The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Google and Amazon misled advertisers by failing to properly disclose terms and pricing for ads on their platforms, according to people familiar with the matter. Driving the news: The FTC’s consumer protection unit is examining Google’s internal ad pricing processes and whether it raised costs without informing advertisers. […]

Google has released a comprehensive “Understanding Product Pricing” guide to help merchants navigate the complex rules and options for pricing in Shopping ads and free listings. Core concepts. The guide breaks down the fundamentals merchants need to get right: Price: The standard product price without discounts or promotions. Sale price: A temporary lower price shown […]

Performance Max has evolved dramatically since its 2021 launch.  If you’re still running campaigns like it’s 2023, you’re leaving serious performance gains behind.  With Google rolling out enhanced reporting and creative controls this year, the optimization playbook looks very different heading into 2026. These strategies will help you maximize Performance Max in Q4 and beyond […]

AI-powered search platforms are growing fast, but still account for less than 1% of referral traffic, according to new data from enterprise SEO platform BrightEdge. By the numbers. From January to August, AI-driven search referrals accounted for less than 1% of traffic. Organic search remains the primary driver of conversions across industries. AI search usage […]

A majority of Americans are using AI in daily life – 87% read AI summaries in search, and 84% turn to AI for shopping. That’s according to new survey data shared exclusively with Search Engine Land by digital marketing firm Centerfield. By the numbers: 87% of U.S. adults read AI-generated summaries in search results. 50% […]

Today’s customer journeys look less like funnels and more like works from Jackson Pollock; splashes of touchpoints across dozens of channels.  Digital transformation has “fractured consumer journeys into unpredictable, nonlinear patterns,” per Boston Consulting Group’s research, and AI is accelerating this complexity at breakneck speed. Here’s the take: The real opportunity isn’t in controlling the […]

Meta used its Brand Building Summit to unveil updates aimed at helping advertisers tap into cultural moments across its apps, with new ad formats, trending placements, and AI-powered targeting. What’s new: Reels trending ads are opening up to more advertisers after closed beta. The format places brands alongside the most popular Reels, with early tests […]

SEOs (and their bosses) are rapidly adopting AI search optimization, even if they’re still figuring out what it all means, according to a new survey from Aleyda Solis. By the numbers: More than 200 senior SEOs worldwide shared how they’re referring to this emerging discipline. 36% say their clients/managers simply call it “AI search optimization.” […]

Google has pushed a minor update to its search quality raters guidelines PDF (accessible here). Google updated the YMYL definitions and added additional examples for new features like AI Overviews. Google also fixed some typos and other textual issues in the document. What changed. Google posted the following details in its change log in the document: […]

Google Tag Manager (GTM) has rolled out a long-awaited update: advertisers can now add custom event parameters directly to Google Ads and Floodlight tags. How it works. A new Event Parameters field group now appears in Ads and Floodlight event tags. You can use it to: Send custom parameters (like audience or conversion details). Configure […]