faced with evidence that Google’s Gemini has not only caught up but surpassed capabilities in critical areas, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made a dramatic decision by declaring an internal “code red.” Doing so paused all non-essential initiatives to focus exclusively on ChatGPT’s quality. The most significant casualty of this shift was OpenAI’s plan to introduce advertising into ChatGPT. It’s important to note that OpenAI’s ad…

We know that most readers skim. We also know that search engines prefer clear and easy-to-understand content. Luckily, a good summary can help with both. A summary gives your reader the core ideas quickly, while also helping your chances of ranking your content. Learning how to write a summary helps you give your content the love it needs. Table of contents What is a summary? Why are summaries important? How to write an effective summary Dos and don’ts of writing summaries Examples of weak vs. strong summaries Summaries vs. intros, conclusions, titles, and meta descriptions Benefits and pitfalls of using AI for summaries Key takeaways A summary provides a c…

Google AI Mode is getting more visual by providing a more graphical response to some of your queries, including your shopping search queries. Google can do this by using its new visual version of the query fan-out technique it has used with AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google AI Mode, for certain queries, particularly those related to shopping, will respond with images and graphics. These are aimed at sparking inspiration, Robby Stein, VP of Product Management at Google Search, told Search Engine Land. AI Mode will be able to not just understand your query in a text-based manner, but also understand your query visually and respond with both textual and visual resp…

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…

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. …

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…

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…

Instacart today became the first retail media network to integrate directly with TikTok Ads Manager. This will allow CPG advertisers to use Instacart’s first-party retail data to target audiences, measure conversions, and drive shoppable experiences – all without leaving TikTok’s platform. The integration marks a major step in the convergence of retail media and social commerce. By embedding Instacart’s targeting and closed-loop measurement capabilities into TikTok, brands can connect with high-intent consumers at the exact moment of inspiration and track their impact through purchase. Why we care. For CPG advertisers, this partnership removes a friction point – t…

We’ve spent years as an industry obsessed with what people search for. Now, it’s time to be just as focused on where they search. Generative engine optimization (GEO) isn’t just another tactic – it’s a new lens, a new mindset that’s reshaping how we think about search, content, and customer discovery. This article will help you: Plan financially and strategically for GEO in 2026. Understand what it means for your team, your content, your data, and, most importantly, your audience. Follow the user: From what to where Search isn’t a single destination anymore. It’s a journey made up of moments, typed, spoken, tapped, prompted. Over the p…

AI Overviews are changing what it means to “search.” The web remains central, but AI and shifting user habits are creating new winners and losers – with forums, videos, and creators gaining ground on traditional publishers, said Google’s Search Head Liz Reid in a new interview. Search shake-up. Every ranking update creates “winners and losers,” Reid acknowledged. But she said user behavior – not just algorithms – is driving the shift, with younger audiences favoring forums, short-form video, and creator content over traditional publishers. “One of the things that’s always true about Google Search is that you make changes and there are winners and losers. That’s t…

Google Search Console’s performance report is stuck and has not shown an update in the main report since Sunday, October 19th. Google confirmed the issue and said it will catch up. What it looks like. As I said on the Search Engine Roundtable, before Google confirmed the issue, the performance reports for all Search Console profiles are stuck on Sunday. Here is a sample chart: More details. The weird thing is that when you dive in to 24 hour data, you do get recent data. So it does seem like the data is being collected and stored but it just isn’t being rendered in most of the reporting. In addition, when you click on the by date breakdown under the chart…

FAQ schema is no longer a quick SEO win. In August 2023, Google reduced the visibility of FAQ rich results in search, restricting them to authoritative government and health websites. The update effectively rendered the tactic useless for marketers who once relied on it to expand their SERP real estate. Google also clarified that FAQPage markup should never be used for advertising or promotional purposes. It belongs only on genuine FAQ pages created to answer user questions. For years, many SEOs – including myself – added structured FAQ data to marketing pages as a best practice. It’s time to rethink that habit. Google’s shifting guidance isn’t new.…

Google’s AI Overviews continue to disrupt search as we know it. For advertisers, the landscape is shifting fast, with AI-generated answers now appearing on more queries and across more industries. Early Adthena data shows Paid Search click-through rates could decline by 8–12 percentage points (roughly a 20–40% relative drop) as AI-generated answers take up more space on the SERP. To understand the real impact of Google’s AI Overviews, Adthena’s data science team analyzed over 21 million indexes across two four-week periods (April – May and August – September) spanning five key industries: Retail, Travel, Finance, Healthcare, and Automotive. Our goal was to uncover…

The holiday season is make-or-break for email marketers. With inboxes bursting from October through New Year’s, even your most dazzling email content could disappear into spam folders if your deliverability isn’t solid. Mailbox Providers (MBPs), such as Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook, receive an overwhelming volume of emails during peak seasons. Their systems work harder to protect their users and reward senders who follow best practices with more reliable inbox placement. The good news? You can stay ahead with a few strategic steps. Here are four essential tips to boost your email delivery rate and ensure your campaigns reach the inbox this holiday season. 1. Un…

The idea of starting an article series about AI in a time when so many articles are being at least partially generated by AI and potentially primarily consumed by AI might cause one to pause and consider the value of the effort. All of us digital marketers hope to find a future where we can still add value and find fulfillment in a world where our efforts and careers are increasingly at risk of being replaced by AI every day. Sometimes, it all feels a bit empty and potentially useless, but here we are. In case it is not already obvious, I am a bit of a doomer when it comes to AI. So inevitably, I have labored over this article like a true human, almost exactly li…

Google Ads is now prompting advertisers to create “investment strategies” when campaign budgets are limited — a fresh addition to the budget recommendations interface. How it works. When Google detects a budget-limited campaign, a new section appears with the message: “Grow your account by creating your own Google investment strategy.” Advertisers can click “Create investment strategy” to model potential budget increases and preview possible gains in conversions, value, or clicks. Why we care. The feature encourages advertisers to think beyond daily caps and model how increased spend could impact performance. It lets advertisers model how incremental budget in…

The shift away from fully keyword-targeted search campaigns has been building for years – but this week, it reached a tipping point. Two account managers on my team, each handling different clients in different industries, came to me with the same uneasy admission. They were leaning toward dropping some of their keyword search campaigns in favor of Performance Max. Not all of them. But some. These weren’t impulsive calls. They were data-backed decisions made after months of testing, optimization, and watching Performance Max consistently outperform keyword-targeted campaigns. Are we heading toward keywordless targeting? Not quite. But we’ve reac…

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said ChatGPT will likely try ads “at some point” but he still has “no idea” what ads will look like. Altman also doesn’t see ads as OpenAI’s “biggest revenue opportunity.” In an interview on Conversations with Tyler, Altman also took another direct shot at Google’s ad model: “Ads on a Google search are dependent on Google doing badly. If it was giving you the best answer, there’d be no reason ever to buy an ad above it. “So you’re like – that thing is not quite aligned with me. ChatGPT, maybe it gives you the best answer, maybe it doesn’t, but you’re paying it, or hopefully all are paying it, and it’s at least trying to give you the best…

Google has updated its Circumventing Systems policy to include a new example explicitly warning advertisers that submitting false information during the Advertiser Verification process violates its rules and will lead to account suspension. The details: The update was added to the Circumventing Systems section of Google’s Ads policies in November 2025. It specifies that providing false or fraudulent information during verification is treated as an intentional attempt to bypass Google’s compliance systems. Violations will result in immediate account suspension. Why we care. This clarification reinforces Google’s zero-tolerance stance on misinformation wi…

Keywords in reviews are generally believed to help local rankings, although their impact is still actively debated within the local SEO community. Regardless of where the truth on ranking impact ultimately lands, keyword-rich reviews can still provide meaningful value for local SEO beyond pure rankings. Below are seven reasons why you should still encourage keyword-rich reviews. 1. Review justifications If your reviews consistently mention a keyword related to your business, the likelihood that your Profile will get a Review justification in search increases. This visibility can boost click-through rates. Higher engagement may lead to a secondary impro…