Shopify: AI referrals up 197%, but organic search still leads traffic
AI-referred sessions to merchant storefronts grew 197% year over year in the second quarter, Shopify said. Organic search traffic also increased 12%, according to new commerce data the company released this week. The company found that AI and organic…
Google Ads is removing language targeting from Search campaigns
Google is removing campaign-level language targeting from Search and AI Max for Search campaigns starting in late September, shifting responsibility for language matching to Google’s automated systems. Instead of advertisers explicitly selecting which…
Why SEO uncertainty is creating opportunities for challengers
We’re well beyond the halfway point of 2026, and businesses are getting nervous. Me? I’m watching my 2026 predictions take shape. Google is answering more questions today without sending clicks outside of its own platform. AI platforms are still the…
Most AI visibility gains are just technical debt repayment
Everyone seems to be searching for the AI optimization trick. Should you implement an llms.txt file? Does your schema need to change? Should your content be chunked for retrieval? Are you optimizing for GEO, AEO, or whatever new acronym the industry has…
Only 1.1% of news publisher visits come directly from AI: Study
AI referrals accounted for just 1.1% of visits to news publishers after conversations with AI assistants, according to a new Scrunch study that tracked millions of searches, AI chats, and website visits. Most publisher visits came through direct…
Your B2B SEO can win the click and lose the consideration
A buyer can click through to your website after making an important part of the decision. An AI Overview can explain a technology, compare approaches, and surface brands while the buyer is still researching the market. By the time they click a result,…
Google Is Removing Language Targeting From Search Campaigns via @sejournal, @brookeosmundson
Google Ads is changing language targeting for Search and Performance Max in September 2026. Learn what’s changing and what advertisers need to know. The post Google Is Removing Language Targeting From Search Campaigns appeared first on Search Engine…
Why Anthropic’s Claude Watermark May Be A New Text-Marking Method via @sejournal, @martinibuster
Anthropic has revealed enough about Claude’s watermark to identify how it might work. A new research paper may be the clue. The post Why Anthropic’s Claude Watermark May Be A New Text-Marking Method appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
The PPC Clean-Up: How to Audit and Fix ‘Value Inflation’ in Google Ads
PPC managers inheriting an account: verify the conversion value before touching the bid strategy. Five checks that separate real revenue from phantom value. The post The PPC Clean-Up: How to Audit and Fix ‘Value Inflation’ in Google Ads appeared first on…
The GEO Trust Gap: SEOs Want The Data, But Not The Platforms Selling It via @sejournal, @DuaneForrester
Practitioners value AI visibility data highly and won’t fund the platforms selling it. New survey data on what’s actually blocking the category. The post The GEO Trust Gap: SEOs Want The Data, But Not The Platforms Selling It appeared first…