I’m seeing Google expand merchant listing structured data with support for sale duration and the Product.category property. The update brings Google Search’s merchant listing structured data closer to the capabilities already available in Google Merchant Center feeds.
Sale duration. Google added a new Sale duration section to its Merchant listing structured data documentation. In that update, Google said the guidance explains how to use the validFrom, validThrough, and priceValidUntil schema.org properties to define the effective date range for sale prices.
I find this useful because Google’s guidance also covers best practices and examples for placing those properties on either Offer or PriceSpecification nodes. Google said the change aligns schema.org usage with the Merchant Center feed attribute sale_price_effective_date, giving merchants clearer instructions for handling sale price timing in structured data.
Google's sale duration guidance shows merchants how to define when a sale price starts and ends in structured data, including Offer and UnitPriceSpecification JSON-LD examples.
Here is the new sale duration section Google added:
Product category. Google also updated the same Merchant listing structured data documentation to include support for the Product.category property.
Google’s merchant listing guidance now shows how product categories can mix custom text labels with Google Product Category codes in structured data.
Google wrote that the documentation now explains how Product.category can be used with both Text and CategoryCode types. According to Google, this aligns with Google Merchant Center feed specifications for the product_type and google_product_category attributes.
From my perspective, this makes the structured data more practical for merchants because it lets them provide both merchant-defined and Google-defined category details directly in schema.org markup. Google said this can enhance product information for Google Search and Shopping.
A glowing Google search bar cuts through streams of digital data, capturing the fast-moving world of search, shopping visibility, and SEO innovation.
Here is what Google added for product category support:
Why I care. If I maintain merchant listing structured data for Google, these additions are worth reviewing. Product category support can help Google better understand the products being provided, which may improve how those products match relevant queries.
I also see sale duration support as a practical improvement for planning promotions. When I update merchant listing structured data, I can now define sale price timing more clearly and align that markup more closely with Google Merchant Center feed behavior.
I’m noting that Google has confirmed its June 2026 spam update is now fully rolled out. The update started on Wednesday, June 24, around noon ET, and finished on June 26 at 2 p.m. ET.
Google’s official status update was brief and direct: “The rollout was complete as of June 26, 2026.”
What stands out to me is that this was the second Google spam update announced in 2026. It appeared to feel somewhat bigger than the March 2026 spam update, but as with most updates, if my site was not affected, I would treat that as a good sign for now.
That said, I always keep in mind that spam updates can sometimes affect sites that are not intentionally trying to spam Google. Hopefully, that is not the case for your site, but it is still worth watching traffic, rankings, and Search Console data closely after a rollout like this.
As for the type of update, Google originally described it as a normal spam update that would roll out across all languages and locations, with completion expected to take a few days.
If I wanted more context on how these updates work, I would review Google’s official documentation on spam updates in this Google help document.
I’m deeply saddened to share that Bruce Clay, widely known as the Father of SEO, passed away in late May. Bruce was one of the true founding figures of the SEO industry, having launched a professional SEO agency back in 1996, long before search marketing became the discipline we know today.
For me, Bruce’s impact is hard to overstate. He was the first sponsor of the first-ever SEO conference, and he gave an extraordinary amount of his time, resources and money to help build the search community. Few people have supported this industry for as long, or with as much generosity, as Bruce did.
Tribute video. The Bruce Clay, Inc. team prepared a tribute video honoring Bruce’s life and legacy. It describes him as a pioneer who devoted much of his life to helping the SEO industry grow. During his three decades as CEO of Bruce Clay Inc., he wrote three books, built tools, spoke at conferences, hosted training events and helped the company expand internationally.
Because of Bruce’s founding principles, hundreds of employees around the world have contributed to SEO, and thousands of students have benefited from his experience and teaching.
The Bruce Clay team told me, “We are absolutely heartbroken, but we find strength in the vibrant community and lasting values that Bruce built. Our teams in the U.S. and around the world remain dedicated to carrying forward the mission Bruce loved so dearly.”
Kyle Pouliot, Sr. Video Production Manager at Third Door Media, also shared a personal reflection with me.
“I’ve gotten to know Bruce on a more personal level over these past few years and interacted with him frequently for our online conferences. What I’ve learned about Bruce in that time is that he was genuinely thoughtful and caring about the search community. Never short of an honest opinion, Bruce shared some really practical ideas for Search Engine Land and SMX. He loved sharing his deep experienced knowledge to everyone, it didn’t matter if you were a beginner or 20+ year industry veteran, he treated everyone the same. We talked about the hundreds of golf balls that would find their way into his property every day, food, raising kids and how incredible the weather was in Simi Valley. He will be greatly missed.”
On a personal note, I’ve known Bruce Clay since I entered the SEO industry more than 20 years ago. He was a role model to me, often a mentor, and always someone who was approachable, professional and deeply caring. In many rooms, he was likely the most generous and thoughtful person there.
I loved his SEO talks. I loved meeting him at industry events. And I especially valued the personal emails he sent about shaping the future of our industry. Those moments showed me how much Bruce cared, not just about search, but about the people building it.
I recently discovered that Google has updated its guidelines on optimizing for AI Search, and they’ve made it clear that LLMS.txt files on your site won’t impact your search rankings. It’s a relief to know that Google Search doesn’t actually utilize these files.
The portion of Google’s update that caught my attention explains that there’s no need to create new machine-readable files, such as AI text or Markdown files, to appear in Google Search, even with generative AI. Google will still discover, crawl, and index a variety of files, but these won’t receive special treatment.
Google also mentioned that maintaining LLMS.txt files for other services is perfectly fine and won’t influence your visibility in Google Search. In short, these files neither harm nor enhance your standing in search rankings.
For those interested, here is a valuable section screenshot along with more resources on the topic:
Expressing why I care about this, there’s ongoing confusion around how Google handles such files. Remember, having them on your site won’t help but also won’t hurt your SEO efforts.
I’ve noticed that Google is currently investigating an issue with the Google Search Console. Specifically, this concerns the data logging and reporting of “Job listing” and “Job details” search appearance filters.
On April 16th, a bug began affecting how this data is logged, causing Google to report zero clicks and impressions for job-related reports. Although traffic is still being received, it’s not being recorded correctly.
What Google said. According to an update from Google, “A logging error is preventing Search Console from reporting impressions and clicks for ‘Job listing’ and ‘Job details’ Search appearance types from April 16, 2026 onward. We’re working to resolve this issue. This issue affects data logging only.”
Complaints. I’ve also seen numerous SEOs voicing their concerns on social media, as shared in a tweet by Max Peters. The bug seems to impact impressions and clicks, but the traffic still comes through other measurement methods like google_jobs_apply UTM.
Why we care. If you’ve noticed a decrease in search data for job listings, rest assured, it’s due to this bug on Google’s side. Your listings are likely still active and receiving traffic, although this isn’t reflected in Search Console at the moment.
Today, Google released its March 2026 spam update, making it the second announced algorithm change this year, following the February 2026 Discover core update.
This marks the first spam update of 2026. The previous one was rolled out in August 2025.
Timing. Google mentioned that this update might “take a few days to complete.” They reiterated on LinkedIn: “This is a normal spam update, and it will roll out for all languages and locations. The rollout may take a few days to complete.”
Why we care. Since this is the second major algorithm update of 2026, I need to stay alert for any changes in rankings or traffic on my sites. Google hasn’t specified what spam is being targeted, but shifts in performance could be related.
More on the spam update. Google’s documentation states: “While Google’s automated systems to detect search spam are constantly operating, we occasionally make notable improvements to how they work. When we do, we refer to this as a spam update and share when they happen on our list of Google Search ranking updates.”
Google’s AI-based spam-prevention system, SpamBrain, gets enhanced from time to time to better detect and manage new types of spam. If I notice changes after this update, reviewing and ensuring compliance with Google’s spam policies is essential for maintaining or improving rankings. Violations can lead to lower rankings or removal from search results entirely.
For link spam updates, improvements might not translate to immediate gains since any ranking boost from spammy links is nullified. Hence, reclaiming lost benefits isn’t possible.
I recently discovered that Google has adjusted its JavaScript SEO guidelines by removing the ‘design for accessibility’ section. This decision was made because the advice was deemed outdated. Nowadays, Google handles JavaScript smoothly.
When Google announced the change, they explained the section was no longer as useful as it once was. Previously, they warned that JavaScript might obscure content from Google, but clearly, that’s not an issue anymore.
The Old Advice. Here’s what the original guidance stated:
“Design for accessibility: Create pages for users, not just search engines. When designing your site, consider users who might not use a JavaScript-capable browser, like those with screen readers or less advanced mobile devices. Test your site’s accessibility by viewing it with JavaScript turned off or in a text-only browser like Lynx. This can help identify content hard for Google to see, such as text in images.”
Why It Was Removed. Google clarified:
“The information was outdated and less helpful. Google Search has successfully rendered JavaScript for years, so using it for content loading doesn’t hinder visibility.”
“Most assistive technologies can now handle JavaScript as well.”
The Importance. Even though Google is adept at processing JavaScript, it’s still critical to verify what Google Search sees. I recommend using the URL inspection tool within Google Search Console to ensure everything checks out.
Remember, while Google and probably Microsoft Bing manage JavaScript efficiently, some emerging AI engines might not render it as effectively.
I’ve noticed something pretty exciting in Google’s recent update to Performance Max. They have introduced one-click ad previews, making it incredibly easy to review creatives directly from the asset group table. This update feels like a breath of fresh air to anyone who’s ever been bogged down by the previous clunky process.
What’s new? Now, with just a click on any image or video within the Asset Groups table, I can instantly see how my ads will look across different Performance Max placements, without needing to navigate away from the page.
Why we care. Before this, checking ad previews meant jumping through various hoops into different views or settings. Now, everything is streamlined, keeping my workflow smooth and efficient, which makes creative quality assurance and iteration a lot less of a hassle.
Between the lines. There has been consistent feedback about the transparency limitations of Performance Max. So, even these small UI changes that bring creatives to the forefront are a big deal for me and many others in the field.
The bottom line. While one-click previews aren’t a game-changer in terms of strategy, they are a real time-saver. This especially helps when I’m handling large asset libraries or frequent creative updates.
First seen. This handy update was first spotted by Paid Search marketer Bia Camargo, adding another reason to appreciate these nuanced yet impactful changes.
I recently came across some fascinating data regarding organic search traffic trends, and I can’t wait to share it with you. Contrary to some alarming reports, organic search traffic has only dipped by 2.5% year over year, far from the drastic declines we often hear about, ranging from 25% to 60%. This significant insight comes from a comprehensive study conducted by Graphite using Similarweb data from a plethora of the largest U.S. websites.
This revelation certainly questions the exaggerated claims that the rise of AI tools, like ChatGPT, is rapidly taking over traditional search methods and rendering SEO obsolete.
What’s really happening? Many have suggested through surveys and anecdotes that organic traffic is crumbling, with large language models diverting user searches away from traditional search engines. However, the data collected by Graphite tells a different and more reassuring story.
In their study, Graphite utilized Similarweb’s visit data to analyze organic search traffic from the top 40,000 U.S. sites over periods from February to December 2024 and January to November 2025. The findings revealed a minor decrease rather than a major disruption.
Google’s stance aligns with these findings as well. The company stated in August 2025 that organic click volumes were largely stable year over year.
By the numbers. Traffic patterns differ significantly by the size of the sites. The largest sites, ranking within the top 10, witnessed a 1.6% increase in organic traffic. Mid-sized publishers, particularly those ranked between the top 100 and 10,000, faced more noticeable declines.
Organic SEO traffic: -2.5% YoY
Search engine traffic overall (2025): +0.4%
Google traffic (2025): +0.8%
Organic vs. paid clicks: ~90% organic, ~10% ads
AI Overview CTR impact: -35% when present
AI Overview prevalence: ~30% of SERPs
AI Overviews: Impact but not devastation. While AI Overviews do affect click-through rates when they occur, their presence isn’t as widespread as often presumed.
AI Overviews are featured in roughly 30% of search queries, predominantly informational ones.
Commercial and transactional search terms are notably less impacted.
Google ads aren’t “stealing” organic clicks. There’s a growing belief that Google is redirecting organic traffic towards its paid ads. However, data suggests only a slight shift.
The percentage of clicks on ads increased by about two points.
Despite this, organic results still garner nearly ten times more clicks than paid ads do.
Why this matters. SEO remains an immensely valuable channel. While AI is transforming the presentation and user interaction with search results, the demand for search isn’t disappearing. What’s evolving is SEO itself, with more SERP features, AI-driven answers, and heightened competition for fewer clicks, particularly on informational queries. Now more than ever, effective strategy is crucial.
About the data. This analysis is grounded in Similarweb traffic estimates for over 40,000 of the largest U.S. sites, utilizing a blend of opt-in user panels, ISP and mobile carrier data, public web signals, and direct site measurements. For accuracy, Graphite compared Similarweb’s trends with first-party data from Google Search Console and Google Analytics across various websites, discovering a median correlation of 0.86.
Reflecting on another year in the world of search, I’ve seen how Google labeled 2025 as year three of a 10-year transformative shift. This change, centering on AI, became undeniably evident. No longer just an experiment, AI has now firmly integrated into the core processes of search.
Here, I’ll share the most significant SEO news stories of 2025 from Search Engine Land.
Note: This overview excludes Google algorithm updates, which Barry Schwartz has covered in a separate recap published today.
10. Perplexity Ranking Factors and Systems
Diving into the intricacies, independent researcher Metehan Yesilyurt examined browser-level interactions, revealing how Perplexity scores, ranks, and sometimes drops content. His findings uncovered a three-layer machine learning system reordering entity searches, manual authority whitelists, and many engagement signals.
He also observed that authoritative domains, early strong performance, and tech-focused topics received boosts. The ranking further mirrored time decay, interconnected content clusters, and trending YouTube content that amplified visibility.
In a move all about clarity, Google introduced Query groups to the Search Console Insights report. By employing AI, it groups similar search queries into distinct audience topics. These don’t influence rankings but make performance trends more apparent, especially for high-volume sites.
I was surprised to see HubSpot’s organic traffic plummet from 13.5 million to 8.6 million within a month, mainly impacting its blog. This followed several Google updates, with SEOs pointing to thin, broad content not aligned with HubSpot’s core expertise.
The ongoing identity debate in SEO continues as Google rejects new terminologies like GEO (generative engine optimization) and AEO (answer engine optimization). They maintain that strong SEO practices are also effective for GEO, underpinning AI Overview rankings’ fundamentals.
Yet, as AI answers replace clicks, traditional search still plays a vital role in discovery, despite search behavior evolving with users seeking AI for quick answers but relying on Google for extensive research.
The expansion of Google AI Mode from a trial to an almost default, comprehensive search experience was rapid. It incorporated more in-depth research, agentic activities, personalization, and the advanced Gemini 2.5—a drastic evolution toward complex search behaviors.
This AI Mode initially struggled with transparency, breaking referral tracking and merging its performance data with standard Search Console reports, sparking concerns over visibility and attribution in a more AI-centric search landscape.
When Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince spoke about AI disrupting the web’s search-driven business model, it resonated with many. He highlighted the disproportionate relationship—Google and AI companies scrape extensive content while returning minimal traffic, jeopardizing original publishing unless the economic model adapts.
Seeing Google’s search share dip below 90% globally for the first time since 2015 was significant, driven by shifts in Asia and the U.S. This opened opportunities for Bing, Yandex, and Yahoo to capture some of Google’s shrinking share.
Google’s stricter stance on AI-generated content was clear when it instructed quality raters to assign the Lowest ratings to predominantly auto-generated pages. The expanded spam definitions targeted scaled, low-effort AI implementations.
Concurrent tests of AI-generated and AI-summarized search snippets indicated a future where AI not only critically examines content but also influences its presentation in searches.
I noticed analysis from various sources showing a troubling trend: Google Search offered more impressions and AI Overview visibility but resulted in fewer clicks. This was especially evident with non-branded, informational queries where AI Overview overshadowed classic results.
Brands mentioned in AI Overviews saw improved CTR, whereas those outside these features lost prominence, emphasizing that AI visibility is pivotal in driving successful outcomes.
Google’s removal of the &num=100 search parameter has widely impacted the SEO industry, disrupting rank-tracking tools and coinciding with a noticeable decrease in Google Search Console impressions and query counts.
Initial evaluations suggested that the majority of sites experienced reduced visibility, especially beyond Page 1, hinting at historic overreported metrics and a more realistic view of organic performance going forward.
