Search Engine Land

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-550x310.jpg 550w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Microsoft will require explicit user consent signals starting May 5, to ensure compliance with privacy regulations.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920-550x310.jpg 550w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2019/07/Microsoft_Ads_1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>Microsoft Advertising will require advertisers to provide explicit user consent signals <a href="https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en/blog/post/march-2025/providing-user-consent-signals-on-your-microsoft-campaigns-by-may-5-2025" target="_blank" rel="noopener">starting May 5</a>. </p>



<p>First <a href="https://searchengineland.com/microsoft-consent-compliance-advertisers-453415">communicated to advertisers a few weeks ago</a>, this change ensures compliance with global privacy regulations while maintaining the ability to gather insights that optimize ad performance.</p>



<p><strong>Why we care.</strong> As data privacy concerns grow, businesses face increasing pressure to protect personal information. Microsoft’s enforcement of Consent Mode offers a way to balance privacy with performance, reinforcing trust while meeting regulatory requirements.</p>



<p><strong>What is Consent Mode?</strong> Consent Mode is a feature from Microsoft Advertising that respects user privacy preferences while allowing advertisers to track conversions and optimize campaigns. It adjusts cookie access based on user consent, using the <code>ad_storage</code> parameter to either allow or block cookies. This applies to:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Universal Event Tracking (UET) on the Microsoft Advertising Platform.</li>



<li>Universal Pixel, Segment, and Conversion pixels within Microsoft Invest, Curate, or Monetize.</li>
</ul>



<p>Consent signals can also be shared through the IAB’s Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) or directly via a Consent Management Platform (CMP).</p>



<p><strong>How to implement Consent Mode</strong>. Businesses can send user consent signals using one of these three options:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Direct integration</strong>. Implement Consent Mode with UET, Universal Pixel, Segment, or Conversion pixels.</li>



<li><strong>IAB framework</strong>. Pass consent signals directly in a TCF 2.0 string or through a CMP.</li>



<li><strong>Third-party tools.</strong> Integrate Microsoft’s Consent Mode through tools like Google Tag Manager.</li>
</ul>


Microsoft Advertising will require advertisers to provide explicit user consent signals starting May 5. 
First communicated to advertisers a few weeks ago, this change ensures compliance with global privacy regulations while maintaining the ability to gather insights that optimize ad performance.
Why we care. As data privacy concerns grow, businesses face increasing pressure to protect personal information. Microsoft’s enforcement of Consent Mode offers a way to balance privacy with performance, reinforcing trust while meeting regulatory requirements.
What is Consent Mode? Consent Mode is a feature from Microsoft Advertising that respects user privacy preferences while allowing advertisers to track conversions and optimize campaigns. It adjusts cookie access based on user consent, using the ad_storage parameter to either allow or block cookies. This applies to:
Universal Event Tracking (UET) on the Microsoft Advertising Platform.
Universal Pixel, Segment, and Conversion pixels within Microsoft Invest, Curate, or Monetize.
Consent signals can also be shared through the IAB’s Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) or directly via a Consent Management Platform (CMP).
How to implement Consent Mode. Businesses can send user consent signals using one of these three options:
Direct integration. Implement Consent Mode with UET, Universal Pixel, Segment, or Conversion pixels.
IAB framework. Pass consent signals directly in a TCF 2.0 string or through a CMP.
Third-party tools. Integrate Microsoft’s Consent Mode through tools like Google Tag Manager.

Microsoft will require explicit user consent signals starting May 5, to ensure compliance with privacy regulations.

Microsoft Advertising will start enforcing Consent Mode in May

<div><img width="800" height="457" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-800x457.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Google" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-800x457.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-592x338.jpg 592w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-198x113.jpg 198w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-768x439.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-1536x878.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-150x86.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Google updates Unfair Advantage Policy to allow advertisers to show multiple ads for the same business in different ad locations.

<div><img width="800" height="457" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-800x457.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Google" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-800x457.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-592x338.jpg 592w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-198x113.jpg 198w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-768x439.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-1536x878.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920-150x86.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/google-data-syntax-1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>Google Ads will update its Unfair Advantage Policy to clarify that the restriction on showing more than one ad at a time for the same business, app, or site only applies within a single ad location. </p>



<p>This change, staring April 14, follows recent experiments allowing multiple ads from the same advertiser in different locations on the search results page.</p>



<p><strong>What&#8217;s happening.</strong></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Double serving now permitted:</strong> Advertisers can now run multiple ads for the same business, app, or site on a single search results page—provided they occupy different ad locations. This could potentially increase visibility and clicks for top advertisers but may also intensify competition for smaller players.</li>



<li><strong>Shifting auction dynamics:</strong> Google’s <a href="https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/16083544?hl=en">updated policy</a> leverages different ad locations to run separate auctions, allowing businesses to secure multiple placements. This adjustment aligns with Google’s evolving approach to ads, such as mixing ads with organic results and redefining top ad placements last year.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Why we care. </strong>This update opens up opportunities to dominate search results by showing multiple ads for the same business in different ad locations. This could lead to increased visibility, higher click-through rates, and more conversions. </p>



<p>However, it may also drive up competition and costs, especially for smaller advertisers, as larger brands gain more SERP real estate. Understanding this change is crucial for adapting bidding and placement strategies to stay competitive.</p>



<p><strong>Industry reactions.</strong> Digital marketing expert Navah Hopkins of Optmyzr noted on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/navahhopkins_google-is-officially-making-it-fair-game-activity-7311501557420716032-wpNW/">LinkedIn</a>:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>&#8220;Google is officially making it fair game to have more than one spot on the SERP. I have thoughts on this, but I want to see how performance actually shakes out in Q2.&#8221;</li>
</ul>



<p>Digital marketing expert Boris Beceric commented that Google is only chasing the money: </p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>&#8220;Another case of Google liking money more than a good user experience&#8230;not even talking from an advertiser&#8217;s perspective.&#8221;</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Bigger picture.</strong> This policy shift marks another fundamental change in Google Ads’ long-standing practices, raising questions about how SERP real estate and competition will evolve.</p>



<p><strong>Bottom line.</strong> This update could create new opportunities for advertisers to dominate search results, but it might also make it harder for smaller businesses to compete. The real impact will become clearer as the industry adapts in the coming months.</p>


Google Ads will update its Unfair Advantage Policy to clarify that the restriction on showing more than one ad at a time for the same business, app, or site only applies within a single ad location. 
This change, staring April 14, follows recent experiments allowing multiple ads from the same advertiser in different locations on the search results page.
What’s happening.
Double serving now permitted: Advertisers can now run multiple ads for the same business, app, or site on a single search results page—provided they occupy different ad locations. This could potentially increase visibility and clicks for top advertisers but may also intensify competition for smaller players.
Shifting auction dynamics: Google’s updated policy leverages different ad locations to run separate auctions, allowing businesses to secure multiple placements. This adjustment aligns with Google’s evolving approach to ads, such as mixing ads with organic results and redefining top ad placements last year.
Why we care. This update opens up opportunities to dominate search results by showing multiple ads for the same business in different ad locations. This could lead to increased visibility, higher click-through rates, and more conversions. 
However, it may also drive up competition and costs, especially for smaller advertisers, as larger brands gain more SERP real estate. Understanding this change is crucial for adapting bidding and placement strategies to stay competitive.
Industry reactions. Digital marketing expert Navah Hopkins of Optmyzr noted on LinkedIn:
“Google is officially making it fair game to have more than one spot on the SERP. I have thoughts on this, but I want to see how performance actually shakes out in Q2.”
Digital marketing expert Boris Beceric commented that Google is only chasing the money: 
“Another case of Google liking money more than a good user experience…not even talking from an advertiser’s perspective.”
Bigger picture. This policy shift marks another fundamental change in Google Ads’ long-standing practices, raising questions about how SERP real estate and competition will evolve.
Bottom line. This update could create new opportunities for advertisers to dominate search results, but it might also make it harder for smaller businesses to compete. The real impact will become clearer as the industry adapts in the coming months.

Google updates Unfair Advantage Policy to allow advertisers to show multiple ads for the same business in different ad locations.

Google Ads policy update: More ads, new rules

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Reddit SEO: Everything you need to know" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Reddit Ads’ new tools simplify campaign management, enhance performance tracking, and make it easier for SMBs to reach niche audiences effectively.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Reddit SEO: Everything you need to know" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Reddit-SEO-Everything-you-need-to-know.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>Reddit Ads is introducing a suite of new tools aimed at helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) streamline campaign management, optimize ad performance, and improve data accuracy.</p>



<p><strong>Easier Campaign Setup and Management</strong>:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Campaign Import</strong>. Reddit Ads now allows advertisers to import campaigns directly from Meta in just three steps. After signing into their Meta account within Reddit Ads Manager, users can select an ad account and campaign to import, then customize it to fit Reddit’s platform. This seamless process enables advertisers to leverage high-performing Meta ads on Reddit quickly.</li>



<li><strong>Simplified Campaign QA</strong>. A new review page in the Reddit Ads Manager now consolidates all campaign details for a clear overview. Advertisers can easily identify errors or inconsistencies and make edits before publishing.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Enhanced Signal Quality and Conversion Tracking</strong>:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>1-Click GTM Integration for Reddit Pixel</strong>. Setting up Reddit’s website conversions tag just got easier. With the new Google Tag Manager (GTM) integration, advertisers can install the Reddit Pixel in a few clicks, enabling fast and accurate conversion tracking. This simplifies measuring customer journeys and optimizing lower-funnel strategies.</li>



<li><strong>Event Manager QA.</strong> The Events Manager’s enhanced Events Overview page now provides a detailed breakdown of conversion events from the Reddit Pixel or Conversions API (CAPI). This update helps advertisers verify event data accuracy, troubleshoot issues, and run effective lower-funnel campaigns.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Why we care. </strong>The new Campaign Import feature lets advertisers quickly repurpose high-performing Meta ads on Reddit, saving time and effort. The simplified QA tools helps with quality checking to reduce as many errors as possible before launch, while the 1-click GTM integration and improved Event Manager provide deeper insights into customer behavior and campaign performance</p>



<p><strong>Bottom line.</strong> <a href="https://www.business.reddit.com/blog">These updates</a> reflect Reddit’s ongoing commitment to making its ad platform more accessible and effective for SMBs. By reducing setup friction and providing better visibility into campaign performance, Reddit Ads aims to help businesses reach niche communities and drive impactful results.</p>



<p></p>


Reddit Ads is introducing a suite of new tools aimed at helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) streamline campaign management, optimize ad performance, and improve data accuracy.
Easier Campaign Setup and Management:
Campaign Import. Reddit Ads now allows advertisers to import campaigns directly from Meta in just three steps. After signing into their Meta account within Reddit Ads Manager, users can select an ad account and campaign to import, then customize it to fit Reddit’s platform. This seamless process enables advertisers to leverage high-performing Meta ads on Reddit quickly.
Simplified Campaign QA. A new review page in the Reddit Ads Manager now consolidates all campaign details for a clear overview. Advertisers can easily identify errors or inconsistencies and make edits before publishing.
Enhanced Signal Quality and Conversion Tracking:
1-Click GTM Integration for Reddit Pixel. Setting up Reddit’s website conversions tag just got easier. With the new Google Tag Manager (GTM) integration, advertisers can install the Reddit Pixel in a few clicks, enabling fast and accurate conversion tracking. This simplifies measuring customer journeys and optimizing lower-funnel strategies.
Event Manager QA. The Events Manager’s enhanced Events Overview page now provides a detailed breakdown of conversion events from the Reddit Pixel or Conversions API (CAPI). This update helps advertisers verify event data accuracy, troubleshoot issues, and run effective lower-funnel campaigns.
Why we care. The new Campaign Import feature lets advertisers quickly repurpose high-performing Meta ads on Reddit, saving time and effort. The simplified QA tools helps with quality checking to reduce as many errors as possible before launch, while the 1-click GTM integration and improved Event Manager provide deeper insights into customer behavior and campaign performance
Bottom line. These updates reflect Reddit’s ongoing commitment to making its ad platform more accessible and effective for SMBs. By reducing setup friction and providing better visibility into campaign performance, Reddit Ads aims to help businesses reach niche communities and drive impactful results.

Reddit Ads’ new tools simplify campaign management, enhance performance tracking, and make it easier for SMBs to reach niche audiences effectively.

Reddit Ads rolls out new SMB tools to boost campaign performance

<div><img width="800" height="491" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond-800x491.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="The next wave of search: AI Mode, deep research and beyond" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond-800x491.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond-550x338.png 550w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond-184x113.png 184w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond-768x472.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond-1536x943.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Discover how deep research and agentic AI models are transforming search and the way users find information.

<div><img width="800" height="491" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond-800x491.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="The next wave of search: AI Mode, deep research and beyond" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond-800x491.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond-550x338.png 550w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond-184x113.png 184w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond-768x472.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond-1536x943.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/The-next-wave-of-search-AI-Mode-deep-research-and-beyond.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>With the rise of AI-powered features, search engines are not just directing users to information but delivering answers directly. </p>



<p>This shift is redefining how people interact with the web, raising questions about the future of <a href="https://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo">SEO</a>, content discovery, and digital marketing. </p>



<p>Here’s what’s coming next.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-chatgpt-to-grok-3-the-breakneck-pace-of-ai-advancements">From ChatGPT to Grok 3: The breakneck pace of AI advancements</h2>



<p>The world has seen rapid and significant advances in AI technology and <a href="https://searchengineland.com/seo-guide-large-language-models-413227">large language models</a> (LLMs) within two years.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Looking back just three years ago, Google’s Gemini and Meta’s LLAMA did not exist, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT was later released in late November 2022.&nbsp;</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Fast-forward to January 2025, the public was introduced to <a href="https://searchengineland.com/deepseek-seo-452008">DeepSeek R1</a>. This open-source large language reasoning model astounded the AI community with its speed, efficiency, and affordability, especially compared to OpenAI’s o1 GPT model. </li>



<li>A few weeks later, Elon Musk&#8217;s company xAI launched Grok 3, which impressed users by topping a key AI leaderboard with its complexity and fewer guardrails (see: unhinged mode).</li>



<li>More recently, Anthropic released Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Claude Code, an LLM that excels at code creation and debugging to a degree that has made many software engineers a bit uneasy.</li>
</ul>



<p>These LLMs are just the beginning of AI’s rapid progress, with more breakthroughs on the way.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-google-s-ai-mode-a-glimpse-of-the-future-nbsp">Google’s AI Mode: A glimpse of the future&nbsp;</h2>



<p>AI isn’t just bringing new products – it’s transforming existing ones, too.</p>



<p>On March 5, Google announced they were expanding <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-ai-overviews-everything-you-need-to-know-449399">AI Overviews</a> with a <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-begins-testing-ai-mode-while-rolling-out-gemini-2-0-ai-overviews-452993">new experimental feature</a> called <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-ai-mode-what-matters-seo-marketing-453461">AI Mode</a>. </p>



<p>This interactive feature allows users to:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Engage with web search in a chat-like manner through multimodal understanding.</li>



<li>Refine long-tail queries in a back-and-forth manner. </li>
</ul>



<p>AI Mode, powered by <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-gemini-2-0-coming-to-search-and-ai-overviews-449193">Gemini 2.0</a>, enhances research using a &#8220;query fan-out&#8221; technique to gather real-time data from multiple sources and generate detailed, in-depth summaries.</p>



<p>This may make SEOs uncomfortable, as it potentially reduces clicks to publisher sites and further promotes a zero-click ecosystem.&nbsp;</p>



<p>With Google integrating Gemini 2.0 into its suite of products and its dominance of <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-search-market-share-drops-2024-450497">89% of the search industry</a>, its AI innovations demand close attention.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These technologies will likely be added to search, and AI Mode offers a preview of what’s ahead.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-two-terms-for-the-future-of-search-agentic-and-deep-research-nbsp">Two terms for the future of search: Agentic and deep research&nbsp;</h2>



<p>We’ll likely hear two terms used more often in the AI and search space:&nbsp;</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://searchengineland.com/ai-agents-digital-marketing-448342">Agentic AI</a> models.</li>



<li>Deep research models. </li>
</ul>



<p>Deep research models can browse the web and focus on conducting intensive, in-depth research to provide users with informative summaries on complex topics. </p>



<p>Unlike previous LLMs, which use a single-step information retrieval system through <a href="https://searchengineland.com/how-search-generative-experience-works-and-why-retrieval-augmented-generation-is-our-future-433393">RAG</a> (retrieval-augmented generation), deep research and agentic models can:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Conduct multi-step research through a series of actions, pulling information from multiple sources to provide comprehensive summaries to the user. </li>



<li>Take proactive actions, such as executing tasks and complex instructions. </li>
</ul>



<p>Google’s <a href="https://deepmind.google/technologies/project-mariner/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Project Mariner</a> and OpenAI’s <a href="https://openai.com/index/introducing-operator/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Operator</a> already showcase these capabilities by allowing users to perform tasks within their browsers while understanding multi-modal elements such as text, images, and forms.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: </em></strong><a href="https://searchengineland.com/openai-deep-research-seo-strategies-453012"><strong><em>How to use OpenAI’s Deep Research for smarter SEO strategies</em></strong></a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-these-models-could-change-search">How these models could change search</h2>



<p>Suppose you want to plan a trip to Tokyo and know the best season to go, the weather, and where to stay.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Typically, this type of research takes a few days or weeks, and you gather information from various sources, such as travel websites or YouTube videos.<br><br>A deep research model can do the heavy lifting by searching the web, gathering information, and summarizing relevant content, which saves you time. </p>



<p>It can also “read, listen, and watch” various sources to provide a thorough answer.&nbsp;</p>



<p>An agentic model could also book your hotels and flights, navigating checkout flows to complete the purchase.</p>



<p>AI is moving in this direction as companies like Google work toward AGI (<a href="https://deepmind.google/discover/the-podcast/the-road-to-agi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">artificial general intelligence</a>) – machines that can reason across diverse tasks like humans.</p>



<p>Deep research and agentic models are key milestones in building practical AI solutions for everyday use.</p>



<p>AI Overviews have already <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-ai-overviews-harms-webpages-study-452605">impacted click behavior and organic traffic</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Now, we must consider these AI features’ long-term effects on the content ecosystem.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-could-the-future-search-landscape-look-like">What could the future search landscape look like?</h2>



<p>Google’s AI Overviews and agentic advancements are here to stay.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If AI Mode succeeds, it will be the first deep research feature in Google Search.&nbsp;</p>



<p>So, what’s next for the search landscape?&nbsp;</p>



<p>Here are some possibilities.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-continual-rise-of-zero-click-searches">Continual rise of zero-click searches</h3>



<p>Since launching in May 2024, <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-organic-paid-ctr-down-451619#:~:text=Google%20AI%20Overviews%20are%20contributing,or%20without%20AI%20Overviews%20shown.&amp;text=Organic%20and%20paid%20click%2Dthrough,whether%20AI%20Overviews%20were%20present.">AI Overviews have significantly reduced clicks</a> to informational queries.</p>



<p>As AI search capabilities advance, users will likely rely even more on AI tools for quick answers rather than clicking through to websites or articles.&nbsp;</p>



<p>AI Mode and future search innovations could accelerate this shift by prioritizing fast, AI-generated summaries over traditional browsing.</p>



<p>As zero-click searches become the norm, you must rethink how you measure value and engagement.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Traditional KPIs may no longer accurately reflect user behavior, so focusing on brand visibility and awareness will be more critical than ever.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-increased-personalization">Increased personalization</h3>



<p>LLMs and AI systems are revolutionizing search by personalizing responses with unmatched speed and scale, surpassing traditional algorithms.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Leveraging Google’s vast user data, AI can train on existing information and refine queries in real-time to deliver more tailored results.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As these systems continuously learn, they will become even better at recognizing, remembering, and adapting to individual user preferences.</p>



<p>As AI-driven search becomes more personalized, it&#8217;s worth considering whether hyper-niche content is the key to reaching your audience.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-multimodal-search">Multimodal search</h3>



<p>Google’s AI-powered multimodal capabilities are already embedded in many of its products, including Project Astra, an AI assistant unveiled at Google I/O 2024.</p>



<p>During a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXVvvRhiGjI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">live de</a>monstration, Astra used multiple tools – such as Google Lens – to identify objects in real time and respond to voice queries.</p>



<p>In <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cmediamarketing_one-of-my-favorite-highlights-from-google-activity-7197107358647427073-1EAd?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAACbsjOgBG2Ed49kL1X62uoMZZPTg55Ol_Rs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">my own experience</a> at Google I/O, the AI assistant:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Accurately classified animal figurines.</li>



<li>Distinguished between similar names (“Bob” vs. “Rob”).</li>



<li>Even created a story about the figures.</li>
</ul>



<p>While some of these advanced features haven’t been integrated into Google Search yet, multimodal search through Google Lens and voice search is already shaping how users submit queries.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As Google develops these capabilities, you should anticipate what&#8217;s next, look beyond text-based queries, and <a href="https://searchengineland.com/visual-content-seo-images-videos-447306">optimize for image, video</a>, and audio search.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: </em></strong><a href="https://searchengineland.com/from-search-to-ai-agents-the-future-of-digital-experiences-451932"><strong><em>From search to AI agents: The future of digital experiences</em></strong></a></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-commercial-queries-can-still-draw-users-to-websites">Commercial queries can still draw users to websites</h3>



<p>AI-generated results have reduced clicks for informational queries, but commercial and transactional searches still offer opportunities for website traffic.</p>



<p>During the decision-making process, potential buyers research extensively – comparing products, reading reviews, and exploring multiple channels before making a purchase.</p>



<p>While it’s unclear how AI-generated search will impact this journey, think about how AI can streamline multi-touchpoint decision-making while still driving users to your website.</p>



<p>When users move closer to making a purchase, user-generated content – like reviews – will still play a crucial role in conversions.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-content-quality-still-rules">Content quality still rules</h2>



<p>Despite AI’s growing role in search, one thing remains constant: high-quality content is essential.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Whether users rely on traditional search engines or LLMs, visibility will still depend on the strength of the content itself.</p>



<p>Since both Google Search and LLMs use RAG to pull from vast datasets, ensuring these systems have access to accurate, high-quality information is critical.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Content demonstrating <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-e-e-a-t-guide-seo-394191">E-E-A-T </a>(experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) will continue to rank higher in AI-driven search results.</p>



<p>Your brand will also play a bigger role in search visibility, making it essential to create valuable, well-optimized content across multiple formats.</p>



<p><strong><em>Dig deeper: <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-eeat-quality-assessment-signals-449261">Decoding Google’s E-E-A-T: A comprehensive guide to quality assessment signals</a></em></strong></p>

With the rise of AI-powered features, search engines are not just directing users to information but delivering answers directly. 
This shift is redefining how people interact with the web, raising questions about the future of SEO, content discovery, and digital marketing. 
Here’s what’s coming next.
From ChatGPT to Grok 3: The breakneck pace of AI advancements
The world has seen rapid and significant advances in AI technology and large language models (LLMs) within two years. 
Looking back just three years ago, Google’s Gemini and Meta’s LLAMA did not exist, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT was later released in late November 2022. 
Fast-forward to January 2025, the public was introduced to DeepSeek R1. This open-source large language reasoning model astounded the AI community with its speed, efficiency, and affordability, especially compared to OpenAI’s o1 GPT model. 
A few weeks later, Elon Musk’s company xAI launched Grok 3, which impressed users by topping a key AI leaderboard with its complexity and fewer guardrails (see: unhinged mode).
More recently, Anthropic released Claude 3.7 Sonnet and Claude Code, an LLM that excels at code creation and debugging to a degree that has made many software engineers a bit uneasy.
These LLMs are just the beginning of AI’s rapid progress, with more breakthroughs on the way. 
Google’s AI Mode: A glimpse of the future 
AI isn’t just bringing new products – it’s transforming existing ones, too.
On March 5, Google announced they were expanding AI Overviews with a new experimental feature called AI Mode. 
This interactive feature allows users to:
Engage with web search in a chat-like manner through multimodal understanding.
Refine long-tail queries in a back-and-forth manner. 
AI Mode, powered by Gemini 2.0, enhances research using a “query fan-out” technique to gather real-time data from multiple sources and generate detailed, in-depth summaries.
This may make SEOs uncomfortable, as it potentially reduces clicks to publisher sites and further promotes a zero-click ecosystem. 
With Google integrating Gemini 2.0 into its suite of products and its dominance of 89% of the search industry, its AI innovations demand close attention. 
These technologies will likely be added to search, and AI Mode offers a preview of what’s ahead.
Two terms for the future of search: Agentic and deep research 
We’ll likely hear two terms used more often in the AI and search space: 
Agentic AI models.
Deep research models. 
Deep research models can browse the web and focus on conducting intensive, in-depth research to provide users with informative summaries on complex topics. 
Unlike previous LLMs, which use a single-step information retrieval system through RAG (retrieval-augmented generation), deep research and agentic models can:
Conduct multi-step research through a series of actions, pulling information from multiple sources to provide comprehensive summaries to the user. 
Take proactive actions, such as executing tasks and complex instructions. 
Google’s Project Mariner and OpenAI’s Operator already showcase these capabilities by allowing users to perform tasks within their browsers while understanding multi-modal elements such as text, images, and forms.
Dig deeper: How to use OpenAI’s Deep Research for smarter SEO strategies
How these models could change search
Suppose you want to plan a trip to Tokyo and know the best season to go, the weather, and where to stay. 
Typically, this type of research takes a few days or weeks, and you gather information from various sources, such as travel websites or YouTube videos.
A deep research model can do the heavy lifting by searching the web, gathering information, and summarizing relevant content, which saves you time. 
It can also “read, listen, and watch” various sources to provide a thorough answer. 
An agentic model could also book your hotels and flights, navigating checkout flows to complete the purchase.
AI is moving in this direction as companies like Google work toward AGI (artificial general intelligence) – machines that can reason across diverse tasks like humans.
Deep research and agentic models are key milestones in building practical AI solutions for everyday use.
AI Overviews have already impacted click behavior and organic traffic. 
Now, we must consider these AI features’ long-term effects on the content ecosystem.

					
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What could the future search landscape look like?
Google’s AI Overviews and agentic advancements are here to stay. 
If AI Mode succeeds, it will be the first deep research feature in Google Search. 
So, what’s next for the search landscape? 
Here are some possibilities.
Continual rise of zero-click searches
Since launching in May 2024, AI Overviews have significantly reduced clicks to informational queries.
As AI search capabilities advance, users will likely rely even more on AI tools for quick answers rather than clicking through to websites or articles. 
AI Mode and future search innovations could accelerate this shift by prioritizing fast, AI-generated summaries over traditional browsing.
As zero-click searches become the norm, you must rethink how you measure value and engagement. 
Traditional KPIs may no longer accurately reflect user behavior, so focusing on brand visibility and awareness will be more critical than ever.
Increased personalization
LLMs and AI systems are revolutionizing search by personalizing responses with unmatched speed and scale, surpassing traditional algorithms. 
Leveraging Google’s vast user data, AI can train on existing information and refine queries in real-time to deliver more tailored results. 
As these systems continuously learn, they will become even better at recognizing, remembering, and adapting to individual user preferences.
As AI-driven search becomes more personalized, it’s worth considering whether hyper-niche content is the key to reaching your audience.
Multimodal search
Google’s AI-powered multimodal capabilities are already embedded in many of its products, including Project Astra, an AI assistant unveiled at Google I/O 2024.
During a live demonstration, Astra used multiple tools – such as Google Lens – to identify objects in real time and respond to voice queries.
In my own experience at Google I/O, the AI assistant:
Accurately classified animal figurines.
Distinguished between similar names (“Bob” vs. “Rob”).
Even created a story about the figures.
While some of these advanced features haven’t been integrated into Google Search yet, multimodal search through Google Lens and voice search is already shaping how users submit queries. 
As Google develops these capabilities, you should anticipate what’s next, look beyond text-based queries, and optimize for image, video, and audio search.
Dig deeper: From search to AI agents: The future of digital experiences
Commercial queries can still draw users to websites
AI-generated results have reduced clicks for informational queries, but commercial and transactional searches still offer opportunities for website traffic.
During the decision-making process, potential buyers research extensively – comparing products, reading reviews, and exploring multiple channels before making a purchase.
While it’s unclear how AI-generated search will impact this journey, think about how AI can streamline multi-touchpoint decision-making while still driving users to your website.
When users move closer to making a purchase, user-generated content – like reviews – will still play a crucial role in conversions.
Content quality still rules
Despite AI’s growing role in search, one thing remains constant: high-quality content is essential. 
Whether users rely on traditional search engines or LLMs, visibility will still depend on the strength of the content itself.
Since both Google Search and LLMs use RAG to pull from vast datasets, ensuring these systems have access to accurate, high-quality information is critical. 
Content demonstrating E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) will continue to rank higher in AI-driven search results.
Your brand will also play a bigger role in search visibility, making it essential to create valuable, well-optimized content across multiple formats.
Dig deeper: Decoding Google’s E-E-A-T: A comprehensive guide to quality assessment signals

Discover how deep research and agentic AI models are transforming search and the way users find information.

The next wave of search: AI Mode, deep research and beyond

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Pagination-and-SEO-What-you-need-to-know-in-2025-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pagination and SEO: What you need to know in 2025" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Pagination-and-SEO-What-you-need-to-know-in-2025-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Pagination-and-SEO-What-you-need-to-know-in-2025-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Pagination-and-SEO-What-you-need-to-know-in-2025-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Pagination-and-SEO-What-you-need-to-know-in-2025-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Pagination-and-SEO-What-you-need-to-know-in-2025-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Pagination-and-SEO-What-you-need-to-know-in-2025.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Learn how search engines handle paginated content, plus tips to prevent indexing issues and boost crawl efficiency.

Ever wondered why some of your ecommerce products or blog posts never appear on Google? 
The way your site handles pagination could be the reason.
This article explores the complexities of pagination – what it is, whether your site needs it for SEO, and how it affects search in 2025. 
What is pagination?
Examples of pagination in action.
Why is pagination important for SEO?
Google’s deprecation of rel=prev/next.
Why pagination is still important in 2025: The infinite scroll debate.
How JavaScript can interfere with pagination.
How to handle indexing and canonical tags for paginated URLs.
What is pagination?
Pagination is the coding and technical framework on webpages that allows content to be divided across multiple pages while remaining thematically connected to the original parent page.
When a single page contains too much content to load efficiently, pagination helps by breaking it into smaller sections.
This improves user experience and unburdens the client (i.e., web browser) from loading too much information – much of which may not even be reviewed by the user.
Examples of pagination in action
Product listings
One common example of pagination is navigating multiple pages of product results within a single product feed or category. 
Let’s look at Virgin Experience Days, a site that sells gifted experiences similar to Red Letter Days.
Take their Mother’s Day experiences page:
https://www.virginexperiencedays.co.uk/mothers-day-gifts
Scroll down to the “All Mother’s Day Experiences & Gift Ideas Experiences” section, and you’ll see a staggering 1,635 experiences to choose from. 
That’s a lot.

Clearly, listing all of them on a single page wouldn’t be practical. 
It would result in excessive vertical scrolling and could slow down page loading times.
Further down the page, you’ll find pagination links:

Clicking a pagination link moves users to separate product listing pages, such as page 2:
https://www.virginexperiencedays.co.uk/mothers-day-gifts?page=2
In the URL, ?page=2 appears as a parameter extension, a common pagination syntax. 
Variations include ?p=2 or /page/2/, but the purpose remains the same – allowing users to browse additional pages of listings. 
Even major retailers like Amazon use similar pagination structures.
Pagination also helps search engines discover deeply nested products. 
If a site is so large that all its products can’t be listed in a single XML sitemap, pagination links provide an additional way for crawlers to access them. 
Even when XML sitemaps are in place, internal linking remains important for SEO. 
While pagination links aren’t the strongest ranking signal, they serve a foundational role in ensuring content is discoverable.
Dig deeper: Internal linking for ecommerce: The ultimate guide
Blog and news feeds
Pagination isn’t limited to product listings, it’s also widely used in blog and news feeds. 
Take Search Engine Land’s SEO article archive:
https://searchengineland.com/library/seo
In this page, you can access a feed of all SEO-related posts on Search Engine Land. 

Scrolling down, you’ll find pagination links. 
Clicking “2” takes you to the next set of SEO articles:
https://searchengineland.com/library/seo/page/2
Pagination inside content
Pagination can also exist within individual pieces of content rather than at a feed level. 
For example, some news websites paginate comment sections when a single article receives thousands of comments. 
Similarly, forum threads with extensive discussions often use pagination to break up replies across multiple pages.
Consider this post from WPBeginner:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-choose-the-best-blogging-platform/
Scroll to the bottom, and you’ll see that even the comment section uses pagination to organize user responses.

Why is pagination important for SEO?
Pagination plays a crucial role in SEO for several reasons:
Indexing
Without pagination, search crawlers may struggle to find deeply nested content such as blog posts, news articles, products, and comments.
Crawl efficiency
Pagination increases the number of URLs on a site, which might seem counterproductive to efficient crawling. 
However, most search engines recognize common pagination structures – even without rich markup. 
This understanding allows them to prioritize crawling more valuable content while ignoring less important paginated pages.
Internal linking
Pagination also contributes to internal linking.
While pagination links don’t carry significant link authority, they provide structure. 
Google tends to pay less attention to orphaned pages – those without inbound links – so pagination can help ensure content remains connected.
Managing content duplication
If URLs aren’t structured properly, search engines may mistakenly identify them as duplicate content. 
Pagination isn’t as strong a signal for content consolidation as redirects or canonical tags.
Still, when implemented correctly, it helps search engines differentiate between paginated pages and true duplicates.
Google’s deprecation of rel=prev/next
Google previously supported rel=prev/next for declaring paginated content. 
However, in March 2019, it was revealed that Google had not used this markup for some time. 
As a result, these tags are no longer necessary in a website’s code.
Google likely used rel=prev/next to study common pagination structures. 
Over time, those insights were integrated into its core algorithms, making the markup redundant. 
Some SEOs believe these tags may still help with crawling, but there is little evidence to support this.
If your site doesn’t use this markup, there’s no need to worry. Google can still recognize paginated URLs. 
If your site uses it, there’s also no urgent need to remove it, as it won’t negatively impact your SEO.

					
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Why pagination is still important in 2025: The infinite scroll debate
Alternate methods for browsing large amounts of content have emerged over the past couple of decades.
“View more” or “Load more” buttons often appear under comment streams, while infinite scroll or lazy-loaded feeds are common for posts and products. 
Some argue these features are more user-friendly. 
Originally pioneered by social networks such as Twitter (now X), this form of navigation helped boost social interactions. 
Some websites have adopted it, but why isn’t it more widespread?
From an SEO perspective, the issue is that search engine crawlers interact with webpages in a limited way. 
While headless browsers may sometimes execute JavaScript-based content during a page load, search crawlers typically don’t “scroll down” to trigger new content. 
A search engine bot certainly won’t scroll indefinitely to load everything. 
As a result, websites relying solely on infinite scroll or lazy loading risk orphaning articles, products, and comments over time.
For major news brands with strong SEO authority and extensive XML sitemaps, this may not be a concern. 
The trade-off between SEO and user experience may be acceptable. 
But for most websites, implementing these technologies is likely a bad idea. 
Search crawlers may not spend time scrolling through content feeds, but they will click hyperlinks – including pagination links.
How JavaScript can interfere with pagination
Even if your site doesn’t use infinite scroll plugins, JavaScript can still interfere with pagination.  
Since July 2024, Google has at least attempted to render JavaScript for all visited pages. 
However, details on this remain vague. 
Does Google render all pages, including JavaScript, at the time of the crawl? 
Or is execution deferred to a separate processing queue? 
How does this affect Google’s ranking algorithms? 
Does Google make initial determinations before executing JavaScript weeks later?
There are no definitive answers to these questions.
What we do know is that “dynamic rendering is on the decline,” according to the 2024 Web Almanac SEO Chapter. 
If Google’s effort to execute JavaScript for all crawled pages is progressing well – which seems unlikely given the potential efficiency drawbacks – why are so many sites reverting to a non-dynamic state? 
This doesn’t mean JavaScript use is disappearing. 
Instead, more sites may be shifting to server-side or edge-side rendering.
If your site uses traditional pagination but JavaScript interferes with pagination links, it can still lead to crawling issues.
For example, your site might use traditional pagination links, but the main content of your page is lazy-loaded.
In turn, the pagination links only appear when a user (or bot) scrolls the page. 
Dig deeper: A guide to diagnosing common JavaScript SEO issues
How to handle indexing and canonical tags for paginated URLs
SEO professionals often recommend using canonical tags to point paginated URLs to their parent pages, marking them as non-canonical. 
This practice was especially common before Google introduced rel=prev/next. 
Since Google deprecated rel=prev/next, many SEOs remain uncertain about the best way to handle pagination URLs.
Avoid blocking paginated content via robots.txt or with canonical tags.
Doing so prevents Google from crawling or indexing those pages. 
In the case of news posts, certain comment exchanges might be considered valuable by Google, potentially connecting a paginated version of an article with keywords that wouldn’t otherwise be associated with it. 
This can generate free traffic – something worth keeping in 2025.
Similarly, restricting the crawling and indexing of paginated product feeds could leave some products effectively soft-orphaned.
In SEO, there’s a tendency to chase perfection and aim for complete crawl control. 
But being overly aggressive here can do more harm than good, so tread carefully.
There are cases where it makes sense to de-canonicalize or limit the crawling of paginated URLs. 
Before taking that step, make sure you have data showing that crawl-efficiency issues outweigh the potential free traffic gains. 
If you don’t have that data, don’t block the URLs. Simple!

Learn how search engines handle paginated content, plus tips to prevent indexing issues and boost crawl efficiency.

Pagination and SEO: What you need to know in 2025

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Affiliate ad hijacking steals your traffic and trust. Learn how to spot it, stop it, and protect your budget with smarter monitoring.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div><div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-800x450.jpg" alt="t affiliate ad hijacking?" class="wp-image-453694" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Bluepear-SEL-20250401.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure></div>


<p>Ad hijacking occurs when dishonest affiliates create ads almost identical to a brand’s official ads.&nbsp;</p>



<p>They copy headlines, text, and display URLs so potential customers assume these ads are legitimate.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In reality, these affiliates, often involved in affiliate hijacking and other affiliate program scams, send clicks through their own tracking links to earn commissions they haven’t really earned.</p>



<p>When this happens inside an affiliate program, it’s called affiliate ad hijacking.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Many hijackers use an affiliate link cloaker to hide the final redirect, preventing brands or ad platforms from seeing the trick. If someone clicks on one of these fake ads, they land on the brand’s site with a hidden affiliate tag, causing the brand to pay a commission for a visitor who would have likely arrived directly or through a proper paid search ad.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-affiliate-hijacking-hurts-your-brand">How affiliate hijacking hurts your brand</h2>



<p>If ad hijacking and other affiliate scams aren’t stopped, they can damage your business and reputation:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Affiliate hijacking makes brands pay extra commissions on sales they would’ve made anyway.&nbsp;</li>



<li>By running ads on a brand’s keywords, hijackers compete with, or even outrank, the official ads, leading to higher cost-per-click (CPC).</li>



<li>Affiliate ad hijacking also distorts performance data by boosting affiliate sales numbers and cutting into your direct or organic traffic.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



<p>Over time, you might make bad decisions, like raising affiliate commissions, based on inflated sales reports. If the hijacker uses an affiliate link cloaker, it becomes even harder to figure out where these sales are coming from.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spotting-ad-hijacking">Spotting ad hijacking</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="800" height="451" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Spotting-ad-hijacking-800x451.png" alt="The list of most recent ad hijackers." class="wp-image-453700" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Spotting-ad-hijacking-800x451.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Spotting-ad-hijacking-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Spotting-ad-hijacking-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Spotting-ad-hijacking-768x433.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Spotting-ad-hijacking.png 1250w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



<p>Recognizing ad hijacking can be tricky since the fake ads often look exactly like yours.&nbsp;</p>



<p>However, these signs might help:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Imitation ads:</strong> Be cautious of ads that copy your official wording, style, or domain but don’t show up in your ad account. Sometimes the displayed URL is identical except for a small punctuation change or extra keyword.</li>



<li><strong>Sudden sales spikes:</strong> If a single affiliate sees a big jump in sales without any new promotion or change in commission, it could be affiliate ad hijacking.</li>



<li><strong>Redirect clues: </strong>An affiliate link cloaker may hide the path users take, but you might spot unusual tracking codes in your analytics or strange referral tags appearing at odd times or in certain locations.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-manual-checks-often-fail">Why manual checks often fail</h2>



<p>Many brands do a quick check, typing their name into a search engine, to spot suspicious ads. But dishonest affiliates can be sneaky: they might only run these ads late at night or in small cities far from your headquarters.</p>



<p>They may also use cloaking, which sends brand monitors or bots to the real site, hiding any wrongdoing. This means you need continuous monitoring in multiple places, plus advanced detection methods, simple, random checks won’t catch everything.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-adidas-example-over-100-incidents-in-40-days">The Adidas example: Over 100 incidents in 40 days</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="800" height="451" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Adidas-Example-800x451.png" alt="An example of affiliate ad hijacking." class="wp-image-453697" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Adidas-Example-800x451.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Adidas-Example-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Adidas-Example-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Adidas-Example-768x433.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/Adidas-Example.png 1250w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



<p>A clear example is Adidas. Over 40 days, Bluepear uncovered repeated ad hijacking and online ad fraud targeting Adidas’s branded search results.&nbsp;</p>



<p>More than 100 cases of affiliate hijacking were found, with some ads appearing above the official ones. Bluepear also saw at least 245 variations of these ads, all designed to stay hidden.</p>



<p>This shows why brands can struggle to catch affiliate ad hijacking on their own. Scammers often place ads in overlooked regions or at off-peak times.</p>



<p>A quick check at the main office might not show any problems, while they’re actively abusing your brand name elsewhere. Some fraudsters see this deception as standard practice, creating new ad variations until they’re exposed.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-bluepear-helps">How Bluepear helps</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="800" height="364" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/How-Bluepear-helps-800x364.png" alt="How bluepear helps" class="wp-image-453699" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/How-Bluepear-helps-800x364.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/How-Bluepear-helps-600x273.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/How-Bluepear-helps-200x91.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/How-Bluepear-helps-768x349.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/How-Bluepear-helps-1536x698.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/How-Bluepear-helps.png 1650w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



<p>Bluepear takes several steps to fight ad hijacking:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>24/7 global monitoring:</strong> It tracks different locations and time zones, so if an affiliate starts bidding on your keyword at 3 AM in a small city, Bluepear will see it.</li>



<li><strong>Detailed evidence:</strong> Every instance of affiliate hijacking gets recorded with clear proof.</li>



<li><strong>Affiliate identification:</strong> You can see exactly which affiliate is responsible.</li>



<li><strong>Ads and landing pages:</strong> The system stores both the ad and the final landing page, making it easy to show proof if there’s a dispute.</li>



<li><strong>Screenshots:</strong> You get actual images of the search engine results page, showing where the fake ad appeared.</li>



<li><strong>Easy violation reporting:</strong> Send a summary of the offense (with timestamps and URLs) straight to the affiliate through Bluepear.</li>
</ul>



<p>In Adidas’s case, Bluepear identified over 100 infringing ads in just 40 days, proof that some affiliates consider trickery a “hijack industry standard.” Because Bluepear constantly checks search engines around the world, it sets a higher bar for compliance.</p>



<p>Some scammers even use multiple affiliate link cloakers or rotate domains to hide. Bluepear’s continuous scanning and data comparisons make it tough for them to stay hidden.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It also simplifies your process – no more struggling with spreadsheets or piecing together incomplete ad reports.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-conclusion">Conclusion</h2>



<p>Ad hijacking seriously threatens brands that value their online reputation and affiliate partnerships.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Bluepear’s continuous global checks, advanced cloaking and click-fraud detection, and in-depth reporting features allowed Adidas to uncover more than 100 affiliate hijacking incidents in 40 days, highlighting how common these schemes can be.</p>



<p>By monitoring your branded keywords and using strong tools like Bluepear, you can protect valuable traffic, keep trust in your affiliate program, and guard against needless spending on fraudulent commissions.</p>


Ad hijacking occurs when dishonest affiliates create ads almost identical to a brand’s official ads. 
They copy headlines, text, and display URLs so potential customers assume these ads are legitimate. 
In reality, these affiliates, often involved in affiliate hijacking and other affiliate program scams, send clicks through their own tracking links to earn commissions they haven’t really earned.
When this happens inside an affiliate program, it’s called affiliate ad hijacking. 
Many hijackers use an affiliate link cloaker to hide the final redirect, preventing brands or ad platforms from seeing the trick. If someone clicks on one of these fake ads, they land on the brand’s site with a hidden affiliate tag, causing the brand to pay a commission for a visitor who would have likely arrived directly or through a proper paid search ad.
How affiliate hijacking hurts your brand
If ad hijacking and other affiliate scams aren’t stopped, they can damage your business and reputation:
Affiliate hijacking makes brands pay extra commissions on sales they would’ve made anyway. 
By running ads on a brand’s keywords, hijackers compete with, or even outrank, the official ads, leading to higher cost-per-click (CPC).
Affiliate ad hijacking also distorts performance data by boosting affiliate sales numbers and cutting into your direct or organic traffic. 
Over time, you might make bad decisions, like raising affiliate commissions, based on inflated sales reports. If the hijacker uses an affiliate link cloaker, it becomes even harder to figure out where these sales are coming from.
Spotting ad hijacking




Recognizing ad hijacking can be tricky since the fake ads often look exactly like yours. 
However, these signs might help:
Imitation ads: Be cautious of ads that copy your official wording, style, or domain but don’t show up in your ad account. Sometimes the displayed URL is identical except for a small punctuation change or extra keyword.
Sudden sales spikes: If a single affiliate sees a big jump in sales without any new promotion or change in commission, it could be affiliate ad hijacking.
Redirect clues: An affiliate link cloaker may hide the path users take, but you might spot unusual tracking codes in your analytics or strange referral tags appearing at odd times or in certain locations.
Why manual checks often fail
Many brands do a quick check, typing their name into a search engine, to spot suspicious ads. But dishonest affiliates can be sneaky: they might only run these ads late at night or in small cities far from your headquarters.
They may also use cloaking, which sends brand monitors or bots to the real site, hiding any wrongdoing. This means you need continuous monitoring in multiple places, plus advanced detection methods, simple, random checks won’t catch everything.
The Adidas example: Over 100 incidents in 40 days




A clear example is Adidas. Over 40 days, Bluepear uncovered repeated ad hijacking and online ad fraud targeting Adidas’s branded search results. 
More than 100 cases of affiliate hijacking were found, with some ads appearing above the official ones. Bluepear also saw at least 245 variations of these ads, all designed to stay hidden.
This shows why brands can struggle to catch affiliate ad hijacking on their own. Scammers often place ads in overlooked regions or at off-peak times.
A quick check at the main office might not show any problems, while they’re actively abusing your brand name elsewhere. Some fraudsters see this deception as standard practice, creating new ad variations until they’re exposed.
How Bluepear helps




Bluepear takes several steps to fight ad hijacking:
24/7 global monitoring: It tracks different locations and time zones, so if an affiliate starts bidding on your keyword at 3 AM in a small city, Bluepear will see it.
Detailed evidence: Every instance of affiliate hijacking gets recorded with clear proof.
Affiliate identification: You can see exactly which affiliate is responsible.
Ads and landing pages: The system stores both the ad and the final landing page, making it easy to show proof if there’s a dispute.
Screenshots: You get actual images of the search engine results page, showing where the fake ad appeared.
Easy violation reporting: Send a summary of the offense (with timestamps and URLs) straight to the affiliate through Bluepear.
In Adidas’s case, Bluepear identified over 100 infringing ads in just 40 days, proof that some affiliates consider trickery a “hijack industry standard.” Because Bluepear constantly checks search engines around the world, it sets a higher bar for compliance.
Some scammers even use multiple affiliate link cloakers or rotate domains to hide. Bluepear’s continuous scanning and data comparisons make it tough for them to stay hidden. 
It also simplifies your process – no more struggling with spreadsheets or piecing together incomplete ad reports.
Conclusion
Ad hijacking seriously threatens brands that value their online reputation and affiliate partnerships. 
Bluepear’s continuous global checks, advanced cloaking and click-fraud detection, and in-depth reporting features allowed Adidas to uncover more than 100 affiliate hijacking incidents in 40 days, highlighting how common these schemes can be.
By monitoring your branded keywords and using strong tools like Bluepear, you can protect valuable traffic, keep trust in your affiliate program, and guard against needless spending on fraudulent commissions.

Affiliate ad hijacking steals your traffic and trust. Learn how to spot it, stop it, and protect your budget with smarter monitoring.

Ad hijacking: Understanding the threat and learning from Adidas by Bluepear

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="How the Google antitrust lawsuit can impact advertisers" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-150x84.png 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Google’s $100 million settlement over AdWords billing practices highlights the importance of transparency and could push for stricter digital advertising regulations.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="How the Google antitrust lawsuit can impact advertisers" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers-150x84.png 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/10/How-the-Google-antitrust-lawsuit-can-impact-advertisers.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>Google concluded a 14-year legal battle over advertising billing practices, agreeing to a substantial settlement without admitting any wrongdoing. The resolution marks a significant moment in the company&#8217;s complex history of digital advertising regulations.</p>



<p><strong>The big picture.</strong> The lawsuit centered on allegations that Google manipulated its AdWords platform between 2004 and 2012, specifically targeting two key issues: artificially reducing advertiser discounts through Smart Pricing and distributing ads beyond advertisers&#8217; designated geographic location.</p>



<p><strong>Context. </strong>Advertisers accused Google of violating California&#8217;s unfair competition law, claiming the tech giant misled participants in its advertising program. The legal process was extraordinarily complex, involving the production of over 910,000 pages of documents and multiple terabytes of click data.</p>



<p><strong>Why we care.</strong> The case highlights the importance of holding platforms accountable for how ad campaigns are billed and targeted. This outcome may encourage stricter regulations and increased scrutiny on ad platforms, prompting companies to demand clearer, more reliable ad practices. </p>



<p>For those who used AdWords from 2004 to 2012, the settlement could mean direct financial compensation. More broadly, it reinforces the need for advertisers to carefully monitor ad performance and billing practices to ensure fair value for their investments.</p>



<p><strong>Financial details.</strong> The settlement totals $100 million, covering advertisers who used AdWords during the specified period. Lawyers for the plaintiffs may receive up to 33% of the settlement fund, with an additional $4.2 million allocated for legal expenses.</p>



<p><strong>What&#8217;s next.</strong> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/google-pay-100-million-settle-advertisers-class-action-2025-03-28/">The settlement</a> requires judicial approval, potentially closing a contentious chapter in digital advertising&#8217;s regulatory landscape. Google maintains its stance of resolving a dispute about &#8220;ad product features changed over a decade ago.&#8221;</p>


Google concluded a 14-year legal battle over advertising billing practices, agreeing to a substantial settlement without admitting any wrongdoing. The resolution marks a significant moment in the company’s complex history of digital advertising regulations.
The big picture. The lawsuit centered on allegations that Google manipulated its AdWords platform between 2004 and 2012, specifically targeting two key issues: artificially reducing advertiser discounts through Smart Pricing and distributing ads beyond advertisers’ designated geographic location.
Context. Advertisers accused Google of violating California’s unfair competition law, claiming the tech giant misled participants in its advertising program. The legal process was extraordinarily complex, involving the production of over 910,000 pages of documents and multiple terabytes of click data.
Why we care. The case highlights the importance of holding platforms accountable for how ad campaigns are billed and targeted. This outcome may encourage stricter regulations and increased scrutiny on ad platforms, prompting companies to demand clearer, more reliable ad practices. 
For those who used AdWords from 2004 to 2012, the settlement could mean direct financial compensation. More broadly, it reinforces the need for advertisers to carefully monitor ad performance and billing practices to ensure fair value for their investments.
Financial details. The settlement totals $100 million, covering advertisers who used AdWords during the specified period. Lawyers for the plaintiffs may receive up to 33% of the settlement fund, with an additional $4.2 million allocated for legal expenses.
What’s next. The settlement requires judicial approval, potentially closing a contentious chapter in digital advertising’s regulatory landscape. Google maintains its stance of resolving a dispute about “ad product features changed over a decade ago.”

Google’s $100 million settlement over AdWords billing practices highlights the importance of transparency and could push for stricter digital advertising regulations.

Google settles $100 Million advertising dispute

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-800x450.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Search marketing jobs" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-800x450.jpg 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-600x338.jpg 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-200x113.jpg 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-768x432.jpg 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-150x84.jpg 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing-550x310.jpg 550w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2021/10/hiring-in-search-marketing.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Land your next job in SEO or PPC. These brands and agencies are hiring to fill open search marketing positions right now.

Looking to take the next step in your search marketing career? 
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Create and manage templates for SEO team deliverables
Create and manage processes for deliverables with associated recommended hours per deliverable
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Salary: $50,000 – $60,000
Analyze client websites to evaluate performance.
Monitor client websites and resolve technical and non-technical SEO issues.
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Salary: $96,000 – $140,000
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Create dashboards and reports to help teams make data-driven decisions.
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Prioritize Google and Reddit optimization initially
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Serve as second escalation step for client issues, concerns or other account-related critical situations, exercising sound judgement in communication, response and escalation.
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Sr. Marketing Manager, Paid Advertising, Pilot.com (Remote)
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Own Paid Media Strategy: Develop and execute a comprehensive paid advertising strategy across platforms like Google and Bing Ads, LinkedIn, Meta and Reddit to drive leads and revenue.
Campaign Management & Optimization: Launch, monitor, and optimize campaigns to hit performance goals, staying within budget and maximizing ROI.
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Manage execution and performance of search, shopping, display, and video advertising campaigns through the full account management life cycle
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<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="5 essential PPC skills every agency pro must have" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-150x84.png 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Where would your career be with 20/20 hindsight? Discover five undervalued skills that will explode in value. Future you will thank you.

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="5 essential PPC skills every agency pro must have" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have-150x84.png 150w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2023/08/5-essential-PPC-skills-every-agency-pro-must-have.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>
<p>I always ask the same hypothetical question to friends and coworkers:</p>



<p><em>If you were 20 years younger with the hindsight you have, what career path would you take differently?</em></p>



<p>It&#8217;s fairly easy to look back. But what&#8217;s (much) harder is to look forward in time and identify areas that will increase in value in the next few years.</p>



<p>Here are five marketing skills I believe will only increase in value in the next few years to expand your expertise and your career path options.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-1-creative-generation">1. Creative generation</h2>



<p>Everybody seems to think creativity is dying, especially since the rise of AI over the past two years.</p>



<p>However, AI is the exact reason why I think the skill of creating smart, engaging, edgy, unique, and thought-provoking creative will be worth its weight in gold.</p>



<p>Creative is advertising&#8217;s founding father. It will never not be at the core of your advertising strategy.</p>



<p>In a sea of average content, which ChatGPT often provides across multiple channels, the ability to stand out from mediocrity will be crucial – particularly for brand building and new businesses in a crowded marketplace.</p>



<p>ChatGPT and Gemini can be the answer when companies want quantity over quality.</p>



<p>Advancements in technology and lower entry points will also allow more people to create high-quality ads, which will no doubt make people raise their game to stand out.</p>



<p>Even for brands where user-generated content is more of the image they want to portray, I believe this will continue to thrive in a world where the stock of authentic content is only going up.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-2-conversion-rate-optimization">2. Conversion rate optimization</h2>



<p>In PPC, we focus so much on investing in what happens before the click that what happens after is neglected and taken for granted.</p>



<p>Out of all the digital marketing skills I&#8217;ve seen over the past 10 years, there is not another that is more underestimated relative to its importance than conversion rate optimization (CRO).</p>



<p>I&#8217;ve been involved in meetings where the primary discussion amongst six or seven business stakeholders is pausing or adding a handful of long tail keywords. Or whether changing a few titles and descriptions in a search ad is going to make a significant difference.</p>



<p>We are guilty of delving into topics of little significance and ignoring areas of core value to a business&#8217;s digital success, such as CRO.</p>



<p>I believe part of this is because it’s often delegated to the developers to fix. Most agencies only care what happens before a user visits the website, while the clients only want to focus on things where they can have an element of control.</p>



<p>CRO is so valuable at the moment because so few agencies offer this outside of small-scale consultancy. There is usually a gap on the client side where they have their marketing team and developers, but no one in between linking ecommerce or lead gen expertise, strategy, and the ability to action any changes.</p>



<p>Those jack-of-all-trades within businesses are normally spread thin because of their versatility. So having someone at the agency side to lead CRO with in-depth user and competitor analysis to back up any hypothesis and recommendations is vital.</p>



<p>You can break it down by numbers to get a better sense of its importance:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>If a website is working at a 5% conversion rate at a £100 AOV with 100,000 unique sessions per month, that&#8217;s £500,000 in revenue per month.</li>
</ul>



<p>Through a CRO service, they identify a number of barriers to conversion for a large % of users, such as:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Inefficient checkout process.</li>



<li>Lack of USPs.</li>



<li>Inefficient use of reviews.</li>



<li>Bloating product page.</li>



<li>Lack of payment providers.</li>



<li>Lack of up-selling strategies.</li>



<li>Slow response time.</li>



<li>Generic USPS. </li>
</ul>



<p>Once the dev and marketing team had reviewed, approved and actioned these changes, conversion rate increased to 6% and AOV £125.</p>



<p>With the same level of advertising dollars spent and the same monthly sessions, that revenue is now £750,000.</p>



<p>A £250k improvement, which over the whole year is £3 million and a 50% uplift in the company&#8217;s annual revenue!</p>



<p>And that&#8217;s just from a one-off service! That value won&#8217;t be underestimated forever.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-omnichannel">3. Omnichannel</h2>



<p>There has always been a healthy form of competition between channel experts for years now.</p>



<p>So often siloed and reported individually with channel-specific creative, an omnichannel approach is rare, whether on the client or agency side. The obsession with attribution has always fueled this separation.</p>



<p>With the growth in marketing mix models (hello, <a href="https://searchengineland.com/exploring-meridian-googles-new-open-source-marketing-mix-model-438754">Meridian</a>), I believe this is a strong sign that we are shifting toward a more omnichannel approach.</p>



<p>The impacts of this may be that we start seeing more channel consultants, client directors or omnichannel specialists.</p>



<p>This will lead to a greater alignment of strategies and consistent messaging across the channels.</p>



<p>We may even see a surge in old-fashioned storytelling, but with modern twists to enhance the customer experience across the different touch points.</p>



<p>When reliant on channel-specific metrics, the individual parts are often greater than the whole. By stepping back and placing a greater strategic emphasis on omnichannel, greater channel collaboration can lead to the whole being greater.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-4-profit-optimization-and-business-economics">4. Profit optimization and business economics</h2>



<p>This is something that has grown in importance over the past two years, but not as quickly as I would have thought.</p>



<p>For a number of years in Google Ads for retail accounts, ROAS is the source of truth. In some cases, clients haven’t changed their ROAS for a number of years, despite increases in manufacturing costs, delivery, competition, etc.</p>



<p>This makes your <a href="https://searchengineland.com/target-roas-key-considerations-431770">Target ROAS</a> more difficult to achieve without lower revenue generation. In some cases, because of those increased expenses, the original target ROAS isn’t even profitable, regardless of revenue generation.</p>



<p>ROAS is mostly an arbitrary metric that gives an account manager a goal to optimize toward. Nothing else. It does not reflect most businesses key objectives and it caps the growth potential of any ad account.</p>



<p>ROAS is only effective if stakeholders have their finger on the pulse of their business economics (e.g., average cost of goods sold, shipping, packaging and handling, discounts). And, spoiler alert, most don’t!</p>



<p>That’s where you come in.</p>



<p>If you have an understanding of general ecommerce business economics, and combine that with executing a profit-first approach with a helping hand from tools such as <a href="https://profitmetrics.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ProfitMetrics</a>, then you will go beyond just the PPC account management sending monthly reports on clicks and CTR.</p>



<p>Suddenly, you will become a business consultant with the ability to structure a PPC account in line with a business&#8217;s key objectives.</p>



<p>With ecommerce markets still struggling, campaign growth becoming more complex with rising costs, increasing competition, and more profitability levers to pull (Google even now has its own tool to focus on more profitable products) the value of integrating account management with profitable tracking and business unit reporting is only going up.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-5-ecommerce-consultancy">5. Ecommerce consultancy </h2>



<p>I’m cheating a little bit here as this skill covers all services, but the value of being able to expand beyond just a PPC specialist and become an all-rounder has never been higher.</p>



<p>AI has levelled the playing field, no more so than for PPC specialists.</p>



<p>For the past few years, PPC management has slowly migrated away from spending the majority of your time in Google Ads focusing on tactical decisions and optimization and toward spending more time on higher-level strategic work. This is largely because of automated features and tools that do most of the heavy lifting (PMax, RSAs, AARs, Smart bidding, etc.).</p>



<p>PPC specialists who want to stay relevant and future-proof themselves may want to become a <a href="https://www.ppcmastery.com/blog/tpe-123-7-years-of-google-ads-experience-in-12-high-impact-lessons">T-Shaped specialist</a>. Essentially, you want to become someone who leans on core expertise and has a deep understanding of that service (e.g., a PPC specialist) but also has a broad knowledge of other business services on top of that.</p>



<p>This will enable you to become less reliant on just one area and enhance your value across all other business and marketing areas, such as SEO, analytics, measurement, or the other areas I’ve already discussed in this article.</p>



<p>You don’t need to be an expert in these areas, just enough knowledge to provide value to your client and integrate it into your core expertise.</p>



<p>If managing PPC ads is your core expertise, but you also are comfortable with CRO and analytics, when troubleshooting poor PPC performance for a month, you have the ability to look beyond CTR and impression share.</p>



<p>You might see that the ads are underperforming because the cart abandonment rate increased after installing a new checkout widget a few weeks prior, or removing a payment provider because their fees were too high, compromising the checkout stage and reducing website purchase efficiency.</p>



<p>A PPC specialist may not have looked beyond the Google or Bings interface to spot the issue, which could have lasted months before being resolved.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-grow-your-value">Grow your value</h2>



<p>Whether it’s becoming a T-shaped specialist or deep diving into another undervalued business service (would this be an H-shaped specialist?), the value of bulking up your expertise outside of your core area will really set you apart.</p>



<p>You will bring added value to your own company and to your clients. And the appetite and demand for this type of person is only growing in an AI world!</p>


I always ask the same hypothetical question to friends and coworkers:
If you were 20 years younger with the hindsight you have, what career path would you take differently?
It’s fairly easy to look back. But what’s (much) harder is to look forward in time and identify areas that will increase in value in the next few years.
Here are five marketing skills I believe will only increase in value in the next few years to expand your expertise and your career path options.
1. Creative generation
Everybody seems to think creativity is dying, especially since the rise of AI over the past two years.
However, AI is the exact reason why I think the skill of creating smart, engaging, edgy, unique, and thought-provoking creative will be worth its weight in gold.
Creative is advertising’s founding father. It will never not be at the core of your advertising strategy.
In a sea of average content, which ChatGPT often provides across multiple channels, the ability to stand out from mediocrity will be crucial – particularly for brand building and new businesses in a crowded marketplace.
ChatGPT and Gemini can be the answer when companies want quantity over quality.
Advancements in technology and lower entry points will also allow more people to create high-quality ads, which will no doubt make people raise their game to stand out.
Even for brands where user-generated content is more of the image they want to portray, I believe this will continue to thrive in a world where the stock of authentic content is only going up.
2. Conversion rate optimization
In PPC, we focus so much on investing in what happens before the click that what happens after is neglected and taken for granted.
Out of all the digital marketing skills I’ve seen over the past 10 years, there is not another that is more underestimated relative to its importance than conversion rate optimization (CRO).
I’ve been involved in meetings where the primary discussion amongst six or seven business stakeholders is pausing or adding a handful of long tail keywords. Or whether changing a few titles and descriptions in a search ad is going to make a significant difference.
We are guilty of delving into topics of little significance and ignoring areas of core value to a business’s digital success, such as CRO.
I believe part of this is because it’s often delegated to the developers to fix. Most agencies only care what happens before a user visits the website, while the clients only want to focus on things where they can have an element of control.
CRO is so valuable at the moment because so few agencies offer this outside of small-scale consultancy. There is usually a gap on the client side where they have their marketing team and developers, but no one in between linking ecommerce or lead gen expertise, strategy, and the ability to action any changes.
Those jack-of-all-trades within businesses are normally spread thin because of their versatility. So having someone at the agency side to lead CRO with in-depth user and competitor analysis to back up any hypothesis and recommendations is vital.
You can break it down by numbers to get a better sense of its importance:
If a website is working at a 5% conversion rate at a £100 AOV with 100,000 unique sessions per month, that’s £500,000 in revenue per month.
Through a CRO service, they identify a number of barriers to conversion for a large % of users, such as:
Inefficient checkout process.
Lack of USPs.
Inefficient use of reviews.
Bloating product page.
Lack of payment providers.
Lack of up-selling strategies.
Slow response time.
Generic USPS. 
Once the dev and marketing team had reviewed, approved and actioned these changes, conversion rate increased to 6% and AOV £125.
With the same level of advertising dollars spent and the same monthly sessions, that revenue is now £750,000.
A £250k improvement, which over the whole year is £3 million and a 50% uplift in the company’s annual revenue!
And that’s just from a one-off service! That value won’t be underestimated forever.
3. Omnichannel
There has always been a healthy form of competition between channel experts for years now.
So often siloed and reported individually with channel-specific creative, an omnichannel approach is rare, whether on the client or agency side. The obsession with attribution has always fueled this separation.
With the growth in marketing mix models (hello, Meridian), I believe this is a strong sign that we are shifting toward a more omnichannel approach.
The impacts of this may be that we start seeing more channel consultants, client directors or omnichannel specialists.
This will lead to a greater alignment of strategies and consistent messaging across the channels.
We may even see a surge in old-fashioned storytelling, but with modern twists to enhance the customer experience across the different touch points.
When reliant on channel-specific metrics, the individual parts are often greater than the whole. By stepping back and placing a greater strategic emphasis on omnichannel, greater channel collaboration can lead to the whole being greater.
4. Profit optimization and business economics
This is something that has grown in importance over the past two years, but not as quickly as I would have thought.
For a number of years in Google Ads for retail accounts, ROAS is the source of truth. In some cases, clients haven’t changed their ROAS for a number of years, despite increases in manufacturing costs, delivery, competition, etc.
This makes your Target ROAS more difficult to achieve without lower revenue generation. In some cases, because of those increased expenses, the original target ROAS isn’t even profitable, regardless of revenue generation.
ROAS is mostly an arbitrary metric that gives an account manager a goal to optimize toward. Nothing else. It does not reflect most businesses key objectives and it caps the growth potential of any ad account.
ROAS is only effective if stakeholders have their finger on the pulse of their business economics (e.g., average cost of goods sold, shipping, packaging and handling, discounts). And, spoiler alert, most don’t!
That’s where you come in.
If you have an understanding of general ecommerce business economics, and combine that with executing a profit-first approach with a helping hand from tools such as ProfitMetrics, then you will go beyond just the PPC account management sending monthly reports on clicks and CTR.
Suddenly, you will become a business consultant with the ability to structure a PPC account in line with a business’s key objectives.
With ecommerce markets still struggling, campaign growth becoming more complex with rising costs, increasing competition, and more profitability levers to pull (Google even now has its own tool to focus on more profitable products) the value of integrating account management with profitable tracking and business unit reporting is only going up.
5. Ecommerce consultancy 
I’m cheating a little bit here as this skill covers all services, but the value of being able to expand beyond just a PPC specialist and become an all-rounder has never been higher.
AI has levelled the playing field, no more so than for PPC specialists.
For the past few years, PPC management has slowly migrated away from spending the majority of your time in Google Ads focusing on tactical decisions and optimization and toward spending more time on higher-level strategic work. This is largely because of automated features and tools that do most of the heavy lifting (PMax, RSAs, AARs, Smart bidding, etc.).
PPC specialists who want to stay relevant and future-proof themselves may want to become a T-Shaped specialist. Essentially, you want to become someone who leans on core expertise and has a deep understanding of that service (e.g., a PPC specialist) but also has a broad knowledge of other business services on top of that.
This will enable you to become less reliant on just one area and enhance your value across all other business and marketing areas, such as SEO, analytics, measurement, or the other areas I’ve already discussed in this article.
You don’t need to be an expert in these areas, just enough knowledge to provide value to your client and integrate it into your core expertise.
If managing PPC ads is your core expertise, but you also are comfortable with CRO and analytics, when troubleshooting poor PPC performance for a month, you have the ability to look beyond CTR and impression share.
You might see that the ads are underperforming because the cart abandonment rate increased after installing a new checkout widget a few weeks prior, or removing a payment provider because their fees were too high, compromising the checkout stage and reducing website purchase efficiency.
A PPC specialist may not have looked beyond the Google or Bings interface to spot the issue, which could have lasted months before being resolved.
Grow your value
Whether it’s becoming a T-shaped specialist or deep diving into another undervalued business service (would this be an H-shaped specialist?), the value of bulking up your expertise outside of your core area will really set you apart.
You will bring added value to your own company and to your clients. And the appetite and demand for this type of person is only growing in an AI world!

Where would your career be with 20/20 hindsight? Discover five undervalued skills that will explode in value. Future you will thank you.

5 undervalued skills to complement PPC management

<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/ai-search-crawlers-agents-bots-800x450.png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="AI search crawlers, user agents, and bots" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/ai-search-crawlers-agents-bots-800x450.png 800w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/ai-search-crawlers-agents-bots-600x338.png 600w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/ai-search-crawlers-agents-bots-200x113.png 200w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/ai-search-crawlers-agents-bots-768x432.png 768w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/ai-search-crawlers-agents-bots-1536x864.png 1536w, https://searchengineland.com/wp-content/seloads/2025/03/ai-search-crawlers-agents-bots.png 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></div>Find out what llms.txt is, how it works, how to think about it, whether LLMs and brands are buying in, and why you should pay attention. 

To meet the web content crawlability and indexability needs of large language models, a new standards proposal for AI/LLMs by Australian technologist Jeremy Howard is here. 
His proposed llms.txt acts somewhat similarly to robots.txt and XML sitemaps protocols, in order to allow for a crawling and readability of entire websites, putting less of a resource strain on LLMs for crawling and discovering your website content. 
But it also offers an additional benefit – full content flattening – and this may be a good thing for brands and content creators. 
While many content creators are interested in the proposal’s potential merits, it also has detractors. 
But given the rapidly changing landscape for content produced in a world of artificial intelligence, llms.txt is certainly worth discussing.
The new proposed standard for AI accessibility to website content
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber propelled the discussion of content creator rights and data control, as it relates to being used for training in AI, on March 10 at SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas.
Robust and ambitious in its detail, the cited proposal offers much to consider about the future of user content control within LLMs’ vast data and content appetite.
But a potentially simpler potential protocol emerged for web content creators last September, and while not as broad as the other proposal, llms.txt offers some assurance of increased control by the owner, in terms of what, and how much should be accessed. 
These two proposals are not mutually exclusive, but the new llms.txt protocol seems to be further along.
Howard’s llms.txt proposal is a website crawl and indexing standard using simple markdown language.  
With AI models consuming and generating infinitely vast amounts of web content, content owners are seeking better control over how their data is used, or at least, seeking to provide context on how they would like for it to be used. 
Short of exceeding the astoundingly high bar of crawl capabilities of a Google or Bing, LLMs are in need of a solution that allows them to focus less on becoming a massive crawling engine, and more on the “intelligence” part of their functions, as artificial as they may be. 
Theoretically, llms.txt provides a better use of technical resources for LLMs.
This article will explore:
What llms.txt is.
How it works.
Some ways to think about it.
Whether  LLMs and content owners are “buying-in”.
Why you should pay attention.
What llms.txt is and what it does
For the purpose of this article, it is best to quote Howard’s proposal to help reveal what he intends for this new standard to accomplish::
“Large language models increasingly rely on website information, but face a critical limitation: context windows are too small to handle most websites in their entirety. Converting complex HTML pages with navigation, ads, and JavaScript into LLM-friendly plain text is both difficult and imprecise.
“While websites serve both human readers and LLMs, the latter benefit from more concise, expert-level information gathered in a single, accessible location. This is particularly important for use cases like development environments, where LLMs need quick access to programming documentation and APIs.
“We propose adding a /llms.txt markdown file to websites to provide LLM-friendly content… llms.txt markdown is human and LLM readable, but is also in a precise format allowing fixed processing methods (i.e. classical programming techniques such as parsers and regex).
The potential uses for this proposed protocol are quite intriguing for GEO benefits, and I’ve been testing it since December. 
In its essence, llms.txt let you provide context on how your content can be accessed and used by AI-driven models.
Similar to robots.txt, which controls how search engine crawlers (or should) interact with a website, llms.txt would establish guidelines for AI models that scrape and process content for training and response generation. 
There is no real “blocking,” and robots.txt directives (ex. “Disallow:”) are not intended for the llms.txt file. When set up properly, it is rather more of a “choosing” about which content should be shown contextually or wholly to an AI platform. 
You can simply place URLs of a section of a website, add URLs with summaries of a website, or even provide the full raw text of a website in single or multiple files. 
The llms.txt file on one of my websites is 115,378 words long, 966 kb file size, and contains the complete flattened website text in a single .txt file, hosted on the domain root. But your file can be smaller, even potentially larger than this file size, or even broken out into multiple files. It can be stored in multiple directories of your taxonomy and architecture, as needed. 
You can also create .md markdown versions of each of your web pages that you believe deserves the attention of an LLM. It is very handy when performing deep site analysis, and it is not just for the LLMs. Just as websites serve many various uses, llms.txt follows in this regard, with many possible variations for providing context to LLMs.
Generating an llms.txt or llms-full.txt file
It is almost “elegant” in its simplicity, in that it strips complete sites down to their bare linguistic and textual essence, making it easier fodder to parse by your favorite platform, for myriad uses in content development, site structure analysis, entity research, and just about anything else you can dream up. 
It also provides a standardized method for website owners to explicitly allow or disallow LLMs from ingesting and utilizing their content. The proposal is gaining traction among tech industry leaders and SEO professionals as AI continues to reshape the digital landscape. The absolute utility for increasing relevance is there, with benefits for the LLM, the website owner, and the user who theoretically finds a better answer via this little textual handshake. 
Llms.txt functions similarly to robots.txt, only in the sense of creating a simple text file in the root directory of their website. Much like the robots.txt file standard, it can be obeyed, or not, depending on whether or not the AI/LLM agent wants to. But to clear up a common misperception, it IS NOT intended for robots.txt directives to be included in the llms.txt file.
A few sample llms.txt files, in action
Anthropic: https://docs.anthropic.com/llms-full.txt 
Hugging Face: https://huggingface-projects-docs-llms-txt.hf.space/accelerate/llms.txt 
Perplexity: https://docs.perplexity.ai/llms-full.txt 
LLMsTxt Manager: https://llmstxtmanager.com/llms.txt
Zapier: https://docs.zapier.com/llms-full.txt 
Adoption
Many different LLMs have voiced their support for the llms.txt standard,and many are using it, or exploring its usefulness. llms.txt Hub has compiled a list of AI developers using the standard for documentation, and claims to be one of the largest such resources for identifying them. But remember, llms.txt is not just for developers, it is for all web content owners and producers.
Website and content creators can also benefit greatly from a flattened file of their site. Once the llms.txt file is in place, full site content can be analyzed, however it may fit the needs of your research method.
llms.txt Generator Tools
With the basic protocol outlined, there are a variety of tools available to help generate your file. I have found that most will generate smaller sites for free, and larger sites can be a custom job. Of course, many website owners will choose to develop their own tool or scraper. Word of caution – research the security of any generator tool before using, and review your files before uploading. DO NOT use any tool without first vetting security. Here are a few of those free tools to check (but still subject to your own validation):
Markdowner – A free, open-source tool that converts website content into well-structured Markdown files. 
Appify –  Jacob Kopecky’s llms.txt generator.
Website LLMs – This WordPress plugin creates your llms.txt file for you. Just set the crawl to “Post”, “pages,” or both, and you’re in business. I was one of the first ten people to download this plugin; now it is at over 3,000 downloads in just three months.
FireCrawl – One of the first tools to emerge for the creation of llms.txt files.
While llms.txt improves content extraction clarity, it could also introduce security risks that require careful management. This article does not address those risks, but it is highly recommended that any tool is fully vetted before deploying this file. 
Why llms.txt could matter for SEO and GEO
Controlling how AI models interact with your content is critical, and just having a fully flattened version of a website can make AI extraction, training, and analysis much simpler. Here are some reasons why:
Protecting proprietary content: Prevents AI from using original content without permission, but only for the LLMs that choose to obey the directives. 
Brand Reputation Management: It theoretically gives businesses some control over how their information appears in AI-generated responses.
Linguistic and content analysis: With a fully flattened version of your site that is easily consumable by AI, you can perform all kinds of analysis that typically require a standalone tool. Keyword frequency, taxonomy analysis, entity analysis, linking, competitive analysis, etc.
Enhanced AI interaction: llms.txt helps LLMs interact more effectively with your website, enabling them to retrieve accurate and relevant information. No standard needed for this option, just a nice clean and flattened file of your complete content. 
Improved content visibility: By guiding AI systems to focus on specific content, llms.txt can theoretically “optimize” your website for AI indexing, potentially improving your site’s visibility in AI-powered search results. Like SEO, there are no guarantees. But on the face of it, any preference that an LLM has towards a llms.txt is a step forward.
Better AI performance: The file ensures that LLMs can access the most valuable content on your site, leading to more accurate AI responses when users engage with tools like chatbots or AI-powered search engines. I use the “full” rendering of llms.txt, and personally do not find the summaries or URL lists any more helpful than robots.txt, or an XML sitemap.
Competitive advantage: As AI technologies continue to evolve, having an llms.txt file can give your website a competitive edge by making it more AI-ready.
Challenges and limitations
While llms.txt offers a promising solution, several key challenges remain:
Adoption by AI companies: Not all AI companies may adhere to the standard, and will just ignore the file, and ingest all of your content any way.
Adoption by websites: Simply put, brands and website operators are going to have to step up and participate if llms.txt will be successful. Maybe not all, but a critical mass will be necessary. In the absence of any other type of scientific “optimization” of AI, what have we got to lose? (I still really think it is a mistake to apply an old term like “optimization” to generative AI. It just seems linguistically lazy).
Overlap with robots.txt and XML sitemaps: Potential conflicts and inconsistencies between robots.txt, XML sitemaps, and llms.txt could create confusion. To repeat, the llms.txt file is not intended to be a substitute for robots.txt. As previously mentioned, I find the most value in the “full” rendering of the text file.
Keyword, content, and link spamability: Much like keyword stuffing was used in the SEO days of yore, there is nothing to stop anyone from filling up their llms.txt with gratuitous loads of text, keywords, links, and content.
Exposure of your content to competitors for their own analysis. While scraping is a basic cornerstone of the entire search industry, competitive keyword and content research is nothing new. But having this simple file lowers the bar a bit for your competitors to easily analyze what you have – and don’t have – and use to their competitive advantage.
Other contrarian views about llms.txt exist in the SEO/GEO community. I had a message chat with Pubcon and WebmasterWorld CEO Brett Tabke about llms.txt. He said he doesn’t believe it offers much utility:
“We just don’t need people thinking they [LLMs] are different from any other spider. The dividing line between a ‘search [engine]’ and an ‘llm’ is barely arguable any more. Google, Perplexity, and ChatGPT have blurred that into a very fuzzy line with AI responses on SERPs. The only distinguishing factor is that Google is a search engine with an LLM bolted on, and ChatGPT is an LLM with a search engine bolted on. Going forward, it is obvious that Google will merge their LLM directly with the code base of the search engine and blow away any remaining lines between the two. LLMs.txt simply obfuscates that fact.”
XML sitemaps and robots.txt already serve this purpose, Tabke added. 
On this point, I agree wholly. But for me, the potential value lies mostly in the “full” text rendering version of this file.
Marketer David Ogletree also has similar reservations:
“If there is a bottom line, it is that I really don’t want people continuing this idea that there is a difference between a LLM and Google. They are one in the same to me and should be treated the same.”
The future of llms.txt and AI content governance
As AI adoption continues to grow, so does the need for structured content governance. 
llms.txt represents an early effort to create transparency and control over AI content usage. Whether it becomes a widely accepted standard depends on industry support, website owner support, regulatory developments, and AI companies’ willingness to comply.
You should stay informed about llms.txt and be prepared to adapt their content strategies as AI-driven search and content discovery evolve.
The introduction of llms.txt marks a significant step toward balancing AI innovation with content ownership rights, and the “crawlability and indexability” of websites for consumption and analysis by LLMs. 
You should proactively explore its implementation to safeguard your digital assets, and also provide LLMs a runway to better understand the structure and content of your site(s). 
As AI continues to reshape online search and content distribution, having a defined strategy for AI interaction with your website will be essential.
llms.txt could create a little bit of science for GEO
In GEO, much like SEO, there are literally almost no scientific standards for web creators to base on. In other words, verifiable best platform practices based on specific tactics. 
Any buzzy acronym containing a big “O” (optimization) is black box engineering. Or, as another tech development executive I worked with calls it, “wizardry,” “alchemy,” or “digital shamanism.”
For example:
When Google says “create great content for users, and then you will succeed in search” – that’s an art project on your part. 
When Google says, “we follow XML sitemaps as a part of our crawler journey, and there is a place for it in Google Search Console,” well, that’s a little bit of science. 
And the same for schema.org, robots.txt, and even IndexNow. These are “agreed upon” standards that search engines tell us definitively, “we do take these protocols into consideration, though at our own discretion.”
In a world of so much uncertainty with what “can be done” for improving AI and LLM performance, llms.txt sounds like a great start.
If you have a wide content audience, it may bode well for you to get your llms.txt file going now. You never know what major or specialized LLM may want to use your content for some new purpose. And in a world shifting from the multiple decisions required of a searcher of a cluttered results page, the LLM provides the answer. 
If you are playing to win, then you want your content to be that answer, as it is potentially worth a multitude of search engine searches.
I started implementing llms.txt on my own websites a few months ago, and am implementing it on all my clients’ websites. There is no harm in doing so. Anything that can potentially help “optimize” my content should be done, especially as a potentially accepted standard.
Are all the LLMs using it? It is definitely not even near critical mass, but some have reported an interest. 
Can an llms.txt file also help you better access and crawl your own website for various AI uses? Absolutely. 
One of the main uses I have found is in analyzing client sites in various ways. Having the entirety of your website content in a file can allow for different types of analysis that were not as easy to render previously. 
Will it become a standard? 
It definitely remains to be seen. llms.txt has a long road ahead, but I wouldn’t bet against it.
Where companies are looking for new ideas to improve their presence as “the answer” in LLMs, it offers one new signal for AI optimization and possibly one step ahead for connecting with LLMs in a way that was previously only comparable to search engines.
And don’t be surprised if you start hearing a lot more SEO/GEO practitioners talking about llms.txt in the near term, as a basic staple for site optimization, along with robots.txt, XML sitemaps, schema, IndexNow, and others.

Find out what llms.txt is, how it works, how to think about it, whether LLMs and brands are buying in, and why you should pay attention.

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