Five search developments this week: a spam update, AI impression counts, CTR data, Similarweb’s branded search findings, and Google’s tool access stance. The post Google Spam Update Rolls Out, AI Manipulation In Scope – SEO Pulse appeared first on Search Engine Journal .

This week, Google released the June 2026 spam update, Google said it was a normal spam update but it does feel like this one started a bit earlier and was a big one. Yes, we covered on Sunday what we thought…

This week, Google released the June 2026 spam update, Google said it was a normal spam update but it does feel like this one started a bit earlier and was a big one. Yes, we covered on Sunday what we thought…

Google Ads seems to be rolling out Maximize Conversion Value bidding within Standard Shopping campaigns. You might see under the Budget and bidding optimization setting for your Standard Shopping campaigns, the bid option for “Maximize conversion value.”

Google announced new security controls for Merchant Center for Agencies, specifically around user access controls for admins and standard roles. Ginny Marvin, the Google Ads Liaison, said that these changes are “to help streamline workflows and improve security.”

The Google Ads API will stop allowing advertisers to create Smart Campaigns on August 3, 2026. Google has been transitioning from Smart Campaigns to Performance Max campaigns for years now.

The Google Ads API will stop allowing advertisers to create Smart Campaigns on August 3, 2026. Google has been transitioning from Smart Campaigns to Performance Max campaigns for years now.

Google has added the messages button back to the Google Business Profile dashboard within Google Search. Google use to have a feature like this but I believe removed it but now it is possibly coming back.

Earlier this month, we covered Google’s announcement of the Google-hosted lead form.

Google’s John Mueller answered whether Google Gemini’s new AI agents change the rules for SEO. The post Google Answers Question About SEO For AI Agents appeared first on Search Engine Journal .