May 16, 2025

This issue of the newsletter is sponsored by those amazing SEO tools: Ahrefs, SE Ranking, and Cora SEO Tool​

Hi,

I'm attending Google I/O (in person!) next week so I will be brief with news today.

Expect some photos when I am in Mountain View... 😉

↓

Google Discover in 2025 (+ 117-Step Checklist)

I just hit publish on my deep-dive: Google Discover SEO in 2025.

In my new guide, I break down:
✅ what Google Discover is and why it matters
✅ SEO for Google Discover—technical, content, E-E-A-T, images, video
✅ step-by-step tactics on how to appear in Google Discover on mobile and the new desktop tests
✅ a free, ultra-detailed checklist (117+ checks) you can swipe today

Or download the checklist.

AI Content Helper from Ahrefs [Sponsor]

Struggling to write content that ranks?

​Ahrefs’ AI Content Helper does the heavy lifting—detects search intent, shows you exactly what your competitors are doing, and tells you what your content is missing.

​

Top SEO & AI news

Google Debuts Generative AI Certification: Free Training, $99 Exam

Google launches a new Generative AI Leader certification aimed at non-technical professionals who want to master generative AI within the Google Cloud ecosystem.

All coursework and study materials are free, and you pay $99 only for the exam—so you can explore the content risk-free before deciding to earn the credential.

Spam Floods Google AI Overviews, Exposing a Major Quality Crisis

​Danny Goodwin reports that SEOs and spammers are gaming Google’s AI Overviews by:

• Hallucinating or copying answers verbatim, even when they contradict Business Profile or Knowledge Graph data.
• Citing self-written “best of” listicles to claim fake authority (e.g., “best SEO agency”).
• Repeating low-quality, AI-generated content that displaces original sources.

Despite Google’s focus on E-E-A-T and recent anti-spam updates, the company has “no answer yet” for wrong phone numbers, manipulated rankings, or duplicated text.

Google Offsets Click-Position Bias

A DOJ exhibit confirms Google uses click data in search rankings but adjusts for position bias.

Higher-ranked results naturally get more clicks, so Google developed a system to avoid reinforcing that bias. This helps ensure clicks reflect quality—not just placement.

Exclusive FREEBE for Newsletter Subscribers

Get 1 month of SE Ranking free—full access to its insanely powerful SEO toolset.

It’s stacked, it’s easy to use, and yes… you’ll be seriously impressed.

Coming next and announcements

→ My SEO Audit Mastery course will officially open (and will be finalized) in the second half of June. My newsletter subscribers can still get inside (just use the official landing page)
→ If you are interested in sponsoring my newsletter, feel free to reply to this e-mail. More information about my newsletter and stats are here.

That's all I have for you today!

See you in the next episode!

Best,

P.S. Do you want me to share a specific article or resource in the newsletter? Do you want me to give a shout-out to some SEO? Let me know by replying to this e-mail!