As of June 2026, UK publishers and website owners now have a clearer route to opt out of Google’s generative AI Search features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode.

Technically, this is not quite “everyone can press the button today”. Google says it is beginning to test a new Search Console control with a subset of website owners in the UK before rolling it out more widely. But the direction is now clear: UK regulation has forced Google to separate AI Search visibility from traditional Google Search visibility.

So far I am seeing this for two UK fairly large sites only. You also need to be a site owner in order to make these changes. If you can’t still see it the roll out is limited initially.

Until now, the problem for publishers was simple. If you wanted to stop Google using your content in AI Overviews, the available controls were blunt. You could use preview controls such as nosnippet, max-snippet, data-nosnippet, or even noindex, but those could also affect how your pages appeared in normal Google Search.

That was never a clean choice.

Now, under the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s new publisher conduct requirement, Google must give publishers more control over how their content is used in generative AI Search features without undermining their normal organic search visibility.

What has changed in the UK?

The UK Competition and Markets Authority, the CMA, has imposed a publisher conduct requirement on Google.

This comes from the UK’s digital markets competition regime under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Google has been designated as having Strategic Market Status in relation to general search services, which gives the CMA the power to impose targeted conduct requirements.

The CMA’s stated aim is to give publishers:

• More control over how Google uses their content
• More transparency over that use
• Stronger bargaining power
• Better attribution when content is used in AI-generated search results

The key point for SEOs and publishers is this: Google must provide controls that allow publishers to withhold their content from use in Google’s search generative AI features and broader generative AI services, without Google using that choice as a reason to treat their ordinary search listings differently.

In plain English, this means:

You should be able to opt out of AI Overviews and AI Mode without losing your normal Google rankings because of that choice.

That is the important part.

How do you exclude your site from AI Overviews?

There are now three levels to understand.

1. The new Search Console control

Google says it is testing a new toggle in Search Console that lets website owners decide whether their site appears in and helps ground responses in generative AI Search features such as:

• AI Overviews
• AI Mode
• AI Overviews in Discover

Google also says sites that opt out will not receive traffic or impressions from its generative AI features, but that the control will not be used as a ranking signal for search results outside those AI features.

That means the new control is not the same as blocking Googlebot.

It is meant to be a separate AI Search visibility control.

At the time of writing, Google says this is being rolled out to a subset of UK website owners first, before broader global availability.

2. Existing snippet controls

Before this new control, the main options were still the old preview controls:

<meta name="robots" content="nosnippet">

or:

<meta name="robots" content="max-snippet:0">

You can also use data-nosnippet to prevent specific sections of a page being used in snippets.

Google’s documentation says AI Overviews and AI Mode are subject to Search preview controls. However, these controls also affect how content can be shown in standard search previews, so they are not a clean AI-only solution.

3. Google-Extended

Google-Extended is a robots.txt control that lets publishers limit use of content for some Google AI training and grounding outside Search.

For example:

User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /

However, Google-Extended is not the same as opting out of normal Google Search. It is also not the same as the new UK Search Console control for generative AI Search features.

This is why the CMA ruling matters. It pushes Google towards more specific controls, instead of forcing publishers to use broad and potentially damaging technical blocks.

Why would you want to opt out?

There are legitimate reasons to consider it.

The CMA’s ruling exists because publishers argued that Google was using their content to generate answers that could reduce clicks back to the original source. That is the central tension behind AI Overviews.

Here are practical examples where opting out could make sense.

• News publishers with expensive reporting
  If original journalism is being summarised in Google results, users may get the answer without clicking. This weakens the publisher’s ability to monetise the work that created the information.
• Subscription or paywalled content
  If a business depends on paid access, free AI summaries can undermine the value proposition. The CMA’s concern around bargaining power is directly relevant here.
• Affiliate review sites
  If Google summarises the recommendation, compares the products, and cites several sources, the original review site may lose the commercial click.
• Original data providers
  If your site publishes market data, rankings, statistics, pricing studies, or proprietary research, AI summaries can extract the visible value while reducing the need to visit the source.
• Medical, legal or financial publishers
  Summarisation risk is higher in regulated or YMYL topics. A citation in an AI Overview may look useful, but an inaccurate summary can create reputational risk.
• Brands negotiating licensing deals
  If the publisher’s goal is to negotiate paid content licensing, withholding content from AI features may strengthen the commercial position. This is explicitly close to the CMA’s reasoning around bargaining power.
• Sites with poor AI Overview click-through
  If the new Search Console generative AI reports show high AI impressions but little or no traffic, some publishers may decide the trade-off is not worth it.

So yes, opting out may be rational in specific cases.

This is not just paranoia from publishers. It is a structural change in Search. Google is moving from sending users to webpages towards answering more queries inside the results interface.

The CMA ruling is a response to that shift.

But should you opt out?

For most businesses, I would be careful. The right question is not “Can I block AI Overviews?”

The better question is:

What will I lose if I remove my site from the fastest-growing layer of Google Search?

Google is very clear that sites opting out will not receive traffic or impressions from generative AI features. That may sound fine if AI Overviews are already reducing clicks, but it also means you remove yourself from a visibility layer that users are being trained to use.

This matters for SEO, AI Search, and brand discovery. A site that opts out may preserve some short-term control, but it may also become less visible where search behaviour is moving.

AI visibility is now part of visibility

For years, SEO was mostly about ranking in blue links. That is no longer enough.

Google Search now includes:

• AI Overviews
• AI Mode
• Featured snippets
• Knowledge panels
• Local packs
• Product results
• Image and video surfaces
• Preferred sources
• Discover
• Generative AI responses
• Agentic search experiences

If users increasingly get answers through AI Search, being excluded from that layer is not a neutral act. It is a visibility decision. For a normal business site, service business, ecommerce brand, local company, or B2B consultancy, I would usually argue for staying visible unless the data proves otherwise.

The smarter approach is:

• Track AI Search impressions in Search Console when available
• Compare AI Search visibility against actual traffic and conversions
• Identify which pages appear in AI features
• Improve pages that are cited but not clicked
• Use stronger original evidence, experience, imagery, data and opinion
• Avoid commodity content that AI can summarise without needing you
• Consider selective controls only where commercial harm is clear

Blanket blocking should be the last option, not the first reaction.

What about training data?

This is where the conversation becomes more complicated.

There is a difference between:

• AI Search grounding
• AI model training
• Fine-tuning
• Snippet previews
• Normal crawling and indexing

Grounding means the AI response is using retrieved sources to support the answer. Training and fine-tuning are about model development. Snippet previews are about what Google can show from your page in search results.

The CMA’s final decision recognises that publishers need meaningful control over these uses because they serve different purposes. A publisher may be happy to appear as a cited source in AI Overviews, but not want its content used to fine-tune models. Another may want the opposite.

From an SEO perspective, I would not rush to remove every trace of your site from AI systems. Search is becoming more AI-native. If your content, brand, services and expertise are absent from AI Search, you may be making future discovery harder, not easier.

This is especially true for brands already facing declining organic visibility. If Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and agentic Search continue to absorb more user behaviour, excluding your site entirely could push you further into invisibility.

The problem is not that AI uses your content.

The problem is whether your content is:

• Properly attributed
• Linked clearly
• Driving measurable value
• Representing your expertise accurately
• Helping the right users find you
• Feeding Google’s systems in a way that supports your brand, not replaces it

That is a different strategic question from simply blocking AI.

My view

For most commercial websites, I would not opt out by default. I would test and measure first. If you are a news publisher, paywalled publisher, original research provider, affiliate review site, or rights-heavy content business, the case for opting out is stronger. But if you are a service business, ecommerce brand, local business, professional firm or B2B company, blocking AI Overviews may be self-defeating.

Your problem is probably not that Google AI can read your content. Your problem is more likely that your content is too generic, too thin, too similar to competitors, or not structured clearly enough to be selected, cited and trusted.

The practical response is not to hide. It is to make your site harder to replace. That means stronger SEO foundations, better original content, entity relationship mapping, clearer expertise, technical accessibility, structured pages, consistent brand signals and actual experience behind the copy.

AI Search does not remove the need for SEO. It makes weak SEO more visible.

Source URLs

CMA announcement:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-secures-fairer-deal-for-publishers-and-improves-google-search-services-in-uk

CMA Google Search publisher conduct requirement:
https://www.gov.uk/find-digital-markets-measures/google-search-publisher-conduct-requirement

CMA proposed conduct requirements outcome:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/googles-general-search-services-proposed-conduct-requirements

CMA Publisher Conduct Requirement final decision PDF:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a1f0098b95db968c8f3bdb9/Publisher_CR_final_decision.pdf

Google announcement on new controls for website owners:
https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/new-controls-website-owners/

Google Search Console generative AI performance reports:
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports

Google AI features and your website:
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features

Google guide to optimising for generative AI features:
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide

The Verge interview with Sundar Pichai:
https://www.theverge.com/podcast/936445/sundar-pichai-ai-search-google-zero-youtube-web

Final thought

The direction of travel is not subtle.

Search, Gemini, AI Overviews, AI Mode and agents are moving closer together. In a recent interview with The Verge, Nilay Patel put it to Sundar Pichai that Google’s new intelligent Search box, app-building tools and agentic products “should be one product”.

Pichai’s answer was blunt:

“It will.”

That is why opting out should be a strategic decision, not a panic reaction.

Others are simply good SEO under a new label. And some exist mainly to sell services to buyers who do not yet know enough to question the terminology.

My view is that the market will eventually settle around two durable terms: AI Search and AI SEO. The rest may still appear in pitches, conference decks and keyword tools, but most are unlikely to survive as clear commercial categories. Both GEO and AEO have a credibility and acceptance problem. Bing has GEO guides while Google and many SEOs do not endorse or recognise it.

This post maps the current acronym landscape using keyword research, search demand, referral traffic data and practical SEO context. The aim is not to invent another label, but to separate what is commercially grounded from what is premature, inflated or already drifting into spam.

Isn’t AI Search all about entities and intent, not keywords? Yes, but that does not make keywords irrelevant. Entities and user intent help AI systems understand meaning, context and relationships. Keywords still matter because they are part of the SEO layer that feeds search engines, retrieval systems and RAG-based answers.

The mistake is treating keywords as the whole strategy. In AI Search, keywords are signals. Entities, intent, content quality and source credibility decide whether those signals become useful visibility.

SEO Is Still King. The Data Is Not Even Close.

Before the acronyms, the terminology debates and the LinkedIn posts declaring SEO dead, it is worth starting with the actual numbers, because the gap between the industry narrative and the real data is striking.

Google is still far larger than ChatGPT as a search environment, but the exact ratio depends on how “search” is defined. Older estimates comparing Google-like ChatGPT searches to Google Search put Google hundreds of times ahead. Newer Ahrefs analysis gives a narrower comparison, estimating ChatGPT at around 12% of Google’s traditional search-like query volume, while Google still sends around 190 times more traffic to websites.

SparkToro and Datos provide a different, and arguably more useful, view of where search behaviour happens. In Q4 2025, Google alone accounted for 73.7% of all desktop search activity across the 41 major domains analysed in the US. Their analysis also found that Amazon, Bing and YouTube each had more search activity than ChatGPT.

Ahrefs gives a useful counterweight to the older “Google is 210x bigger than ChatGPT” framing. Its 2026 analysis estimates Google at around 13.7 billion searches per day, compared with 2.5 billion ChatGPT prompts per day.

However, not every ChatGPT prompt is a search. Ahrefs estimates that around 65% of ChatGPT prompts are search-like, which would put ChatGPT at roughly 1.625 billion search-like prompts per day, or about 12% of Google’s daily search volume. That is no longer tiny, but it is still not a Google replacement.

More importantly for SEO, Ahrefs also estimates that Google sends around 190 times more referral traffic to websites than ChatGPT, which is the point many AI Search headlines conveniently skip.

Google Posted the GEO Job Listing

On 22 April 2026, Google posted a job listing for a GEO Partner Manager. The role, within Google’s Large Customer Sales team, is focused on managing relationships with what Google calls “GEO players” and transitioning Google’s engagement model from Generative Engine Optimisation discovery to formal ecosystem advocacy.

The reaction in the SEO community was immediate and divided. Some read it as official validation of GEO as a discipline. Others, with some justification, pointed out that Google using GEO internally to describe a partner management role tells us more about Google’s advertising strategy than it does about whether GEO deserves a place in your service offering.

The Google GEO Partner Manager job listing was short lived and very telling of how Google pulled it back in no time. The Search Engine Roundtable discussion it generated is also worth reviewing for the range of community reactions.

What it does not resolve is the underlying question of whether GEO, as a practitioner-facing term, has meaningful commercial traction. The keyword volume data suggests it does not, and for reasons that go beyond search volume alone.

Reading the Keyword Volume

Search volume around these terms is a proxy for commercial legitimacy. When SEOs, business owners and marketers actively search for a term, they believe it describes something real and useful. Low or contaminated volume tells the opposite story.

AI SEO cluster, dominant, with clear commercial intent:

Note on Monthly Volume: xx = 10 to 99, xxx = 100 to 999, x,xxx = 1,000 to 9,999”. Figures from Ahrefs, April 2026. Treat as directional rather than definitive, run your own research before drawing conclusions.

LLM SEO cluster, smaller, technically specific, and growing:

Data from Ahrefs in April 2026.

GEO and AEO + Consultant have low volume, and the volume that exists is not what you think. Granted there is significant volume for “GEO Agency” but a big portion is about Geography and Geographic Information Systems agencies not Generative Engine Optimisation or AI search.

That alone explains why AI Search is a strong entity and GEO a very weak one within SEO, precisely because it was a very strong entity already. Not to mention this all comes under the politics of SEO, or SEO politics. Now lets try and do that with GEO… you see where this is going, quite timely too, we have enough messy Geopolitics as it is.

A significant portion of AEO search volume belongs to the AEO Pakistan entity: an Islamabad-based education consultancy focused on IELTS and OET testing with no connection to digital marketing. The term is not just low volume; it is actively polluted by an unrelated entity that now dominates much of the search space around it.

Where the Terminology Actually Stands

SEO Consultant

Volume: Established. Intent: Clear. Legitimacy: Foundational.

Twenty-five years old, the most commercially trusted and clearly understood term in this space. The consultant or agency who still leads with SEO is not behind the curve. The question is simply how they articulate the AI dimension of their work within that frame.

But there are some dismissing AI Search altogether, and that’s naive too. LLM and AI search are not in any way comparable to MUM, Hummingbird or any other changes in the past decade and half.

Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind and many others predicts AI and LLMs will be Bigger than the Industrial Revolution.

AI SEO

Volume: High. Intent: Clear. Legitimacy: Strong.

The dominant cluster in the data, and the most commercially mature of the AI-era terms. “AI SEO” covers two related things: using AI tools within an SEO workflow, and optimising content so it surfaces in AI-powered search results. Both meanings are grounded in existing SEO practice rather than departing from it.

This is where the market has landed. Businesses looking for help with AI and search are searching for AI SEO. The expectation is that as the market matures, most of the other terms in this list will consolidate under AI SEO as an umbrella, in the same way that mobile SEO, local SEO and voice SEO eventually stopped being separate disciplines and became components of core SEO practice. AI SEO is the new layer on top of SEO, not a replacement for it.

But for now it does not separate AI Search from traditional SEO cleanly, this may change in the future as concepts get established.

LLM SEO

Volume: Growing. Intent: Technically Specific. Legitimacy: Genuine.

LLM SEO focuses specifically on how large language models, the technology behind ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and others — understand, process and surface content. Understanding how a language model builds topical authority is genuinely different from understanding how PageRank works, and that difference is sufficient to warrant distinct terminology.

The audience searching LLM SEO is smaller but more technically literate: developers, senior consultants, in-house strategists. That is not a weakness. It is a signal that the term describes something specific and real. LLM SEO is a legitimate subspecialty within AI SEO rather than an alternative to it.

The honest caveat: because LLMs do not publish their source weighting the way Google publishes guidelines, much of what is presented as LLM SEO expertise is inference and experimentation rather than documented methodology. SEOs who acknowledge this openly are the credible ones.

AI Search

Volume: Moderate and Rising. Intent: Broad. Legitimacy: Contextual.

“AI Search” captures the broader shift in how search is working: the move from blue-link results towards generative, conversational interfaces. It sits higher in the purchase funnel than LLM SEO. Someone searching “AI search SEO” is often trying to understand the landscape before they know exactly what kind of help they need.

The reasonable expectation is that this volume consolidates into “AI SEO” as the market matures. AI Search is a useful descriptive term for the current moment rather than a durable professional positioning.

AEO Answer Engine Optimisation

Volume: Low and Contaminated. Intent: Ambiguous. Legitimacy: Fragmented.

AEO now carries an additional layer of confusion that was not present twelve months ago: the A no longer stands for just one thing. In 2026, AEO is being used to mean both Answer Engine Optimisation (structuring content for direct answers in search results and AI systems) and Agent Engine Optimisation (optimising for visibility and citation within autonomous AI agents). Answers is dominant but 26 and 27 may well reverse this.

Both concepts describe genuinely useful practice. Answer-focused content structuring has been part of mature SEO for years, how much of this is new and AI, is another matter altogether.

The growing world of AI agents, which increasingly query, cite and act on web content without human direction, is a real and emerging consideration. But the term serving both concepts simultaneously is, at best, confusing and at worst, commercially unusable.

Add the AEO Pakistan entity, which now occupies a significant share of the actual search space around the term, and you have a term whose problems are structural rather than temporary. The principles of AEO belong in any serious content strategy. The term itself is doing nobody any favours.

AEO Agentic Engine Optimisation

There may be a more legitimate future use for AEO as Agentic Engine Optimisation than as Answer Engine Optimisation. AI agents have begun searching, comparing, selecting suppliers, booking services, filling baskets or making recommendations on behalf of users, then visibility inside those agent-led workflows becomes a real optimisation problem.

That is different from simply formatting content for answers. It involves crawlability, structured data, product feeds, entity confidence, trust signals, reviews, pricing clarity, policies, availability and whether an agent can complete or recommend an action without hitting friction.

In that sense, Agent Engine Optimisation may become a more useful concept than Answer Engine Optimisation, but it is still early, loosely defined and competing with an already confused acronym. Confused? You should be.

Nerdy? Most likely yes if you got this far. This tool: https://isitagentready.com. tests whether your site is agent-ready. Keep your agents in a row.

GEO Generative Engine Optimisation

Volume: Low and Contaminated. Intent: Mixed. Legitimacy: Academic in Origin, Commercially Premature.

GEO originated in legitimate academic research: a 2023 paper from Princeton that coined the term and outlined a framework for optimising content for generative AI search results. The concept has genuine intellectual rigour behind it.

What followed is the familiar pattern. A legitimate academic idea gets adopted by the content marketing industry, stripped of its caveats, and deployed as a competitive differentiator by agencies looking to establish positioning ahead of the market. Much of the resulting content sits in the “SEO is dead” genre, which continues to generate output and attention in rough inverse proportion to its accuracy.

The Google GEO Partner Manager listing does add a data point here. Google using the term internally, even in an ad sales context, gives GEO a form of institutional acknowledgement it previously lacked. Whether that translates into buyer recognition or search volume is a different question, and the current data suggests not yet.

GEO as a concept: worth understanding. GEO as a professional positioning in 2026: primarily serves the people promoting it.

The Thesis: Consolidation, Not Fragmentation

The most useful frame for what is happening to this terminology is not disruption. It is consolidation.

Every previous SEO specialisation that generated its own terminology cycle, mobile SEO, local SEO, voice search, structured data, Core Web Vitals, eventually stopped being a standalone discipline and became absorbed into what SEOs simply do. The techniques persisted. The separate branding faded. The SEOs who understood both the fundamentals and the new context emerged stronger.

AI search is following the same trajectory, at higher speed and with more noise. The terms that will persist are the ones with genuine search demand behind them: AI SEO as the dominant umbrella, LLM SEO as a legitimate technical subspecialty, AI Search as a descriptive category for the transitional moment we are in.

GEO and AEO describe real principles that will remain part of good practice; the terms themselves are unlikely to outlast the current hype cycle in their current form. They already have a reputation issue and are either SEO repackaged or mostly Listicles and Content Scale Abuse that are exactly the same things black hat SEOs were selling in 2010 before Panda and Penguin. And to this day as well.

The data supports this. Buyers are not searching for GEO or AEO consultants. They are searching for SEO consultants who understand how AI changes search. That is the brief. The terminology should reflect it. I have been busy with SEO recovery services exactly from this type of “GEO” and AI work, where clients killed years of good SEO work and Google Search results (about ~90%). In the pursuit of the other 10% with ChatGPT and other LLMs,

UPDATED Apr 2026

Updates on Local Citations and UK Business Directories

Consolidations and the Shift to Paid Directories

The landscape of local citation sites and UK business directories has undergone significant changes in recent years, marked by consolidations and a move towards paid models. Several prominent directories that were once free to use have either merged with larger platforms or introduced premium paid services. This shift impacts how businesses approach local SEO and directory listings:

It takes time, work, dedication, and financial investment to become well-known locally, but once you do, there are a lot of opportunities for business growth and development. Optimising your website for local searches is an excellent place to start.

The creation of a Google Business Profile is crucial for any company trying to rank on Google locally. There, you can share basic information about your business, such as the address, phone number, and opening hours, as well as post updates about your business and new products that are available.

Paid Directories vs. NAP Consistency in Local SEO

Despite the increasing prevalence of paid directories, investing in these paid listings is not typically necessary for effective local SEO. The core requirement for optimising local search rankings lies in maintaining consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information across all online platforms. Here’s why:

• Consistency is Key: Search engines prioritise businesses that present consistent and accurate NAP information across various citations and directories. This consistency helps verify the legitimacy and reliability of the business. These can have impact on your site and brand reputaiton and EEAT.
• Quality Over Quantity: Rather than paying for listings on multiple directories, focusing on ensuring that your business information is accurate on high-authority and relevant directories can be more beneficial.
• Algorithm Preference: Search algorithms are designed to value natural, organic citations over paid placements. Ensuring NAP consistency aligns with how search engines assess and rank local businesses.

Local citations, NAP and AI Search SEO in 2026

Local citations have always helped search engines verify that a business is real, local and connected to a specific place. In 2026, this matters beyond traditional local SEO and Google Maps.

AI Search adds another layer.

When Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity and other AI systems look for information about a business, they do not only rely on your website. They also look for corroboration across the web. This includes your Google Business Profile, local directories, industry sites, reviews, social profiles, company databases and other trusted sources that mention your business.

This is where NAP consistency still matters.

If your business name, address and phone number are consistent across reputable UK citation sites, that gives search engines and AI systems a cleaner entity signal. In plain English, it helps them understand:

• who the business is
• where it is based
• which area it serves
• which phone number and website belong to it
• whether the business appears credible across multiple sources

This does not mean citations are some magic AI SEO trick. They are not. Low-quality directory submissions, duplicate listings and old SEO directory spam are still low-quality signals. Some may do nothing at all.

However, clean and consistent citations on trusted local and industry-relevant websites can still support local SEO, EEAT and AI Search visibility. They help reinforce your business entity across the web.

For local businesses, this is particularly important because AI search systems need confidence before they recommend or summarise a company. If your website says one thing, your Google Business Profile says another, and half your old directory listings show an outdated address or phone number, you are making that confidence harder to build.

In my view, local citations in 2026 are less about “building links” and more about entity verification.

That means:

• keep your Google Business Profile accurate
• keep NAP consistent across key citation sites
• remove or update duplicate and outdated listings
• prioritise reputable UK, local and niche directories
• avoid bulk submission spam
• treat citations as part of your wider off-site SEO and AI Search footprint

AI Search has not removed the need for local SEO basics. If anything, it has made clean, consistent business information more important. The more AI systems rely on retrieval, summarisation and cross-source verification, the more your external business data needs to be accurate.

Local citations are not the whole answer to AI SEO, but for a real local business they are still part of the foundation.

For local SEO what is a citation?

Local citations are mentions online of a local business which include the company name, address and phone number. These company details are known as NAP, which stands for Name, Address and Phone Number.

Local citations are often found on websites, usually on directory websites such as Yell and Yellow Pages.

Our UK citation list for local SEO contains most websites and directories from which UK businesses can list their company’s information. Submitting your business online details can improve its search engine visibility by increasing local relevancy.

What is a local citation service?

A website that functions as an online yellow pages book is called a local directory. A list of companies that are based in a specific area will be found in an online local directory.

Your site will get visitors, backlinks and help with local ranking if you list it in these directories.
When you purchase a local directory submission service, it means that someone will carefully submit your information in accordance with the guidelines stated in these local business directories and manually add your URL to these local directories.

Do local citations help SEO?

The fact that not all SEO experts concur on the significance of citations doesn’t change the fact that there seems to be a lot of evidence to support it.

Search engines like Google consider a wide range of variables when determining the authenticity, trustworthiness, and overall quality of their search results. One of the most important is mentions on other reliable websites and on social networks.

The more your company name, address and phone number appear, the more proof Google has that your company is legitimate and operates as described.

Obviously, site relevancy matters, so gathering citations from random sources won’t do anything for your SEO. Citations, however, generally assist Google in validating the legitimacy of your company and everything associated with it.

Citation List of Free UK Businesses Directories for 2026

These below or the first 50 would be a good start for any business wanting to improve local SEO.. I have removed the score which is a largely meaningless metric like DA, DR and such. However, these have been checked manually by me and my team and are all working.

Google Patents Supporting the Importance of Citations

Google has filed several patents that highlight the significance of citations and NAP consistency in local search rankings. These patents provide insight into how search algorithms evaluate and prioritise local businesses:

1. Patent US20130236772A1 – Ranking a Local Business in a Local Search
   This patent details methods for ranking local businesses by analysing various factors, including the number and quality of citations. It emphasises the role of consistent NAP information across multiple sources in improving search rankings.

Conclusion

While the local directory landscape is evolving with more paid options emerging, the foundation of effective local SEO remains rooted in maintaining consistent NAP information across all citations. By focusing on NAP consistency rather than investing heavily in paid directories, businesses can achieve robust local search rankings aligned with Google’s guidelines and patented methodologies. These if done properly can help you establish EEAT in your industry and local area.

The ONE THING I can’t stress enough is that this is not a case of the more the merrier. About 50 to 100 as above is all it takes and from then on the quality goes downhill very quickly. Therefore keeping it to the up to date list above is probably all you need. Like most things in SEO it can get spammy pretty quickly.

Additional Recommendations:

• Audit Existing Listings: Regularly review and update your business listings across all directories to ensure NAP consistency.
• Focus on High-Quality Directories: Prioritise submitting your business information to reputable and high-authority directories that are relevant to your industry and location.

By incorporating these updates, your post will provide readers with current insights into the local citation landscape, emphasizing effective strategies grounded in Google’s own guidelines and technological frameworks.

Read also

Dates & Location

• Workshops: 9 March 2026
• Conference: 10–11 March 2026
• Venue: ICM – International Congress Center Munich

Use my exclusive partner code PEDROMATIASMUC26 for 15% off registration.

SMX Munich will take place on the 10-11 March 26 Register with my code programme here.

Why Attend in 2026

Search marketing in 2026 is no longer about channels in isolation. SEO, PPC, analytics, and content are converging – and AI now sits at the centre of it all. SMX Munich is where these shifts are explored in depth:

• AI and automation: practical sessions on AI-driven workflows, from building AI agents to technical SEO in an AI-first world.
• Cross-discipline strategy: SEO and PPC are being redefined as strategic connectors, not silos.
• Budgets and measurement: KPIs and attribution models are evolving under tighter economic and privacy conditions.

With over 70 sessions across 7 tracks, the event is structured for both hands-on learning and strategic foresight.

Speakers & Keynotes

This year’s lineup includes:

• Boaz Ashkenazy (Augmented AI Labs) on real-world enterprise AI adoption.
• Alex Schultz (CMO, Meta) in conversation on channel convergence and growth.
• Jes Scholz (SEO strategist) offering a forward-looking view on search trends.
• Plus respected names like Aleyda Solis, Kirk Williams, Frederick Vallaeys, Dana DiTomaso, Johan von Hülsen, Areej Abuali and many more.

The full speaker roster is continuously updated on the SMX Munich site.

Formats That Go Beyond Presentations

• Workshops (9 March): small-group, deep-dive training on AI-first SEO, Google Ads in the AI age, reporting, and more.
• Roundtable discussions: peer-to-peer exchanges with practical takeaways.
• Immersive Deep Dives: collaborative sessions on complex challenges.
• Cross-conference sessions: shared formats with AllSocial and Email Innovations World.

Networking & Community

Expect 1,000+ attendees from 30+ countries and plenty of chances to connect:

• Inhouse Search Meeting (limited to 70 participants)
• SEM Pub Quiz at Giesinger Bräu
• SMX After Dark Party

Book Early

• Early bird rates close 5 December 2025
• Hotel blocks (e.g. Motel One at €89/night) are limited until January 2026
• Workshops and networking events often sell out early

Register here: SMX Munich 2026 > Use code PEDROMATIASMUC26 for 15% off

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What is Google AI Mode? AI is all the rage and ever more, but even some in the SEO industry may struggle to keep pace with developments.

UPDATE 07 August 2025: AI Mode is now live for everyone in the UK. What Google calls Generative Search Experiences (GSE).

UPDATE 20 May 2025: Ai Mode is now live for everyone in the US.

AI Mode is just what it sounds like, it means all of the results are AI generated by Gemini. Or at least all the ones above the fold and a few page scrolls once you click expand results.

Google’s AI Chatbot that was born out of the existential threat from ChatGPT. Google issued a code red when ChatGPT was first launched.

AI Mode is currently only available in the United States to users aged 18 or older. You’ll need the latest version of the Google app or Chrome browser, and search history must be turned on. Access it via google.com/aimode, in the Google homepage or App.

However, it is only a question of time before it makes its way to the UK, very likely the UK will be one of the first countries after the US. My money is on that happening soon, certainly in 2025.

The Evolution of Search, from Featured Snippets to AI Overviews

Google’s journey towards AI-driven search has been a gradual evolution, beginning with Featured Snippets, which were introduced to provide concise answers at the top of search results. These snippets pulled relevant information from websites, offering users quick responses without requiring them to click through.

As AI capabilities advanced, Google introduced AI Overviews, AIO, an expansion of Featured Snippets that synthesised information from multiple sources using large language models (LLMs). This allowed for more nuanced and comprehensive answers while maintaining a user-friendly format.

Now, with AI Mode, Google is moving even further towards an interactive and personalised search experience. Instead of static overviews, AI Mode enables dynamic, conversational interactions, where users can refine their queries, ask follow-ups, and receive multimodal insights, including text, images, and videos. This shift marks Google’s ambition to transform search from a passive information retrieval system into an active, AI-assisted research tool.

AI Overviews (AIO) Search “Freelance SEO Consultant London” – US via VPN

AIO have notoriously been giving very odd and outright wrong results. However, Google has a long history, of “testing in the wild” and releasing minimal viable products.

They are still playing catch up with ChatGPT in many ways. However, they have the long term and historical advantage. More on this on a future post.

Google has been testing AIOs. in the UK. Let’s look at one of the queries for this site. Please note this is done from the UK, but with a VPN to the US, which is currently the only way to test this from the UK.

Another note, is that these results vary wildly even from one day to the other, from my side and blowing my own trumpet, it is good I’m finding some results for my own site.

AI Mode Search “Freelance SEO Consultant London” – US via VPN

In the new AI Mode interface (as shown in the screenshot), my site pedromatias.co.uk still shows up directly within the AI-generated results panel on the right.

What’s more revealing is the UX itself. You can now follow up with a question directly on the same screen, almost like you’re mid-conversation with a search assistant. That’s a significant shift from traditional SERPs. It’s not just about ranking anymore, it’s about staying in the conversation. And if your content can hold that space, you’re not just visible you’re relevant. This is essentially the same as chatting with Gemini on the web or the App. Though results may vary.

This format still feels like early testing, but the implications are clear. AI Mode is how Google is reimagining search, and for those of us who’ve spent years optimising for blue links and featured snippets, it’s time to start thinking about how to optimise for follow-up intent.

AI Mode Search Follow Up Question “Is Pedro Matias a reputable SEO?” – US

After running the original query, AI Mode offered a follow-up prompt: “Is Pedro Matias a reputable SEO?” and proceeded to answer it like a polite digital assistant doing its homework. The response? A structured breakdown of my experience, reviews, services, and even a nod to Anglux.

What matters more here is visibility. Not only does my site show up again in the sidebar with multiple entries from pedromatias.co.uk and anglux.uk, but the fact that AI Mode is surfacing follow-up answers like this means reputation and content footprint are already feeding into LLM-driven search paths. If you’re not shaping the narrative around your name, Google’s LLM will.

And yes, this was tested with a VPN into the US. It’s not yet available in the UK, which makes the whole thing feel even more like a sneak preview into the future of search. Your authority isn’t just ranked. It’s reasoned.

Conclusion

AI Mode isn’t just a new interface. It’s a new paradigm. Google is no longer returning a list of links. It’s generating answers, anticipating follow-ups, and stitching together reputations from whatever it can crawl. The shift from passive search results to conversational AI-led outputs is already underway, and for those of us working in SEO, this means rethinking how visibility, authority, and even trust are built.

We’re early in this rollout. There are bugs, inconsistencies, and plenty of questionable results. But that’s typical Google. Launch fast, test in the wild, fix it later. What matters now is paying attention. When AI Mode does land in the UK, and it will, it won’t just change how people search. It’ll change how they believe what they find.

TL;DR

• Google AI Mode delivers fully AI-generated search results, powered by Gemini.
• Currently only available in the US (VPN needed to test from the UK).
• Marks a shift from static SERPs to dynamic, conversational search
• My site appears in AI Mode panels, including follow-up questions about my reputation
• Results are inconsistent for now – early-stage and being tested in the wild
• UK rollout is expected soon, likely within 2025
• Gemini is Google’s AI Chatbot – a response to ChatGPT

What Are Google AI Overviews? Google AI Overviews is the name of Google’s new AI generated results that appear on top of all other results. By now you probably know about ChatGPT and Google’s attempt at fighting it with Gemini.

See also Google AI Mode: The Future of Google Search

Google AI Mode: The Future of Google Search

Bing had a sort of AI overview search engine results page, SERP since last year. Google has been working very hard to catch up with the technology, even though it has not so far dented their market share.

SGE or Search Generative Experience has now fully launched in the US and to some users in the UK. If featured snippets, (the big direct answers on Google for some queries) were problematic for the SEO field.

Google AI Overviews brings that concern to a all new level. It is easy to see why for example for the query below. We can see for a US AI Overview the results for “how to tie shoes”, the entire first screen above the fold is taken by the direct AI answer and we still have that huge unmissable “show more” button.

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Screens 1 and 2 for an AI Overview result

Screen 1 for an AI Overview Result

Screen 2 for an AI Overview result

Screen 1 for a SERP without AI Overview result

As we can see it is conspicuously similar to the second screen of the AI Overview results above. This will drastically decrease the traffic for all sites including the top results in positions 1 to 10, even if some of them will appear in the AI Overview result.

How to Optimise for AI Overviews?

By that I mean to get your site to appear in the AI overview results, since not all of them are like the one above with just one result. Some have multiple ones such as the below one.

Image source: Google’s own blog on SGE

The word from Google is the same with the guidance on featured snippets. “You can’t optimise for this and should follow search best practices”. This has not stopped some pandits form doing the same they did with featured snippets. AKA emulate (read copy) the actual AI or featured snippet result and if you are in the top 10, chances are you can rank for it.

However, I must say this is just an hypothetical scenario and not advice, so use at your own risk. Since playing with that as above may incur the wrath of the AI algo gods. See below from the horse’s mouth.

How do links appear in AI Overviews?

AI Overviews show links to resources that support the information in the snapshot, and explore the topic further. This allows people to dig deeper and discover a diverse range of content from publishers, creators, retailers, businesses, and more, and use the information they find to advance their tasks.

Google’s systems automatically determine which links appear. There is nothing special for creators to do to be considered other than to follow our regular guidance for appearing in search, as covered in Google Search Essentials.

The best way to anticipate these upcoming changes in the UK and elsewhere, or that are already in place in the US. Is to stick to the old mantra. Have a technically sound website, produce high-quality, factual, relevant and fresh content for your audience.

As ever, these are usually sufficient for most businesses with a reliable service or product to stay relevant on the SERP. I know how boring when you could just pay someone to build a hundred links to your site.

Need help with your SEO strategy or Google Penalty Recovery? Get in touch.

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In this post I look at some SEO recovery and growth case studies in the last couple of years. Of course, not all clients were this rosy, if you are one of the less fortunate ones. Please remember that like with any recovery, it can take time.

Updated in June 2024:

I’m excited to update this case study and the continuation of good news despite all the turbulences of Google updates this year. Growth had been exponential from when we started in March to December 2023. In the following 5 months of 24 and since then we have more than doubled again.

SEO Recovery Case Study 2024 Continued Growth

SEO Recovery Case Study 2023 Over 1000% Growth

Google has also released three core quality updates in 2023 and a few more including a spam one, two of these in the last quarter. This is a great indicator that all is not well with the Google Algo Gods, and there is plenty of spam surfacing and legitimate hard-working sites like yours, being unable to recover or demoted. Hopefully, they will find a fix for this mess soon.

While the fundamentals of SEO and SEO recovery remain unchanged in 2024, it’s crucial to acknowledge the emergence of a new layer of AI. Adapting and optimising for this AI dimension is now an integral part of ensuring your SEO strategies keep up with the times.

Read the full case study.

SEO Case Study – Luxury Brand 2022

I started work in March and saw SEO recovery and growth of over 200% in less than six months. This was a very rewarding project and needless to say the client was over the moon.

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I started work in March and saw SEO recovery and growth of over 200% in less than six months. This was a very rewarding project and needless to say the client was over the moon.

SEO recovery + over 200% growth in less than six months

The Problem – New Site Launch 50% SEO drop overnight

In late 2021 the client launched a new site, and the branding and user experience were refreshed and greatly improved. However, there was no consideration given to SEO. This resulted in several issues that were reflected immediately the day after the new site went live.

Just by looking at the data in Google Analytics and later in Search Console I could at a glance see a pattern I am very familiar with. I was so confident of the initial analysis that I guessed the date the site went live just by looking at this data. The client then confirmed this was the case.

50% SEO decline with the new site launch

Read the full case study.

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6 Month SEO Google Penalty Recovery

Far more common are algorithmic penalties, which may happen when Google releases major algorithm updates, typically the announced ones. Or even with some day-to-day, smaller unannounced algorithm updates. More on that further below.

As I was saying the first step is to check if there is any other significant event that happened on the website recently and may be responsible for large rank drops. The usual culprits are, blocking Google and search engines from crawling the website, a rocky mistake many make. The less obvious ones are usually related to website migrations and redesigns. However, these can be due to external problems such as websites being hacked.

In any case, you probably need an experienced SEO recovery specialist to help you identify where the problem is coming from and build an action plan for recovery based on the data and technical findings.

Probably someone that can show you some graphics such as the one below and what happened to reverse the loss of traffic and rankings. If you are not familiar with these types of graphics, they are from a site in Google Search Console, therefore the most reliable, and the only source of true organic search data. Only owners and verified users (typically consultants and agencies) have access to this data.

At this point, the best option is, to begin with a complete SEO Audit. This should cover technical SEO data, content and link profiles. A full SEO recovery audit will provide you and your team with the insight needed to take the right actions to restore and hopefully grow your rankings past the point they have dropped.

Google Algorithmic Penalty Recovery 2022

My site, ghacks.net, a fairly popular technology news blog, was hit by Google Panda back when the algorithm first hit. It lost a lot of traffic from Google, and I knew that I needed expert help.
I picked Pedro after I read one of his articles on Panda, and how he recovered sites. He is very knowledgeable, analyzed the site and created an actionable list that I worked on. Communication was very good, and he answered questions that I had about certain procedures quickly and efficiently. I can recommend Pedro wholeheartedly when it comes to SEO, and have hired him again already for help in monitoring the site’s move to HTTPS.

Martin Brinkmann

JOURNALIST and SUPER GEEK

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Google manual penalty recovery

If you have a manual action by Google, you will see it in Google Search Console. Check notifications, also admins for the property should have received an email when the manual action was applied.

This will mention the reason for the penalty, typically too many artificial links, but can be something else. Such as a hacked website, spammy machine generated content, hidden text or keyword stuffing, etc. You can find a comprehensive list here.

Based on that, you can work on the SEO recovery process. See my google penalty recovery services.

Algorithmic penalty recovery

Manual actions from Google tell you what the issue is. On the other hand, algorithmic penalties are more of a guessing game. In the old days of Panda and Penguin, we could easily tell if it was content or backlinks.

As these are now part of the core updates it is more complicated. However, the recovery process is the same. Listening to what the industry forums and pandits say and matching declines to algorithm updates are an old staple of SEO recovery.

SEO Google penalty recovery process

A full SEO audit will cover all the areas below.

1. technical SEO:  is your content crawlable and indexable, “can Google see it”
2. content: does your content answer your audience’s questions
3. on-site SEO: is your content and HTML optimised
4. off-site SEO: are there local, social and link signals that verify your website

Recover from Broad Core Quality updates

As someone at the core of central London and at the core of SEO in London for the past decade. With REAL clients, leaving real reviews about my work with them and recover from “famous spam algorithm updates” such as Panda and Penguin. I’m probably in a better position than most to help you recover from Broad Google Core Quality Updates.

The issues are usually, in my experience either some critical technical problems with your website, possibly related to recent migration or site updates. Or are also of a more “core quality” issue nature and some niches that relate to health and finance, but not only seem to be the most affected.

E-A-T Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.

Y-M-Y-L Your Money Or Your Life.

These much like in real life on the internet are more difficult to manipulate, so if your content and site are full of sales soundbites without a real person, with full name, mugshots and a historical social presence of some sort, it is going to be hard to convince your users and by proxy Google that your site falls under the “quality criteria” and has E-A-T and Y-M-Y-L to make it live up to expectations.

SEO Broad Core Quality Updates recovery

Another very common SEO issue comes with Growth Hacking agencies, which by definition focus on very short-term results and they may even manage to get the “high growth” they proclaim to achieve. However, it is often at the expense of long-term business goals and tends to come with a sharp decline with 6 to 18 months of fast results.

I have operated in 2017-18 as head of SEO with just one such agency, so I have both the experience of recovering sites and being on the other side (if temporarily) seating under an unscrupulous CEO, who knows he is deliberately damaging those sites but continues to do so.

As you can imagine this was not a position I worked on for long, but long enough to “live” the implementation of short-sighted SEO first hand and this was by no means the only one. My spam folder is overflowing with such SEO offerings.

Over 50% growth > SEO Audit + 6 months work

Can I promise recovery from SEO results decline?

The short answer is no! Nor should anyone else, if they do, they’re simply not telling you the truth.

I do promise “my trademark” commitment and persistence! This has in the past returned recovery even in very complex black hat networks, such as one of the most extreme cases I’ve worked on so far in 2018, with multiple layers of PBNs from different sources.

Why you should hire me for your SEO recovery in London and the UK?

I have almost a decade of common sense SEO strategies and results of my own and many of my clients, that corroborate my claims. Please read my client’s reviews going back quite a few years.

If you are a large corporation, I do have NDA examples of my work in SEO recovery, SEO strategy and a combination of SEO and CRO from large companies and multinationals, I may be able to provide samples or a personalised testimonial of my work with them, ranging from one-off audit reports to SEO recovery audits, followed by SEO strategy and hands-on implementation with teams that involve interacting, liaising and leading teams with 10 or 20+ members, from CEOs and C-level to copywriters and developers.

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Top Freelancer SEO Companies UK 2022

Top SEO Agency UK 2022 Upcity

How to do SEO recovery?

Pretty much as before, there have been some major changes since 2018 with https, the mobile-first index and the advance of AI. However, the basis of SEO and SEO recovery seat on the same pillars of common sense and best practices as before.

Website redesign SEO results drop?

A sudden drop in website traffic? Your website was redesigned and your natural search traffic dropped significantly.

This often happens when your web designer or company start over and neglects the current site and its history. I sometimes use the analogy of building a dam, diverting the river and then forgetting to run the river back to the dam. All the water is being leaked somewhere else and no energy is produced. Nor there is a pond for your SEO fish to continue to swim on!

How to avoid SEO disaster during a website redesign?

If you are in the lucky position to be doing your research prior to the redesign, now is the time to involve an SEO with a track record of helping sites migrate to new CMSs or a new version with minimal to no SEO impact. In fact, a website redesign without SEO considerations is one of the biggest missed opportunities in your marketing mix.

The redesign offers an opportunity to keep the SEO results you have and improve on those as well as CRO (conversion rate optimisation) not the other way around.

Are Panda and Penguin a “thing” still?

The short answer is no. Not per se, as in the old days when they were released, early part of the last decade. However, they are still important and part of what Google now calls, Core Quality Updates mentioned above.

In other words, the Panda considerations for content quality and Penguin for healthy and natural link profiles are still as valid today as when Panda and Penguin were released. They are simply part of bigger updates. Therefore harder to pin down, Google has done this deliberately like many other data restrictions, in order to protect the algorithms from spammers and aggressive agencies.

Google penalty recovery from backlinks

• PBN (private/public blog networks) links
• Spammy directories
• Old domain redirects “Domaining”
• Cloaked links.
• Site-wide backlinks
• Footer links
• Advertorials and sponsored content
• Guest posts that pass Pagerank
• All those emails with high DA you get daily
• etc. etc.

My dating agency had completely lost its Google rankings due to thousands of toxic links. Pedro quickly spotted what was wrong and rectified the problems. Our good ranking has been restored. They also worked closely with my web designers, intelligently implemented many ideas to help with ranking and UX. They are extremely diligent, thoughtful and available if one has a question or urgent task to attend to. Pedro he’s also one helluva nice guy. See what they can do for your site!

Mary Balfour

founder & Director

Google Penalty Recovery FAQ

Here you will find some of the most common and frequently asked questions my clients and prospects have in the initial enquiry phases.

1. Local SEO:

One of the most significant benefits of having a Google Business Profile is that it can help your business rank higher in local search results. When someone searches for a product or service near their location, Google displays results based on the user’s location and the relevance of the business to the search query. By having a Google Business Profile, you can provide Google with the information it needs to show your business in local search results, making it easier for potential customers to find your business.

2. Increased Visibility:

Having a Google Business Profile can significantly increase your business’s visibility in search results. A Google Business Profile appears in both Google Search and Google Maps, making it easier for potential customers to find your business. Your Google Business Profile can also display your business’s website, hours of operation, phone number, and customer reviews, providing valuable information to potential customers.

3. Reputation Management:

Another crucial benefit of having a Google Business Profile is that it allows you to manage your business’s online reputation. With customer reviews appearing on your Google Business Profile, you can monitor and respond to reviews, address any concerns, and show potential customers that you value their feedback. By actively managing your online reputation, you can build trust with potential customers and improve your business’s credibility.

4. Improved Click-Through Rates:

Having a Google Business Profile can also improve your click-through rates (CTRs) in search results. A well-optimized Google Business Profile that includes high-quality photos, complete business information, and positive reviews can make your business more appealing to potential customers. This, in turn, can lead to higher click-through rates and ultimately more traffic to your website.

5. Google My Business Insights:

Google My Business Insights is a powerful analytics tool that provides businesses with valuable information about their Google Business Profile’s performance. Insights provide information on how customers search for your business, where they come from, and what actions they take after finding your business. This information can help you make informed decisions about how to optimize your Google Business Profile and improve your business’s online visibility.

6. Mobile Optimization:

A Google Business Profile is also mobile-friendly, which is critical in today’s mobile-first world. With more and more people using their smartphones to search for products and services, having a mobile-friendly Google Business Profile can make it easier for potential customers to find your business while on-the-go.

7. Integration with Google Services:

A Google Business Profile is closely integrated with other Google services such as Google Maps, Google Search, and Google Ads. This integration means that having a Google Business Profile can help improve your business’s visibility in these services, providing additional opportunities to attract potential customers.

Below you can also watch an instructional video showing how to easily navigate the GBP’s interface and the post types.

In conclusion, having a Google Business Profile is critical for SEO and the success of your business online. A Google Business Profile can help your business rank higher in local search results, increase your business’s visibility, improve your online reputation, improve click-through rates, provide valuable analytics, and integrate with other Google services. By creating and optimizing your Google Business Profile, you can improve your business’s online visibility and attract more customers.

Google is constantly working on improving its search engine, and one of the areas it is focusing on is reducing the reliance on link signals. Link signals are one of the most important factors that Google uses to rank websites in its search results, but they can be manipulated and gamed. By reducing the reliance on link signals, Google is trying to create a more fair and accurate search engine.

Project Magi

Project Magi is a codename for Google’s new AI-powered search engine. It is still under development, but it is expected to be more personalised, relevant, and engaging than the current Google search engine.

Project Magi is expected to use a variety of AI techniques to improve the search experience, including:

• Natural language processing to understand user queries more accurately
• Machine learning to personalise results based on user interests and search history
• Generative AI to create new content, such as articles and videos, based on user queries

Project Magi is expected to be a major upgrade to the Google search engine. It has the potential to revolutionise the way we search for information online, making it easier and more convenient than ever before.

What are link signals?

Link signals are a measure of the popularity of a website. They are calculated by counting the number of links that point to a website, as well as the quality of those links. Link signals are one of the most important factors that Google uses to rank websites in its search results.

Why is Google reducing the reliance on link signals?

There are a few reasons why Google is reducing the reliance on link signals. First, link signals can be manipulated and gamed. There are a number of black hat SEO techniques that can be used to increase the number of links that point to a website. By reducing the reliance on link signals, Google is trying to make it more difficult for websites to manipulate their rankings.

Second, link signals are not always a good indicator of the quality of a website. There are a number of websites that have a lot of links pointing to them, but the content on those websites is not high quality. By reducing the reliance on link signals, Google is trying to ensure that the websites that rank well in its search results are actually high quality.

How is Google reducing its reliance on link signals?

There are a few ways that Google is reducing its reliance on link signals. First, Google is developing new algorithms that can better measure the quality of content. These algorithms take into account factors such as the readability of the content, the use of keywords, and the overall structure of the content.

Second, Google is using machine learning to identify and penalise websites that are engaging in black hat SEO practices, such as link building schemes. Google’s machine learning algorithms can identify patterns that are indicative of black hat SEO, such as a sudden increase in the number of links pointing to a website.

Third, Google is focusing on other factors that are important to users, such as the quality of content, the user experience, and the engagement of users. By focusing on these factors, Google is trying to create a more user-friendly search engine that delivers more relevant results.

How will Google’s new search engine affect SEOs?

Google’s new search engine will have a significant impact on SEOs. In the past, SEOs could focus on building links to their websites in order to improve their rankings. However, with Google’s new search engine, SEOs will need to focus on other factors, such as the quality of content, the user experience, and the engagement of users.

Here are some tips for SEOs who want to prepare for Google’s new search engine:

• Focus on creating high-quality content that is relevant to your target audience.
• Make sure your website is easy to use and navigate.
• Encourage users to interact with your content, such as by sharing it on social media or leaving comments.
• Stay up-to-date on the latest SEO trends and best practices.

By following these tips, you can help your website rank well in Google’s new search engine.

Conclusion

Google’s new search engine is still under development, but it is clear that Google is taking steps to reduce its reliance on link signals. SEOs will need to adapt to these changes and focus on the factors that are most important to Google. By following the tips in this blog post, you can help your website rank well in Google’s new search engine.

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