Author: Ryuzaki

Google will shut down three long-running Google Groups support forums for advertising developers early next year as it consolidates technical support into official channels. Driving the news. Google announced it will stop responding to new posts starting January 28, 2026. The forums will remain visible as read-only archives until later in the year, when Google plans to disable new posts entirely. After Jan. 28: Support agents will no longer reply on Google Groups. Replies to existing threads will trigger a new email thread with Google support instead. Content will stay online for reference — including past discussions and solutions. The…

If you entered PPC 20 years ago, testing was scientific, comforting, and one of the biggest reasons to run paid search campaigns. We proudly talked about all the data we collected. You had Ad X and Ad Y. You waited. You declared a winner. You paused the loser. It was a binary world of “Yes” or “No.” We used to swear that the title case descriptions outperformed sentence case descriptions. Or that putting a period at the end of a description line was the secret to performance. Today, if you apply that same rigid framework to Google Ads or Meta,…

Major SEO platforms, such as Ahrefs and Semrush, along with agencies like Seer Interactive and other leading companies, have released substantial studies that appear to offer definitive answers.  But a closer look reveals something else entirely: nearly every possible narrative about AI search impact has a “study” to support it.  The more I examined the data, the clearer a more uncomfortable truth became – no one has the definitive answer, and the numbers can be sliced to validate almost any storyline. The core consensus that isn’t really consensus At first glance, the major studies agree on fundamentals. Ahrefs reports that…

Now that anyone can use AI to generate keywords and spin up a paid search campaign in minutes, it’s easy to assume the hard work is done.  But creating structured, scalable performance still requires a genuine understanding of how search works.  Techniques like n-grams, Levenshtein distance, and Jaccard similarity give search marketers the ability to interpret messy search term data, apply client context, and build reliable frameworks that AI alone can’t produce. Here’s how. What n-grams reveal in PPC and SEO analysis Think of n-grams as the “n” words that make up a keyword. For example, in the term “private…

Google is gearing up to launch Partner Match, a new targeting option that allows advertisers to use third-party partner data to create custom audiences for YouTube campaigns, according to newly published help documentation. How it works. Partner Match enables approved third-party partners to upload hashed user data—such as email, name, or ZIP code—which Google will match to signed-in YouTube accounts. Advertisers can then target these matched segments across: Video Reach campaigns Video Views campaigns Demand Gen campaigns (YouTube channel only) It will not support ad sequences or YouTube Select guaranteed deals. Where it’s available. Partner Match will roll out globally…

Microsoft Ads introduced two updates that could significantly improve campaign management and reporting for advertisers. The changes: Asset-level disapprovals: Ads will now be disapproved at the asset level—whether a single image, headline, or text line—allowing the rest of the ad to continue running. This reduces wasted spend and prevents entire campaigns from being paused due to a single issue. Conversion reporting transparency: Advertisers can now measure the average time it takes for 90% of conversions—online or offline—to be recorded after a click. This provides critical clarity for evaluating campaign performance and optimizing bidding strategies. These updates address two longstanding pain…

Gemini 3 launched in AI Mode just a couple of weeks ago, but now Google is expanding it to about 120 countries and territories for English queries. Google’s Robby Stein said, “Gemini 3 is now available in AI Mode, across nearly 120 countries & territories in English.” What is AI Mode with Gemini 3. Google shared how AI Mode in Search is now using Gemini 3 to enable new generative UI experiences like immersive visual layouts and interactive tools and simulations, all generated completely on the fly based on your query. Gemini 3 is used in AI Mode in Search with…

Google is now officially testing pushing searchers from AI Overviews in Google Search into the AI Mode interface. When you click on the “Show more” button within some AI Overviews, Google may jump you directly into the AI Mode interface. What Google said. Robby Stein from Google announced this on X, saying, “Today we’re starting to test a new way to seamlessly go deeper in AI Mode directly from the Search results page on mobile, globally.” Here is a video of this in action, with the full message from Robby Stein: (2/2) This means you’ll continue to get an AI…

OpenAI is reportedly nearing the launch of ads in the ChatGPT Android app, according to recent code findings. Meanwhile, one user says an ad has already appeared in the wild. What’s new. Early references to an ad system were found in the latest ChatGPT Android beta (v1.2025.329). Inside the APK, TestingCatalog spotted strings such as: “ads feature” “bazaar content” “search ad” “search ads carousel” These entries may suggest an ad framework under active development, likely focused on search, shopping, and product recommendation requests rather than disruptive display ads in every chat. Zoom out. ChatGPT ads will help OpenAI offset the…

Google withdrew its antitrust complaint against Microsoft after EU regulators opened a new probe into Azure under the bloc’s tough tech rules. Driving the news. Google pulled its 2024 complaint—centered on Microsoft’s allegedly anti-competitive cloud licensing practices—just as the European Commission launched fresh investigations into whether Azure and Amazon Web Services fall under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Google says the withdrawal doesn’t mean it’s backing down. What they’re saying. “We filed our antitrust complaint…to give voice to our customers and partners,” said Giorgia Abeltino, Google Cloud Europe’s head of public policy. She added that Google still stands behind the…