What is a zero-click search?

A zero-click search is the term used for search queries that are answered without needing to select any links on the search engine results page (SERP).

This is usually down to three types of search results:

• AI Overviews – Google’s AI overviews collate the most relevant and useful pieces of content into a generated response. This is now displayed at the top of the SERP, and appears for approximately 18% of global searches.

• People also ask – This panel appears in Google and has a drop-down of relevant questions to the search query. This pulls an excerpt from a piece of content which Google deems to be of quality.

• Knowledge Panels – This is a type of panel we often see with films, celebrities, books and so on. This contains information about the content, and it dominates the page with it being positioned first or on the right side of the results page.

• Featured Snippets – Taking the top position or sometimes grouped with the ‘people also ask ‘section. This contains a description regarding the search; this may be seen for recipes, ‘how-to’ questions and ‘what is’ searches.

Do zero-click searches affect SEO?

Zero-click searches can negatively impact the SEO efforts of website owners. If content is not being clicked on, it directly affects the traffic volume content is receiving. This can be incredibly harmful for sites that are already lower in rank.

This can then ultimately impact overall performance metrics, even for those being displayed in AI overview, featured snippets and so on.

How to optimise for zero-click searches?

The way marketers and content creators produce content has to be adapted to accommodate the changes in user behaviour now that features deemed convenient are taking up SERP real estate.

Shift the focus from getting clicks to increasing your brand awareness and trust with Google. Getting content to rank higher will increase the probability of it being displayed in one of these various information panels. Which in turn increases your brand’s visibility with potential zero-click searchers.

You can achieve this by creating high-quality, informative content. Our guide to writing blogs, can help can help you with that process.

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Google has announced its latest spam update, called the August 2025 spam update. It began rolling out this week and will take a few weeks to complete.

This is the first spam update in eight months (the last was December 2024) and the first time Google has adjusted its spam filters this year. For marketers and business owners, that means search results may shift – some websites could see traffic drop, while others may rise as low-quality competitors are pushed down.

What is a spam update?

When Google talks about “spam” in search, it doesn’t mean junk emails. In this context, spam refers to low-quality or manipulative websites that try to cheat their way into higher rankings.

Examples include:

• Sites stuffed with keywords but offering no real value.
• Pages made purely to generate ad clicks.
• Dodgy sites spreading malware, scams, or fake content.

A spam update is when Google improves its SpamBrain system – an AI tool that detects these tactics. SpamBrain gets smarter over time, and when Google rolls out an update, it applies those improvements across search results worldwide.

Why does this matter?

If your website is built for real people – with useful, original, and trustworthy content – you’re unlikely to be penalised. In fact, updates like this can work in your favour, since spammy competitors may lose visibility.

On the other hand, if your site uses shortcuts like low-quality AI-generated articles, old expired domains filled with weak content, or “parasite SEO” (hosting third-party content that exploits your site’s reputation), you may see rankings drop.

How long will it take?

Google describes this as a “normal spam update.” That means:

• It’s routine maintenance rather than a major shake-up.
• The rollout will last a few weeks.
• It applies globally, across all languages and regions.

Google will confirm completion on its official Search Status Dashboard.

How does this fit into other updates?

The last major update before this was the June 2025 core update, which was broader and affected many types of websites. Core updates are like overall system tune-ups, while spam updates are targeted clean-ups that specifically filter out manipulative practices.

The December 2024 spam update was considered more volatile (with bigger swings in rankings) than the June 2024 update. It’s still too early to know how disruptive this August update will be.

What should you do now?

1. Monitor your analytics – Watch for changes in traffic and rankings over the next few weeks.
2. Review your content – Make sure it’s user-focused, not written just for search engines.
3. Avoid shortcuts – Stay clear of tactics like keyword stuffing, mass-produced AI content, or hosting low-value third-party pages.
4. Be patient – If your site is impacted, recovery can take time. Fix issues based on Google’s spam policies and wait for future system refreshes.

The August 2025 spam update is Google’s latest round of “housekeeping” for search results. If your site is genuinely helpful, you should be fine – or even gain ground. But if you’ve relied on questionable tactics, expect Google to tighten the net.

Google Ads is making another big shift toward automation: by the end of this year, manual language targeting will disappear from Search campaigns. Instead, Google’s AI will automatically detect and target user languages.

What’s changing?
Up until now, we’ve been able to tell Google exactly which languages to target—whether that’s English, French, or Spanish—so ads only showed to users browsing in those languages. Once this rolls out, that option goes away. Google’s AI will take full control, using a mix of signals like search queries, browser settings, and behavior to decide a user’s language.

What’s not changing?
This is Search-only for now. If you’re running Display or YouTube campaigns, you’ll still have the manual language targeting options we’re all used to.

Why this matters?
On the surface, this makes campaign setup simpler and could, in theory, mean better detection of user intent. But the flip side is reduced control. If Google’s AI misinterprets signals, ads could start showing in markets or languages you don’t want to target—or, equally worrying, you might miss out on the audiences that matter. That means we’ll need to keep an even closer eye on performance data and be ready to step in quickly if something looks off.

Industry context
This change was first picked up by PPC News Feed (credit to Ezra Sackett for spotting it) and it fits a clear pattern: Google is steadily removing manual levers in favor of automation. We’ve already seen this with responsive search ads, automated bidding, and Performance Max.

The bigger picture
For me, this underlines the reality of where Google is heading: more automation, less manual control. While AI can certainly drive efficiencies, it also forces us as marketers to adapt—shifting our focus from setup to strategy, measurement, and making sure automation is working in our favor.

A new study from Nielsen Norman Group shows that while generative AI is changing how people search for information, Google remains the first stop for most users. The research found:

• Google is still the default starting point for online searches because of habit and familiarity
• AI Overviews give quick answers, but they reduce the need to click through to websites
• Chat tools like Gemini and ChatGPT speed up research, but people still cross-check results in Google
• Familiarity with AI brands, such as casually calling ChatGPT “Chat,” is growing quickly

Why users keep starting with Google

The pull of familiarity is strong. Many participants admitted they went straight to Google simply because that is what they have always done. Some mentioned that their browser defaults to Google, which removes the need to think about alternatives. Others talked about how comfortable and natural it feels to start there. This kind of routine behaviour gives Google a powerful edge that even the most advanced AI tools struggle to overcome.

AI Overviews: a shortcut that is changing user behaviour

One of the most significant shifts the study highlighted was the role of Google’s AI Overviews. These are automatically generated summaries that appear at the top of the results page, blending information from multiple sources into a single, easy-to-read snapshot.

AI Overviews were first introduced in 2023 under the name “Search Generative Experience” (SGE). They were initially tested in Google Labs before rolling out more widely in 2024 and 2025. The goal was to provide quick, conversational answers to queries without users needing to click through multiple links. Over time, they evolved into a standard feature of the search results page.

For users, AI Overviews feel convenient. Instead of scanning through ten blue links or skimming several articles, they can glance at a summary and move on. For marketers and publishers, however, they represent a challenge. By pulling key information into the search results, AI Overviews reduce the incentive for users to click through to original websites. This means fewer opportunities to attract traffic, fewer ad impressions, and potentially less engagement with full content pages.

It is worth noting that this behaviour is not entirely new. Featured Snippets and Knowledge Panels have been surfacing direct answers within Google’s results for years. AI Overviews simply take this trend further by synthesising more complex information in a natural, conversational style. The difference is scale: where Featured Snippets answered narrow questions, AI Overviews can now handle broad, multi-part queries that previously would have driven more traffic to publishers.

For marketers, this means adapting content so that it is not only useful on your own site but also optimised to appear within these AI-driven summaries. Structuring information clearly, answering questions directly, and establishing authority signals are becoming more important than ever.

AI tools boost speed but not total reliance

When participants tried using Gemini or ChatGPT for research tasks, they often found the process faster and more useful than traditional search. AI was particularly good at helping users brainstorm, clarify ideas, or simplify complex subjects.

But even the heaviest AI users did not rely on it alone. Almost all of them went back to Google to cross-check facts or to dive deeper into trusted sources. This shows that AI is not yet seen as a single source of truth. Instead, it is an assistant that speeds things up, while Google remains the place people go to validate what they find.

Familiar names carry weight

Another interesting trend was how quickly users became comfortable with AI brands. Just as “Google” became a verb, some participants already referred to ChatGPT simply as “Chat.” Familiarity makes tools feel more trustworthy, and brand recognition could play a big role in which AI tools people stick with in the future.

What this means for marketers

Generative AI is reshaping the search journey, but it is not replacing it. The biggest barrier to AI adoption is not accuracy or technology, but the deeply ingrained human habit of starting with Google.

For marketers, this means two things. First, organic visibility in Google still matters, even if AI Overviews are reducing the number of clicks. Second, content strategies must begin to account for AI summarisation. It is no longer enough to write only for human readers. Your content also needs to be clear, structured, and credible enough to be picked up by AI systems.

ChatGPT traffic has been steadily rising since its release in November 2022. Ahrefs, a comprehensive digital marketing and SEO platform, has recently done a study comparing monthly referral traffic to websites from Google Search compared to ChatGPT.

What the numbers say

The first three months of data have been released, covering 44,421 sites and unsurprisingly, Google is still dominating referral traffic currently with 41.9% of total web traffic compared to 0.19% of ChatGPTs. However, ChatGPT referral traffic is currently growing at a much faster rate than Google, with Google growing 1.4% Month over month and ChatGPT growing 5.3%.

While 0.19% may look insignificant at the moment, if ChatGPT keeps up its current growth rate, then this will see it change rapidly. It’s also worth remembering that 8.5 billion searches are made daily on Google, which means 0.19% of the market share still represents millions of potential customers users could be missing out on by not optimising for AI traffic. 

What should Marketers do?

With these statistics in mind, there are a number of steps marketers can take to future-proof their sites and ensure consistent traffic growth:

• Continue to optimise for SEO on Google, making sure you are consistently optimising your content and site to stay in Google’s rankings and in front of the majority of your traffic.
• Track traffic sources on your own sites. Referral traffic on your own site might be slightly different from the statistics reported by Ahrefs. Some sites may do better on AI than others. Make sure to track your referral traffic so you know where your site visits are coming from and optimise accordingly.
• Optimise for AIO and ChatGPT. Make sure to optimise for and use AI-friendly content, such as using informative, concise content on your site, to appear more in AI models.

What does this mean for Marketers?

When analysing the numbers, it’s clear that for the time being, Google is still the most important platform for visibility and reaching the largest potential audience. However, ChatGPT can still be regarded in its infancy and will grow significantly in the years to come, meaning that marketers to ignore ChatGPT would be missing out on a new, growing customer base. Optimising for both, while prioritising Google, is currently the most sensible strategy going forward.  

Google users search engine crawlers or spiders to follow internal links on your website to crawl your content to discover, understand and index your content in its search results. In this article, we will talk about the dos and don’ts when it comes to crawling and indexability.

What is crawling?

Google’s crawlers, known as Googlebot, crawl your site via links. The bots travel from one page to the next, collecting information on the way. Googlebot analyses both internal and external links, finding more content to crawl.

What is Indexing?

Once Google crawls your page, it doesn’t immediately show up in search results. Instead, Google actively analyses your content — including headings, text, and images — to decide how relevant it is to specific searches and whether it deserves a spot in the results. That’s why it’s crucial to ensure your site is properly optimised for SEO.

How to help Google Crawl and Index your Content

Submit a sitemap

Users can submit a sitemap to Google to speed up the process of crawling and indexability. A sitemap is a list of URLs that you can submit to Google via Google Search Console. This provides Google with a structured list of your pages and helps guarantee visibility for all pages on your site you want indexing. If you use a CMS System, such as WordPress, there are plug-ins that will automatically generate a sitemap, such as Yoast SEO.

Optimised Internal Links

As stated, Google uses internal links to crawl the content on your site and understand the structure and hierarchy. Use descriptive anchor text for internal links and include relevant keywords to clearly explain the content your linking to.

Use Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs are links on a webpage that display site structure and page hierarchy, for example, Home > Digital Marketing > SEO. This helps Google understand the structure of your site and how pages are related to each other, improving SEO. Add schema to your breadcrumbs, structured data that tells Google to display your page in search engines as Home > Digital Marketing > SEO and helps Google understand the hierarchical nature of these pages.

Google Search Labs, Google’s AI experimental testing ground, has announced plans to test out Web Guide, an AI-organised search engine results page experience.

How does Web Guide work?

Web Guide is a search engine results page (SERP) that uses AI to group content and reorganise the SERP making it easier to find information or links based on specific aspects of users queries.

Here’s what Google had to say,

“Web Guide groups web links in helpful ways — like pages related to specific aspects of your query. Under the hood, Web Guide uses a custom version of Gemini to better understand both a search query and content on the web, creating more powerful search capabilities that better surface web pages you may not have previously discovered. Similar to AI Mode, Web Guide uses a query fan-out technique, concurrently issuing multiple related searches to identify the most relevant results.”

You can see examples of how Web Guide will look in Google’s latest announcement.

What does this mean for Marketers

As for now, Web Guides is only an experiment, but should it one day be live on the SERP. It could play a dramatic role in SEO and potentially see a renewed surge in site visits, which have been gradually declining since the introduction of AI Overviews. A recent study from Pew found that users clicked on a traditional result in just 8% of searches with an AI summary which is down from 15% on traditional SERP pages.

However, if Google starts to begin grouping together multiple different content types to target different aspects of search queries, this could see an opportunity for more sites to appear higher up the SERP; appearing for queries that they wouldn’t typically have appeared for on traditional or AI Overview SERP pages, seeing a rise in click through rate (CTR).

Alternatively, some users may be reluctant to embrace more AI adaptations on the SERP, as AI Overviews has already seen a decline in site visits for many businesses. One thing is for certain, the Google landscape is rapidly changing and those sites adopting the latest SEO techniques, creating informative content and staying abreast of all the latest changes on the SERP, will be increasingly likely to reap the benefits. 

Google has finished rolling out its second major algorithm update of the year, the June 2025 core update. It began on June 30 and officially wrapped up on July 17, taking just over 16 days to complete.

What is a core update, and why is it important?

Google’s core updates are broad changes to the way it ranks websites in search results. These updates happen a few times a year and are designed to improve the relevance and quality of the content that appears when someone uses Google Search. Rather than fixing a specific issue, a core update looks at the bigger picture to make sure the most useful and helpful content is being shown.

For marketers, this matters because a core update can significantly affect how visible your website is in Google’s search results. Some sites may see a boost in traffic, others might drop, and many will stay the same. The changes are not personal and do not target specific websites, but they reflect Google’s ongoing effort to surface better content for its users.

What happened in the June 2025 update?

The update began at the end of June, with noticeable effects showing up around July 2. During the following two weeks, websites across many industries saw their search rankings shift. Some saw large improvements in visibility, while others experienced drops. Some sites that had been negatively impacted by earlier updates, such as the September 2023 helpful content update, showed signs of recovery.

There was a spike in volatility between July 11 and July 14, when many websites reported sudden changes in rankings. As with most core updates, the impact varied depending on the quality, relevance, and usefulness of a site’s content.

What to do if your website was affected

If your site’s rankings or traffic dropped after this update, it does not necessarily mean something is wrong. Google has stated that a decline is not a penalty. These updates simply reassess content across the web to decide what deserves to rank highest.

Instead of reacting with quick fixes, the best response is to review your content. Ask yourself whether it is original, helpful, and created with people in mind. Make sure your pages answer user questions clearly, show your expertise, and offer real value.

There is no guaranteed way to recover immediately. However, by focusing on creating helpful, high-quality content, your website may improve gradually or during future updates. Google continues to recommend its guide on producing helpful, reliable, people-first content.

Why marketers should care

Core updates directly affect how your site appears in Google Search, which can have a major impact on traffic, leads, and sales. Staying up to date with these changes helps you stay ahead in SEO and avoid sudden losses in visibility.

Even if your site was not affected this time, it is a good reminder to review your content and user experience regularly. That includes making sure your site is fast, mobile-friendly, trustworthy, and built to help users genuinely.

Long-term SEO success comes from consistency. Keep your audience in mind, continue improving your content, and you will be better prepared for whatever Google changes next.

Search advertising is one of the most effective tools for reaching potential customers with high intent. Appearing at the exact moment someone is searching for what you offer is incredibly powerful. But recent findings show that a lack of transparency in Google Ads could be quietly draining your budget, and small brands are likely paying the highest price.

The Unseen Drain on Performance

An independent analysis of over $20 million in Google Ads spend has uncovered a major issue: hidden search terms. These are user queries that trigger ads but aren’t reported back to advertisers. The performance gap is significant:

• $0.85 in waste per $1 spent on hidden terms

• 52% higher CPCs
• 44% lower CTRs

Despite claims that these terms are excluded due to low volume, there’s minimal structural difference between hidden and visible queries. This suggests the exclusion isn’t just about rarity — it may reflect lower-quality traffic that advertisers cannot assess or control.

Impact on Strategic Execution

When performance data is obscured, campaign optimisation becomes guesswork. Budgets are allocated without clarity. ROI tracking becomes fragmented. And the strategy shifts from precision to reactive adjustments.

Brands operating with tight budgets and narrow margins are particularly vulnerable. Without access to full search term data, they lose the ability to fine-tune bidding, refine targeting, and eliminate inefficiencies. In short, they lose control over performance.

Why Visibility Matters More Than Ever

Transparency in performance data isn’t a bonus feature — it’s the foundation of intelligent strategy. The ability to analyse, test, and refine campaigns depends entirely on access to real, actionable information.

Without it, even the best media plan becomes reactive. Marketers deserve better than hidden inefficiencies. They need data they can trust, tools they can control, and platforms that prioritise outcomes, not just impressions.

New data shows that around 13% of the answers in Google’s “People Also Ask” boxes are written by Google’s AI, not pulled from websites. This change could affect how much traffic your content gets from search, but it also points to new opportunities.

What is the People Also Ask box?

When you search on Google, you often see a drop-down box with related questions such as:
“People also ask: What is X? How does it work?”

This feature helps users dig deeper into a topic without doing new searches. When someone clicks a question, Google shows an answer, usually taken from a third-party website, with a link to that page.

Why it matters for marketers:

• It’s a valuable source of organic traffic, especially for informational content (like blog posts or service pages).
• Being featured in these answers helps build visibility and authority for your brand in search results.
• It often appears high on the page, sometimes even before standard links, so ranking here gives you prime real estate.

What are Google AI Overviews?

AI Overviews are summaries that Google generates using artificial intelligence. Instead of linking to a website, Google’s AI tries to answer the question directly, based on what it has learned from scanning the web.

You’ll often see these appear at the very top of a results page, especially for more complex or multi-part questions.

• These AI answers can replace or push down traditional links in search results.
• If Google answers a user’s question directly, they may never click through to your website, which can hurt your traffic.
• At the same time, they give clues about what information Google thinks is missing, and that’s a signal you can use to shape your content.

What’s happening now?

An analysis of over 8.4 million English-language “People Also Ask” results found that 12.6% of answers are now AI-generated, rather than pulled from existing web pages. That’s according to Mark Williams-Cook, founder of SEO tool Also Asked.

This shift impacts both SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and content marketing.

• Less visibility: If Google’s AI answers a question, fewer people may click through to your site even if you’ve written great content.
• New opportunities: If AI is stepping in, it likely means no page fully answered the question. This shows where you could step in and create a better, more complete piece of content.

When did this start?

Google began inserting AI-generated answers into People Also Ask boxes in November 2024. This is the first large-scale data showing how common it has become. What should you do about it?

• Review your content: Are you answering key questions clearly and completely?
• Fill content gaps: Use tools like Also Asked or Answer the Public to find what users want to know, then answer it better than AI can.

Google is changing how it delivers answers using AI to fill in where it sees gaps. For marketers, this is both a warning sign and an opportunity. If you can produce the most helpful, complete content, you still have a chance to earn visibility even in an AI-first search world.