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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Sep 15 2025
ChatGPT Study: 1 In 4 Conversations Now Seek Information via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

New research from OpenAI and Harvard finds that “Seeking Information” messages now account for 24% of ChatGPT conversations, up from 14% a year earlier.

This is an NBER working paper (not peer-reviewed), based on consumer ChatGPT plans only, and the study used privacy-preserving methods where no human read user messages.

The working paper analyzes a representative sample of about 1.1 million conversations from May 2024 through June 2025.

By July, ChatGPT reached more than 700 million weekly active users, sending roughly 2.5 billion messages per day, or about 18 billion per week.

What People Use ChatGPT For

The three dominant topics are Practical Guidance, Seeking Information, and Writing, which together account for about 77% of usage.

Practical Guidance remains around 29%. Writing declined from 36% to 24% over the past year. Seeking Information grew from 14% to 24%.

The authors write that Seeking Information “appears to be a very close substitute for web search.”

Asking vs. Doing

The paper classifies intent as Asking, Doing, or Expressing.

About 49% of messages are Asking, 40% are Doing, and 11% are Expressing.

Asking messages “are consistently rated as having higher quality” than the other categories, based on an automated classifier and user feedback.

Work vs. Personal Use

Non-work usage rose from 53% in June 2024 to 73% in June 2025.

At work, Writing is the top use case, representing about 40% of work-related messages. Education is a major use: 10% of all messages involve tutoring or teaching.

Coding And Companionship

Only 4.2% of messages are about computer programming, and 1.9% concern relationships or personal reflection.

Who’s Using It

The study documents rapid global adoption.

Early gender gaps have narrowed, with the share of users having typically feminine names rising from 37% in January 2024 to 52% in July 2025.

Growth in the lowest-income countries has been more than four times that of the highest-income countries.

Why This Matters

If a quarter of conversations are information-seeking, some queries that would have gone to search may go toward conversational tools.

Consider responding to this shift with content that answers questions, while adding expertise that a chatbot can’t replicate. Writing and editing account for a large share of work-related use, which aligns with how teams are already folding AI into content workflows.

Looking Ahead

ChatGPT is becoming a major destination for finding information online.

In addition to the shift toward finding info, it’s worth highlighting that 70% of ChatGPT use is personal, not professional. This means consumer habits are changing broadly.

As this technology grows, it’ll be vital to track how your audience uses AI tools and adjust your content strategy to meet them where they are.

Featured Image: Photo Agency/Shutterstock

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Sep 15 2025
Google Modifies Search Results Parameter, Affecting SEO Tools via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google appears to have disabled or is testing the removal of the &num=100 URL parameter that shows 100 results per page.

Reports of the change began around September 10, and quickly spread through the SEO community as rank-tracking tools showed disruptions.

Google hasn’t yet issued a public statement.

What’s Happening

The &num=100 parameter has long been used to retrieve 100 results in one request.

Over the weekend, practitioners noticed that forcing 100 results often no longer works, and in earlier tests it worked only intermittently, which suggested a rollout or experiment.

@tehseoowner reported on X:

Keyword Insights wrote:

Ripple Effects On Rank-Tracking Tools

Clark and others documented tools showing missing rankings or error states as the change landed.

Some platforms’ search engine results page (SERP) screenshots and daily sensors briefly stalled or displayed data gaps.

Multiple SEO professionals saw sharp declines in desktop impressions in Google Search Console starting September 10, with average position increasing accordingly.

Clark’s analysis connects the timing of those drops to the &num=100 change. He proposes that earlier desktop impression spikes were partly inflated by bots from SEO and AI analytics tools loading pages with 100 results, which would register many more impressions than a normal 10-result page.

This is a community theory at this stage, not a confirmed Google explanation.

Re-Examining “The Great Decoupling”

Over the past year, many teams reported rising impressions without matching clicks and associated that pattern with AI Overviews.

Clark argues the &num=100 change, and the resulting tool disruptions, offer an alternate explanation for at least part of that decoupling, especially on desktop where most rank tracking happens.

This remains an interpretation until Google comments or provides new reporting filters.

What People Are Saying

Clark wrote about the shift after observing significant drops in desktop impressions across multiple accounts starting on September 10.

He wrote:

“… I’m seeing a noticeable decline in desktop impressions, resulting in a sharp increase in average position.

“This is across many accounts that I have access to and seems to have started around September 10th when the change first begun.”

Keyword Insights said:

“Google has killed the n=100 SERP parameter. Instead of 1 request for 100 SERP results, it now takes 10 requests (10x the cost). This impacts Keyword Insights’ rankings module. We’re reviewing options and will update the platform soon.”

Ryan Jones suggests:

“All of the AI tools scraping Google are going to result in the shutdown of most SEO tools. People are scraping so much, so aggressively for AI that Google is fighting back, and breaking all the SEO rank checkers and SERP scrapers in the process.”

Considerations For SEO teams

Take a closer look at recent Search Console trends.

If you noticed a spike in desktop impressions in late 2024 or early 2025 without clicks, some of those impressions may have been driven by bots. Use the week-over-week changes since September 10 as a new baseline and note any substantial changes in your reporting.

Check with your rank-tracking provider. Some tools are still working with pagination or alternative methods, while others have had gaps and are now fixing them.

Looking Ahead

Google has been reached out to for comment, but hasn’t confirmed whether this is a temporary test or a permanent shift.

Tool vendors are already adapting, and the community is reevaluating how much of the ‘great decoupling’ story stemmed from methodology rather than user behavior.

We’ll update if Google provides any guidance or if reporting changes show up in Search Console.

Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

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Sep 15 2025
WP Engine Vs. Automattic: Rulings Preserve WP Engine’s Lawsuit via @sejournal, @martinibuster

The judge overseeing the legal battle between WP Engine versus Automattic and Matt Mullenweg issued a ruling that fully dismissed two of WP Engine’s claims, allowed several to proceed, and gave WP Engine the chance to amend others.

Nine Claims Allowed To Proceed – One Partially Survives

Counts 1 & 2

  • Count 1: Intentional Interference with Contractual Relations
  • Count 2: Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage

Those two counts survived the motion to dismiss. That means WP Engine can try to prove that Automattic/Mullenweg interfered with its contracts and business opportunities. This shows that the judge didn’t throw out WP Engine’s entire “you’re sabotaging our business” approach. If WP Engine wins on these counts they could be eligible to receive damages.

In total, the judge’s order allowed nine claims to proceed and one to partially survive.

These are the remaining claims that survived and are allowed to proceed:

  • CFAA Unauthorized Access (Count 19):
    Tied to allegations that Automattic and Mullenweg covertly replaced WP Engine’s ACF plugin with their own SCF plugin on customer sites without authorization.
  • Unfair Competition (Count 5)
    Connected to claims that Automattic’s conduct, including unauthorized plugin replacement and trademark issues, amounted to unlawful and unfair business practices under California law.
  • Defamation (Count 9) & Trade Libel (Count 10)
    Statements on WordPress.org alleging WP Engine offered a “cheap knock-off” of WordPress and that WP Engine delivered a “bastardized simulacra of WordPress’s GPL code.”
  • Slander (Count 11):
    Based on public remarks Mullenweg made at WordCamp US and in a livestreamed interview where Mullenweg described WP Engine as “parasitic” and damaging to the open-source community.
  • Lanham Act (Count 17: Unfair Competition) & Lanham Act (Count 18: False Advertising)
    Automattic and Mullenweg filed a motion to partially dismiss these counts but the motion was not granted, so these two counts move forward.

This is the claim that partially survived:

Promissory Estoppel (Count 6)
This is based on specific promises, such as free plugin hosting on wordpress.org, which the court found definite enough to proceed, while broader statements like “everyone is welcome” were too vague to support the claim.

Two Claims Dismissed With Leave To Amend

The judge dismissed two of the claims with “leave to amend,” which means the court found an issue with how WP Engine pleaded their claims. The claims were not legally sufficient, but the judge gave WP Engine the option to update its complaint to fix the problems. If WP Engine amends successfully, those claims can return to the case.

The two claims dismissed with leave to amend are:

1. Antitrust claims of monopolization, attempted monopolization, and illegal tying (Sherman Act & Cartwright Act).

On the antitrust claims, the Court found WP Engine failed to define a relevant market, stating:

“…consumers entering the WordPress ecosystem by electing a WordPress web content management system would know they were locked-in to WordPress aftermarkets. Mullenweg’s purported deception and extortionate acts did not change that fundamental operating principle of the WordPress marketplace.”

2. CFAA extortion claim (Count 3): WP Engine alleged Automattic threatened to block wordpress.org access and demanded licensing fees.

Regarding the extortion claims, WP Engine alleged that Automattic and Mullenweg violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) by threatening to block WP Engine’s access to wordpress.org and demanding licensing fees.

The Court dismissed this claim with leave to amend, finding the allegations did not sufficiently establish “extortion” under CFAA standards. The judge noted that merely threatening to block access, even coupled with demands for licensing, did not meet the statutory requirements as pled. However, WP Engine has been given time to amend the complaint (“with leave to amend”).

Two Claims Fully Dismissed

Two of WP Engine’s claims were fully dismissed:

  • Count 4: Attempted Extortion (California Penal Code)
  • Count 16: Trademark Misuse

Count 4
Count 4 was dismissed because the California Penal Code allows government prosecutors to bring criminal charges for attempted extortion, but it does not give private parties like WP Engine the right to sue under that statute. The dismissal was not about whether Automattic’s conduct could be considered extortion but about whether WP Engine had the legal authority to use that law in a civil case.

Count 16
The court dismissed Count 16 because trademark misuse is only recognized as a defense, not as a lawsuit that can be filed on its own. WP Engine may still raise trademark misuse later if Automattic tries to enforce trademarks against it.

The exact wording is:

“With no authority from WPEngine that authorizes pleading declaratory judgment of trademark misuse as a standalone cause of action rather than an affirmative defense, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ motion to dismiss Count 16, without prejudice to WPEngine asserting it as an affirmative defense if appropriate later in this litigation.”

Post By Matt Mullenweg About The Ruling

Automattic CEO and WordPress co-founder posted an upbeat blog post about the court ruling that offered a simplified summary of the court order, which is fine, but simplification can leave out details. He’s right that the decision narrows the case and that the attempted extortion claim is out for good.

He wrote:

“…the court dismissed several of WP Engine and Silver Lake’s most serious claims — antitrust, monopolization, and extortion have been knocked out!”

The attempted extortion under California Penal Code (Count 4) was indeed “knocked out.” But the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) extortion claim (Count 3) was dismissed with leave to amend, meaning WP Engine has the opportunity to try again.

The antitrust and monopolization claims (Counts 12–15) were also dismissed but with leave to amend, meaning they too are not permanently gone.

His post is technically correct.

But the simplification leaves out what the judge allowed to move forward:

Automattic’s motion to dismiss Count 1 (intentional interference with contractual relations) and Count 2 (intentional interference with prospective economic relations) were denied, and both will move forward, potentially making WP Engine eligible to receive damages if they win on these counts.

Then there are the others that are moving forward:

  • CFAA (Count 19): This is significant. It alleges Automattic covertly swapped WP Engine’s widely-used ACF plugin with its own SCF plugin on customer sites without consent. The court found these allegations plausible enough to move forward
  • Unfair Competition (Count 5): Connected to claims that Automattic’s conduct, including unauthorized plugin replacement and trademark issues, amounted to unlawful and unfair business practices under California law. (The court specifically pointed to the surviving CFAA and Lanham Act claims as the legal basis for letting this proceed.)
  • Defamation (Count 9) & Trade Libel (Count 10): Based on statements on WordPress.org alleging WP Engine offered a “cheap knock-off” of WordPress and that WP Engine delivered a “bastardized simulacra of WordPress’s GPL code.”
  • Slander (Count 11): Grounded in public remarks Mullenweg made at WordCamp US and in a livestreamed interview where he described WP Engine as “parasitic” and damaging to the open-source community.
  • Lanham Act (Count 17: Unfair Competition) & Lanham Act (Count 18: False Advertising): Defendants sought partial dismissal, but the court declined. Both counts remain live and move forward.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Kaspars Grinvalds

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Sep 11 2025
Google Expands YMYL Guidelines To Cover Election & Civic Content via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google published a new edition of its Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines.

The update clarifies that the Your Money Your Life (YMYL) category now covers election and voting information, along with other government and civics topics that affect people’s lives.

What’s New

The YMYL framework now uses the label “YMYL Government, Civics & Society,” with the definition calling out “election and voting information” and other informational topics about government and civics.

That takes the YMYL definition beyond the broader societal-impact wording you may remember from earlier editions.

Google’s changelog for this release lists three items: updated YMYL definitions, additional examples for clarity, and minor textual fixes.

A Quick Refresher On YMYL

YMYL topics are subjects where misinformation could significantly affect health, finances, safety, or the welfare of society. Pages on YMYL topics require the most scrutiny for Page Quality ratings.

The guidelines group YMYL into four buckets: Health or Safety, Financial Security, Government/Civics & Society, and Other.

Reminder: Quality raters follow these guidelines to evaluate search results, but their ratings don’t directly affect how any individual page ranks. Google uses the ratings to check whether its systems are producing helpful results and to guide improvements over time.

Why This Matters

If you cover elections, voting procedures, candidate information, or local civic processes, your pages are now treated as YMYL.

That raises the bar for accuracy, sourcing, and author credentials. The guidelines also stress reputation signals from experts in the field when evaluating YMYL topics.

What To Do Next

Take some time to review your current civic and government pages to ensure they’re accurate and thorough. Highlight the author’s experience so visitors can trust the content, and be sure to cite primary sources when possible.

For information that can change quickly, such as registration deadlines or polling places, consider setting up a maintenance plan and keeping update logs.

When it comes to reputational signals on YMYL pages, it’s helpful to link to expert references and independent coverage instead of relying solely on traffic snapshots or general popularity.

Looking ahead

This edition runs 182 pages and is the first major update to these guidelines since January.

By aligning your civic content with these standards, you’ll be better positioned to meet user expectations and adapt to any changes Google makes in the future.

Expect continued revisions as Google refines examples and rating guidance.

Featured Image: Mameraman/Shutterstock

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Sep 11 2025
WordPress Versus Everyone: The Top CMS For Core Web Vitals via @sejournal, @martinibuster

The Core Web Vitals Technology Report by the open source HTTPArchive community ranks content management systems by how well they perform on Google’s Core Web Vitals (CWV). The July update shows that every major platform has improved since June, but not all gains were equal. Joomla posted the largest month-over-month increase, while Duda ranked first in July with 84.96% of sites passing CWV.

Why Core Web Vitals Matter

Core Web Vitals (CWV) are metrics created by Google to measure how fast, stable, and responsive a website feels to users. Websites that load quickly and respond smoothly keep visitors engaged, while sites that fall short frustrate users and increase bounce rates. For businesses and publishers, CWV scores reflect the user experience and competitiveness online.

How the Data Is Collected

The CWV Technology Report combines two public datasets:

  1. Chrome UX Report (CrUX): Data from Chrome users who opt in to share performance statistics as they browse. This reflects how real users experience websites.
  2. HTTP Archive: Lab-based tests that analyze how sites are built and whether they follow performance best practices.

Together, these sources provide a consistent picture of how different website platforms perform on Core Web Vitals in the real world.

Percentage Change from June to July

#1 Joomla — largest gain (+3.23%).

#2 Wix — +2.61%.

#3 Drupal — +1.47%.

#4 Duda — +1.33%.

#5 Squarespace — +1.27%.

#6 WordPress — smallest gain (+0.90%).

This ranking shows which platforms advanced most in July. Joomla experienced the highest level of growth, while WordPress improved the least. Wix’s CWV month over month performance  improvement was a notable 2.51%.

Ranking by July CWV Score

Duda once again is the Core Web Vitals champion, ranked by the percentage of websites that has a good CWV score.

#1 Duda — 84.96%

#2 Wix — 73.37%

#3 Squarespace — 68.93%

#4 Drupal — 60.54%

#5 Joomla — 54.78%

#6 WordPress — 44.34%

Joomla showed the fastest growth, but it still ranked fifth in July. Duda led with the highest overall performance.

Why the Numbers Matter

Core Web Vitals scores translate into real differences in how users experience websites. Platforms with higher CWV scores offer faster, smoother interactions, while those at the bottom frustrate users with slower performance. While all six platforms in the comparison are improving month to month, what matters most is the actual experience users get right now.

  • Duda is the Core Web Vitals champion in July with a score of 84.96% of websites built with the Duda platform having a good CWV score.
  • Joomla had the largest gain, but still ranked near the bottom with only 54.78% of sites showing a good CWV score.
  • Wix and Squarespace ranked in the second and third places, showing strong performance but both significantly behind Duda by over ten percentage points.
  • WordPress ranked last, both in July scores and in the month over month rate of improvement.

Do Content Management Systems Matter For Ranking?

I have seen discussions online about whether the choice of content management system has an impact on rankings. Some people assert that plugins make WordPress easier to rank in Google.

There is also a perception that WordPress is faster than Wix, Duda, and Squarespace. The facts, of course, show that the opposite is true. WordPress is the slowest of the content management systems in this comparison.

The percentage of sites built with Duda that had a good Core Web Vitals score is 84.96%. The percentage of WordPress sites with a good CWV score is 44.34%. That means Duda’s percentage of sites with good CWV scores is about 92% higher than those built with WordPress.

Another issue with WordPress is that it has a considerable amount of technical debt, something that private content management systems do not have to struggle with to the same degree. Technical debt refers to the accumulation of outdated code and design decisions that make it harder to maintain, update, or improve the platform over time. It is not unique to WordPress, but it is an issue because of how WordPress is built and how its ecosystem works.

Some reasons for WordPress’s technical debt:

  • WordPress was originally conceived as a blogging platform and has evolved into a full CMS, able to be extended as virtually any kind of website.
  • Adding new features on top of legacy code means workarounds must be made for backward compatibility, which creates complexity and slows down innovation.

Technical debt was an issue discussed at WordCamp EU 2025, summarized on the official WordPress site as related to contributor burnout:

“Burnout Crisis & Sustainability

  • Contributor burnout is pervasive due to:
  • High volunteer demands with insufficient systemic support.
  • Lack of equitable financial remuneration or stipends for ongoing work.
  • Pressure to maintain legacy systems and innovate new features leads to overwhelming workloads.

Consequences

  • Loss of institutional knowledge and experienced contributors.
  • Increasing technical debt and slowed innovation cycles.
  • Threat to WordPress’s long-term ecosystem health.”

WordPress has recently moved to a slower annual release cycle, and one of the benefits of that change (summarized by WordPress here) is that it gives the project time to address the issue of technical debt.

The point is that if the content management system did have an effect on the ability to rank, WordPress sites would probably struggle to rank because of the relatively poor performance scores and the slower pace of development when compared to private content management systems like Wix. But that’s not the case.

WordPress websites rank very well despite all the issues with the platform, including security. So it may be that the choice of CMS does not necessarily matter for SEO, especially since private solutions like Wix and Duda are purposely built with SEO in mind. Nevertheless, performance is important for things that matter, such as conversions and the user experience, and the fact is that the HTTPArchive Technology Comparison Report ranks WordPress last for Core Web Vitals performance in July.

Featured Image by Shutterstock/Roman Samborskyi

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Sep 11 2025
Ahrefs Acquires Detailed.com & SEO Extension; Founder Joins Company via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Ahrefs has acquired Detailed.com and the Detailed SEO Extension, bringing a widely used on-page auditing tool and its audience under the Ahrefs umbrella.

As part of the deal, Detailed founder Glen Allsopp is joining Ahrefs full-time to work on marketing strategy, research, and product.

What’s Included

The acquisition covers the Detailed website and its browser extension, along with several smaller domains and extensions.

Launched in 2020, Detailed.com is known for long-form, data-driven SEO research and practitioner tips (including its analysis of how a small number of companies operate large networks of ranking sites). Over the past 12 months, Detailed.com recorded 970,000 unique visitors.

The Detailed SEO Extension reports over 450,000 weekly users on Chrome and approximately 7,000 on Firefox.

The extension speeds up page-level checks SEO professionals perform during audits and competitive reviews by surfacing title and meta tags, heading structure, robots directives, and schema markup in a single panel.

It also offers options for highlighting nofollow links, inspecting hreflang, viewing status codes, extracting People Also Ask results, switching the user agent to Googlebot, and jumping the current URL into popular research tools for deeper analysis.

What Changes For Extension Users

Allsopp told SEJ that the extension and all current functionality will remain free for all users.

If premium capabilities are ever added in the future, they would be additions rather than moving existing features behind a paywall. There are no current plans to introduce paid tiers.

On branding and distribution, the extension will keep the Detailed SEO Extension name. Detailed will operate as “Detailed, an Ahrefs brand.”

Users don’t need to take any action, and updates will continue as normal through existing Chrome and Firefox listings.

Statement From Glen Allsopp

Allsopp told Search Engine Journal:

“At a time when so much is happening in SEO and digital marketing as a whole, I want to be at the forefront of the work that helps companies reach more of their target audience. Ahrefs provides tools, data and insights I’ve used in my own business for years, so to be joining the team behind that is really exciting.”

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Looking Ahead

The move adds a high-usage browser utility and a research-driven content brand to Ahrefs’ portfolio.

If Ahrefs integrates or expands the extension’s capabilities over time, practitioners could see faster iteration on features that support day-to-day site audits, on-page reviews, and competitive analysis.

Featured Image: Screenshot from Detailed.com, September 2025. 

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