The SEOFOMO Newsletter​

November 16, 2025
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Your weekly SEO & AI Search News to Stop the FOMO, read by +40.3K SEOs.
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Google is finally getting its expected AI shopping enhancements

​Google is introducing a major AI shopping update to AI Mode, Gemini and Search Agentic features in time for the holiday season​
Vidhya Srinivasan / Google ​
​Google is introducing a major AI shopping update, just in time for this holiday season:

• AI Mode: When you ask AI Mode a shopping question, you’ll now get a response that brings together rich visuals and all the details you need (like price, reviews and inventory info), formatted for your needs powered by the Shopping Graph.
• Gemini: You can now use shopping features right in the Gemini app, from shoppable product listings, comparison tables, prices from across the web and places to buy.
• Agentic AI to find products in stock nearby: When you search for certain products “near me” on Search, you’ll see the option to “Let Google Call” and Google will call stores on your behalf.
• Agentic Checkout: By tracking an item’s price using Google's price-tracking feature, you’ll get a notification when the price falls within your budget. If the merchant is eligible, Google will now give you the option to buy it for you on the merchant's site using Google Pay.

I'm looking forward to the impact this release will have to ecommerce sites.

Google argues their anti-spam policy helps level the playing field

​EU investigating Google over site reputation abuse policy​​
​Danny Goodwin / Search Engine Land
​Alphabet is facing a new EU investigation over claims that it demotes news publishers in search results if they run sponsored or promotional content, a significant revenue source for many media outlets.

Google’s enforcement against publishers is based on a spam policy introduced in March 2024 and updated in November 2024.

​In a blog post by Pandu Nayak, Google called the investigation “misguided”:

"We take the quality of our results and our work to fight spam in Search extremely seriously. We enforce our anti-spam policy through a fair and rigorous review process, including a path for appeal."

Another step to enrich Google's shopping features

​Google is releasing more ways to share your shipping and returns policies for merchants​​
​Pascal Fleury, Irina Tuduce, Jay Rana / Google​
​Google is rolling out the “Shipping and returns” feature in Search Console to all websites it sees as online merchants, in all countries and languages. This provides a UI-based method to share your information with Google. Settings configured in Search Console will take precedence over structured data.

Merchants can now tell Google about their shipping and returns policies in two distinct ways: by configuring them directly in Search Console or by using new organization-level structured data.

Fake news stories have been viewed tens of millions of times

​Google Discover fixing fake AI spam problem​​
​Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land
​After many complaints with the quality of the Google Discover feed, Google is working to fix it by removing the fake AI spam that has been creeping in over the past several weeks.

"Warmer, more intelligent, and better at following your instructions"

​OpenAI releases GPT-5.1: A smarter, more conversational ChatGPT​
​OpenAI
​OpenAI is upgrading GPT‑5 with the release of GPT‑5.1 Instant and GPT‑5.1 Thinking. Both models are now warmer by default and more conversational. They’re also introducing options to tailor ChatGPT's tone. It is rolling out to everyone, starting with paid users.

Microsoft is tightening its advertising standards

​Microsoft makes Clarity mandatory for Syndication Partner publishers​​
​Anu Adegbola
​Microsoft will count only Clarity-enabled ad traffic, requiring these publishers to install the tool or lose billable impressions and clicks.

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The Search Platform for Ambitious Brands

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Semrush Enterprise empowers teams to dominate both search engines and AI.

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

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

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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This 8-task workflow is a predictable, scalable system.

​The Architecture of Authority: An 8-Task Workflow for Engineering a High-Performance Content Hub​​
​Gianluca Fiorelli
​Gianluca explains how a successful content strategy is a deliberate, data-driven process that treats content as a form of architecture. The goal is to build topical authority. He goes through it in this comprehensive guide.

What should you focus on when everything is in flux?

​2026 SEO Trends: Top Predictions from 20 Industry Experts​
​Chima Mmeje / Moz
​Is AI killing your organic traffic and flipping SEO rules on their head? Learn how 20 SEO specialists are adapting for 2026 and shaping strategies AI platforms can't ignore.

Why Chrome DevTools MCP Changes the Game

​Auditing Core Web Vitals with Chrome DevTools MCP​​
​Svet Petkov / Sitebulb
​Svet shares how we are moving towards fast, AI-assisted audits. For example, Chrome DevTools' Model Context Protocol (MCP) allows SEOs to run performance traces, simulate user journeys, and debug CWV directly in a live browser, automatically and at scale. Learn how in this guide.

The majority of SEOs aren't sure which LLM crawlers render JavaScript

​Sitebulb's 2025 JavaScript SEO Report​
​Patrick Hathaway / Sitebulb
​The Sitebulb’s JavaScript SEO Report is here, going through how Google crawls, renders, and indexes JavaScript, how SEOs determine whether a site has significant dependence on JavaScript, how comfortable SEOs feel explaining SEO/AI Search issues caused by JavaScript to clients and stakeholders, and much more.

Outside factors that can swing organic performance

​Is Brand Demand Sabotaging Your SEO? Or Hiding Your Week Strategy?​
​Nick LeRoy / SEO For Lunch
​Organic Search is a catcher’s mitt for demand. If no one throws the ball, nothing gets caught. Nick goes through outside factors that can impact organic performance, even when your SEO is airtight.

It's all free!

​Submit your SEO Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals 2025​
​SEOFOMO
​Submit your SEO Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal to get featured in upcoming editions of SEOFOMO and in the SEO Black Friday Deals Hub for free. ​
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AI traffic is still tiny today

​The Top Vertical AI Search Traffic Players Shift from October 2025​​
​Aleyda Solis / SEOFOMO
​I’m tracking the shift in organic search vs AI traffic and mentions across the top sites of 5 key verticals in the US: AI traffic is still tiny today (0.51% of organic volume) but growing explosively (+32% vs -0.3% for organic).

Comparison Sites Beat Direct/Brand Sites and Premium News Dominates Broadcast News. Learn about these and more insights in this report.

Avoid these common AI search optimization mistakes

​3 Common mistakes to avoid when investing in AI search​
​Aleyda Solis / Search Engine Land
​Not aligning AI search optimization efforts with existing SEO initiatives. Expecting the same goals and using the same metrics as traditional search. Obsessing over tools’ sample prompts instead of taking their fluid, context-driven nature into account. I explain how to avoid these common AI search optimization mistakes in my latest SEL contribution.

An insightful AI Search Webinar to watch

​AEO, AEO, LLMO: Separating Fact from Fiction & How to Win in AI Search​​
​Lily Ray​
​Lily goes through how to separate hype from reality in today's AI search landscape, since many of the “new” optimization tactics being discussed are updated best practices that have always mattered. However, at the same time, we’re seeing shifts in how users search, how engines retrieve and summarize information, and how visibility is measured in AI-driven environments.

5 Steps to Make Category Pages AI Ready

​Optimising Category Pages for AI Visibility​​
​Dena Warren / Women in Tech SEO ​
​Dena shares a framework and checklist that she uses to future-proof category pages for AI Search and beyond. Learn from it and start using it to make your category pages AI search ready.

Includes expert insights, deep dives and case studies

​Whitepaper: The Impact of Expert Content in the Age of AI Search & GEO​
​Textbroker
​A whitepaper sharing an overview of expert content strategies, brand authority, the role of video, digital PR, and Reddit, and how these are shaping today’s and tomorrow’s world of search.

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• ​Sr. SEO Strategist at Inflow ​
• ​SEO Strategist at Go Fish Digital ​
• ​Expert SEO Strategist at Typeform​
• ​Senior SEO Manager at Seer Interactive​
• ​Content Specialist - AEO & SEO at Kraken​
• ​Local SEO Specialist/Strategist at Rank On Maps​
• ​Sr. Product Manager, Growth (SEO & GEO) at Zapier​
• ​Technical Marketing Manager (CRM/SEO/Analytics) at Krypital Group​