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The latest TikTok trend is leading to fire evacuations at schools across Connecticut. As part of the trend, students are filming themselves inserting items such as pencils, paper clips, and push pins into the charging ports of their school Chromebooks to set them on fire. Why? For a laugh and a brief break from schoolwork. One such “tutorial” gained 1.5 million views on TikTok before being removed, showing a student pushing a lead pencil into the back left corner of the port. “You might have to wiggle it a bit,” the user explained. Another student tried to film a “how-to” video last week, managing to cause a laptop fire and triggering an evacuation at Newington High School, as reported by WDBJ7. Since Monday, both Derby High School and Cromwell High School have experienced similar incidents. “On Thursday, I was alerted by both my director of security and high school principal that we had a Chromebook that was smoking,” Maureen Brummett, superintendent of Newington Public Schools, told NBC Connecticut. She further explained that after an investigation, it was clear that the damage to the laptop was “done intentionally” rather than being a result of a malfunction, and that students would be held accountable for replacing the school equipment. “Chromebooks are expensive and they’re going up in price, so when a student does intentionally destroy a Chromebook, it’s their responsibility to replace it. We have an insurance program, but it’s not covering intentional damage,” she added. DJ Zordon, a Newington fire marshal, described arriving at the scene to find a room filled with smoke. “We did see video from students… and that’s one of the biggest things. The batteries that are essentially catching on fire, once they burn, they’re producing this toxic smoke,” Zordon told NBC Connecticut. For those thinking about participating in the trend, the consequences go beyond just a damaged Chromebook. “The school has to be evacuated, firefighters respond to the firehouse and subsequently to the scene, and it takes resources away from any other emergencies that might be happening at that time,” Zordon added. While no injuries have been reported, when batteries like those in laptops catch fire, there is a risk of explosion, which could lead to burns or injury from flying shrapnel. Investigations are ongoing across the schools, and warnings have been issued to students and their families. Maybe this is one trend to skip. View the full article

Unlike Middle Eastern kingdoms, the US is a debtor nationView the full article

When I asked experts for their #1 PPC tip for beginners (see my introduction to search ads), many said it’s smart to focus on keywords that are less popular, more specific, and cheaper. This guide will help you find those…Read more ›View the full article

LinkedIn just released its 2025 Grad Guide highlighting the fastest-growing cities, industries, and job titles for new workers with and without a bachelor’s degree. A variety of industries and professions made the list. However, the new data offers a few surprises when it comes to what grads and non-grads are pursuing most often, with many non-grads heading into careers that once required college degrees—and many graduates in fields that don’t. When it comes to where young professionals are moving post-college, the Sun Belt states, including Tucson, Dallas, Tulsa, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, are turning into hot locations for new graduates to get to work. Entry-level non-grads are heading to big cities more often. San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, Boston, Miami, and D.C. all made the list. But so did a few smaller hubs like Detroit and Orlando. Entry-level workers without a degree joining a variety of industries, with the fastest-growing fields being customer service, education, and real estate. Notably, financial services, a field which has typically required a college degree, is also on the list, meaning young professionals are breaking into the field in other ways that don’t involve four years of formal education. Marketing seems to be hugely popular for non-grads, too. It shows up three times on the list of the fastest-growing entry-level jobs, meaning marketing skills can be learned outside of a four-year college—perhaps by tech-savvy Gen Zers leaning into skills they learned by coming of age with social media at their fingertips. Non-grads are more frequently becoming marketing specialists, social media marketing specialists, and marketing coordinators. College grads are also joining a variety of industries, including in fields that don’t traditionally require a college degree. Case in point: Number one on the list of fastest-growing fields is construction. Real estate, utilities, wholesale, and administrative services were all growing fields for college graduates, too. Perhaps least surprisingly, new grads are leaning into technology, with artificial intelligence engineers landing as the fastest-growing job on the list. View the full article

A hearing Wednesday before Nevada’s high court could provide the first public window into a secretive legal dispute over who will control Rupert Murdoch’s powerful media empire after he dies. The case has been unfolding behind closed doors in state court in Reno, with most documents under seal. But reporting by The New York Times, which said it obtained some of the documents, revealed Murdoch’s efforts to keep just one of his sons, Lachlan, in charge and ensure that Fox News maintains its conservative editorial slant. Media outlets including the Times and The Associated Press are now asking the Nevada Supreme Court to unseal the case and make future hearings public. The court is scheduled to hear arguments in the afternoon in Carson City, the capital. Murdoch’s media empire, which also includes The Wall Street Journal and New York Post, spans continents and helped to shape modern American politics. Lachlan Murdoch has been the head of Fox News and News Corp. since his father stepped down in 2023. The issue at the center of the case is Rupert Murdoch’s family trust, which after his death would divide control of the company equally among four of his children — Lachlan, Prudence, Elisabeth and James. Irrevocable trusts are typically used to limit estate taxes, among other reasons, and can’t be changed without permission from the beneficiaries or via a court order. Rupert Murdoch has attempted to alter the trust, however, and Prudence, Elisabeth and James have united to try to stop that. James and Elisabeth are both known to have less conservative political views than their father or brother, potentially complicating the media mogul’s desire to keep Fox News’s political tone. The dispute has had many twists and turns, including a probate commissioner ruling against Rupert Murdoch in December. In a 96-page opinion, the commissioner characterized the plan to change the trust as a “carefully crafted charade” to “permanently cement Lachlan Murdoch’s executive roles” inside the empire “regardless of the impacts such control would have over the companies or the beneficiaries” of the family trust, according to the Times. Adam Streisand, a lawyer for Rupert Murdoch, told the newspaper at the time that they were disappointed with the ruling and intended to appeal. Another evidentiary hearing is scheduled for this month. —Associated Press View the full article

Summer brings sunshine, vacations, outdoor concerts—and the inability to leave your house without accidentally spending 20 bucks. Your budget is never a truly fixed thing. It changes with the state of the economy (hello, tariffs), your paycheck, and even the changing of the seasons. With a bit of planning, you can enjoy all the summer season has to offer without the financial stress. Here are my hacks to create a practical summer budget that lets you make the most of these warmer months without breaking the bank. Plan around events, not calendar datesOne of the biggest summer budgeting mistakes is thinking in terms of months rather than specific activities. Instead of creating a general "July budget," break down your summer into the actual events you plan to attend: Family beach vacation Wedding weekend Local festivals Holiday celebrations Back-to-school shopping By organizing your budget around specific events, you can allocate funds more precisely and avoid the "where did my money go?" feeling at the end of the month. Set a weekly "spontaneous spend" capSummer weekends often bring impromptu invitations—a backyard BBQ where you need to bring something, a last-minute beach day, or an outdoor concert you just heard about. Rather than letting these spur-of-the-moment activities derail your budget, create a dedicated "spontaneous spend" allowance each week. Whether it's $30 or $100, having this pre-approved fun money gives you the freedom to say "yes" to unexpected opportunities without guilt, while still maintaining financial boundaries. Embrace "themed" savings accountsI've said before that dividing your money into multiple accounts helps you see all your saving goals separately, so they’ll be easier to track. Similar to cash stuffing (where you can only spend money in a certain category from its designated envelope), this approach forces you to be more intentional and disciplined about where your money is going. Create separate digital envelopes or savings accounts for your major summer expenses: summer travel, kids' camp costs, recurring happy hour appointments, and so on. Most online banks let you create multiple savings buckets at no extra cost. By keeping these funds separate from your regular checking account, you'll resist the temptation to dip into your vacation money for everyday expenses. Implement the 24-hour rule for summer purchasesWhen temperatures rise, so does impulse spending on seasonal items like new patio furniture, outdoor gear, or summer fashion. Combat this by instituting a 24-hour waiting period for any non-essential purchase over $50. Often, the cooling-off period reveals that you don't actually need that inflatable pool flamingo or designer sunglasses. For larger purchases, extend this to a 48-hour or even 72-hour rule. Create a summer-specific meal planFood costs typically increase during summer months due to social gatherings, vacation eating, and, you know, the temptation of ice-cream trucks. Some ways you can combat this: Planning picnic-friendly, portable meals that work for beach days or park outings Researching grocery stores at your vacation destination and planning a "first day" shopping trip Setting a specific "dining out" budget for vacation days Taking advantage of seasonal produce that's cheaper during summer months A summer-focused meal plan acknowledges that your eating patterns change with the season while keeping food expenses in check. Plus, it gives you an excuse to get into some new recipes! Check out my colleague Allie Reinmann's tips for making the most of summer berries, or whipping up a budget-friendly summery shrimp roll. Audit your subscription services before vacationsBefore heading out on summer trips, take inventory of your subscription services. Are you paying for streaming services you won't use while traveling? Consider pausing memberships like: Gym memberships Meal kit deliveries Beauty box subscriptions Digital subscriptions you won't have time for Many services offer pause options rather than full cancellations, making it easy to temporarily reduce monthly expenses during your heaviest travel periods. Build in budget buffer zonesEven the best budget needs flexibility, especially during summer. As you're estimating travel costs and setting spend caps, add a 15% buffer. Gas prices, summer storms, and all other kinds of unexpected costs always emerge. This buffer creates financial breathing room and prevents minor overages from snowballing into major budget problems. The bottom lineSummer should be about creating memories, not financial stress. A little preparation now means you can focus on sunshine and fun later—without the looming dread of post-summer credit card bills. Remember that the best summer budget isn't necessarily the tightest one, but rather the one that aligns with your priorities and gives you permission to enjoy what matters most to you this season. View the full article

Paris hopes Chancellor Friedrich Merz will bring new dynamism to European defence projectsView the full article

For example, let’s say your brand gets 20,000 searches in a month, and your three main competitors get 15,000, 10,000, and 5,000 searches, respectively. The total branded search volume in your category is 50,000. To calculate your share of search:…Read more ›View the full article

The Federal Reserve could keep its key rate unchanged for several more months as it evaluates the impact of President Donald The President’s widespread tariffs on hiring and inflation, some economists say, even as the White House pushes for a rate cut. The Fed is nearly certain to keep its rate unchanged when it concludes its latest policy meeting Wednesday. Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed officials have signaled that they want to see how the duties—including 145% on all imports from China—impact consumer prices and the economy. The central bank’s caution could lead to more conflict between the Fed and the The President administration. On Sunday, The President again urged the Fed to cut rates in a television interview and said Powell “just doesn’t like me because I think he’s a total stiff.” With inflation not far from the Fed’s 2% target for now, The President and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argue that the Fed could reduce its rate. The Fed pushed it higher in 2022 and 2023 to fight inflation. If the Fed were to cut, it could lower other borrowing costs, such as for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards, though that is not guaranteed. The President also said Sunday he wouldn’t fire Powell because the chair’s term ends next May and he will be able to appoint a new chair then. Yet if the economy stumbles in the coming months, The President could renew his threats to remove Powell. A big issue facing the Fed is how tariffs will impact inflation. Nearly all economists and Fed officials expect the import taxes will lift prices, but it’s not clear by how much or for how long. Tariffs typically cause a one-time increase in prices, but not necessarily ongoing inflation. Yet if The President announces further tariffs—as he has threatened to do on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and copper—or if Americans worry that inflation will get worse, that could send prices higher in a more persistent way. Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, said this could keep the Fed on the sidelines until September. “It’s hard for them to cut sooner because they’ve got to weigh, what’s the inflation impact?” Bostjancic said. “Is this going to be somewhat persistent and add to inflation expectations?” Economists and the Fed are closely watching inflation expectations, which are essentially a measure of how much consumers are concerned that inflation will worsen. Higher inflation expectations can be self-fulfilling, because it Americans think prices will rise, they can take steps that push up costs, such as asking for higher wages. For now, the U.S. economy is mostly in solid shape, and inflation has cooled considerably from its peak in 2022. Consumers are spending at a healthy pace, though some of that may reflect buying things like cars ahead of tariffs. Businesses are still adding workers at a steady pace, and unemployment is low. Still, there are signs inflation will worsen in the coming months. Surveys of both manufacturing and services firms show that they are seeing higher prices from their suppliers. And a survey by the Federal Reserve’s Dallas branch found that nearly 55% of manufacturing firms expect to pass on the impact of tariff increases to their customers. “The bottom line is that inflation will be rising significantly over the next six months,” Torsten Slok, chief economist at the Apollo Group, said in an email. Yet the tariffs could also weigh heavily on the economy, particularly because of the uncertainty they have created. Huge tariffs on about 60 other nations, announced April 2, were then postponed until July 9, but could be reimposed. Business surveys show that firms are postponing investment decisions until they have greater clarity. Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said the uncertainty surrounding trade policy gives him “night terrors.” “The economics of uncertainty are absolutely suffocating,” Sweet said. “Businesses that don’t know the rules of the road, their knee-jerk reaction is to sit on their hands. And that’s what they’re doing.” But if the uncertainty delays hiring, slows the economy and pushes up the unemployment rate, the Fed could quickly shift toward interest rate cuts. A sharp economic slowdown could eventually cool inflation by itself, economists say. “If you felt like the economy was really slowing down, then I think that would probably take precedence (over inflation), because usually the way the committee thinks is that will also drag inflation somewhat with it,” said Jim Bullard, former president of the Federal Reserve’s St. Louis branch, and currently dean of Purdue University’s business school. In March, the Fed signaled that it could cut rates twice this year. But since then, the The President administration imposed duties that Powell said last month were larger and broader than the Fed expected. The duties, Powell acknowledged, could both slow growth and lift prices, which puts the Fed in a tough spot. It would usually cut rates to boost growth and hiring, while it would raise them to cool spending and inflation. Powell signaled that if the two goals came into conflict, Fed officials would put more weight on inflation concerns. “Without price stability, we cannot achieve the long periods of strong labor market conditions that benefit all Americans,” Powell said. —Christopher Rugaber, AP Economics Writer View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Microsoft announced a pair of ultraportable Surface devices yesterday, both of which differ significantly from their predecessors. There's the creatively named Surface Laptop 13-inch, which is shrunken down from the previous model's 13.8-inches, as well as a new version of the Surface Pro, which is down from 13-inches to a 12-inch chassis. Like the rest of the Surface lineup, both are positioned to compete in the same space as Apple's MacBook Air, which comes in 13-inch and 15-inch varieties, and the latter could even potentially come for the iPad Pro, which hovers around a similar price point. The trick this time around? Aside from being smaller, they're also cheaper. The compromisesAlong with shrinking the sizes and prices on these new Surface devices, Microsoft has also cut down the specs a bit to match. The 13-inch laptop, available in ocean (a metallic blue), violet, or platinum finishes, slashes the resolution of the previous iteration down from 2304 x 1536 to 1920 x 1280, to accommodate the smaller display. The panel also lacks HDR, and the refresh rate has dropped from 120Hz down to 60Hz. The 12-inch Pro model also, notably, doesn't include a keyboard by default, although this isn't entirely unique for the Surface Pro. The Surface keyboard has been redesigned, too, and while it still connects magnetically, it lays flat rather than at an angle. Additionally, Microsoft has ditched the included slot for the Surface Pen, which will now attach to, and charge directly on, the back of the Surface Pro itself. Finally, the Pro's display has also dumped some refresh rate overboard, dropping to 90Hz from 120Hz, although it maintains a 2196 x 1464 resolution. Also gone from both Surface models are the handy Surface Connect ports with their magnetic attachment points, replaced with standard USB-C 3.2 ports. While this means fewer proprietary cables, it also means that there's a danger of tripping on the cord and, instead of having the cable easily disconnect, pulling your entire laptop onto the floor. Finally, for internals, both of the new Surface devices are built around the 8-Core Snapdragon X Plus chip from Qualcomm. These lose two cores off the default of prior models. Both also default to a respectable 16GB of RAM, though a fairly scant 256GB of storage, with the option to double it to 512GB (the default on prior models) if you're willing to pay for the privilege. Can these budget Surface models hold up against Apple?Generally, when it comes to raw specs, Apple's alternatives outclass these new Surface releases, with one caveat. Let's start with displays. Here, Apple has more features and supports higher resolutions. The Liquid Retina panel in the MacBook offers HDR with a resolution at 2560 x 1664, although it's also limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. Meanwhile, despite being smaller then the 12-inch Surface Pro, the iPad Pro 11-inch model sports a sharp 2420 x 1668 resolution (which can go up to 2752 x 2064 on the 13-inch version), plus it's OLED and has a variable refresh rate that tops out at 120Hz. As for performance, while the Snapdragon chip in the new Surfaces is certainly efficient, it doesn't compare favorably to Apple's M4 chip, which is at the heart of both the latest iPad Pro and MacBook Air. It falls behind in both single-core and multi-core performance, so Apple's devices have a clear advantage for those that prioritize horsepower. But one significant difference between the two Surface devices is how they're cooled, which sees at least one improvement over prior Surface iterations. Like the MacBook Air and iPad Pro, the smaller 12-inch Pro is completely fanless, and the more thermally efficient processor has also allowed Microsoft to remove the vents present in the previous version of the Pro. Sadly, the same can't be said of the 13-inch Surface Laptop, which still includes fans. Lower pricesMicrosoft's goal with these new models seems to have been to keep prices as low as possible, so these compromises do come with savings, and here is one spot where PC beats Mac. Starting prices for these models fall below $1,000 and, most importantly, below the MSRP of the MacBook Air and iPad Pro. The Surface Laptop 13-inch starts at $899 and the Surface Pro 12-inch at $799, while the base MacBook Air retails for $999 for the 13-inch model and $1,199 for the 15-inch model. The iPad Pro, meanwhile, starts at $999 for the 11-inch version and $1,299 for the 13-inch upgrade. If cost is king, the new Surface lineup may be the best fit for you, but bear in mind that there's only a $100 margin between the base price of the Surface Laptop and the MacBook Air. That said, upgrades are costly on both sides. Again, adding the keyboard to the 12-inch Pro will add another $150 to your price tag, and bumping the storage up to 512GB will inflate the price another $100, meaning you're looking at $1,049 for the full package. Similarly, the 13-inch laptop jumps another $100 if you want to increase the storage to 512GB, totaling $999. But upgrading nearly any facet of one of the Apple devices adds up quickly as well; for instance, jumping from 256GB to 512GB of storage on the Air will immediately add $200 to the price tag. So, as is common when looking at PC vs. Mac, the question ultimately comes down to price vs. performance. Surface is now more budget-friendly than ever, but there are compromises to keep in mind with those savings. Luckily, the rest of Microsoft's Surface lineup is still as available as ever, so if you pay up, you can find more performant alternatives to Apple's machines. The Surface Laptop 13-inch is available to preorder from Amazon, Microsoft, and other retailers. The Surface Pro 12-inch is also available for preorder from Best Buy, Microsoft, and Amazon, and both models will begin shipping on May 20th. View the full article

Google is getting worse – or at least, that’s what “we” say. The common complaint: Search is dying, SEO is trash, and Google is nearly unusable. X, LinkedIn, and Reddit are awash with complaints about deteriorating search quality. The contradicting reality: Search remains the dominant channel for web traffic. Google still holds 90% of the search market, grew 20% year over year, and processes 5 trillion searches annually. If it were truly broken, wouldn’t we have left by now? The complex truth: Poet John Keats described “negative capability” as the ability to hold conflicting ideas without demanding a simple answer. That’s where we are with Google: it may be improving in many ways while simultaneously feeling worse. The truth resists easy categorization. This article: Challenges the claim that Google is objectively worse. Explores the real ways it might have declined. Examines what the available data does and doesn’t show. Unpacks why it feels worse regardless of the facts. Explains why we still can’t say for sure if it actually is. Maintaining search quality is a deadly tightrope act Google wants to maximize profits. That means keeping us on its cash cow, search, and clicking on ads. Simple, right? Not quite. The deeper you go, the more complex the incentives become. To keep the machine running, Google has to: Keep shareholders happy. Send enough traffic to creators to keep them publishing. Keep advertisers spending. Deliver fast, relevant results to users. Every tweak to Search sets off a chain reaction across these groups, often creating tension or imbalance. Google makes more money by showing more ads, but that comes at the cost of user satisfaction. Ironically, the happier users are, the less Google earns compared to when users are just slightly less happy. Quality is a soft, slippery metric – hard to define and even harder to measure. Ask five people and you’ll get five definitions. When we talk about search quality, we mean this: Great content from reputable sources ranks well. The user finds what they need quickly and easily. That’s a solid proxy for user-centered quality, but it may not match Google’s priorities. To stay dominant and profitable, Google has to juggle the expectations of all its stakeholders. From its perspective, search quality improves if usage grows and revenue rises. What (could have) led to a decline in Google search quality? As the market leader, Google has always operated under pressure, but in the last 2–3 years, that pressure has intensified. Here are five external forces that have increasingly constrained Google’s strategy. Shopping no longer starts on Google Amazon has carved out a major share of high-value commercial queries. 59% of millennials use Amazon first for product searches. 50% of product searches start on Amazon. 61-74% of European shoppers use Amazon instead of Google. In response, Google: Changed SERP layouts (especially in the U.S.). Continued pushing the product grid SERP feature. Introduced AI-based and personalized shopping results in the Shopping tab. Social media is more engaging – and drives demand Social platforms have evolved into informal search engines, especially among younger users. 40% of Gen Z prefers TikTok or Instagram over Google for restaurant searches. Social is part of the “messy middle” of the purchase journey. TikTok excels in search, Instagram tries to model after them. Google is adapting by integrating more social-style features into search: Videos. Shorts. The Perspectives filter. AI incumbents reshaped the way we find information Despite pioneering transformer tech, Google hesitated – opening the door for competitors. Google isn’t a first mover and has to catch up. Bard (now Gemini) stumbled in early demos. “Funny” AI Overviews. While Gemini shows promise, Google is no longer the bold innovator. ChatGPT’s lead in user adoption is significant. Distrust toward Google Once guided by “don’t be evil,” Google now faces skepticism from all sides. Traffic to publishers is considered “a necessary evil.” They prioritize partners like Reddit. “They prefer themselves over everyone.” Can Google still be trusted? “Yes, as long as you aren’t a competitor, advertiser, or user.” 5. Legal pressure limits flexibility The DOJ’s antitrust trial is Google’s biggest legal challenge to date. The DOJ laid out its plan to regulate Google, which Google didn’t like (e.g., selling off Chrome, its magic powder). If Google is forced to sell Chrome, its power would decrease dramatically over time. Google’s dilemma under pressure With great power comes… fragility. Google’s dominance gives it unmatched reach – but it also makes every misstep a potential knockout. The result? A more cautious, mistake-averse strategy. 4 common arguments for why Google got worse (plus my two cents) 1. Google favors itself This is the most popular argument – and it’s not baseless. Louise Linehan analyzed the data and found: Google’s own store appears more often in AI Overviews than competitors. Google Flights is gaining visibility. In 50 of 57 cases, Google-owned properties saw increases in organic traffic. More recently, self-linking has expanded: People Also Ask now includes AI Overviews. AI Overviews link back to more Google search results. Things to know also loops users back into search. This argument has merit, but its weight depends on how the average user perceives these shifts. If users don’t mind being looped back into Google, it may not register as a problem. Google does earn more from ad clicks, not just pageviews. So, if users stay trapped in search without heading to monetizable queries, that’s not automatically a win for Google. The flywheel only works if they can direct that loop toward ads. 2. Google intentionally degrades search quality Some argue Google is deliberately making search worse to boost revenue (we’ll look at the data later). Revenue = Ad price x Query count. Google increased CPC over time and is incentivized to increase query volume. They’ve experimented with degrading quality before. But given today’s scrutiny and pressure, I doubt they can afford to run tests like that now. Their priorities – and risks – are different. 3. Google serves too much Reddit It’s true: Reddit’s presence in search results has exploded. Forum content is everywhere. Google partnered with Reddit for faster indexing. Reddit Answers is now powered by Gemini. But Reddit isn’t the only forum seeing gains. Reddit’s rise isn’t just about a deal, it reflects user preference. During Reddit’s blackouts, Google visibly panicked, signaling how much it relies on the platform. In 2023, 1% of all queries included Reddit. On Kagi, a customizable search engine, users can block, lower, raise, or pin domains. Reddit ranks low on the “blocked” list and high on the “raised” and “pinned” lists. 4. Google is good but not great AJ Kohn’s piece “It’s Goog Enough” makes a compelling case. He covers more than what’s listed here, so give the full article a read. Highlights include: Google pushed organic results 64% deeper down the SERP (2013 vs. 2020). Google increased the size of shopping ads by 34%. Google started placing ads between organic results. Google relies too much on brands (in my opinion, as a plaster for other problems like generative AI content floods). Google clutters SERPs with images and SERP features. AI Overviews compound the issue. They occupy space like any other SERP feature, but without user interaction. Sometimes, interacting with them can even hide organic results altogether. This argument lands: Google seems focused on preserving the status quo, not innovating. Still, users don’t seem too bothered. Plus, Bing is loading up on ads, and Google labels their ads more clearly. Most of these arguments are rooted in subjective impressions. So, what does the data actually say? Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. Is there scientific data to prove Google got worse? Google’s internal search quality study (2020) There was an internal search quality study at Google in 2020. For three months, Google degraded search by 1 IS point (equal to losing twice of Wikipedia’s information). Revenue losses were minuscule. Does this prove Google can make search worse on purpose? I don’t think so, at least not long-term. Three months is a short time. The minuscule revenue losses were first-order consequences. With measures like that, there are usually second- and third-order consequences. Recent survey data With any survey, tread cautiously. There are often problems with: Sample size. Samples not reflecting the general population. Suggestive questions. Additionally, what we say, what we do, and what we feel often differ quite a bit. Let’s look at three recent surveys: U.S. customers were more satisfied in 2023 than in the five years prior, per a Statista survey. About 42% find search engines like Google less useful, per The Verge’s “Remodeling the Internet” study. This means more than half find them more useful. 63% of people think that Google search results were better last year, per WalletHub. But there are caveats: Sample sizes were small, for instance: Statista: <1,000Verge: ~2,000WalletHub: ~9,000 Even combined, this isn’t enough to generalize broadly – especially globally. U.S.-centric: Search satisfaction in the U.S. doesn’t reflect global experience. The Verge survey used suggestive framing: Respondents were asked to agree/disagree with:“I find search engines like Google becoming less useful.” That phrasing nudges people toward a negative view. Still, there’s value in the expert commentary at the end of the WalletHub piece. Two responses in particular stood out. Rand Fishkin said (emphasis mine): “I think personal opinions about Google’s “quality” are not very meaningful. The data shows that Google has as many searches per searcher as ever and that their market dominance by share has never been stronger. To me, those are indications that, regardless of complaints by many tech-savvy folks, Google is doing as good a job as ever at keeping users and convincing them to come back.” Additionally, Michael King stated the following (emphasis mine): “SEOs and publishers are not the primary audience for Google, so if Google makes changes that generate better performance based on their evaluation measures, I am inclined to trust that because they have a top-level view of performance that someone from the outside can never have.” There are no good surveys to make the claim that Google got worse. ‘Is Google Getting Worse?’ study If you didn’t read this study yourself, you probably heard about it at least 386 times, as it “proves that Google got worse.” I refute. The study lasted from 2022 to 2023 and included 7,400 keywords with a pattern like “best [product category]”. A niche riddled by affiliate spam for decades. Even if the study concluded Google worsened in the tested field, that’s just one of many fields it plays in. Additionally, 2022-2023 might as well be the Paleolithic era in tech time – that’s how fast things move. How did the researchers measure quality? Type-token ratio (= vocabulary richness and diversity). Readability. Affiliate link presence (in the content). SEO proficiency. HTML page structure (emulating Google guidelines). From my SEO experience, this seems like a fraction of what Google measures to determine quality. But that doesn’t matter if you read the researchers’ conclusions (emphasis mine): “We find that search engines measurably target SEO and affiliate spam with their ranking updates. Google’s updates in particular are having a noticeable, yet mostly short-lived, effect. In fact, the Google results seem to have improved to some extent since the start of our experiment in terms of the amount of affiliate spam.” Basically: Google demonstrated improvements. Google outperforms Bing and DuckDuckGo at filtering spam. Content quality decreased across the board (it’s SEO goblins at work). Search quality can decrease without any changes from Google. The issue with all the data we have We don’t have enough of it, both in numbers and replication. The process for something to be scientifically proven is: The initial publication of a study undergoes peer reviews, which alone is not sufficient. The study undergoes replication attempts to verify the results, assume generalizability, and identify errors. One study, even if it was methodologically sound, isn’t enough to prove either side right. Why we think Google is worse (even if it isn’t) We mistake ourselves as the (only) target audience Tech-savvy people, especially SEOs (myself included), operate in a bubble. Our search experience isn’t comparable to a normal person. We “cry” about stuff the vast majority of people don’t care about. We are out of touch with reality. Also, there’s the Facebook effect. The idea is that we complain a lot, yet engage with the product as often or more frequently. Here are a few more examples: Ryanair is driving record numbers, yet public opinion suggests no one wants to fly with them. People say “Amazon is criminal,” yet the company makes more money than ever. I’ll add a personal anecdote. For a long time, a smart group of pro wrestling fans (the Internet Wrestling Community, called IWC) complained about WWE, the biggest wrestling company. Special forums, Reddit, and social media were plagued with negativity. Even in arenas, those “smart fans” were audible on camera. At the same time, WWE was doing well. A vocal minority that loves to complain, lament and moan about everything, yet, watches every show. Understand: We’re not the target audience. We’ve built a self-amplifying narrative History shows that if you tell a big enough lie and repeat it, people will eventually believe it, known as the illusory truth. I’m not saying “Google getting worse” is a lie. I don’t have the data to refute or verify my opinion, and neither does anyone else (besides Google). As market leader, Google is under close supervision. If they make a mistake, it rarely goes unnoticed and people talk about it, publishers write about it, and content creators document it. Once you “really see things for the first time,” they seem everywhere. This is the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. When you spot flaws in Google search (or their AI products), you’ll perceive them more frequently, especially if you’re looking for them. Taking shots at Google is mainstream in SEO, so better join the party: “The mentality of a herd makes it easy to manage. Simply get more members moving in the desired direction and the others – responding not so much to the lead animal as to those immediately surrounding them – will peacefully and mechanically go along.” – Robert Cialdini, psychologist and author We love to blame others It’s easier to point fingers at others than at ourselves. We like to think we’re the rational ones – “I’m not irrational, narcissistic, or greedy. It’s everyone else.” Google says: “Our systems find 40 billion spammy pages every day.” That’s 14,600,000,000,000 pages a year, an unimaginable number. Why do search engines (not just Google) struggle to combat spam and find quality content? It’s buried in the trash we put out there. More trash (for example, due to AI), the harder it is to surface great results. Even if you argue that the average content quality is higher, the bell curve changes: More average stuff = less bad and exceptional stuff. The center becomes easier to hit, the ends harder to notice. This leads to content entropy, where the perceived density of good content is shrinking. Search feels worse, but not due to any Google changes. Lastly, we produce more mediocre content and love to manipulate. There’s classic SEO manipulation like: Buying links. Faking E-E-A-T. Exploiting Reddit. Infesting high authority pages as parasite. With AI and LLMs reshaping the web, it’s starting to feel like the Wild West again. And when rules blur, some resort to tactics like: Strategic text sequencing. Hidden content (this still works). Cloaking. Bribes. SEO is weaponized for business and political impacts. How ironic, we have less fun and destroy the system’s usefulness. What really reveals how good or bad Google actually is Talk is cheap; behavior isn’t. Surveys and opinions can be misleading. What people do matters more than what they say. When someone claims, “No one Googles anymore,” chances are they’re either pushing an agenda or unaware of their own habits. In reality, 99.8% of LLM users still rely on Google. We don’t always say what we think or do what we say. But we reveal our true preferences through our actions, and Google still dominates. We can’t confidently say ‘Google got worse’ We don’t have enough data to make the claim. What we know: Google earns more money than ever. Google has more users than ever. Google’s stock price levels are better than ever (barring recent political influence). What we don’t know with certainty: If Google provides enough traffic or value for content creators to continue in the long run (currently, it looks like they do). If Google serves the best results in a fraction of a second. Google does a good job overall. Good enough to retain users and better than competitors. Google doesn’t need to provide the best product. It just needs to provide the least inconvenient option that’s easiest to justify. When I wrote this piece, two questions kept coming back to me: If Google search really got worse, when was it actually better? In 2013, I searched for a washing machine after moving out. The results were flooded with affiliate links from people who hadn’t tested the product. It’s not clear things were ever significantly better – just different. If Google got worse, wouldn’t that mean other search engines and LLMs got worse too? The study cited notes that Google struggles with spam – but so do Bing, DuckDuckGo, and others. LLMs aren’t immune either. ChatGPT leans on Bing. Google uses its own index. Perplexity claims independence but often sources from Google. Yes, search could be better. But this isn’t a Google problem – it’s a web problem. Search quality is a function of both the index and the content it pulls from. Google is the gardener, but it can only work with the plants we grow. What now? So, where do we go from here? Diversify your traffic portfolio: Google owes us nothing. We’re too dependent on them and they will do whatever satisfies most stakeholders well enough. Entertain negative capability: Resist forming a clean, emotionally driven narrative. Keep two opposing ideas in your head simultaneously and don’t jump to conclusions too quickly. Put biases aside and look for the truth: The truth of my analysis is that I don’t know. I can’t prove either side, and that’s OK. Sometimes, we have to live with ambiguity. Focus on genuinely valuable content: Manipulation is always short-sighted, short-term, and short-lived. To escape mediocrity, you need to be excellent. Ignore what people say, watch what they do: We rarely do as we say and that includes all of us. The truth needs to be seen, not heard. Consider your role in the search ecosystem: It’s cheaper and more effective to work on yourself than to criticize others or to blame circumstances outside of your control. We’re all part of this living, breathing web. If we want better search, we need to contribute to it. View the full article

A reader writes: I am a localized executive director for a nationwide nonprofit. Like so many not-for-profits under the current uncertain administration, we are going through some extreme financial strains. Our national office has been tightening belts all over the organization, including layoffs, frantic leadership calls that include a certain amount of crying when delivering yet another slate of difficult news, and frequent lane-shifting of priorities to the point where others in roles like mine are fleeing the sinking ship. Job descriptions are all changing to almost exclusively fundraising, even in roles that didn’t include it before, and the goals are simply not achievable. I feel really strongly about the mission, but have realized I am probably past the point where I should have taken literally any other job to save myself from this financial chaos. I have done absolutely everything I can to shield my local team from certain absurd national demands, but now I need to pass along certain items and the team have realized what is happening and are quitting quickly. Unfortunately, this has resulted in some terrible behavior from the staff: they are stealing items before they quit. At first, I had excuses for people and what was going on in their lives, but it has become a solid pattern of theft — from computer monitors to work-from-home-issued IT gear, to items they suspect could go un-noticed from a storage area (such as event pop-up tents, tables, space heaters, boxes of printer paper, file folders, etc.), and it is getting worse and worse. The last person stole several thousand dollars worth of goods and made it so that we could no longer operate a major fundraiser. All of this is being reported to our HR team, as it is their policy for them to handle employee communication and payouts after their last day. However, this has become very casual, with them now stating “there is not much we can do.” But … really?! This has a huge impact on any ability for us to do business or fundraise. Every item taken needs to be replaced, and I need to find donations or grant funds to replace it. We’re already just limping by. What kind of precedent does this set for any future staff who see this continuing to happen? Worst of all, my managers, who see their team behaving this way time and again, see me as a leader having no power to do anything. Is this really the approach that should be taken from the perspective of leadership, or another symptom of an organization on the verge of collapse? I would love your opinion. Wow, stealing from a nonprofit that’s already struggling to survive under the current administration is … a choice. And to the point that it’s prevented at least one fundraiser from going forward?! It sounds like you need to do the following: 1. Lock up things that can be locked up. That storage area with the event supplies? It needs a lock on the door. 2. Inventory all the organization-supplied equipment people have at home and get each person’s signature on a list of what they have, with a statement that it’s owned by the organization and needs to be returned when their employment ends. Do this right away. 3. When someone resigns, talk explicitly about what equipment and supplies they’re in possession of and what the plan is for inventorying and returning it. Then follow up — well before their last day — and make sure it’s happening. Also, make it as easy as possible for them to return things they have at home, meaning you should provide prepaid shipping labels or even arrange equipment pickups so they don’t have to do anything. The more you make it clear that of course these things will be returned as a matter of routine, the more likely it is that they will be. 4. Talk to people about what’s happening and what the impact has been. It’s possible they’ve deluded themselves into thinking keeping these items don’t really matter to the organization (maybe they think that with the national org in chaos, your local office isn’t long for the world and so none of those goods will end up being used?). It’s worth taking the time to lay out that it does matter and it is impacting work of value. The more specific you can be, the better. 5. If someone steals thousands of dollars of goods, that should be a police issue. You can’t do that on your own, but you should suggest it to your HR team, pointing out that the longer these thefts are allowed to happen without consequences, the more other employees will believe it’s acceptable and the harder the problem will become to contain. Also: often in this situation people will suggest deducting the cost of any missing property from the employee’s last paycheck, or even holding their final pay until property is returned. In most cases, you can’t legally do that. You’re required by federal law to pay wages on the next regular payday for the covered pay period, and many states have laws governing when an employee must receive their (full) final paycheck when they leave their job. You might be able to deduct the cost of missing property if you have the employee’s written authorization ahead of time and they’re non-exempt (it depends on the state), but more commonly you’d need to invoice them for what’s missing or even take them to small claims court (something your employer probably isn’t going to be up for doing). The post resigning employees are stealing our property on their way out appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

Alongside a couple of new Surface devices, Microsoft has also announced a number of notable upgrades on the way for Windows 11, covering the Start menu, Copilot AI, and core Windows utilities such as Paint and the Snipping Tool. The Start menu changes are significant, and I wrote about them last month when they were first spotted in hidden code. The menu is becoming bigger, more customizable, and more usable, with the option to see all apps immediately—and several options for how those apps are arranged on screen. If you don't want to see recommended shortcuts (to recent files, for example), these can be hidden. You can also increase the size of the pinned apps panel. Another change is the addition of a "phone companion" (essentially the Phone Link app) on the right of the Start menu. This revamp is coming to the Windows Insider channel in the next month, Microsoft says, and there are several other updates on the same timetable. One is AI actions in File Explorer, which will give you access to AI-powered features from the right-click menu: Think summarizing documents and editing images. Another feature coming soon to Windows Insider users is AI text generation and summarizing in Notepad, plus lightweight formatting options. For the first time you'll be able to make text bold and italic inside Notepad, and introduce lists and headings. There will also be support for the Markdown formatting language. Already available to Windows Insiders, and coming soon to everyone else, we have Copilot Vision. It means you can chat with the AI about whatever's on screen—whether you want shopping advice or help with image editing— and Microsoft has previously given us a good idea of how it works. Features for Copilot+ PCsSome of the newly announced features are arriving first on Copilot+ PCs (those that meet a certain performance criteria) with Snapdragon chipsets. Again, these updates are appearing in the Windows Insider channel first, before making their way to everyone else with a Copilot+ PC. Microsoft has intimated that they'll roll out eventually to PCs powered by AMD or Intel. First, Microsoft is putting an AI agent inside Settings, so you can get help finding the toggle switch you need or figuring out how to do something. One example shown in the Microsoft demo is typing "my text is too small" to find the option for font size. The AI agent can even change settings for you, if you give it permission. We're also getting more actions for the Click to Do feature (essentially an AI-powered, context-sensitive right-click menu), including options to schedule meetings in Teams or launch the Immersive Reader mode for text. Windows search is getting a boost too, with greater coverage for photos, settings, and the Microsoft Store. The Photos app built into Windows has slowly been getting better and better, and it'll soon pick up a relight feature for dynamic lighting control. You'll be able to set up to three lighting sources, and adjust the brightness and intensity, while seeing the changes on the image in real time. As for Paint, it's gaining the ability to create custom stickers from text prompts, and a new object select tool that will use AI to select objects with a single click. If you need to move or remove something in an image, this should make the process of selecting it faster and more straightforward. The Windows Snipping Tool is getting more features as well: intelligent screenshot cropping, the ability to extract text from screenshots, and a color picker. Finally, the Narrator on Copilot+ PCs is being upgraded to offer rich image descriptions, so it'll be able to describe charts, photos, and other visual elements that are on screen. View the full article

An index of applications for home purchases jumped 11.1%, the most since January, while a gauge of refinancing increased at a similar rate, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. View the full article

Conservative leader talking ‘rubbish’ after denouncing national insurance carve outView the full article

Small businesses face a storm of tax pressures, but trusted advisors can offer calm amid the chaos. Quick Tax Tip With Art Werner CPE Today Go PRO for members-only access to more Art Werner. View the full article

Small businesses face a storm of tax pressures, but trusted advisors can offer calm amid the chaos. Quick Tax Tip With Art Werner CPE Today Go PRO for members-only access to more Art Werner. View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Six months ago, I reviewed the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. If you’ve been off-grid, these specs pack a camera, open-ear speakers, microphones, and voice-activated Meta AI inside a pair of Wayfarer-style frames, so they're basically science fiction glasses that look normal. I liked them so much, I had prescription lenses put in and made them part of my daily load out. But it's easy to love a tech product when it’s new and shiny; the real test is how the Ray-Ban Metas fair after they've gone from novelty to another damn thing I have to remember to charge. Bottom line: I still really like them after half a year of wearing them while working, sitting around, biking, running errands, and generally living my boring life. But I like them in a more nuanced way. Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses $263.00 at Best Buy Learn More Learn More $263.00 at Best Buy Not quite everyday glassesAfter the initial sugar rush wore off, I started noticing the weight of the Ray-Ban Metas. They're around 49 grams out of the box, fairly heavy for sunglasses, but prescription lenses bumped the weight up to 54 grams. My regular specs are pretty chunky and weigh 39 grams, and the difference is noticeable. They're slightly uncomfortable for extended use. I found myself wearing regular glasses when I didn’t expect to use smart features, and going back to the Ray-Bans if I wanted to take photos, record video, or go hands-free. The main downside was forgetting which pair I was wearing and saying “Hey Meta” to my dumb glasses. (But that’s a me problem.) Build quality, durability, and style: no complaintsI have to commend Ray-Ban, Meta, and whatever factory physically built these glasses, because they held up flawlessly. The tech works just as well now as it did when I got them, and the frames themselves held up, too: no warping, bent arms, or other malfunctions. (I didn't necessarily baby them or take special care of them.) They didn't go out of style in the last six months either, seeing as the Wayfarer design is timeless. If they’re good enough for James Dean, they’re good enough for me. Battery life could be betterMeta says their smart glasses have a battery life of "up to four hours," which is mildly optimistic—these things need to be charged often. The solution of having a charger built into the glasses' case is acceptable most of the time because the main function of eyeglasses (ensuring I can see things) works even when the batteries run out. But longer outings where I wanted to take lots of photos or videos were a pain. Your choices are to only have pictures of the first half of the graduation ceremony, or pack a back-up pair of glasses so you can charge on the fly. Another battery related annoyance: You can’t disable the low battery notification without disabling all notifications. While that's the case for many tech products, it would be great to have the option to disable it for these glasses. The social factor: being seen isn't always the bestWhen I first started wearing the Ray-Ban Metas daily, they pretty much flew under people's radars, but as popular awareness of the product grew, so did the people who noticed I was wearing them. More than one person asked “are you taking pictures of me?" and I didn’t love having my glasses spark conversations about surveillance or Meta’s motives, but I get why some people are wary. They blur the line between fashion and tech in a way that’s still new, and many people find them off-putting. Ray-Ban's many features, ranked and rated Credit: Robyn Johnson The Ray-Ban Meta glasses have a ton of features, and they're not equally useful, so here's a quick feature list, organized from the ones I used most to ones I used least: The camera: Ray-Ban Metas' essential feature for me is the camera. It's weird to think of a smart phone camera as being inconvenient, but reaching in your pocket, unlocking the screen, clicking an app, and putting it up to your face is a lot of steps compared to pinching the arm of your glasses. The other way to turn on the camera, saying “Hey Meta, take a picture” or “Hey Meta, take video," can be incredibly useful too, as it lets you take videos while riding a bike and listening to Hawkwind, like so: While I found the quality of the photos to be surprisingly good, these glasses are best for casual snaps. There's no viewfinder, and if you're going for super high quality, or want to shoot in low-light situations, they won't replace a "real" camera. Text and calls: Getting a text and replying by voice is great when your hands are full. Initiating or responding to texts while driving is amazing and will probably save some people's lives. Call quality is solid, and the voice recognition is excellent, even in traffic or crowds. It's easy to use too, since you can just say "Hey Meta, how do I send a text?" if you forget. Music: Halfway down the list is the perfect time to talk about the Ray-Ban Meta's music and audio. It is mid. The sound quality isn’t terrible, but it's podcast-while-cooking level. If you’re into music at all, you’ll quickly grow tired of the tinny sounds from the Ray-Ban meta glasses and throw in some ear buds. On the plus side, the ability to control Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music with just your voice is great. Saying “Hey Meta, play some funk” and having The Meters start playing is cool. Meta AI: Depending on your point of view, Meta’s AI is the either the killer app or the Trojan horse of these glasses, but I almost never use it. When I first got the glasses, I was blown away by saying “Hey Meta, look” and having it describe what I was seeing accurately. But that wears off after eight minutes. Then, I started using it to clown on my friends by looking at their car or something and saying, “Hey, Meta, is this a nice car?” and relaying the answer. (Sadly, it won't roast people.) That was fun for three minutes. Then, I changed Meta's voice to Awkwafina. That was fun for 38 seconds. Then, I stopped using it altogether. Maybe your life is different, but mine is fine without an AI assistant. Translation: Meta recently rolled out the ability to translate from Spanish, French, and Italian to English, and vice-versa. This is too new to really rate, but my initial reaction to testing it out with a Spanish speaking pal was "santa mierda!" It's really good, and was able to translate spoken words at a conversational rate in real time, with a surprisingly amount of accuracy. It's like having a universal translator from Star Trek or something. What I'd like to see from Ray-Ban Meta glasses Credit: Stephen Johnson These glasses are creeping toward being a true digital assistant, but they're not there. I want to say “Hey, Meta, book me a cheap hotel in Yonkers next weekend” and have it just happen. Right now, though, the glasses are limited to controlling music, sending messages, translating language in real time, and providing basic information—which is a lot for a pair of glasses. Privacy concerns (as if privacy still exists)Meta recently sent an email to Ray-Ban Meta users that said, in part, "Meta AI with camera use is always enabled on your glasses unless you turn off ‘Hey Meta,'” and “the option to disable voice recordings storage is no longer available.” Basically, Meta is vowing to look at what I'm looking at and store whatever I say, so you could argue there are some pretty big privacy concerns. It’s not great, but honestly, I’m too boring to care. If Meta wants hours of footage of me folding laundry or playing Oblivion Remastered, that’s their problem. If you're someone that does prioritize your privacy though, these glasses are probably not the product for you. Are they worth the price?Whether something is "worth it" really depends on the customer. But $299 seems like a good deal for a camera, AI agent, Bluetooth headset, and sunglasses, and if you're going for prescription Ray-Ban Metas, it's amazing. All told, these were actually cheaper than my regular glasses, and I can't ask my regular glasses to tell me a joke. The bottom lineI’m not a Meta fanboy by any stretch, but credit where it’s due: these glasses are really good. The novelty wears off, but the usefulness doesn’t. Unlike most gadgets, they've earned their spot in my semi-daily rotation. If they could shave a little more weight off, they'd be my everyday specs. View the full article

Keyword research is one of the most important tasks for both SEOs and paid search practitioners. While there are plenty of robust tools on the market, Google Ads Keyword Planner is a great, free starting point. You can explore keywords, see their search volume, and even get an idea of potential costs – all without spending a dime on ads. In this article, I’ll answer key questions, including: Where can I find Keyword Planner in Google Ads? Should I start with keywords or start with a website? What does a “keyword” mean in Keyword Planner? How can I use Keyword Planner to plan my Search campaigns? Should I pick high volume or low volume keywords? Keyword Planner won’t show me estimates for the searches I want. Why? Can you use Keyword Planner for forecasting? Where can I find Keyword Planner in Google Ads? First things first, you’ll find Keyword Planner within your Google Ads account under the “Tools” menu on the left-hand side. Select “Keyword Planner” under the “Planning” section, and you’ll be ready to go. Once you’re there, you’ll see a few options: Discover new keywords. Get search volume and forecasts. Organize keywords into ad groups. If you’re unsure what terms people are using on Google and/or you’re still in the brainstorming phase, choose “Discover new keywords.” However, if you already have a list of keywords in mind and you want to see the data just for those searches, choose “Get search volume and forecasts.” The third option, “Organize keywords into ad groups,” may come in handy later in the process. Should I start with keywords or start with a website? The most common starting point in Keyword Planner is “Discover new keywords.” Once you’re there, you have yet another choice to make: start with keywords or start with a website. If you start with keywords, you can enter up to 10 keywords you’re already considering, and then Google will show you the stats for those keywords, plus hundreds or even thousands more related searches. If you start with a website, you can enter your website, a friend’s website, a competitor’s website, etc. and ask Google to use the entire site, or just one specific page of the site. Google will then show you the keywords that it thinks are related to that site / page. Keyword research is an iterative process, so feel free to try both and see what you find out! You can also customize your results in Keyword Planner based on your desired: Language Location (down to the city or DMA level) Networks (Google Search only, or Google Search + Search partners) What does a ‘keyword’ mean in Keyword Planner? Now, let’s tackle a common question: what do those keyword results in Keyword Planner actually mean? Is it the search volume, CPC, and other stats for that query? That broad match keyword? That exact match keyword? It’s… none of the above. A “keyword” in Keyword Planner is an exactly matching search, inclusive of misspellings and plurals. Think of this like how exact match keywords used to work. For example, “google ads course” and “google ads courses” would be grouped together as one keyword in Keyword Planner, but “adwords course” and “google ads course” would show up as two separate keywords in Keyword Planner. How can I use Keyword Planner to plan my Search campaigns? Once you have your keyword results, it can feel overwhelming. Keyword Planner dumps a ton of data on you, so here’s what I suggest you focus on: Keywords: This is the main reason you’re here. Look for the ones that are most relevant to what you offer. Also, make note of the ones that are not relevant to what you offer, as you may want to proactively add these to your campaigns as negative keywords. Average Monthly Searches: This gives you an idea of how popular a keyword is. Higher numbers mean more potential traffic – but also, potentially lower intent. Seasonal businesses may want to adjust the date range to see more accurate results. Top of page bid (low range) and Top of page bid (high range): These columns give you an idea of what other advertisers are paying per click to show their ads at the top of search results. I recommend taking an average of these two columns to get a rough idea of what your CPCs might be. Remember, these are estimates, not guarantees. While Keyword Planner has some features to help you organize keywords into ad groups, I personally find it easier to download the keyword ideas into a spreadsheet and do that organization myself. Should I pick high volume or low volume keywords? Now that you have the data in front of you, which keywords should you choose for your campaigns? There’s no magic formula, since it depends on your budget and goals. For example, if you have a small daily budget and the keywords you’re interested in have a high estimated CPC, you might be better off focusing on a few lower-volume keywords. On the other hand, if you have a larger budget and the CPCs are lower, you might be able to target higher-volume keywords to reach a wider audience. Consider the quality and relevance of the keywords for your business, as this is far more important in determining your campaigns’ success than search volume or competition. Keyword Planner won’t show me estimates for the searches I want. Why? If you operate in a sensitive industry, like healthcare or education, you might find that Keyword Planner doesn’t show you all the keyword ideas you’re looking for. For example, I worked with a therapist who was able to see search volume and CPC estimates for certain types of therapy, but not others. If Google won’t show you the stats for all of the keywords you want, don’t worry. It doesn’t mean you can’t advertise on those keywords! You can try using a tool like Google Trends, instead. While it won’t give you exact search volume or CPCs, it can show you the relative popularity of search terms over time, which can still be helpful. (Remember, Google Trends uses indexed data, not absolute search volumes.) Can you use Keyword Planner for forecasting? Google’s Keyword Planner also has a feature to build forecasts based on the keywords you select. However, for more in-depth forecasting based on your actual campaign performance, Google offers another free tool called Performance Planner. I find Performance Planner more helpful for forecasting than Keyword Planner, but feel free to give both a try to see what you prefer. Note that in order to use the forecasting tools, you need to actually be spending money on ads and have active campaigns with conversion data. Otherwise, Google won’t have any of your data on which to build a forecast. Ultimately, Google Keyword Planner is a fantastic free resource for anyone involved in PPC or even SEO. It allows you to get valuable insights into what people are searching for, helping you make more informed decisions about your search strategies. This article is part of our ongoing weekly Search Engine Land series, Everything you need to know about Google Ads in less than 3 minutes. Every Wednesday, Jyll highlights a different Google Ads feature, and what you need to know to get the best results from it – all in a quick 3-minute read. View the full article

Are you ready? Is your competition? By Jody Padar The Radical CPA Go PRO for members-only access to more Jody Padar. View the full article

Are you ready? Is your competition? By Jody Padar The Radical CPA Go PRO for members-only access to more Jody Padar. View the full article

As AI-driven search engines rewrite the rules of content visibility, one thing is clear: optimization isn’t dead — it’s evolving. Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Perplexity AI don’t just retrieve web pages; they synthesize answers. And your content? It only gets included if it’s clear, relevant, and easy to extract. The good news? If you’re already using the Yoast SEO plugin, you have some of the most critical tools for this new era baked right into your workflow. Table of contents Learn how to structure content for AI What AI search wants from your content The Flesch Reading Ease score is more important than ever Don’t ignore those green lights (Even when you think you know better) Structuring for LLMs: A Yoast-assisted framework You don’t need Schema if your structure is clear — but it helps TL;DR: Use Yoast SEO to make your content AI-ready Learn how to structure content for AI In this post, I’ll walk through how LLMs evaluate and extract content — and how Yoast SEO’s content analysis features, particularly the Flesch Reading Ease score and green light checks, can help you structure your writing for AI retrieval, not just human readers. And more importantly, I want to clarify a common misconception: Yoast SEO isn’t about “chasing green lights.” It’s about helping you become a better, clearer communicator. Green lights aren’t the end goal—they’re indicators that you’re aligning your content with the kinds of clarity and structure that serve both readers and AI systems. In a world where LLMs decide what gets surfaced and summarized, being a better writer is your best competitive advantage. Even if AI search doesn’t dominate your vertical today, it will. The best time to prepare was years ago. The second-best time is right now. Consider this your SEO shade tree: start planting. What AI search wants from your content Forget rankings — AI search is about retrievability and clarity. LLMs ingest and parse content based on: Literal surface-level term matching (yes, keywords still matter) Structural formatting cues like headings, lists, and bullet points Clarity of ideas — one idea per paragraph, one purpose per section Prompt alignment — using the same terminology your audience would use Even the smartest LLM will skip your content if it’s overly complex, meandering, or fails to mention the query terms directly. That means no more hiding your key points in paragraph five. No more cute, clever intros that never get to the point. The models are pulling excerpts, not reading for nuance. This is where Yoast SEO shines. Its features, often seen as basic hygiene, are perfectly aligned with what makes content usable by AI. The Flesch Reading Ease score is more important than ever In a world of AI Overviews and synthesized summaries, readability is a superpower. The Flesch Reading Ease score — included in the Yoast SEO content analysis — doesn’t just help human readers skim your content. It helps machines parse and interpret it. LLMs prefer: Shorter sentences Simple phrasing One idea per paragraph These are the exact factors the Flesch score evaluates. So when Yoast flags your content as difficult to read, it’s not nitpicking — it’s showing you what might keep your article out of an AI Overview. Pro tip: When possible, aim for a Flesch score above 60, especially for top-of-funnel or FAQ-style content you want to be quoted or summarized. And let’s be clear: this doesn’t mean your content has to be simplistic or dumbed down. It just needs to be accessible. Plainspoken, not generic. Direct, not dull. Think of it as writing for a global audience — or a machine that doesn’t have time for interpretive poetry. Don’t ignore those green lights (Even when you think you know better) I’ll be honest: I’ve been one of the worst offenders when it comes to ignoring those green lights. I like long sentences. I enjoy prose that meanders a little if it means delivering a point with style. And I’ve spent enough of my career writing professionally that being told how to write by a plugin occasionally rubbed me the wrong way. But here’s the thing I’ve come to accept: it’s not that the plugin is trying to replace your voice or artistry. It’s that it’s trying to ensure your work can be understood, parsed, and surfaced—especially by machines. It is absolutely still possible to create highly visible content that doesn’t earn a green light for sentence structure or reading ease. I’ve done it. But those pieces need to be intentional. They need to be structured so that the core ideas—the “meat” of the argument—aren’t buried in the longest paragraph of the article or expressed only in dense, lyrical blocks of text. If you want to break the rules, fine. But make sure you know where the lines are before you step over them. The art is still welcome—it just has to be thoughtfully placed. Yoast’s content checks aren’t arbitrary — they’re aligned with how both humans and machines understand text. In fact, many of the green-light criteria align shockingly well with what LLMs are known to favor: Subheadings every 300 words = easier segmentation and extraction Introductory paragraph present = good for AI frontloading Paragraph length = one idea per chunk, which is LLM-friendly Sentence length limits = fewer chances for parsing failure In other words: the green light checklist is not just “SEO best practice.” It’s an LLM comprehension checklist in disguise. And while experienced writers might feel tempted to override these warnings with “but this sounds better to me,” it’s worth considering how much clearer your writing becomes when you follow them. Especially when writing for an audience that might include an algorithm. Structuring for LLMs: A Yoast-assisted framework If you want your content to get pulled into AI-generated answers, try this simple structure — and let Yoast SEO help enforce it: Start with a TL;DR or definition: Use short, declarative sentences. Bonus if you can bold the key phrase or structure it as a definition. LLMs love to latch onto clear, answer-style content. Use subheadings to divide your points: Make sure each section answers one specific question or explains one concept. Headings serve as cues for both readers and models. Use bulleted or numbered lists: Yoast SEO will warn you if a list is too long without proper formatting. LLMs love well-structured lists because they can be directly extracted. Echo the query language: Use the exact phrases people search for. This helps the AI match your content to user prompts. Literal matching still matters. End with a clear summary or CTA: AI often pulls from intros or conclusions. Don’t waste them. Reinforce your main point and point readers toward next steps. Even if you’re writing complex thought leadership content, this structure ensures your brilliance is actually understood and surfaced. You don’t need Schema if your structure is clear — but it helps Structured data is still valuable, especially for establishing context and disambiguating entities. But Yoast SEO users should remember: if your page is poorly written or confusing, schema won’t save it. LLMs cite content that is: Logically segmented Written in plain, direct language Free of interruptions, overlays, or unrelated diversions Yoast SEO helps you get there — not just with schema tools, but with live readability feedback during writing. It’s also worth noting that while structured data might support AI understanding, it’s the structure of the writing that matters most for inclusion in AI responses. LLMs pull paragraphs and list items, not rich snippets. If you want to be quoted, you have to be quotable. TL;DR: Use Yoast SEO to make your content AI-ready In the age of AI search, optimization means: Writing like a human, formatting like a machine Saying things plainly Echoing how people phrase questions Structuring content so it can be lifted and used Yoast SEO’s content analysis isn’t just a checklist — it’s an AI visibility strategy. That little green light might be your ticket to being the source LLMs choose to summarize. Don’t fall into the trap of writing for the plugin. Use the plugin to write better for people and machines. That shift in mindset makes all the difference. And as LLMs continue to power more and more of the search experience, from Google AI Overviews to tools like ChatGPT Browse, that visibility is worth more than position #1 ever was. Start now. You’ll be glad you did. The post How to optimize content for AI LLM comprehension using Yoast’s tools appeared first on Yoast. View the full article

FCA responds to prime minister’s call for watchdogs to focus on promoting economic growthView the full article

North Dakota is the 11th state in the U.S. with a measles outbreak, logging its first cases since 2011. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s confirmed measles case count is 935, more than triple the amount seen in all of 2024. The three-month outbreak in Texas accounts for the vast majority of cases, with 702 confirmed as of Tuesday. The outbreak has also spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated died of a measles-related illness. Other states with active outbreaks—which the CDC defines as three or more related cases—include Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. North America has two other ongoing outbreaks. One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 1,243 cases from mid-October through April 29. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 922 measles cases and one death as of Tuesday, according to data from the state health ministry. Health officials in Mexico and the U.S. say all three outbreaks are of the same measles strain. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. As the virus takes hold in U.S. communities with low vaccination rates, health experts fear that spread could stretch on for a year. Here’s what else you need to know about measles in the U.S. How many measles cases are there in Texas and New Mexico? Texas state health officials said Tuesday there were 19 new cases of measles since Friday, bringing the total to 702 across 29 counties—most of them in West Texas. The state also added two hospitalizations to its count Friday, for a total of 91 throughout the outbreak. State health officials estimated about 1% of cases—fewer than 10—are actively infectious. Fifty-seven percent of Texas’ cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 403 cases since late January—just over 1.7% of the county’s residents. The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Local health officials in Texas said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February—Kennedy said age 6. New Mexico was steady Tuesday with 67 total cases. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state’s cases are in Lea County. Three are in Eddy County, two in Doña Ana County and one in Chaves County. How many cases are there in Indiana? Indiana confirmed two more cases April 21 in an outbreak that has sickened eight in Allen County in the northeast part of the state—five are unvaccinated minors and three are adults whose vaccination status is unknown. The cases have no known link to other outbreaks, the Allen County Department of Health has said. How many cases are there in Kansas? Kansas added nine cases Wednesday for a total of 46 across eight counties in the southwest part of the state. Gray County is up to 15 cases. The state also reported its first hospitalization. Kansas’ health department didn’t elaborate Wednesday about a discrepancy in the number of new cases at the state and county levels beyond noting that case counts are “fluid as the outbreak progresses.” The state’s first reported case is linked to the Texas outbreak based on genetic testing. How many cases are there in Michigan? Montcalm County, near Grand Rapids in western Michigan, has an outbreak of four cases that state health officials say is tied to the Ontario outbreak. The state had nine confirmed measles cases as of Friday, but the remaining five are not part of the Montcalm County outbreak. How many cases are there in Montana? Montana state health officials announced five cases April 17 in unvaccinated children and adults who had traveled out of state, and later confirmed it was an outbreak. All five are isolating at home in Gallatin County in the southwest part of the state. They were Montana’s first measles cases in 35 years. Health officials didn’t say whether the cases are linked to other outbreaks in North America. How many measles cases are there in North Dakota? North Dakota announced its first measles case since 2011 on Friday, and by Tuesday, there were nine cases. All are in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border. The state health department said Monday that three of the confirmed cases are linked to the first case—an unvaccinated child who health officials believe got it from an out-of-state visitor. The other five cases, announced Tuesday, were people who were not vaccinated and did not have contact with the other cases, causing concern about community transmission. The state health department said four people diagnosed with measles attended classes while infectious at a Williston elementary school, middle school and high school. How many cases are there in Ohio? The state has two outbreaks. Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases. And Knox County in east-central Ohio has 20—14 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors. The Ohio Department of Health on Thursday confirmed 33 measles cases and one hospitalization. That count includes only Ohio residents. Defiance County in the northwestern part of the state has logged its first case. Allen and Holmes counties have had one case each. How many cases are there in Oklahoma? Oklahoma added one case for a total of 14 confirmed and three probable cases as of Tuesday. The outbreak is linked to Texas and New Mexico. The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases, but Cleveland, Oklahoma and Sequoyah counties have had public exposures in the past couple of months. How many cases are there in Pennsylvania? There are eight measles cases in Erie County in far northwest Pennsylvania, officials said Friday. The county declared an outbreak in mid-April. The state has said it has 13 cases overall in 2025, including international travel-related cases in Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia. How many cases are there in Tennessee? Tennessee had six measles cases as of last week. Health department spokesman Bill Christian said all cases are the middle part of the state, and that “at least three of these cases are linked to each other” but declined to specify further. The state also did not say whether the cases were linked to other outbreaks or when Tennessee’s outbreak started. The state health department announced the first measles case March 21, three more on April 1 and the last two on April 17, but none of the news releases declared an outbreak. However, Tennessee was on a list of outbreak states in a CDC report April 17. Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.? Cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles. What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine? The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old. Getting another MMR shot is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective measles vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said. People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because most children back then had measles and now have “presumptive immunity.” In communities with high vaccination rates—above 95%—diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called “herd immunity.” But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that sickened more than 60. What are the symptoms of measles? Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash. The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC. Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death. How can you treat measles? There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable. AP Science Writer Laura Ungar contributed to this report. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. —Devi Shastri, AP Health Writer View the full article