Sep 19 2025
Internal WordPress Conflict Spills Out Into The Open via @sejournal, @martinibuster

An internal dispute within the WordPress core contributor team spilled into the open, causing major confusion among people outside the organization. The friction began with a post from more than a week ago and culminated in a remarkable outburst, exposing latent tensions within the core contributor community.

Mary Hubbard Announcement Triggers Conflict

The incident seemingly began with a September 15 announcement by Mary Hubbard, the Executive Director of WordPress. She announced a new Core Program Team that is meant to improve how Core contributor groups coordinate with each other and improve collaboration between Core contributor teams. But this was just the trigger for the conflict, which was actually part of a longer-term friction.

Hubbard explained the role of the new team:

“The goal of this team is to strengthen coordination across Core, improve efficiency, and make contribution easier. It will focus on documenting practices, surfacing roadmaps, and supporting new teams with clear processes.

The Core Program Team will not set product direction. Each Core team remains autonomous. The Program Team’s role is to listen, connect, and reduce friction so contributors can collaborate more smoothly.”

That announcement was met with the following response by a member of the documentation team (Jenni McKinnon), which was eventually removed:

“For the public record: This Core Program Team announcement was published during an active legal and procedural review that directly affects the structural governance of this project.

I am not only subject to this review—I am one of the appointed officials overseeing it under my legal duty as a recognized lead within SSRO (Strategic Social Resilience Operations). This is a formal governance, safety, and accountability protocol—bound by national and international law—not internal opinion.

Effective immediately:
• This post and the program it outlines are to be paused in full.
• No action is to be taken under the name of this Core Program Team until the review concludes and clearance is formally issued.
• Mary Hubbard holds no valid authority in this matter. Any influence, instruction, or decision traced to her is procedurally invalid and is now part of a legal evidentiary record.
• Direction, oversight, and all official governance relating to this matter is held by SSRO, myself, and verified leadership under secured protocol.

This directive exists to protect the integrity of WordPress contributors, prevent governance sabotage, and ensure future decisions are legally and ethically sound.

Further updates will be provided only through secured channels or when review concludes. Thank you for respecting this freeze and honoring the laws and values that underpin open source.”

The post was followed by astonishment and questions in various Slack and Facebook WordPress groups. The roots of the friction begin with events from a week ago centered on documentation team participation.

Documentation Team Participation

A September 10 post by documentation team member Estela Rueda informed the Core contributor community that the WordPress 6.9 release squad is experimenting with a smaller team that excludes documentation leads, with only a temporary “Docs Liaison” in place. Her post explained why this exclusion is a problem, detailed the importance of documentation in the release cycle, and urged that a formal documentation lead role be reinstated in future releases.

Estela Rueda wrote (in the September 10 post):

“The release team does not include representation from the documentation team. Why is this a problem? Because often documentation gets overlooked in release planning and project-wide coordination: Documentation is not a “nice-to-have,” it is a survival requirement. It’s not something we might do if someone has time; it’s something we must do — or the whole thing breaks down at scale. Removing the role from the release squad, we are not just sending the message that documentation is not important, we are showing new contributors that working on docs will never get them to the top of the credits page, therefore showing that we don’t even appreciate contributing to the Docs.”

Jenni McKinnon, who is a member of the docs team, responded with her opinions:

“This approach isn’t in line with genuine open-source values — it’s exclusionary and risks reinforcing harmful, cult-like behaviors.

By removing the Docs Team from the release squad under the guise of “reducing overhead,” this message sends a stark signal: documentation is not essential. That’s not just unfair — it actively erodes the foundations of transparency, contributor morale, and equitable participation.”

She added further comments, culminating in the post below that accused WordPress Executive Director Mary Hubbard of being behind a shift toward “top-down” control:

“While this post may appear collaborative on the surface, it’s important to state for the record — under Chatham House Rule, and in protection of those who have been directly impacted — that this proposal was pushed forward by Mary Hubbard, despite every Docs Team lead, and multiple long-time contributors, expressing concerns about the ethics, sustainability, and power dynamics involved.

Framing this as ‘streamlining’ or ‘experimenting’ is misleading. What’s happening is a shift toward top-down control and exclusion, and it has already resulted in real harm, including abusive behavior behind the scenes.”

Screenshot Of September 10 Comment

Documentation Team Member Asked To Step Away

Today’s issue appears to have been triggered by a post from earlier today announcing that Jenni McKinnon was asked to “step away.”

Milana Cap wrote a post today titled, “The stepping away of a team member” that explained why McKinnon was asked to step away:

“The Documentation team’s leadership has asked Jenni McKinnon to step away from the team.

Recent changes in the structure of the WordPress release squad started a discussion about the role of the Documentation team in documenting the release. While the team was working with the Core team, the release squad, and Mary Hubbard to find a solution for this and future releases, Jenni posted comments that were out of alignment with the team, including calls for broad changes across the project and requests to remove certain members from leadership roles.

This ran counter to the Documentation team’s intentions. Docs leadership reached out privately in an effort to de-escalate the situation and asked Jenni to stop posting such comments, but this behaviour did not stop. As a result, the team has decided to ask her to step away for a period of time to reassess her involvement. We will work with her to explore rejoining the team in the future, if it aligns with the best outcomes for both her and the team.”

And that post may have been what precipitated today’s blow-up in the comments section of Mary Hubbard’s post.

Zooming Out: The Big Picture

What happened today is an isolated incident. But some in the WordPress community have confided their opinion that the WordPress core technical debt has grown larger and expressed concern that the big picture is being ignored. Separately, in comments on her September 10 post (Docs team participation in WordPress releases), Estela Rueda alluded to the issue of burnout among WordPress contributors:

“…the number of contributors increases in waves depending on the releases or any special projects we may have going. The ones that stay longer, we often feel burned out and have to take breaks.”

Taken together, to an outsider, today’s friction contributes to the appearance of cracks starting to show in the WordPress project.

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Sep 19 2025
DOJ Seeks Google Ad Manager Break Up As Remedies Trial Begins via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google returns to court on Monday for the remedies phase of the Department of Justice’s ad-tech antitrust case, where the government is asking the judge to order a divestiture of Google Ad Manager.

The remedies trial follows a ruling that found Google illegally monopolized the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets, while rejecting claims about advertiser ad networks and Google’s past acquisitions.

In a statement published today, Google said it will appeal the earlier decision and argued the DOJ’s proposed remedies “go far beyond the Court’s liability decision and the law.”

What The DOJ Is Seeking

The Justice Department will seek structural remedies, which could include selling parts of Google’s ad-tech stack.

Based on reports and filings, the DOJ appears to be pushing for a divestiture of AdX, and possibly DFP, which are now combined within Google Ad Manager.

The remedies trial is scheduled to start Monday in Alexandria, Virginia, before U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

Google’s Counter

Google says a breakup would disrupt publishers and raise costs for advertisers.

The company proposes a behavioral fix focused on interoperability rather than divestiture.

In Google’s words:

“DOJ’s proposed changes go far beyond the Court’s liability decision and the law, and risk harming businesses across the country.”

“We propose building on Ad Manager’s interoperability, letting publishers use third-party tools to access our advertiser bids in real-time.”

These elements reflect Google’s May filing, which proposed making AdX’s real-time bids available to rival ad servers and phasing out Unified Pricing Rules for open-web display.

What The Court Already Decided

Judge Brinkema’s April opinion found Google violated the Sherman Act in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets and unlawfully tied DFP and AdX.

The court didn’t find a monopoly in advertiser ad networks and rejected claims tied to Google’s acquisitions.

Why This Matters

Should the court decide on divestiture, you might see changes in how open-web display inventory is auctioned and served, along with costs for transitioning off integrated tools.

If the judge backs Google’s interoperability plan, you can expect required access to real-time bids and rule changes that could make multi-stack setups easier without a corporate split.

Looking Ahead

Google plans to appeal the liability decision, so any ordered remedies may be delayed until the appeal is reviewed.

Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

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Sep 19 2025
SEO For Paws Live Stream Conference: Free Tickets Out Now via @sejournal, @theshelleywalsh

The next SEO For Paws will be held on Sept. 25, 2025.

The live stream features a stellar speaker list that includes some of the industry’s best SEO professionals and personalities, including Andrey Lipattsev, David Carrasco, Judith Lewis, and Jamie Indigo.

SEO for Paws, is a live-streamed fundraiser founded by Anton Shulke, an expert at organizing events, to help a charity close to his heart.

Anton has tirelessly continued his support for his favorite charity, which aids the many pets that were left behind in Kyiv after war broke out in Ukraine. The previous event in March managed to generate approx $7,000 for the worthy cause, with all funds going straight to the shelters where it’s needed.

Anton is well-known for his love of cats. Dynia, who traveled across Europe with Anton’s family after escaping Kyiv, is a regular feature on his social media channels.

a photo of Dynia the catImage from Anton Shulke, September 2025

One Cat Turned Into A Shelter Of 50

Among the many pet shelters that SEO For Paws has helped is an apartment run by Alya, who cares for up to 50 animals.

Alya has always cared for animals, and meeting an old, sick cat she called Fox was the start of becoming an organized shelter.

In 2016, she started with five cats living in her apartment, and today has 50 alongside 15 of her grandmother’s cats.

There’s a lot involved in care for this many animals, including the feeding, cleaning, washing litter boxes, replacing litter, and performing hygiene or medical procedures when needed.

Running a home-based shelter is not easy. Sometimes it’s sad, sometimes it’s exhausting. But Alya says that looking around at all the little whiskered faces, the furry bodies sprawled across the furniture, makes it worth it. Giving them a life of warmth, food, and love is worth every challenge.

To keep supporting individuals like Alya, we need your help. You can donate via Anton’s Buy Me a Coffee.

SEO For Paws – Cat Lovers, Dog Lovers, And SEO

The upcoming “SEO for Paws” livestream aims to continue fundraising efforts. The event, which runs from 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET, will offer actionable SEO and digital marketing advice from experts while raising money for the animal shelters.

Headline speakers who have donated their time to support his cause include Andrey Lipattsev, David Carrasco, Olga Zarr, Judith Lewis, James Wirth, Zach Chahalis, Jamie Indigo, and Lee Elliott.

Attendance is free, but participants are encouraged to donate to help the charity.

Event Highlights

  • Date and Time: September 25, 2025, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET.
  • Access: Free registration with the option to join live, participate in Q&A sessions, and a recording will be made available on YouTube.
  • Speakers: The live stream will feature SEO and digital marketing experts, who will share actionable insights.

How To Make A Difference

The “SEO for Paws” live stream is an opportunity to make a meaningful difference while listening to excellent speakers.

All money raised is donated to help cats and dogs in Ukraine.

You can register for the event here.

And you can help support the charity by buying coffee.

Search Engine Journal is proud to be sponsoring the event.

More Resources:

Featured Image: Anton Shulke/SEO For Paws

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Sep 19 2025
The Future Of Rank Tracking Can Go Two Ways via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Digital marketers are providing more evidence that Google’s disabling of the num=100 search parameter correlates exactly with changes in Google Search Console impression rates. What looked like reliable data may, in fact, have been a distorted picture shaped by third-party SERP crawlers. It’s becoming clear that squeezing meaning from the top 100 search results is increasingly a thing of the past and that this development may be a good thing for SEO.

Num=100 Search Parameter

Google recently disabled the use of a search parameter that caused web searches to display 100 organic search results for a given query. Search results keyword trackers depended on this parameter for efficiently crawling Google’s search results. By eliminating the search parameter, Google is forcing data providers into an unsustainable position that requires them to scale their crawling by ten times in order to extract the top 100 search results.

Rank Tracking: Fighting To Keep It Alive

Mike Roberts, founder of SpyFu, wrote a defiant post saying that they will find a way to continue bringing top 100 data to users.

His post painted an image of an us versus them moment:

“We’re fighting to keep it alive. But this hits hard – delivering is very expensive.

We might even lose money trying to do this… but we’re going to try anyway.

If we do this alone, it’s not sustainable. We need your help.

This isn’t about SpyFu vs. them.

If we can do it – the way the ecosystem works – all your favorite tools will be able to do it. If nothing else, then by using our API (which has 100% of our keyword and ranking data).”

Rank Tracking: Where The Wind Is Blowing

Tim Soulo, CMO of Ahrefs, sounded more pragmatic about the situation, tweeting that the future of ranking data will inevitably be focused on the Top 20 search results.

Tim observed:

“Ramping up the data pulls by 10x is just not feasible, given the scale at which all SEO tools operate.

So the question is:

‘Do you need keyword data below Top 20?’

Because most likely it’s going to come at a pretty steep premium going forward.

Personally, I see it this way:

▪️ Top 10 – is where all the traffic is at. Definitely a must-have.

▪️ Top 20 – this is where “opportunity” is at, both for your and your competitors. Also must-have.

▪️ Top 21-100 – IMO this is merely an indication that a page is “indexed” by Google. I can’t recall any truly actionable use cases for this data.”

Many of the responses to his tweet were in agreement, as am I. Anything below the top 20, as Tim suggested, only tells you that a site is indexed. The big picture, in my opinion, is that it doesn’t matter whether a site is ranked in position 21 or 91; they’re pretty much equivalently suffering from serious quality or relevance issues that need to be worked out. Any competitors in that position shouldn’t be something to worry about because they are not up and coming; they’re just limping their way in the darkness of page three and beyond.

Page two positions, however, provide actionable and useful information because they show that a page is relevant for a given keyword term but that the sites ranked above it are better in terms of quality, user experience, and/or relevance. They could even be as good as what’s on page one but, in my experience, it’s less about links and more often it’s about user preference for the sites in the top ten.

Distorted Search Console Data

It’s becoming clear that search results scraping distorted Google’s Search Console data. Users are reporting that Search Console keyword impression data is significantly lower since Google blocked the Num=100 search parameter. Impressions are the times when Google shows a web page in the search results, meaning that the site is ranking for a given keyword phrase.

SEO and web developer Tyler Gargula (LinkedIn profile) posted the results of an analysis of over three hundred Search Console properties, showing that 87.7% of the sites experienced drops in impressions. 77.6% of the sites in the analysis experienced losses in query counts, losing visibility for unique keyword phrases.

Tyler shared:

“Keyword Length: Short-tail and mid-tail keywords experienced the largest drops in impressions, with single word keywords being much lower than I anticipated. This could be because short and mid-tail keywords are popular across the SEO industry and easier to track/manage within popular SEO tracking tools.

Keyword Ranking Positions: There has been reductions in keywords ranking on page 3+, and in turn an increase in keywords ranking in the top 3 and page 1. This suggests keywords are now more representative of their actual ranking position, versus receiving skewed positions from num=100.”

Google Is Proactively Fighting SERP Scraping

Disabling the num=100 search parameter is just the prelude to a bigger battle. Google is hiring an engineer to assist in statistical analysis of SERP patterns and to work together with other teams to develop models for combating scrapers. It’s obvious that this activity negatively affects Search Console data, which in turn makes it harder for SEOs to get an accurate reading on search performance.

What It Means For The Future

The num=100 parameter was turned off in a direct attack on the scraping that underpinned the rank-tracking industry. Its removal is forcing the search industry to reconsider the value of data beyond the top 20 results. This may be a turning point toward better attribution and and clearer measures of relevance.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/by-studio

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Sep 18 2025
Google Brings AI Mode To Chrome’s Address Bar via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google is rolling out AI Mode to the address bar in Chrome for U.S. users.

This move is part of a series of AI updates, including Gemini in Chrome, page-aware question prompts, improved scam protection, and instant password changes.

See Google’s launch video below:

What’s New

Google Chrome will enable you to access AI Mode directly from the search bar on desktop, ask follow-up questions, and explore the web more in-depth.

Additionally, Google is introducing contextual prompts that are connected to the page you’re currently viewing. When you use these prompts, an AI Overview will appear on the right side of the screen, allowing you to continue using AI Mode without leaving the page.

For now, this feature is available in English in the U.S., with plans to expand internationally.

Gemini In Chrome

Gemini in Chrome is rollout out to to Mac and Windows users in the U.S.

You can ask it to clarify complex information across multiple tabs, summarize open tabs, and consolidate details into a single view.

With integrations with Calendar, YouTube, and Maps, you can jump to a specific point in a video, get location details, or set meetings without switching tabs.

Google plans to add agentic capabilities in the coming months. Gemini will be able to perform tasks for you on the web, such as booking appointments or placing orders, with the option to stop it at any time.

Regarding availability, Google notes that business access will be available “in the coming weeks” through Workspace with enterprise-grade protections.

Security Enhancements

Enhanced protection in Safe Browsing now uses Gemini Nano to detect tech-support-style scams, making browsing safer. Google is also working on extending this protection to block fake virus alerts and fake giveaways.

Chrome is using AI to help reduce annoying spammy site notifications and to lower the prominence of intrusive permission prompts.

Additionally, Chrome will soon serve as a password helper, automatically changing compromised passwords with a single click on supported sites.

Why This Matters

Adding AI Mode to the omnibox makes it easier to ask conversational questions and follow-ups.

Content that answers related questions and compares options side by side may align better with these types of searches. Page-aware prompts also create new ways to explore related topics from article pages, which could change how people click through to other content.

Looking Ahead

Google frames this as “the biggest upgrade to Chrome in its history,” with staged rollouts and more countries and languages to come.

Featured Image: Photo Agency / Shutterstock

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Sep 18 2025
Google Introduces Three-Tier Store Widget Program For Retailers via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google is expanding its store widget program into three eligibility-based tiers that you can embed on your site to display ratings, policies, and reviews, helping customers make informed decisions.

Google announces:

“When shoppers are online, knowing which store to buy from can be a tough decision. The new store widget powered by Google brings valuable information directly to a merchant’s website, which can turn shopper hesitation into sales. It addresses two fundamental challenges ecommerce retailers face: boosting visibility and establishing legitimacy.”

What’s New

Google now offers three versions of the widget, shown based on your current standing in Merchant Center: Top Quality store widget, Store rating widget, and a generic store widget for stores still building reputation.

This replaces the earlier single badge and expands access to more merchants.

Google’s announcement continues:

“It highlights your store’s quality to shoppers by providing visual indicators of excellence and quality. Besides your store rating on Google, the widget can also display other important details, like shipping and return policies, and customer reviews. The widget is displayed on your website and stays up to date with your current store quality ratings.

Google says sites using the widget saw up to 8% higher sales within 90 days compared to similar businesses without it.

Implementation

You add the widget by embedding Google’s snippet on any page template, similar to adding analytics or chat tools.

It’s responsive and updates automatically from your Merchant Center data, which means minimal maintenance after setup.

Check eligibility in Google Merchant Center, then place your badge wherever reassurance can influence conversion.

Context

Google first announced a store widget last year. Today’s update introduces the three-tier structure, which is why Google is framing it as a “new” development.

Why This Matters

Bringing trusted signals from Google onto your product and checkout pages can reduce hesitation and help close sales that would otherwise bounce.

You can surface store rating, shipping and returns, and recent reviews without manual updates, since the widget reflects your current store quality data from Google.

Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

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Sep 17 2025
Google Discover Adds Social Media Posts & Follow Buttons via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google is updating Discover with two changes that could change how your content finds readers.

You can now follow publishers directly in Discover, and Google will start showing social posts from platforms like X, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts in the feed.

Rollout begins today, with social integrations coming in the weeks ahead.

Layla Amjadi, Senior Director of Product Management for Search, wrote:

“We’re updating Discover to make it even easier to find, follow and engage with the content and creators you care about most. From creators to news publishers, Discover will be a more helpful and personalized jumping-off point for exploring the web.

What’s New Today

Signed-in users can follow publishers and creators right inside Discover.

When someone taps a name in Discover, they’ll see a dedicated space with that source’s content across formats. If they like what they see, they can follow to get more from that source over time.

Here’s an example of a dedicated publisher space in Google Discover:

Screenshot from: : blog.google/products/search/discover-updates-september-2025, September 2025.

Google’s announcement reads:

“Now, you can “follow” publishers or creators right on Discover to see more of their content. You can preview a publisher or creator’s content — including articles, YouTube videos and posts from social channels — before you follow. Just tap their name to find a new, dedicated space for their content.”

Social Posts In Discover

Google Discover will soon begin showing posts from X and Instagram, along with YouTube Shorts, with more platforms planned.

Google’s announcement reads:

“In the coming weeks, you’ll start to see more types of content in Discover from publishers and creators across the web, such as posts from X and Instagram and YouTube Shorts, with more platforms to come. In our research, people told us they enjoyed seeing a mix of content in Discover, including videos and social posts, in addition to articles.”

Here’s an example of an in-feed social media post in Google Discover:

Screenshot from: : blog.google/products/search/discover-updates-september-2025, September 2025.

Why This Matters

If you publish across web + social, your posts could reach Discover audiences without an extra tap into each platform.

The Follow button gives you a direct, opt-in signal that may help stabilize Discover traffic over time.

This follows Google’s preferred sources feature in Top Stories, which lets people pick news outlets they want to see more often for timely queries.

Looking Ahead

The follow button is available starting today for signed-in users. Social posts will appear in the coming weeks as the integration rolls out.

Together, these updates point to more user-directed personalization across Search surfaces.

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Sep 17 2025
Google Is Hiring An Anti-Scraping Engineering Analyst via @sejournal, @martinibuster

Google is hiring a new anti-scraping czar, whose job will be to analyze search traffic to identify the patterns of search scrapers, assess the impact, and work with engineering teams to develop new anti-scraping models for improving anti-scraping defenses.

Search Results Scraping

SEOs rely on SERP tracking companies to provide search results data for understanding search ranking trends, enabling competitive intelligence, and other keyword-related research and analysis.

Many of these companies conduct massive amounts of automated crawling of Google’s search results to take a snapshot of ranking positions and data related to search features triggered by keyword phrases. This scraping is suspected of causing significant changes to what’s reported in Google Search Console.

In the early days of SEO, there used to be a free keyword data source via Yahoo’s Overture, their PPC service. Many SEOs used to search on Yahoo so often that their searches would unintentionally inflate the keyword volume. Smart SEOs would know better to not optimize for those keyword phrases.

I have suspected that some SEOs may also have intentionally scraped Yahoo’s search results using fake keyword phrases in order to generate keyword volumes for those queries, in order to mislead competitors into optimizing for phantom search queries.

&num=100 Results Parameter

There is a growing suspicion backed by Google Search Console data that search result scraping may have inflated the official keyword impression data and that it may be the reason why Search Console Data appears to show that AI Search results aren’t sending traffic while Google’s internal data shows the opposite.

This suspicion is based on falling keyword impressions that correlate with Google’s recent action to block generating 100 search results with one search query, a technique used by various keyword tracking tools.

Google Anti-Scraping Engineering Analyst

Jamie Indigo posted that Google is looking to hire an Engineering Analyst focused on combatting search scraping.

The responsibilities for the job are:

  • “Investigate and analyze patterns of abuse on Google Search, utilizing data-motivated insights to develop countermeasures and enhance platform security.
    Analyze datasets to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies that may indicate abuse within Google Search.
  • Develop and track metrics to measure scraper impact and the effectiveness of anti-scraping defenses. Collaborate with engineering teams to design, test, and launch new anti-scraper rules, models, and system enhancements.
  • Investigate proof-of-concept attacks and research reports that identify blind spots and guide the engineering team’s development priorities. Evaluate the effectiveness of existing and proposed detection mechanisms, understanding the impact on scrapers and real users.
  • Contribute to the development of signals and features for machine learning models to detect abusive behavior. Develop and maintain threat intelligence on scraper actors, motivations, tactics and the scraper ecosystem.”

What Does It Mean?

There hasn’t been an official statement from Google but it’s fairly apparent that Google may be putting a stop to search results scrapers. This should result in more accurate Search Console data, so that’s a plus.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/DIMAS WINDU

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Sep 16 2025
YouTube Monetization Updates Across Long-Form, Shorts, & Live via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

YouTube has announced a suite of monetization updates designed to help creators diversify their revenue streams.

Key updates include dynamic sponsorship for long-form videos, brand linking in Shorts, AI-powered product tagging for Shopping, and side-by-side live ads.

The updates come as YouTube revealed it paid out over $100 billion to creators, artists, and media companies globally over the past four years.

What’s New

Dynamic Sponsorship

YouTube is introducing a new way for creators to manage sponsorships in their videos.

Creators will soon be able to dynamically add brand segments to their content, rather than having to permanently embed them.

YouTube’s announcement reads:

“This new format enables you to remove the sponsorship when the deal is complete, resell the slot to another brand or eventually sell the same slot to multiple brands in different markets — transforming your videos into living assets to grow your business. Creators can choose the perfect moment to insert the branded segment, and will see detailed performance insights directly in YouTube Studio, which can also be shared with the brand.”

Testing starts with a small group early next year.

Shorts Links

YouTube is adding the ability to link directly to a sponsor’s website from Shorts.

YouTube states:

“For Shorts creators, they’ll soon be able to add a link to a brand’s site specifically for brand deals. This will make it easier for viewers to discover and buy products, while giving creators a powerful way to drive results for brand partners.”

Shopping

YouTube Shopping is getting a series of updates to improve the shopping experience for both creators and viewers.

The platform is adding automatic timestamps that show when products are available in videos, making it simpler for viewers to find and buy featured items.

YouTube is also automating product selection in Merchant Center, which reduces the manual work creators have to do to tag and link products to their content.

YouTube’s announcement reads:

“We know tagging products can be time-consuming, so to make the experience better for creators, we’re leaning on an AI-powered system to identify the optimal moment a product is mentioned and automatically display the product tag at that time, capturing viewer interest when it’s highest. We’ll also begin testing the ability to automatically identify and tag all eligible products mentioned in your video later this year.”

These updates are planned for later this year.

Live Streaming

Live streaming, which draws more than 30 percent of YouTube’s daily logged-in viewers, according to company data, is getting new features to help creators earn more money.

YouTube is rolling out live ads that show up next to streams, rather than interrupting them.

YouTube’s announcement reads:

“The new side-by-side ads are a less intrusive format for viewers, while helping creators get paid without pulling their audience away.

YouTube is also introducing a feature that lets live streams transition directly to member communities and channel memberships.

The company adds:

… We’re rolling out a new feature that allows channel membership creators to easily transition from public to members-only livestreams, without disruption. This makes it easy to create premium, members-only content, while strengthening your community and attracting new paid members.

Why This Matters

These updates are a move toward giving creators more control over how they make money from their content, while also giving brands more ways to partner with them.

By opening up new revenue streams beyond traditional pre-roll and mid-roll ads, YouTube is equipping creators with tools that could make the platform more attractive for full-time publishing.

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