Google Introduces Search Profiles Within Google Discover
Google is launching Search profiles within Google Discover for U.S. publishers and creators who meet sizable social‑media follower thresholds. The new landing pages showcase a header image, latest articles, videos, and social posts, and include a follow button. Publishers can claim and customize the profile, which may generate or enhance a Knowledge Panel. Google says the feature will help audiences discover up‑to‑date content directly from Search and Discover.
Why so Much SEO Work No Longer Drives Growth
The article argues that traditional SEO tasks—keyword research, mass content production, and isolated on‑page tweaks—no longer generate growth in 2026. AI‑driven overviews and cheap content generators have eroded the value of volume‑based strategies, leaving teams busy but ineffective. Success now...
Shopify Outage Disrupts Stores, Checkouts and Admin Access
Shopify experienced a service disruption on Tuesday morning, affecting storefronts, checkouts, the admin dashboard, Retail POS, and support access. The issue was first reported at 9:27 a.m. EDT and the company identified the root cause by 10:37 a.m., initiating mitigation and recovery....
How Google Display Exclusions Guide AI-Driven Optimization
Google’s Display Network placement exclusions have evolved from simple brand‑safety checklists into strategic tools that shape AI‑driven Smart Bidding. By pruning low‑quality sites and mobile apps, advertisers prevent the algorithm from chasing high‑click, zero‑conversion inventory that can drain budgets in...
The Overlooked Business Value of SEO and Affiliate Alignment
SEO and affiliate teams often work in isolation, causing brand terms to be hijacked by affiliates and inflating commission costs. The article highlights how uncoordinated efforts can lead to lost organic traffic, using Trainline’s "promo code" issue as a case...
Google Search Console AI Performance Reports and Controls to Block Your Content in AI Responses
Google Search Console is introducing a Generative AI performance report that tracks impressions, pages, countries, devices and timeframes for content appearing in AI‑driven search features. The report, currently limited to a subset of UK site owners, does not include click‑through...
Microsoft Releases Web IQ, Powered by Bing but Designed for How AI-Agents Search
Microsoft unveiled Web IQ, a new suite of AI‑native grounding APIs that connect large language models and autonomous agents to up‑to‑date web content, including pages, news, images and videos. Powered by Bing’s index, the service is engineered for the “agentic...
Why High-ROAS Campaigns Don’t Always Deserve More Budget
The article warns that high‑return‑on‑ad‑spend (ROAS) campaigns are not automatically candidates for larger budgets. It outlines three pre‑scale checks—learning‑period impact, validation of conversion data, and market saturation—before committing additional spend. It also stresses evaluating impression‑share loss, demand availability, and whether...
DV360 API Adds Demand Gen Support
Google is extending its Display & Video 360 (DV360) API to include Demand Gen resources, allowing developers to create, read, update, and delete Demand Gen line items, ad groups, and ad formats via the API. The rollout starts on June 10 with full availability...
Commerce Media Expands Beyond Retail Sites with Demand Gen Integration
Google is extending its Commerce Media Suite to include Demand‑Gen inventory, letting brands activate retailer first‑party audiences on YouTube, Discover and Gmail. The integration blends retail‑site data with Google’s visual and discovery surfaces, enabling AI‑driven optimization for conversions. Advertisers gain...
Google Appears to Be Testing New Branded Search Controls in AI Max Campaigns
Google is testing a new "Branded Searches" control within its AI Max campaign type, giving advertisers the ability to dictate how brand‑related queries are handled. The setting offers three modes: serve ads on all relevant searches, manage branded traffic with...
How to Train Claude to Sound Like Your Brand
The article outlines how to create a Claude brand skill—a structured set of voice, tone, visual, and formatting rules that teach the Claude AI to write in a brand’s unique style. It walks readers through six steps: consolidating brand assets,...
How to Structure Paid Social Creative Testing for Better Performance
Paid social advertisers are shifting from sheer creative volume to differentiated concepts that tap audience psychology and emotional triggers. The article warns that flooding accounts with minor variations fragments budgets, prolongs learning phases, and obscures actionable insights. It proposes a...
Brad Geddes on 20 Years of Paid Search Evolution
Brad Geddes, a pioneer who started in SEO in 1996 and moved to paid search in 1998, recounts the 20‑year transformation of PPC. He credits Goto.com’s 1998 launch as the birth of pay‑per‑click and notes Google’s rise to dominance around...
Google Adds AI Shopping Visibility Insights to Merchant Center
Google is adding AI‑driven performance insights to Merchant Center, giving retailers visibility into how their products appear across Google’s AI‑powered shopping experiences. The new reports will benchmark share of voice, track funnel performance, surface popular conversational queries, and flag missing...