Trust In AI Shopping Is Limited As Shoppers Verify On Websites
A new IAB and Talk Shoppe study finds AI is accelerating discovery and comparisons, but it’s not the last stop. Here are the key points before we get into the…
15 Questions Every CMO Should Ask
This post was sponsored by IQRush. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own. Your traditional SEO is winning. Your AI visibility is failing. Here’s how to fix…
AI Is Breaking The Economics Of Content
What does it say about the economics of content when the most visible site on the web loses significant traffic? A status report by Wikipedia shows a significant decline in…
Microsoft Locks In OpenAI Partnership Through 2032
Microsoft and OpenAI signed a deal extending Microsoft’s rights to OpenAI models through 2032, confirming a 27% stake worth $135B The OpenAI and Microsoft relationship is now locked in long…
Is It Better To Refresh Content Or Create New Pages?
This week’s Ask An SEO asks a classic content conundrum: “Are content refreshes still an effective tactic, or is it better to create new pages altogether?” Yes, content refreshes are…
67% of ChatGPT’s Top 1,000 Citations Are Off-Limits to Marketers (+ More Findings)
I analyzed the top 1,000 pages ChatGPT cited in September 2025 using Ahrefs Brand Radar, to understand what types of content AI is referencing right now. You can repeat this…
Google’s Advice On Canonicals: They’re Case Sensitive
Google’s John Mueller answered a question about canonicals, expressing his opinion that “hope” shouldn’t be a part of your SEO strategy with regard to canonicals. The implication is that hoping…
Evolving Your Strategy For AI-Driven Discovery
The web – and the way in which humans interact with it – has definitely changed since the early days of SEO and the emergence of search engines in the…
OpenAI Flags Emotional Reliance On ChatGPT As A Safety Risk
OpenAI is telling companies that “relationship building” with AI has limits. Emotional dependence on ChatGPT is considered a safety risk, with new guardrails in place. OpenAI says it has added…
YouTube Introduces ‘Ask Studio’ AI For Channel Analytics
YouTube launched Ask Studio, an AI assistant built into YouTube Studio that analyzes channel data to provide insights and content suggestions. The tool appears as a chat interface accessed through…
Google Uses AI To Group Queries In Search Console Data
Google announced Query groups in Search Console Insights. The AI feature clusters similar search queries, surfaces trends, and shows which topics drive clicks. Query groups uses AI to cluster similar…
Automattic’s Legal Claims About SEO… Is This Real?
SEO plays a role in Automattic’s counterclaim against WP Engine. The legal document mentions search engine optimization six times and SEO once as part of counterclaims asserting that WP Engine…
Introducing Query groups in Search Console Insights | Google Search Central Blog | Google for Developers
Monday, October 27, 2025 We are excited to announce Query groups, a powerful Search Console Insights feature that groups similar search queries. One of the challenges when analyzing search performance…
The Brands & Campaigns That Won Black Friday 2024
When it comes to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the winners aren’t just the brands that rack up sales; they’re the ones that capture attention, drive conversation, and leave a…
Google’s New BlockRank Democratizes Advanced Semantic Search
A new research paper from Google DeepMind proposes a new AI search ranking algorithm called BlockRank that works so well it puts advanced semantic search ranking within reach of individuals…
Perplexity Responds To Reddit Lawsuit Over Data Access
Reddit sued Perplexity and three data-scraping firms in New York federal court, alleging the companies bypassed access controls to obtain Reddit content at scale, including by scraping Google search results.…
4 Expert Tips To Reach More Inboxes
This post was sponsored by Campaign Monitor. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own. Does it seem like fewer emails are getting delivered? Are bounce rates and…
Measuring When AI Assistants And Search Engines Disagree
Before you get started, it’s important to heed this warning: There is math ahead! If doing math and learning equations makes your head swim, or makes you want to sit…
OpenAI Releases Shared Project Feature To All Users
OPenAI announced that it is upgrading all ChatGPT accounts to be eligible for the project sharing feature, which enables users to share a ChatGPT project with others who can then…
Microsoft Updates Copilot With Memory, Search Connectors, & More
Microsoft announced its Copilot Fall Release, introducing features to make AI more personal and collaborative. New capabilities include group collaboration, long-term memory, health tools, and voice-enabled learning. Mustafa Suleyman, head…
Search Engine Journal Is Hiring!
We’re looking for a powerhouse project manager to keep our marketing team inspired and on track. This is a Philippines-based, fully-remote position working on U.S.-adjacent hours (8 p.m. – 4…
Time We Actually Start To Measure Relevancy When We Talk About “Relevant Traffic”
Every SEO strategy claims to drive “relevant traffic.” It is one of the industry’s most overused phrases, and one of the least examined. We celebrate growth in organic sessions and…
SEO Is Not A Tactic. It’s Infrastructure For Growth
In the age of AI, many companies still treat SEO as a bolt-on tactic, something to patch in after the website is designed, the content is written, and the campaigns…
How And Why Google Rewrites Your Hard-Earned Headlines
TL;DR Google can and does rewrite headlines and titles frequently. Almost anything on your page could be used. The title is not all that matters. The entirety of your page…
YouTube Expands Likeness Detection To All Monetized Channels
YouTube is beginning to expand access to its likeness detection tool to all channels in the YouTube Partner Program over the next few months. The technology helps you identify unauthorized…
AI Assistants Show Significant Issues In 45% Of News Answers
Leading AI assistants misrepresented or mishandled news content in nearly half of evaluated answers, according to a European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and BBC study. The research assessed free/consumer versions of…
AI, Automation, And The Fight For Visibility
If you manage PPC campaigns, you’ve seen it. Platforms are making more decisions without asking you first. Campaign types keep consolidating into AI-first formats like Performance Max and Demand Gen.…
96.98% of Clicks Happen in the Top 10 Search Results
How many clicks and impressions come from rankings beyond Google’s first page? To find out, we analysed 458 billion clicks and 17 trillion impressions from Google Search Console. Our findings…
Why Are Brands Rethinking Their Approach To Using Agencies?
Many brands are re-evaluating their relationships with agencies. In a 2024 report, 40% of companies surveyed said they were likely to switch from their primary agency in the next six…
Why Some Brands Win in AI Overviews While Others Get Ignored
Turn Reviews Into Real Visibility, Trust, and Conversions Reviews are no longer just stars on a page. They are key trust signals that influence both humans and AI. With AI…