Mordy Oberstein, a search marketing professional whom I hold in high esteem, recently shared the provocative idea that referral traffic is not a brand’s friend and that every brand, as it matures, should wean itself from it. Referrals from other websites are generally considered a sign of a high-performing business, but it’s not a long-term … Read more
Google’s John Mueller has clarified that all links within AI Overviews (AIOs) share a single position in Google Search Console. SEO consultant Gianluca Fiorelli asked Mueller how Search Console tracks position data for URLs in Google’s AI-generated answer boxes. Mueller referenced Google’s official help docs, explaining: “Basically an AIO counts as a block, so it’s … Read more
Google launches a generative AI certification with free training, focusing on Google’s tools. Is this credential worth adding to your resume? Google has launched a generative AI certification program. The certification is focused exclusively on Google’s own AI tools. The certification exam costs $99, but all training materials are free. Source link
New research shows that Google’s AI Overviews often link to Google, contributing to the walled garden effect that encourages users to stay longer on Google’s site. A study by SE Ranking examined Google’s AI Overviews in five U.S. states. It found that 43% of these AI answers contain links redirecting users to Google’s search results. … Read more
The United States Copyright Office released a pre-publication version of a report on the use of copyrighted materials for training generative AI, outlining a legal and factual case that identifies copyright risks at every stage of generative AI development. The report was created in response to public and congressional concern about the use of copyrighted … Read more
Google’s updated image SEO best practices recommend using consistent URLs for images across your site to preserve crawl budget. Google recommends using the same image URL across your site. Inconsistent image URLs can waste your crawl budget. Wasted crawl budget can limit how many pages Google indexes on your site. Source link
Anecdotal reports and an SEO jobs study describe a search marketing industry undergoing profound changes, not only in the skills in demand but also in hiring practices that may be making it difficult for experienced SEOs to get the jobs they are well qualified for. Short History Of SEO Jobs Twenty five years ago getting … Read more
10Web has launched an AI Website Builder API that turns text prompts into fully functional WordPress websites hosted on 10Web’s infrastructure, enabling platforms to embed AI website creation into their product workflows. Designed for SaaS tools, resellers, developers, and agencies, the API delivers business-ready sites with ecommerce features, AI-driven customization, and full white-label support to … Read more
The newest AI tools, built to be smarter, make more factual errors than older versions. As The New York Times highlights, tests show errors as high as 79% in advanced systems from companies like OpenAI. This can create problems for marketers who rely on these tools for content and customer service. Rising Error Rates in … Read more
Google took the unusual step of issuing a response to news reports that AI search engines and chatbots were causing a decline in traditional search engine use, directly contradicting testimony given by an Apple executive in the ongoing U.S. government antitrust lawsuit against Google. Apple Testimony That Triggered Stock Sell-Off Google’s stock price took a … Read more
Apple is reportedly planning to redesign Safari to focus on AI search engines. According to recent testimony in the Google antitrust case, this comes as the company prepares for possible changes to its profitable Google deal. Apple Signals Shift In Search Strategy Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, testified that Safari searches dropped … Read more
ChatGPT leads the AI search race with an 80.1% market share, according to fresh data from Similarweb. Over the last six months, OpenAI’s tool has maintained a strong lead despite ups and downs. Meanwhile, traditional search engines are struggling to grow as AI tools reshape how people find information online. GenAI Traffic Share update — … Read more
A WordPress bug is causing WooCommerce sites to display a fatal error, crashing ecommerce sites. The problem originates from a single line of code. A workaround has been created. The WooCommerce team is aware of the issue and is working on issuing a permanent fix in the form of a patch. WooCommerce Sites Crashing Someone … Read more
New data shows Google keeps users on its site longer. Visitors now make 10 clicks on Google’s site before leaving for another website. This finding comes from a 13-month study comparing Google and ChatGPT traffic patterns. Google Keeps Users In, ChatGPT Sends Them Out Tyler Einberger of Momentic analyzed Similarweb data showing that Google’s “pages … Read more
A major update to Google’s Search Quality Raters Guidelines (QRG) clarifies and expands on multiple forms of deception that Google wants its quality raters to identify. This change continues the trend of refining the guidelines so that quality raters become better at spotting increasingly granular forms of quality issues. TL/DR Authenticity should be the core … Read more
Google’s Search Liaison explained limitations in Google’s ability to return web pages from a prior date, also noting that date-based advanced search operators are still in beta. He provided one method for doing this but omitted discussing an older, simpler method that almost accomplishes the same thing. How To Find Articles By Older Published Date … Read more
In an interview with Kenichi Suzuki from Faber Company Inc., Google Developer Advocate Martin Splitt recently shared key information about JavaScript rendering, server-side vs. client-side rendering, and structured data. The talk cleared up common SEO confusion and offered practical tips for developers and marketers working with Google’s changing search systems. Google’s AI Crawler & JavaScript … Read more
Reddit’s first-quarter 2025 earnings report shows strong growth in traffic and user engagement, particularly among logged-out users. Although the announcement and shareholder letter did not mention search engines or the temporary decrease in traffic in February, the increase in logged-out traffic suggests year-over-year growth from external referrals from search engines and social media. The shareholder … Read more
