Nội dung
- Google faces class-action lawsuit over books used to train Gemini
- Apple Maps Ads signals tighter controls ahead of launch
- Spent £50 on PPC but the real bill became £1,000: a lesson in ad control
- Top Stories appear in Google AI Overviews
- Google brings business data feeds to Demand Gen campaigns
- Google says AI Search features still send billions of clicks each week
- SEO is not just rankings: a reporting lesson for leadership
- Why ad platforms often report more conversions than businesses
- Kate Spade tasks new chief marketing officer with reigniting the magic
- Salesforce and the agentic AI challenge: big ambition, but readiness has not caught up
- A perspective for the Vietnamese market
- References
Last week’s SEO and search marketing news painted a very clear picture: the game is no longer centered on rankings alone, but is shifting strongly toward AI Search, business data, real performance measurement, and how platforms are setting new rules. For Vietnamese marketers, these changes directly affect how content is optimized, budgets are allocated, and results are reported to leadership.
- Key points:
- Google continues to expand AI Search and says its AI features still send “billions of clicks” to websites each week.
- Top Stories are starting to appear in Google AI Overviews, changing how users access news and timely content.
- Apple Maps Ads is tightening its policies, especially excluding many home service industries and some sensitive categories.
- SEO, PPC, and AI marketing are all facing the same big question: how to measure in a way that ties to revenue, not just traffic or conversions on the platform.
Google faces class-action lawsuit over books used to train Gemini
Google is facing a class-action lawsuit related to its use of books to train Gemini, according to Search Engine Journal. It is a reminder that the generative AI wave is not just a technology or search experience story, but also brings legal disputes over data sources, copyright, and content usage rights.
For SEO and content publishers, this case is notable because it reinforces a reality: high-quality data is increasingly becoming a strategic asset. Brands need to be more cautious when building content libraries, while closely monitoring how AI platforms reuse information on the web. Source: Search Engine Journal.
Apple Maps Ads signals tighter controls ahead of launch
Apple has announced new advertising policies for Apple Maps, even though the service has not officially launched yet. The most notable point is that many “home services” industries are excluded from eligibility, including plumbing, electrical, locksmith, HVAC, pest control, roofing, and general contracting.
The message here is quite clear: Apple is shaping a tightly controlled ad ecosystem that prioritizes map experience and user safety. For local advertisers, this means keeping a close eye on eligibility requirements from the start, because some familiar industries in local search may not have access to this channel. Source: Search Engine Journal.
Spent £50 on PPC but the real bill became £1,000: a lesson in ad control
Search Engine Land recounts Heather Robinson’s story of a PPC campaign that was supposed to cost only £50 but ultimately climbed to £1,000. While the exact mistakes are not spelled out in the story, the core message is very familiar to performance marketers: one poorly controlled setup can cause budget to “bleed” far faster than expected.
The key takeaway is that marketers should not look at PPC only through CPC or click volume. There needs to be a process for checking tracking, placement scope, excluding low-quality queries, and monitoring budgets on a shorter cadence. As AI and automation increasingly influence bidding, campaign control becomes an even bigger competitive advantage. Source: Search Engine Land.
Top Stories appear in Google AI Overviews
Search Engine Land reports that Google is bringing Top Stories into AI Overviews. This is an important move because it shows Google continuing to blend traditional news content with generative search experiences, rather than fully separating the two display layers.
For news SEO and publishers, this change could directly affect how readers access articles, click-through rates, and brand visibility in search results. As AI Overviews take in more prominent news blocks, the competition is no longer just about writing well and fast, but also about optimizing structure, credibility, and the likelihood of being selected as a reference source. Source: Search Engine Land.
Google brings business data feeds to Demand Gen campaigns
Google continues to add business data feeds to Demand Gen campaigns. In practical terms, this signals that Google is encouraging advertisers to feed richer business data into the system to support better personalization and ad delivery.
For marketing teams running both SEO and paid media, this is an opportunity to align product data, offers, or commercial signals across multiple touchpoints. When input data is better, ad systems usually perform better — but it also requires marketers to manage data more tightly and avoid inconsistencies between the website, feed, and campaigns. Source: Search Engine Land.
Google says AI Search features still send billions of clicks each week
Google says its AI Search features are sending billions of clicks to websites each week. This is an important statement because it directly counters the fear that AI Overviews will keep all traffic inside Google’s ecosystem.
However, a large number does not mean every website benefits equally. For marketers, the real question is which types of content AI prefers to cite, which sites retain the ability to attract clicks, and which content structures are best suited to still earn traffic in a conversational search environment. Source: Search Engine Land.
SEO is not just rankings: a reporting lesson for leadership
Search Engine Land highlights a long-standing but still very common issue: many SEO reports still start with rankings, while business leaders care about revenue, sales, or actual leads. When the two sides speak different languages, SEO is easily seen as “good on paper” but hard to prove in value.
The lesson for Vietnamese teams is to move from metric reporting to business impact reporting: revenue by keyword group, qualified leads, conversion rate by landing page, or organic contribution to the pipeline. This is how SEO can be seen as a growth channel rather than just a technical optimization function. Source: Search Engine Land.
Why ad platforms often report more conversions than businesses
Search Engine Land explains why ad platforms such as Google Ads, Meta, or Microsoft often record more conversions than a company’s internal data. The main reason lies in different counting methods, combined with business logic that leads platforms to attribute more generously.
The key point for marketers is not to look for one side that is “lying,” but to understand the measurement method correctly. When comparing data, businesses need to clearly define the conversion window, attribution model, and backend revenue confirmation standard. Only when the way data is read is aligned do budget decisions become truly reliable. Source: Search Engine Land.
Kate Spade tasks new chief marketing officer with reigniting the magic
Marketing Dive reports that Kate Spade has appointed a new chief marketing officer with the goal of “reigniting the magic.” The phrase clearly reflects the pressure on fashion and retail brands: not only to sell products, but also to revive brand identity in a highly competitive and fast-changing market.
For SEO and content professionals, this case is a reminder that brand search, storytelling, and message consistency across touchpoints remain essential foundations. As the brand grows stronger, branded search demand also rises, supporting both organic and paid performance. Source: Marketing Dive.
Salesforce and the agentic AI challenge: big ambition, but readiness has not caught up
MarTech analyzes Salesforce’s challenges with Agentforce, showing that the agentic AI story is not just about technology but also about real-world implementation. Although the company has high expectations for the platform, customer adoption has not surged as predicted.
The key point for marketers is that AI agent may promise automation across many tasks, but input data, operating processes, and internal readiness are the deciding factors. In other words, AI alone does not automatically create results. Businesses need to prepare their data infrastructure and workflows before expecting deep automation. Source: MarTech.
A perspective for the Vietnamese market
From a Vietnamese perspective, this week’s news points to three trends worth watching closely. First, SEO is shifting from ranking optimization to optimizing visibility in AI search and news surfaces. Second, local ads and shopping/demand gen will depend more heavily on clean, consistent, structured business data. Third, marketing reports need to speak the language of revenue and profit, or it will be very difficult to convince leadership to maintain budgets.
For Vietnamese brands, now is a good time to review three foundational layers: content quality, measurement systems, and the ability to synchronize data across SEO, paid media, and CRM. Those who do these three things well will have a major advantage as AI Search and new ad formats continue to expand.
See more marketing news and guides at https://marketing365.vn.
Follow more updates from Marketing365 to stay on top of the latest marketing trends.
Read more articles in the Digital Trends category.
This article focuses on latest SEO news with a perspective for the Vietnamese market.
References
- Google Faces Class Action Over Books Used To Train Gemini
- Apple Maps Ads Ban Home Services, Crypto ATMs, Bail Bonds
- Heather Robinson talks about a £50 PPC ad that cost £1,000
- Top Stories roll out in Google AI Overviews
- Google brings business data feeds to Demand Gen campaigns
- Google says AI Search features send billions of clicks to websites each week
- How to report SEO results executives actually care about
- How ad platforms count and report conversions differently
- Kate Spade focused on ‘reigniting the magic’ with new chief marketer
- Salesforce’s woes underline marketing’s agentic AI problems
