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π The Latest SEO News Are Here [SEOFOMO, September 21, 2025]
"The use of this URL parameter is not something that we formally support."
Google is expanding its merchant layer
βAnnouncing the store widget: build shopper confidence and drive salesβ βAparna Mohan / Google βGoogle announced a new store widget, a dynamic element ecommerce sites can embed directly onto any page that highlights the store's quality to shoppers by providing visual indicators like store reviews, shipping, returns, competitive pricing and payment options, among others.
The data and associated ratings shown are sourced through the Store Quality program from the site Merchant Center account.
You can now follow publishers directly in Discover to see more of their content.
Google will start showing social posts from platforms like X, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts in the feed. Yet another reason to invest and align with social media and community management efforts.
It's time to access and show those positive outcomes more easily
βGoogle Search Console adds an achievements section βBarry Schwartz / Search Engine Landβ βGoogle added a new section to Google Search Console to show your βachievementsβ in the Search Console interface. This was previously only emailed as part of the receive Insights experience emails you received monthly, but now there is a dedicated report for these achievements.
First time a major US publisher does this
βRolling Stone, Billboard Owner Penske sues Google over AI overviewsβ βAditya Soni / Reuters βPenske Media (the owner of Rolling Stone, Billboard and Variety) sued Google, alleging that Googleβs AI summaries use its journalism without consent and reduce traffic to its websites: βWithout the leverage, Google would have to pay publishers for the right to republish their work or use it to train its AI systemsβ, the company said.
Google... the Web savior?
βGoogle: Searchers Want AI Summaries Over Linksβ βBarry Schwartz / Search Engine Roundtableβ βMarkham Erickson from Google said that searchers want AI Overviews, "contextual answers and summaries," over links to publishers. But to help the ecosystem and the value exchange, Google will continue to provide links.
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Itβs not about more links - itβs about the right links, in the right place!
Great content needs clarity, structure, and intent
βContent That Wins: Smarter Strategy in the AI Era βShelley Walsh, Gianluca Fiorelli / Advanced Web Rankingβ βShelley shares about the shift from spammy SERPs to AI-driven results, the power of diverse backgrounds, top-of-funnel fatigue, and much more in this insightful interview with Gianluca.
Executive buy-in is the real ranking factor
βHow to Succeed in Enterprise SEO with Strong Internal Alignmentβ βJojo Furnival / Women in Tech SEO βBig brands have the resources. Theyβve got dev teams, analytics dashboards, and licences for every tool under the sun. And yet, time and again, getting the results is an uphill battle due to misalignment. Jojo explains how this happens and what to do about it.
A must read for local businesses
βHow to Claim, Verify, and Manage Google Business Profiles at Scaleβ βElizabeth Rule / Moz βThere is a right way to claim, verify, and manage Google Business Profiles at scale, to give you a streamlined process to maintain accuracy on your listings at all times while minimizing issues... Elizabeth goes through it here.
Fresh SEO Presentations from The Shenzhen SEO Conference
It's not only about asking, but also doing and expressing
βHow people are using ChatGPTββ βOpenAI β βOpenAI has released the largest study to date of how people are using ChatGPT, showing patterns in terms of:
Asking (49%): interacting with it as an advisor.
Doing (40%): Encompassing task-oriented interactions such as drafting text, planning, or programming.
Expressing (11%): Using it for personal reflection, exploration, and play.
βThe ultimate guide to AEO: How to get ChatGPT to recommend your product with Ethan Smithβ βEthan Smith, Lenny Rachitsky / Lennyβs Newsletterβ βIn an interview with Lenny Rachitsky, Ethan explains why ChatGPT is driving in some scenarios more qualified leads than Google, how to optimize for Reddit without spamming, and why early-stage startups can win at AEO when they couldnβt at SEO.
Dan analyzed 107,352 websites that appeared as citations in AI Mode and identified that while Schema is widely present, no single type beyond the standard set (Organization, WebPage, Article, etc) appears to give a measurable advantage.
I hope this doesn't disincentivize you from using structured data, although helps you to prioritize based on impact and effort
You canβt treat personas as a βbrand exerciseβ anymore
βPersonas Are Critical For AI Searchβ βKevin Indig / Search Engine Journalβ βKevin explains you canβt overlook user personas any longer and how to turn existing in-house data into actionable personas that shape briefs, prompts, and outcomes.
AEO Vision is a next-gen search optimization platform built for AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini.
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It helps brands understand and improve how often their content gets cited in AI answers through metrics like reciprocal rank fusion, embeddings, and reranking patterns.
βMCP Anywhereβ βLocomotive Agency βA unified gateway for MCP servers that enables discovery, configuration, and access to tools from GitHub repositories through a single endpoint.
βFOUND Conference Tokyo 2025 βDemandSphere / Tokyo, Japan / JPY 44,000 / October 28 - 29, 2025 βJoin Rand Fishkin, Lily Ray, Mike King, and more to get actionable insights from over 10 educational sessions and keynotes, and discover whatβs next in the industry.
βChiang Mai SEO Conference β βChiang Mai SEO Conference / Chiang Mai, Thailand / +$847 / November 10 - 14, 2025 βJoin Tim Soulo, Cindy Krum, Kyle Roof and more to learn about EEAT, GEO, local SEO, link building and more in Chiang Mai.
Georgia is Co-Founder Switch Key Digital, a passionate SEO and SXO expert with a decade of experience driving organic traffic and conversions for Finance, Legal and Health businesses across Australia and internationally.
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A frequent SEO speaker, Georgia is also the Founder of Women in SEO & Digital Marketing, a supportive community dedicated to uplifting and empowering women in the digital marketing industry.
SEOFOMO is a weekly free newsletter sent to +38K subscribers with the latest SEO and AI Search news, updates, guides, tips, free tools and jobs. Avoid missing any worthy SEO & AI Search update and subscribe now!