The SEOFOMO Newsletter​

June 7, 2026
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Your weekly SEO & AI Search News to Stop the FOMO, read by +45.1K SEOs.
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The question to ask: Is my page still the best default destination?

​Google May 2026 Core Update Has Completed Rolling Out - Here's an initial analysis: Intent, Market Fit, and Source Type Drove the Biggest Visibility Shifts​

Aleyda Solis

Google's May 2026 broad core update has finished rolling out. I analyzed the biggest domain level visibility shifts in Sistrix for the US and UK, finding that the update appears to have concentrated visibility around stronger default destinations for each query’s intent, market, and expected result type: Canonical reference brands, local-market ecommerce entities and category-defining transactional marketplaces gained in the clearest examples.

• Related: May 2026 Core Update: Visibility Analysis and Data Updates by Steve Paine​

Google+ 2.0 is here

​Google launches Search profiles to help publishers and creators highlight their work on Search​

Ibrahim Badr / Google

Google has launched Search profiles, a dedicated and shareable space where publishers and creators can highlight their latest articles, videos, and social posts across platforms. Eligible publishers and creators can claim a profile, making it easier for users to follow them and see more of their content in Discover. The feature is launching first in the US, with plans to expand to more countries in the future.

Thanks CMA!

​Google Must Let Websites Opt Out Of AI Search Features In UK​

Matt G. Southern

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has imposed a new conduct requirement on Google Search, requiring Google to give publishers more control over how their content is used in AI Search features. The key point: publishers should be able to opt out of having their content used in Google’s AI-powered search experiences without losing visibility in traditional search results. This is an important regulatory shift, but the practical impact will depend on how the controls are implemented and reported.

Likely as a consequence of the news above...

​New AI Search control in Search Console, performance insights and updated best practices​

Mrinalini Loew / Google

Google is introducing new tools to help website owners manage and measure their presence in AI Search, including a new Search Console control for generative AI features and dedicated performance reporting for AI Overviews, AI Mode, and generative AI features in Discover. This should make it easier to separate AI Search visibility from classic Search performance and understand where impressions are coming from, although no information is shown to be provided yet about prompts or clicks.

• Related : Google: Introducing Search Generative AI performance reports in Search Console by Hillel Maoz and Moshe Samet

As long as they can monetize it, of course they're ok with it

​Google CEO Sundar Pichai Is OK With AI Mode Replacing Classic Search​

Roger Montti / Search Engine Journal

Sundar Pichai described the shift toward AI Mode as a gradual continuum rather than a sudden replacement of classic Search. He said users are responding positively to AI Mode and that Google’s business can continue evolving through a combination of advertising and subscriptions. For SEOs and publishers, the important takeaway is not whether classic Search disappears tomorrow, but that Google is increasingly comfortable with AI-native Search becoming the primary search experience over time.

• Related : Microsoft: AI Summarizes Results, Reducing Clicks & Website Visits by Barry Schwartz​

Discover how people are really searching, discovering, and engaging online

AI continues to reshape how users discover, engage, and click across search environments. But most teams are still making decisions without a clear picture of what's actually shifting.

The Datos State of Search Q1 2026 report, created in collaboration with Rand Fishkin, maps real search behaviour across millions of users in the US, EU, and UK. AI adoption, regional contrasts, e-commerce discovery, and intent signals are all explored in detail using real clickstream data.

Initial migration mistakes worth catching before launch

​Site migration mistakes that quietly tank rankings​

Rishi Lakhani / Pwani

Most site migration disasters aren’t caused by one dramatic mistake, but by preventable issues that happen across planning, crawl and indexing, redirects, content, technical checks, and go-live. Rishi shares a phase by phase guide to the 32 migration mistakes that can quietly tank rankings, with practical ways to identify and fix each one before they become post-launch traffic drops.

• Related: What Is A Migration Hangover Traffic Drop & How Do You Avoid It? by Sophie Brannon​

The core update recovery process, beyond quick fixes

​From Patents to Practice: Diagnosing, Auditing, and Recovering from Core Updates​

Gianluca Fiorelli / Advanced Web Ranking

Gianluca explains how to approach core update drops by looking beyond individual ranking losses and focusing on accumulated “quality debt,” authority gaps, user experience, and content usefulness: he connects Google patents, SEO diagnostics, and practical auditing steps to help identify what changed, what to prioritize, and how to build more resilient organic and AI Search visibility over time.

Brand signals are no longer just a brand team concern

​How Brand Signals Impact Organic Search and AI Visibility​

Despina Gavoyannis / Women in Tech SEO

Despina goes through how branded searches, online mentions, sentiment, entity recognition, and third-party validation can influence both organic rankings and AI visibility. She also shares practical steps to strengthen how your brand is understood across search engines and AI-powered discovery platforms.

Connecting SEO visibility with actual business strategy

​SEO for Branding: Bridging Visibility and Business Strategy ​

Gianluca Fiorelli, Silvia Martin / Advanced Web Ranking

Gianluca and Silvia discuss how SEO, branding, and omnichannel strategy increasingly need to work together, especially as AI systems use signals from across the web to understand and surface brands. The conversation highlights how SEOs can move beyond ranking focused execution and contribute to broader brand visibility, business positioning, and cross-channel growth.

AI visibility needs broader optimization

​How to Optimize for AI Visibility and Prepare for Agentic Search​

Aleyda Solis / Moz

I go through how to prepare for AI visibility and agentic search by focusing on three priorities: measuring AI Search impact beyond traffic, building topical authority with content that AI systems can retrieve and cite, and strengthening brand authority through credible third-party corroboration. The guide explains why AI Search optimization should expand SEO, not replace it, and how to prioritize efforts across owned content, external validation, and measurement.

Helpful to separate what Google actually says from GEO myths

​5 Takeaways from Google’s GEO Guidelines​

Dr. Peter J. Meyers / Moz

Dr. Pete reviews Google’s guidance around generative AI features in Search and explains what it does, and doesn’t, change for SEOs. The useful takeaway is that SEO fundamentals still matter, but they need to be applied with stronger attention to accessibility, usefulness, technical clarity, and how content is retrieved, summarized, and cited in AI Search experiences.

Brand misattribution in AI Search is not a theoretical risk

​Study Finds AI System Crediting Brand Trademarks to Rival Companies​

Marty Weintraub / Aimclear

Marty audited how five AI answer systems represented a consumer brand across official surfaces and found serious brand distortion issues, including cases where AI outputs credited the brand’s trademarks to rival companies. The study is a useful reminder that AI visibility is not only about being mentioned or cited, but about whether AI systems understand, attribute, and describe your brand accurately.

Branding now needs to work for people and machines

​From Aesthetic to Infrastructure: Branding in the AI Search Era​

Myriam Jessier / SE Ranking

Myriam explains why branding in the AI Search era can’t rely only on visuals, tone, or vibe. AI systems extract, interpret, and summarize brand information from structured and unstructured sources, which means brands need clearer, more consistent, and machine-readable signals across their site and wider digital ecosystem. A very useful read to understand why brand architecture is becoming search infrastructure.

AI search systems have their own “core updates” too

​ChatGPT Core Updates: Chatbots Have Algorithm Changes Too​

Johannes Beus / Sistrix

Sistrix data shows that citation patterns in ChatGPT can shift dramatically after model changes, similar to the way Google core updates affect organic visibility. Johannes analyzed German-language ChatGPT responses and found that the switch from GPT-5 mini to GPT-5.5 on May 23, 2026 shifted citations by 47% within 48 hours, with German publishers and service brands gaining while several international aggregators lost visibility. The takeaway: AI visibility needs ongoing monitoring, not one-off checks.

• ​Senior Associate, SEO at Dentsu​
• ​Senior SEO Strategist at Scorpion​
• ​Technical SEO Specialist at AMPLIFY​
• ​SEO & GEO Manager at Seer Interactive​
• ​Senior SEO Strategist at Break The Web​
• ​Search Intelligence Manager at Autodesk​
• ​Senior Digital Marketing Manager - Search Lead at Optix​

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