The AI visibility gold rush has reached Cloudflare. The company best known for keeping websites online, and unwanted bots out, is beginning to look like an SEO software provider. As Adweek reported, Cloudflare launched its AEO Visibility Dashboard in early access on August 6. It measures whether AI assistants mention or cite a brand, how […]

The post Cloudflare releases its own AI visibility tool because … why not? appeared first on Search Engine Watch - SEO, AI Search, PPC News & Analysis.

DuckDuckGo is the best private search engine for most people, but it is not the right answer for every threat model. We examined what seven active services collect, where their results come from, how they make money, and whether their AI can really be turned off. Read below for the full list and analysis. Privacy […]

The post Best Search Engine for Privacy in 2026 [7 Ranked] appeared first on Search Engine Watch - SEO, AI Search, PPC News & Analysis.

There's a lot of nuance to the <dialog> element, a seemingly little piece of web architecture. I've got some notes from digging into it.

Using and Styling the Dialog Element originally handwritten and published with love on CSS-Tricks. You should really get the newsletter as well.

Earlier this year, Google launched a new AI Performance Report within Google Search Console, nested under the main Performance report. This new report lets site owners see impressions, pages, countries, devices, and dates but notably, it doesn’t include query data. Recently, Anastasia Kourou posted on LinkedIn about spotting odd queries in her regular Search Console […]

The post Google is mixing AI Mode replies into Search Console query data appeared first on Search Engine Watch - SEO, AI Search, PPC News & Analysis.

ChatGPT is testing a new ad display format within its results. we’ve been noticing more varied ad designs showing up in ChatGPT lately, and this latest one adds a descriptive heading directly above the ad itself. Brodie Clark spotted this and shared it on the SERP Alerts page on X.   Brodie said: “ChatGPT is […]

The post ChatGPT is testing a new way to make ads feel like part of the conversation appeared first on Search Engine Watch - SEO, AI Search, PPC News & Analysis.

Google is testing a “Strongest match” or “Strong match” label on certain search ads. This one is confirmed Google’s Ginny Marvin announced it on LinkedIn and X. Marvin wrote: “We’ll be running a small experiment with adding a ‘Strongest match’ or ‘Strong match’ label to certain search ads.” Here is how it looks. A label […]

The post Google Ads Rolls Out Live Test Of Strong Match Labels appeared first on Search Engine Watch - SEO, AI Search, PPC News & Analysis.

A few notes and takeaways from the 2026 State of CSS survey results, including a nice CSS-Tricks cameo!

2026 State of CSS, Devs Surveys originally handwritten and published with love on CSS-Tricks. You should really get the newsletter as well.

We’re kickstarting a brand new series here at SEW, where we will do our best to watch and report in search engines’ updates. As you are probably aware, not all of them are announced, only the bigger ones. However, a lot of webmasters, publishers and agencies report ongoing fluctuations and volatility. Tracking potential Google algorithm updates […]

The post Google Algorithm update in August 2026? What we know appeared first on Search Engine Watch - SEO, AI Search, PPC News & Analysis.

Bing is testing a new section on its search results page called “Top Source.” Based on what we’re seeing, this section appears to group together multiple pieces of content whether individual pages or news articles from a single site. Here is the screenshot of how it looks.   Here is the X post. We’ve noticed […]

The post Bing tests new “Top Source” section in search results appeared first on Search Engine Watch - SEO, AI Search, PPC News & Analysis.

Google recently rolled out a preferred sources feature on the search results page. When a user selects a website as a preferred source, that site’s content is more likely to show up in Top Stories and gets highlighted as a preferred source within AI Overviews and AI Mode. Here is a screenshot of how it […]

The post How to check if your site is eligible in Preferred Sources appeared first on Search Engine Watch - SEO, AI Search, PPC News & Analysis.

ChatGPT ads are becoming much more like Google Shopping. OpenAI is reportedly rolling out a new carousel format that can place several products inside one ad at the bottom of a conversation. Digiday says it verified the format after seeing screenshots. Until now, ChatGPT ads have generally promoted one product at a time. The carousel […]

The post Move over Google Shopping: ChatGPT’s ad carousel launch is imminent appeared first on Search Engine Watch - SEO, AI Search, PPC News & Analysis.

Google is testing a new subheading within its Sponsored results carousel called “Featured products,” with the description “From online or local stores” underneath it. We’re seeing this tested on both mobile and desktop. Here is the screenshot. In the example above, a search for wheelchairs shows the usual Sponsored results carousel, but now with this […]

The post Google tests new “Featured Products” subheading in shopping ads appeared first on Search Engine Watch - SEO, AI Search, PPC News & Analysis.

Today, with CSS gap decorations fully supported in Chrome and Edge, starting with version 149, you can now very easily style gaps, and with a lot of control.

Gap Decorations Are Now Available, Here’s What’s New originally handwritten and published with love on CSS-Tricks. You should really get the newsletter as well.

We recently got the shape() function and corner-shape property. What else could we possibly need as far as making shapes in CSS? Let me tell you: the border-shape property!

Get Ready For the Powerful CSS border-shape Property! originally handwritten and published with love on CSS-Tricks. You should really get the newsletter as well.