SEO Tools and Resources

Google Analytics is enhancing its reporting capabilities with three new features designed to help users better understand their data and identify potential tracking issues. Percentage values are now included in all detailed reports, new notifications flag missing session_start events and system alerts also highlight high rates of “(not set)” values. Percentages now standard in reports. Google has added percentage values to each row across all detailed reports in both the “Reports” and “Ads” modules. The new percentage columns allow analysts to immediately see which traffic sources, pages, or campaigns are driving the most significant portions of their results…

Google streamlined the process for importing cost data into Analytics, reducing mandatory fields and offering more flexible reporting options. The big picture. Marketers can now import cost data with just three core requirements: source, medium, and date, eliminating previous constraints around campaign names and IDs. Key updates. Including the following fields allows for more detailed reporting. Without them, Google Analytics will report cost data in aggregate when dimensions like campaign name or ID are queried. Simplified required fields. You now only need three fields to import cost data: Source: Where the traffic originated. Medium: The type of traff…

“This call is being recorded for Google algorithm optimization purposes.” On April 22, Google Ads notified Local Services Ads (LSA) advertisers of a significant update to its Terms of Service, asserting the right to use, modify, and analyze all content within an advertiser’s LSA profile, including phone calls from prospective customers. These rights extend not only across Google’s platforms, products, and services, but also to its affiliates. And yes, Google has already been digitally eavesdropping on LSA phone calls. In July 2024, they replaced the previously manual (and relatively accurate) lead dispute process with an automated, AI-driven system. …

Google AI Mode is now here and available within Google Search Labs; it is a new search mode that goes beyond AI Overviews with a more immersive Google Search AI interface that provides “more advanced reasoning, thinking and multimodal capabilities,” Google announced. Google also announced that AI Overviews are now powered by Gemini 2.0 and that AI Overviews are now available for teenagers, a login is not required for access to these AI answers anymore. AI Mode AI Mode is a new tab within Google Search, right now only for those accepted into the Google Search Labs experiment, that brings you into a more AI-like interface. Google said AI Mode “is particularly hel…

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 …

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…

In the first quarter of 2025, I ran a data study to understand how often Google changes title tags – and why. While it’s well known that Google frequently rewrites titles, I wanted to dig deeper: What factors trigger these changes? Are some pages more prone to rewrites than others? Most SEO professionals develop their own title tag strategies based on a mix of Google’s guidance, industry advice, and personal experience. Yet, when I searched for actual data on how and why Google modifies title tags, I found only one notable case study – by Cyrus Shepard in 2023. That left me with more questions: Does search volume play a role? What abo…

Google had this really visible bug over the past week, where the number of reviews shown on a Google Business Profile, was showing fewer reviews than it should have. In short, Google was not adding up the reviews accurately but no reviews were actually removed from the business listing. That being said, Google posted an update that it has resolved the bulk of the issues but there still may be some that are not fully restored yet. The remaining reviews count should be fixed within the coming days, Google said. What Google said. Victoria Kroll from Google posted an updated statement last night in the forums saying: Most affected profiles now display accurate …

Google is crediting its AI advancement, such as Gemini, to help detect and remove fake reviews and listings within Google Maps. “AI has been a pivotal tool in helping us stop scammers in their tracks, and we’re now using it to scale our protections even more,” Google wrote. The metrics. Google shared these metrics for its battle over Google Maps spam: Google blocked or removed more than 240 million policy-violating removed more than 240 million policy-violating reviews from 2024. Google added that “the vast majority of which were removed before they were seen.” Google blocked or removed more than 70 million policy-violating edits to places on Google Maps. …

Google now lets you automatically add screenshots of landing pages in Demand Gen campaigns. This new feature is designed to boost engagement. The feature appears as a checkbox option labeled “Show a screenshot of your landing page in your ads” and is reportedly enabled by default for some advertisers. Who benefits: Companies with visually appealing websites. Advertisers looking to A/B test visual preview creatives against standard formats. Campaigns focused on demand generation video ads, where visual elements are crucial. The catch. The landing page screenshot becomes part of the ad creative itself, making the visual quality of destination pag…

Google is rolling out new conversion tracking columns for Demand Gen campaigns, giving advertisers a more nuanced view of social-style performance tracking. Details. 100% attribution to last Demand Gen touchpoint. Available at campaign and ad group levels. Specifically designed for platform-to-platform comparisons. Why we care. Advertisers can now directly compare Demand Gen campaign performance with paid social platforms, using view-through conversion data that provides a more comprehensive attribution model. The big picture. The new Platform Comparable conversion columns offer a specialized tracking method that: Isolates only Demand Gen inte…

Earlier this month, we reported that Google will be bringing Discover to the desktop version of Google’s home page. We don’t know exactly when that will roll out but Google has been testing it. Google Search Console has Discover performance reports that let you track how well your site is performing within Google Discover. And over the past day or so, there was a hack to see the Discover performance report broken out by desktop and mobile. But that hack was quietly disabled this morning. How it worked. Brodie Clark first spotted the hack and posted about it on LinkedIn, and then John Shehata shared some early data of mobile vs desktop Discover performance with t…

Google announced the public beta of Display & Video 360 API v4 last week, alongside significant updates to v3. Key changes in v4. Mandatory optimization objective field for new insertion orders Removal of Campaign and InsertionOrder resource targeting management Renaming of FirstAndThirdPartyAudience to FirstPartyAndPartnerAudience Additional features in v3 and v4. Asset-based creative support Integral Ad Science quality sync integration Expanded geographic region targeting options Why we care. The beta release of Display & Video 360 API v4 and new v3 features gives advertisers enhanced capabilities for programmatic advertising ma…

Google has dropped its AI while browsing feature, formerly known as SGE while browsing. Google didn’t say why it removed the feature but posted a note in its help documentation that the feature is no longer. What is AI while browsing. Google originally wrote: “SGE while browsing was specifically designed to help people more deeply engage with long-form content from publishers and creators, and make it easier to find what you’re looking for while browsing the web. On some web pages you visit, you can tap to see an AI-generated list of the key points an article covers, with links that will take you straight to what you’re looking for directly on the page. We’ll als…

Google today announced upcoming updates to its Demand Gen advertising platform. These include new controls over ad placement and enhanced creative tools, while setting a timeline to retire its Video Action Campaigns. The big picture. These changes represent Google’s push for advertisers to create more engaging visual content and better measure its performance against social media campaigns. The details: New channel controls (starting in March): Advertisers will be able to precisely choose ad placement across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail. Specific targeting for YouTube Shorts will become available. Google Display inventory will be added, reaching over 9…

Google is adding more engagement options to Performance Max campaigns, adding Message assets alongside those already available in Search campaigns. What’s new: The Message assets functionality, previously exclusive to Search ads, was spotted by digital marketer Emirhan Bayutmuş and is now available in Performance Max campaigns. This feature allows users to initiate conversations with businesses directly from ads, enhancing engagement. Google has updated their message asset help document to reflect this update. Why we care. The expansion gives advertisers another way to connect with potential customers directly through chat-based interactions, potenti…

Google’s AI-powered match type Search Max is rolling out to more accounts, bringing automated ad optimization to Search campaigns. How it works: Expanded search term matching. Google extends beyond existing keywords and match types, using landing pages, headlines, and descriptions to surface new, relevant searches. Text & URL optimization. Google dynamically selects the most relevant landing pages and pairs them with optimized headlines and descriptions. Automatically created assets. Search Max now incorporates AI-generated ad components, further streamlining ad creation. Why we care. Search Max aims to increase conversions by dynamically tailoring…

Google vehicle ads now accept listings for recreational vehicles (RVs) and campers. This broadens the scope beyond traditional automobiles. The details. The expansion, announced Feb. 28, allows RV and camper dealers to showcase their inventory directly in Google search results, similar to how car dealerships have been using the platform. The catch. Dealers must maintain valid dealership licenses in all states, territories, or provinces where their RVs and campers are located or offered for sale – the same requirement that applies to other vehicle categories. Why we care. Dealerships can now reach potential buyers searching for recreational vehicles directly th…

The European Commission is preparing to charge Google with violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA) after the tech giant’s proposed changes to search results failed to satisfy regulators and rivals, according to sources familiar with the matter. The big picture. The EU has been investigating Google since March 2023 over concerns that it favors its own services — like Google Shopping, Flights, and Hotels — over competitors in search results. Google’s recent tweaks to search results were meant to address regulator and industry concerns, but critics argue the changes don’t go far enough. The company has warned that further modifications could remove useful feature…

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 is facing a new class action lawsuit in the UK that accuses the search giant of abusing its market power and driving up search ad prices. By the numbers: £5 billion ($6.6 billion U.S.): The potential damages Google faces. 90%: Google’s share of UK search advertising revenue, according to a 2020 CMA study. 13+ years: The period covered by the lawsuit (January 2011 to present). The details. Competition law academic Or Brook filed the lawsuit today in the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, alleging Google has: Restricted competing search engines. Created a monopolistic position in search advertising. Forced businesses to use its ad services …

Alphabet spent much of its Q1 2025 earnings call last night talking up the growth of AI Overviews, but dodged a question seeking clarity on how Google’s AI-generated answers impact click-through rates and conversion. Why we care. Did Google decide that last night wasn’t “the moment to go into details of click-through rate and conversion and so on” because they don’t want to state what is becoming clear to most of us? That click-through rates from AI Overviews are, simply, lower? Because, on the organic side, data shows that is certainly the case (see our Dig Deeper section, below). Many websites have seen traffic decline since AI Overviews launched last May. The e…

Google announced new creative tools in Google Ads, leveraging its Imagen 3 AI model to generate lifestyle imagery across Performance Max, Demand Gen, Display, and Apps campaigns. How it works. Advertisers can input specific prompts like “middle-aged man chopping carrots,” with options to customize age, gender, race, and ethnicity while maintaining control over final image selection. Key features: Text-to-image AI generation for humans – a first for Google Ads. Asset-audience recommendations to improve ad targeting. Asset testing for Performance Max campaigns with feed-only strategies. AI-generated image suggestions coming soon for even faster creativ…

Google confirmed to Adweek it will “explore bringing ads” to its new AI Mode search experience. The company will use lessons from ads already running in AI Overviews to inform its approach. Ad buyers warn that user behavior in AI Mode’s conversational interface could reduce ad effectiveness. Big picture. Google is looking to monetize its newest AI search experience, telling AdWeek it plans to “explore bringing ads” into AI Mode — the conversational search feature launched in beta this week. It executes multiple searches simultaneously to answer complex queries. While ads aren’t yet appearing in AI Mode, Google’s approach will be informed by what it learns from…

Google started placing ads inside chat conversations with some third-party AI assistants, according to a Bloomberg report, marking another step in its push to monetize AI-powered search alternatives. Driving the news. Google’s AdSense network — traditionally used for placing ads in search results and across websites — is now running ads within chatbot interactions, according to people familiar with the rollout. The company reportedly began testing the feature earlier this year with conversational AI search startups iAsk and Liner. A Google spokesperson confirmed that AdSense is available “for websites that want to show relevant ads in their conversational AI e…