SEO tips and updates from Mark Williams-CookSearch with Candour hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward SEO updates you need to know π Google rolls out a new AI-generated trending topics feature for Google Discover. This had been spotted in the wild by a few users but has now been officially announced and rolled out in the US, India & South Korea. π€ Google expands ads in AI Overviews beyond the US. This announcement from Google Access confirms expansion to other English-speaking markets by the end of...
10 days agoΒ β’Β 4 min read
SEO tips and updates from Mark Williams-CookSearch with Candour hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward SEO updates you need to know π AI Mode expands to 35 new languages and 40 new countries. The inclusion of 35 new languages is especially significant as AI Mode only supported English until it added 6 new languages last month. π± ChatGPT allows users to use apps directly in the chat interface. The initial list of partner apps includes Spotify, Canva, Figma and Booking.com. Developers can also start...
17 days agoΒ β’Β 8 min read
SEO tips and updates from Mark Williams-CookSearch with Candour hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward SEO updates you need to know π OpenAI launches Instant Checkout and Agentic Commerce protocol. Logged in users in the US can now make direct purchases via partners such as Shopify and Etsy. Retailers who use Stripe may be eligible for Agentic Commerce. β Google reports data centre issues that impact the serving of some pages in some locales. This was first reported on 3 October and a fix began rolling...
24 days agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
SEO tips and updates from Mark Williams-CookSearch with Candour hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward SEO updates you need to know π Search Live officially launches in the US with no opt-in required. With this launch, Google demonstrated how this feature can assist with homework, board games, technology issues and travel advice. π€ Perplexity launches a Search API. This API will allow developers to access Perplexity 'search evaluation' metrics and integrate this data into other apps and platforms. π...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
SEO tips and updates from Mark Williams-CookSearch with Candour hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward SEO updates you need to know π Google launches 'Gemini in Chrome' in the US. Gemini can clarify and summarise webpages as well as assist with browsing tasks such as tab management and search history. Agentic features are coming soon... π€ AI Mode is now available directly in the Chrome address bar. This update will be rolling out later this month in English in the US. This continues Google's...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 7 min read
SEO tips and updates from Mark Williams-CookSearch with Candour hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward SEO updates you need to know π― Google no longer supports the &num=100 parameter which allows you to request the top 100 results. This has impacted many rank checkers and SERP APIs require ten times as many requests for the same data. π Many users are seeing massive drops in GSC impressions, and increases in avg. position since &num=100 was disabled. The impact of tools scraping SERPs on GSC may have...
about 1 month agoΒ β’Β 8 min read
SEO tips and updates from Mark Williams-CookSearch with Candour hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward SEO updates you need to know π Rumours circulate of Apple planning to launch their AI search engine next year. The report suggests that this new technology will be powered by Google, and will integrate with Siri βοΈ Google must end exclusive search deals and share search data with competitors, according to the results of the DOJ antitrust trial. The judge also decided that Google does not have to...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 7 min read
SEO tips and updates from Mark Williams-CookSearch with Candour hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward SEO updates you need to know π‘οΈ The Google August 2025 spam update begins rollout. The update launched on 26 August 2025, and there have been some early reports of further impact on sites affected by the previous update in June. π Traditional search isn't declining, despite the growth of AI search. A Sparktoro study found that 95% of Americans continue to use traditional search each month. AI tool...
about 2 months agoΒ β’Β 6 min read
SEO tips and updates from Mark Williams-CookSearch with Candour hosted by Jack Chambers-Ward SEO updates you need to know π AI Mode expands to over 180 countries. With this expansion come new agentic features for restaurant reservations and the ability to share search results. Users can then pick up the shared search with follow up questions. π Googleβs Knowledge Graph saw its largest contraction in a decade in June: a two-stage, one-week drop of 6.26% β over 3 billion entities deleted,...
2 months agoΒ β’Β 4 min read