Dec 8 2025
What Google’s 2025 Year in Review Tells Us About the Future of PPC via @sejournal, @brookeosmundson

As December is quickly coming to a close, Google released its 2025 Year in Review, with a thorough list of product launches, upgrades, improvements all driven by AI.

These updates showed up across the board in Search, YouTube, Demand Gen, Performance Max, Merchant Center, and more.

Some updates felt like natural progressions from earlier releases. Others pushed Google’s vision for a more automated, more visual, and more data-informed ad system into clearer view.

For PPC managers and directors who spent the year testing generative AI, adjusting to new reporting controls, and rethinking creative workflows, Google’s recap is a useful way to understand what actually shaped paid media in 2025 and what still needs refinement.

The Biggest Releases of 2025

Before breaking down the themes and implications, here is a snapshot of the major updates Google highlighted in its year-end recap:

  • Ads in AI Overviews expanded to desktop and new global markets
  • AI Mode opened new mid-funnel inventory for deeper conversational queries
  • The launch of AI Max for Search, with new beta features being released in Q1 2026
  • Smart Bidding Exploration allowed for flexible ROAS targets
  • Full placement reporting expanded across the Search Partner Network
  • YouTube released Shoppable CTV, new Cultural Moments Sponsorship, new sports lineups, and a creator partnerships hub
  • Demand Gen added product feeds, target CPC bidding, campaign-level experiments, and channel controls
  • PMax gained channel-level reporting, full Search Terms, asset-level metrics, negative keyword lists, device targeting, and expanded search themes
  • App campaigns improved iOS measurement, Web-to-App flows, ROAS bidding, and conversion modeling
  • Merchant Center gained brand profiles, AI-powered visuals, loyalty tools, and priority fixes
  • Meridian introduced an open-sourced MMM approach with lower lift thresholds
  • Data Manager and Google tag gateway made data accuracy and consolidation easier
  • Asset Studio launched inside Google Ads with Nano Banana Pro powering image and video creation
  • Ads Advisor and Analytics Advisor delivered guided support for campaign building and analysis

Taken together, these updates show Google’s ongoing effort to blend automation with advertiser control, though some areas are maturing faster than others.

Below are details of some of the key updates worth digging into more.

How Google Repositioned Search for the Next Era

Google spent much of 2025 redefining how Search works, particularly around discovery moments and conversational intent. These shifts matter because they determine where ads can appear and how early advertisers can influence a buying journey.

Ads in AI Overviews

Google expanded Ads in AI Overviews across desktop and global markets. This placement sits inside AI-generated summaries and gives advertisers a chance to appear before users have clicked into a traditional results page. While Ads in AI Overviews was announced earlier this year, it wasn’t until the later part of 2025 where users were sharing their screenshots in the wild.

AI Mode

Still in testing, AI Mode answers multi-step or nuanced queries with structured responses. Google now allows ads to appear below and within these responses when relevant. These moments previously had no paid inventory, so this is a new mid-funnel opportunity for advertisers who want to influence complex decision-making.

AI Max for Search

AI Max extended its feature set and remains one of Google’s fastest-growing Search products. Experiments, creative guidelines, and text customization give advertisers more agency over AI-generated assets. The challenge is managing expectations. AI Max simplifies setup but still requires strategic human oversight to shape relevance and cost efficiency.

Smart Bidding Exploration

Google cited an average 18 percent increase in unique converting query categories and a 19 percent conversion lift when advertisers used flexible ROAS targets. For brands that struggle to expand reach without overspending, this may become one of the most practical levers in 2026.

YouTube and Demand Gen Continued Their Growth Spurt

YouTube delivered some of Google’s most impactful upgrades this year. Shoppable CTV allows viewers to browse products directly on the big screen or pass the experience to their phone.

Cultural Moments Sponsorships created a packaged approach for brands that want presence during tentpole events. With new sports lineups across college and women’s leagues, Google is betting heavily on live and fandom-driven environments.

Demand Gen also saw meaningful improvement. Google noted a 26 percent increase in conversions per dollar driven by more than 60 AI-powered enhancements.

Combined with product feeds, channel controls, and full compatibility with Custom Experiments, Demand Gen now feels like a maturing format rather than an experimental successor to Discovery.

Performance Max Became More Transparent and More Controllable

Performance Max received a set of long overdue reporting and control features that changed how many advertisers worked inside the platform.

Channel reporting, full Search terms, asset-level insights, customer acquisition visibility, and segmentation options let PPC managers understand where performance originates. Negative keyword lists, device targeting, demographic controls, and expanded search themes finally gave advertisers the ability to tighten or expand performance intentionally rather than reactively.

For many teams, this was the year PMax felt less like a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ automation tool and more like a high-powered campaign framework that needs guidance rather than blind trust.

Creativity Became a Central Focus

One theme that Google emphasized more strongly this year was creative quality and workflow efficiency. With Asset Studio and Nano Banana Pro, Google is signaling that creative is no longer a side component of performance. It is a core lever.

Asset Studio

The new in-platform creative workspace lets advertisers generate, edit, and review creative directly inside Google Ads. Nano Banana Pro now supports:

  • Natural language editing
  • Seasonal variations
  • Photorealistic product scenes
  • Multi-product compositions
  • Bulk image generation
  • Shareable assets for team review

For lean teams that struggle to produce enough visual variation for PMax, Demand Gen, or YouTube, this removes a major bottleneck. The quality still varies depending on brand style, texture, or lighting, but Google is clearly positioning AI-assisted creative as a foundational element in campaign setup.

Ad Preview and Workflow Support

Updated previews show ads across channels without guesswork, and shareable previews remove a lot of friction with internal stakeholders. This is one of Google’s more underrated releases because it directly solves a common workflow challenge: aligning creative teams and media teams without lengthy back-and-forth.

Google also introduced Ads Advisor, a guided AI assistant for campaign building and troubleshooting, which reduces operational burden for teams who manage multiple accounts or frequent experiments.

Why the iOS Measurement Updates Are More Important Than It Looks

Buried within Google’s 2025 recap was an update most marketers will skim past, but app-focused advertisers immediately saw as one of the most meaningful improvements of the year.

Google expanded Web-to-App acquisition measurement for iOS, allowing advertisers to track when a user moves from a web campaign into an app install that ultimately leads to a valuable in-app action.

On the surface, this reads like a small reporting enhancement. In practice, it solves one of the most frustrating gaps in iOS app advertising since ATT went live in 2021.

For most advertisers who run traditional lead-gen or ecommerce campaigns, this update will feel distant. But for app marketers, it finally closes the loop on a user journey that used to look fragmented, inconsistent, or completely invisible.

Here’s what makes it so important:

  1. It brings back visibility that app advertisers lost years ago. After Apple’s App Tracking Transparency rollout, many advertisers lost the ability to see how web campaigns influenced app installs. That meant paid Search, Shopping, and even PMax often undervalued app growth, because installs and in-app actions didn’t get attributed correctly. Google’s new iOS Web-to-App measurement begins restoring that path, which helps app campaigns receive credit where it was previously impossible.
  2. It allows advertisers to optimize for higher-value actions, not just installs. Before this update, the disconnect between web traffic and app conversions often pushed advertisers toward shallow optimization goals. Now, Google can tie in-app action quality back to upstream campaigns. For app marketers, that means smarter bidding. For finance teams, it means cleaner forecasting.
  3. It makes cross-surface strategy practical again. Many app brands advertise across Search, YouTube, Shopping, and PMax but had to treat those touchpoints separately. This update reopens the door to a unified approach, where creative, bidding strategies, and budgets can align with actual user behavior instead of being fragmented by platform limitations.

App-focused teams have been navigating blind spots for years. They know how often web traffic influences app installs. They’ve seen how many high-value users start on mobile web before downloading. Without visibility, they’ve had to rely on directional data, blended reporting, or costly workarounds through MMP partners.

This update doesn’t solve every attribution limitation on iOS, but it does give app advertisers something they’ve wanted since ATT: a path to understanding the real value of web-driven app conversions.

It creates a more complete and realistic measurement loop, which is exactly what Google needs if it wants advertisers to invest confidently in App campaigns across Search, YouTube, Demand Gen, and Performance Max in 2026.

Where There’s Room for Improvement

A year-in-review should not only highlight progress but also acknowledge where advertisers still experience friction. My goal here is objective critique without negativity.

AI Overviews need clearer consistency

Advertisers still struggle to predict when AI Overviews will appear and how often ads surface within them. Before this becomes a must-have surface, Google needs more stability and clearer guidelines.

Creative control in AI Max is not fully predictable

Google is expanding customization settings, but advertisers still see unexpected rewrites or over-simplifications. More transparency around why AI chooses certain variations would help creative teams align expectations.

Asset Studio output varies by category

While the new tools are fast and flexible, certain product types still generate inconsistent or overly stylized visuals. This will improve, but brands that rely on strict visual identity may need hybrid workflows for now.

Measurement unification is still a challenge

Meridian is promising, but advertisers want easier alignment between Google’s lift results and those from Meta, Amazon, or independent MMM tools. The industry needs consistency, not isolated attribution logic.

These gaps do not diminish the significance of Google’s updates, but they remind us that AI-led advertising is still developing and requires both experimentation and skepticism.

Wrapping Up the Year

Google’s 2025 recap showed a platform that is evolving quickly but maturing steadily. Automation is no longer something advertisers fear or resist. The conversation has shifted to how PPC teams can direct these systems with clearer insight, smarter testing, and more intentional creative work.

If 2025 was about unlocking visibility and control, 2026 will be about applying those tools with discipline. Marketers who lean into experimentation, creative differentiation, and data strength will be the ones who stay ahead as Google’s ad ecosystem continues to change.

What was your biggest takeaway from Google’s updates this year?

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Dec 8 2025
Google Tests Social Channel Insights In Search Console via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google Search Console is testing a feature that shows how linked social channels perform in Google Search, including clicks, impressions, and queries.

  • Search Console Insights now includes performance data for social channels Google has automatically linked to your website.
  • The feature shows clicks, impressions, top queries, and trending content for connected social profiles.
  • This is an early experiment available only to a limited set of sites with auto-detected social channels.
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Dec 8 2025
Google CEO Sundar Pichai Says Information Ecosystem Is Richer Than AI via @sejournal, @martinibuster

In a recent interview with the BBC, Sundar Pichai emphasized that AI is not a standalone source of information. He affirmed that AI works together with search and that AI and Search have their uses. Pichai also said that AI is not a replacement for either search, the information ecosystem, or actual subject matter experts.

A number of tweets and articles mischaracterized Pichai’s remarks, including a BBC News social media post summarizing the interview with the line, “Don’t blindly trust what AI tells you.”

Tweet By BBC News

That phrasing misleadingly suggests that Pichai said don’t trust AI. But that’s not what Pichai meant. His full answer emphasized that AI is not a standalone source of information, that the information ecosystem is greater than that.

AI Makes Mistakes, That’s Why There’s Grounding

Sundar Pichai had just finished describing how AI will, in a few years time, usher in new opportunities and create new kinds of jobs based on what humans can do with AI. He used the example of envisioning a feature-length movie.

In response to that statement, the interviewer challenged Pichai with a question about the fallibility of AI, saying that what Pichai described is built on the assumption that AI works.

Pichai’s statement was broadly about how people will use AI in a few years time. The interviewer’s question was narrowly focused on the accuracy and truth of AI. The conversation between the interviewer and Pichai contained this dynamic, where the interviewer kept narrowing the focus to AI in isolation and Pichai kept broadening the focus to the wider information ecosystem within which AI exists.

The interviewer keeps pressing Pichai with variations of the same narrow question:

  • Is AI reliable?
  • Doesn’t AI make information less reliable?
  • Shouldn’t Google be held responsible because this model was invented there?

Pichai repeatedly answers by placing AI within a wider context:

  • AI is not the only system people use.
  • Search and other grounded sources remain essential.
  • Journalism, doctors, teachers, and other experts matter.
  • The information ecosystem is larger than AI.

The interviewer kept zooming in to look at the AI “tree,” and Pichai responded by zooming out to explain AI within the context of the information ecosystem “forest.” This is the key to understanding what Pichai means by his answers.

In response to Pichai’s statements of how AI will transform society in the coming years, the interviewer asked about the truthfulness of AI today:

“So all of the hopes, the hype, the valuations, the social benefit of this transformation you’ve just described, you’ve built on a central assumption that the technology functions, that it works.

Let me propose one simple test of Gemini, which is your booming ChatGPT kind of competitor. Is it accurate always? Does it tell the truth?”

Pichai explained that generative AI is not a source of truth, it’s simply making a statistical prediction of how to respond. In that context he said that Google Search is what grounds AI in facts and truth. Grounding is a system for anchoring generative AI with real-world facts instead of relying on its training data.

Pichai responded:

“Look, we are working hard from a scientific standpoint to ground it in real world information. And there are areas, part of what we’ve done with Gemini is we’ve brought the power of Google Search. So it uses Google Search as a tool to try and answer, to give answers more accurately. But there are moments, these AI models fundamentally have a technology by which they’re predicting what’s next, and they are prone to errors.”

Use Tools For What They’re Good At

The next part of Pichai’s answer underlines the fact that AI and Search are tools that people use for different purposes. The point he is making is that AI is not a standalone technology that has replaced Search. He said to use each tool for “what they’re good at.”

Pichai explained:

“Today, I think, we take pride in the amount of work we put in to give as accurate information as possible. But the current state-of-the-art AI technology is prone to some errors.

This is why people also use Google Search, and we have other products which are more grounded in providing accurate information, right? But the same tools are helpful if you want to creatively write something.

So you have to learn to use these tools for what they’re good at and not blindly trust everything they say.”

Not One Standalone System: The Information Ecosystem Matters

The interviewer echoed Pichai’s statement about not blindly trusting then challenged him again about reliability.

The interviewer asked:

“OK, don’t blindly trust.

But let me suggest to you that you have a special responsibility because this whole model, type of model, transformer model, the T in ChatGPT, was invented here under you. And you know that it’s a probability. And I just wonder if you accept the end result of all this fantastic investment is the information is less reliable?”

Pichai returned to his first answer, that AI is not all that there is, that AI is just one source of information from a great many sources, including from actual human experts. The interviewer was trying to pin Pichai down to talking about generative AI and Pichai was answering by saying that it’s not just AI.

Pichai explained:

“I think if you only construct systems standalone, and you only rely on that, that would be true.

Which is why I think we have to make the information ecosystem… has to be much richer than just having AI technology being the sole product in it.

…Truth matters. Journalism matters. All of the surrounding things we have today matters, right?

So if you’re a student, you’re talking to your teacher.

If as a consumer, you’re going to a doctor, you want to trust your doctor.

Yeah, all of that matters.”

Pichai’s point is that AI exists within a larger world tools, human knowledge and expertise, not as a replacement for it. His emphasis on teachers, doctors, and journalism shows that human expertise remains a high standard for truth and accuracy. Pichai declined to answer questions in a way that treated AI as the sole system for answers. Instead, he kept emphasizing that AI is only one part of where we get information.

This is why Pichai’s answer cannot be reduced to a click-baity line like “Don’t blindly trust what AI tells you, says Google’s Sundar Pichai.” The deeper message is about how he, and by extension, Google, views AI as one tool out of many.

Watch the interview at about the 10 minute mark:

Featured image: Screenshot

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Dec 5 2025
YouTube Shorts Algorithm May Now Favor Fresh Over Evergreen via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

YouTube appears to have changed how it recommends Shorts, according to analysts who work with some of the platform’s largest channels. The shift reportedly began in mid-September and deprioritizes videos older than roughly 30 days, favoring more recent uploads.

Mario Joos, a retention strategist who works with MrBeast, Stokes Twins, and Alan’s Universe, first identified the pattern after weeks of trying to explain a broad dip in performance across his clients. Dot Esports reports that Joos analyzed data across channels with 100 million to one billion monthly views and found a consistent drop in impressions for older Shorts.

What The Data Shows

Joos says YouTube has “changed the short-form content algorithm for the worse.” His analysis identified a threshold around 28-30 days. Shorts older than that window now receive far fewer impressions than they did before mid-September.

The pattern wasn’t immediately obvious in channel-wide analytics because newer content masked the decline. Only after filtering specifically for Shorts posted before the 30-day cutoff did the picture become clear.

Joos posted a graph detailing the drop-off for seven major Shorts channels, though he withheld their names for client sensitivity. Every chart showed the same moment: around September, older Shorts’ view counts dropped sharply and stayed far lower than before.

He described the change as “the flattening.” In his view, YouTube is pushing creators toward high-volume uploads at the expense of quality. Joos says he understands this approach from a corporate standpoint as a competitive response to TikTok, but warns it disproportionately affects creators who depend on their Shorts income.

Joos is explicit about his uncertainty. He calls this “a carefully constructed working theory and not a confirmed fact.” Some commenters on his analysis note they have not experienced similar drops on their channels. Others corroborate his findings.

Creators Confirm The Pattern

Tim Chesney, a creator with two billion lifetime views across his channels, confirmed the pattern on X. He wrote:

“Can confirm this is true. 2B views on this chart, and in September all of the evergreen videos simply tanked. I think pushing fresh content makes sense, but when you think about it, it makes investing into your content and spending time improving it, irrelevant.”

Chesney argues that the shift pushes creators to “produce more instead of better.” He warned that if the trend continues, YouTube will become a “trash bin” of low-effort content similar to what he sees on TikTok.

This echoes concerns from earlier in the year. In August, multiple creators documented synchronized view drops that appeared related to separate platform modifications. Gaming channel Bellular News documented precipitous declines in desktop viewership starting August 13, though that change appeared related to how YouTube counted views from browsers with ad-blocking software.

The September Shorts shift appears to be a distinct change affecting the recommendation algorithm rather than view counting methodology.

The Evergreen Value Proposition

For years, the case for video content has rested on compounding value. Unlike trend-dependent posts that fade quickly, evergreen videos continue generating views and revenue long after publication. One production investment pays off across months or years.

This model has been central to how creators and businesses justify video investment. A tutorial published today should still attract viewers next year. A how-to guide should compound views as search demand persists.

A recency-focused algorithm undermines that math. If older Shorts stop generating impressions after 30 days, the value equation changes. Creators would need to publish continuously to maintain visibility, shifting resources from quality to quantity.

The economics become punishing. Instead of building a library that works while you sleep, creators face a treadmill where last month’s content stops contributing. Revenue becomes dependent on constant production rather than accumulated assets.

The Broader Context

The reported Shorts change follows a familiar pattern for anyone who has watched Google Search evolve. Freshness signals have long played a role in ranking, sometimes appearing to override comprehensive, well-researched content.

For SEO professionals, this matters beyond YouTube. Video strategy has often been pitched as a hedge against organic search volatility. As AI Overviews and zero-click results reduce traffic from traditional search, YouTube has represented an alternative channel with different dynamics.

If YouTube is applying similar freshness-over-quality logic, that changes the risk calculus. Practitioners evaluating where to invest their content resources may find the same frustrations emerging across both platforms.

This also reflects a broader pattern in how Google communicates with creators. YouTube’s Creator Liaison position exists to bridge the gap between platform and creators, but analysts and creators consistently report limited transparency about algorithm changes. The company rarely confirms or explains modifications until long after creators have identified them through their own data analysis.

Why This Matters

The value proposition of evergreen Shorts depends on long-tail performance. A shift toward recency-based ranking would require higher publishing frequency to maintain the same visibility.

Practitioners frustrated with Google Search volatility may find similar dynamics emerging on YouTube. The promise of a stable alternative channel looks less reliable if algorithm changes can abruptly devalue your content library.

This also affects how you advise clients considering video investment. The traditional pitch of “build once, earn forever” requires qualification if evergreen content has an effective shelf life of 30 days.

What To Do Now

If you publish Shorts, check your analytics for view declines on content older than 30 days. Compare September 2025 performance against earlier months. Look specifically at videos that previously showed steady long-tail performance.

The pattern Joos identified spans channels of very different sizes and categories. That breadth suggests a platform-level change rather than isolated performance issues. Whether YouTube acknowledges it or not, the data these analysts are reporting points to a shift worth monitoring closely.

Looking Ahead

YouTube hasn’t confirmed any changes to Shorts ranking. Without official documentation, these remain analyst observations and creator reports.

During Google’s Q3 earnings call, Philipp Schindler noted that recommendation systems are “driving robust watch time growth” and that Gemini models are enabling “further discovery improvement.” The company didn’t specify how these improvements affect content distribution or whether recency now plays a larger role in recommendations.

Featured Image: Mijansk786/Shutterstock

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Dec 4 2025
YouTube Title A/B Testing Rolls Out Globally To Creators via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

YouTube is rolling out title A/B testing globally to all creators with access to advanced features, expanding the testing capability beyond the select group that had early access.

The announcement came via the platform’s Creator Insider channel, clarifying how the feature works and addressing common questions from creators.

Title A/B testing joins thumbnail testing in YouTube’s “Test and Compare” tool. You can test up to three titles, three thumbnails, or combinations of both on a single video.

How Title A/B Testing Works

The A/B testing tool compares performance across experiment variations over a set period of up to two weeks.

After testing concludes, YouTube notifies creators of the results. If there’s a clear winner, that option becomes the default shown to all viewers. If all options performed similarly, the first combination becomes the default.

You can override the automatic selection at any time through the metadata editor or YouTube analytics page.

Why YouTube Uses Watch Time Over CTR

YouTube optimizes test results based on watch time rather than click-through rate.

In the Creator Insider video, the company explained:

“We want to ensure that your A/B test experiment gets the highest viewer engagement, so we’re optimizing for overall watch time over other metrics like CTR. We believe that this metric will best inform our creators content strategy decisions and support their chances of success.”

Understanding Test Results

YouTube tests deliver one of three possible outcomes.

“Winner” means one version outperformed others at driving watch time per impression. YouTube believes this version will lead to better performance.

“Performed the same” indicates all options earned similar shares of watch time. While small differences may appear, they aren’t statistically meaningful. You can choose whichever option you prefer.

“Inconclusive” can occur when no clear performance difference exists between options, or when the video doesn’t generate enough impressions for a reliable comparison. Higher view counts increase the likelihood of a decisive result.

Screenshot from: YouTube.com/CreatorInsider, December 2025.

Impression Distribution & Viewer Experience

YouTube distributes impressions as evenly as possible across test variations, though identical distribution isn’t guaranteed.

During active tests, viewers consistently see the same title-thumbnail combination across their home feed, watch page, and other YouTube surfaces. This prevents confusion from seeing different versions of the same video.

YouTube addressed a common concern about tests making previously-watched videos appear new. The company notes that watch history and the red progress bar on thumbnails remain the reliable indicators of what you’ve already watched.

Why This Matters

Title testing gives you data to inform creative decisions. Combined with thumbnail testing, you can now optimize both elements that influence whether viewers click on your videos.

The watch time metric means successful titles attract viewers who actually engage with your content, not just those who click and leave.

Looking Ahead

Title A/B testing requires access to YouTube’s advanced features, which you can enable through account verification. The feature works on long-form videos and is currently desktop-only.

YouTube first announced title A/B testing alongside thumbnail testing at Made on YouTube in September.

Featured Image: FotoField/Shutterstock

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Dec 4 2025
Google Maps Lets Users Post Reviews With Nicknames via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google Maps now lets users leave business reviews under a custom nickname instead of their real name. The feature is part of a four-feature Maps update and is rolling out globally on Android, iOS, and desktop.

Local SEO agency Whitespark was among the first to document the change in detail, describing it as one of the more notable shifts to Google’s review system in years.

What Changed

Google’s support documentation outlines the new setting. Users can enable a custom display name and picture for posting through their Maps or Google profile. Once enabled, that identity appears on reviews, photos, videos, and Q&A posts across Maps.

The feature works retroactively. If you edit your nickname later, past contributions update to show the new name.

Whitespark notes that people have long created Google accounts with aliases. This is the first time Google has offered a dedicated posting identity separate from your main account profile and documented it officially.

How It Affects Spam Detection

Google’s blog post says its existing review protections remain in place. Reviews written under a nickname are still tied to an account and its history. Businesses can still report reviews they believe violate policies.

Whitespark calls this “pseudonymous rather than truly anonymous.” The public display name differs, but Google still sees the underlying account and contribution history.

Why This Matters

Expect to see more nicknames and illustration-based profile pictures in review feeds. Whitespark highlights industries like legal, medical, and financial services where clients often hesitate to post under their real name. This could increase review volume in those categories.

If you work with businesses in privacy-sensitive categories, you may want to update review request templates to mention the nickname option.

Looking Ahead

The nickname feature is live or rolling out for most users, though some local SEOs, such as Joy Hawkins, report they don’t yet see it in their own profiles.

Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

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Dec 4 2025
Google Adds AI-Powered Configuration To Search Console via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google is rolling out an experimental feature that lets Search Console users configure the Search results Performance report using natural language instead of manual filter selection.

The feature, called AI-powered configuration, translates plain-language requests into the appropriate filters and settings. You can describe the analysis you want to see, and the system handles the technical setup.

What’s New

The AI-powered configuration feature handles three types of report setup:

1. Filters

You can narrow data by query, page, country, device, search appearance, or date range through natural language.

A request like “Show me queries on phone searches that contain the word ‘sports’ in the last 6 months” applies the relevant filters automatically.

2. Comparisons

Complex date range comparisons that previously required manual configuration can now be set up through prompts like “Compare traffic for my pages that contain ‘/blog’ in this quarter to the same quarter last year.”

3. Metric Selection

The feature can display specific combinations of the four available metrics (Clicks, Impressions, Average CTR, and Average Position) based on your requests.

For example, you can ask, “Show me the Average CTR and Average Position of my queries in Spain in the last 28 days.”

Limitations

Google noted several limitations.

The feature works only with Performance reports for Search results, it doesn’t support Discover or News reports.

AI-powered configuration is designed only for configuring filters, comparisons, and metrics. It can’t sort tables or export data.

Google also cautioned that the AI can misinterpret requests. You should review suggested filters before analyzing data to make sure they match the query you intended.

Why This Matters

This feature could reduce the manual effort required to set up complex filter combinations in Search Console.

The ability to request custom date comparisons or multi-filter configurations through natural language removes several steps from the reporting process.

The accuracy caveat matters, especially for higher-stakes reporting. You’ll want to verify that the AI understood your request correctly before you rely on the data for decisions or client reporting.

Looking Ahead

Google is rolling out AI-powered configuration to a limited set of websites and will expand availability over time. No timeline for broader access was provided.

You can share feedback through the buttons in Search Console or by posting in the Google Search Central Community.

Featured Image: IB Photography/Shutterstock

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Dec 4 2025
5 Reasons To Use The Internet Archive’s New WordPress Plugin via @sejournal, @martinibuster

The Internet Archive, also known as the Wayback Machine, is generally regarded as a place to view old web pages, but its value goes far beyond reviewing old pages. There are five ways that Archive.org can help a website improve their user experience and SEO. The Wayback Machine’s new WordPress plugin  makes it easy to benefit from the Internet Archive automatically.

1. Copyright, DMCA, And Business Disputes

The Internet Archive can serve as an independent timestamped record to prove ownership of content or to defend against false claims that someone else wrote the content first. The Internet Archive is an independent non-profit organization and there is no way to fake an entry, which makes it an excellent way to prove who was first to publish disputed content.

2. The Worst Case Scenario Backup

Losing the entire website content due to hardware failure, ransomware, a vulnerability, or even a datacenter fire is almost always within the realm of possibility. While it’s a best-practice to always have an up to date backup stored off the server, unforseen mistakes can happen.

The Internet Archive does not offer a way to conveniently download website content. But there are services that facilitate it. It used to be a popular technique with spammers to use these services to download the previous content from expired domains and bring them back to the web. Although I’ve not used any of these services and therefore can’t vouch for any of them, if you search around you’ll be able to find them.

3. Fix Broken Links

Sometimes a URL gets lost in a website redesign or maybe it was purposely removed but then find out later that the page is popular and people are linking to it. What do you do?

Something like this happened to me in the past where I changed domains and decided I didn’t need certain of the pages. A few years later I discovered that people were still linking to those pages because they were still useful. The Internet Archive made it easy to reproduce the old content on the new domain. It’s one way to recover the Page Rank that would otherwise have been lost.

Having old pages archived can help in reviving old pages back into the current website. But you can’t do this unless the page is archived and the new plugin makes sure that this happens for every web page.

4. Can Indicate Trustworthiness

This isn’t about search algorithms or LLMs. This is about trust with other sites and site visitors. Spammy sites tend to not be around very long. A documented history on Archive.org can be a form of proof that a site has been around for a long time. A legitimate business can point to X years of archived pages to prove that they are an established business.

5. Identify Link Rot

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer plugin provides an easy way to archive your web pages at Archive.org. When you publish a new page or update an older page the Wayback Machine WordPress plugin will automatically create a new archive page.

But one of the useful features of the plugin is that it automatically scans all outbound links and tests them to see if the linked pages still exist. The plugin can automatically update the link to a saved page at the Internet Archive.

The official plugin lists these features and benefits:

  • “Automatically scans for outbound links in post content
  • Checks the Wayback Machine for existing archives
  • Creates new snapshots if no archive exists
  • Redirects broken or missing links to archived versions
  • Archives your own posts on updates
  • Works on both new and existing content
  • Helps maintain long-term content reliability and SEO”

I don’t know what they mean about maintaining SEO but one benefit they don’t mention is that it keeps users happy and that’s always a plus.

Wayback Machine Is Useful For Competitor Analysis

The Internet Archive makes it so easy to see how a competitor has changed over the years. It’s also a way to catch competitors who are copying or taking “inspiration” from your content when they do their annual content refresh.

The Wayback Machine can let you see what services or products a competitor offered and how they were offered. It can also give a peek into what changed during a redesign which tells something about what their competitive priorities are.

Takeaways

  • The Internet Archive provides practical benefits for website owners beyond simply viewing old pages.
  • Archived snapshots help address business disputes, lost content, broken links, and long-term site credibility.
  • Competitor history and past site versions become easy to evaluate through Archive.org.
  • The Wayback Machine WordPress plugin automates archiving and helps manage link rot.
  • Using the Archive proactively can improve user experience and support SEO-adjacent needs, even if indirectly.

The six examples in this article show that the Internet Archive is useful for SEO, competitor research, and for improving the user experience and maintaining trust. The Internet Archive’s new WordPress plugin makes archiving and link-checking easy because it’s completely automatic. Taken together, these strengths make the Archive a useful part of keeping a website reliable, recoverable, and easier for people to use.

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer is a project created by Automattic and the Internet Archive, which means that it’s a high quality and trusted plugin for WordPress.

Download The Internet Archive WordPress Plugin

Check it out at the official WordPress plugin repository: Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer By Internet Archive

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Red rose 99

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Dec 4 2025
Google Year In Search 2025: Gemini, DeepSeek Top Trending Lists via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google released its Year in Search data, revealing the queries that saw the largest spikes in search interest.

AI tools featured prominently in the global list, with Gemini ranking as the top trending search worldwide and DeepSeek also appearing in the top 10.

The annual report tracks searches with the highest sustained traffic spikes in 2025 compared to 2024, rather than total search volume.

AI Tools Lead Global Trending Searches

Gemini topped the global trending searches list, reflecting the growth of Google’s AI assistant throughout 2025.

DeepSeek, the Chinese AI company that drew attention earlier this year, appeared in both the global (#6) and US (#7) trending lists.

The global top 10 trending searches were:

  1. Gemini
  2. India vs England
  3. Charlie Kirk
  4. Club World Cup
  5. India vs Australia
  6. DeepSeek
  7. Asia Cup
  8. Iran
  9. iPhone 17
  10. Pakistan and India

US Trending Searches Show Different Priorities

The US list diverged from global trends, with Charlie Kirk leading and entertainment properties ranking high. KPop Demon Hunters claimed the second spot.

The US top 10 trending searches were:

  1. Charlie Kirk
  2. KPop Demon Hunters
  3. Labubu
  4. iPhone 17
  5. One Big Beautiful Bill Act
  6. Zohran Mamdani
  7. DeepSeek
  8. Government shutdown
  9. FIFA Club World Cup
  10. Tariffs

AI-Generated Content Leads US Trends

A dedicated “Trends” category in the US data showed AI content creation drove search interest throughout 2025.

The top US trends included:

  1. AI action figure
  2. AI Barbie
  3. Holy airball
  4. AI Ghostface
  5. AI Polaroid
  6. Chicken jockey
  7. Bacon avocado
  8. Anxiety dance
  9. Unfortunately, I do love
  10. Ghibli

The Ghibli entry likely reflects the viral AI-generated images mimicking Studio Ghibli’s animation style that circulated on social media platforms.

News & Current Events

News-related trending searches reflected the year’s developments. Globally, the top trending news searches included the LA Fires, Hurricane Melissa, TikTok ban, and the selection of a new pope.

US news trends focused on domestic policy, with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and tariffs appearing alongside the government shutdown and Los Angeles fires.

Why This Matters

This data shows where user interest spiked throughout 2025. The presence of AI tools at the top of global trends confirms continued growth in AI-related search behavior.

The split between global and US lists also shows regional differences in trending topics. Cricket matches dominated global sports interest while US searches leaned toward entertainment and policy.

Looking Ahead

Google’s Year in Search data is available on the company’s trends site.

Comparing this year’s trending topics against your content calendar can reveal gaps in coverage or opportunities for timely updates to existing content.

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