Google Search Console API delays, AI Overviews to feature 50 links, Chegg sues Google over AIOs affecting traffic and revenue, and more
SE Ranking
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As we welcome March, let's take a moment to catch up on the latest news and gear up for the challenges this spring brings. Here we go!
Updates
No official algorithm updates yet.
Search
Google rolled out new features to help users remove personal information from search results. These updates include a redesigned “Results about You” hub, a simpler process for submitting removal requests, and the ability to refresh outdated search results. Users are now notified when personal info appears, making it easier to request its removal through a more streamlined process.
GSC
The Google Search Console API has been running behind by several days compared to data shown in the web interface. Google acknowledged the delay and confirmed that the data should catch up soon.
John Mueller responded to a Reddit thread about a 'noindex detected in X-Robots-Tag HTTP header' error showing in Google Search Console—even though the affected pages didn't have the X-Robots-Tag or similar directives.?
He noted this could be caused by misconfigurations, caching issues, or other technical factors not immediately visible. Mueller advised webmasters to review their site's HTTP headers, ensure no conflicting directives are set, and review the server-side settings to resolve this issue.?
AI
Google is testing AI Overviews in search results that include dozens of citations—sometimes 30 or even 50 links. This approach has sparked debate among SEO experts, who wonder if users will actually click on so many links.
领英推荐
Although Google rolled out AI Overviews (AIO) to over 100 countries last year, places like Germany, Switzerland, and Italy had been left out—until now. The SEO community in these regions is actively sharing screenshots and insights on social media.
Tech SEO
A recent update to Google’s crawler led to spikes in crawling time for some sites—especially those on certain CDNs. While overall crawl rates have dropped, the process itself is taking longer.?
Google also quietly updated its IP ranges for crawling, which may be causing issues for CDNs that haven’t adjusted their allowed IPs for Googlebot. Experts suggest checking with CDN providers to confirm IP ranges are up to date.
E-commerce
A new "Physical Stores" tab in the Google Merchant Center Next console displays data from a store's Google Business Profiles listing. Currently, it appears for some smaller sub-accounts in specific regions.
Although it only shows random data from Google Business Profiles at the moment, many believe additional features may be introduced later, offering deeper insights into physical store details. The feature is still in its early stages, and it remains to be seen how it will evolve.
Tidbits
Chegg, a publicly traded education technology company, has filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming that AI Overviews have significantly hurt its traffic and revenue. The company argues that Google's AI Overviews are using Chegg’s content to keep users on Google’s platform, blocking traffic from reaching Chegg.?
The lawsuit accuses Google of unfair competition and maintaining a monopoly in search, which negatively impacts Chegg’s business. While Google has defended the AI Overviews, stating that it helps users discover diverse content, Chegg believes that this practice is damaging the digital publishing industry and impeding access to quality educational resources.
Microsoft is testing a new AI-powered search feature, potentially named Copilot Search. This feature, once part of Bing Chat, now provides users with AI-generated summaries pulled from multiple online sources. Users can try the new feature by going to a specific URL and replacing the query with any search term.
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2 周Great insights on SEO. I'm intrigued to know what specific strategies do you recommend for adapting to the spring season's trends in digital marketing?