Views: 54In light of the DOJ antitrust trial, Google’s latest Privacy Sandbox update signals a pause in major changes to 3rd-party cookie handling. Marketers and affiliate sites relying on cookies for tracking and attribution should note: Third-Party Cookies Stay (For Now): Google will not roll out a new standalone prompt restricting third-party cookies in Chrome. Users will maintain control through…
Posts published in “Google”
Views: 19A federal judge has ruled that Google illegally used its dominance in online advertising technology to boost profits and suppress competition, marking the second major antitrust loss for the company in under a year. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema found that Google abused its monopoly by tightly integrating its ad server and ad exchange, making it harder for online…
Views: 63A well-optimized Google Business Profile (GBP) plays a crucial role in boosting visibility, engagement, and conversions. Artificial intelligence can simplify GBP management by recommending suitable post ideas, improving descriptions, and strengthening local content strategies. In this post, we will explore advanced strategies for optimizing your GBP and excelling in local search results. Obviously, AI-powered language models can streamline Google…
Views: 16Barry spotted a post by Lily Ray on X that Google has started adding more Google Spam Search links in AI Overviews. The problems with the notoriously bad AI Overviews is well documented. People have gone to great lengths to get away from them. They suck – always – and people just bypass them by anyway they can. When…
Views: 9Google has agreed to lift a gag order that had prohibited employees from discussing an ongoing antitrust lawsuit, following a labor complaint by the Alphabet Workers Union. The Alphabet Workers Union-CWA has reached a settlement with Google that affirms all Google employees’ right to speak openly about the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against the company. The agreement resolves…
Views: 11 Google announced at a private closed door event in Madrid Spain that “Discover” will also come to the desktop experience. For those that haven’t run into Discover yet, you need to use the Google Search App on mobile. It is a personalized stream of content, such as articles, videos, and news that are tailored to your interests. Discover…
Views: 203For veteran SEOs and local search professionals, optimizing a Google Business Profile (GBP – formerly GMB: Google My Business) has evolved from a simple line-item into an ongoing, content strategy that seems to be updated flippin constantly. AI is now playing a pivotal role in amplifying that process. This isn’t about shortcuts or automation for automation’s sake – it’s…
Views: 8Malware Bytes is reporting that Cybercriminals are exploiting the popularity of DeepSeek by placing deceptive sponsored ads in Google SERPs. These fake and fraudulent ads, which promote “Accurate Search in Seconds” and an “Intelligent Search Engine,” direct users to malicious websites such as. Clicking the download button on these sites results in the installation of a Trojan designed in…
Views: 27The great line from the Eagles Hotel California resonates today: “You can checkout in anytime you like, but you can never leave“, because it seems like Google is building Hotel Google where you can checkin and never leave as it is next to impossible to find a way off the Serps short of the ‘home, back, or exit browser”…
When SearchGPT launched on ChatGPT, I dove into the deep end from the starting bell. It has been my default search for six months.
Views: 135(update: 3-18-2025: many freinds have shown us atleast a dozen more ways that Google can track you than the 30 we list below. A followup article will explore those in the future(/update) New: Listen instead to an audio notebook.lm podcast version: What can Google track of you, your presence, and your actions across the web? The results may astound…
Views: 111In part one, we took a long look at using AI for content. Today, lets dig into AI and keyword research. 2. Keyword Research & Optimization If you are relying only on primary keywords only, you’re leaving better ranking and conversion opportunities back on the table. Long-tail keywords are where the real magic happens. AI can take your core…
Views: 52Although most feel Google has been testing the latest update for a few weeks, Google got around to announcing the Google March Update today. Brett TabkeAs the CEO and founder of Pubcon Inc., Brett Tabke has been instrumental in shaping the landscape of online marketing and search engine optimization. His journey in the computer industry has spanned over three…
Views: 150Captain Obvious says: AI is a major game-changer for SEO and marketing professionals who want to work smarter and not harder. Well duh, but if you’ve been in the industry for a while, you know that staying ahead of algorithm updates, scaling content production, and making data-driven decisions can be an overwhelming and mostly zero sum gain. AI is…
Views: 8ChatGPT has been able to recall previous queries/prompts/chats for over a year now. So it was nice to see Google catch up today with the ability to remember “personalize” across search chats. The new Personalization/Memory feature is bondedto the Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental (no, we are not kidding about the name! wth?) model, and will be available to…
Views: 42Google has back peddled on it’s wide ranging Broadmatch policy and increased negative keyword limit from 100 to 10,000. Under the thinly disguised cover of “AI Advancement“, it was just two years ago that advertisers were forced into a wide ranging requirements related to defaulting them into BroadMatch. Advertisers quickly realized they had to load up on negative keywords…
Views: 37Reuters is reporting that Brave Software (makers of Brave Browser and Brave Search Engine) has file a suit against News Corp to forestall a lawsuit by Rupert Murdoch. In a Wednesday night complaint filed in San Francisco federal court, Brave said News Corp sent a cease-and-desist letter threatening litigation and demanding compensation for the alleged misappropriation of copyrighted articles…
Views: 20Reuters is reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice has opted to withdraw its proposal that would have mandated Google to divest its stakes in artificial intelligence firms such as Anthropic, citing concerns over possible unintended repercussions in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Nevertheless, the DOJ, along with a coalition of state attorneys general, remains committed to urging Google…
Views: 70AI Mode is an tweak to Google Search that allows users to pose complex, multi-layered questions and easily continue their inquiries within the search interface. This feature leverages a tailored version of Gemini 2, to deliver responses. However, as AI begins to infiltrate search results via AI Overviews, many users are expressing their dissatisfaction with AI-generated answers, which can…
Views: 11Google’s recent launch of SpeciesNet represents a major advancement in wildlife conservation technology. This open-source AI model is designed to recognize animal species from camera trap images, enabling a broader array of researchers and developers to engage in biodiversity monitoring. By making SpeciesNet available, Google is effectively opening the door to powerful AI tools that have already shown their…
Views: 35Google has rolled out a major update to its “Results about you” tool, making it easier to remove personal information from Search. While this is news for privacy freaks, it also has a few implications for SEOs who monitor SERPs for brand, reputation mgt, and indexation strategies. Doxxing continues to pose a significant risk within SERPs, as the disclosure…
Views: 9Reuters is reporting, that Chegg has filed a lawsuit against Google – accusing the tech giant of undermining publishers with its AI-generated Serps. Chegg is an online education company and claims Google is using its content without compensation, reducing traffic to its website. As a result, Chegg has seen a major decline in subscribers and is now forced to…
Views: 6If you have ever had a personal online security incident, you know 2factor auth on important sites is nonnegotiable. Setting up two-factor authentication (2FA) via SMS might seem like an extra layer of security, but man-o-man in reality, it can be a real hassle in day-to-day usage. Users can find themselves struggling to receive a multi-digit code, only to…
Views: 27The Paris Commercial Court has ruled against Google’s controversial experiment that restricted access to news sources for a small percentage of its users in France. The decision, handed down on February 20, came after a legal challenge from the French syndicate of magazine press publishers (SEPM), with support from Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The court’s ruling suspends the experiment…
Views: 1Google Lens now processes over 20 billion visual searches every month, and new updates are making it even more accessible across apps and devices. A new feature for iPhone users allows them to search their screen in Chrome or the Google app using gestures like drawing, highlighting, or tapping. This means users can quickly perform a visual search without…