📊

New features were added to Google Search Console including query groups, social channels and AI-powered configurations. GSC continues to be an essential tool for SEOs and these additions help expand its capabilities.

❇️

AI Mode launched in May 2025 and has since expanded to over 200 countries and 35 languages. AI Mode also introduced agentic search to Google and could potentially become the primary search mode in 2026.

💯

​Google removed the &num=100 parameter. While this change appeared catastrophic at first, especially for rank tracking tools, this may actually give us a more accurate picture of long-term organic visibility.

🌐

New AI-powered browsers from Perplexity and ChatGPT launched. These LLMs aren't just trying to compete in the search landscape, this growth of browser competition also raises questions about Chrome's monopoly.

🖱️

​AI Overviews continued to reduce click-through rates. Across multiple studies, the presence of AIOs grew and this caused significant drops in CTR for both organic and paid results.

🤝

​Google quietly confirmed that the search algorithms unintentionally favour larger sites. Google also spoke about how complex algorithm adjustments are and it can take months to implement fixes.

📈

​Some of Perplexity's ranking systems were unearthed by Metehan Yesilyurt. This detailed, evidence-led analysis revealed some interesting factors including content freshness, consistency across formats and topic relevance.

📉

​Google's search market share dropped below 90% for the first time since 2015. Google is still far-and-away the dominant search platform globally but these drops do feel like the other competitors slowly chipping away at their monopoly.

☁️

​Cloudflare took a notable stance against AI search. Cloudflare allows users to block and even monetise AI crawlers visiting your site and Cloudflare's CEO has been very outspoken about his thoughts on the future of the internet.

🤳

​Multimodal search became more important than ever thanks to Search Live. SEO is now relevant for your products and brand in the real world as more and more users searched visually in 2025 than ever before.

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Moving to a new site isn’t just a design change; it’s a data change. One wrong move with your front-end code, redirects or site architecture, and you don’t just lose traffic – you lose revenue. You can wipe out years of Google trust overnight.

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