Nội dung
- Google adds category property to Merchant Listing structured data
- Optimizing PPC amid declining search term visibility
- Google Search sets a new usage record
- Performance marketing does not need more vendors, but a better-running stack
- Digital PR is becoming a notable lever for AI SEO
- If you want AI to cite you, your website must first be easy for machines to read
- Google continues to show signs of change in search results and supporting ecosystem
- Google tests google.com/goto as a tracking URL in search results
- What this means for the Vietnamese market
- References
Recent developments around Google Search, AI search, and performance measurement show that SEO is no longer just a game of keywords and rankings. For Vietnamese marketers, changes in structured data, query signals, tracking, and a machine’s ability to “understand” content can all directly affect traffic, conversions, and how performance is reported.
- Key points:
- Google has just updated Merchant Listing structured data, with the new category property for Product being the most notable change.
- PPC/SEO professionals must adapt to the gradual loss of visibility into detailed search queries on some platforms.
- AI search increasingly requires websites to be readable, analyzable, and trustworthy to machines.
- Tracking URLs and changes in search results can affect measurement, third-party tools, and optimization workflows.
Google adds category property to Merchant Listing structured data
In its latest update, Google has adjusted the requirements for Merchant Listing structured data and also clarified how structured data should be used to indicate when promotional pricing applies. The most notable addition is the new category property for Product. Although this is not yet a required field, Google still recommends using it because it helps describe products in more detail directly in the markup, rather than relying on the feed alone.
In practical terms, this change helps narrow the gap between data on the website and data submitted to Merchant Center. For e-commerce websites, it signals that Google continues to prioritize consistency between displayed content, schema, and product taxonomy. If implemented well, businesses may improve Google’s ability to understand product context correctly, thereby improving the quality of visibility in shopping results and related experiences.
Source: Search Engine Journal, “Google’s New Merchant Listing Structured Data Improves SEO”.
Optimizing PPC amid declining search term visibility
This edition of “Ask A PPC” focuses on a growing issue: advertisers can no longer see full search terms as before on some platforms. As query signals become more limited, campaign optimization must rely more heavily on behavioral indicators and traffic quality rather than reading every search phrase individually.
The key message here is not only for PPC but also useful for SEO: instead of obsessing over a single list of queries, marketers need to look at the broader picture, including sessions, engagement, conversions, and customer value. In an increasingly “blurred” measurement environment, the ability to infer from indirect signals will become a competitive advantage.
Source: Search Engine Journal, “How To Optimize PPC Accounts With Less Search Term Visibility – Ask A PPC”.
Google Search sets a new usage record
Search Engine Roundtable reported that Google Search has just reached its highest usage level ever on the day mentioned. While the article does not draw deep conclusions about the cause, the information still underscores a very important reality: Search remains a core internet behavior, and the SEO ecosystem still has enormous influence.
For marketers, data like this is often read as a reminder that even though AI, social, and other content distribution channels are growing strongly, active search demand has not declined. That means investing in search visibility, useful content, and on-page experience remains a key foundation of digital growth strategy.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable, “Google Search Broke All Usage Records With Highest Usage Yesterday”.
Performance marketing does not need more vendors, but a better-running stack
Search Engine Land frames the issue in a very practical way: the future of performance marketing is not about buying too many more tools or vendors, but about making the existing system work more effectively. This is a notable view in a context where many marketing teams are seeing their tech stacks bloat while the links between data, measurement, and action remain weak.
For SEO, this means content, tracking, CRM, analytics, and paid media need to work together. When a business can consolidate data better and make better use of what it already has, results often come from system optimization rather than simply increasing budget. The lesson here is that operational quality matters just as much as the number of tools.
Source: Search Engine Land, “The future of performance marketing isn’t more vendors. It’s making your stack work harder.”
Digital PR is becoming a notable lever for AI SEO
In its analysis of AI SEO, Search Engine Journal highlights a very practical direction: digital PR. The author argues that as the role of traditional links declines, businesses still need to put their brand in front of the right audience at sufficient scale and by building real awareness, not just for the sake of earning links.
The strength of this perspective is that it connects SEO with brand building. In the AI search era, being mentioned in authoritative places, with clear context and strong brand signals, can be just as useful as a purely link-building campaign. That makes digital PR no longer a “supporting part” of SEO but part of a digital presence strategy.
Source: Search Engine Journal, “An Easy Digital PR Strategy For AI SEO”.
If you want AI to cite you, your website must first be easy for machines to read
Another Search Engine Journal article focuses on the big question of the AI search era: when we cannot directly see how AI ranks, what should we do? The answer is stated quite clearly: keep building what machines can read, analyze, and trust.
This may sound familiar, but that very familiarity is what makes it important. Clear content structure, consistency, machine readability, and source trustworthiness remain foundational. In other words, AI search may change the answer interface, but the core technical and content principles of SEO still hold their value.
Source: Search Engine Journal, “You Can’t See How AI Ranks You, So Build What It Can Read”.
Google continues to show signs of change in search results and supporting ecosystem
In its July 8, 2026 recap, Search Engine Roundtable said Google is testing a range of updates, from tracking URLs in search results to changes related to ads, Product results, and Google Business Profiles. While each change has a different level of impact, the common thread is that the search ecosystem remains in constant flux.
For SEO professionals, this is especially important at the tracking stage. A small change in how Google displays or routes clicks can cause third-party tool data to drift, or require internal measurement processes to be reviewed. These updates should not be treated as “minor details,” because sometimes they are exactly what affects day-to-day data interpretation.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable, “Daily Search Forum Recap: July 8, 2026”.
Google tests google.com/goto as a tracking URL in search results
Another notable discovery is that Google is testing the insertion of an intermediate google.com/goto URL when users click certain search results. Instead of going directly to the destination page, the click may pass through a redirect layer before reaching the website. Early observations suggest this change could affect webmaster tracking and third-party tools as well.
For SEO and analytics teams, this is a very clear reminder that measurement is never fixed. When a platform changes how it redirects or records clicks, reporting data needs to be checked more carefully to avoid incorrect conclusions. In practice, even a small change in the search infrastructure layer can create significant differences in dashboards that depend on standard click signals.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable, “Google Tests google.com/goto Tracking URLs In Search Results”.
What this means for the Vietnamese market
For Vietnamese businesses, this set of news shows that SEO is moving deeper into the intersection of technology, brand, and measurement. E-commerce websites should review Product schema, promotional data, and category taxonomy to ensure Google understands products correctly. Meanwhile, content and PR teams need to think more about whether their content can be read by search engines, AI engines, and citation systems.
On the operations side, marketing teams should review their tracking infrastructure, compare data across multiple sources, and avoid relying on a single metric. In a context where query, click, and redirect signals are becoming more complex, the advantage will belong to brands with strong data systems, clear content, and the ability to adapt quickly to platform changes.
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References
- Google’s New Merchant Listing Structured Data Improves SEO
- How To Optimize PPC Accounts With Less Search Term Visibility – Ask A PPC
- Google Search Broke All Usage Records With Highest Usage Yesterday
- The future of performance marketing isn’t more vendors. It’s making your stack work harder.
- An Easy Digital PR Strategy For AI SEO
- You Can’t See How AI Ranks You, So Build What It Can Read
- Daily Search Forum Recap: July 8, 2026
- Google Tests google.com/goto Tracking URLs In Search Results
