SEO Tools and Resources

Google is enhancing Search ads with AI-powered changes that aim to increase asset flexibility, improve performance, and deliver more relevant ad experiences. Driving the news. Here’s what’s changing: Greater flexibility in RSAs: Google’s AI now assembles and serves headlines, descriptions, and assets dynamically to improve performance. In some cases, Google may omit certain content, like descriptions, if doing so leads to better engagement. New ways to use existing assets: Headlines that weren’t used in RSAs can now appear as sitelinks if they’re predicted to boost performance. Up to two RSA headlines may serve in the space previously reserved for si…

Google now lets you use AI to generate backgrounds for the images you add within Google Posts in your Google Business Profiles. “When creating a post for your customers in the Maps app, you can create an engaging AI-generated background for the photos you plan to use in the post,” Victoria Kroll from Google wrote. This is similar to the AI-generation image features Google has for shopping ads, product studio, even in products in Business Profiles and more. How it works. To add an AI-generated background, tap “Transform with AI” when adding a photo to your post in Maps on iPhone, select a theme, and generate. To create a post with an AI-generated background …

Favicons are those little icons you see in your browser tabs. When you have many open tabs in your browser, they help you recognize and find the page you were looking for. They are important for your branding because Google shows them in the mobile and desktop search results. So, let’s take a closer look at those little icons and your branding here! What is a favicon? A favicon is a tiny, square image that represents a website. You see it in your browser’s address bar, open tabs, and bookmarks. Its main job is to help users quickly identify and find a site among many open tabs or results. Often, these match a website’s logo or theme, making it instantly recognizabl…

OpenAI’s ChatGPT search had 41.3 million average monthly users across the EU between October and March. That’s nearly 4x growth from the prior six-month stretch, when it reported having 11.2 million users. Why we care. Brands and businesses need to understand how (or whether) their content is being surfaced in AI-generated responses. ChatGPT search is nowhere near replacing Google Search, but it is an emerging channel for visibility and discoverability. What ChatGPT reported. According to OpenAI’s EU Digital Services Act (DSA) page: “For the six-month period ending 31 March 2025, ChatGPT search had in combination approximately 41.3 million average monthly act…

Content marketing is everywhere. We do keyword research, analyse markets, and publish landing pages and blog posts. The goal? To attract clicks, convert users, and climb the rankings. But what happens when that stops working? The internet is drowning in generic, AI-generated material. Search is becoming ambient, answer-led, and keyword-less. And search engines no longer need to crawl or rank your site to serve users. In fact, they’d often prefer not to. In these ‘solved query spaces’, answers are synthesised. Content is commodified. The old tactics don’t work anymore. If we want to reach and influence audiences, we need a new approach. We must st…

SEO and PPC are two of the most important strategies for increasing your website’s visibility. While they both aim to attract more traffic, they operate differently. They also serve different purposes. Here, we’ll discuss SEO vs. Pay-per-click advertising and how to choose the best option for you. Table of contents Understanding SEO and PPC What’s the difference between SEO and PPC? Pros and cons of SEO Pros and cons of PPC Conclusion SEO vs Pay-per-click Understanding SEO and PPC As we all know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It consists of everything you do to get your site higher rankings in the original search results. Those tactics are th…

Google Search is now offering detailed shopping for product queries in the AI Overviews. Google will first give you a summary answer, which you can then expand, which will provide a super long and detailed breakdown comparison between the two products. What it looks like. If you search for [iphone 15 vs iphone 15 pro] Google will first give you this summary box: When you click on “see full comparison,” Google will then break down the very specific details (click to enlarge the image): More examples. I spotted this via Blair MacGregor who shared this example of Google comparing two bike models: Another example of an AI Overview Google's experimen…

SEO is a fast-moving, marketing-centric industry that will always keep you on your toes. If you’re just getting started, it can be overwhelming without a guide. There are many facets and specializations in SEO that come later in a career – local, technical, content, digital PR, UX, ecommerce, media – the list goes on. However, that level of specialization isn’t something a junior professional needs to focus on right away. Much like a liberal arts degree or an apprenticeship, a newcomer to SEO should first develop a broad understanding of the entire discipline before choosing a specialty. This article covers several ways to build that foundational kn…

Branded search refers to the results that Google or an LLM (like ChatGPT) shows when someone searches for your brand name. Whether you’re a small company or a large, established brand, ranking highly for these queries is essential – but it’s not always easy. If your brand is new or shares its name with other entities (such as a town, a film, or another company), search engines may prioritize other meanings. Even if your brand name is unique, it takes time for search engines and users to associate it with your business. Optimizing for branded search helps ensure your brand appears prominently and accurately in search results. What are branded keywords…

Microsoft is bringing more transparency to its search advertising with a new feature that explains ad placement decisions directly in Bing results. Details: The feature appears as a dropdown option next to ad URLs in Bing search results Currently shows varying levels of detail depending on the user or region How it works. When users click the dropdown arrow next to a search ad’s URL, they can access a dialog box that explains why that particular advertisement was selected for display. Barry Schwartz reports seeing only a generic “Learn how your ads are chosen” message on Search Engine Roundtable. Others, like Digital Marketer, Khushal Bherwani, report …

The way people search for information is changing, and Gen Z is leading the shift. Instead of turning to Google, they’re searching on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, and Discord for everything from product recommendations to restaurant reviews and how-to guides. This isn’t just a trend – it’s a fundamental shift in digital discovery. Google usage among Gen Z has dropped by 25% compared to Gen X, a 2024 Forbes study shows. eMarketer reports that 46% of Gen Z and 35% of millennials prefer social media over traditional search engines. Why? They crave fast, visual, and community-driven content rather than sifting through traditional search resu…

PPC marketing isn’t easy. Juggling campaigns across Google, Microsoft Bing, and social platforms while maximizing every click is a challenge – and those clicks aren’t cheap. That’s why Chrome extensions are PPC game-changers. They sit in your browser, ready to help without the hassle of switching tools. Imagine this: you’re analyzing competitors, tweaking ad copy, and tracking keywords – all without juggling tabs or draining your focus. The best part? Most top extensions are free. No budget approvals, no learning curve – just click, install, and start optimizing faster. Whether you’re a PPC pro or just starting out, the right Chrome extensions ca…

After 12+ years in SEO, selling to hundreds of clients – from small businesses to global brands – I’ve learned what works when it comes to landing and retaining SEO clients. While every client is unique, there are clear strategies that consistently lead to success. This article tackles my best advice for winning new SEO clients, along with insights from top industry professionals. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale, these proven tactics will help you build a strong client pipeline. 1. Start small When building your SEO business, you can go after big clients (“whales”) or smaller ones (“rabbits”). While whales bring higher revenue,…

Understanding the difference between search bots and scrapers is crucial for SEO. Website crawlers fall into two categories: First-party bots, which you use to audit and optimize your own site. Third-party bots, which crawl your site externally – sometimes to index your content (like Googlebot) and other times to extract data (like competitor scrapers). This guide breaks down first-party crawlers that can improve your site’s technical SEO and third-party bots, exploring their impact and how to manage them effectively. First-party crawlers: Mining insights from your own website Crawlers can help you identify ways to improve your technical SEO. …

If you feel like you’re being pulled in different directions with your SEO program, you aren’t alone. How do you know where to focus first for the most impact? And when that’s done, what do you do next? It can be challenging to decide which SEO tasks to prioritize because they all impact the end user in some way – but some more than others. This is where discernment comes into play. This article will help you build a path to get your SEO program organized from point A to point B and figure out how to prioritize tasks to get ROI quicker. Frameworks for identifying high-impact SEO opportunities When every SEO task feels urgent, knowing where to focus fi…

Google Product Studio is now available within Google Business Profiles. This allows you to edit the background scenes of your products within your local listing using Google’s AI features. Product studio is already available within Google services including Google Merchant Center and Google Ads, and is now available within Google Business Profiles. More details. Google community manager, Kara, posted about this news in the Google Business Profile forums and wrote: “We’re excited to announce that you can now change the background scene of your product with Product Studio, a generative AI tool which helps you create engaging imagery to showcase your products.” …

SEO is, for a large part, all about getting the right content in front of the right audience. When you’ve been doing that for a while, there comes a time when you want to scale content production. Scaling content creation means you aim to make more content to reach new targets. While that’s a good idea, you need to find a way to scale while keeping the same level of quality you’ve always had. Let’s go over how to scale your content production step by step, showing common problems and solutions. Table of contents What is content scaling? Why scaling content matters The biggest challenges in scaling content Building a repeatable content creation process Strategies to …

Google’s Gemini AI could eventually become an advertising platform, with CEO Sundar Pichai hinting at “native ad concepts” during the company’s earnings call. The big picture: Gemini currently offers a free tier and paid subscription options Pichai signaled potential future advertising integration The company plans $75 billion in capital expenditures this year to advance AI capabilities What they are saying. “We always want to lead with the user experience and we do have very good ideas for native ad concepts,” Pichai told investors. Why we care. Gemini represents a massive potential new ad platform with sophisticated targeting capabilities. Google’…

When most businesses start an SEO program, their primary goal is growth – more organic traffic, higher rankings, and increased revenue. But in today’s search landscape, maintaining your visibility is just as important. With the rise of AI-driven search, AI Overviews, and zero-click results, organic growth is harder to achieve. Nearly 60% of Google searches end without a click – so where will future growth come from? The reality is that without ongoing SEO efforts, organic traffic will decline. To survive, businesses must see SEO not just as a growth engine, but as a way to protect and maintain their existing organic visibility. This article make…

Search is evolving, and social platforms are now at the heart of discovery. Pinterest, in particular, has emerged as a powerful visual search engine, driving traffic and engagement for brands, bloggers, and businesses. Unlike traditional social media, which thrives on conversations and real-time interactions, Pinterest is built for intent-driven discovery – where users actively seek inspiration, ideas, and products. This presents a unique opportunity for search marketers. Pinterest users often arrive with high intent, making it an invaluable platform for organic visibility and referral traffic. To maximize discoverability, understanding how Pinterest…

Sticking to the same set of keywords in your paid search campaigns might feel safe, but it can limit your reach. Consumers search in countless ways, often using terms you may not have considered. To stay competitive – whether you’re scaling your budget, chasing growth goals, or trying to revitalize PPC performance – you must identify and fill keyword gaps. Here’s how. Keyword tools Google’s built-in Keyword Planner (and Microsoft’s equivalent product) provides a natural starting point for researching additional keywords. The tool can automatically filter out existing keywords in your account so you can easily see new suggestions. You can use Keywo…

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…

A majority of marketing leaders are diversifying and adjusting their strategies due to AI search, the fragmentation of search, and a potential Google breakup, according to a new survey from enterprise SEO platform Botify. Why we care. SEO continuing to change. Quickly. ChatGPT and other generative/answer engines have the potential to reshape the search paradigm. Meanwhile, more people believe Google’s search quality is in declining (in part due to AI Overviews taking over the most valuable space in search results and brutal algorithm updates). And many sites are seeing the erosion of organic traffic from Google. The big picture. 62% of marketing leaders said they …

If you noticed that your local business listing on Google is showing fewer reviews, you are not alone. Since Friday, tons of reviews have been disappearing from the local listings within Google Search and Google Maps. More details. On Friday, I reported on the issue on the Search Engine Roundtable, not knowing if it was a bug or a feature. I noticed dozens and dozens of complaint threads popping up in the Google Business Profiles forums from concerned small businesses and local SEOs. Some businesses say they lost only a few reviews, while others say they lost dozens of positive reviews. Some say the count of reviews is not adding up and the reviews themselves …

A Position 1 ranking only matters if your result resonates with users and earns clicks. That’s why optimizing your click-through rate (CTR) is just as crucial as climbing the search results. By analyzing your current performance and making strategic improvements, you can turn rankings into real traffic. This article provides actionable tips to boost CTR, attract more clicks, and maximize your SEO efforts. Understanding the role of CTR in SEO CTR is a crucial SEO metric that’s often overlooked. For years, it was considered an indirect factor, but the antitrust trial against Google revealed that CTR is used as a ranking signal. Regardless of its…