Digital industry updates
At Embryo we keep a log of key industry updates within the digital marketing landscape. The updates cover changes with Google and algorithms and platforms that affect SEO, PPC, as well as social platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
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Microsoft Advertising makes optimisation experiments generally available
How it works:
Microsoft Advertising has made Optimisation Experiments generally available for Search, Shopping, Audience and Performance Max campaigns. Advertisers can run controlled A/B tests covering areas such as bidding, targeting and creative, with results presented alongside the original campaign. Changes can then be applied to the original campaign or used to create a new campaign.
What’s the benefit:
Advertisers can test significant campaign changes before rolling them out across an account. This gives PPC teams a more structured way to validate changes to bidding, targeting and creative, rather than relying solely on before-and-after performance comparisons
September Google Spam Update
Google has officially begun rolling out a further spam update starting September 24th. We believe this is a global update which applies to all languages. Google have noted that they anticipate this to take up to 2 weeks to complete.
As with all core algorithm and spam updates, we strongly advise holding off on any major changes to your site until the rollout is fully complete. Making site modifications during an active rollout can make it difficult to isolate the true source of any rank fluctuations.
See GoogleGoogle expands AI Max reporting to show the full search journey
How it works:
Google is introducing a new reporting view for AI Max campaigns that brings together the search term and landing page associated with an ad interaction.
Google says the aim is to give advertisers a clearer picture of how AI Max is matching queries with their creative and destinations. The update is being rolled out alongside an expansion of AI Brief into Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.
What’s the benefit:
This should make AI Max easier to analyse because advertisers can see more of the path between the search query and the experience delivered.
It could be particularly useful for identifying irrelevant query/creative combinations and understanding how Google’s AI-driven targeting is influencing campaign performance.
Google Analytics launches customisable dashboards
How it works: GA4 now has a native Dashboards feature with a drag-and-drop grid for building scorecards, tables, line & bar charts, donuts and funnels on one page. Standard properties can add up to 15 cards per dashboard (30 for Analytics 360), and published dashboards appear in the left navigation for everyone on the property.
What’s the benefit? Teams can view their key KPIs in one place without jumping between reports or building a separate Looker Studio report for basic summaries. As dashboards are shared by default, it’s worth agreeing on naming & ownership rules early to keep properties tidy.
Read moreGoogle search result links now redirect through goto URL
Google is rolling out new technical measures to protect against evolving forms of abuse, including a redirect between Google search results and the destination webpage. Clicks now pass through a google.com/goto URL first. This should make it harder for third-party tools, scrapers and AI systems to collect search results data.
Whilst the change will barely impact searchers, SEO professionals or businesses using third-party Google Search tracking tools may need to monitor their data for any changes in how these platforms collect or report it. To be extra proactive, consider checking in with your providers to see if or how this will affect you.
Read moreGoogle begins automatic upgrades to AI Max for Search
How it works: Throughout September, Google is automatically upgrading Search campaigns that use automatically created assets or campaign-level broad match to AI Max. New Dynamic Search Ads campaigns can no longer be created, and remaining DSA campaigns will be upgraded from February 2027.
What’s the benefit? Google reports advertisers using the full AI Max feature set see 7% more conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA/ROAS. To stay in control during the switch, review negative keywords, brand exclusions & search terms reports closely.
See hereGoogle expands limited ad serving policy across all Google Ads accounts
How it works:
Google is expanding its Limited Ad Serving policy to cover all ad formats and account types. The policy applies temporary impression caps on unverified or newly created advertiser accounts until the system establishes sufficient trust signals & account history.
What’s the benefit?
This update reduces brand impersonation and scam ads across the ecosystem, protecting legitimate advertisers from unfair auction competition while boosting user trust across search & display placements.
Search Console AI performance reports
How it works: Search Console’s generative AI performance report is now available to all sites worldwide, showing impressions, pages, countries & devices for content appearing in AI Overviews, AI Mode and AI features in Discover (click data isn’t included). Alongside it, a new toggle lets site owners opt their content out of Google’s generative AI features.
What’s the benefit? Brands can finally measure their visibility in AI search directly from Google. Google says opting out won’t affect standard web rankings – but opted-out sites won’t receive any traffic or impressions from AI features, so the decision should be weighed carefully.
Read moreGoogle adds dedicated reporting for new customer acquisition
How it works:
Google has introduced a “Report on new customers acquired” feature within Google Ads reporting. This update allows advertisers to break down & segment metrics specifically around new vs returning buyer conversions without forcing changes to smart bidding target goals.
What’s the benefit?
Advertisers can gain clean visibility into customer acquisition performance & acquisition costs without risking disruption to existing campaign bidding strategies or requiring separate acquisition-only campaign builds.
Google Spam Update
Google’s August spam update is currently rolling out, so hold off on judging traffic shifts until the dust settles, but the real story is how the search landscape is transforming. Google’s Generative UI has landed in standard AI Overviews, building interactive tools and calculators directly on the SERP – putting Google in direct competition with simple site utilities.
To help publishers fight back against zero click searches, Google launched an embeddable Preferred Sources button. Adding it to your site lets readers favourite your brand, locking in boosted visibility across Top Stories, Discover and AI Mode based on true user loyalty rather than algorithm luck. Meanwhile, OpenAI proved just how volatile AI traffic can be: Reddit’s share of ChatGPT citations crashed by 86% in days, underscoring that relying on a single platform for AI visibility is a risky bet.
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