The SEOFOMO Newsletter​

December 21st, 2025
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Your weekly SEO & AI Search News to Stop the FOMO, read by +40K SEOs.
Today's sponsor is Semrush. Want to advertise? Ask here.​

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​Google is taking legal action against SerpApi’s “unlawful” scraping​

Halimah DeLaine Prado / Google

Google has filed a lawsuit against SerpAPI: “to stop SerpApi’s bots and their malicious scraping, which violates the choices of websites and rightsholders about who should have access to their content”.

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Some of the comments within the SEO community after sharing about it in LinkedIn point that that this is a "pot, meet kettle" situation, that "the copyright/licenced content is such a slippery route" and that "This likely hits far beyond SerpApi: a lot of SEO tools rely on the same SERP data supply chain, so the collateral damage could be real."

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​I'm running a poll in LinkedIn where I ask if Google would have sued SerpAPI if it hadn’t been reported earlier this year that OpenAI was using it to obtain Google SERP data, and 67% have answered that: "No, it has influenced it".

"Gemini 3 model reasoning at the speed you expect of Search"

​Google’s Gemini 3 Flash is rolling out globally in Google Search​

Robby Stein / Google

Google is rolling out Gemini 3 Flash globally as the default model for AI Mode: "It's better at understanding your needs, so you can ask more nuanced questions and it will consider each of your constraints to provide a thoughtful, well-formatted response."

The extensions harvest full AI conversations over months

​Browser extensions with 8 million users collect extended AI conversations​

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica

Security firm Koi discovered eight browser extensions with more than 8 million installs harvesting users’ complete AI conversations and selling them for marketing purposes, which as of late Tuesday night remained available in both Google’s and Microsoft’s extension stores. Learn which are them and more here.

Consistency between raw and rendered HTML is key

​Google Updates JavaScript SEO Docs With Canonical Advice​

Matt G. Southern

Google updated its JavaScript SEO docs with new guidance on canonical URLs for JavaScript-rendered pages: To keep canonicals consistent before and after rendering and "If JS must set a different canonical URL, Google recommends leaving the canonical tag out of the initial HTML to avoid conflicting signals."

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Additionally, Google Warns Noindex Can Block JavaScript From Running.

Measure success beyond raw clicks

​Google thoughts on SEO & SEO for AI, part 1 [Video]​

John Mueller, Danny Sullivan / Search Off the Record Podcast

John Mueller and Danny Sullivan talk about AI Search: How "SEO remains the umbrella concept", "Human satisfaction being the north star" and more.

Will this lead users to "click more"?

​Google Search adds read more links to search result snippets​

Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land

Not all, but many of Google's search result snippets contain now a "read more" link that take you to sections of the page.

Duplicate content blurs intent signals

​Does Duplicate Content Hurt SEO and AI Search Visibility?​

Fabrice Canel, Krishna Madhavan / Microsoft

When multiple versions of the same page exist, signals become blurred, authority gets diluted, and search engines may surface an outdated or unintended URL instead of the one you want users to see. Fabrice and Krishna goes through it and provide practical guidance to avoid these issues.

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Get performance tracking, live content scoring, and real-time optimization guidance for both SEO and AI search visibility in one place.

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The new AI vs SEO Comparison even puts this performance into a comprehensive dashboard.

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The best part? Manual tasks like link building can be swapped for strategy that moves the needle. Let advanced automations take care of it for you.

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SEO doesn’t end, it becomes more business-driven

​Key SEO Tips and Predictions for 2026 by +32 Top SEO Specialists​

Aleyda Solis / SEOFOMO

I interviewed 32 SEO specialists attending Google Search Central Zurich to gather their predictions, expectations, and practical tips for SEO in 2026, including Barry Schwartz, John Mueller, Crystal Cartel, Myriam Jessier, Chris Green, and more.

It's time to answer: "How much revenue did this actually drive?"

​How To Track User Journey In GA4 To Make SEO Wins More Visible​

Bengu Sarica Dincer / Search Engine Journal

SEO teams can tie organic performance to revenue by mapping full user journeys in GA4 and uncovering hidden conversion opportunities. Bengu goes through it.

A focus on UGC and Video in Google Discover

​What Will Change in Google Discover in 2026? Everything That Was Said at Google Search Central Live in Zurich and That You Should Already Be Applying​

Clara Soteras

What are the upcoming changes for Google Discover in 2026? What to do if we receive a manual penalty in Discover? What about AI-Generated Content for Google Discover? Yes or No? Clara goes through this and all that was said about Discover during the latest Google Search Central Live in Zurich.

SEO benefits from SMART goals

​Goal and OKR setting for 2026​

Eli Schwartz / The Future of SEO

Just as you don’t set out on a journey without a sense of where you want to end up, you shouldn’t begin a new year without defined goals. Eli explains how to set SEO goals for 2026.

Brand Signals as the Ultimate Trust Heuristic

​AI Search & SEO: Strategic Framework 2026​

Gianluca Fiorelli

Gianluca shares six predictions for search in 2026, and actionable tactics for knowledge graphs, content hubs, and AI-era visibility

A comprehensive Web Guide break-down

​A Guide to Web Guide: Our Hybrid Search Future​

Dr. Peter J. Meyers / Moz

Dr. Pete analyzes Google's Web Guide, their new hybrid search interface, breaking down the 10 types of "query fan-out" that drive results and explains why search marketers need to prepare for a more conversational search style.

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Be careful about over-relying on API results

​Scraped AI Answers vs. API Results from LLMs. Is There a Difference? [AI Search Study]​

Jakub Sadowski / Surfer

There's a significant difference between actual AI answers and what their APIs show. Jakub analyzed 1000 prompts to find these differences: “~23% of API responses do not trigger web search (usually when under 100 words). Scraped results always trigger web searches”.

Beyond ranking: rationale-based selection

​How LLMs and RAG Systems Retrieve, Rank, and Cite Content​

Pedro Dias / Visively

A technical guide by Pedro to understanding retrieval-augmented generation architecture and its implications for content visibility in generative search.

The Data Says No (For Now)

​Can You "Fake It ‘til You Make It" in the Age of AI Search?​

Laurence O'Toole / Authoritas

AI models failed 29.5% of name-based queries but 0% of topic searches. This research shows why brand building, not PR stunts, wins in the age of AI recommendations.

Remember that not every prompt requires RAG

​Proxies for prompts: Emulate how your audience may be looking for you​

Gus Pelogia / Search Engine Land

As search shifts from keywords to prompts, Gus explains how SEOs can use data proxies to understand AI search behavior and track visibility across platforms.

Practical AI adoption, not hype

​Human-Centered AI: Using Data Without Losing Perspective ​

Gianluca Fiorelli, Michelle Robbins / Advanced Web Ranking

Michelle shares about why data foundations matter more than AI models, how Michelle evaluates AI models in real work, the publisher strategies in the AI Era, and much more in this insightful interview with Gianluca.

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Help understand how organic search (both AI and traditional) evolved in 2025, and identify the top trends for 2026; from key challenges to shifts in strategies, goals, tools, and expectations.

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By taking the SEOFOMO survey below, you’ll have a chance to win an SEOFOMO hoodie and travel mug!

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⏳ Extended deadline: The survey will now remain open until December 26, 2025, and the results and giveaway winner will be announced on December 28, 2025.

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• ​SEO Specialist at Xigen​
• ​SEO Strategist at Olly Olly​
• ​SEO Manager at Resident​
• ​SEO Manager at Big Health​
• ​SEO Specialist at Amplifyed ​
• ​SEO Strategist at Go Fish Digital​
• ​SEO Strategist at Seer Interactive​
• ​B2B - SEO & Growth Content Manager at CookUnity​