AI Bot Traffic Surged 300%, Hitting Publishers Hardest: Report
Akamai’s latest report reveals AI‑bot traffic surged 300 % in 2025, with publishers hit hardest. Users increasingly rely on AI chat interfaces, generating zero‑click experiences that divert traffic from organic search. The shift has slashed pageviews, raised infrastructure costs, and weakened ad and subscription revenue. In response, publishers are deploying selective bot controls and exploring emerging pay‑per‑crawl models to monetize scraper activity.
Google Tests Swipeable Location Carousel in Search Ads
Google is piloting a swipeable carousel within search ads that consolidates multiple business locations into a single, scrollable unit. The carousel displays key details such as ratings and proximity, letting users swipe through options without leaving the results page. Early...
Google Launches Developer Hub for Ads and Measurement Tools
Google unveiled an Advertising and Measurement Developers Hub, a single portal that aggregates documentation, tools, and support for its ad‑tech suite. The hub brings together resources for the Google Ads API, Google Analytics, AdMob, and Google Ad Manager, organized by...
Google Rolls Out Onboarding Guide for Universal Commerce Protocol
Google has released an onboarding guide for its Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) within Merchant Center, enabling merchants to embed checkout directly into AI‑driven search experiences like Gemini. The guide walks merchants through technical integration, interest‑form submission, and sandbox testing before...
Meta Simplifies Pixel Setup with Official Google Tag Manager Template
Meta Platforms introduced an official Google Tag Manager (GTM) template for the Meta Pixel, eliminating the need for third‑party workarounds. The template leverages existing GA4 dataLayer events and automatically maps key e‑commerce actions, streamlining cross‑platform tracking. By reducing duplicate tagging...
Sundar Pichai Sees Google Search Evolving Into an ‘Agent Manager’
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced that Google Search will evolve into an "agent manager," coordinating multiple AI agents to complete user tasks rather than merely returning links. He noted that the AI‑powered "AI Mode" is already prompting longer, research‑intensive queries...
Google Starts Showing Sponsored Ads in the Images Tab on Mobile Search
Google has begun serving sponsored ads inside the mobile Images tab, inserting full‑image creatives labeled “Sponsored” directly into the grid. The placement leverages existing image assets from Search or Performance Max campaigns, requiring no changes to keyword targeting or campaign structure....
One in Five ChatGPT Clicks Go to Google: Study
A Semrush study of over 1 billion U.S. clickstream events shows that Google accounts for 21.6% of all outbound clicks from ChatGPT, making it the single largest referral destination. The top ten domains together receive just over 30% of ChatGPT referrals,...
How Marketing Leaders Are Getting Unstuck From Salesforce by Stitch
Stitch is hosting a fireside chat for brand‑side marketers who feel trapped by Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s complexity and contractual lock‑ins. Attendees will hear why data entanglement, repetitive email flows, and patchwork solutions are common complaints. The session outlines how moving...
Google Is Fixing a Search Console Bug that Inflated Impression Counts
Google announced a fix for a long‑running Search Console bug that has been inflating impression counts since May 13, 2025. The logging error will be corrected over the next few weeks, causing reported impressions in the Performance report to drop....
Strategy Is the New Keyword: What Drives Paid Search Performance Now
The paid‑search landscape has moved from keyword‑centric tactics to AI‑driven strategy. Google’s AI Max layer now treats keywords as one of many signals, using conversion data, first‑party audiences, and creative assets to optimize bids and placements. Advertisers who feed high‑quality...
Google Ads Experiments Now Auto-Apply Results by Default
Google Ads has introduced an auto‑apply setting for its Experiments feature, turning it on by default. Advertisers can select directional results or statistical confidence levels, with a built‑in guard that prevents auto‑application if the chosen success metric declines. The feature...
Bing Is Testing a Much Larger Sponsored Product Carousel in Shopping Results
Bing is trialing a double‑row carousel for sponsored products within its shopping results, dramatically expanding the ad footprint compared with the current single‑row format. The test, first spotted by marketer Sachin Patel, pairs the larger carousel with organic product cards...
Why Too Many Micro-Conversions Hurt PPC Performance
AI‑driven ad bidding systems are outpacing conversion tracking, leading many advertisers to overload accounts with low‑intent micro‑conversions. This excess creates noisy signals that steer algorithms toward cheap, high‑frequency actions, inflating reported CPA and ROAS while eroding true revenue. Platforms like...
How to Run Google Ads in Sensitive Categories without Remarketing
Google Ads places “Eligible (Limited)” restrictions on accounts in housing, employment, credit, healthcare, and legal services, blocking remarketing, Customer Match, and custom audiences. The limits arise from U.S. anti‑discrimination laws and ethical concerns about intrusive, privacy‑invasive ads. Advertisers can still...
Microsoft Lets Merchants Update Store Names and Domains in Merchant Center
Microsoft Advertising now lets e‑commerce merchants edit their Merchant Center store name and domain directly, removing the need for support tickets. Store‑name changes undergo editorial review while existing ads keep running, and domain updates require ownership verification before activation. The...
Reddit Pro Opens to All Publishers, Adds New Features in Public Beta
Reddit has opened its Pro publishing tools to all publishers, ending the waitlist and launching a free public beta. The platform now offers features such as AI‑powered community recommendations, RSS auto‑import, community snapshots, and profile flairs. Early testers reported a...
Google Ads Editor Bug Links Structured Snippet Languages Across Accounts
Google Ads Editor has a bug that unintentionally links structured snippet extensions when they are copied between accounts. Changing the language setting in one account automatically propagates to the linked snippet in another account, even though the extensions appear separate....
Heidi Sturrock Shares How a Costly Mistake Became a Competitive Advantage
Heidi Sturrock recounts a costly broad‑match error that flooded a B2B SaaS client’s call centre with competitor complaints after a Friday launch. The client turned the crisis into a revenue opportunity by offering switchers a 50% discount and splitting the...
Google Adds Seasonal Creative Theming to PMax Asset Groups
Google has introduced Asset Group Theming within Performance Max, allowing advertisers to apply seasonal motifs to existing asset groups without rebuilding them. The feature clones a high‑performing group, adds themed image backgrounds, and suggests matching headlines and descriptions while preserving...
Google Releases March 2026 Spam Update
Google launched its March 2026 spam update at 3:20 p.m. UTC, marking the first spam‑focused algorithm change of the year and the second announced update after February’s Discover core rollout. The change was rolled out globally across all languages and completed in...
AI Citations Favor Listicles, Articles, Product Pages: Study
A new Wix Studio AI Search Lab study of 75,000 AI answers and over a million citations across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, and Perplexity finds that listicles, articles and product pages account for 52% of all AI citations. Listicles lead commercial‑intent...
Google Is Tightening Political Content Rules for Shopping Ads Starting April 16
Google will tighten political content rules for Shopping ads starting April 16, requiring merchants in nine countries to verify as election advertisers and banning certain political ads in India. The policy expands Google’s election‑integrity efforts from search and display into commerce...
Bing Webmaster Tools Now Links AI Queries to Cited Pages
Microsoft has enhanced Bing Webmaster Tools with a Grounding Query‑Page Mapping feature in its AI Performance report, linking AI‑driven queries directly to the URLs cited in responses. Users can now click a query to see all cited pages and click...
Google Ads Are Showing Identical Website Stats Across Multiple Advertisers
A pattern has emerged where multiple Google Ads display identical website statistics across competing advertisers. The uniform stats, normally unique per site, raise concerns about a possible bug, test, or intentional change in Google’s ad platform. The anomaly was first...
Google Launches Ads DevCast Vodcast for Developers
Google’s Advertising and Measurement Developer Relations team has launched Ads DevCast, a bi‑weekly vodcast and podcast aimed at developers working with Google Ads, Analytics, and Display & Video 360. Hosted by Cory Liseno, the series delivers technical deep dives, with the...
Google Tightens Rules on Out-of-Stock Product Pages
Google Merchant Center now mandates that out‑of‑stock product pages display a visibly disabled, grayed‑out buy button instead of removing or keeping it active. The rule also requires a clear availability label—such as “out of stock” or “back order”—that matches the...
Google Business Profile Tests AI-Generated Replies to Reviews
Google is piloting an AI‑generated reply tool within its Google Business Profile platform, initially surfacing in the United States, Brazil and India. The feature suggests response drafts to customer reviews, which businesses can edit or publish directly, though rollout timing...
Adobe to Shut Down Marketo Engage SEO Tool
Adobe announced it will retire the SEO tile in Marketo Engage, effective March 31, 2026. The feature, considered low‑usage, will be removed on April 1, requiring customers to export any existing data. The move follows Adobe’s 2025 acquisition of Semrush, positioning the...
Google Retires Several Legacy Ad Format Policies
Google announced that as of March 17 it is retiring several legacy ad format policies, including those governing form ads, image quality, responsive ads, and text ads. The removal reflects the migration of these older formats into newer, automated campaign...
SMX Now: Learn How Brands Must Adapt for AI-Driven Search
Visibility now hinges on AI-driven search, not just rankings. SMX launches its monthly SMX Now webinar on April 1, featuring iPullRank experts Zach Chahalis, Patrick Schofield, and Garrett Sussman. They will unveil iPullRank’s Relevance Engineering (r19g) framework for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and an...
Google Brings Vehicle Feeds to Search Campaigns
Google Ads now supports vehicle feed integration in Search campaigns, allowing automotive advertisers to pull inventory from Merchant Center into text ads. The update adds clickable assets that display make, model, price and images alongside standard ad copy. Users can...
YouTube Tests Sticky Banner After Ad Skip
YouTube is piloting a sticky banner overlay that stays visible after a viewer skips a video ad. The banner, linked to the original ad, remains on‑screen until the user dismisses it, extending brand exposure beyond the skip point. This experiment...
Chloe Varnfield Talks Sneaky Google Ads Settings and Tanking Performance
Chloe Varnfield, a veteran PPC specialist, reveals how hidden Google Ads settings and ill‑timed changes can cripple campaign performance. She recounts three costly mistakes: an automated assets feature that rewrites headlines, a Friday location‑target edit that unintentionally excluded the UK,...
SerpApi Asks Court to Throw Out Reddit Scraping Complaint
SerpApi has asked a federal court to dismiss Reddit’s lawsuit alleging the company scraped Reddit content via Google Search. The API provider argues Reddit does not own the user‑generated posts, that the cited snippets are too brief for copyright, and...
Google Leaves Door Open to Ads in Gemini
Google senior executive Nick Fox told WIRED the company is "not ruling out" ads in its Gemini AI app, marking a reversal from earlier denials. The firm is using its AI‑powered Search experience, AI Mode, as a testing ground for...
Eight Out of Ten PMax Advertisers Are Now Running CTV Ads
Eight out of ten Performance Max advertisers are now seeing connected‑TV impressions on YouTube, a shift driven by Google’s expanded CTV capabilities. Since Q2 2025 the platform has auto‑generated TV ads from product‑feed images, and in January 2026 introduced shoppable CTV formats...
Yahoo Adds Personalized Homepage to Its Scout AI Search Engine
Yahoo has launched MyScout, a personalized homepage embedded within its Scout AI answer engine. The feature lets logged‑in users arrange tiles that surface data from Yahoo Mail, Finance, News, Sports and other properties, with real‑time updates for stocks, email previews...
Google Expands Search Console Branded Queries Filter to All Eligible Sites
Google has rolled out its branded queries filter in Search Console to all eligible sites, enabling native separation of branded and non‑branded traffic within the Performance report. The filter automatically classifies queries that contain brand names, variations, misspellings, or related...
Google Adds Automatic End Screens to Video Ads
Google Ads is rolling out automatic end screens that attach an interactive card to the end of eligible in‑stream video ads. The feature pulls app name, icon, price and install link from campaign data and is enabled by default for...
OpenAI Updates Privacy Policy as Ads Expand in ChatGPT
OpenAI has revised its privacy policy to detail how advertising will be integrated into ChatGPT. Ads will run for users on Free and Go plans, while paid subscriptions such as Plus, Pro, Enterprise, Business and Education remain ad‑free, with all...
Google Contacts Advertisers with a Mandatory EU Political Ads Deadline
Google is emailing all advertisers to certify whether their active campaigns contain EU political ads, with a non‑negotiable deadline of March 31 2026. The new EU regulation forces Google to verify political‑ad status across every campaign, and failure to comply could result...
Accessibility Can’t Stop at the Shelf: An $18 Trillion Lesson for Marketers by AudioEye
Rare Beauty’s new fragrance launch turned its accessible bottle design into the centerpiece of a marketing campaign, generating organic buzz and consumer goodwill. The brand’s inclusive approach illustrates how accessibility can be a growth engine rather than a compliance checkbox....
Google Ads Status Dashboard Flags Ad Manager Reporting Issue
Google flagged a reporting disruption on the Google Ads Status Dashboard affecting Google Ad Manager. The incident started at 13:49 UTC on March 4, and by 13:54 UTC Google confirmed that some users could access Ad Manager but were seeing stale or mismatched...
Google Merchant Center Adds “Build to Order” For Vehicle Listings
Google Merchant Center introduced a new availability value called “build to order,” enabling vehicle dealers to flag cars that are not physically on the lot but can be customized and ordered. Sellers must update both their structured data and Merchant...
Google Removes Accessibility Section From JavaScript SEO Section
Google has removed the “design for accessibility” section from its JavaScript SEO basics documentation, citing outdated information. The previous guidance warned that JavaScript could obscure content from search engines and assistive tools, but Google now confirms its rendering engine has...
Google to Disable Customer Match Uploads in Ads API
Google will disable Customer Match uploads via the Ads API for developers who have not used the feature in the past 180 days, effective April 1, 2026. Affected accounts will receive errors and must shift to the newer Data Manager API. The...
Google Ads Retargeting: A Guide to Your Data Segments
Google Ads now labels all retargeting lists as “Your data segments,” covering website visitors, app users, Customer Match, and content engagers. These lists not only power classic retargeting but also feed signals to Smart Bidding and Optimized Targeting across Search,...
Meta Introduces Click and Engage-Through Attribution Updates
Meta is overhauling its ad measurement framework by restricting click‑through attribution to link clicks only, while moving likes, shares, saves and similar actions into a newly named “engage‑through attribution.” The update also halves the video engaged‑view window from ten to...
Google Uses Both schema.org Markup and Og:image Meta Tag for Thumbnails in Google Search and Discover
Google updated its image SEO guidance, confirming that both schema.org markup (such as primaryImageOfPage, mainEntity, and mainEntityOfPage) and the og:image meta tag are consulted when selecting thumbnail images for Google Search and Discover. The new documentation outlines how publishers can...
