SEO never stands still, and this week brought updates that affect both global publishers and local businesses. From Google’s expanding AI features to changes in referral traffic and trust badges, there’s plenty for marketers and local business owners to track. Here are the highlights you need to know.
Search Engine Roundtable
- Google expanded AI Mode to 180 countries beyond the U.S., U.K., and India. It now offers agent-like tools—such as booking restaurants, setting up local service appointments, and event tickets—with personalized results and sharing options. Read more
- Sites have seen 52% less referral traffic from ChatGPT since July 21, according to Profound data. Meanwhile, sources like Reddit and Wikipedia gained big citation share in ChatGPT responses. This shows ChatGPT has shifted focus toward those dominant platforms. Read more
- Google is showing new publisher profile pages when users tap a publisher’s name in Discover. These pages include the logo, follow button, social counts, and recent posts. It’s rolling out slowly, mainly in the U.S., as part of Google’s experimentation. Read more
Search Engine Land
- In June 2025, Google removed over 3 billion entities from its Knowledge Graph, the largest reduction in a decade. It suggests Google is trimming excess to build a leaner, more precise foundation for AI features like AI Mode and AI Overviews. Read more
- Despite concerns about AI and search changes, Google reports news publisher traffic has stayed steady. Some publishers feared drops, but data shows stability. Still, trends may shift as AI search expands. Read more
- A new guide defines what a quality backlink is: it should come from relevant, trusted sites. It covers traits like editorial placement, natural anchor text, and why a few strong links beat many low-quality ones. Read more
Search Engine Journal
- Google is replacing multiple trust badges (like “Google Guaranteed”) with one unified “Google Verified” badge for local ads in October 2025. Local businesses should get ready by checking eligibility and keeping verification up to date. Read more
- Ahrefs now offers a monthly dashboard to compare referral traffic from Google and ChatGPT. Google still leads traffic by far, but ChatGPT referrals are now measurable—especially useful for tracking AI-driven traffic. Read more
- A study found that large AI systems (LLMs) tend to choose AI‑written content over human-written content in tests—whether it’s product descriptions, abstracts, or movie summaries. The authors warn this might create a “gate tax,” where AI‑generated writing gets favored. Read more
Stay focused on local SEO, verified trust signals, and quality content.
