Google is rolling out two key updates to Performance Max (PMax) campaigns — adding Waze ad inventory for store goal campaigns and introducing channel performance reporting for greater visbility. Why we care. Advertisers using PMax for store goals in the U.S. can now reach drivers directly on Waze through “Promoted Places in Navigation” pins — […]

Google warned against relying on tool-generated scores for technical SEO audits. Search Relations team member Martin Splitt outlined a three-step framework in a Search Central Lightning Talk that emphasizes site-specific context over standardized metrics. The Three-Step Framework Splitt outlined the core objective in the video: “A technical audit, in my opinion, should make sure no […]

PPC automation is now the standard in 2026. We’ve evolved from simple automated rules to Smart Bidding, scripts, budget pacing, and now AI-driven creative.  The systems running our campaigns are, for the most part, surprisingly capable – even if it pains us to admit it. With that progress, the role of the PPC expert has […]

The idea of starting an article series about AI in a time when so many articles are being at least partially generated by AI and potentially primarily consumed by AI might cause one to pause and consider the value of the effort.  All of us digital marketers hope to find a future where we can […]

Google Ads is now prompting advertisers to create “investment strategies” when campaign budgets are limited — a fresh addition to the budget recommendations interface. How it works. When Google detects a budget-limited campaign, a new section appears with the message: “Grow your account by creating your own Google investment strategy.” Advertisers can click “Create investment […]

ChatGPT started mentioning more brands and websites over the past three months, while Google’s AI Mode narrowed its focus, according to new data from Semrush’s AI Visibility Index. Reddit, in particular, stood out: it dropped sharply as a source in ChatGPT but became one of the most frequently used sources in Google’s AI Mode. The […]

Google adds Waze ads to Performance Max for store goals in the U.S. and rolls out channel performance reporting, with search partner reporting coming soon. Waze ads are now available in PMax for store goals. Channel performance reporting is rolling out across PMax, with search partner reporting and MCC access coming soon. No extra setup […]

Google Finance is rolling out Deep Search capabilities, prediction markets data, and enhanced earnings tracking features across its AI-powered platform. The updates expand Google Finance beyond basic market data into multi-step research workflows and crowd-sourced probability forecasting. Google announced the changes today, with features rolling out over the coming weeks, starting with Labs users. Deep […]

Building authority when no one’s heard of you can feel like trying to join a conversation that’s already halfway done.  You’ve got something worth saying, but no one’s listening yet. In SEO terms, that’s tough – you need visibility to earn trust, but you need trust to gain visibility. The good news: you don’t need […]

Search isn’t ending. It’s evolving. Across the industry, the systems powering discovery are diverging. Traditional search runs on algorithms designed to crawl, index, and rank the web. AI-driven systems like Perplexity, Gemini, and ChatGPT interpret it through models that retrieve, reason, and respond. That quiet shift (from ranking pages to reasoning with content) is what’s breaking the optimization stack […]