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Find everything you need to know. --- ## Posts - [Google Search Volatility Spikes This Weekend](https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-search-volatility-spikes-this-weekend/): Google search ranking volatility spikes this weekend, leaving SEOs buzzing as tools react and Search Console delays add confusion for many site owners. - [Google Search Console Data Delay: No New Data Since 57.5 Hours](https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-search-console-data-delay/): Google Search Console hasn’t updated any performance data since 57.5 Hours, causing delays for users monitoring recent SEO metrics and search visibility. - [Google Discover Introduces AI-Powered Enhancements for Better User Experience](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-discover-introduces-ai-powered-enhancements-for-better-user-experience/): Google Discover now offers seamless AI integration directly within article views, transforming how users interact with content from their feeds.... - [Search Console Delays 2025: Beat Performance & Indexing Report Lag](https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/search-console-delays-2025-beat-performance-indexing-report-lag/): Search Console reports delayed in Dec 2025? Uncover causes, no ranking impact, and proven SEO fixes for performance & indexing glitches. Optimize smarter now! - [Google Search Console Data Update Delay: No New Data Since 32 Hours](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-search-console-data-update-delay/): Google Search Console hasn’t updated any performance data since December 2, causing delays for users monitoring recent SEO metrics and search visibility. - [Google Search Console Page Indexing Report Stuck: What You Need to Know](https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/gsc-page-indexing-report-delay-what-you-need-to-know/): Google Search Console's page indexing report is stuck with delayed data. Learn why it's only a reporting glitch and what SEOs should do meanwhile. Calmly. - [Thanksgiving Google Search Ranking Update Causes Big Shifts](https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/thanksgiving-google-search-ranking-update-causes-big-shifts/): Google’s Thanksgiving 2025 update triggers major ranking volatility, with SEOs reporting traffic drops, shifts in search results, and indexing delays. - [OpenAI Launches Shopping Research Assistant Inside ChatGPT](https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/openai-shopping-research-assistant-chatgpt/): OpenAI introduces Shopping Research in ChatGPT, a new AI-powered product discovery feature that creates personalized buyer’s guides using GPT-5 mini. - [Google Search Console Adds Branded Query Filter – Launching Soon in India](https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/google-search-console-adds-branded-query-filter/): Google Search Console is rolling out the new AI-powered Branded Query Filter in India to separate branded and non-branded traffic for clearer SEO reporting. - [Google Maps Tests Reviewer Nicknames and Adds New Trending Explore Tab Section](https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-maps-rolls-out-new-nicknames-and-explore-trends/): Google Maps tests reviewer nicknames and adds a new trending section in the Explore tab, aiming to improve discovery, personalization, and user engagement. - [Google Experiments With Gray-Shaded Search Ads Inside the Local Pack](https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-tests-gray-shaded-search-ads-in-local-pack/): Google is testing gray-shaded search ads inside the Local Pack, making ads blend more with organic results. Here’s what this new design experiment means. - [New Report Shows a Big Gap Between Google Rankings and LLM Citations](https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/new-report-shows-a-big-gap-between-google-rankings-and-llm-citations/): A new report compares Google rankings with citations from ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, revealing differences in how each AI model overlaps sources. - [Google Adds Custom Annotations To Search Console Performance Reports](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-search-console-rolls-out-custom-annotations/): Google rolls out custom annotations in Search Console reports. Add notes to charts, track changes and give context to shifts for SEOs and site owners. - [Google Introduces AI-Powered Ads Advisor and Analytics Advisor for Marketers Worldwide](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-introduces-ai-powered-ads-advisor-and-analytics-advisor-for-marketers-worldwide/): Google rolls out AI-powered Ads Advisor & Analytics Advisor globally, enhancing ad campaign performance & data analysis for marketers. - [Google Launches Structured Data For Merchant Shipping Policies](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-launches-structured-data-for-merchant-shipping-policies/): Google Search now allows websites to display shipping costs and delivery times on site using structured data, without needing to depend on Merchant Center. - [OpenAI Launches GPT-5.1 with Enhanced Instruction Following and Adaptive Reasoning](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/gpt-5-1-instant-thinking-models/): OpenAI has launched GPT-5.1, introducing smarter instruction following, improved reasoning, & with new personalization features. - [Google Rankings Ripple Again: November 7th Volatility Sweeps Search Results](https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-rankings-volatility-on-november-7-search-results/): Significant ranking shifts hit Google search results on November 7, indicating another wave of algorithm volatility . - [Google Experiments with Tinted Background Colors on Search Results Page](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-experiments-with-tinted-background-colors-on-search-results-page/): Google is experimenting with tinted background colors on its search results page, aiming to enhance visual distinction and improve the overall user experience. - [Google Maps Gets Smarter with Gemini AI Upgrade](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-maps-gets-smarter-with-gemini-ai-upgrade/): Google Maps introduces Gemini AI for enhanced navigation, real-time insights, and smarter route suggestions, transforming how users explore and travel daily. - [Google and Bing Begin Indexing Grokipedia: The AI-Generated Encyclopedia](https://news.opositive.io/google/grokipedia-an-ai-encyclopedia-launched-with-885k-pages-google-and-bing-have-already-indexed-hundreds-sparking-debate-in-the-seo-world/): Grokipedia, an AI encyclopedia, launched with 885K pages. Google and Bing have already indexed hundreds, sparking debate in the SEO world. - [Google Labs & DeepMind Unveil Pomelli: AI-Powered Branding for SMBs](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-labs-unveil-pomelli-ai/): Pomelli launched as a public beta to help SMBs auto-generate branded marketing content by analyzing websites and building a unique “Business DNA” profile. - [Google Search Ranking Swings: Insights on October 28th Volatility](https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/google-search-ranking-swings-insights-on-october-28th-volatility/): Google search rankings saw notable fluctuations around October 28th, 2025, with the SEO community and tracking tools reporting problems . - [Google Search Ranking Swings: Insights on October 28th Volatility](https://news.opositive.io/uncategorized/google-search-ranking-swings-insights-on-october-28th-volatility-2/): Google search rankings experienced significant fluctuations around October 28th, 2025, with the SEO community and multiple tracking tools - [Google Expands “What’s Happening” Feature in Business Profiles for Restaurants and Bars](https://news.opositive.io/local-news/google-feature-in-business-profile/): Google expands the “What’s Happening” feature in Business Profiles to multi-location restaurants and bars across major countries for better local visibility. - [Google's Merchant Center for Agencies: A New Way to Manage Multiple Accounts](https://news.opositive.io/google/googles-merchant-center-for-agencies-a-new-way-to-manage-multiple-accounts/): Google is launching Merchant Center for Agencies, a new platform built for agencies to manage multiple Merchant Center accounts easily and enhance performance. - [OpenAI Unveils ChatGPT Atlas – The Next Evolution of AI Web Browsing](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/openai-unveils-chatgpt-atlas/): OpenAI unveils ChatGPT Atlas, its first AI-powered web browser for Mac. Google-integrated search, ChatGPT sidebar tools, and smart browsing features - [For search snippets and AI answers, Bing supports data-nosnippet.](https://news.opositive.io/bing/for-search-snippets-and-ai-answers/): Bing has added support for the data-nosnippet, allowing websites to block selected sections of a page from appearing in search result snippets or AI- answers - [Google Introduces GA4 Analytics Advisor – A New AI Assistant for Data Insights](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-ga4-analytics-advisor/): Google introduces GA4 Analytics Advisor — an AI-powered assistant that simplifies data insights, answers queries, and explains metrics in real time. - [Google Lighthouse 13 Brings Insight Based Audits](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-lighthouse-13-brings-insight-based-audits/): Google Lighthouse 13 replaces legacy audits with insight-based guidance matching Chrome DevTools. Scores stay the same; PageSpeed rollout starts soon. - [Google’s 2025 Misrepresentation Policy Update: Essential Compliance Guidance for Shopping Ads and Free Listings](https://news.opositive.io/uncategorized/googles-2025-misrepresentation-policy-update-essential-compliance-guidance-for-shopping-ads-and-free-listings/): Google updates its 2025 Misrepresentation policy for Shopping Ads and free listings with key compliance tips for delivery, returns, and appeals. - [Google Search Ranking Volatility: October 7–8, 2025](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-search-ranking-volatility-october-7-8-2025/): SEOs report major Google ranking shifts and traffic drops starting Oct 7-8, 2025. Is this another shuffle or a sign of a bigger search update? - [Google Merchant Center Introduces Google Wallet as New Promotion Option](https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/google-merchant-center-introduces-google-wallet-as-new-promotion-option/): Google has added a new way to promote your store in GMC. The new option is Google Wallet. It likely allows you to indicate that you accept Google Wallet for payments. - [Google Evaluates Enhanced AI Overviews Designed to Support Recipe Content Publishers](https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/google-evaluates-enhanced-ai-overviews-designed-to-support-recipe-content-publishers/): Google is trying out a new version of the AI Overviews for recipe results. The new look places the recipe cards, indicates citations and provides a shorter AI response. - [Google’s August 2025 Spam Update Sparks](https://news.opositive.io/google/googles-august-2025-spam-update/): Google's August 2025 spam update, launched on August 26, is causing significant ranking fluctuations and indexing issues, impacting SEO performance globally. - [AI Search Shows Higher 404 Pages Compared to Google | Study Findings](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/ai-search-shows-404-pages/): A new study reveals that AI Search sends users to broken 404 pages nearly three times more often than Google, raising concerns about accuracy and reliability. - [Google Updates Business Profile Links Policies & Guidelines](https://news.opositive.io/local-news/updates-business-profile-links-policies/): Google has updated its Business Profile links policies and guidelines, introducing new rules for managing links. Discover what these changes mean for businesses and SEO visibility. - [Perplexity’s Discover Pages Reveal Unexpected SEO Opportunities](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/perplexity-discover-pages/): Perplexity’s Discover Pages highlight surprising SEO opportunities, showing how AI-driven content discovery can influence visibility, ranking strategies, and traffic growth for digital marketers and businesses. - [Google Says: Sitemap Uploads in GSC Won’t Trigger Instant Crawling](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-says-sitemap-uploads-dont-ensure-instant-crawls/): Google says uploading sitemaps in Google Search Console does not guarantee instant crawling or indexing. Instead, sitemaps act as discovery signals, helping Google prioritize content more efficiently. - [Google Rolls Out August 2025 Spam Update](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-rolls-out-august-2025-spam-update/): Discover everything about Google’s August 2025 Spam Update—what’s changed, how it improves search quality, and steps website owners should take to stay compliant and unaffected by new spam policies. - [Google Search Ranking Volatility Status Update](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-search-ranking-volatility-status-update/): Google rankings show mixed volatility in Aug 2025. SEOs report major traffic drops, shifts, and instability post-June core update. - [Google AI Mode Expands in 180 Countries with Agentic Capabilities](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-ai-mode-expands/): Google AI Mode is rolling out to 180+ countries, gaining task-oriented agentic features like restaurant reservations, personalization, and link sharing. - [Lazy Loading and LCP: Why It Can Delay Largest Paint](https://news.opositive.io/google/lazy-loading-and-lcp/): Google warns lazy loading can delay LCP if used above the fold. Learn how it impacts SEO, Core Web Vitals, and best practices to fix it. - [Search Snippet Update: ‘Copy Code’ Replaces Prominent Coupon Buttons in Google](https://news.opositive.io/google/search-snippet-update-copy-code-replaces/): Discover Google’s new search result snippet design—coupon codes now display as understated ‘Copy Code’ links instead of bold clippable buttons. - [Google AI Overviews Tests Bottom Tray for “Explain” Features](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-ai-overviews-tests-bottom-tray-for-explain-features/): Google AI Overviews now tests a bottom tray for “Explain this,” related images, and copy text options, offering quick results without opening a new page. - [Google’s John Mueller on AI SEO Acronyms: More Hype Than Help](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/googles-john-mueller-on-ai-seo-acronyms-more-hype-than-help/): John Mueller warns that new SEO acronyms like GEO, AIO, and AEO are more hype than help, calling them “spammy” and “scammy” in industry discussions. - [Google Search Ranking Volatility Shakes Up](https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/google-search-ranking-volatility-continues-weeks-after-core-update/): Ongoing Google search ranking volatility has sparked fresh SEO community chatter, weeks after the June 2025 core update, with tracking tools showing sustained turbulence. - [Google Tests “From Online Stores” Section in Search](https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/google-tests-new-from-online-stores-search-results-section/): Google is experimenting with a “From online stores” section in search results, expanding its retail-focused features beyond the existing nearby store listings. - [Google Adds Energy-Saving Green Leaf Label to Product Listings](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-adds-energy-saving-green-leaf-label-to-product-listings/): Google is now showing an energy-saving green leaf label on qualifying product listings in Search, marking eco-friendly options directly in the results. - [Google Confirms No Ranking Penalty for AI-Created Content](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-confirms-no-ranking-penalty-for-ai-content/): Google’s Gary Illyes assures publishers that AI-generated content, including images, won’t face ranking penalties, though success still depends on content quality. - [Cloudflare Blocks Perplexity AI for Stealth Crawling Tactics](https://news.opositive.io/google/cloudflare-blocks-perplexity/): Cloudflare removes Perplexity from verified bots and blocks its crawlers after detecting stealth crawling tactics violating robots.txt rules. - [Google: Draws Easy Connection to Meta Keywords and LLMS.txt](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-draws-easy-connection-to-meta-keywords-and-llms-txt/): Google’s Gary Illyes likens LLMS.txt to the outdated meta keywords tag, suggesting it may be equally ineffective and unnecessary for SEO. - [Google URL Removal Bug Exposes Vulnerability: Attackers Deindex URLs](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-url-removal-bug-deindexed/): A bug in Google’s URL removal tool allowed attackers to deindex legitimate web pages, raising major concerns about search integrity and abuse of removal requests. - [Google Business Profile Attributes With Confirmed By Percentages](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-business-profile-attributes-with-confirmed-by-percentages/): Google has rolled out a new feature for Business Profiles that shows the percentage of users who confirmed the accuracy of listed attributes - [Google Search Ranking Volatility Was Heated This Weekend – Reversals?](https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-search-ranking-volatility-was-heated-this-weekend-reversals/): Google Search rankings saw significant volatility over the weekend, with many reporting reversals from previous fluctuations. SEO experts must stay alert as rankings continue to shift. - [Google Says: Soft 404 Pages Still Consume Crawl Budget](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-says-404-consume-crawl-budget/): Google reveals that soft 404 pages still use crawl budget, even if they return a 200 OK status. Site owners should fix them to avoid wasting crawl resources. - [Google Says CSS Background Images Are Ignored in Indexing](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-says-css-images-arent-indexed/): Google confirms that images set via CSS background properties are not indexed. Webmasters should use HTML image tags to ensure visibility in search and image results. - [AI Search Optimization: Why Old School SEO Still Remains Good for Google AI](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-ai-search-optimization/): Google confirms AI Search doesn’t need special strategies. Learn why AI Search Optimization is just traditional SEO done right. - [Google Enhances Search Snippets With ‘See More’ & Extra Links](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-tests-interactive-snippets/): Google is testing expanded search result snippets with ‘See More’ and additional hyperlinks, offering users deeper content previews and improved navigation directly from the SERPs. - [Google Business Profile Now Allows Users to Check Edit Status](https://news.opositive.io/local-news/google-business-profile-now-allows-users-to-check-edit-status/): You can now check if your Google Business Profile edits are approved, pending, or rejected—making it easier to manage and track listing changes. - [Google Search Introduces AI-Powered Calls to Local Businesses](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/ai-calls-to-local-businesses/): Google introduces an AI feature in Search that can call local businesses on your behalf to confirm information like store hours and availability. - [Core Web Vitals Glitch in GSC Reporting](https://news.opositive.io/google/core-web-vitals-glitch/): Confirmed a reporting glitch in GSC affecting Core Web Vitals data. The issue may lead to inaccurate insights for site performance metrics. - [Google Business Profiles Now Request WhatsApp or Text Number at Setup](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-business-profiles-now-request-whatsapp-text-number-at-setup/): Google now prompts new Business Profile users to optionally add a text or WhatsApp number during setup, signaling a push toward more direct customer communication in Search and Maps. - [Google June 2025 Core Update Volatility Remains Heated Through Weekend](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-2025-core-update-remains-volatile-in-second-week/): Google’s June 2025 Core Update continues to show high volatility two weeks after rollout, with mixed results across the SEO community and major fluctuations in rankings - [Desktop Dominates: 90% of AI Search Traffic Skips Mobile Strategy](https://news.opositive.io/google/desktop-dominates-ai-search-strategy/): New research reveals 90% of AI-generated search traffic comes from desktop, highlighting a major gap in mobile strategy for digital marketers and SEOs. - [Google tests image zoom effect for search results](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-tests-image-zoom-effect-for-search-results/): Google is testing a zoom effect on search result images, making them more interactive when hovered over. First spotted by Sachin Patel on X. - [Mysterious Drop in Google Business Profile Metrics After June 25 — Glitch or Algorithm Update?](https://news.opositive.io/local-news/mysterious-drop-in-google-business-profile-metrics-after-june-25-glitch-or-algorithm-update/): After June 25, many noticed sharp drops in GBP metrics. Is it a reporting glitch or ranking shift? Google is investigating and working to restore data. - [Google Core Update June 2025: Signs of HCU Recovery Spotted](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-core-update-hcu-recovery/): Some sites impacted by previous core and helpful content updates are seeing partial recoveries during Google’s June 2025 Core Update. Volatility continues as the rollout progresses. - [Can AI Content Affect Your Google rankings?](https://news.opositive.io/google/ai-content-affect-google-rankings/): A study of 600,000 pages shows AI content doesn’t hurt Google rankings—if used moderately. Overuse, however, may lead to long-term SEO decline. - [llms.txt Is Not the New Meta Keywords — It's the Future of AI Visibility](https://news.opositive.io/google/llms-txt-future-of-ai-visibility/): llms.txt isn't the next meta keywords. It offers a new way to guide AI models to your best content—boosting clarity, visibility, and future-proofing your SEO strategy. - [Google AI Mode Displays Different Sources for the Same Query](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/ai-mode-displays-different-sources-for-the-same-query/): Google’s AI Mode shows varying citation sources based on device, browser, or even query refresh indicating a highly dynamic content surface that SEO experts must monitor closely. - [Google AI Mode Now Offers Follow-Up Query Suggestions to Users](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/ai-mode-now-offers-follow-suggestions-to-users/): Google’s AI Mode is now suggesting follow-up search queries to users, enhancing the search journey and potentially increasing engagement and monetization opportunities. - [Google generates People Also Ask answers nearly 13%](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-generates-paas/): Google now generates nearly 13% of answers in the "People Also Ask" section, according to new data, highlighting its growing role in self-sourcing search results. - [Google Merchant Center Introduces Automatic Shipping Updates](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-merchant-center-introduces-automatic-shipping-updates/): Google now offers automatic shipping updates in the Merchant Center for U.S. sellers, using tracking data to improve delivery accuracy and performance. - [Google AI Mode Can Reply in Multiple Languages Despite English-Only Claims](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-ai-mode-can-reply-in-multiple-languages-despite-english-only-claims/): Though officially English-only, Google AI Mode can respond in other languages like Japanese and German through follow-up questions, users report. - [Google Core Updates Aren’t About Quick Fixes, Says John Mueller](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-core-updates-notquickfixes/): Google’s John Mueller clarifies that core updates assess long-term site quality, not short-term fixes—emphasizing the need for consistent, high-quality content and user experience. - [Google Core Update June 2025 Rollout Sparks Initial Volatility](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-core-update-volatility/): Google’s June 2025 Core Update rollout has begun, triggering early ranking volatility across search results. Webmasters and SEOs report noticeable fluctuations as the update progresses. - [Track Smarter: Google Integrates Insights Directly Into Search Console](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-integrates-insights-directly-into-search-console/): Google has merged Search Console Insights into the main dashboard, offering deeper data, smarter reports, and improved content performance tracking. - [Google Launches June 2025 Core Update to Refine Search Rankings](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-core-update-june-2025/): Google launches its June 2025 Core Update, focusing on improved search result quality and relevance. Webmasters may see ranking shifts as the update rolls out globally. - [Major Google Search Ranking Volatility Spotted on June 28th](https://news.opositive.io/google/major-google-search-ranking-volatility-spotted-on-june-28th/): Unconfirmed Google update on June 28 causes major ranking shifts. SEO tools and experts report high volatility and traffic drops. Here's what we know so far. - [Google Search Ranking Volatility Update – June 2025](https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-search-ranking-volatility-update-june-2025/): Discover the latest on Google Search ranking volatility from June 2025, including tracking tool data and SEO community chatter. Stay updated. - [Google AI Overviews Miss Position 1 in Over 12% of Cases, Study Finds](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-ai-overviews/): A new study reveals that Google’s AI Overviews appear below the top organic result in 12.4% of cases, challenging assumptions about their consistent top-ranking placement. - [Google Business Profile Update: Country and State Disallow Adding to SABs](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-business-profile/): Google updates its Business Profile policy, preventing Service Area Businesses (SABs) from selecting entire countries or states as service areas. Only specific local regions are now allowed. - [Google Delves AI Mode in Search to India](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-ai-mode-in-search-to-india/): Google has expanded its AI Mode in Search to India. Discover how Indian users can access this advanced AI experience. - [Stay Ahead in 2025: 6 Pillars of Effective SEO Copywriting for Top Google Rankings](https://news.opositive.io/google/6-pillars-of-google-rankings/): Discover the 6 key pillars of SEO copywriting in 2025 to improve content relevance, boost search rankings, and stay ahead in the evolving world of digital marketing. - [Google Confirms: Larger & Older SEO Issues Take Longer to Recover in Search Results](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-confirms-larger-older-seo-issues-take-longer-to-recover-in-search-results/): John Mueller confirms that large or long-term SEO issues need more time to recover in Google Search, even after fixes. Manual actions may need a request. - [Google Testing New Report Review Options in Google Business Profiles](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-business-profile-review-reporting-update/): Google is testing new review reporting options in Google Business Profiles to improve how users flag inappropriate or spammy reviews. Here's what's changing. - [Google Now Includes AI Mode Traffic in Search Console Performance Reports ](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-now-includes-ai-mode-traffic-in-search-console-performance-reports/): Google now tracks AI Mode traffic in Search Console Performance reports. Learn how this update affects your SEO metrics, impressions, and clicks in the latest June 2025 update. - [Google Updates URL Structure Best Practices with New Examples for Improved Clarity](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-updates-url-structure/): Google Updates its URL structure guidelines by adding clear examples to help site owners improve SEO and user experience. Learn what’s new in these best practice changes. - [Google Launches 'Search Live' Feature with Talk and Listen Capabilities in Google App](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-launches-search-live-app/): Google Launches a new ‘Search Live’ feature in the Google App, allowing users to talk and listen for real-time search results, enhancing accessibility and user interaction. - [OpenAI Refreshes ChatGPT Search with Smarter Capabilities](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/openai-refreshes-chatgpt-search-with-smarter-capabilities/): OpenAI updates ChatGPT with improved search and smarter responses. Explore what’s new in handling longer, complex conversations. - [Google Retires 7 Structured Data Features To Simplify Search Results](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-retires-7-structured-data-features-to-simplify-search-results/): Google simplifies Search by retiring 7 structured data types, removing rarely used features like Book Actions, Salary Estimates & more. Learn what changes. - [How to Monitor Conversational AI-Style Searches in Google Search Console](https://news.opositive.io/google/how-to-monitor-conversational-ai-style-searches-in-google-search-console/): Track AI-generated or conversational queries in GSC with simple regex filters and impression-based sorting. - [Google Updates Event & Recipe Structured Data](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-updates-event-recipe-structured-data/): Google ends support for virtual events in schema and clarifies recipe image usage. Learn what these updates mean for structured data in search. - [Google Indexing Fewer Pages – SEO Insights on Recent Trends and Changes](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-indexing-fewer-pages-seo-insights-on-recent-trends-and-changes/): Explore the latest concerns over Google's indexing drop since May 2025. Learn from SEO experts about the impact and insights into recent trends and changes. - [The Great Decoupling of Google Search: A Shift from Clicks to Impressions](https://news.opositive.io/google/the-great-decoupling-of-google-search-clicks-vs-impressions/): Great Decoupling of Google Search shows impressions rising, but clicks dropping. Discover how AI Overviews are impacting CTR and search traffic. - [Google Search Console Misses Half of Search Queries](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-search-console-misses-half-of-search-queries/): A new study reveals Google Search Console may miss up to 50% of search queries, especially conversational ones, leaving marketers with incomplete SEO data. - [Want Your Website to Show Up in Google AI Mode? Make Sure It’s Indexed First!](https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/want-your-website-to-show-up-in-google-ai-mode-make-sure-its-indexed-first/): Want your site to appear in Google AI Mode or AI Overviews? Ensure your page is indexed and meets all technical SEO standards. Learn how to check and fix it now - [Google Changes When Local Q&A Appears](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-updates-qa/): Google has updated when Local Questions & Answers appear in search results, aiming to improve relevance and visibility for users searching local business information. - [Google Ranking Volatility Surges on May 29](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-search-ranking/): Google Search experienced notable ranking fluctuations on May 29th, suggesting possible algorithm changes impacting site visibility and search performance across various industries. - [Google Tests Query Expansion Tabs in AI Overviews](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-ai-overview/): Google is testing query expansion tabs in AI Overviews, helping users explore related topics and refine searches directly within the AI-generated results in Search. - [Google Business Profiles Introduces 'Chat Clicks' Metric in Performance Reports](https://news.opositive.io/google/google-business-profiles/): Discover how Google's new 'Chat Clicks' metric in Business Profiles helps track customer engagement from chat interactions on Search and Maps. --- # # Detailed Content ## Pages > Share your expertise with a wider audience. Join the Opositive News contributor network and create high-quality content that resonates with readers and ranks well. - Published: 2025-03-12 - Modified: 2025-04-02 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/write-for-us/ Are you passionate about SEO and search industry updates? Do you have valuable insights, research, or newsworthy trends to share with the SEO community? Opositive News is always looking for expert contributors who can provide high-quality, informative, and timely content on search engine updates, algorithm changes, and best practices. Submission Guidelines Content must be original, well-researched, and factually accurate. Articles should be news-focused or provide data-driven insights, we do not accept promotional or sales-driven content. Proper citations and references must be included for any data, research, or quotes used. Posts should be concise and to the point, with clear takeaways for SEO professionals. 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Impact. - Published: 2019-04-12 - Modified: 2025-04-02 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/about-us/ Opositive News is your trusted source for the latest updates, trends, and insights in the world of SEO. As a dedicated news platform, we cover everything from algorithm updates to shifts in search engine ranking factors, ensuring that SEO professionals, digital marketers, and businesses stay informed. What We Cover We provide timely and in-depth coverage of: Search Algorithm Updates – Breaking news on Google, Bing, and other search engine updates affecting rankings and search visibility. On-Page & Technical SEO Changes – Insights on evolving best practices, indexing updates, and technical optimizations that impact website performance. Off-Page & Link Building Trends – Coverage of link-building strategies, authority signals, and evolving backlink policies. 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Find everything you need to know. - Published: 2019-04-07 - Modified: 2025-04-02 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ Opositive News - Get SEO News regarding Google, Bing, AI Updates Skip to content Menu O+ News Google AI News Bing Algorithm Updates About Us Menu Flash News Search Console Delays 2025: Beat Performance & Indexing Report Lag Google Discover Introduces AI-Powered Enhancements for Better User Experience Google Search Console Data Update Delay: No New Data Since 32 Hours Google Search Console Page Indexing Report Stuck: What You Need to Know Thanksgiving Google Search Ranking Update Causes Big Shifts OpenAI Launches Shopping Research Assistant Inside ChatGPT Google Search Console Adds Branded Query Filter – Launching Soon in India Google Experiments With Gray-Shaded Search Ads Inside the Local Pack Google Maps Tests Reviewer Nicknames and Adds New Trending Explore Tab Section New Report Shows a Big Gap Between Google Rankings and LLM Citations facebook linkedin instagram youtube Search SEO News Menu O+ News Google AI News Bing Algorithm Updates About Us Monday, December 08, 2025 Menu Latest News AI News November 26, 2025 OpenAI Launches Shopping Research Assistant Inside ChatGPT Google AI News Latest News November 14, 2025 Google Introduces AI-Powered Ads Advisor and Analytics Advisor for Marketers Worldwide Google Algorithm Update Google Latest News December 5, 2025 Search Console Delays 2025: Beat Performance & Indexing Report Lag Search Console performance reports lag by 32 hours while page indexing data stalls for two weeks, frustrating SEOs tracking site health and traffic trends.​ Current Glitches in Reports Performance dashboards … Read More Google Algorithm Update Latest News December 2, 2025 Google Search... --- --- ## Posts > Google search ranking volatility spikes this weekend, leaving SEOs buzzing as tools react and Search Console delays add confusion for many site owners. - Published: 2025-12-09 - Modified: 2025-12-09 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-search-volatility-spikes-this-weekend/ For many SEO professionals, particularly those who closely monitor Google rankings, the past weekend was quite the journey. A lot of people noticed sudden ups and downs in search results, and it didn’t take long for conversations to spark across the industry. Some tracking tools showed big movements, while a few others were more subtle, but overall the vibe was definitely something’s happening. What’s adding more confusion is that Google hasn’t been confirming much lately. For a long time, SEOs waited for those official core update announcements, but recently it almost feels like Google prefers staying quiet. Many were expecting more frequent core updates this year, but instead, we are only seeing waves of ranking changes without any clear statement from Google. To make things more interesting, Search Console has also been lagging for a couple of weeks. Data is delayed, charts are stuck, and right when everyone needs clarity, the numbers aren’t coming through. Not the best timing when rankings are dancing around. Looking back, this isn’t the first spike. We saw noticeable movements around December 3rd and 4th. Before that, right before Thanksgiving, there was a big shake that caught everyone’s attention. Going further back, ranking shifts happened around November 20th, November 12th, then the so-called Movember update near November 8th. October was also full of turbulence, Halloween fluctuations, activity around the 15th–17th, and even early October wasn’t calm. Despite all this activity, there is still no official confirmation of a core update. It could be testing, tweaks,... --- > Google Search Console hasn’t updated any performance data since 57.5 Hours, causing delays for users monitoring recent SEO metrics and search visibility. - Published: 2025-12-08 - Modified: 2025-12-08 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-search-console-data-delay/ A major delay is currently affecting data updates in Google Search Console (GSC). Performance metrics have not refreshed for the past 57. 5 hours, leaving users without the latest information on clicks, impressions, and search visibility. All common performance reports are subject to this delay in GSC such as queries, pages, devices, and appearance of search. Users that are tracking their daily performance in SEO, tracking a trend in their traffic or just analyzing the changes that have occurred in the recent past might end up having incomplete or missing information until Google goes back to the normal updates. Google has not issued an official statement yet, but similar delays in the past were resolved once data processing caught up. --- - Published: 2025-12-05 - Modified: 2025-12-05 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-discover-introduces-ai-powered-enhancements-for-better-user-experience/ Google Discover now offers seamless AI integration directly within article views, transforming how users interact with content from their feeds. These updates focus on quick insights and deeper exploration, available initially on Android devices. New AI Features in Discover Feeds Access these tools via the three-dot menu when opening articles in Chrome Custom Tabs from Discover. Instant Summaries: Get concise overviews of lengthy articles to grasp key points rapidly. Follow-Up Queries: Pose related questions for tailored responses based on the content. In-Depth Exploration: Uncover additional details, sources, and expansions beyond the original piece. This rollout enhances mobile browsing without disrupting the core feed experience. How It Works for Everyday Users Tap an article from Discover, then select from the menu options powered by advanced AI models. Summaries highlight essentials, follow-ups refine understanding, and deeper dives link to relevant web resources. Android users report smooth integration, though iOS support lags behind. These features build on existing AI tools like overviews, prioritizing user convenience in content consumption. Implications for Content Strategy Publishers benefit from increased engagement as AI directs traffic back to original sites while aiding discovery. Diversify strategies across newsletters, analysis-driven posts, and multimedia to align with evolving search behaviors. Focus on unique insights to stand out in AI-curated results. Platform Availability and Rollout Currently Android-exclusive via Google app updates, with beta hints at broader expansion. No Labs opt-in required in select regions like India. Monitor for iOS and desktop versions to maximize reach. --- > Search Console reports delayed in Dec 2025? Uncover causes, no ranking impact, and proven SEO fixes for performance & indexing glitches. Optimize smarter now! - Published: 2025-12-05 - Modified: 2025-12-05 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/search-console-delays-2025-beat-performance-indexing-report-lag/ Search Console performance reports lag by 32 hours while page indexing data stalls for two weeks, frustrating SEOs tracking site health and traffic trends. Current Glitches in Reports Performance dashboards miss fresh clicks, impressions, and queries beyond 32 hours, halting daily analysis. Page indexing coverage freezes at mid-November data despite brief progress, showing only partial updates before stalling again. SEO communities buzz with complaints on forums and social platforms, echoing past disruptions without official timelines. Root Causes of Data Backlogs Google processes billions of pages daily, causing server overloads during peak periods that delay report aggregation. Historical patterns match 2023 performance freezes and 2019 indexing lags up to 16 days, all tied to backend pipelines. These affect display only—crawlers keep scanning, indexing proceeds, and rankings hold steady. Real SEO Impact and Common Myths Traffic and positions remain untouched, but outdated metrics blind recent content performance or error detection. Avoid panic fixes; use delays for deeper audits like schema tweaks or core web vitals. Proactive shifts prevent strategy stalls in fast-changing search landscapes. Essential Workaround Tools URL Inspection: Check live indexing status instantly. Server Logs: Spot Googlebot visits and crawl frequency. Google Analytics: Monitor real-time organic sessions and bounce rates. Sitemap Resubmit: Trigger priority crawls for new pages. Ahrefs/SEMrush: Validate rankings and backlinks independently. Building Resilient Monitoring Habits Google fixes trigger automatic backfills, restoring full history as seen before. Diversify across APIs, third-party suites, and custom dashboards to sidestep single-tool risks. Prioritize mobile-first design, E-E-A-T content, and internal linking now. Refreshed... --- > Google Search Console hasn’t updated any performance data since December 2, causing delays for users monitoring recent SEO metrics and search visibility. - Published: 2025-12-04 - Modified: 2025-12-05 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-search-console-data-update-delay/ A very significant delay in updating data on Google Search Console (GSC) is being noticed at the moment. New performance statistics have not been updated since 32 Hours, and users do not see the most recent data on the number of clicks, impressions, or search visibility. All common performance reports are subject to this delay in GSC such as queries, pages, devices, and appearance of search. Users that are tracking their daily performance in SEO, tracking a trend in their traffic or just analyzing the changes that have occurred in the recent past might end up having incomplete or missing information until Google goes back to the normal updates. Google, yet, has not officially released a statement, but such delays in the past have been resolved when processing caught up. --- > Google Search Console's page indexing report is stuck with delayed data. Learn why it's only a reporting glitch and what SEOs should do meanwhile. Calmly. - Published: 2025-12-02 - Modified: 2025-12-02 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/gsc-page-indexing-report-delay-what-you-need-to-know/ You may have noticed something annoying if you have recently checked your Google Search Console: the page indexing report hasn't been updated in more than two weeks. As of early December 2025, data from November 17 is displayed in Google's Index Coverage report; it appears as though someone neglected to hit the refresh button. The Real Issue: It's Just a Reporting Glitch The good news is that you shouldn't spend your nights worrying about this kind of issue. Google affirmed that the only reason for this delay is a reporting problem. Your actual indexing, crawling, and ranking aren't affected one bit. The data in the page indexing report might be stale, but your pages are being indexed just fine behind the scenes. While Google Search Console does experience occasional reporting delays, it's happened before and it will happen again, two weeks is definitely longer than normal. Still, it's worth noting that this is 100% a Google problem, not something you or your website did wrong. What Google Says About the Delay John Mueller from Google didn't stay silent about this. On Bluesky, he acknowledged the issue directly, saying: "Sorry! Looking at our data, the index coverage data is older than what we'd consider normal. " He also clarified that "this is usually just reporting, and not related to actual indexing. " When asked about when things would return to normal, Mueller admitted he didn't have a specific timeline. He said, "I don't have any information on when it'll catch back... --- > Google’s Thanksgiving 2025 update triggers major ranking volatility, with SEOs reporting traffic drops, shifts in search results, and indexing delays. - Published: 2025-11-27 - Modified: 2025-11-27 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/thanksgiving-google-search-ranking-update-causes-big-shifts/ It looks like Google may have rolled out another search ranking update over the past few days. At first, there wasn’t much talk about it, but today, more SEOs are noticing sudden changes, and some tracking tools are detecting unusual activity too. The changes probably started around Monday, November 24. I waited to mention it because I recently reported an update on November 20 and thought this might just be the same one continuing. But now it appears to be something new. Many website owners and SEOs are seeing big shifts in search rankings, traffic, and conversions. We’ve seen a lot of ranking volatility lately: updates or major movements around November 20, November 12, early November (“Movember update”), Halloween, mid-October, and early October. Some discussions slowed down recently because Google removed the 100-results-per-page option, which affected third-party tools, but SEOs can still feel when rankings change, and they’ve been noticing it. Because Thanksgiving is tomorrow, I’m calling this the Thanksgiving 2025 Google Update. What People Are Seeing (SEO Community Reactions) Here are some of the things SEOs are reporting: “Seems like an update started two days ago. Anyone else seeing changes? ” “Definitely, my traffic is behaving just like it does during an update, and tools are showing it too. ” “Big ranking drops, lower traffic, no conversions. ” “Lots of movement, some rankings up, others way down. ” “Massive shuffling happening. ” “Traffic has tanked. Google Discover is showing older articles. Indexing is delayed. ” Semrush --- > OpenAI introduces Shopping Research in ChatGPT, a new AI-powered product discovery feature that creates personalized buyer’s guides using GPT-5 mini. - Published: 2025-11-26 - Modified: 2025-11-26 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/openai-shopping-research-assistant-chatgpt/ OpenAI has officially announced a major new feature inside ChatGPT — Shopping Research, an AI-driven experience designed to help users find the right products quickly and confidently. The update comes as a direct response to Google's AI Mode and Gemini 3 shopping capabilities, marking a significant step forward in AI-assisted commerce. The new feature is rolling out now to logged-in users across Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans on both mobile and web. OpenAI says usage will be “nearly unlimited” during the holiday season, making it easier for millions of users to research products without leaving ChatGPT. What Shopping Research Can Do According to OpenAI, the feature can act as a personalized product expert. When a user asks a shopping-related question, ChatGPT will automatically suggest enabling Shopping Research. Once activated, it will: Ask clarifying questions Research deeply across the internet Check quality sources Compare product differences and tradeoffs Tailor results to your preferences and ChatGPT memory Deliver a personalized buyer’s guide within minutes This eliminates the need to manually compare products, read dozens of reviews, or search multiple retailer sites. OpenAI notes: “It’s a clear summary that normally would take a lot of comparing, reading, and checking on your own. ” How It Works OpenAI revealed that Shopping Research is powered by a specialized model: GPT-5 mini, trained using reinforcement learning specifically for shopping and product evaluation tasks. The model has been trained to: Read trusted product and review sites Cite reliable sources Synthesize key insights Compare features objectively Adjust... --- > Google Search Console is rolling out the new AI-powered Branded Query Filter in India to separate branded and non-branded traffic for clearer SEO reporting. - Published: 2025-11-25 - Modified: 2025-11-25 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/google-search-console-adds-branded-query-filter/ Google is releasing the Branded Query Filter, a long-awaited update to Google Search Console. It's already one of the biggest changes in SEO reporting this year. Some users around the world are already getting the update, and it will be available to more accounts, including those in India, in the next few weeks. You can now easily tell the difference between branded and non-branded search performance without having to use complicated regex or do manual exports. Until now, most SEO teams had to guess or sort data in spreadsheets to figure out how much traffic was coming from brand equity versus discovery keywords. This filter makes that process clearer, cleaner, and automatic. What is the purpose of the Branded Query Filter? The Branded Query Filter uses AI to find search terms that are related to your brand name, product names, and close variations, such as misspellings and language-based differences. This is especially helpful for Indian brands because people often search in more than one language, like English and Hindi (Hinglish) or regional dialects. So even questions like: "Price of a Tanishq gold ring" "tatasky recharge app" "zomatto order tracking" (a misspelling) may automatically fall under branded traffic if the AI knows what the brand wants. Where to Find This Setting You can find the option in Search Console under: Add Filter → Query → Branded / Non-Branded in Performance Some accounts already have the feature, while others may see it appear slowly as Google finishes the rollout. Don't worry if... --- > Google Maps tests reviewer nicknames and adds a new trending section in the Explore tab, aiming to improve discovery, personalization, and user engagement. - Published: 2025-11-21 - Modified: 2025-11-21 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-maps-rolls-out-new-nicknames-and-explore-trends/ Google Maps is quietly rolling out two new updates aimed at improving the user experience: custom reviewer nicknames and a fresh Trending section under the Explore tab. Both features appear to be in the experimental stage, reaching limited users, but they signal Google’s ongoing push toward personalization and better local discovery. 1. Reviewer Nicknames: Adding Personality to Reviews Google Maps is testing a feature that lets reviewers use short, expressive nicknames that highlight their interest or expertise. These nicknames show up just below the reviewer’s name, giving readers quick insight into who is sharing the review. Examples include: “Pizza Specialist” “Nature Trail Reviewer” “Local Guide – Food Explorer” Why It Matters More Context for Readers: Nicknames help users understand a reviewer’s background—whether they love coffee, travel spots, or local food. Higher Trust & Credibility: A review from someone labeled “Coffee Enthusiast” instantly feels more relevant when evaluating a café. Better Engagement: Reviewers may feel more encouraged to contribute when they have a unique identity within Maps. Business Impact Local businesses may benefit from: Better-qualified reviews Insights into customer interests Increased trust from potential visitors 2. New ‘Trending’ Section in the Explore Tab Alongside the nickname experiment, Google Maps is also showing a Trending section inside the Explore tab for select users. This section highlights places that are currently receiving higher attention and increased searches in the local area. What Appears in Trending? Early observations include: Popular restaurants gaining traction Newly opened cafés Tourist spots increasing in visitor interest Local experiences... --- > Google is testing gray-shaded search ads inside the Local Pack, making ads blend more with organic results. Here’s what this new design experiment means. - Published: 2025-11-21 - Modified: 2025-11-21 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-tests-gray-shaded-search-ads-in-local-pack/ Google has started testing a new visual treatment for search ads appearing within the Local Pack, and early users have spotted a subtle but noticeable change: gray-shaded ads that blend in more naturally with the organic listings. This experimental design aims to streamline the appearance of sponsored results, making them look more integrated within local search results rather than standing out sharply. While the update is not visible to everyone, it’s a strong sign that Google is rethinking how ads appear in high-intent local searches. BEFORE-- AFTER-- What’s Changing in the Local Pack? Traditionally, search ads inside the Local Pack come with clearly identifiable labels and distinct formatting. In the new test, however, Google is showing an ad with: A soft gray background  Lighter ad labeling  A layout closely resembling organic listings  This makes the ad blend more smoothly with the nearby businesses, almost appearing as a natural part of the list. Why Google May Be Testing a Gray Background 1. Increasing Ad Engagement A more native-looking ad often receives higher interaction because it strongly resembles standard search results. By reducing visual contrast, users may treat the sponsored listing just like any other recommended business. 2. Aligning With Google’s Current UI Style Google has been gradually shifting toward cleaner, less intrusive design elements. The gray shading fits this minimal, modern UI direction. 3. Improving Local Search Monetization Local searches carry strong commercial intent — people looking for cafés, salons, clinics, repair shops, etc. Subtle design updates can significantly impact clicks... --- > A new report compares Google rankings with citations from ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, revealing differences in how each AI model overlaps sources. - Published: 2025-11-20 - Modified: 2025-11-20 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/new-report-shows-a-big-gap-between-google-rankings-and-llm-citations/ A new study reveals that Google search rankings don’t match the way AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity choose their cited sources. Key Takeaways 1. Perplexity Is Most Similar to Google Perplexity searches the web in real time, so its answers look closest to Google results. It shared around 25–30% of domains with Google. About 43% of the domains Perplexity cited were also found in Google search results. 2. ChatGPT and Gemini Are More Selective These models depend more on their training data and less on current Google rankings. ChatGPT had only 10–15% domain overlap with Google and very few URL-level matches. Gemini was less stable—some results matched Google closely, while others barely matched at all. Overall, Gemini shared only 4% of Google’s domains, even though they made up a good part of Gemini’s citations. What This Means for Visibility Just ranking on Google is not enough anymore. Perplexity rewards websites that already do well in Google. ChatGPT and Gemini cite fewer sites and rely more on trusted, authoritative sources from their training—not necessarily what’s ranking today. So your website may rank high on Google but still not appear in AI answers. Study Limitations Most of the data came from Perplexity (89% of queries). Queries were matched by similarity, not exact wording. Only two months of data were analyzed. Conclusion: How to Rank in LLM Citations Strengthen your topical authority – Publish deep, expert-level content that shows expertise. Earn high-quality backlinks – Large Language Models prefer domains with strong... --- > Google rolls out custom annotations in Search Console reports. Add notes to charts, track changes and give context to shifts for SEOs and site owners. - Published: 2025-11-18 - Modified: 2025-11-18 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-search-console-rolls-out-custom-annotations/ Google has started rolling out a long-awaited upgrade to Search Console: custom annotations inside the Performance reports. The feature was first spotted in testing around May, and as of November 17, 2025, it is now becoming available to all properties. In simple terms, annotations let you attach small notes to specific dates on your performance charts. Instead of trying to remember “What did we change that week? ”, you can now mark those events directly in Search Console itself. What exactly has Google launched? When you open a Performance report in Search Console, you may now see a label at the top saying something like: “New! Right-click the chart to add a custom annotation to your data. ” From there, you can right-click on a point in the chart and add a short note explaining what happened on that date, for example: Site redesign went live Core update confirmed Major bug fixed New content hub launched This has been posted by Google on LinkedIn and in its blog. Google allows up to 200 annotations per property. You can delete an annotation if you no longer need it, but you can’t edit an existing one right now; you’d need to delete and recreate it. Also, annotations are automatically removed by Google after 500 days, so they don’t live there forever. System vs custom annotations Google’s documentation and the article highlight that there are now two types of annotations: System annotations: Created automatically by Google when there are known issues or changes... --- > Google rolls out AI-powered Ads Advisor & Analytics Advisor globally, enhancing ad campaign performance & data analysis for marketers. - Published: 2025-11-14 - Modified: 2025-11-14 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-introduces-ai-powered-ads-advisor-and-analytics-advisor-for-marketers-worldwide/ Google’s AI Revolution in Advertising Google is set to globally launch its revolutionary AI-powered Ads Advisor and Analytics Advisor tools for English-language accounts by early December. These advanced AI agents, powered by Google's Gemini AI, aim to assist marketers in optimizing their ad campaigns and understanding valuable traffic insights. Features of Ads Advisor The AI-powered Ads Advisor offers several key features designed to maximize advertising performance. It helps marketers implement AI recommendations, generate creative content at scale, resolve ad disapproval issues, and track a complete history of changes. Additionally, users can easily revert any AI-driven modifications if needed. For example, here is a screen showing the questions, "Why is my ad disapproved? How can I fix this? " The response looks like this: If you say yes, Google Ads Advisor will fix the issue for you. Here is a GIF of it in action: Here is a static image: Benefits for Marketers This tool simplifies campaign management by removing guesswork from building and optimizing ads, enabling businesses to achieve better results with less effort while maintaining full control over their marketing strategies. Analytics Advisor Enhances Data-Driven Decisions Alongside Ads Advisor, Google introduces the Analytics Advisor, another AI-driven assistant that streamlines data analysis and uncovers new performance insights. This helps marketers quickly make informed decisions based on accurate analytics. Industry Adoption and User Insights Dan Taylor, Vice President of Global Ads at Google, shared that over 80% of advertisers already use at least one AI-powered search ads feature. Furthermore, 2 million... --- > Google Search now allows websites to display shipping costs and delivery times on site using structured data, without needing to depend on Merchant Center. - Published: 2025-11-13 - Modified: 2025-11-13 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-launches-structured-data-for-merchant-shipping-policies/ Google has introduced a new way for ecommerce websites to show shipping costs and delivery times directly in Google Search. This no longer depends only on Merchant Center and instead uses simple code added to your website. What’s New Google now supports ShippingService structured data, which lets websites describe their shipping fees and delivery windows based on things like product weight, size, order value, or delivery location. This helps Google show clearer shipping details next to products in search results and knowledge panels. Implementation Websites can place all shipping policy markup on a single page. Each ShippingService can include different conditions that explain when certain shipping rates apply. Google picks the lowest valid shipping cost when multiple conditions match. You can define fixed fees or percentage-based charges and also set delivery times, including business days and cutoff timings. Location support includes countries, certain regions, and postal codes, depending on the area. Why This Matters This gives online stores a simple, markup-only way to share shipping policies with Google. Even if products aren’t added to Merchant Center yet, their shipping information can still appear in Search. However, if you also use Merchant Center, Search Console, or the Content API, Google may rely on those sources first. Looking Ahead To ensure your shipping details appear in Search, your structured data must follow Google’s rules, technical requirements, and Search Essentials. Using correct markup increases your chances of getting richer, more informative search results. Short Summary Google now lets ecommerce websites show shipping costs... --- > OpenAI has launched GPT-5.1, introducing smarter instruction following, improved reasoning, & with new personalization features. - Published: 2025-11-13 - Modified: 2025-11-13 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/gpt-5-1-instant-thinking-models/ OpenAI has announced the release of GPT-5. 1, introducing two distinct models — Instant and Thinking — with significant improvements aimed at better instruction adherence and adaptive task handling. What’s New GPT-5. 1 Instant: Designed for everyday use (including the standard chat experience), this model features a warmer, more conversational tone and improved fidelity when following user instructions. GPT-5. 1 Thinking: Built for complex workflows. This version adapts its processing time: for simple queries it’s approximately twice as fast as its predecessor, while for difficult tasks it takes more time to provide more thoughtful responses. Customization & Tone Options: Users now have additional personality style presets — such as “Professional,” “Candid,” and “Quirky” — alongside improved controls for response warmth, conciseness, and emoji usage. These personalization settings now apply immediately across ongoing conversations. Roll-out & Availability The update is rolling out first to paid subscribers (Pro, Plus, Go, Business) and will then reach free and logged-out users. In India, users on the free tier will be able to access the GPT-5. 1 Instant model once the rollout completes. Additionally, OpenAI has launched a special promotion in India: the subscription tier ChatGPT Go (which offers access to advanced features) is available free for 12 months for eligible users in India. While the free tier will eventually gain access, paid users are getting first access. Why It Matters Better instruction-following: The update reduces the need for heavy prompt-engineering and minimizes off-topic or drifting responses. Adaptive reasoning: Simple tasks feel snappier, while the... --- > Significant ranking shifts hit Google search results on November 7, indicating another wave of algorithm volatility . - Published: 2025-11-12 - Modified: 2025-11-12 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-rankings-volatility-on-november-7-search-results/ In early November 2025, many website owners and SEO professionals began noticing unusual movement across search results — a clear sign of ranking turbulence from Google LLC. The changes appear to have started late on Thursday, November 7, and continued into Friday. Search Engine Roundtable+1 What’s going on? According to Search Engine Roundtable’s editor Barry Schwartz, based on community chatter and data from third-party tracking tools, it looks like Google initiated a wave of ranking fluctuations — unofficially dubbed the “November Update”. Several site owners posted comments like: “I see I am 15 % down yesterday ... it is getting insane. “Lots of Google zombies yesterday and today traffic just died completely. ” These responses suggest that whatever this shift is, it had real impact on traffic, especially for activity-driven sites. What data is backing this up? Tracking tools such as SEMrush, Mozcast, Sistrix and others are showing spikes in volatility metrics this week. While Google hasn’t officially confirmed a formal core update, the signs are consistent with past algorithm-roll-out dynamics. In Search Engine Roundtable’s update archive, this November event follows other recent fluctuations — such as the “Halloween Update” in late October and earlier shifts in October 15-17. Who appears to be affected? Some site owners report large traffic drops (20 % or more) for pages lacking strong fundamentals (for example thin location pages with no physical address). Others appear to have improved their rankings — for instance, one user noted they “somehow overcame a long-term plateau. ” The... --- > Google is experimenting with tinted background colors on its search results page, aiming to enhance visual distinction and improve the overall user experience. - Published: 2025-11-07 - Modified: 2025-11-07 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-experiments-with-tinted-background-colors-on-search-results-page/ Google has launched an interesting experiment on its Search Engine Results Page (SERP) by applying a tinted brownish and yellowish background color instead of the usual white. This visual tweak affects the entire search interface, including the gray boxes that become darker, giving the page a distinct new look. What is the New Background Test About? The test, spotted recently by SEO watcher Khushal Bherwani, shows Google turning the familiar white background into a combination of brown, gray, and yellow tones. This color change also darkens the highlight boxes where search results appear, creating a noticeably different experience for users involved in the test. This is how it compares to the normal background color: Visual Differences Compared to Traditional Layout Screenshots shared on social media reveal that this change, while subtle in description, looks quite dramatic. Some users commented it almost seems like their monitor’s color settings are off because of the unusual tint color blending across the search results page. The tinted background extends even to the footer area of the page, making the entire site appear enveloped in this warm color palette. Regional Variances in the Experiment Interestingly, this change is not globally uniform. While some users accessing Google from the UK observe the tinted background, others using IP addresses from Australia still see the traditional white background on their search pages. This suggests Google is limiting the experiment regionally, possibly to gather region-specific feedback or test usability differences across markets. Potential Impact and Speculation Though this experiment... --- > Google Maps introduces Gemini AI for enhanced navigation, real-time insights, and smarter route suggestions, transforming how users explore and travel daily. - Published: 2025-11-07 - Modified: 2025-11-07 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-maps-gets-smarter-with-gemini-ai-upgrade/ Google Maps is rolling out a major update powered by Gemini, Google’s latest AI assistant technology, designed to make navigation smarter, more conversational, and hands-free for users. This upgrade brings several new features that enhance the driving experience, improve real-time alerts, and allow more natural interactions with your map. What’s New in the Gemini Update? The Gemini update focuses on four key improvements that will gradually become available to Google Maps users on both Android and iOS: Conversational Assistance While Driving With Gemini integrated into Google Maps, users can now talk naturally to the assistant while driving. You can ask multi-step questions like, “Is there a budget-friendly vegetarian restaurant along my route within four miles? What’s parking like there? ” Gemini can understand and respond with relevant answers, making it easier to find places or services on the go. Proactive Traffic Notifications Google Maps will now proactively notify drivers about traffic disruptions or road incidents before they even start navigating. Whether it’s an accident, flood, or slowdown ahead, Gemini will alert you to help plan alternative routes and avoid surprises on the road. Add video Landmark-Based Navigation Instead of dry instructions like “turn left in 500 feet,” Gemini enhances clarity by using recognizable landmarks. You’ll hear directions like “turn left after the Mobile gas station” or “turn right after the Thai Siam Restaurant,” with these landmarks also highlighted on the map for better guidance. Add video Google Lens with Gemini Integration Later this month, users in the U. S. will... --- > Grokipedia, an AI encyclopedia, launched with 885K pages. Google and Bing have already indexed hundreds, sparking debate in the SEO world. - Published: 2025-11-04 - Modified: 2025-11-04 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/grokipedia-an-ai-encyclopedia-launched-with-885k-pages-google-and-bing-have-already-indexed-hundreds-sparking-debate-in-the-seo-world/ A new AI-powered platform called Grokipedia has made a massive debut on the internet. Just a week after its launch, Google and Bing have already started indexing hundreds, possibly thousands, of its AI-generated pages. The project, described as an “AI-generated encyclopedia,” is being seen as a futuristic version of Wikipedia, only this one is built entirely by artificial intelligence. What Is Grokipedia? If you haven't heard about it yet, Grokipedia is essentially an AI-powered alternative to Wikipedia. Instead of being edited by thousands of human volunteers like Wikipedia, Grokipedia relies on xAI's Grok language model to automatically generate and manage its content. When the site went live, it already had over 885,000 articles ready to go. To put that in perspective, Wikipedia, the famous crowd-sourced encyclopedia that's been around for over two decades has around 7 million pages. So yes, Grokipedia is still much smaller, but it started massive. Grokipedia officially went live on October 27, 2025, under version 0. 1, and within days, it already hosted an astonishing 885,279 pages. That's nearly a million entries generated by AI. For comparison, Wikipedia the well-known human-edited encyclopedia, has around 7 million articles, but Grokipedia's rapid growth rate indicates it could soon catch up. The platform's goal is to use advanced AI models that can create and organize a lot of information to make and share true information. People all over the internet are both excited and worried about the idea of an AI-powered encyclopedia, even though it's still in the early... --- > Pomelli launched as a public beta to help SMBs auto-generate branded marketing content by analyzing websites and building a unique “Business DNA” profile. - Published: 2025-11-03 - Modified: 2025-11-03 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-labs-unveil-pomelli-ai/ Google Labs, in collaboration with DeepMind, has debuted Pomelli—an experimental AI tool aimed at small-to-medium-sized businesses seeking consistent, on-brand marketing content without in-house creative resources. Launched as a public beta in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, Pomelli promises to rewrite how businesses handle campaign design, messaging, and asset creation. The Pomelli AI Breakthrough Pomelli leverages advanced AI to analyze a business’s website and images, automating the creation of a comprehensive “Business DNA” profile. This profile encapsulates brand tone, color palette, preferred fonts, and overall visual style, ensuring campaign assets remain authentic and cohesive across all digital channels. From Strategy to Assets—Powered by AI After establishing the Business DNA, Pomelli offers tailored campaign ideas—instantly suggesting directions or allowing users to input custom prompts for goal-specific content generation. Branded creative assets are produced for websites, ads, and social platforms, all editable directly inside Pomelli before download. This dramatically streamlines the content generation workflow and reduces the need to brief external designers or agencies. Why Pomelli Matters for SMBs For businesses lacking dedicated content teams, Pomelli’s approach can save time and cut costs by automating the most labor-intensive aspects of marketing production. By making on-brand campaign creation faster and more accessible, the tool may gradually reduce the reliance on external graphic design and copywriting support. Early Access, Community Feedback As an early-stage Google Labs experiment, Pomelli is actively seeking user feedback to refine its experience. While the public beta rollout is limited to select English-speaking countries, Google emphasizes a phased approach,... --- > Google search rankings saw notable fluctuations around October 28th, 2025, with the SEO community and tracking tools reporting problems . - Published: 2025-10-30 - Modified: 2025-10-30 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/google-search-ranking-swings-insights-on-october-28th-volatility/ Around October 28th, 2025, multiple sources within the SEO community began reporting substantial changes in Google Search rankings. Both expert forums and third-party tracking tools indicate significant volatility, especially in US and UK search traffic over the period. Several users observed abrupt drops, sometimes as much as 42% in traffic, that suddenly returned to normal, characteristic of Google’s algorithm changes. SEO Community Observations Numerous SEO professionals have discussed dramatic shifts in traffic across forums like WebmasterWorld. Instances of UK and US traffic dropping sharply for brief durations were repeatedly mentioned. Users reported that Google News updates slowed, Search Console faced outages, and visibility on Discover was fleeting. Small publishers expressed concern about declining traffic and the increasing focus on larger publishers by Google's AI-driven results. UK traffic dropped 42% for some websites. US traffic reported severe losses, snapping back within hours. Google News and Discover suffered disruptions alongside Search Console access issues. Algorithmic focus appears to shift to larger publishers, affecting small sites. Third-Party Tracking Tool Results Several leading SEO tools tracked and documented the recent volatility. Resources such as Advanced Web Rankings, Semrush & Mozcast, monitored sharp rises and dips in SERP positions over the same period, reinforcing community chatter. Advanced Web Ranking Semrush Mozcast Recent months saw multiple episodes of Google ranking volatility: Significant movement noted around October 15–17 and October 7/8. Since Google reduced the ability to view 100 results per page, tool accuracy and chatter declined. Nevertheless, SEO community members are keenly spotting ranking changes independent... --- > Google search rankings experienced significant fluctuations around October 28th, 2025, with the SEO community and multiple tracking tools - Published: 2025-10-30 - Modified: 2025-10-30 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/uncategorized/google-search-ranking-swings-insights-on-october-28th-volatility-2/ Around October 28th, 2025, the SEO community and various third-party tracking platforms reported substantial volatility in Google search rankings. Notable shifts in rankings were especially evident in the UK and US markets, with some websites experiencing traffic drops as steep as 42%. These declines were often sudden but followed by quick recoveries, a pattern typical of algorithmic adjustments by Google. SEO forums like WebmasterWorld saw extensive discussions about these fluctuations, with users reporting significant downturns in Google News updates, limited visibility on Discover, and outages in Search Console, which compounded challenges in tracking ranking changes. Smaller publishers expressed concerns over declining traffic and a discernible algorithmic bias favoring larger publishers and sites with significant authority. Multiple ranking monitoring tools—including Semrush, Mozcast, Accuranker, and Advanced Web Rankings—also detected elevated volatility around this time. The pattern suggests Google may have made behind-the-scenes adjustments to refine search results, emphasizing the ongoing dynamic nature of search rankings. Site owners affected by these ranking fluctuations should keep a close eye on their analytics, continue applying SEO best practices, and remain patient as performance stabilizes. Stay updated for more guidance on navigating these changes. Forum discussion at X --- > Google expands the “What’s Happening” feature in Business Profiles to multi-location restaurants and bars across major countries for better local visibility. - Published: 2025-10-30 - Modified: 2025-10-30 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/local-news/google-feature-in-business-profile/ Google has officially expanded access to its Google Business Profiles’ “What’s Happening” feature to multi-location restaurants and bars across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Initially launched in May 2024 for single-location restaurants, this update marks a major step forward for businesses looking to drive real-time visibility and engagement directly from Google Search. What Is the “What’s Happening” Feature in Google Business Profiles? The “What’s Happening” feature in Google Business Profiles allows restaurants and bars to highlight events, offers, live music nights, and special promotions right at the top of their business listings. This gives users an immediate snapshot of what’s going on before they even click through to a website — a powerful advantage in today’s fast-moving search environment. The feature automatically surfaces key updates by pulling information from Google Posts and linked social media accounts, helping businesses save time while keeping their listings engaging and up to date. Who Can Access It Now? When Google first introduced this feature in May, only single-location restaurants were eligible. With the latest rollout, multi-location brands such as restaurant chains, franchises, and bar groups can now benefit from the feature across all their listings. This means that whether a user searches for a restaurant in New York or Sydney, they can now see local events or deals tailored to that specific location — ensuring personalized visibility and stronger foot traffic. Announcement and Google’s Insights Lisa Landsman from Google shared the update on LinkedIn, noting: “This is a great... --- > Google is launching Merchant Center for Agencies, a new platform built for agencies to manage multiple Merchant Center accounts easily and enhance performance. - Published: 2025-10-28 - Modified: 2025-10-28 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/googles-merchant-center-for-agencies-a-new-way-to-manage-multiple-accounts/ Google is launching a new version of its Merchant Center platform just for marketing agencies. It's called Merchant Center for Agencies. The goal of this project is to help agencies manage several client accounts more easily from a single dashboard. According to Google, a new help document that says the new Merchant Center for Agencies gives "agency users a tailored experience. " Only agencies that manage Google Merchant Center (GMC) accounts for other businesses can use the platform. It makes it easier for them to handle large amounts of e-commerce listings, diagnostics, and product data. People who work in the field are already paying attention. Dario Zannoni posted on LinkedIn that this new setup is similar to the old Multi-Client Account (MCA) model but has more specific features. It was designed to give agencies a cleaner, easier, and more scalable way to set things up, which lets them work more efficiently on more than one client account. Getting to the New Platform For people who are new: Agencies can ask for access by filling out Google's official Contact Us form. For people who already use it: If you already have an agency account, you can log in at merchants. google. com. Your agency dashboard will automatically be the first thing you see. Key Benefits for Agencies Google points out a few important benefits of the new interface: Efficiency in operations: A simplified single-view interface that combines all client accounts can save agencies one to two hours a week. Better supervision:... --- > OpenAI unveils ChatGPT Atlas, its first AI-powered web browser for Mac. Google-integrated search, ChatGPT sidebar tools, and smart browsing features - Published: 2025-10-23 - Modified: 2025-10-23 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/openai-unveils-chatgpt-atlas/ OpenAI has recently released the first web browser supported by AI: ChatGPT Atlas, available at the moment for Mac. It contains many of the features you expect from an AI sanity, but the most amazing feature is the built-in search is powered by Google Search and not Microsoft Bing, even though Microsoft is one of OpenAI’s investors and with being an early partner. Downloading ChatGPT Atlas Currently, ChatGPT Atlas can only be downloaded by Mac users via chatgpt. com/atlas, then after you have downloaded it, run the installer, then drag the application into your Applications folder for the installation to be completed. What Services are Available on ChatGPT Atlas Atlas serves as a standard web browser that allows users to visit any site; however, ChatGPT is integrated into its sidebar. Users can pose questions, rewrite emails they’ve written in Gmail, code assistance, memory for personalization, and shop online through intelligent agentic functionalities. Search Options in Atlas When searching within Atlas to ChatGPT, the browser will provide ChatGPT-style answers along with search-result tabs, like Web, Images, Videos, News, etc. — much like the existing search engines. Intriguingly, when the user clicks on those buttons, the results are tied to Google Search. Here are screenshots: Availability Atlas is available around the world on macOS for users who are on the Free, Plus, Pro, and Go plans. It is also available in beta for Business accounts, and may be enabled for Enterprise and Education accounts by their plan admin. The team is currently... --- > Bing has added support for the data-nosnippet, allowing websites to block selected sections of a page from appearing in search result snippets or AI- answers - Published: 2025-10-16 - Modified: 2025-10-16 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/bing/for-search-snippets-and-ai-answers/ Bing now supports the data-nosnippet HTML attribute. This lets websites keep certain parts of their pages from showing up in Bing's search snippets and AI-generated answers. Highlights Websites can choose which parts of Bing Search snippets and Copilot answers to leave out. Tagged content stays indexed and can still rank, but it won't show up in previews. Good for paywalled content, moderating user-generated content, and controlling what AI summaries show Bing now supports the data-nosnippet HTML attribute, which gives websites more control over what shows up in AI-generated answers and search snippets. You can use the attribute to keep the page indexed while excluding certain parts of it from Bing Search results and Copilot. Content marked with data-nosnippet can still rank, but it won't show up in previews. What’s New Data-nosnippet can be used on any HTML element you want to keep from being shown in previews. When Bing crawls your site, it can find marked sections, but they won't be in snippet text or AI summaries. Bing shows some common use cases: Don't show previews of paywalled or premium content. Limit how much user comments or reviews show up in AI answers Hide legal boilerplate, disclaimers, and cookie notices. Stop showing old notices and promotions that have already ended. Don't include sponsored blurbs or affiliate disclaimers in neutral previews. To avoid noise in A/B tests, hide the different versions of the copy during the tests. Put the most important content in front of the click and keep the sensitive... --- > Google introduces GA4 Analytics Advisor — an AI-powered assistant that simplifies data insights, answers queries, and explains metrics in real time. - Published: 2025-10-15 - Modified: 2025-10-15 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-ga4-analytics-advisor/ A Smarter Way to Understand Analytics Google has begun testing a new conversational AI feature inside GA4 called GA4 Analytics Advisor. This built-in assistant helps users interact with their analytics data using simple chat prompts instead of going through multiple dashboards and menus. What Makes GA4 Analytics Advisor Useful According to early testers, this AI tool can: Answer your data questions instantly with numbers and visuals. Guide you to the most relevant reports based on your query. Explain key metrics and processes with short educational notes drawn from Google’s documentation. In short, GA4 Analytics Advisor acts like a data companion — making insights easier to find and understand, even if you’re new to analytics Google’s Vision Behind the Feature Earlier this year at Google Marketing Live, the company shared its plans for AI-driven analytics and marketing tools. The Analytics Advisor fits perfectly into that plan, joining Google’s “data expert” AI that helps uncover trends and simplify data exploration. This is part of Google’s larger effort to make GA4 more intuitive — turning complex reports into conversational, easy-to-read summaries for marketers and business owners. Why GA4 Analytics Advisor Could Be a Game Changer The addition of the GA4 Analytics Advisor can save teams valuable time by providing: Faster answers without needing advanced query skills. Clear explanations for metrics and dimensions. Confidence in decisions, with transparent reasoning shown step by step. For digital marketers and businesses still adapting to GA4, this could make analytics far less intimidating and more actionable. What’s Still... --- > Google Lighthouse 13 replaces legacy audits with insight-based guidance matching Chrome DevTools. Scores stay the same; PageSpeed rollout starts soon. - Published: 2025-10-14 - Modified: 2025-10-15 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-lighthouse-13-brings-insight-based-audits/ Google Lighthouse 13 is now available. The old long list of performance audits is now broken down into clear insights that work with Chrome DevTools. Your score for performance stays the same. What Changed in Lighthouse 13 Instead of a lot of separate audits, Google Lighthouse now shows insight based diagnostics. This makes the report and Chrome DevTools show the same information to teams. Here are some examples of the new things you'll learn: CLS culprits to find out what causes layout shifts Document latency to include redirects, server time, and compression all at once Block CSS and JS from rendering to block surfaces Third parties to show how external scripts affect things LCP insights to help you figure out how to get to your biggest paint job These take the place of several older audits and make reports less noisy. Audits That were Removed Some older checks were completely removed because they don't add much value anymore. The new insights model includes First Meaningful Paint and a set of legacy diagnostics as some of its best features. Rollout and Availability You can now use npm and Chrome Canary to run Lighthouse 13. In about a week, it will be available in Page Speed Insights and in Chrome stable with Chrome 143. Why this matters for SEO and development teams Cleaner report with information about the root cause so that fixes are easier to rank The same advice is given in Google Lighthouse, DevTools, and PageSpeed Insights. There won't be... --- > Google updates its 2025 Misrepresentation policy for Shopping Ads and free listings with key compliance tips for delivery, returns, and appeals. - Published: 2025-10-13 - Modified: 2025-10-13 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/uncategorized/googles-2025-misrepresentation-policy-update-essential-compliance-guidance-for-shopping-ads-and-free-listings/ Google has clarified its Misrepresentation policy for Shopping Ads and free listings, providing detailed examples and guidance for merchants on compliance, delivery, and returns. This enhanced documentation promotes transparency, helps prevent policy violations, and supports advertisers in maintaining trust with their customers. What’s New in the Policy Clarification Over the past week, many in the SEO community have noticed irregularities in Google search rankings, particularly between October 7th and 8th. Consensus suggests this is not directly tied to a confirmed core update or recent serving bugs, although the timing has raised multiple questions. Industry Reactions and SEO Chatter Google’s recent update to its Misrepresentation policy does not change enforcement, but provides expanded examples for merchants. The aim is to give businesses a clearer roadmap to compliance and reduce common misunderstandings Expanded Examples: Non-Delivery and Returns The policy now includes more explicit examples pertaining to issues such as non-delivery of products and inoperable return or refund processes. Advertisers must reliably deliver products as promised and make sure their refund or return mechanisms work as claimed. Failure in these areas may be flagged as misrepresentation under Google’s updated guidance. Best Practices for Policy Compliance Google’s support documentation now offers advice on how to maintain compliance. Merchants are encouraged to: Accurately represent product availability and shipping timeframes Ensure functional and transparent refund/return processes Regularly review ads and listings for policy alignment. Appeals Process Explained Alongside these examples, Google has provided more details on how merchants can appeal policy decisions if their ads or... --- > SEOs report major Google ranking shifts and traffic drops starting Oct 7-8, 2025. Is this another shuffle or a sign of a bigger search update? - Published: 2025-10-10 - Modified: 2025-10-10 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-search-ranking-volatility-october-7-8-2025/ Ongoing Turmoil in Search Results Over the past week, many in the SEO community have noticed irregularities in Google search rankings, particularly between October 7th and 8th. Consensus suggests this is not directly tied to a confirmed core update or recent serving bugs, although the timing has raised multiple questions. Industry Reactions and SEO Chatter SEO forums and networks captured widespread Chatter on WebmasterWorld here is some of that chatter: Sudden drops in organic traffic, sometimes as much as 50% overnight. A surge in bot traffic, particularly during late hours, making up most site visits in some cases. Increased visits from countries outside primary markets, pointing to possible geo-targeting issues in Google's algorithm. Indexing concerns, with new articles failing to appear and older posts dominating positions. Unreliable traffic quality, with many calling this the most challenging period for free search referrals in recent history. What’s Next? Despite rampant speculation, no official core update has been announced so far. It’s expected that Google may make formal statements in the coming weeks, but for now, SEOs are advised to monitor fluctuations and avoid making drastic site adjustments. The volatility could relate to tool recalibrations or ongoing algorithm experiments, and further clarity is anticipated soon. For more such useful insight Refer:- news. opositive. io --- > Google has added a new way to promote your store in GMC. The new option is Google Wallet. It likely allows you to indicate that you accept Google Wallet for payments. - Published: 2025-10-09 - Modified: 2025-10-09 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/google-merchant-center-introduces-google-wallet-as-new-promotion-option/ Google has added a new promotional feature to Google Merchant Center that lets merchants highlight Google Wallet. Although no detailed documentation is available yet, this feature likely enables businesses to display that they accept Google Wallet for payments. The update was first spotted by Gabriele Benedetti and shared by Emmanuel Flossie on LinkedIn and his blog. Flossie noted: “When you head into Google Merchant Center → Promotions → Add Promotion, you’ll now see a new option under marketing methods: Google Wallet. ” The details of how this feature works are still unknown, but it will likely function similarly to other Chrome-based promotions. --- > Google is trying out a new version of the AI Overviews for recipe results. The new look places the recipe cards, indicates citations and provides a shorter AI response. - Published: 2025-10-09 - Modified: 2025-10-09 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/google-evaluates-enhanced-ai-overviews-designed-to-support-recipe-content-publishers/ Google is trying out a new version of its AI Overviews for recipe searches. The new design puts content publishers first by showing a short AI summary, highlighting recipe cards, and listing sources at the end. This update aims to increase the number of visitors to publisher websites and address earlier concerns about lower website traffic resulting from the previous AI Overview format. The change was first noted by Inspired Taste on X, who commented: “Meanwhile in the world of AIOs. This is much better, Google. Instead of an untested AI Frankenstein recipe as the default response, there is now a basic recipe overview and rich result links. Credit where it’s due. ” --- > Google's August 2025 spam update, launched on August 26, is causing significant ranking fluctuations and indexing issues, impacting SEO performance globally. - Published: 2025-09-11 - Modified: 2025-09-11 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/googles-august-2025-spam-update/ The Google August 2025 Spam Update, which began rolling out on August 26, 2025, appears to be heating up again. After initial turbulence when the update launched, signs of renewed volatility are emerging in search rankings, indexing performance, and organic traffic patterns. Industry experts and webmasters are actively observing an increase in complaints related to ranking shifts, unexpected traffic drops, and indexing problems. The update applies globally across all languages. Tracking Tools Show Renewed Activity Several notable SEO tracking systems have begun displaying increased signals of algorithm activity in the last 24 hours, indicating that the upgrade is still very much in play: Semrush shows elevated volatility in SERPs. SimilarWeb tracks changes in website traffic trends. Mozcast, Accuranker, Sistrix, and other tools confirm growing turbulence. Wireboard's aggregated analysis shows a considerable increase in overall SEO weather conditions. This new activity suggests that the update is not yet completely stable; therefore, webmasters should exercise caution during this period. SEO Community Reacts: Real Experiences from the Field SEO specialists and site owners actively share their insights on sites such as WebmasterWorld and this website. Here’s a sampling of the industry chatter: “Huge drops in both traffic and earnings. ” “Content isn’t indexing properly, delays of up to 4 days. ” “SEMrush sensors and traffic numbers are plummeting. ” “Unusual traffic patterns shifting between site categories every few minutes. ” “Poor quality traffic across multiple German niche sites, with conversions down by 75%. ” Some speculate this could be the tail end of... --- > A new study reveals that AI Search sends users to broken 404 pages nearly three times more often than Google, raising concerns about accuracy and reliability. - Published: 2025-09-05 - Modified: 2025-09-05 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/ai-search-shows-404-pages/ AI Search Shows 404 Pages More Frequently A new study has shown that AI-powered search assistants are much more likely than Google to send visitors to web pages that don't work. The data show that AI-generated searches lead to 404 error sites almost three times as often as regular Google Search results. As AI search tools become more popular, this makes me quite worried about how accurate and reliable they are. ChatGPT Excels at Generating URLs. AI Tools Have More Errors ChatGPT has the most broken or fake links of all the AI technologies that were tried out. Ahrefs study showed that around 1% of all the URLs that people clicked on from ChatGPT took them to error pages. Google's percentage was only 0. 15%. The problem got worse when I looked at all of the URLs that were referenced, whether or not they were clicked. ChatGPT's advised links led to broken pages almost 2. 38% of the time, while Google's top search results only did so 0. 84% of the time. How Other AI Tools Performed Claude: 0. 58% broken links  Copilot: 0. 34%  Perplexity: 0. 31%  Gemini: 0. 21%  Mistral: 0. 12% (lowest error rate, but not much web traffic) Why do AI searches bring up 404 pages? Relying on links that are old or don't exist The study identifies two primary causes for AI search displaying 404 pages: Outdated References: Sometimes, AI models recommend connections that used to work but were later removed or moved. Fake URLs:... --- > Google has updated its Business Profile links policies and guidelines, introducing new rules for managing links. Discover what these changes mean for businesses and SEO visibility. - Published: 2025-09-04 - Modified: 2025-09-04 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/local-news/updates-business-profile-links-policies/ Business Profile Links Policies Update Google has officially released a Business Profile Links Policies Update. This update includes new regulations that change how businesses can add and manage links in their profiles. These changes aim to improve user trust, ensure accuracy, and reduce misuse of links in Google Business Profiles. About Business Links and Eligibility Customers can do things like make appointments, order food, or schedule services directly through a Business Profile thanks to business linkages. But not all businesses can use all forms of links. For instance, a salon might let people make appointments but not be able to use links to order anything online. Also, some nations and areas may not support all of the business link features. Key Guidelines for Businesses Verification Requirements Before adding links, businesses must be verified on Google Business Profiles. Businesses that have been verified can only add or change links, and Google must approve any modifications before they go live. Dedicated Landing Pages Action links must direct users to dedicated landing pages. For multi-location businesses, links should point to the specific branch location, not a general homepage or unrelated landing page. Direct Action Completion Google needs links to finish direct actions. For example: An order link must let people finish their order. Links to social media pages, chat apps, app stores, and URL shorteners are not allowed. Common Link Errors and Restrictions Invalid Business Link If the link has spaces, symbols, or invalid characters like backslashes, it may not work. Having more... --- > Perplexity’s Discover Pages highlight surprising SEO opportunities, showing how AI-driven content discovery can influence visibility, ranking strategies, and traffic growth for digital marketers and businesses. - Published: 2025-08-28 - Modified: 2025-08-28 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/perplexity-discover-pages/ The Perplexity’s Discover Pages have caused a lot of talk in the SEO field. At first, these pages were supposed to be an example of programmatic SEO at scale. However, they have shown something surprising: occasionally, putting user-friendly content first can get you seen without utilizing standard SEO methods. What are the Discover Pages on Perplexity? Perplexity has a Discover feed that shows popular subjects with short summaries and links to complete reports. Users can then ask follow-up inquiries right in the AI-powered chatbot on the platform. A User-Centered Approach Discover Pages are different from regular search-optimized material since they are made for people, not computers. They are meant to keep people interested by: Quick overviews of popular subjects Links to the sources Easy integration with AI-powered queries The LinkedIn Debate: Programmatic SEO or Not? A LinkedIn post that went viral called Perplexity's Discover Pages "programmatic SEO on steroids" because they showed up quickly in Google search results. Helpful reactions Some people said it was a smart and brave way to grow. Others thought it was a good approach to get people's attention and traffic. A few people said it was real user value. Skeptical Responses Critics said that Google would "nerf" these results soon. People were concerned about sustainability and the risk of being labeled as having "thin content. " Why Perplexity's Pages Don't Work Well for SEO When you look more closely at the source code, you can see that Discover Pages don't include the basics of SEO:... --- > Google says uploading sitemaps in Google Search Console does not guarantee instant crawling or indexing. Instead, sitemaps act as discovery signals, helping Google prioritize content more efficiently. - Published: 2025-08-28 - Modified: 2025-08-28 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-says-sitemap-uploads-dont-ensure-instant-crawls/ What Google Says About Uploading Sitemaps Google has made it clear that publishing a sitemap to Google Search Console (GSC) does not mean that Google will crawl or index your site's content right away. Sitemaps are not used to tell Google what to do; instead, they are used as signals to help Google find URLs more easily. Sitemaps as Tools for Finding Things Google says that sending in a sitemap is helpful, but it doesn't tell them to crawl or index. Instead, it tells Google about: How your website is set up Where to find crucial pages Changes to content that is already there This helps Google decide which sites to crawl first based on their overall quality, authority, and crawl budget. Why Crawling Doesn't Happen Right Away A Number of Things Are Going On There are a number of things that affect how Google crawls: The speed and capacity of the server The quality and originality of the content Trustworthiness and authority of a website How to use your crawl budget Because of these factors, it may take a while for updates to show up in search results even if a sitemap is provided. Things People Get Wrong About Sitemaps A lot of site owners think that uploading or resubmitting a sitemap will automatically add their material to Google's index. Google says this is not true. The sitemap should be thought of as a tool to help you, not a way to get your pages indexed faster. Google's Best... --- > Discover everything about Google’s August 2025 Spam Update—what’s changed, how it improves search quality, and steps website owners should take to stay compliant and unaffected by new spam policies. - Published: 2025-08-27 - Modified: 2025-08-28 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-rolls-out-august-2025-spam-update/ Google has officially launched its August 2025 Spam Update, beginning on August 26, 2025, and impacting search results globally across all languages. This update represents Google's first major spam intervention since December 2024, highlighting a longer gap than usual an indication that Google is responding to new and evolving spam techniques in the web landscape. What Does the Update Target? The spam update aims to identify and address deceptive practices designed to manipulate search rankings. Key targets include: Thin and low-value content, especially that created at scale or using AI without expert oversight. Spammy backlinks and irrelevant link acquisition. Duplicate, recycled, or scraped content that provides little user value. Cloaking—showing different content to users and search engines. Excessive keyword stuffing and hidden links and text. Undisclosed affiliate relationships and manipulative local business reviews. Impact on Websites The rollout will take several weeks, with ranking fluctuations expected as Google refines its detection systems. Websites that rely on spam tactics automated, repetitive, or misleading content may see significant drops in search visibility. Those following white-hat SEO and publishing original, authentic, user-focused content are likely to remain unaffected or even benefit as competing spammy sites lose rank. What Site Owners Should Do Google advises website owners not to make rapid changes during the rollout; instead, monitor Search Console metrics such as impressions and clicks, marking August 26 as the start of the update period. Compare site performance with competitors, watch for sector-wide trends, and focus on producing high-quality content and ethical SEO practices... --- > Google rankings show mixed volatility in Aug 2025. SEOs report major traffic drops, shifts, and instability post-June core update. - Published: 2025-08-26 - Modified: 2025-08-26 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-search-ranking-volatility-status-update/ Last time I reported on the volatility of Google search rankings, I reported about a short cooling period. Coincidentally, this week had mostly flat Google search rankings, but SEO chatter picked up quite substantially by August 20 and 21. The curious thing is that while SEOs reported large ranking shifts midweek, tracking tools were still showing no volatility until a few days later on the weekend August 23-24. For context: June 2025 Core Update The rollout of the June 2025 core update lasted from June 30 to July 17. While we did not see much movement with the initial announcement, things started getting volatile the week of July 2, and peaked with the peak volatility around July 10, 2023, with many sites recovering partially from previous updates. Even after the rollout ended, there was volatility for weeks to follow. We last reported on this volatility on August 6 and August 11 in which we commented on a bit of cooling and said the turbulence remains. Tracking Tools Reports from tools show mixed signals. Some indicate calmer patterns over the weekend, while others still board spikes: Semrush Advanced Web Rankings Accuranker SimilarWeb Mozcast Mangools Data For SEO SERPstat Sistrix Algoroo Wiredboard put together a merged chart showing some overall volatility with the use of these tools all combined. SEO Forum Reactions Talks have been ongoing in SEO forums about the ongoing instability. Some sites had a dip of 40% – 50% traffic in one day, particularly with Google Discover. Some people... --- > Google AI Mode is rolling out to 180+ countries, gaining task-oriented agentic features like restaurant reservations, personalization, and link sharing. - Published: 2025-08-22 - Modified: 2025-08-22 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-ai-mode-expands/ What is the AI Mode in Google? Google AI Mode is a way to search on Google that lets you ask questions using text, speech, or images. It also combines answers from several sources. Global Growth: 180 Nations It is now available in more than 180 nations and territories, although only in English right now. Previously only available in places like the US, UK, and India. Agentic Features: The Ability to Finish Tasks Restaurant Booking AI Mode can handle requests with limitations such as the number of people in the party, the date, time, place, and type of food they want. It looks for real-time availability across many reservation sites and gives you links to book directly. A plan for more services Plans to add local service appointments and event ticketing. The distribution of agentic capabilities is presently only available to Google AI Ultra members in the U. S. through the Labs trial. Customization and sharing U. S. customers who sign up for the AI Mode trial through Labs can get personalized answers, especially to questions about food, based on their past interactions and search behaviors. The link-sharing function lets users share AI Mode responses so that others may take up where the conversation left off. Senders still have control and can delete links. The Technology Behind It Google uses technologies like live web browsing, the Knowledge Graph, Maps and connections with reservation partners to make the agentic experience possible. What This Means for People and Businesses For users, AI... --- > Google warns lazy loading can delay LCP if used above the fold. Learn how it impacts SEO, Core Web Vitals, and best practices to fix it. - Published: 2025-08-22 - Modified: 2025-08-22 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/lazy-loading-and-lcp/ Google recently pointed out a significant issue with lazy loading. Lazy loading tends to optimize performance but when abused, it slows Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), a Core Web Vital that has a direct impact on user experience and SEO. Depending on where it is applied, lazy loading will either enhance or hinder a website's performance, says Martin Splitt and John Mueller's recent Google Search Off the Record podcast discussion. What LCP Is and Why It Is Important Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures how long it takes the largest content visible on a page, usually the headline or hero image, to be displayed on screen. Since it indicates the time users perceive a page's main content to have taken to load, Google finds LCP to be a critical measure. In addition to affecting Core Web Vitals scores, a slow LCP also results in a less enjoyable surfing experience. The site feels slow and inconsistent to users when they see a white box where an image or a banner should be. Conversions, engagement, and eventually rankings may be affected negatively as a result. How LCP Could Be Slowed Down by Lazy Loading The goal of lazy loading is to load non-critical content—such as images toward the bottom of the page—only after the user scrolls to them. Lazy loading of images above the fold, such as hero images, is the problem. Here's why: Normal Behavior Without Lazy Loading The browser first searches for the hero image. Preloading and fetching it gets high priority.... --- > Discover Google’s new search result snippet design—coupon codes now display as understated ‘Copy Code’ links instead of bold clippable buttons. - Published: 2025-08-21 - Modified: 2025-08-21 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/search-snippet-update-copy-code-replaces/ The most recent update to Google's search snippets Google has secretly released a Search Snippet Update that replaces the conspicuous "Clippable Coupons" functionality with a less obvious "Copy Code" link. This modification changes how Google search results for coupons look, making them less visually prominent, which used to draw user’s attention. Why the Change is Important This upgrade may seem small, but it has big effects for both users and website owners: From Clippable to Copy Code Before, Google's snippets showed coupons as big, colorful buttons that were easy for people to click on. Instead of buttons, there are now simpler text-based "Copy Code" links. This makes the feature less visually dominating. Effect on Users and Websites For users: The coupons are still there, but they aren't as easy to find. For website owners: If promo codes are less visible in snippets, they may get fewer clicks. What the industry thinks A lot of SEO experts have said that this Search Snippet Update shows that Google is moving toward a snippet design that is cleaner and less commercialized. Google may be trying to make the user experience more consistent across all types of results by making coupon buttons less flashy. What This Means for SEO: Changing Your Plans Marketers and online stores who depend a lot on coupons showing up in search results may need to change. Some strategies could be to make coupons more visible on the page. Putting bargains in meta descriptions. Investigating structured data enhancements to sustain... --- > Google AI Overviews now tests a bottom tray for “Explain this,” related images, and copy text options, offering quick results without opening a new page. - Published: 2025-08-20 - Modified: 2025-08-20 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-ai-overviews-tests-bottom-tray-for-explain-features/ Google's AI Overviews have recently added a feature that displays options (Explain this, Related images, Copy text) when you select a text overlay. In some instances, Google has even been experimenting with keyboard shortcuts for these various actions. Recently Google has started testing the description tray design for the explained features. With this tray interface, once a tray appears, you have the same options as before: Explain this Related images Copy text The difference is in how the results are displayed. Rather than open a whole new page, if you click on either "Explain this" or "Related images" the results will load in the tray at the bottom of the screen. This test has now been made public by Matsushita Sotaro, who posted a few screenshots on X, which show how the tray interacts when there is text highlighted and also how the tray expands results when selecting related images or explanations. Even though the tray view has been garnering more attention recently, it has been reportedly available for testing since at least May. --- > John Mueller warns that new SEO acronyms like GEO, AIO, and AEO are more hype than help, calling them “spammy” and “scammy” in industry discussions. - Published: 2025-08-18 - Modified: 2025-08-18 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/googles-john-mueller-on-ai-seo-acronyms-more-hype-than-help/ Google's John Mueller recently responded to the rising noise about new SEO-related acronyms, including GEO, AIO, and AEO. He put out a tweet on Bluesky: “I think the higher the urgency, and the stronger the adulation of new acronyms, the more likely they are just about spam and scamming. " There's been an apparent push (inside and outside of the industry) saying SEO is "dead" and now needs to be replaced by GEO, AIO, and so on. Personally, I have not really covered the trends much, other than in a couple of videos, because it all feels like semantics to me. That said, when one of the Googlers speaks candidly about something claiming to be acronym driven (like GEO, AIO, etc. ) as "spammy" and "scammy" it's worth talking about. The conversation started after Barry Adams pointed to a Digiday article titled "Despite the Hype, Publishers Aren’t Prioritizing GEO. " The discussion shifted onto Bluesky, and later spilled into a Search Engine Land webinar, and we debated it there as well. This is often the case in SEO, the conversation ends up going in circles. Ultimately however, John's clearly unvarnished views have sparked a new wave of discussion across the SEO community. --- > Ongoing Google search ranking volatility has sparked fresh SEO community chatter, weeks after the June 2025 core update, with tracking tools showing sustained turbulence. - Published: 2025-08-13 - Modified: 2025-08-13 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/google-search-ranking-volatility-continues-weeks-after-core-update/ Recent updates from Opositive highlight that the SEO community is once again talking about big changes in Google search rankings, after a noticeable spike in activity over the weekend. These fluctuations have been going on for about six weeks, but the latest surge shows that search results are still unstable leading to both positive and cautious views among SEO professionals. The June 2025 core update, which began on June 30 and concluded on July 17, was initially followed by muted volatility. However, ranking turbulence quickly escalated on July 2, and by July 10, many webmasters observed partial recoveries from prior core and helpful content updates. The volatility has persisted well beyond the update’s completion, remaining intense even in mid-August. The latest spike, first spotted on Sunday, August 10, has reignited concerns among site owners and SEO professionals, prompting renewed analysis and speculation. Third-Party Tracking Tool Data Multiple rank tracking platforms confirm the sustained fluctuations: Semrush SimilarWeb Wincher Advanced Web Rankings. Mozcast Cognitive SEO Accuranker Mangools Data For SEO SERPstat Sistrix Algoroo Wiredboard Aggregator – Aggregated data confirms ongoing ranking disruptions SEO Community Reactions On WebmasterWorld and other forums, professionals shared experiences: Reports of traffic drops up to 60–70%, with some pages losing nearly all search-driven visits.   Others noticed surges in traffic to low-priority or old content while high-value pages suffered.   Some SEOs described “rug pulls” after short-lived ranking improvements.   International traffic anomalies, including heavy bot activity from specific regions.   A few reported record highs in specific... --- > Google is experimenting with a “From online stores” section in search results, expanding its retail-focused features beyond the existing nearby store listings. - Published: 2025-08-13 - Modified: 2025-08-13 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/latest-news/google-tests-new-from-online-stores-search-results-section/ Google appears to be experimenting with a new retail-focused search feature—a section titled “From online stores. ” This test expands on the concept already familiar to users through the “In stores nearby” section, but shifts the focus to online-only retailers. The feature was spotted by Sachin Patel, who shared screenshots on X, showcasing how the section integrates into standard search results. How It Compares to “In Stores Nearby” Google has long provided a local shopping element in its SERPs, helping users find products available at nearby brick-and-mortar stores. The new “From online stores” section appears to function similarly but caters to digital storefronts, potentially offering greater visibility for e-commerce retailers. While similar elements may have surfaced in the past—possibly as far back as November last year—this execution appears more targeted toward online-first businesses. Why It Matters This feature could become a valuable discovery tool for online retailers, increasing exposure for products without the need for paid Shopping ads. For consumers, it provides a streamlined way to browse products from multiple e-commerce sources directly from the search results page. Industry reporting from Opositive suggests that this experiment reflects Google’s ongoing push toward retail-focused SERP enhancements, a shift that could influence organic CTRs and competitive visibility. While some view it as a positive step, the publication also highlighted concerns that the change may primarily benefit larger e-commerce platforms. Final Thoughts If rolled out widely, the “From online stores” section could reshape how e-commerce brands approach product visibility on Google. By highlighting online-only... --- > Google is now showing an energy-saving green leaf label on qualifying product listings in Search, marking eco-friendly options directly in the results. - Published: 2025-08-13 - Modified: 2025-08-13 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-adds-energy-saving-green-leaf-label-to-product-listings/ Google has introduced a new eco-conscious feature in Search an energy-saving green leaf icon that appears next to qualifying products in the product listings side panel. The update is designed to guide consumers toward more sustainable purchasing decisions. While reactions across the industry vary, coverage from platforms such as Opositive notes its potential to influence shopping habits and subtly promote eco-friendly practices in the digital marketplace. The label was spotted by Brodie Clark on X via his SERP Alerts page. He noted, "Google is now showing an energy-saving label attached to free listing results for products that qualify in the US. Similar features have appeared in the past, with this being the first time it’s been assigned to free listings in the main section. " How It Works The green leaf icon appears alongside eligible products in Google Search results, signaling that the product meets specific energy-saving criteria. Clicking the “Learn more” link takes users to energystar. gov/products, where they can view details on energy efficiency standards. According to Brodie’s observations, these labels have previously been tied to special “compare and save” sections or EU energy labels, but the rollout to free listings in the main Search results is new. Retailers can likely specify these attributes within their Google Merchant Center product specifications. Why It Matters This feature offers clear benefits for consumers who prioritize sustainability, as it allows eco-friendly products to stand out visually in competitive search results. For merchants, it could provide a visibility boost for qualifying listings... --- > Google’s Gary Illyes assures publishers that AI-generated content, including images, won’t face ranking penalties, though success still depends on content quality. - Published: 2025-08-12 - Modified: 2025-08-12 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-confirms-no-ranking-penalty-for-ai-content/ Google's Clear Stance: No Direct Penalty for AI-Generated Content During a Q&A session with Search Engine Journal, Google’s Gary Illyes addressed whether AI-generated images embedded in otherwise legitimate content could hurt a site’s SEO. His answer was unequivocal: “No, no. So AI generated image doesn’t impact the SEO. Not direct... . you are not going to... see any negative impact from that. If anything, you might get some traffic out of image search... ” His comments made clear: AI-generated content itself does not trigger ranking penalties. Why Google Doesn’t Penalize AI — But Quality Still Matters Google Focuses on Quality, Not Creation Method Google’s emphasis remains squarely on content usefulness—not how it's created. As summarized by Search Engine Land: "Google does not punish AI content. " It punishes bad content. " Also, a wider agreement in SEO says that accuracy, relevancy, and reader value are the most important things that set material apart, not whether it was written by a person or an AI. Quality Raters and AI-Generated Flagging Recent updates to Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines now include awareness of AI-generated or auto-generated content. Content that is mainly AI-produced, lacks originality, or brings no added value may receive the lowest quality rating—even if technically compliant. That said, this affects manual review processes, not automatic ranking penalties. Practical SEO Implications for Publishers 1. Use AI—but Don’t Rely on It Blindly AI tools can speed up the process of making content, but it's people who edit and fact-check it that make... --- > Cloudflare removes Perplexity from verified bots and blocks its crawlers after detecting stealth crawling tactics violating robots.txt rules. - Published: 2025-08-05 - Modified: 2025-08-05 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/cloudflare-blocks-perplexity/ Cloudflare Responds to Crawling Violations Cloudflare has officially removed Perplexity AI from its Verified Bots list and begun blocking its crawlers across websites using Cloudflare’s services. This extreme step was taken after it was found that Perplexity's bots were reportedly ignoring robots. txt rules and employing dishonest methods to scrape content from websites. Stealth Crawling Tactics Trigger Block Violation of Crawling Protocols According to Cloudflare, Perplexity’s crawlers did not follow standard rules for ethical crawling. Even if robots. txt blocked them, they were still able to get to forbidden content by: Rotating IP addresses Spoofing user-agent headers (pretending to be a browser like Chrome) Using unverified or misleading ASN sources These methods made it hard for site owners and systems to figure out who the crawler really was. Honeypot Traps Expose Behavior To confirm its concerns, Cloudflare set up "honeypot" sites with clear instructions in the robots. txt file that told search engines not to crawl them. The computers at Perplexity were still able to get to the content, which meant they were ignoring crawl directions. Removal from the List of Verified Bots Cloudflare maintains a list of trusted and transparent bots that follow ethical web crawling practices. Due to the repeated violations, Perplexity was delisted from this program and is no longer recognized as a compliant bot. Because of this, millions of Cloudflare-protected domains now automatically prevent its crawling attempts. Cloudflare’s Statement on the Decision Cloudflare said that it encourages AI and new ideas, but it wants all bots... --- > Google’s Gary Illyes likens LLMS.txt to the outdated meta keywords tag, suggesting it may be equally ineffective and unnecessary for SEO. - Published: 2025-08-04 - Modified: 2025-08-04 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-draws-easy-connection-to-meta-keywords-and-llms-txt/ Google has clearly been skeptical of the LLMS. txt file, and recently, Gary Illyes compared LLMS. txt to the meta keywords tag from the beginning of SEO, which almost immediately lost value. Speaking on Bluesky in response to a question about whether LLMS. txt is of any use, Illyes stated, "In the grand scheme of things, I think it is very easy to draw a parallel between the 1990's keywords meta tag and this, and we all know how... useful the keywords meta tag became, very quick. " Illyes' comment came after someone said, "I can't see a downside to using it, but hey. " Illyes was implying the LLMS. txt knows the same fate of the now-obsolete-to-use meta keywords tag—ultimately useless and not needed. --- > A bug in Google’s URL removal tool allowed attackers to deindex legitimate web pages, raising major concerns about search integrity and abuse of removal requests. - Published: 2025-08-01 - Modified: 2025-08-01 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-url-removal-bug-deindexed/ A Critical Flaw in Google’s URL Removal Tool A newly disclosed bug in Google Search’s URL removal tool has alarmed webmasters and SEOs worldwide. The weakness let bad people send fake requests to remove URLs that didn't belong to them, which meant that real content would no longer show up in Google's search results. The problem raised severe questions about the safety and reliability of Google's index and made it possible for a lot of people to exploit it. How the Exploit Worked Abuse Without Verification Gareth Heyes, a security researcher, says that the problem was that Google didn't properly check who owned the URLs that were submitted for removal. With the URL removal tool, attackers could: Find URLs that Google has already indexed Make a request to have something removed without showing proof of domain ownership Successfully start the temporary deindexing of the pages you want to target This technique hurt Google's trust-based environment, where webmasters and Google's ranking algorithms usually decide how visible material is. What this means for websites in the real world The ability to deindex URLs without checking could have major effects, especially for: Businesses who are striving to beat each other in search results News companies putting out news that is time-sensitive E-commerce sites that depend on organic visibility Affiliate marketers are easy to sabotage. This is a potent tool for bad people because even momentary deindexing can cause lost traffic, cash, and rankings. Google's Answer and Solution Google has subsequently fixed the hole... --- > Google has rolled out a new feature for Business Profiles that shows the percentage of users who confirmed the accuracy of listed attributes - Published: 2025-07-30 - Modified: 2025-07-30 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-business-profile-attributes-with-confirmed-by-percentages/ Google has introduced a new feature for Google Business Profiles that displays whether the listed attributes of a business are accurate, with a percentage indicating how many users confirmed the accuracy. This feature, spotted by Claudia Tomina, can be seen under the "About" tab in local business listings. The system shows a confirmation percentage for each attribute, stating something like “Confirmed by X% of Y visitors. ” Claudia Tomina shared insights on LinkedIn, noting that the "About" section on mobile now highlights visitor-confirmed attributes with these public-facing percentages. Google is incorporating user feedback into business profiles, further improving branded search features. Why It Matters This update encourages businesses to ensure that their attributes are correct, as incorrect information will be more visible to users. It also helps businesses establish trust with potential customers, as the attribute confirmation feature provides transparency. For more information, check out the LinkedIn discussion shared by Claudia Tomina. Final Thoughts The addition of user-confirmed percentages for business attributes in Google Business Profiles marks a significant shift towards greater transparency and accountability for local businesses. This feature not only helps users trust the information they find but also pushes businesses to ensure that their details are accurate. As Google continues to refine its local search tools, businesses must stay vigilant and keep their profiles up to date to maintain credibility and visibility. For SEO professionals, this new update highlights the increasing importance of user feedback in shaping online presence and search rankings. --- > Google Search rankings saw significant volatility over the weekend, with many reporting reversals from previous fluctuations. SEO experts must stay alert as rankings continue to shift. - Published: 2025-07-30 - Modified: 2025-07-30 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-search-ranking-volatility-was-heated-this-weekend-reversals/ After the June 2025 core update, search rankings have been unusually volatile, and this trend continued through the weekend. Some sites are seeing reversals from earlier fluctuations, making it a highly unpredictable period. The core update, which started on June 30 and wrapped up on July 17, triggered continued volatility, and it’s now more heated than it was during the core update itself. Even two weeks after the update, fluctuations remain high. was during the core update itself. Even two weeks after the update, fluctuations remain high. SEO Chatter and Feedback Many SEO professionals and site owners are noticing changes in their traffic: 1. Some report significant traffic rebounds, especially in Discover traffic. 2. Others have experienced drastic drops (up to 50%) in Google traffic, with recoveries one day, followed by losses the next. 3. Some report unusually high traffic after a few days of drops. 4. Smaller sites appear to remain more stable, but large sites are experiencing mixed results. There is concern over the return of the "Google Trampoline Effect," where traffic spikes and drops unpredictably Tracking Tools Show High Volatility Several SEO tracking tools are also reporting heightened volatility since the core update: Semrush Advanced Web Rankings Similar Web Wincher SERPstat Mozcast Sistrix Cognitive SEO Accuranker . Mangools Data For SEO Algoroo Wiredboard's Aggregator of Tools :this report shows the aggregate of the tools above and plots them on one chart: Tracking Tools Show High Volatility Several SEO tracking tools are also reporting heightened volatility since the... --- > Google reveals that soft 404 pages still use crawl budget, even if they return a 200 OK status. Site owners should fix them to avoid wasting crawl resources. - Published: 2025-07-29 - Modified: 2025-07-29 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-says-404-consume-crawl-budget/ Soft 404s Pose Hidden Challenges for Webmasters Gary Illyes from Google made a critical technical point clear for website owners and SEO professionals during a recent Search Central Live Asia Pacific 2025 update: soft 404 pages still use up crawl budget, even if they return a valid 200 OK result. SEO expert Kenichi Suzuki posted this information on LinkedIn. It highlighted how Google's crawler treats soft 404s differently from typical 4XX errors. What is a "soft 404" page? Soft 404s are pages that look broken or empty to visitors but nonetheless send a 200 OK HTTP response. This is different from regular 404 failures, which send a clear "not found" message to search engines. Here are several examples: Pages for products that are "out of stock" Event listings that are no longer valid Profiles that have been deleted Pages for categories or search results that are empty These pages may look good to a server, but Google's content analysis can tell that they don't offer much value and mark them as soft 404s. How Soft 404s Affect Crawl Budget Gary Illyes said that soft 404 pages still consume up Google's crawl budget, while traditional 404 or 410 problems are frequently skipped right away by Googlebot. Google has to study the page's content first to figure out if it's a soft 404, which takes more time and work. For large websites, this can slow things down—important pages might take longer to get indexed, and the site may not show up as... --- > Google confirms that images set via CSS background properties are not indexed. Webmasters should use HTML image tags to ensure visibility in search and image results. - Published: 2025-07-29 - Modified: 2025-07-29 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-says-css-images-arent-indexed/ Google Warns Developers About the Limitations of CSS-Based Images Google's Search Relations team told developers on a recent episode of the Search Off the Record podcast that they shouldn't rely on CSS background graphics for important website content. Google does not index these photos, thus they won't show up in Google Image Search and will be less prominent in general search. Why CSS Background Images Don’t Get Indexed John Mueller and Martin Splitt from Google talked about how images added with CSS are not part of the DOM (Document Object Model), so Googlebot doesn't "see" them when it crawls a page. Splitt remarked, "If the image is part of the content, you want an image tag or a picture tag. " "That way, we can grab it and add it to image search. " This brings up an important point: search engines won't see the image as content if it isn't shown as an actual HTML element. Content vs. Decoration: Understanding the Difference The Google team stressed the need of making a difference between photos that are part of the text and images that are just for show: Content Images: Add meaning, context, or value to the page (e. g. , product photos, infographics, featured visuals). Decorative Images: Backgrounds, textures, or visual effects that serve purely stylistic purposes. When you talk about an image in your content, like a blog article that talks about a picturesque photo, you should always use HTML tags to put it there. Common Mistakes Developers... --- > Google confirms AI Search doesn’t need special strategies. Learn why AI Search Optimization is just traditional SEO done right. - Published: 2025-07-25 - Modified: 2025-07-25 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-ai-search-optimization/ Google’s Gary Illyes recently ensured that there is no need for any new or further optimization methods for AI-powered search. According to him, "AI SEO" is not required, and the same old SEO methods that get activated with regular search also get activated with AI Overviews and AI Mode. This description removes much of the uncertainty around how sites must adapt to the shifting landscape of search driven by artificial intelligence. AI’s Role in Google Search is Not New The idea of standard search based on only conventional algorithms like PageRank and link-building is not the whole story anymore. Artificial Intelligence is now embedded in every stage of the search process. It includes crawling, indexing, and ranking. The AI technology has been part of Google Search since more than a decade ago, starting with the introduction of RankBrain, which assisted Google in learning about users' queries. Gary Illyes underlined that AI is not an additional piece of search; it is integral to the way Google indexes and ranks web pages. That is, optimizing for AI search is actually the same as optimizing for regular search. Key Takeaways from Gary Illyes’ Presentation 1. AI-Powered Search Features Use Existing Infrastructure The same infrastructure that supports standard search is used to power Google's AI-powered search feature. That implies using Googlebot to crawl pages, indexing the pages in an identical master index, and using the same algorithm to rank material. 2. No "AI SEO" is Required AI search and regular search share the same... --- > Google is testing expanded search result snippets with ‘See More’ and additional hyperlinks, offering users deeper content previews and improved navigation directly from the SERPs. - Published: 2025-07-24 - Modified: 2025-07-24 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-tests-interactive-snippets/ Google Tests More Interactive and Informative Snippets Google is testing a new look for its search result snippets. They now have a "See More" link and more links built into them. These improvements are meant to give consumers more context and make it easier to get to the parts of a webpage that are most important to them, all from the search engine results page (SERP). This most recent test shows that Google is still working to make search results more dynamic and easy to use, especially when you're using a mobile device or surfing quickly. How the New Snippets Work "See More" opens up the Snippet Preview At the conclusion of several meta description snippets, there is a "See More" button. When you click on it, it either expands the snippet or takes you straight to the part of the source page where the content is found. This jump link is connected to the part of the page where Google got the snippet from. Inline links to make navigation easier Some snippets now have other clickable links in the text, in addition to the "See More" option. These links take users to other parts of the same webpage or to content that is linked to it. The idea is to give users better previews of material and make it easier for them to find their way around without having to click or visit many times. Finding out and first reactions SEO specialist Steph was the first to notice this... --- > You can now check if your Google Business Profile edits are approved, pending, or rejected—making it easier to manage and track listing changes. - Published: 2025-07-21 - Modified: 2025-07-21 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/local-news/google-business-profile-now-allows-users-to-check-edit-status/ Google has added a new capability to Google Business Profiles wherein you can check the status of your edits. If you've made edits to your business profile, you could now simply check if it was approved, if it’s in progress or if the edit was rejected. The update was initially found by OMG National who posted about it on both X and LinkedIn, saying: "Google has quietly rolled out a new 'Edit your business information' feature to investigate and check the status of your GBP edits. " They also posted a screenshot showing the feature. You can see the newly added capability here. OMG National gave credit to Julia Guerra for first discovering the feature. Interestingly enough, the design of the new tool is very similar to the process of reinstating and appealing a suspension. These processes have similar consumable steps. When I was diagnosing a simulated GBP suspension complaint that I was a part of, I found it interesting and familiar. Perhaps this means that Google has broader intentions to change the way it handles all issues relating to business profiles, which is why it was familiar to many. This new capability should be a welcomed help to business owners managing their Google listings. --- > Google introduces an AI feature in Search that can call local businesses on your behalf to confirm information like store hours and availability. - Published: 2025-07-17 - Modified: 2025-07-17 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/ai-calls-to-local-businesses/ Google has added a new AI-driven feature to Search that enables it to call local businesses directly. This development is aimed at helping users get accurate and real-time information, such as store hours, service availability, and inventory details—without the user having to make the call themselves. This feature is part of Google’s plan to use AI to make everyday searches easier, especially for mobile users who want quick answers. How the AI-Powered Calling Works Google's AI is used by the new function to make automated phone calls to businesses in your area that are listed on Search. Google's technology can contact the business directly to confirm the information when someone searches for something specific, such whether a store is open or whether an item is in stock. The answers are then updated in real time in the search results, giving the end user more precise information. This helps keep listings from getting old and makes people more likely to trust the information about local businesses that Google shows. A Big Step Forward for Local Business Visibility This update is especially helpful for small and medium-sized businesses in the area who might not always maintain their internet listings up to date. By allowing AI to handle common queries, Google ensures that users receive the most current information while reducing the burden on store staff. Benefits for Business Owners This AI function is a passive yet useful tool for enterprises. It makes it easier for customers to talk to the business owner... --- > Confirmed a reporting glitch in GSC affecting Core Web Vitals data. The issue may lead to inaccurate insights for site performance metrics. - Published: 2025-07-17 - Modified: 2025-07-17 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/core-web-vitals-glitch/ Google Search Console (GSC) is currently showing Core Web Vitals data incorrectly. The issue was noticed when many website owners and SEO experts saw sudden changes in their performance reports—especially in a key metric called Largest Contentful Paint (LCP). This doesn’t mean websites actually got faster or slower. It simply means the data in Search Console isn’t being shown correctly right now. Since Core Web Vitals are important for understanding how well a website works for users, this unexpected glitch has raised concerns in the SEO and web development communities. What Made the Investigation Happen? The issue was first noticed around July 5, when users began reporting unusually low LCP scores in their Core Web Vitals report. These unexpected improvements in performance were too significant and abrupt to be the result of actual changes made to the websites. John Mueller, Google Search Advocate, addressed the concern via social media, stating that the fluctuation was due to a reporting bug rather than real user-experience improvements. The confirmation from Google helped clarify that the data anomaly was on their end. Which Metrics Are Affected? The bug mostly affected Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), but it might also have caused problems with other Core Web Vitals measures, like First Input Delay (FID) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). But Google hasn't said anything about how this would affect anything other than LCP. Mueller emphasized that the issue is isolated to Search Console reporting and does not affect actual user experience or website rankings. The Chrome... --- > Google now prompts new Business Profile users to optionally add a text or WhatsApp number during setup, signaling a push toward more direct customer communication in Search and Maps. - Published: 2025-07-16 - Modified: 2025-07-17 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-business-profiles-now-request-whatsapp-text-number-at-setup/ Google has made a small but potentially impactful update to the Google Business Profile (GBP) setup process: it now requests a text or WhatsApp number when creating a new listing. While adding such a number has been possible for some time, Google is now proactively prompting businesses to include one during onboarding. This change was first observed by Syed M. Amir Hassan, who posted a screenshot on X “While setting up a new GBP, Google is now asking for a chat number (for text/WhatsApp). Selection is optional,” he wrote. A Step Toward More Direct Engagement The prompt appears during the GBP setup phase, asking business owners to add a number customers can use for texting or WhatsApp messages. The option is clearly marked as optional, but its presence during onboarding signals Google’s intent to normalize direct chat options as part of the local business experience. Here's a closer look at what this update implies: Encourages real-time communication between businesses and potential customers Strengthens local business presence in Google Search and Google Maps Aligns with user behavior trends favoring instant messaging over calls or emails Google’s Support Page Confirms the Feature Google has an official support article explaining how to manage and update your business’s text or WhatsApp number. This allows businesses to: Add or remove their messaging number Choose between SMS or WhatsApp Manage messages through their GBP dashboard These communication options are particularly beneficial for service-based businesses, small retailers, and mobile-first consumers. Why This Matters for SEO & Local... --- > Google’s June 2025 Core Update continues to show high volatility two weeks after rollout, with mixed results across the SEO community and major fluctuations in rankings - Published: 2025-07-16 - Modified: 2025-07-17 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-2025-core-update-remains-volatile-in-second-week/ Two weeks after Google officially began rolling out its June 2025 Core Update, volatility in search rankings remains intense across the board. The update, announced on June 30 at 10:30 AM, began showing signs of impact by July 2, and while some sites experienced partial recoveries, turbulence continues into the weekend. Tracking tools and SEO chatter suggest that this update is particularly significant, with websites seeing not just changes in rankings but enhanced presence in features like AI Overviews, top stories, and rich results. Search Tracking Tools Light Up Multiple SEO toolsets have reported elevated volatility levels over the past several days, including: Semrush Advanced Web Rankings Similar Web Wincher SERPstat Mozcast Sistrix Cognitive SEO Accuranker Mangools Data For SEO Algoroo Wiredboard's Aggregator of Tools : this report shows the aggregate of the tools above and plots them on one chart: SEO Community Chatter Reflects Mixed Experiences On platforms like WebmasterWorld, blog comments, and X (formerly Twitter), the community continues to report a wide range of experiences: Some sites have seen 30–50% recoveries Others report ongoing drops in traffic and rankings Many are observing major fluctuations in keyword positions One user commented: Traffic is better, but customers are not yet back. Another wrote: Our Google traffic has been volatile in general for a while now. It went up sharply right when the June Core Update was announced, dipped during the July 4th weekend, then climbed again. " Meanwhile, Webmaterworld, AI Overviews behavior, and inconsistent keyword movements have made it difficult... --- > New research reveals 90% of AI-generated search traffic comes from desktop, highlighting a major gap in mobile strategy for digital marketers and SEOs. - Published: 2025-07-15 - Modified: 2025-07-15 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/desktop-dominates-ai-search-strategy/ The AI Search Shift: Desktop Surges Ahead As AI transforms how users discover content via tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Bing Copilot, and Google’s AI Overviews, an unexpected divide is emerging: over 90% of AI-generated referral traffic is coming from desktop devices. This trend contradicts the broader web traffic landscape, where mobile has historically led. For marketers, this signals a pressing need to reassess device-specific strategies. Referral Data Shows Clear Desktop Preference BrightEdge study has new information that shows: ChatGPT: 94% of referrals via desktop  Perplexity: 96. 5% desktop traffic  Bing Copilot: 95% desktop  Google Gemini: 91% desktop  Google Search is the only one that goes against the trend, with 53% of users on mobile.   Despite high mobile usage, these AI tools currently deliver disproportionately low traffic to mobile websites. Why Mobile AI Isn’t Converting: Design Over Demand Mobile usage isn't the issue—engagement is strong. But the way AI search functions on mobile hinders referrals. The In-App Preview Bottleneck Most mobile AI tools preview content within the app before linking out. This extra click reduces referral likelihood compared to desktop, where users are taken straight to the source. Mobile vs. Desktop Intent Is Different People who use mobile devices desire rapid, discovery-based solutions (such where to shop or find local information).   People who utilize desktops like to do in-depth research (guides, comparisons, long reads).   This gap affects how AI content is shown and used on different platforms. Apple’s Influence: The Mobile Wildcard Apple controls mobile search because Safari... --- > Google is testing a zoom effect on search result images, making them more interactive when hovered over. First spotted by Sachin Patel on X. - Published: 2025-07-14 - Modified: 2025-07-14 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-tests-image-zoom-effect-for-search-results/ Google is testing an image zoom effect on images shown in the search results snippets. Normally these images are static, and in this test, when you hover your mouse on top of an image, it zooms in a little, making the image feel more engaging. Sachin Patel first caught the feature and he posted screen recordings of the test on X. Here is a GIF of how the effect appears in real-time: Google tests image zoom effect for search results Stay Updated with Daily News— Click Here to Explore More --- > After June 25, many noticed sharp drops in GBP metrics. Is it a reporting glitch or ranking shift? Google is investigating and working to restore data. - Published: 2025-07-14 - Modified: 2025-07-14 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/local-news/mysterious-drop-in-google-business-profile-metrics-after-june-25-glitch-or-algorithm-update/ After June 25, 2025, many local SEOs started sounding off about catastrophic drops in their Google Business Profile impressions and clicks. Many areas in the forums were crowded with reports of double-digit drops for both desktop and mobile search, which raised the questions about whether there was a ranking shake-up or is there a reporting bug? This was first recorded in the Local Search Forum, where several people confirmed that it appeared to be a pattern. Veronica stated, “We are seeing a steep decline in impressions from June 25, across clients of all verticals and all geographical locations. ” Willy Evans also shared “Our metrics dip began on June 24–25”, picture attached showing a steep decline in one client. Sophie from GMBAPI posted: “We had a distinct drop, in search impressions, with several GBP accounts, but engagement and user actions remain stable. ” Consistency in engagement, without a comparable drop in impressions, is telling of a reporting issue rather than a loss in visibility variable. Some speculated a connection to the Google June 2025 Core Update, but that rollout didn’t begin until June 30—with noticeable movement only happening around July 2. That timeframe rules out this dip being caused by algorithmic changes. At this point, there has not been an official statement from Google, but there is hope. A Google Product Expert commented on the forum thread saying, "This is a known glitch. Google is trying to restore the data. " As such, if you're experiencing sudden drops in your... --- > Some sites impacted by previous core and helpful content updates are seeing partial recoveries during Google’s June 2025 Core Update. Volatility continues as the rollout progresses. - Published: 2025-07-11 - Modified: 2025-07-11 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-core-update-hcu-recovery/ Ten days into Google core update June 2025 , the search landscape is anything but quiet. While the rollout—first confirmed on 30 June 2025 at 10:37 a. m.  ET—is expected to run for roughly another ten days, early data suggests a welcome twist: some sites previously hammered by earlier core updates and the September 2023 Helpful Content Update (HCU) are finally seeing glimmers of recovery. Timeline & Early Movement Key Date Milestone 30 June Update officially begins; little immediate volatility 2 July First measurable ranking shifts detected 6 July Recovery chatter accelerates after Glenn Gabe shares charts 10–11 July Search volatility spikes again as rollout nears midpoint Although the first 48 hours were calm, rank‑tracking tools lit up on 2 July. Since then, SERP turbulence has increased daily, with a particularly sharp uptick in the last 24 hours. Analyst Insight: Glenn Gabe’s “Surging Sites” Industry analyst Glenn Gabe posted multiple visibility graphs on X, noting that: A “number of sites impacted by the September HCU(X) surge” began climbing on 6 July. Recoveries are partial, not full—yet. Rich snippets, featured snippets, and AI Overviews (AIOs) are reappearing for some domains. Gabe promised a deeper analysis once the update completes, but his early charts have already boosted optimism among long‑suffering publishers. Publisher Anecdotes: From Despair to Cautious Hope Positive Signals WebmasterWorld members report: *“My news page is recovering—Discover traffic is back. ” *“Main site hit by HCU is making a strong recovery... no major changes besides removing heavy AdSense blocks. ” *“Specialized sites are finally outranking generic UGC pages again. ” One site owner claims a 65–70 % uptick... --- > A study of 600,000 pages shows AI content doesn’t hurt Google rankings—if used moderately. Overuse, however, may lead to long-term SEO decline. - Published: 2025-07-10 - Modified: 2025-07-10 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/ai-content-affect-google-rankings/ Ahrefs' recent study has gotten many in the SEO field talking again. It showed that AI-generated content doesn't hurt Google rankings when utilized in moderation. In fact, the data shows that a lot of high-ranking pages had content that was made by AI, which goes against the long-held belief that this kind of content could get you in trouble or make your site less visible. The study looked at 600,000 sites, 100,000 random keywords, and the top 20 URLs for each keyword that ranked highest. What did it find? An amazing 86. 5% of the top-ranking pages have some AI-generated content. The keyword, though, is "some. " AI material by itself isn't bad, but how much and how well it's used seem to be really important. Some websites that rely heavily on AI techniques to create most or all of their content have seen their rankings drop a lot over time. The Data: AI vs. Human vs. Mixed Content The study looked at the kind of material on the pages that were looked at: 4. 6% were called "pure AI" 13. 5% as pure human 81. 9% of the content was written by both AI and people. Even in the mixed group, the use was very different: 13. 8% used AI very little (1–10% of the content) 40% used AI moderately (11–40%). 20. 3% used AI a lot (41–70%) 7. 8% used AI most of the time (71–99%) These stats make it seem like a balanced approach that combines human... --- > llms.txt isn't the next meta keywords. It offers a new way to guide AI models to your best content—boosting clarity, visibility, and future-proofing your SEO strategy. - Published: 2025-07-10 - Modified: 2025-07-10 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/llms-txt-future-of-ai-visibility/ A New SEO Standard for the AI Age Some SEOs thought that llms. txt was just as useless as the long-forgotten meta keywords tag when Google's John Mueller compared the two. But that way of looking at it doesn't see the whole picture. The meta keywords tag was easy to misuse and was eventually discarded. On the other hand, llms. txt is useful and structured, and it might be a big part of AI-powered search experiences. What Is llms. txt, Really? Think of llms. txt as a treasure map for LLMs (Large Language Models). It is a plain text file, like robots. txt, that is put at the top of your website. llms. txt doesn't stop bots; instead, it tells AI models exactly which URLs you want them to look at and think about when they come up with responses. This map is highly important now since AI agents don't crawl every page like regular search engines do. Instead, they "drop in" to get specific content. Without guidance, models might miss your most valuable content altogether. With llms. txt, you’re giving them a direct path to your best work. Why It's Not Just Another Meta Tag The meta keywords tag failed because it made unverifiable claims—anyone could stuff it with irrelevant terms. Google quickly stopped using it due to widespread abuse. In contrast, llms. txt doesn’t make claims; it points to real, existing content. If a model follows the map, it finds and evaluates the actual page. If the page... --- > Google’s AI Mode shows varying citation sources based on device, browser, or even query refresh indicating a highly dynamic content surface that SEO experts must monitor closely. - Published: 2025-07-09 - Modified: 2025-07-09 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/ai-mode-displays-different-sources-for-the-same-query/ A new observation highlights the dynamic nature of Google’s AI Mode, revealing that citation Sources can significantly differ depending on the device, browser, or even a simple refresh of the same search query. This discovery was shared by Jes Scholz on X (formerly Twitter), who demonstrated how AI Mode behaves differently on Chrome vs. the Google App and across browser sessions. Did you know Google actually has two Google AI Modes? One in Chrome and another in the Google App,” Scholz wrote. “The surface a user selects drastically affects which sources get cited. A Closer Look at Dynamic Source Variation Scholz ran the same query across different environments and received a different number of citations each time: On Safari: 13 citation sources On Chrome (initial search): 14 sources On Chrome (same query, refreshed): 7 sources These fluctuations suggest that Google AI Mode is not static. Instead, it appears highly adaptive, possibly personalizing or rotating results in real-time based on user environment or other signals. Even refreshing a query within the same browser session led to an entirely new set of sources making this behavior difficult to predict. Why This Matters for SEO This revelation has several implications for SEO professionals: AI visibility isn’t consistent across devices and platforms Citation sources rotate, which can affect traffic attribution Cross-platform testing becomes essential to understand how and where content appears For those optimizing content for Google’s AI Mode, testing across devices and browsers should be a standard part of visibility audits. Final Thoughts... --- > Google’s AI Mode is now suggesting follow-up search queries to users, enhancing the search journey and potentially increasing engagement and monetization opportunities. - Published: 2025-07-09 - Modified: 2025-07-09 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/ai-mode-now-offers-follow-suggestions-to-users/ Google continues its push toward a more intelligent and engaging search experience by introducing follow-up suggestions within Google AI Mode. This feature presents users with additional search query options after their initial interaction, creating a smoother and more context-aware journey through the search results. The new functionality was first spotted by Kenichi Suzuki, who shared a screenshot of it on LinkedIn. According to Suzuki’s post, after a user enters a query and scrolls down to the follow-up area within Google AI Mode, they are now presented with suggested follow-up searches. Although Google has not made an official announcement regarding this update, this addition could represent a test, a soft rollout, or an entirely new feature. Attempts by others in the SEO community to replicate the behavior have been mixed so far. “This seems new to me,” noted Barry Schwartz in his report on the discovery. Why This Matters for SEO and Search Behavior Google is known for its heavy use of auto-complete and search suggestion features, which help guide users through their search intent and, from a business standpoint, generate more monetizable queries. With this new addition in AI Mode: 1. Users may stay longer within the search interface. 2. There’s a greater opportunity to explore multiple queries. 3. Google may boost ad impressions by increasing search depth. This AI-driven follow-up functionality may also give us early signals about how Google intends to reshape the search journey with generative AI—not just providing answers, but guiding users through discovery in a... --- > Google now generates nearly 13% of answers in the "People Also Ask" section, according to new data, highlighting its growing role in self-sourcing search results. - Published: 2025-07-08 - Modified: 2025-07-08 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-generates-paas/ New information shows that Google answers its own "People Also Ask" questions more often SEO specialist Mark Williams-Cook says that Google is now giving almost 13% of replies in the "People Also Ask" (PAA) feature of its search results. This is a clear change in how Google finds and shows information, and it shows that the company is moving more toward relying on itself to provide search content. A Big Change in PAA Strategy The PAA section used to include snippets from third-party websites to help people find more information on relevant questions. But this latest research shows that Google now makes 12. 82% of PAA responses itself, instead of getting them from other places. Unlike regular featured snippets, these AI-generated snippets frequently don't link to a specific publisher or website. This change suggests that Google is using its Search Generative Experience (SGE) technology more and more, including in parts of search that used to depend on publisher content. What It Means for SEOs and Publishers The rise of replies from Google has big effects on publications and SEO experts: Less visibility: Since Google gives its own answers, fewer sites may get impressions and clicks from PAA features. Zero-click searches: Traffic to other websites may go down as people discover answers without leaving the SERP. More reliance on Google's systems: Because Google can summarize and combine content, marketers need to make sure their content is optimized for inclusion, even if it isn't directly cited. How to Tell if Answers Come... --- > Google now offers automatic shipping updates in the Merchant Center for U.S. sellers, using tracking data to improve delivery accuracy and performance. - Published: 2025-07-07 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-merchant-center-introduces-automatic-shipping-updates/ Google Merchant Center will introduce automatic shipping updates as a new automatic improvement feature. The goal of this tool is to improve product shipping information accuracy, allowing your customers to make accurate shipping time estimates and improve overall shipping performance. The feature is currently limited to merchants located in the United States only. According to Google, "All auto shipping updates only apply to merchants in the U. S. Merchants outside the U. S. can allow this feature, but it will not take effect. " How this works: Automatic Shipping updates uses historical tracking data from associated partner accounts to enhance the accuracy of shipping information. The data includes: Crawled Shipping Speeds: Information taken directly from your website. Performance Shipping Speeds: Actual shipping speeds based on previous orders at various locations. Using this data, Google's system can reuse the shipping speed in the Merchant Center and update that speed automatically. This increases accuracy for shoppers, and improves conversions for merchants. To opt-in, merchants will need to link their accounts with a partner platform and authorize data sharing. The connection must start on the partner’s website and, once linked, they can turn on automatic updates for shipping in the Merchant Center. PPC News Feed's Hana Kobzová shared the announcement and created a mockup of what this feature could look like in the interface, as Google has not yet released official screenshots, and Hana said "Because shipping info often changes without warning, this will be beneficial. " --- > Though officially English-only, Google AI Mode can respond in other languages like Japanese and German through follow-up questions, users report. - Published: 2025-07-07 - Modified: 2025-07-07 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-ai-mode-can-reply-in-multiple-languages-despite-english-only-claims/ Although Google officially states that AI Mode only supports English, users have found it can actually respond in several other languages, such as Japanese and German. When AI Mode rolled out in the U. S. and India, it was explicitly limited to English and even the help documents indicated that English is currently the only supported language. In practice, it is showing otherwise. Kenichi Suzuki shared the information on X (Twitter) with some screenshots that AI Mode responded in Japanese and German to follow-up questions when he was speaking in Japanese and German. He added, "Even though AI Mode is officially English only in the U. S. and India, that doesn't mean follow-up queries in other languages won't return relevant replies. " Damien also noted something similar with AI responses in "People Also Ask" and confirmed the broader language capability. It seems Google may technically have the ability for AI Mode to respond in multiple languages even if it is not officially supported. --- > Google’s John Mueller clarifies that core updates assess long-term site quality, not short-term fixes—emphasizing the need for consistent, high-quality content and user experience. - Published: 2025-07-04 - Modified: 2025-07-04 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-core-updates-notquickfixes/ John Mueller, a Google Search Advocate, said in a recent conversation that Google's core upgrades are not affected by changes or enhancements made in the near period after a ranking drop. Instead, core changes are meant to provide websites that have always put great content, usability, and trustworthiness first over time a boost. Mueller’s comments come as part of ongoing conversations with the SEO community, particularly regarding how to recover from traffic declines following a core update. His message was clear: quick-fix solutions won't lead to long-term gains if a site lacks sustained value in its overall content strategy. Core Updates Build on Long-Term Signals Addressing concerns about how Google evaluates websites during core updates, Mueller stated that the search algorithm looks at patterns and signals collected over extended periods—not just what’s been updated in recent weeks. “These are not things where we would say, well, they did something wrong last week and we will reduce their visibility,” Mueller explained. “It’s really about the bigger picture. ” This clarification reinforces Google's stance that core updates are broad algorithmic changes aimed at improving how the search engine understands and ranks content, based on overall site performance and quality signals gathered over time. It's not enough to make short-term changes to SEO Mueller also told site owners and SEOs not to expect quick remedies to work right away after they are put in place. If you only make little changes to technical SEO, design, or add a few blog entries, they usually... --- > Google’s June 2025 Core Update rollout has begun, triggering early ranking volatility across search results. Webmasters and SEOs report noticeable fluctuations as the update progresses. - Published: 2025-07-03 - Modified: 2025-07-03 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-core-update-volatility/ Google’s Latest Core Update Begins to Shake Up Search Rankings Google officially announced the June 2025 Core Update on June 30th at 10:37 AM ET, and as of July 2nd, the first signs of ranking volatility are being detected. Many SEOs said at first that the modification didn't have much of an effect, but data from industry tracking tools shows that it has quietly started to affect search performance. As is often the case with big core updates, big changes don't usually happen right away. But Glenn Gabe, a well-known SEO specialist, says that changes are already showing up in data from thousands of websites and a wide range of businesses. SEO Tools Confirm Early Volatility Semrush Sensor and MozCast are some of the best SEO tracking programs. They have all started to indicate more volatility, but not all of them are showing spikes yet. These early signs point to Google's algorithm starting to adjust how it ranks sites depending on its most recent changes. The upgrade should be fully sent out in three weeks, which is longer than the usual two-week time frame. Google has made it clear that any big changes in rankings that happened before June 30th are not related to this core upgrade and may be due to other smaller changes to the algorithm, including a possible reviews update. Mixed Reactions from the SEO Community People are still talking about it, but they're starting to build. Early reports from sites like WebmasterWorld and social media say... --- > Google has merged Search Console Insights into the main dashboard, offering deeper data, smarter reports, and improved content performance tracking. - Published: 2025-07-02 - Modified: 2025-07-02 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-integrates-insights-directly-into-search-console/ Google has officially launched a major update to Search Console Insights, and it's now fully integrated into the main Google Search Console interface. If you regularly track SEO or content performance, this update is going to make your workflow much simpler. Earlier, this feature existed as a separate data tool but from now on, you’ll find it directly within your Search Console dashboard. What’s Changed? According to Google, the goal of this integration is to offer a more cohesive experience. Instead of switching between tools, users can now access their Insights data alongside their standard performance reports, all in one place. If you don’t see it in your account yet, don’t worry Google confirmed that it’s rolling out gradually over the coming weeks. Google first rolled out Search Console Insights as a beta in June 2020 and then in June 2021 rolled it out to everyone. Then last December, Google removed the Google Analytics data from Search Console Insights. Here is where the new tab is: What Is the Insights Report About? The updated Insights report helps you understand how your content is performing in Google Search, what users are looking for, and where your traffic is coming from. It’s designed for content creators, site owners, and marketers who want quick, actionable insights. Key Features You Will See Inside the New Insights Tab: Clicks and Impressions See how often your site appears in search and how many people click on it. Top and Trending Content Find out which pages on... --- > Google launches its June 2025 Core Update, focusing on improved search result quality and relevance. Webmasters may see ranking shifts as the update rolls out globally. - Published: 2025-07-01 - Modified: 2025-07-01 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-core-update-june-2025/ Google's June 2025 Core Update Improves Search Rankings Google has officially released its June 2025 Core Update. This is part of its ongoing effort to make search results more relevant, useful, and of higher quality. Like with other core updates, this one is being rolled out over the world and should be done in the next two weeks. What Google is focusing on: User Intent, Quality, and Relevance Not a Penalty, but a Reassessment Google says that core modifications are not meant to punish websites but to make it easier for the search engine to judge all material. This could cause rankings to change because content that is better aligned will show up higher in search results. "There is nothing in a core upgrade that targets certain pages or sites. Google noted in its announcement, "Instead, the changes are about improving how our systems assess content overall. " Ranking Changes Are Expected During the rollout time, site owners and SEOs may see changes in ranks, visibility, and traffic. These are common signals that algorithms have been changed. Some pages may drop in rank, while others may rise based on how good they are and how well they answer user questions. What Webmasters and SEOs Need to Know No Quick Fixes for Drops in Ranking If your website's ranks go down, it doesn't signify that something is wrong with it. Google says not to take extreme measures. Instead, it suggests focusing on long-term content enhancements that follow its quality rules. "There's... --- > Unconfirmed Google update on June 28 causes major ranking shifts. SEO tools and experts report high volatility and traffic drops. Here's what we know so far. - Published: 2025-06-30 - Modified: 2025-06-30 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/major-google-search-ranking-volatility-spotted-on-june-28th/ Saturday, June 28th, the SEO community observed a noticeable amount of ranking volatility with the Google Search results. While Google has not confirmed an update, there are various SEO tools and buzz within the industry that indicates something is happening. This would be yet another unconfirmed update, accurately following the pattern of unconfirmed updates since the March 2025 core update. While Google says they would be more frequent with core updates, we still have not seen any other confirmed core updates in 2025. Tracking tool activity Multiple SERP tracking tools reported significant fluctuations that suggested the rankings took a big hit: Mozcast Sistrix Cognitive SEO SimilarWeb Accuranker Mangools Wincher Data For SEO SERPstat Algoroo Wiredboard (aggregator) These tools together point to a large upheaval in SERP's visibility across many sites, especially very noticeably on June 28th. SEO Community Response The chatter on forums, such as WebmasterWorld, blogs, etc. , shows the chaos: "Rankings change hour by hour. One day a spike; the next is gone. " "Every time there are updates, my crawl rates are in the toilet. " "My US traffic dropped overnight by 33 percent this week. " "I'm even losing my featured snippets yet I comply with all you white hats. " "Low volatility, but traffic just dies. " Some SEOs are saying that this looks and feels like a major update, with a sweeping change to visibility, traffic, and site rankings, for even the white hats. --- > Discover the latest on Google Search ranking volatility from June 2025, including tracking tool data and SEO community chatter. Stay updated. - Published: 2025-06-27 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google-algorithm-update/google-search-ranking-volatility-update-june-2025/ In the last two days or so, there has been some kind of tweaking done to the organic rankings within Google Search. Organic traffic may not be driving as many clicks anymore, but the actual rankings themselves still seem to be moving, and the last two days have had indications of a wide shakeout across search results. There hasn't been an officially announced Google search ranking update since the March 2025 core update. We have, though, witnessed quite a lot of unconfirmed activity, and this recent volatility could be another instance of the same. Though Google has not issued any official announcements, the industry rumblings and tracking tool data indicate that something could be happening. Multiple tracking tools have recorded an increase in ranking volatility. Semrush seemingly reported incorrect data at one time, which could be a result of a bug. However, there has been sufficient chatter and activity within the SEO community for this to be worth mentioning. To provide some context, we had reported ranking volatility on June 18th. Earlier, there were sightings reported on June 9th and June 4th, then work was done on May 29th, May 21st, May 16th, and on May 12th and 13th again. Still earlier, activity was seen on May 8th. Although May 1st was not included, with hindsight, it could have been worth covering as well. Aside from that, there was volatility on April 25th, April 22nd and 23rd, April 16th, and again on April 9th. We've only had one confirmed update... --- > A new study reveals that Google’s AI Overviews appear below the top organic result in 12.4% of cases, challenging assumptions about their consistent top-ranking placement. - Published: 2025-06-27 - Modified: 2025-06-27 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-ai-overviews/ AI-Powered Summaries No Longer Dominate Search Results in All Cases A new study from the enterprise SEO tool seoClarity shows that Google's AI Overviews, which were designed to give rapid, AI-generated answers in search, are no longer always at the top of search results. The research shows that AI Overviews rank lower than the first organic result in 12. 4% of U. S. desktop searches, which is a big jump from just 2% a month ago. Why This Is Important for SEOs and Publishers This change opens up new chances for SEOs and content providers to get more traffic and visibility. As worries about AI Overviews "stealing" clicks have intensified, this statistic gives us a little bit of hope. Organic material can still do well, especially when people want to see traditional online results instead of AI-generated solutions. By the Numbers: Where AI Overviews Rank Now According to seoClarity's study of U. S. desktop SERPs (without including advertisements), the current ranking distribution for AI Overviews is: 6% are in Position 1 6% in Place 2 8% in the third place 2% go down to Position 4 or lower This implies that AI Overviews still often come in first, but there is now a measurable and growing group of people who can beat them with classic SEO methods. The Intent of the Query Matters The study also discovered that the type of user question affects where AI Overview shows up: Informational questions make up 84. 16% of AI-triggered queries. 38% are... --- > Google updates its Business Profile policy, preventing Service Area Businesses (SABs) from selecting entire countries or states as service areas. Only specific local regions are now allowed. - Published: 2025-06-26 - Modified: 2025-06-26 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-business-profile/ Google Limits Broad Service Area Listings for SABs Google has officially changed the rules for Business Profiles, which is a big deal for Service Area Businesses (SABs). SABs can no longer list whole nations or states as service areas in their business listings, according to the new update. Targeting Locally Is Now Required Google's policies have changed. SABs can no further refer to their service areas by vague terms like "regions;" they must now provide more specific details like cities, ZIP codes, or areas. The goal of this change is to assist people identify businesses that really do serve their area. This will make local search results more accurate and useful. Quiet Rollout SEO Community Found It Business owners and SEOs started to see that adding a state or country to a Service Area Business profile was either prohibited or caused error messages. Google hasn't made a big deal about the change in public, but it has already been put into place in the Business Profile backend. Why the Change? The update is designed to: Stop service areas from being wrong or misleading Make local visibility more accurate Make sure listings match where businesses really work Google wants to make things better for both users and business owners by limiting the number of service regions. This is especially true in busy or competitive local marketplaces. What SABs Should Do If your business serves a country or state right now, you should: Log into your Google Business Profile account Update your... --- > Google has expanded its AI Mode in Search to India. Discover how Indian users can access this advanced AI experience. - Published: 2025-06-25 - Modified: 2025-06-25 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-ai-mode-in-search-to-india/ What Is AI Mode in Google Search? AI Mode is the most sophisticated search feature Google has ever had. It's meant to enable users to pose longer, more intricate questions and get beneficial, multi-level answers that extend way beyond mere search results. The feature is built on Google's Gemini 2. 5 AI model, which allows it to comprehend natural language, reason through multi-step questions, and handle follow-up questions in a conversational manner. Users also have the option to engage with AI Mode via voice or images, a major plus in India where applications such as Google Lens are already popular. Why is Google expanding AI Mode to India? India is an important market for Google, with more than 870 million internet users and a high voice and image-based query preference. Indian consumers are frequent users of search engines to respond to everyday questions, carry out research, and even finish tasks such as shopping or cooking. By introducing AI Mode in India: - Google gets access to one of the world's largest, most diverse groups of users. - It can gather useful feedback using Search Labs, which can make it better and smarter. - It includes multimodal inputs, a big plus in a market where consumers are already used to using voice commands and image search. How to Enable AI Mode in India If you are in India and wish to access this feature, here's how: Install or launch the Google app on your Android or iOS device. Ensure you're logged... --- > Discover the 6 key pillars of SEO copywriting in 2025 to improve content relevance, boost search rankings, and stay ahead in the evolving world of digital marketing. - Published: 2025-06-24 - Modified: 2025-06-24 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/6-pillars-of-google-rankings/ Because AI, changing how people use the internet, and increased competition for search exposure are all making SEO harder, the job of an SEO copywriter is more important than ever. In 2025, good copywriting means more than just using the right words. It's about utilizing data-driven strategy and human creativity to make content that gets people to buy, ranks, and connects with them. These six important rules will help you write SEO text in today's world. 1. Planning and research that puts people first To do SEO right, you need to know your audience, not just use keyword tools. To generate content that really matters, you need to know what your readers want, what makes them tick, and how they act online. Talk to your audience, keep an eye on genuine conversations on sites like Reddit and LinkedIn, and focus on real issues instead of generic search phrases. This method puts the consumer first, so your content covers important, emotional subjects that SEO tools might not catch. 2. Trends in search and useful SEO tips Once you've selected themes that are relevant, add SEO data to see if people are looking for them. You may use tools like Google Trends, Semrush, and even TikTok to see what questions are becoming more popular before they reach their peak. But instead of going after high-volume terms, you should focus on mid-funnel keywords and search intent that are very near to what customers want. It's often more important to look at how relevant... --- > John Mueller confirms that large or long-term SEO issues need more time to recover in Google Search, even after fixes. Manual actions may need a request. - Published: 2025-06-23 - Modified: 2025-06-23 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-confirms-larger-older-seo-issues-take-longer-to-recover-in-search-results/ Site owners who were suffering on a longer or large-scale basis may have to accept that they will recover slowly. Google's Search Advocate John Mueller said that fixing big SEO problems doesn't mean you are going to see changes in your Google rankings soon. A lot of recovery time depends on the extent of the problem, as well as how long the problem has occurred. John's comments come from a recent discussion on Bluesky where he responded to a site owner who stated they had removed a huge amount of unrelated content from their website, and they were concerned that their rankings hadn't improved after making those changes. John Mueller's response was eye-opening for a number of SEO professionals and webmasters. What Exactly Did John Mueller Say? He explained that Google has to have time to reprocess and re-evaluate a site after it has had large or long-term SEO issues. He explained with examples that if an SEO issue has been occurring for a long time, or is large, that it will be "quite some time" for the search ranking signals to change. In his words: “If it was a manual action, you would need to submit a reconsideration request. If it was not a manual action, then this process will take a while, especially if the issue was bigger/more impactful time frame wise" This description is very helpful because it shows important distinctions: Not all SEO issues are treated the same. Quick fixes do not provide quick results since... --- > Google is testing new review reporting options in Google Business Profiles to improve how users flag inappropriate or spammy reviews. Here's what's changing. - Published: 2025-06-20 - Modified: 2025-06-20 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-business-profile-review-reporting-update/ In a recent news update, Google has been seen piloting new report review features within the Google Business Profiles (GBP) review tab. The feature seems to be an extension of a continued move to enhance and develop the review flagging process for local businesses. Though the test hasn't gone live across the board, it has gained interest from a number of professionals in both the local SEO and digital marketing sectors. What's Changing in Google Review Reporting? Google Business Profiles are a key factor in assisting customers to make judgments about local companies. Reviews can frequently act as a tipping point in a customer's purchasing decision. To ensure authenticity and precision, Google provides users with a method of flagging inappropriate or deceptive reviews. This newest test entails modernizing the labels and format of those reporting choices. In the past, users would be given choices such as "Off-topic" or "Spam" when reporting reviews. But users participating in this test might now find reworded and potentially longer review reporting options. Digital marketing consultant Amy Toman posted screenshots of the new review reporting choices on LinkedIn. Based on what she had seen, the "Off-topic" choice has been renamed, and "Spam" has also been adjusted—both potentially made more explicit to assist users better in the reporting of violations. Amy said, "For Google listings, I'm noticing the two highest fields for report of review have been renamed. The highest previously was labeled 'Off-topic,' and the second was 'Spam. ' Those appear a little improved, but... --- > Google now tracks AI Mode traffic in Search Console Performance reports. Learn how this update affects your SEO metrics, impressions, and clicks in the latest June 2025 update. - Published: 2025-06-19 - Modified: 2025-06-19 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/google-now-includes-ai-mode-traffic-in-search-console-performance-reports/ Google has rolled out a significant update to its Search Console documentation, officially confirming that traffic generated via AI Mode is now tracked in performance reports. This change may influence how website owners and SEOs interpret clicks, impressions, and other key metrics. What Is AI Mode? AI Mode is Google’s next step in evolving its search experience. Building on AI Overviews, this interactive feature breaks down user queries into smaller components and explores each one simultaneously a method known as “query fan out. ” This allows users to dive deeper into topics and access more detailed search responses. What’s New in Search Console? With the recent update, Google Search Console now includes AI Mode data as part of the overall Performance report totals. This means: Clicks from AI Mode where a user clicks on a link to an external website — are now counted. Impressions follow standard rules; if your link is displayed or potentially viewable in AI Mode, it counts. Positioning works the same as with regular search results, including carousel and image blocks. Importantly, interactions through follow-up questions in AI Mode trigger new queries. Metrics from these new responses are attributed to those follow-up searches individually. No Changes to SEO Best Practices Google reassures site owners that no special configurations or additional markup are required to benefit from AI Mode visibility. Standard SEO practices continue to apply. You do not need to create: AI-specific files New schema types Special machine-readable data Instead, control over how your content appears... --- > Google Updates its URL structure guidelines by adding clear examples to help site owners improve SEO and user experience. Learn what’s new in these best practice changes. - Published: 2025-06-19 - Modified: 2025-06-25 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-updates-url-structure/ Google Updates to Clarify URL Structure Best Practices Google has just made substantial modifications to their best practices for URL structure guidance. They added new examples and made the whole thing clearer. These changes are aimed to help website owners, developers, and SEOs better understand how to set up URLs so that they can be indexed and show up in search results. The update doesn't change the core ideas, but it does give real-world examples and tips that make it easier for website owners to build up good URL structures. What is different about the new rules? Added More Clear Examples One of the best things about Google Updates is that they show you real-life examples of how to build good and awful URLs. This shows folks how to structure URLs correctly and incorrectly. For instance, Google now clearly shows how to utilize lowercase letters, not add additional parameters, and organize URLs in a way that makes sense based on the site's hierarchy. Focus on URLs that are easy to understand and remember Google still encourages visitors to use short, easy-to-read URLs that tell them what the page is about. The new examples highlight once more that URLs shouldn't have long IDs or keywords that don't matter. Instead, they should be put up such that both humans and search engines can readily figure out what the site is for. Managing dynamic parameters The revised edition of the document contains advice on how to deal with dynamic URLs, especially for sites... --- > Google Launches a new ‘Search Live’ feature in the Google App, allowing users to talk and listen for real-time search results, enhancing accessibility and user interaction. - Published: 2025-06-19 - Modified: 2025-06-25 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-launches-search-live-app/ Google's "Search Live" Changes the Way People Interact in Real Time The Google App now contains a feature called "Search Live" that makes searching more interactive and easier to use. This feature lets individuals not only ask questions but also hear the responses. It feels like a real-time, two-way communication that feels like a normal chat. This feature was first demonstrated off at Google I/O and is now being made available to users. It changes a lot about how people can use Google Search. What is Search Live? A Search Experience That Feels More Like a Person People can talk to Google Search in a back-and-forth way with Search Live, just like they can with voice assistants. The function enables you ask follow-up questions, remembers what was said in the previous chat, and can read replies out loud, so you can have natural, hands-free interactions. This update builds on Google's work in generative AI by using the Gemini model to make conversations in the Google App more natural and useful. Talk and listen to each other in real time You may ask questions out loud with Search Live, like "What's the weather like in Bangalore this weekend? " and Google will answer in a kind way. You can then ask another question, such "What about next weekend? " without having to say everything you just stated again. Why This Feature Matters Enhanced Accessibility This update makes it considerably easier for anyone with eyesight impairments or physical limitations to use the... --- > OpenAI updates ChatGPT with improved search and smarter responses. Explore what’s new in handling longer, complex conversations. - Published: 2025-06-17 - Modified: 2025-06-17 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/openai-refreshes-chatgpt-search-with-smarter-capabilities/ OpenAI quietly released an update to ChatGPT's search functionality, and it's smarter and more useful, particularly in multi-turn conversations. What's New? OpenAI didn't say much, but the update has two main improvements: Better Quality Responses ChatGPT interprets your questions better. It provides more comprehensive and smart answers. It can engage in longer conversations without a loss of context. Improved Search and Instruction Following It follows a conversation more precisely, even in extended chats. It no longer repeats itself unnecessarily. For hard questions, it can now automatically execute several searches to get better answers. There is one thing to keep in mind: due to these enhancements, results will take slightly longer. You may also observe more complex "chain of thought" responses in the answers. In short, ChatGPT can better understand you, drill deeper, and provide more helpful responses—particularly in longer conversational query. --- > Google simplifies Search by retiring 7 structured data types, removing rarely used features like Book Actions, Salary Estimates & more. Learn what changes. - Published: 2025-06-16 - Modified: 2025-06-16 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-retires-7-structured-data-features-to-simplify-search-results/ Google has announced that it is retiring seven structured data types in order to simplify Search results. This change, which is expected to roll out over the course of the next few weeks, will change how search results are displayed, but won’t impact the ranking of websites. Why Is Google Making These Updates? Google is retiring these structured data types because they were rarely used and were not adding significant value to users anymore. By retiring these structured data types, Google is trying to simplify the search experience and focus on experiences that have more value and engagement. Google also said: "We are retiring these specific structured data types because our research shows that they are not commonly used in Search, and we found that these specific displays are no longer providing significant additional value for users. Removing them will help streamline the results page, and focus on other experiences that are more useful and widely used. This change does not impact how pages are ranked. The simplification will mean that some results will lose certain visual enrichment powered by structured data types, but will create a cleaner presentation. No impacts to the use of those structured data types outside of Google Search. " Which Structured Data Features are Sunset? The following seven types of structured data will be removed: Book Actions: This was a feature that allowed publishers to include action buttons for books (like options to buy the book or preview it) that appeared in the search snippets.... --- > Track AI-generated or conversational queries in GSC with simple regex filters and impression-based sorting. - Published: 2025-06-10 - Modified: 2025-06-10 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/how-to-monitor-conversational-ai-style-searches-in-google-search-console/ Google's search capabilities are advancing hand in hand with AI-fueled search modes—such as Google AI Mode and Gemini—where users are prompted to ask more natural, human question-like questions (e. g. , "Hey Google, how do I repair a dripping faucet? "). Such searches are considerably longer and more human-like than the old, typed queries To reveal this kind of search query behavior, a few SEOs have created useful regex filters within the Search Console. Here are a few examples: Vijay Chauhan employs this regex to find queries with 32 or more words: (*\\s){32,}? He was able to correctly identify "longer than 32 words" conversational searches in his GSC reports Metehan Yesilyurt posts on X (formerly Twitter) that the workaround tracks AI-type search engine traffic. He advises sorting queries by low impressions (1–10) and using BigQuery exports or basic "Queries containing" filters in Search Console for more in-depth analysis David Konitzny gives further regex possibilities on his German-language blog, which you can translate to look at further filtering possibilities Note: Although these methods identify long, conversational-type queries, we don't know whether they necessarily originate from AI search modes or merely represent long user search behavior. Google hasn't officially labeled conversational queries in Search Console as of yet, although such labeling is imminent. Why It's Helpful? SEO Insight: Enables you to recognize how people phrase questions verbally and if your content matches that type of phrasing. Early Detection: These are long search queries that might give a clue about traffic coming through... --- > Google ends support for virtual events in schema and clarifies recipe image usage. Learn what these updates mean for structured data in search. - Published: 2025-06-09 - Modified: 2025-06-09 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-updates-event-recipe-structured-data/ Google has updated its Event and Recipe structured data documentation and made some important adjustments. Event Structured Data Updates Google wrote Removed support for online events Events must now be live or in-person events, at a physical location, and bookable by regular people to qualify for Google’s event experience in search. Google added eligibility examples There are now many more examples of eligible and ineligible events to better help developers. The implications are that virtual events will no longer be in special event features in Google. This section and others were removed: Recipe Structured Data Updates Google clarified how the images are in recipe structured data - The image property in recipe structured data has no bearing on what image is shown in regular text search.   It is strictly for the recipe rich results, such as visual cards in search. You will need to abide by Google's image SEO best practices to appear with the right image in regular search results, not just schema. Stay Updated with Daily News— Click Here to Explore More --- > Explore the latest concerns over Google's indexing drop since May 2025. Learn from SEO experts about the impact and insights into recent trends and changes. - Published: 2025-06-06 - Modified: 2025-06-06 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-indexing-fewer-pages-seo-insights-on-recent-trends-and-changes/ Over the past few weeks, a number of webmasters and SEOs have been complaining about a considerable decrease in the number of pages Google appears to be crawling—beginning sometime in late May 2025. The complaints are getting louder on platforms such as LinkedIn, Bluesky, and X, with many positing that Google is quietly crawling fewer pages on websites. The SEO community is abuzz with the situation and are attempting to figure out whether this is a real algorithmic shift, a glitch, or merely a change in how Google's indexing data is shown. Jason Kilgore’s Findings: A Spike in “Crawled - Currently Not Indexed” The problem was initially brought to attention by Jason Kilgore, who experienced unusual activity with the site TaxServiceNearYou. com. As far as he could tell, the site had no backlinks, yet there was an enormous spike in pages labeled as "Crawled - currently not indexed" beginning on May 26. He went so far as to post images from his Google Search Console (GSC) page indexing report to prove the point. But it isn't solely Kilgore. SEO expert Adam Gent also saw a disturbing trend. He had noticed that on Indexing Insight, where they track millions of pages, the "Crawled - previously indexed" bucket had recently surged in recent weeks. Screenshots from his GSC report further highlighted the issue. Widespread Concerns: More Examples of Indexing Errors Even more instances arrived, with customers such as Gagan Ghorta and 24Cryptoverse posting identical indexing errors on X. Throughout various websites and... --- > Great Decoupling of Google Search shows impressions rising, but clicks dropping. Discover how AI Overviews are impacting CTR and search traffic. - Published: 2025-06-06 - Modified: 2025-06-06 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/the-great-decoupling-of-google-search-clicks-vs-impressions/ June 3, 2025 — Over the last several months, the world of SEO has witnessed a meteoric change in how Google Search measures performance. The addition of AI Overviews in Google Search recently has left publishers, website owners, and SEO specialists confused. Google Search Console reports indicate that, though the impressions can remain constant or even grow, Google Search clicks are plummeting by leaps and bounds. This has led to the controversy over "The Great Decoupling" in the SEO community. What is The Great Decoupling? Darwin referred to it as "The Great Decoupling" on X after noticing a trend in Google Search Console performance reports. After users started reporting their discoveries, the trend was more pronounced: impressions are robust, but the associated clicks have plummeted. It was a dramatic difference from historical trends when clicks and impressions normally moved in tandem. Larry Engel, another renowned SEO personality, posted a chart on LinkedIn showing this very problem. His chart became viral, and it precisely captured high impressions and low click-through rate (CTR). Other people such as Sankarnarayan R posted similar charts, showing this trend on other media. The AI Overviews Impact Among the biggest changes that appear to have brought this about is the adoption of AI Overviews within Google Search. These AI-driven overviews give an overview of search results in brief, generally discouraging the user from going on to a website. While Google's PR assures us that greater diversity in search results (and therefore the resultant diversity of links) points... --- > A new study reveals Google Search Console may miss up to 50% of search queries, especially conversational ones, leaving marketers with incomplete SEO data. - Published: 2025-06-03 - Modified: 2025-06-03 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-search-console-misses-half-of-search-queries/ A new study from ZipTie has discovered that Google Search Console (GSC) could be underreporting search queries by as much as 50%. This discrepancy means SEO practitioners and marketers receive an incomplete picture of their organic search performance. Conversational Queries Go Untracked The research, conducted by Tomasz Rudzki, ZipTie co-founder, points out a significant weakness in GSC's data: they frequently don't catch conversational or natural language searches—such as those employed with voice recognition or AI chatbots. To experiment, Rudzki tested his own website. For several days, he repeated the same conversational Google searches on different devices and accounts. Traffic to his site (affirmed by other analytics tools) followed these queries, but GSC registered no trace of them. "Zero. Nada. Null," Rudzki explained. He then had 10 other SEO experts redo the test, and all of them reported the same thing—no trace of those searches in GSC even though traffic was confirmed. Low Search Volume Can Be the Culprit The evidence indicates that GSC only shows queries after they reach a certain minimum search volume. Before that point is achieved, those queries—and that historical data—just don't appear. As an example, individual cases of iPhone-related questions like: "What are the advantages and disadvantages of the iPhone 16? " "Do I upgrade to the latest iPhone or continue with Samsung? " "How is iPhone 16 compared to Samsung S25? " Each may get only 10–15 searches a month. But when combined, they signify enormous interest. Alas, GSC does not notice such low volume... --- > Want your site to appear in Google AI Mode or AI Overviews? Ensure your page is indexed and meets all technical SEO standards. Learn how to check and fix it now - Published: 2025-06-02 - Modified: 2025-06-02 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/ai-news/want-your-website-to-show-up-in-google-ai-mode-make-sure-its-indexed-first/ What is the Update? If you want your website to be shown as an AI Overview or in Google AI Mode, you must have one essential requirement fulfilled: Your page is indexed by Google. If Google has not indexed your webpage, in other words has not put it into their database, no matter what you do, they will never be able to use your content in their AI generated answers, regardless of how good that content is. What Does “Indexed” Mean? Before your content can appear in any Google products, such as Search, AI Overviews, or AI Mode, your content must journey through the following three steps: Crawling - When the bots visit and read your page. Indexing - Where Google stores and knows about your page content. Eligibility - Your page meets the technical and quality standards to be shown in a search result. For AI Mode, there are no additional technical requirements. If your content is suitable for regular Google Search results (with a snippet) then it is also suitable to show in AI-generated answers. What Google Says Google’s Help Center documents confirm that, “Featured links that are shown in AI Overviews or AI Mode need to be indexed, and need to be eligible to be shown in Google Search with a snippet. These pages must also meet the technical requirements of Search. ” John Mueller of Google also said in a comment of LinkedIn, “Yes, as a general rule, it has to be indexed in order to... --- > Google has updated when Local Questions & Answers appear in search results, aiming to improve relevance and visibility for users searching local business information. - Published: 2025-05-30 - Modified: 2025-06-25 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-updates-qa/ Google Update aimed at increasing local search relevancy Thanks to a recent Google upgrade, Local Questions & Answers (Q&A) now show differently on Google Search results. This modification is aimed to boost the exposure and relevance of local company data, thereby enabling users to get the most relevant responses at the right point during their search route. What’s New with Local Q&A in Google Search? Previously, among local firm listings, the Local Q&A section would typically present itself automatically independent of the intended search. But with this Google update, Q&A content displays more selectivity. These days, the prominence of this section depends more on the relevancy of the research and the specific search requests of the user. Users will only access Local Questions & Answers; hence, when Google's algorithm detects the content is particularly relevant or closely linked to the search query, This improvement helps to improve the complete local search experience by cutting unnecessary material and accentuating useful answers. What Businesses Should Know About the Google Update Local business owners and SEO professionals should give this Google update serious thought. It reminds us to routinely review and upgrade the Q&A segment of their Google Business Profile. Regularly updated, clear, precise answers help to increase the possibility of this material showing up in search results. This update emphasizes the significance of maintaining great local content as Google Search grows. Fast responding companies will be more prominent and better positioned to meet consumer demands from within the search results. Here is... --- > Google Search experienced notable ranking fluctuations on May 29th, suggesting possible algorithm changes impacting site visibility and search performance across various industries. - Published: 2025-05-30 - Modified: 2025-06-25 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-search-ranking/ On May 29, many website owners and SEO experts saw a sudden rise in Google ranking changes, leading to talk of a possible Google algorithm update. Popular SEO tools like SEMrush and MozCast showed sharp increases in their tracking data, hinting at big changes in how sites are ranking in Google Search. This sudden change in Google Search Ranking Volatility has generated questions as many digital marketers document changes in organic traffic and site exposure. Google has not officially announced an upgrade, but the extent of these actions points to notable search engine ranking algorithm improvement. Active daily, SEO forums and groups targeted on future consequences on search engine performance, content relevancy, and website authority. Industry watchers suggest that variations in Google's continuous efforts to improve search result quality could be related to this fluctuation. Unofficial disclosure has also been noted before now in observed variations in Google ranking volatility. Still, the May 29 event seems to be among the more important unconfirmed events of late. Site owners should undertake content audits to guarantee compliance with current SEO best standards and closely check their ranks. Particularly in very volatile times of ranking, keeping knowledge of Google search algorithm behavior is quite important. One thing is obvious: Google Ranking Volatility is still a crucial metric of the dynamics of internet exposure even as the SEO community waits for official explanation. Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld. --- > Google is testing query expansion tabs in AI Overviews, helping users explore related topics and refine searches directly within the AI-generated results in Search. - Published: 2025-05-29 - Modified: 2025-05-29 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-ai-overview/ Google is currently testing a new feature in Google AI Overview that adds question expansion tabs straight to AI-generated search results. This test feature is intended to improve the user experience by making it easier to find comparable topics and more specialized inquiries without having to conduct a fresh search. As part of its ongoing efforts to improve Google Search, the new AI Overview update shows a row of expandable tabs above or within the overview content. These tabs suggest related queries that users might find helpful in exploring a topic further. Clicking a tab updates the overview results, allowing users to dive deeper into specific areas of interest. This test highlights how Google AI Overview is evolving to become more interactive and intuitive. By integrating query refinement into the overview interface, Google is helping users save time and make their searches more productive. Already, the Google AI Overview tool summarizes data from many sources using generative artificial intelligence. With query expansion tabs included now, it goes even farther in enabling better, more customized search paths. This Screenshot by Sachin Patel on X. Forum discussion at X. --- > Discover how Google's new 'Chat Clicks' metric in Business Profiles helps track customer engagement from chat interactions on Search and Maps. - Published: 2025-05-29 - Modified: 2025-05-29 - URL: https://news.opositive.io/google/google-business-profiles/ Google has added a helpful new feature called "Chat Clicks" to its Google Business Profile performance reports. This tool allows businesses to track how often customers start a chat through their Business Profile, providing clearer insights into customer engagement on Google Search and Maps. This new Chat Clicks statistic seeks to enable companies with listings enhance their consumer engagement. Knowing the volume of chat initiations helps particularly for companies using Google's messaging facilities to interact with possible consumers to better understand user intent and consumer behavior. Currently available alongside calls, website visits, and direction requests, the Google Business Profile dashboard now shows Chat visit data inside the performance area. This is part of what Google does as they always aims to improve local SEO tools and support companies in making data-driven decisions. This function can help companies implementing local SEO track return on investment and maximize consumer communication strategies. Especially local companies would gain from this improvement since Google Business Profile is still a great tool for contacting nearby clients. Google underlines in this update its emphasis on openness and actionable insights, thereby helping companies to monitor and enhance their consumer connections with Search and Maps. Features like Chat Clicks enable companies to maintain ahead in local search and improve their strategy since interaction tracking becomes ever more crucial. This Screenshot by OMG National on X. Forum discussion at X. --- ---