Google Ads
Google Ads is removing language targeting. Move the logic now
The language targeting setting is going away. If you leaned on it as a geo or audience proxy, that workaround needs a new home before it disappears.
Continue readingA small, irregular notebook about how Google search behaves in practice: what updates actually did, where AI answers are eating clicks, and which reports you can trust. When a topic needs more room than a note gives it, we point to the longer write ups, often the guides at yositeup's blog.
Algorithm updates
What the August 2026 Google spam update actually changed
Rankings moved, and plenty of sites that were never touched by the spam systems decided the update explained their week. Separating the two.
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Google Ads
AI Max is becoming the default in Google Ads. Decide before it flips
AI Max moves from opt in to on by default for eligible search campaigns this month. For tightly controlled accounts, that is a decision worth making on purpose.
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AI search
An AEO experiment, and what a small test can and cannot tell you
Structured content, clear answers, consistent entity signals. A controlled test of whether AEO tactics actually move citation rates, and how to read the result.
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AI search
Google paused image generation in AI Overviews. Do not plan around single features
The image feature came, drew accuracy complaints, and got switched off. A reminder that individual AI Overview features are still being tuned in public.
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AI search
Agentic AI and generative AI are not the same problem for SEO
Generative systems write an answer. Agentic systems take actions on a user's behalf. They pull on your content differently, and the second one is coming.
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AI search
The million keyword study: AI Overviews cluster by intent
Run at that scale, the data kills the everywhere and the nowhere claims at once. The answer box concentrates on definitional and how to queries.
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Search Console
Search Console's AI Overview data is misleading. Read it carefully
Impressions and clicks from AI Overviews are folded into the same report as everything else, with no clean way to isolate them.
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Off-page
AEO tools worth a look, and why manual checks still win
Most link and rank tools were not built to answer did an AI answer mention us. The ones that try are early. Here is what is usable now.
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AI search
AI answers favour brands they already recognise
When an AI answer cites sources, it leans toward entities with a consistent identity across the web. That makes entity building a visibility requirement, not a branding nicety.
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Google Ads
The Smart Bidding migration deadline has passed. Check what your campaigns are doing
If you still had manual or legacy bidding strategies running past mid August, some were converted for you. Verify the current state rather than assuming.
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Off-page
Off-page SEO in 2026 is more than links
Links still matter most, but unlinked mentions and citations now feed the same signal that decides whether an answer engine will name you.
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SEO basics
Is SEO dead in 2026? No, but the job description changed
The declaration comes back every time search shifts. What is actually happening is a change in what search work optimises for.
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Search Console
Platform properties in Search Console, and why they give a cleaner baseline
Instead of reverse engineering a blended number, narrow the surface you measure. Platform properties separate performance by where the result appeared.
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Off-page
AEO, GEO and SEO: how they differ and why you need all three
Answer engine optimisation, generative engine optimisation, and classic SEO overlap heavily. None of them replaces the others.
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SEO basics
SEO for a small business in 2026: where the effort actually pays
A small site cannot outspend anyone on content volume. The things that still work are local relevance, a genuine niche, and a few real links.
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Algorithm updates
Ranking volatility: what a normal week actually looks like
The tracking tools spike regularly, with and without a confirmed update. Two months of logs make the baseline obvious.
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SEO basics
Site maintenance is technical SEO, it just does not feel like it
Broken redirects, expired plugins, slow pages, drifting structured data. The unglamorous upkeep that quietly decides your ceiling.
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AI search
What is generative engine optimisation, in plain terms
GEO is the work of being visible inside generative search results: the AI answer, the chat response, the summarised box. Here is what it involves.
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