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
Google Updates Spam Guidelines for Shareable Pages and Generated Content
Google has updated its user-generated spam guidance, recommending that platforms use noindex or crawling restrictions for shareable pages, AI-generated content, and interactive tools that are not intended for public Search discovery. Google also recommends monitoring Search Console for unusual indexing spikes and suspicious content creation activity to detect spam earlier.
Google Explains Search Console Indexing Report Delays
Google’s John Mueller explained that Search Console indexing reports do not need to update constantly because indexing changes are generally gradual. He said Google prioritizes faster reporting updates where they are most useful and advised SEOs not to spend too much time worrying about data freshness.
Google Gives Restaurants Direct Control Over Ordering Providers
Google now allows restaurants to manage third-party ordering providers directly from their Google Business Profile dashboard. Businesses can independently enable or disable pickup and delivery options for individual providers without waiting for removal requests to be processed. The feature gives restaurants greater control over how customers place orders through Google Search and Maps.
Google Clarifies Why Search Console Does Not Show All Backlinks
Google’s John Mueller clarified that Search Console does not display every backlink, including all spammy links, because its Links report provides only a sample of the links Google knows about. He advised website owners to ignore random spammy backlinks rather than worry about missing links or rely on third-party toxic link reports.
Google Updates Favicon Guidelines for Homepage Redirects
Google updated its favicon documentation, clarifying that Googlebot must be able to crawl the homepage and follow redirects to the page where the favicon is specified. Googlebot-Image must also be able to access the favicon file, and none of these URLs should be blocked by robots.txt or other restrictions. Google’s John Mueller explained that the clarification also helps AI systems understand favicon troubleshooting requirements.
PPC Related News and Updates from Major Platforms
ChatGPT Tests New Ad Format With Amazon DSP Integration
ChatGPT is testing a new “Learn more” link with an arrow and dotted underline in some text-based ads. Separately, some ChatGPT ads are now being served through Amazon DSP, allowing select U.S. advertisers to buy ChatGPT ad placements through Amazon’s advertising platform. OpenAI continues to control ad delivery and placement.
Google Expands AI Mode Ads to More Countries
Google is expanding ads in AI Mode to 10 additional countries, including India, Canada, Australia, and Singapore. It is also launching multiturn ads in the U.S., allowing sponsored ads to appear in responses to users’ follow-up questions during AI Mode conversations. All ads will be clearly labelled as Sponsored.
Google Ads Introduces AI-Powered Review Summaries for Search Ads
Google has published a new Google Ads Help document explaining how AI-generated review summaries appear directly in Search ads. Google AI automatically gathers positive customer feedback from across the web and turns it into short summaries to build trust and help potential customers evaluate businesses. The feature is available for eligible Search campaigns in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and India.
Google Ads Tests New All Conversions Navigation
Google Ads has rolled out a new All Conversions submenu under Goals, giving advertisers direct access to all conversion actions without an extra navigation step. The view includes details such as primary and secondary status, account-level goals, click-through conversion windows, repeat rate, and last seen. This makes conversion tracking settings easier to review and manage.
Google Ads Tests Apple Messages Button in Sponsored Results
Google is testing a new Apple Messages button in sponsored Search results, allowing users to start a conversation with an advertiser directly through Apple Messages. The button opens a pre-filled message, and the feature appears to be part of a limited test related to Google Ads’ beta Message assets. A wider rollout has not been confirmed.
