We hope you are in good health. Here are some of the major SEO news updates of the week that you need to know:
Search Related News and Updates from Major Search Engine
John Mueller Explains How Hidden HTTP Pages Can Affect Google Site Names
Google’s John Mueller highlighted that a hidden or accessible HTTP version of a webpage can interfere with how Google determines and displays a site’s name in search results. Even if a website primarily uses HTTPS, an overlooked HTTP page may send mixed signals that impact site name selection. Mueller advised ensuring proper redirects and consistent technical signals to avoid such issues.
Bing Webmaster Tools Adds AI Performance Report to Track AI-Generated Answer Citations
Microsoft has launched an AI Performance dashboard inside Bing Webmaster Tools (now in public preview) that lets website owners see how often their content is cited as a source in AI-generated answers across Microsoft Copilot, Bing AI summaries, and select partner integrations. The new report shows metrics like total citations, average cited pages, grounding queries, and page-level citation activity — offering publishers visibility into AI search performance beyond traditional clicks and rankings.
Google Clarifies Crawler File Size Limits in Documentation Update
Google updated its help documentation to clarify how file size limits work across its crawling systems, noting that by default most crawlers only fetch the first 15 MB of a file, but specific crawlers like Googlebot may have smaller or larger limits depending on file type (e.g., ~2 MB for HTML/text and ~64 MB for PDFs). The change refines where these limits are documented and removes confusion in the SEO community about how different crawlers handle file sizes — it’s a documentation clarification, not a behavioral change.
Google Adds “Sign In to Customize” Button to Top Stories for Preferred Sources
Google has introduced a “Sign in to customize” prompt within the Top Stories section of Search, encouraging users who aren’t logged in to sign into their Google account so they can select their preferred news sources. Once signed in, users can choose which publishers they want to see more often in Top Stories, giving more control over personalized news results.
Bing Search Now Shows Dynamic Results Counts Instead of Fixed Numbers
Bing has shifted to displaying dynamic search result counts that update in real time as users scroll or refine their queries, rather than showing a static “About X results” number at the top of the page. This change aims to give users a more accurate sense of how many relevant results are actually available as they interact with the results list — reflecting fluctuations in relevance and filtering rather than a single estimated total.
Google Confirms Business “Short Names” Are Being Removed
Google is phasing out Business Short Names, the custom short URLs that let businesses be found more easily in Search and Maps, with affected listings losing these identifiers soon. Businesses will no longer see or be able to set short names, and existing short name URLs may stop working, so brands should update marketing materials if they relied on those links.
PPC Related News and Updates from Major Search Engine
Google Rolls Out UCP-Powered Checkout in AI Mode, Letting Users Buy Directly in Search & Gemini
Google has begun rolling out Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)-powered checkout within AI Mode on Search and the Gemini app, allowing eligible U.S. shoppers to complete purchases from partners like Etsy and Wayfair right inside the AI experience without leaving the interface. This capability marks a big step toward seamless “agentic commerce,” reducing friction by collapsing discovery, decision, and transaction into one flow and signaling a broader shift in how AI and e-commerce interact.
