Search Engines

Spam Updates, SERP Volatility, and AI-Driven Search Shifts

September 1, 2025 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

Search is once again in flux. August brought both the long-awaited Google Spam Update and lingering tremors from the June core update. Layered on top are AI-powered SERPs, new technical performance measures, and fresh search engine market share data. Marketers and site owners are navigating one of the most turbulent stretches of 2025, where rankings change overnight, clicks are harder to earn, and performance metrics demand closer attention than ever.

The “so what” is clear: the convergence of spam crackdowns, AI integration, and evolving user behaviors makes SEO less about chasing rankings and more about proving value. Marketers who adapt quickly can still measure gains across KPIs like CTR stability, INP improvements, branded visibility in AI overviews, spam-free compliance, and Bing or DuckDuckGo referral lift.

What Happened

Google confirmed its August 2025 spam update began rolling out on August 26, targeting low-quality and manipulative content practices. The update is global, applies to all languages, and is expected to take several weeks to complete. Search Engine Land and Search Engine Roundtable both reported rapid visible impacts within 24 hours of launch, with some sites seeing sharp declines in rankings almost immediately.

This came against a backdrop of ongoing volatility from the June core update. Though Google declared it complete on July 17, SERoundtable documented “heated” ranking shifts in early August, with Barry Schwartz’s August Webmaster Report noting continued instability and partial recoveries for some previously penalized sites.

At the same time, AI-powered SERPs continued to reshape discovery. Search Engine Land’s mid-August guidance stressed that zero-click searches are rising, with AI Overviews reshuffling how users interact with information. The piece emphasized structured data, schema, and concise authority-driven answers as pathways into AI citation — a different optimization play than traditional SEO.

From the technical side, Core Web Vitals enforcement evolved. Google’s CrUX report confirmed the full adoption of INP (Interaction to Next Paint) as the responsiveness metric, replacing FID (First Input Delay). PageSpeed Insights and other tools now treat INP as the standard for pass/fail user experience checks. Search Engine Land further reported strategies for monitoring and improving INP, stressing optimization of JavaScript execution and user input delays.

Finally, Statcounter’s August snapshot showed Google maintaining near-dominance at just under 90% global share, while Bing held steady around 4% and DuckDuckGo remained under 1%. This stability confirms that, despite AI shifts, Google is still the main arena — but alternative engines hold pockets of growth worth targeting for specific audiences.

Factics: Facts, Tactics, KPIs

Fact: Google’s August 2025 spam update rolled out globally starting August 26.
Tactic: Audit for compliance — eliminate thin AI-generated pages, doorway tactics, and spammy backlinks.
KPI: Zero manual spam actions in Google Search Console.

Fact: SERPs remained volatile weeks after the June core update finished.
Tactic: Hold off major site changes during volatility; monitor recovery windows for suppressed content.
KPI: 90% recovery of pre-update traffic within 6 weeks for pages that align with E-E-A-T.

Fact: AI-powered SERPs increase zero-click searches, with structured data influencing inclusion.
Tactic: Implement FAQ and HowTo schema; write 40–60 word answer summaries.
KPI: 10–15% increase in impressions from AI overview panels.

Fact: INP is now the primary responsiveness metric for Core Web Vitals.
Tactic: Optimize JavaScript and reduce main-thread blocking.
KPI: 75%+ of pages scoring <200ms INP in CrUX data.

Fact: Google still holds ~90% search share, Bing ~4%, DuckDuckGo <1%.
Tactic: Shift 10% of SEO resources toward Bing optimization for B2B queries.
KPI: 15% increase in Bing-driven B2B leads.

Lessons and Action Steps

Don’t panic during spam updates. If traffic dips after August 26, confirm whether affected content violates spam policies before making wholesale cuts.
Wait for volatility to calm. Post-core updates can ripple for weeks. Use this time to measure patterns, not to overhaul entire sites.
Prepare for AI-first SERPs. Schema, structured summaries, and authoritative signals aren’t optional — they’re your ticket into visibility.
Treat INP as a growth lever. Responsiveness now directly impacts rankings and revenue. Fixing INP is not just technical hygiene; it drives conversions.
Diversify where it counts. Even if Google dominates, Bing and privacy-first engines like DuckDuckGo are important secondary traffic streams.

Reflect and Adapt

The August spam update signals a clear tightening: Google is penalizing low-value, automated, and manipulative content more aggressively. But layered with AI-driven search, the takeaway is not simply “write better content.” It’s prove value, speed, and authority across every touchpoint.

Recovery is now measured in both technical excellence (passing INP) and strategic positioning (earning AI citations). If July was about digesting core volatility, August was about tightening standards, and September is about adapting — quickly.

FAQ

Q: How do I know if my site was hit by the August spam update?
A: Check Search Console for drops beginning August 26. If traffic declined sharply, review Google’s spam policies for doorway content, AI-thin pages, or manipulative links.

Q: Do AI Overviews replace SEO?
A: No, but they change it. Optimization now includes formatting content for AI inclusion as much as for the traditional 10 blue links.

Q: What’s the difference between INP and FID?
A: INP measures the time it takes for a page to respond to user input across the full visit, not just the first action. It’s stricter, and poor INP will hurt both UX and rankings.

Q: Should I invest more in Bing or DuckDuckGo?
A: For general traffic, Google remains the priority. But B2B and privacy-conscious audiences show meaningful behavior on alternatives — enough to justify dedicated resource allocation.

Disclosure

This blog was written with the assistance of AI research and drafting tools, using only verified sources published on or before August 31, 2025. Human review shaped the final narrative, transitions, and tactical recommendations.

References

Google. (2025, August 26). August 2025 spam update begins. Google Search Status Dashboard. https://status.search.google.com/products/rGHU1u87FJnkP6W2GwMi/history

Google. (2025, August 12). Release notes | Chrome UX Report (CrUX) — INP updates/tools notes. https://developers.google.com/web/tools/chrome-user-experience-report/bigquery/changelog

Statcounter Global Stats. (2025, August 31). Search engine market share — August 2025 snapshot. https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share

Search Engine Land. (2025, August 26). Google releases August 2025 spam update. https://searchengineland.com/google-releases-august-2025-spam-update-461232

Search Engine Roundtable. (2025, August 27). Google August 2025 Spam Update Rolls Out. https://www.seroundtable.com/google-august-2025-spam-update-40008.html

Search Engine Roundtable. (2025, August 29). Google August 2025 Spam Update Impact Felt Quickly — 24 Hours. https://www.seroundtable.com/google-august-2025-spam-update-40018.html

Search Engine Roundtable. (2025, August 01). Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated Yet Again. https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ranking-volatility-heated-39865.html

Search Engine Roundtable. (2025, August 04). August 2025 Google Webmaster Report. https://www.seroundtable.com/august-2025-google-webmaster-report-39871.html

Search Engine Land. (2025, August 12). How to optimize your content strategy for AI-powered SERPs. https://searchengineland.com/optimize-content-strategy-ai-powered-serps-451776

Search Engine Land. (2025, August 15). How to improve and monitor Interaction to Next Paint (INP). https://searchengineland.com/how-to-improve-and-monitor-interaction-to-next-paint-437526

Platform Ecosystems and Plug-in Layers

August 25, 2025 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

The plug-in layer is no longer optional. Enterprises now curate GPT Store stacks, Grok plug-ins, and compliance filters the same way they once curated app stores. The fact is adoption crossed three million custom GPTs in less than a year (OpenAI, 2024). The tactic is simple: use curated sections for research, compliance, or finance so workflows stay in line. It works because teams don’t lose time switching tools, and approval cycles sit inside the same stack. Who benefits? With a little checks and balances in the practices, the marketing and compliance directors who need assets reviewed before they move find streamlined value.

Grok 4 raises the bar with real-time search and document analysis (xAI, 2024). The tactic is to point it at sector reports or financials, then ask for stepwise summaries that highlight cost, revenue, or compliance gaps. It works because numbers land alongside explanations instead of scattered across drafts, with Grok this happens UpToDate and in real time, not just a database in the AI. The benefit goes to analysts and campaign planners who must build messages that hold up under review because the output sees everything up to date of prompt, not just copy that sounds good.

Google and Anthropic moved Claude into Vertex AI with global endpoints (Google Cloud, 2025). The fact is enterprises can now route traffic across regions with caching that lowers cost and latency. The tactic is to run coding and content workflows through Claude inside Vertex, where security and governance are already in place. It works because performance scales without losing control. Who benefits? Developers in regulated industries, when they invest in their process and speed matters but oversight cannot be skipped.

Perplexity and Sprinklr connect the research and compliance layer. Perplexity Deep Research scans hundreds of sources and produces cite-first briefs in minutes (Perplexity, 2025). The tactic is to slot these briefs directly into Sprinklr’s compliance filters, which flag tone or bias before responses go live (Sprinklr, 2025). It works because research quality and compliance checks are chained together. Who benefits? B2C brands that invest into their setup and new processes when they run campaigns across social channels where missteps are public and costly.

Lakera Guard closes the loop with real-time filters. Its July updates improved guardrails and moderation accuracy (Lakera, 2025). The tactic is to run assets through Lakera before they publish, measuring catch rates and logging exceptions. It works because risk checks move from manual review to automatic guardrails. Who benefits? Fortune 500 firms, SaaS providers, and nonprofits that cannot afford errors or policy violations in public channels.

Best Practice Spotlights
Dropbox integrated Lakera Guard with GPT Store plug-ins to secure LLM-powered features (Dropbox, 2024). Compliance approvals moved 30 percent faster, errors fell by 35 percent, not a typo. One lead said it was like plugging holes in a chessboard, the leaks finally stopped. The lesson is that when guardrails live inside the plug-in stack, speed and safety move together.

SoftBank worked with Perplexity Pro and Sprinklr to upgrade customer interactions in Japan (Perplexity, 2025). Cycle times fell 27 percent, exceptions dropped 20 percent, looked like plugging holes in a chessboard, and customer satisfaction lifted. The lesson is that compliance and engagement can run in parallel when the plug-in layer does the review work before the customer sees it.

Creative Consulting Corner
A B2B SaaS provider struggles with fragmented plug-ins and approvals that drag on for days. The solution is to curate a GPT Store stack for research and compliance, add Lakera Guard as a pre-publish filter, and track exceptions in a shared dashboard. Approvals move 30 percent faster, error rates drop, and executives defend budgets with proof. Optimization tip, publish a monthly compliance scorecard so the lift is visible.

A B2C retailer fights campaign fatigue and review delays. Perplexity Pro delivers cite-first briefs, Sprinklr’s compliance module flags tone and bias, and the team refreshes creative weekly. Cycle times shorten, ad rejection rates fall, and engagement lifts. Optimization tip, keep one visual anchor constant so recognition compounds even as content rotates.

A nonprofit faces the challenge of multilingual safety guides under strict donor oversight. Curated translation plug-ins feed Lakera Guard for risk filtering, with disclosure lines added by default. Time to publish drops, completion improves, complaints shrink. Optimization tip, keep a public provenance note so donors see transparency built in.

Closing thought
Here’s the thing, ecosystems only matter when they close the space between idea and approval. This doesn’t happen without some trial and error, then requires oversight, which sounds like a lot of manpower, but the output multiplies. GPT Store curates’ workflows, Grok 4 brings real-time analysis, Claude runs inside enterprise rails, Perplexity and Sprinklr steady research and compliance, and Lakera Guard enforces risk checks. With transparency labeling now a regulatory requirement, provenance and disclosure run in the background. The teams that treat ecosystems as infrastructure, not experiments, gain speed they can measure, trust they can defend, and credibility that lasts. The key is not to try to minimize but balance oversight with the ability to produce more.

References

Anthropic. (2025, July 30). About the development partner program. Anthropic Support.

Dropbox. (2024, September 18). How we use Lakera Guard to secure our LLMs. Dropbox Tech Blog.

European Commission. (2025, July 31). AI Act | Shaping Europe’s digital future. European Commission.

European Parliament. (2025, February 19). EU AI Act: First regulation on artificial intelligence. European Parliament.

European Union. (2025, July 24). AI Act | Shaping Europe’s digital future. European Union.

Google Cloud. (2025, May 23). Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 and Claude Sonnet 4 on Vertex AI. Google Cloud Blog.

Google Cloud. (2025, July 28). Global endpoint for Claude models generally available on Vertex AI. Google Cloud Blog.

Lakera. (2024, October 29). Lakera Guard expands enterprise-grade content moderation capabilities for GenAI applications. Lakera.

Lakera. (2025, June 4). The ultimate guide to prompt engineering in 2025. Lakera Blog.

Lakera. (2025, July 2). Changelog | Lakera API documentation. Lakera Docs.

OpenAI. (2024, January 10). Introducing the GPT Store. OpenAI.

OpenAI Help Center. (2025, August 22). ChatGPT — Release notes. OpenAI Help.

Perplexity. (2025, February 14). Introducing Perplexity Deep Research. Perplexity Blog.

Perplexity. (2025, July 2). Introducing Perplexity Max. Perplexity Blog.

Perplexity. (2025, March 17). Perplexity expands partnership with SoftBank to launch Enterprise Pro Japan. Perplexity Blog.

Sprinklr. (2025, August 7). Smart response compliance. Sprinklr Help Center.

xAI. (2024, November 4). Grok. xAI.

Mapping the July Shake-Up: Core Update Fallout, AI Overviews, and Privacy Pull

August 4, 2025 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

July was a reminder that search never sits still. Google’s June 2025 Core Update, which officially finished on July 17, delivered one of the most disruptive shake-ups in years, reshuffling rankings across health, retail, and finance and leaving many sites searching for stability (Google, 2025; Schwartz, 2025a, 2025b). At the same time, AI Overviews continued to change user behavior in measurable ways — Pew Research found that when AI summaries appear, users click on traditional results nearly half as often, while Semrush reported they now show up in more than 13% of queries (Pew Research Center, 2025; Semrush, 2025). The result is clear: visibility is shifting from blue links to citations within AI-driven summaries, making structured content and topical authority more important than ever.

Privacy also took center stage. DuckDuckGo announced two updates in July: the option to block AI-generated images from results on July 14, and a browser redesign on July 22 that added real-time privacy feedback and anonymous AI integration (DuckDuckGo, 2025; PPC Land, 2025a, 2025b). These moves underscore how authenticity and trust are emerging as competitive differentiators, even as Google maintains close to 90% global market share (Statcounter Global Stats, 2025).

Together, these shifts point to an SEO environment defined by convergence: volatility from core updates, visibility challenges from AI Overviews, and renewed emphasis on privacy-first design. Success in this landscape depends on adapting quickly — not just to Google’s dominance, but to the broader dynamics of how people search, click, and trust.

What Happened

Google officially completed the June 2025 Core Update on July 17, after just over 16 days of rollout (Google, 2025; Schwartz, 2025a). This update was one of the largest in recent memory, driving heavy movement across industries. Search Engine Land’s data analysis showed that 16% of URLs ranking in the top 10 had not appeared in the top 20 before, the highest churn rate in four years (Schwartz, 2025b). Sectors like health and retail felt the sharpest volatility, while finance saw more stability. Even after the official end date, ranking swings remained heated through late July, reminding SEOs that recovery is rarely immediate (Schwartz, 2025c).

Layered onto this volatility was the accelerating role of AI Overviews. According to Pew Research, when an AI summary appears in search results, only 8% of users click on a traditional result, compared to 15% when no summary is present (Pew Research Center, 2025). Semrush data confirmed that AI Overviews now appear in more than 13% of queries, with categories like Science, Health, and People & Society seeing the fastest growth (Semrush, 2025). The combined effect is a steady rise in zero-click searches, with publishers and brands competing for visibility in citation panels rather than just the classic blue links.

Meanwhile, DuckDuckGo pushed its privacy-first positioning further. On July 14, it gave users the option to block AI-generated images from results (PPC Land, 2025a). Just days later, on July 22, it unveiled a browser redesign with a streamlined interface, real-time privacy feedback, and anonymous AI integration (DuckDuckGo, 2025; PPC Land, 2025b). These updates reinforce DuckDuckGo’s differentiation strategy, targeting users who value authenticity and transparency over algorithmic convenience.

Finally, Statcounter’s July snapshot reaffirmed Google’s dominance at nearly 90% global market share, with Bing at 4%, Yahoo at 1.5%, and DuckDuckGo under 1% (Statcounter Global Stats, 2025). Yet while small in volume, DuckDuckGo’s moves reflect a deeper trend — search diversification around privacy and user trust.

Factics: Facts, Tactics, KPIs

Fact: The June 2025 Core Update saw 16% of top 10 URLs newly ranked — the highest churn in four years (Schwartz, 2025b).

Tactic: Re-optimize affected pages by expanding topical depth and reinforcing E-E-A-T signals instead of pruning.

KPI: Average keyword position improvement across refreshed content.

Fact: Users click only 8% of traditional links when AI summaries appear, versus 15% when they don’t (Pew Research Center, 2025).

Tactic: Add FAQ schema, concise answer blocks, and authoritative citations to increase chances of inclusion in AI Overviews.

KPI: Ratio of impressions to clicks in Google Search Console for AI-affected queries.

Fact: DuckDuckGo’s July update introduced a browser redesign with privacy feedback icons and gave users the option to filter AI images (DuckDuckGo, 2025; PPC Land, 2025a, 2025b).

Tactic: Use original, source-cited visuals and message privacy in content strategy to attract DDG’s audience.

KPI: Month-over-month growth in DuckDuckGo referral traffic.

Lessons in Action

1. Audit, don’t panic. Map keyword drops against the June–July rollout window before making changes.

2. Optimize for Overviews. Treat AI summaries as a surface: concise content, schema markup, authoritative citations.

3. Invest in visuals. Replace AI-stock imagery with original media where possible.

4. Diversify your footprint. Google-first still rules, but dedicate ~10% of SEO effort to Bing and DuckDuckGo.

Reflect and Adapt

July’s landscape reinforces a truth: SEO is no longer only about blue links. The Core Update pushed volatility across industries, while AI Overviews are rewriting how people interact with results. Privacy-focused alternatives like DuckDuckGo are carving space by rejecting synthetic defaults. To thrive, brands need a portfolio approach — optimizing content to be cited in AI features, maintaining technical excellence for Google’s updates, and signaling authenticity where privacy matters. This isn’t fragmentation; it’s convergence around user trust and usefulness.

Common Questions

Q: Should I rewrite all content that lost rankings in July?
A: No. Benchmark affected pages against the June 30–July 17 update window and enhance quality; avoid knee-jerk deletions during volatility.

Q: How do I optimize for AI Overviews?
A: Structure answers clearly, use FAQ schema, and cite authoritative sources. Prioritize concise, trustworthy summaries.

Q: Does DuckDuckGo really matter with <1% global share?
A: Yes. Its audience skews privacy-first, meaning higher engagement and trust. Optimize for authenticity and clear privacy signals.

Q: Is Bing worth attention at ~4% share?
A: Yes. Bing’s integration with Microsoft products ensures sustained visibility, especially for enterprise and productivity-driven searches.

Embed Before Disclosure

📹 Google search ranking volatility remains heated – Search Engine Roundtable, July 25, 2025

Disclosure

This blog was written with the assistance of AI research and drafting tools, using only verified sources published on or before July 31, 2025. Human review shaped the final narrative, transitions, and tactical recommendations.

References

DuckDuckGo. (2025, July 22). DuckDuckGo browser: Fresh new look, same great protection. SpreadPrivacy. https://spreadprivacy.com/browser-visual-refresh/

Google. (2025, July 17). June 2025 core update [Status dashboard incident report]. Google Search Status Dashboard. https://status.search.google.com/incidents/riq1AuqETW46NfBCe5NT

Pew Research Center. (2025, July 22). Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/22/google-users-are-less-likely-to-click-on-links-when-an-ai-summary-appears-in-the-results/

PPC Land. (2025, July 14). DuckDuckGo users can now block AI images from search results. PPC Land. https://ppc.land/duckduckgo-users-can-now-block-ai-images-from-search-results/

PPC Land. (2025, July 24). DuckDuckGo browser redesign focuses on streamlined privacy interface. PPC Land. https://ppc.land/duckduckgo-browser-redesign-focuses-on-streamlined-privacy-interface/

Schwartz, B. (2025, July 17). Google June 2025 core update rollout is now complete. Search Engine Land. https://searchengineland.com/google-june-2025-core-update-rollout-is-now-complete-458617

Schwartz, B. (2025, July 24). Data providers: Google June 2025 core update was a big update. Search Engine Land. https://searchengineland.com/data-providers-google-june-2025-core-update-was-a-big-update-459226

Schwartz, B. (2025, July 25). Google search ranking volatility remains heated. Search Engine Roundtable. https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ranking-volatility-remains-heated-39828.html

Semrush. (2025, July 22). Semrush AI Overviews study: What 2025 SEO data tells us about Google’s search shift. Semrush Blog. https://www.semrush.com/blog/semrush-ai-overviews-study/

Statcounter Global Stats. (2025, July 31). Search engine market share worldwide. Statcounter. https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share

Open-Source Expansion and Community AI

July 28, 2025 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

The table is crowded, laptops half open, notes scattered. Deadlines are already late. Budgets are thin, thinner than they should be. Expectations do not move with AI scanners and criticism on everything, the work has to feel human, or it fails, and as we learned in May looking professional now looks fake on apps like Originality.ai, the work got a lot harder.

The difference is in the stack. Open-source models carry the weight, community hubs fill the spaces between, and the outputs make it to the finish line without losing trust. LLaMA 4 reads text and images in one sweep. Mistral through Bedrock brings trust to structured-to-narrative work. Enterprises already living in that channel gain adoption without extra risk. Structured data like spreadsheets, changelogs, and other inputs turn into narratives that hold together. The tactic is to focus it on repetitive data-to-story tasks, then track cycle time from handoff to publish and the exception rate in review. It works best for data-heavy operations where speed and reliability keep clients from second guessing.

A SaaS director once waved an invoice like it was a warning flare. Costs had doubled in one quarter. The team swapped in DeepSeek and the bill fell by almost half. Not a typo. The panic eased because the math spoke louder than any promise. The point here is simple, when efficiency holds up in numbers, adoption sticks.

LLaMA 4 resets how briefs are built. Meta calls it “the beginning of a new era of natively multimodal AI innovation” (Meta, 2025). In practice it means screenshots, notes, and specs do not scatter into separate drafts. Claims tie directly to visuals and citations, so context stays whole. The tactic is to feed it real packets of work, then track acceptance rates and edits per draft. Who gains? Content teams, product leads, anyone who needs briefs to land clean on the first pass.

DeepSeek R1 0528 moves reasoning closer to the edge. MIT license, single GPU, stepwise logic baked in. Outlines arrive with examples and criteria already attached, so first drafts come closer to final. The tactic is to set it as the standard briefing layer, then measure reuse rates, time to first draft, and cost per inference. The groups that win are SaaS and mid-market players, the ones priced out of heavy hosted models but still expected to deliver consistency at scale.

Mistral through Bedrock brings trust to structured-to-narrative work. Enterprises already living in that channel gain adoption without extra risk. Spreadsheets, changelogs, and other structured inputs convert to usable narratives quickly. The tactic is to focus it on repetitive data-to-story tasks, then track cycle time from handoff to publish and the exception rate in review. It works best for data-heavy operations where speed and reliability keep clients from second guessing.

Hugging Face hubs anchor the collaborative side. Maintained repos, model cards, and stable translations replace half-built scripts and risky extensions. Localization that once dragged for weeks now finishes in days. The tactic is to pin versions, run checks in one space, and log provenance next to every output. Who benefits? Nonprofits, educators, consumer brands trying to work across languages without burning their budgets on agencies.

Regulation circles overhead. The EU presses forward with the AI Act, the U.S. keeps safety and disclosure in focus, and China frames AI policy as industrial leverage (RAND, 2025). The tactic is clear, keep provenance logs, consent registers, and export notes in the QA process. The payoff shows in fewer legal delays and faster audits. This matters most to exporters and nonprofits, groups that need both speed and credibility to hold stakeholder trust.

Best Practice Spotlights
BigDataCorp turned static spreadsheets into “Generative Biographies” with Mistral through Bedrock. Twenty days from concept to delivery. Client decision-making costs down fifty percent. Not theory. Numbers. One manager said it felt like plugging leaks in a boat. Suddenly the pace held steady. The lesson is clear, keep reasoning close to the data and adoption inside rails people already trust.

Spotify used LLaMA 4 to push its AI DJ past playlists. Narrated insights in English and Spanish, recommendations that felt intentional not random, discovery rates that rose instead of fading. Engagement held long after the novelty. The lesson is clear, blend multimodal reasoning with platform data and loyalty grows past the campaign window.

Creative Consulting Corner
A SaaS provider is crushed under inference bills. DeepSeek shapes stepwise outlines, Mistral converts structured fields, and LLaMA 4 blends inputs into explainers. Costs fall forty percent, cadence steadies, two hires get funded from the savings. Optimization tip, publish a dashboard with cycle times and costs so leadership argues from numbers, not gut feel.

A consumer retailer watches brand consistency slip across campaigns. LLaMA 4 drafts captions from product images and specs, Hugging Face handles localization, presets hold visuals in line. Assets land on time, carousel engagement climbs, fatigue slows. Optimization tip, keep one visual anchor steady each campaign, brand memory compounds.

A nonprofit needs multilingual safety guides with no agency budget. Hugging Face supplies translations, DeepSeek builds modules, and Mistral smooths phrasing. Distribution costs drop by half, completion improves, trust rises because provenance is logged. Optimization tip, publish a model card and rights register where donors can see them. Credibility is as important as cost.

Closing thought
Here is the thing, infrastructure only matters when it closes the space between idea and impact. LLaMA 4 turns mixed inputs into briefs that hold together, DeepSeek keeps structured reasoning affordable, Mistral delivers steady outputs inside enterprise rails, and Hugging Face makes collaboration practical. With provenance and rights running in the background, not loud but steady, teams gain speed they can measure, by using repetition in the checks and balances they can develop trust they can defend, and credibility that lasts.

References
AI at Meta. (2025, April 4). The Llama 4 herd: The beginning of a new era of natively multimodal AI innovation.
C-SharpCorner. (2025, April 30). The rise of open-source AI: Why models like Qwen3 matter.
Apidog. (2025, May 28). DeepSeek R1 0528, the silent revolution in open-source AI.
Atlantic Council. (2025, April 1). DeepSeek shows the US and EU the costs of failing to govern AI.
MarkTechPost. (2025, May 30). DeepSeek releases R1 0528, an open-source reasoning AI model.
Open Future Foundation. (2025, June 6). AI Act and open source.
RAND Corporation. (2025, June 26). Full stack, China’s evolving industrial policy for AI.
Masood, A. (2025, June 5). AI use-case compass — Retail & e-commerce. Medium.
Measure Marketing. (2025, May 20). How AI is transforming B2B SaaS marketing. Measure Marketing.
McKinsey & Company. (2025, June 13). Seizing the agentic AI advantage.

Navigating SEO After Google’s June 2025 Core Update

July 7, 2025 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

Search visibility is in transition. Google’s June 2025 Core Update, which launched on June 30, shook rankings across industries while simultaneously underscoring how much search has moved beyond ten blue links. For many sites, the shift was dramatic: “Over 16% of URLs ranking in the top 10 after the update didn’t rank in the top 20 before,” according to Search Engine Land (2025). That volatility coincided with the expansion of AI Overviews, the persistence of zero-click behaviors, and continued pressure to deliver structured, mobile-first experiences.

The result is an SEO environment where the “so what” is clear: success is measured not only in rankings but also in impressions within AI summaries, eligibility for rich results, and performance across multiple engines. For marketers, the KPIs that matter now include ranking stability, AI Overview capture rate, Core Web Vitals pass percentage, and non-Google traffic share.

What Happened

Google’s June 2025 Core Update officially began rolling out on June 30. Within days, volatility was recorded across sectors, and by the time analysis was published, data providers confirmed it was among the most disruptive updates in recent memory. More than one in six of the top-10 URLs were newcomers, highlighting the magnitude of change (Search Engine Land, 2025).

At the same time, AI features accelerated. Semrush found AI Overviews appeared in 13.14% of queries by March, nearly doubling from January (Semrush, 2025). Google’s own disclosure at I/O emphasized that AI Mode and Overviews are driving over 10% incremental usage for query types where these features appear (Google, 2025). Yet visibility in these surfaces often comes without clicks. AdLift documented that 71% of searches now result in no organic click at all, leaving brands to measure impressions and mentions rather than traffic alone (AdLift, 2025).

Structured data remained central. Jameela Ghann’s June guide reinforced that JSON-LD markup unlocks higher CTRs through enhanced listings (Ghann, 2025), while Webflow’s July explainer stressed its scalability for larger SEO and Answer Engine Optimization projects (Webflow, 2025). Without schema, eligibility for snippets and AI summaries is severely limited.

Technical SEO continued to shape outcomes. Capsicum Media Works reported that only 47% of sites currently pass Core Web Vitals (2025). Clevertize emphasized that mobile performance is critical, urging marketers to prioritize responsive fixes and real-device testing (2025).

Finally, diversification remains essential. Lawrence Hitches observed Google’s global share at 89.54%, Bing with 7.5% in the U.S., and Yandex dominating Russia at 65% (2025). For brands with regional audiences, optimization can’t end with Google.

Why It Matters (Factics)

Fact: Over 16% of top-10 results after the June update were new entrants. [SEL]

Tactic: Annotate rankings during update windows, avoid reactive rewrites until volatility settles, and re-audit content depth post-rollout.

KPI: % of tracked keywords maintaining or regaining top-10 visibility after three weeks.

Fact: AI Overviews triggered in 13.14% of queries by March 2025. [Semrush]

Tactic: Structure content with clear H2/H3 headings, FAQs, and concise explanations to increase eligibility.

KPI: AI Overview capture rate across priority keywords.

Fact: 71% of queries produce no organic click. [AdLift]

Tactic: Shift reporting to include impressions, brand mentions, and AI visibility alongside CTR.

KPI: Ratio of impressions vs. clicks for high-value queries.

Fact: JSON-LD schema enables enhanced listings and scalability. [Ghann, Webflow]

Tactic: Audit site templates for Article, FAQ, and HowTo schema; validate with Google’s Rich Results Test.

KPI: Rich result eligibility % and CTR delta for enhanced vs. plain listings.

Fact: Fewer than half of sites pass Core Web Vitals. [Capsicum]

Tactic: Target LCP <2.5s, INP <200ms, CLS <0.1; prioritize fixes on mobile templates.

KPI: % of URLs passing CWV in Search Console (mobile and desktop).

Fact: Mobile performance is decisive for rankings. [Clevertize]

Tactic: Prioritize responsive design, compress images, test on real devices.

KPI: Mobile vs. desktop CWV performance deltas.

Fact: Bing holds 7.5% U.S. share; Yandex dominates Russia with 65%. [Hitches]

Tactic: Maintain Bing Places listings, localize for Yandex, and track regional engine performance.

KPI: Traffic diversification across engines.

Fact: AI Mode increased query volume by >10% in supported markets. [Google]

Tactic: Optimize for entity clarity, authoritative sourcing.

KPI: Sessions referred from AI Mode experiences.

Lessons in Action

1. Wait, then act: Don’t rewrite content mid-rollout. Hold steady until rankings stabilize.

2. Schema at scale: Ensure JSON-LD coverage across Article, FAQ, and HowTo templates.

3. Measure visibility differently: Add AI Overview impressions and brand mentions to dashboards.

4. Fix technical debt: Improve LCP, INP, and CLS — especially on mobile.

5. Diversify engines: Maintain presence in Bing and Yandex for regional resilience.

Reflect and Adapt

SEO in July 2025 is about more than winning keywords. Google’s update reinforced the importance of trustworthy, structured content, while AI Overviews and zero-click behavior redefined how success is measured. Technical SEO remains a differentiator, and multi-engine optimization protects reach. The lesson: broaden metrics, strengthen fundamentals, and position content for both human readers and AI-driven systems.

Common Questions

Q: Should I react immediately to ranking drops after an update?

A: No. Core updates bring volatility. Wait for stabilization before making significant changes.

Q: How do I measure success when clicks decline?

A: Track impressions, AI Overview presence, and brand mentions — not just CTR.

Q: Is schema markup optional?

A: No. Structured data is now essential for eligibility in rich results and AI summaries.

Disclosure

This article was created with the assistance of AI research systems. All nine sources were independently verified, publicly accessible, and published on or before June 30, 2025 unless noted for update completion.

References

Search Engine Land. (2025, July 17). Google June 2025 core update rollout is now complete. https://searchengineland.com/google-june-2025-core-update-rollout-is-now-complete-458617

Semrush. (2025, July 22). AI Overviews Study: What 2025 SEO Data Tells Us. https://www.semrush.com/blog/semrush-ai-overviews-study/

AdLift. (2025, July 1). What Is Zero Click Search? https://www.adlift.com/blog/zero-click-search-seo-strategy/

Ghann, J. (2025, June 18). How to Use Structured Data & Schema for Blog SEO. https://www.jameelaghann.com/marketing-lab/how-to-use-structured-data-schema-blog

Webflow. (2025, July 31). Schema markup explained. https://webflow.com/blog/schema-markup

Capsicum Media Works. (2025, June 30). Core Web Vitals: Ultimate SEO Guide for 2025. https://capsicummediaworks.com/core-web-vitals/

Clevertize. (2025, June 26). Core Web Vitals for the 2025 Update. https://clevertize.com/blog/mastering-core-web-vitals-for-the-2025-update/

Hitches, L. (2025, July 1). Differences Between Search Engines. https://www.lawrencehitches.com/search-engine-differences/

Google. (2025, May 20). AI Mode in Google Search. https://blog.google/products/search/google-search-ai-mode-update/

Navigating SEO in a Localized, Zero-Click World

June 2, 2025 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

Search visibility is shifting again, and this time the changes are subtle but far-reaching. The big story through May is not a new algorithm, but the ongoing volatility from March’s core update, combined with growth signals in Bing and DuckDuckGo and a steady Yandex share that still matters in regional markets. At the same time, zero-click results and business profiles are becoming the real battlegrounds for discovery.

As one analyst explained, “Bing achieved 22% year-over-year growth in engagement rates, powered by Copilot integration” (gHacks Tech News, 2025). DuckDuckGo also pulled its weight, taking 8.651% of the non-Google search market (PPC Land, 2025). Yandex remains steady at around 2.8% globally but dominates Russia, making localized tactics critical (Search Endurance, 2025).

For marketers, the “so what” is clear: outcomes are no longer defined by who ranks #1. Instead, KPIs are shifting to local pack impressions, featured snippet capture, privacy-conscious audience reach, and consent-compliant campaign measurement.

What Happened

The March 2025 Google Core Update continued to ripple through May. Search Engine Roundtable captured community reports of sites seeing traffic double in a single day (2025), while Search Engine Land confirmed finance was among the most turbulent sectors, with travel relatively stable (2025). Google’s advice hasn’t changed—focus on quality, helpfulness, and E-E-A-T—but the volatility shows how fragile rankings remain in sensitive verticals.

Meanwhile, AI growth in alternative engines is finally measurable. Microsoft reported that Bing’s Copilot has driven significant engagement growth, and DuckDuckGo’s privacy positioning continues to attract a loyal user base. Yandex holds a small global share but commands a majority in its home market, proving that global SEO must plan for regional engines, not just Google.

On the feature side, zero-click results are defining the modern SERP. Google’s own documentation reminds us snippets are algorithmically chosen, with controls like nosnippet and max-snippet available to webmasters (Google Search Central, 2025). Backlinko notes snippets account for around 8% of all clicks, making structured, concise answer formatting more valuable than chasing the #1 blue link.

Local SEO is also tightening. Google Search Central’s May guidance on local queries emphasized rich profiles with reviews, photos, and Q&A to improve eligibility in Maps and the Local Pack (2025). Uberall adds that Bing Places still matters, processing 900 million daily queries across Microsoft’s network (2025).

Finally, privacy regulation is converging with AI search. Microsoft Ads required explicit consent signals by May 5, 2025, for personalized targeting across Bing and Microsoft properties (Microsoft Ads Blog, 2025). That change forces marketers to treat consent opt-in rates as a KPI equal to impressions or CTR, a critical bridge between SEO visibility and compliant measurement.

Why It Matters (Factics in Action)

Fact: Bing grew 22% YoY in engagement; DuckDuckGo captured 8.651% of the non-Google market.
Tactic: Build engine-specific content and reporting dashboards that segment beyond Google.
KPI: % of organic sessions by engine (Google/Bing/DDG/Yandex).

Fact: March 2025 core update volatility lingered into May, with finance hardest hit.
Tactic: Harden E-E-A-T content in sensitive sectors, prune thin programmatic content.
KPI: Vertical-segmented rank stability scores.

Fact: Featured snippets capture ~8% of clicks and are often paired with People Also Ask.
Tactic: Write 40-60 word answer blocks under question-based H2/H3 headings.
KPI: Featured snippet capture rate and PAA appearances.

Fact: Google guidance confirms complete profiles with reviews/photos/Q&A improve local discovery.
Tactic: Monthly refresh photos, seed Q&A, solicit reviews consistently.
KPI: Local Pack impressions, calls, direction requests.

Fact: Microsoft required consent signals for targeting by May 5, 2025.
Tactic: Implement consent mode + server-side tagging; segment metrics by consent.
KPI: Consent opt-in % and compliant reach.

Lessons in Action: 4 Steps

Segment Reporting by Engine – Create dashboards that break down traffic and engagement by Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Yandex.
Zero-Click Optimization – Target featured snippets and People Also Ask with concise, structured content.
Local Pack Hygiene – Sync Google Business Profile with Bing Places; update photos, Q&A, and reviews monthly.
Privacy-Led Measurement – Audit consent flows; treat opt-in rate as a first-class KPI alongside CTR or rankings.

Reflect and Adapt

SEO in mid-2025 is less about chasing Google’s next confirmation and more about adapting to a fragmented, privacy-first, AI-augmented landscape. Market share shifts show Bing and DuckDuckGo carving measurable niches, Yandex cementing its regional role, and zero-click results stealing attention before clicks even happen. The winners are those who integrate multi-engine tactics, snippet optimization, local profile hygiene, and consent-compliant measurement into a single, resilient strategy.

Common Questions

Q: Should I still prioritize Google above other engines?
A: Yes, but treat Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Yandex as distinct growth channels. Segment analytics and allocate resources proportionally.

Q: How do I measure success in a zero-click world?
A: Shift to impression-level metrics (Local Pack, snippets, AI Overviews) and brand search volume, not just clicks.

Q: What’s the first local SEO step for small businesses?
A: Complete your Google Business Profile, sync it to Bing Places, and refresh reviews/photos monthly.

Disclosure

This article was created with the assistance of multiple AI systems (Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, ChatGPT), each providing research outputs that were verified and synthesized into a consultant-style narrative. All sources were published on or before May 31, 2025, and have been independently validated for public accessibility and factual alignment.

References

gHacks Tech News. (2025, May 2). Microsoft’s Bing gains momentum as Google sees decline in market share. https://www.ghacks.net/2025/05/02/microsofts-bing-gains-momentum-as-google-sees-decline-in-market-share/

PPC Land. (2025, April 27). Google’s search dominance continues, capturing 87% market share in Q1 2025. https://ppc.land/googles-search-dominance-continues-capturing-87-market-share-in-q1-2025/

Search Endurance. (2025, February 11). 39 Yandex statistics you need to know in 2025. https://searchendurance.com/yandex-statistics/

Search Engine Roundtable. (2025, May 13). Google Search Ranking Volatility May 12–13. https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ranking-volatility-may-12-13-39402.html

Search Engine Land. (2025, April 2). Data providers: March 2025 core update had similar volatility to the previous. https://searchengineland.com/data-providers-google-march-2025-core-update-had-similar-volatility-to-the-previous-update-453778

Google Search Central. (2025, February 4). Featured snippets and your website. https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/featured-snippets

Backlinko. (2025, April 14). Featured snippets: How to capture position zero. https://backlinko.com/hub/seo/featured-snippets

Google Search Central. (2025, May 13). Making sense of queries in local search. https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2025/05/local-search-queries

Uberall. (2025, March 25). Maximizing the value of Bing Business Listings. https://uberall.com/en-us/resources/blog/bing-business-listings

Microsoft Ads Blog. (2025, March 26). Providing user consent signals on your Microsoft campaigns by May 5, 2025. https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en/blog/post/march-2025/providing-user-consent-signals-on-your-microsoft-campaigns-by-may-5-2025

Yahoo Deliverability Shake-Up & Multi-Engine SEO in a Privacy-First World

May 5, 2025 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

April reshaped both inboxes and search results. Yahoo’s long-anticipated enforcement of stricter deliverability standards disrupted email campaigns worldwide, shifting filtering from IP-based checks to domain reputation. At the same time, privacy-first search engines like DuckDuckGo continued to capture attention as users sought alternatives to data-heavy platforms, while Google’s Privacy Sandbox reinforced that cookie deprecation is a matter of “when” not “if.” These changes ripple directly into SEO strategy: content must now be optimized not just for Google, but for multiple engines with their own intent patterns and regional signals. Yandex, in particular, underscores how local context, language, and dwell time shape visibility in non-English markets.

What matters now is not just ranking, but building trust through privacy, engagement, and adaptability. Metrics like inbox placement, spam complaint rates, consent opt-ins, cross-engine CTR, and regional search visibility become leading indicators of success. In this landscape, SEO leaders must pivot from channel silos to integrated, privacy-first journeys that honor both global platforms and local contexts.

What Happened

Yahoo’s enforcement began in early April 2025, and its impact was immediate. Deliverability collapsed for bulk senders who failed to meet the new standard: complaint rates under 0.3% measured on inboxed mail. Domain reputation replaced IP pools as the deciding factor, and misaligned SPF, DKIM, or DMARC records often pushed messages to spam. Reports from InboxAlly and Digital Marketing on Cloud confirm that even high-volume senders faced throttling and bulk folder placement until authentication and engagement signals improved.

In parallel, DuckDuckGo’s position as the leading privacy-first search engine gained renewed attention. Its built-in tracker blocking and short cookie lifespans reinforced why privacy-conscious users are turning away from Google. Research from Search Engine Journal shows that while DDG still represents a small share of global queries, it continues to attract a growing niche audience that brands cannot ignore.

On the Google side, the Privacy Sandbox team confirmed in April that full third-party cookie deprecation remains paused, but the Sandbox APIs and IP Protection features continue to expand. This means marketers must plan for a hybrid state — some browsers fully cookieless, others still reliant on legacy tracking — with first-party and modeled data filling the gap. Cookie Information further reinforced that regulatory pushback from the UK’s CMA in 2024 remains a turning point, keeping timelines fluid but forcing marketers to adapt.

SEO itself is also evolving with searcher behavior. Writesonic highlighted how content format must match intent across Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo: listicles for “best” queries, how-to guides for task-based searches, and concise Q&A for zero-click answers. Search Engine Land tied this directly to privacy-first measurement, noting that marketers need incrementality testing and MMM models to capture value when cookies disappear.

Finally, Yandex continues to prove that search is not one-size-fits-all. Local SEO Guide and Linguana confirm that Yandex ranks regional domains, native-language content, and dwell time far more heavily than Google. Geo signals down to the city level affect visibility, and UX metrics account for nearly one-fifth of ranking weight. For brands with any footprint in Russia or neighboring markets, ignoring Yandex is leaving search equity on the table.

“Complaint rates must remain below 0.3%, with deliverability determined by DKIM/SPF/DMARC alignment and sender-domain consistency.” – Digital Marketing on Cloud, April 25, 2025

Who’s Impacted

• B2B: Enterprise firms relying on nurture streams face delivery losses if Yahoo complaints spike. On search, missing SERP-intent alignment across Google, Bing, and DDG risks wasted ad spend and lost leads.
• B2C: Retailers, travel brands, and restaurants must balance visibility in Google while also reaching privacy-conscious consumers on DuckDuckGo and adapting to cookie-light analytics.
• Nonprofit: YMYL nonprofits see a double squeeze — stricter deliverability filters threaten donor outreach, while E-E-A-T expectations and privacy-first channels shape how supporters discover causes online.

Why It Matters (Factics)

Factic #1
Fact: Yahoo now enforces a 0.3% spam complaint threshold at the domain level.
Tactic: Audit email authentication and segment lists for engaged users only.
KPI: Maintain complaint rates below 0.1% for Yahoo/AOL/Verizon traffic.

Factic #2
Fact: DuckDuckGo blocks third-party trackers and limits cookie lifespans to 24 hours or 7 days.
Tactic: Publish direct, answer-first pages optimized for Instant Answers.
KPI: Track DDG sessions and direct traffic growth from privacy-first users.

Factic #3
Fact: Chrome maintains Privacy Sandbox APIs while delaying full third-party cookie removal.
Tactic: Implement Consent Mode v2 and test Sandbox APIs alongside server-side tagging.
KPI: % of conversions attributable through first-party data and modeled attribution.

Factic #4
Fact: Yandex geo-factors and UX metrics like dwell time strongly affect rankings.
Tactic: Use .ru domains, native content, and Yandex.Metrica to optimize for local audiences.
KPI: Regional visibility and engagement metrics in Yandex Webmaster tools.

Factic #5
Fact: SERP intent alignment is mandatory across Google, Bing, and DDG.
Tactic: Redesign content formats (listicles, how-tos, FAQs) to match multi-engine query intent.
KPI: CTR and snippet capture rate across multiple engines.

Action Steps

1. Annotate April deliverability enforcement in analytics and track Yahoo complaint rates.
2. Roll out CMP and Consent Mode v2 to handle cookieless tracking.
3. Test content formats engine by engine to match query intent.
4. Optimize for Yandex regional signals with local domains and UX improvements.

References

2025-04-28 – InboxAlly Knowledge Base – Yahoo April 2025 Deliverability Update – https://docs.inboxally.com/support/yahoo-april-2025-deliverability-update

2025-04-25 – Digital Marketing on Cloud – Yahoo’s April 2025 Deliverability Shake-Up – https://digitalmarketingoncloud.com/deliverability/yahoos-april-2025-deliverability-shake-up/

2025-04-22 – Privacy Sandbox – Next steps for Privacy Sandbox & tracking protections in Chrome – https://privacysandbox.com/news/privacy-sandbox-next-steps/

2025-02-21 – DuckDuckGo SpreadPrivacy – App Tracking Protection Beta Open to All Android Users – https://spreadprivacy.com/app-tracking-protection-open-beta/

2024-10-30 – Search Engine Journal – Meet The 7 Most Popular Search Engines In The World – https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo/meet-search-engines/

2025-01-20 – Cookie Information – The end of third-party cookies: how to adapt your marketing strategy – https://cookieinformation.com/resources/blog/end-of-third-party-cookie/

2025-04-08 – Writesonic – What Is Search Intent: How to Identify & Optimize for It – https://writesonic.com/blog/what-is-search-intent

2024-07-09 – Search Engine Land – How to evolve your PPC measurement strategy for a privacy-first future – https://searchengineland.com/ppc-measurement-strategy-privacy-first-future-443975

2024-06-20 – Local SEO Guide – Yandex Local SEO Ranking Factors – https://www.localseoguide.com/yandex-local-seo-ranking-factors/

2024-02-15 – Linguana – SEO for Yandex: Your Complete Strategic Playbook – https://www.linguana.io/blog/search-engine-optimization-yandex

Disclosure

Disclosure: This article is #AIgenerated with minimal human input for direction and approval. Sources are gathered by AI systems and may not have undergone full human fact-checking. Original works by Basil Puglisi are subject to comprehensive source verification.

Building Authority with Verified AI Research [Two Versions, #AIa Originality.ai review]

April 28, 2025 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

***This article is published first as Basil Puglisi Original work and written and dictated to AI, you can see the Originality.ai review of my work, it then is republished again in this same page after AI helps refine the content, my opinion is the second version is the better content and more professional but the AI scan would claim it has less value, I be reviewing AI scans next month***

I have been in enough boardrooms to recognize the cycle. Someone pushes for more output, the dashboards glow, and soon the team is buried in decks and reports that nobody trusts. Noise rises, but credibility does not. Volume by itself has never carried authority.

What changes the outcome is proof. Proof that every claim ties back to a source. Proof that numbers can be traced without debate. Proof that an audience can follow the trail and make their own judgment. Years ago I put a name to that approach: the Factics method. The idea came from one campaign where strategy lived in one column and data in another, and no one bothered to connect the two. Factics is the bridge. Facts linked with tactics, data tied to strategy. It forces receipts before scale, and that is where authority begins.

Perplexity’s enterprise release showed the strength of that principle. Every answer carried citations in place, making it harder for teams to bluff their way through metrics. When I piloted it with a finance client, the shift was immediate. Arguments about what a metric meant gave way to questions about what to do with it. Backlinks climbed by double digits, but the bigger win was cultural. People stopped hiding behind dashboards and began shaping stories that could withstand audits.

Claude Sonnet carried a similar role in long reports. Its extended context window meant whitepapers could finally be drafted with fewer handoffs between writers. Instead of patching paragraphs together from different writers, a single flow could carry technical depth and narrative clarity. The lift was not only in speed but in the way reports could now pass expert review with fewer rewrites.

Other tools filled the workflow in motion. ElevenLabs took transcripts and turned them into quick audio snippets for LinkedIn. Descript polished behind-the-scenes recordings into reels, while Surfer SEO scored drafts for topical authority before publication. None of them mattered on their own, but together they formed a loop where compliance, research, and social proof reinforced one another. The outcome was measurable: steadier trust signals in search, more reliable performance on LinkedIn, and fewer compliance penalties flagged by governance software.

Creative Concepts Corner

B2B — Financial Services Whitepaper
A finance firm ran competitor research through Perplexity Pro, pulled the citations, and built a whitepaper with Claude Sonnet. Surfer scored it for topical authority, and ElevenLabs added an audio briefing for LinkedIn. Backlinks rose 15%, compliance errors fell under 5%, and lead quality improved. The tip: build the Factics framework into reporting so citations carry forward automatically.

B2C — Retail Campaign Launch
A retail brand used Descript to edit behind-the-scenes launch content, paired with ElevenLabs audio ads for Instagram. Perplexity verified campaign stats in real time, ensuring ad claims were sourced. Compliance penalties stayed near zero, campaign ROI lifted by 12%, and sentiment held steady. The tip: treat compliance checks like creative edits — built into the process, not bolted on.

Nonprofit — Health Awareness
A health nonprofit ran 300 articles through Claude Sonnet to align with expertise and accuracy standards. Lakera Guard flagged risky phrasing before launch, while DALL·E supplied imagery free of trademark issues. The result: a 97% compliance score and higher search visibility. The tip: use a shared dashboard to prioritize which content pieces need review first.

Closing Thought

Authority is not abstract. It shows up in backlinks earned, in the compliance rate that holds steady, and in how an audience responds when they can trace the source themselves. Perplexity, Claude, Surfer, ElevenLabs, Descript — none of them matter on their own. What matters is how they hold together as a system. The proof is not the toggle or the feature. It is the fact that the teams who stop treating this as a side experiment and begin leaning on it daily are the ones entering 2025 with something real — speed they can measure, trust they can defend, and credibility that endures.

References

Acrolinx. (2025, March 5). AI and the law: Navigating legal risks in content creation. Acrolinx.

Anthropic. (2024, March 4). Introducing the next generation of Claude. Anthropic.

AWS News Blog. (2024, March 27). Anthropic’s Claude 3 Sonnet model is now available on Amazon Bedrock. Amazon Web Services.

ElevenLabs. (2025, March 17). March 17, 2025 changelog. ElevenLabs.

FusionForce Media. (2025, February 25). Perplexity AI: Master content creation like a pro in 2025. FusionForce Media.

Google Cloud. (2024, March 14). Anthropic’s Claude 3 models now available on Vertex AI. Google.

Harvard Business School. (2025, March 31). Perplexity: Redefining search. Harvard Business School.

Influencer Marketing Hub. (2024, December 1). Perplexity AI SEO: Is this the future of search? Influencer Marketing Hub.

Inside Privacy. (2024, March 18). China releases new labeling requirements for AI-generated content. Covington & Burling LLP.

McKinsey & Company. (2025, March 12). The state of AI: Global survey. McKinsey & Company.

Perplexity. (2025, January 4). Answering your questions about Perplexity and our partnership with AnyDesktop. Perplexity AI.

Perplexity. (2025, February 13). Introducing Perplexity Enterprise Pro. Perplexity AI.

Quora. (2024, March 5). Poe introduces the new Claude 3 models, available now. Quora Blog.

Solveo. (2025, March 3). 7 AI tools to dominate podcasting trends in 2025. Solveo.

Surfer SEO. (2025, January 27). What’s new at Surfer? Product updates January 2025. Surfer SEO.

YouTube. (2025, March 26). Descript March 2025 changelog: Smart transitions & Rooms improvements. YouTube.

Basil Puglisi shared eval from original content from Originality.ai

+++ AI Assisted Writing, placing content for rewrite and assistance +++

Teams often chase volume and hope credibility follows. Dashboards light up, reports multiply, yet trust remains flat. Volume alone does not build authority. The shift happens when every claim carries receipts, when proof is embedded in the process, and when data connects directly to tactics. Years ago I gave that framework a name: the Factics method. It forces strategy and evidence into the same lane, and it turns output into something an audience can trace and believe.

Perplexity’s enterprise release showed the strength of that approach. Citations appear in place, making it harder for teams to bluff their way through metrics. In practice the change is cultural as much as technical. At a finance client, arguments about definitions gave way to decisions about action. Backlinks climbed by double digits, and the greater win was that trust in reporting no longer stalled campaigns. Proof became part of the rhythm.

Claude Sonnet added its own weight in long-form reports. Extended context windows meant fewer handoffs between writers and fewer stitched paragraphs. Reports carried technical depth and narrative clarity in a single draft. The benefit was speed, but also a cleaner path through expert review. Rewrites fell, cycle time dropped, and credibility improved.

Other tools shaped the workflow in motion. ElevenLabs produced audio briefs from transcripts that fit neatly into LinkedIn feeds. Descript polished behind-the-scenes recordings into usable reels. Surfer SEO flagged drafts for topical authority before they went live. None of these tools deliver authority on their own, but together they form a cycle where compliance, research, and distribution reinforce each other. The results are measurable: steadier trust signals in search, stronger LinkedIn performance, and fewer compliance penalties flagged downstream.

Best Practice Spotlight

A finance firm demonstrated how Factics translates into outcomes. Competitor research ran through Perplexity Pro, citations carried forward, and Claude Sonnet produced a whitepaper that Surfer validated for topical authority. ElevenLabs added an audio briefing for distribution. The outcome was clear: backlinks rose 15 percent, compliance errors fell under 5 percent, and lead quality improved. The lesson is practical. Build citation frameworks into reporting so proof travels with every draft.

Creative Consulting Concepts

B2B — Financial Services Whitepaper

Challenge: Research decks lacked trust.
Execution: Perplexity sourced citations, Claude structured the whitepaper, Surfer validated authority, ElevenLabs created LinkedIn audio briefs.
Impact: Backlinks increased 15 percent, compliance errors stayed under 5 percent, lead quality lifted.
Tip: Automate Factics so citations flow forward without manual work.

B2C — Retail Campaign Launch

Challenge: Marketing claims needed real-time validation.
Execution: Descript refined behind-the-scenes launch clips, ElevenLabs produced audio ads, Perplexity verified stats live.
Impact: ROI rose 12 percent, compliance penalties stayed near zero, sentiment held steady.
Tip: Treat compliance checks as part of editing, not as a final review stage.

Nonprofit — Health Awareness

Challenge: Scale content without losing accuracy.
Execution: Claude Sonnet shaped 300 articles, Lakera Guard flagged risk, DALL·E supplied safe imagery.
Impact: Compliance reached 97 percent, search visibility climbed.
Tip: Use shared dashboards to prioritize reviews across lean teams.

Closing Thought

Authority is not theory. It is Perplexity carrying receipts, Claude adding depth, Surfer strengthening signals, ElevenLabs translating research to audio, and Descript turning raw into polished. Compliance runs in the background, steady and necessary. The teams that stop treating this as a trial and start relying on it daily are the ones entering 2025 with something durable, speed they can measure, trust they can defend, and credibility that endures.

References

Acrolinx. (2025, March 5). AI and the law: Navigating legal risks in content creation. Acrolinx. https://www.acrolinx.com/blog/ai-laws-for-content-creation

Anthropic. (2024, March 4). Introducing the next generation of Claude. Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-3-family

AWS News Blog. (2024, March 27). Anthropic’s Claude 3 Sonnet model is now available on Amazon Bedrock. Amazon Web Services. https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/anthropic-claude-3-sonnet-model-is-now-available-on-amazon-bedrock/

ElevenLabs. (2025, March 17). March 17, 2025 changelog. ElevenLabs. https://elevenlabs.io/docs/changelog/2025/3/17

FusionForce Media. (2025, February 25). Perplexity AI: Master content creation like a pro in 2025. FusionForce Media. https://fusionforcemedia.com/perplexity-ai-2025/

Harvard Business School. (2025, March 31). Perplexity: Redefining search. Harvard Business School. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=67198

McKinsey & Company. (2025, March 12). The state of AI: Global survey. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai

Surfer SEO. (2025, January 27). What’s new at Surfer? Product updates January 2025. Surfer SEO. https://surferseo.com/blog/january-2025-update/

YouTube. (2025, March 26). Descript March 2025 changelog: Smart transitions & Rooms improvements. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdVY7wTZAIE

Basil Puglisi, sharing eval by Originality.ai after AI intervention in content.

SEO Map: Core Updates, AI Overviews, and Bing’s New Copilot

April 7, 2025 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

March delivered one of the most complex search environments in recent memory. Google launched its first core update of the year, a global rollout that stretched across two weeks and triggered ranking volatility across multiple verticals. The update underscored a reality Google itself has made clear: recovery is not guaranteed, and quality signals must be built into every page to remain competitive.

At the same time, Google’s AI Overviews surged in visibility. BrightEdge data revealed dramatic category-specific increases, with entertainment queries up over 500%, restaurants up nearly 400%, and travel close behind. Equally important, the overlap between AI Overview citations and top-10 organic rankings dropped again, signaling a deliberate move by Google to diversify which sources appear in AI-generated answers.

While Google dominated headlines, Microsoft made quiet but significant moves. Bing Webmaster Tools introduced two major updates: Copilot, an AI assistant now generally available to all users, and new comparison features that allow site owners to benchmark performance across custom date ranges without leaving the platform. Together, these upgrades make Bing a more credible secondary channel at a moment when Statcounter shows its global share edging just over 4%—small, but strategically important in certain markets.

On the technical front, Google Search Central issued refreshed guidance on the Robots Exclusion Protocol, emphasizing proper use of robots.txt and robots meta tags as AI-driven crawlers become more common. Moz simultaneously updated its E-E-A-T guide, reinforcing that “experience” must be proven through first-hand trials, author credibility, and authentic user reviews. Statcounter’s latest market data closed out the month, confirming Google still commands nearly 90% of searches worldwide, but also illustrating why diversifying strategy beyond a Google-only mindset has never been more important.

What Happened

Google’s March 2025 Core Update was announced on March 12, began rolling out March 13, and finished by March 27. Search Engine Land and Search Engine Roundtable confirmed the update took 14 days in total, similar in scope and volatility to December 2024. Sites impacted experienced either strong gains or steep declines, with many reporting disruptions across organic results, Discover, and featured snippets.

“Google’s March 2025 core update rollout is now complete after 14 days, bringing moderate volatility and notable ranking shifts.” – Search Engine Land, March 27, 2025

Google repeated its usual advice to avoid quick fixes and instead focus on creating helpful, reliable, and people-first content. Importantly, the company also cautioned that not all sites will recover in subsequent core updates, cementing the message that sustained improvement is required, not reactive adjustments.

Overlaying this update was a surge in Google’s AI Overviews. According to BrightEdge, overlap between top-10 organic rankings and AI Overview citations dipped from 16% to 15%. This means AI Overviews are drawing from a wider pool of sources, reducing predictability for sites that rely on strong organic positions. Vertical-level impacts were more dramatic: entertainment queries saw a 528% spike in AI Overview appearances, restaurants 387%, and travel 381%. For consumer-facing industries, this represents both a threat to click-through rates and a new opportunity to be cited even if a page does not rank in the traditional top 10.

Meanwhile, Bing made two key announcements. On March 18, Microsoft confirmed Copilot in Bing Webmaster Tools was now available to all users. This AI-powered feature delivers real-time Q&A, performance insights, and optimization guidance within the platform, replacing what previously required third-party tools or manual searches. At the same time, Bing rolled out new comparison features for its Search Performance report, allowing site owners to analyze clicks, impressions, CTR, keywords, and pages across any two chosen date ranges. Coverage from both Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal highlighted that these updates substantially reduce analysis time, allowing faster detection of changes caused by events like Google’s core update.

Outside algorithm shifts, Google used March to emphasize technical fundamentals. The Search Central blog published a “Robots Refresher” clarifying how the Robots Exclusion Protocol remains critical in controlling crawler access. The guidance was framed for a future where AI crawlers are commonplace, urging webmasters to audit their robots.txt and meta directives to prevent both over-blocking and unintended exposure of sensitive content.

At the same time, Moz updated its widely read E-E-A-T explainer. The March revision doubled down on “experience” as a distinct signal, requiring content to show first-hand product use, trials, or case-based evidence. This clarification reinforces Google’s steady move toward content that demonstrates lived authority rather than relying solely on expertise or author credentials.

Finally, Statcounter’s March global search market share report reinforced the bigger picture: Google holds roughly 89.5% share, Bing about 4%, Yandex 2%, and Yahoo 1.5%. While Google remains overwhelmingly dominant, these numbers highlight that non-Google search traffic is not negligible. For brands with presence in markets where Bing or Yandex are stronger, optimization beyond Google is a viable growth lever.

Who’s Impacted

• B2B: SaaS and enterprise companies dependent on organic rankings for lead gen face new uncertainty. AI Overviews are surfacing alternative sources outside the top 10, creating visibility risks for authoritative sites. Those who adapt structured content to be more quotable can offset losses in CTR.

• B2C: High-volume verticals like entertainment, travel, and dining are heavily impacted by AI Overview surges, with direct answers often replacing clicks. Retailers, restaurants, and entertainment platforms must optimize for entity-driven queries and schema to retain visibility.

• Nonprofit: Organizations in YMYL spaces such as health or finance are under heightened scrutiny. Moz’s updated E-E-A-T guidance confirms that first-hand accounts, expert bios, and trustworthy references are now prerequisites for sustainable visibility and donor trust.

Why It Matters (Factics)

Factic #1
Fact: Google’s March 2025 core update lasted 14 days, with volatility levels similar to prior updates.
Tactic: Annotate March 13–27 in analytics and run side-by-side comparisons to detect which pages were most affected. Segment between sitewide vs. page-level losses to prioritize fixes.
KPI: Percentage of impacted URLs showing recovery in impressions and clicks within 30 days of optimization.

Factic #2
Fact: AI Overview overlap with top-10 organic rankings fell from 16% to 15%, while entertainment, restaurant, and travel queries saw surges of up to 528%.
Tactic: Implement Q&A content blocks, entity-rich schema, and concise extractive answers to increase AIO citation probability, even outside the top 10.
KPI: Number of unique AI Overview citations gained and CTR changes for AIO-present queries.

Factic #3
Fact: Bing introduced Copilot and comparison features in Webmaster Tools, now available to all users.
Tactic: Use Copilot for real-time diagnostics and leverage date comparisons to benchmark pre- and post-update performance, especially for campaigns with Bing exposure.
KPI: Reduction in SEO analysis time by 20% and measurable Bing traffic lift in priority regions.

Action Steps

1. Annotate analytics for March 13–27 and review impacted URLs for intent, content depth, and internal linking.
2. Audit YMYL and high-traffic vertical pages for E-E-A-T signals, adding expert bios, first-hand examples, and authoritative citations.
3. Optimize content with structured Q&A and schema to increase chances of AIO citation.
4. Leverage Bing Webmaster Tools Copilot and comparison features to reduce diagnostic cycles and track multi-engine performance shifts.

References

2025-03-27 – Search Engine Land – Google March 2025 core update rollout is now complete – https://searchengineland.com/google-march-2025-core-update-rollout-is-now-complete-453364

2025-03-12 – Search Engine Land – Google March 2025 core update rolling out now – https://searchengineland.com/google-march-2025-core-update-rolling-out-now-453253

2025-03-27 – Search Engine Roundtable – Google March 2025 Core Update finished rolling out – https://www.seroundtable.com/google-march-2025-core-update-done-39142.html

2025-03-26 – Search Engine Land – Data providers: March 2025 core update volatility similar to the previous update – https://searchengineland.com/data-providers-google-march-2025-core-update-had-similar-volatility-to-the-previous-update-453778

2025-03 – Search Engine Land – Google: Not all sites will fully recover with future core algorithm updates – https://searchengineland.com/google-not-all-sites-will-fully-recover-with-future-core-algorithm-updates-453507

2025-03-25 – Search Engine Land – Google AI Overview–organic ranking overlap drops after core update – https://searchengineland.com/google-ai-overview-organic-ranking-overlap-drop-core-update-454264

2025-03-18 – Bing Webmaster Blog – Copilot in Bing Webmaster Tools is now available to all users – https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/March-2025/Copilot-in-Bing-Webmaster-Tools-is-Now-Available-to-All-Users

2025-03-18 – Search Engine Land – Bing Webmaster Tools Search Performance report adds comparisons – https://searchengineland.com/bing-webmaster-tools-search-performance-gains-comparisons-453318

2025-03-17 – Search Engine Journal – Bing Webmaster Tools adds data comparison & UX improvements – https://www.searchenginejournal.com/bing-webmaster-tools-adds-data-comparison-ux-improvements/542395/

2025-03-28 – Google Search Central Blog – Robots Refresher: Future-proof Robots Exclusion Protocol – https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2025/03/robots-refresher-future-proof-robots-exclusion-protocol

2025-03-24 – Moz – What is Google E-E-A-T? Guidelines and SEO benefits – https://moz.com/learn/seo/google-eat

2025-03-31 – Statcounter – Search engine market share worldwide – https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share

Ethical Compliance & Quality Assurance in the AI Stack

March 24, 2025 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

Compliance is no longer a checkbox buried in policy decks. It shows up in the draft you are about to publish, the image that slips into a campaign, and the audit that decides if your team keeps trust intact. February made that clear. Claude 3.5 Sonnet added compliance features that turn E-E-A-T checks into a measurable workflow, and OpenAI’s DALL·E 3 pushed a new standard for IP-safe visuals. At the same time, the EU AI Act crossed into enforcement, China tightened data residency, and litigation kept reminding marketers that brand safety is not optional.

Here’s the point: ethical compliance and quality assurance are not barriers to speed, they are what make speed sustainable. Teams that ignore them pile up revisions, take hits from regulators, or lose trust with customers. Teams that integrate them measure outcomes differently—E-E-A-T compliance rate, visual error rates, content cycle times, and even customer sentiment flagged early. That is the new stack for 2025.

Claude 3.5 Sonnet’s February update matters because it lets compliance ride the same rails marketers already use for SEO. Your sources describe a real time E-E-A-T scoring workflow that returns a 1 to 100 rating for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, and beta teams report about forty percent less manual review once the rubric is encoded. Search Engine Journal lays out the operating pattern that fits this. Export a clean URL list with titles and authors, send batches through the API with a compact rubric that defines what counts as evidence, authority, and trust, and ask for strict JSON that includes an overall score, three subscores, short rationales, a claim risk tag for anything that needs a citation, and a brief rewrite note when a subscore falls below your threshold. Queue thousands of pages, set the initial threshold at sixty, and route anything under that line to human editorial for a focused fix that only adds verifiable detail. Run the audit on a schedule, log model settings and timestamps, sample ten percent for human regrade every cycle, and never auto publish changes without review. Measure pages audited per hour, average score lift after remediation, time to publish after a flagged rewrite, legal exceptions avoided, and the movement of non brand rankings on priority clusters once quality improves.

Visual content brings its own risks, which is why OpenAI’s Brand Shield for DALL·E 3 functions less like a feature and more like a guardrail. The system steers generations away from trademarks, logos, and copyrighted characters. In testing it cut accidental resemblance to protected mascots by ninety nine point two percent, which matters in a climate where cases like Disney versus MidJourney sit in the background of every creative decision. Turn that protection into a working process. Enable Brand Shield at the policy level, write prompts that describe style and mood rather than brands, keep an allow and deny list for edge cases, and log every prompt and output with a unique ID, a hash, and a timestamp. Add a short disclosure line where appropriate, embed provenance or watermarking, and run a quick reverse image search spot check on high risk assets before publication. Track auto approval rate from compliance, manual review rate, incidents per thousand assets, average time to approve an image, takedown requests received, and the percentage of published assets with a complete provenance record. The result is speed with a paper trail you can defend.

Regulation framed the month as much as product updates. On February 4, the European Commission confirmed that the grace period ended and high-risk AI systems must now meet the EU AI Act’s standards. Non-compliance can cost up to €35 million or seven percent of global turnover. In China, new residency rules forced 62 percent of American companies to spin up separate AI stacks, with an average fifteen to twenty percent bump in costs. These moves reshaped strategy. Lakera AI responded with Guard 2.0, a risk classifier that checks prompts in real time against the AI Act’s categories, and Sprinklr added a compliance module that flags potential violations across thirty channels. Tactics here are about proactive design: build compliance hooks into workflows before the first asset leaves draft.

This is where Factics drive strategy. Claude handles audits and cuts review cycles. DALL·E delivers brand-safe visuals while reducing legal risk. Lakera blocks high-risk outputs before they become liabilities. Sprinklr tracks sentiment and compliance simultaneously, ensuring customer trust signals align with regulatory rules. Gartner put it bluntly: compliance has jumped from outside the top twenty priorities to a top-five issue for CMOs. That shift is measurable.

Best Practice Spotlight

The Wanderlust Collective, a travel brand, demonstrated what this looks like in practice. In February they launched a campaign called “Destinations Reimagined,” generating over 2,500 visuals across 200 global locations using DALL·E 3 with Brand Shield enabled. They cut campaign content costs by thirty-five percent compared to the prior year, while their legal team logged zero IP infringement issues. Social engagement rates climbed twenty percent above their 2024 campaigns, which relied on stock photography. The lesson is clear: compliance guardrails do not slow creativity, they scale it safely and make campaigns perform better.

Creative Consulting Concepts

B2B – SaaS Compliance Workflow
Picture a SaaS team in London trying to launch across Europe. Every department runs its own compliance checks, and the rollout feels like traffic at rush hour, everyone honking but nobody moving. The consultant fix is to centralize. Claude 3.5 audits thousands of assets for E-E-A-T signals. Lakera Guard screens risk categories under the EU AI Act before anything ships, and Sprinklr tracks sentiment across thirty channels at once. The payoff: compliance rate jumps to ninety-six percent and cycle times shrink by a third. The tip? Route everything through one compliance gateway. Do it once, not ten times.

B2C – Retail Campaigns
A fashion brand wants fast visuals for a spring campaign, but the legal team waves red flags over IP risk. The move is DALL·E 3 with Brand Shield. Prompts are cleared in advance by legal, and Sprinklr sits in the background to flag anything odd once it goes live. The outcome? Campaign costs fall by a quarter, compliance errors stay under five percent, and customer sentiment doesn’t tank. One brand manager joked the real win was fewer late-night calls from lawyers. The lesson: treat prompts like creative assets, curated and reusable.

Nonprofit – Health Awareness
A nonprofit team is outnumbered, more passion than people, and trust is all they have. They put Claude 3.5 to work reviewing 300 articles for E-E-A-T signals. DALL·E 3 handled visuals without IP headaches, and Lakera Guard made sure each message lined up with regional rules. The outcome: ninety-seven percent compliance and a visible lift in search rankings. Their practical trick was a shared compliance dashboard, so even with thin staff, everyone saw what needed attention next. Sometimes discipline, not budget, is the difference.

Closing Thought

It shows up in the audit Claude runs on a draft. It is the Brand Shield switch in DALL·E, the guardrails from Lakera, and the monitoring Sprinklr never stops doing. Most of the time it works quietly, not flashy, sometimes invisible, but always necessary. I have seen teams treat it like a side test and stall. The ones who lean on it daily end up with something real, speed they can measure, trust they can defend, and credibility that actually holds.