Digital Marketing Updates

August 2025

Google’s August 2025 Spam Update

What Changed:

Google called this a “normal spam update” for all languages and locations, and it will take a “few weeks” to finish rolling out. The status of the rollout can be found here.

Impact on Organic Search:

Ultimately this shouldn’t impact our organic search strategy at all. We should all be creating unique, helpful content with our audience and customers being the focus of our efforts. If you’re concerned that your site may be or may have been penalised, review Google’s Spam policies to see if you may have unintentionally infringed any of them and feel free to reach out to GrowRoom for support.

July 2025

Instagram Posts Appear in Google Searches

What Changed:

Starting 10 July, Instagram content, including Reels, will begin appearing in Google search results. Meta’s latest update allows public Instagram posts to be indexed and ranked by Google, even for users who aren’t logged into Instagram.

Impact on Organic Search:

This marks a significant shift in how brands, creators, and marketers should think about social media content. The update effectively turns Instagram into a more search-friendly platform, blurring the line between social media and traditional web content. In the same way that TikTok and YouTube Shorts have gained prominence in search, Instagram is now opening the door to a broader, more searchable presence.

For brands, influencers, and small businesses, this opens up a valuable opportunity: your content could now reach users who aren’t actively on Instagram but are searching online for relevant topics or how-to content.

June 2025

TikTok Upgrades: Search Ads & AI Tools

What Changed:

On June 3rd, TikTok launched “Search Ads Campaign” with keyword targeting and user-intent videos. They also introduced Insight Spotlight and Content Suite — AI-powered audience insights and streamlined UGC ad adaptation.

Impact on Paid Social:

TikTok is evolving into a search-based platform. Launch keyword-based campaigns with tailored video creatives, and leverage AI tools to capitalise on trending content.

April 2025

Google’s April 2025 Helpful Content Update

What Changed:

Google rolled out an enhancement rewarding genuinely helpful, user-focused content and demoting AI-generated fluff.

Impact on SEO:

Audit content to ensure it addresses real user needs, adds clear value, and follows E‑E‑A‑T principles. Thin or generic pages should be improved or removed.

April 2025

Google Launches AI Mode with Gemini 2.0

What Changed:

A new Search “AI Mode” now enables complex, multimodal queries for Google One AI Premium users. This follows AI Overviews expansion powered by Gemini 2.0.

Impact on SEO:

Structure content with strong headers, schema markup, and multimodal assets to enhance chances of appearing in AI-driven results. Track traffic from AI and traditional SERPs separately.

March 2025

Google March 2025 Core Update & Further AI Overview Expansion

What Changed:

Google has rolled out its first core update of 2025, which has led to notable ranking volatility particularly for health and finance sectors. This coincided with Google’s rollout of AI Overviews to SERPs in 200+ countries.

Impact on SEO:

Expect shifts in SERP rankings. Closely monitor client performance in these verticals. SEO focus: content alignment with intent and Search Console data. PPC: ensure landing pages maintain Quality Score and conversions remain consistent.

January 2025

Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines Update

What Changed:

New guidelines targeted AI-generated content and emphasised “unique value” while reintroducing three spam categories:

• Expired Domain Abuse: Exploiting previously authoritative expired domains with new, low-quality content to manipulate search rankings.
• Site Reputation Abuse: Deceiving users by falsely representing a site’s credibility through fabricated reviews or endorsements.
• Scaled Content Abuse: Generating vast amounts of low-quality, duplicated content to artificially inflate search visibility without user value.

Impact on Organic & Paid Media:

Content strategies must go beyond AI-generated drafts — focus on expert insight and original analysis. PPC messaging should be authentic, transparent, and tied to verified value propositions.

January 2025

Meta’s Health & Wellness Ad Restrictions

What Changed:

Meta now restricts optimisation on “Purchase” or “Add to Cart” events for health/wellness brands

Impact on Paid Social:

Affected clients should pivot to upper-funnel events (e.g. Landing Page Views, Engagement). Use server-side tracking or custom-coded events as workarounds.

December 2024

TikTok Ads Data & Creative Metrics Update

What Changed:

New dimensions introduced in Ads metrics: “Ad identity type” and “Creative format”

Impact on Paid Social:

Use these metrics to better understand ad creative performance and optimise asset combinations with TikTok’s automated tools.

September – December 2024

TikTok Launches PPC Search Ads

What Changed:

TikTok Search Ads expanded U.S. availability, enabling keyword-targeted video ads for in-app searches

Impact on Paid Social:

Experiment with Search Ads on TikTok, combining keyword-based campaigns with video creatives; build keyword research frameworks specific to TikTok intent.

December 2024

Manual Penalties Affecting Google Ads

What Changed:

Google now disqualifies websites penalised via manual actions from also running Google Ads.

Impact on PPC & SEO:

Ensure Search Console is free of manual penalties — any organic violation can halt PPC campaigns. Integrate SEO and PPC compliance processes for holistic site management, and stay clear of black hat SEO tactics!

December 2024

Google’s December 2024 Core & Spam Updates

What Changed:

December 2024 brought a quick follow-up core update and a dedicated spam update. This was further reinforcement against low-quality or manipulative content.

Impact on SEO:

If you’re already adhering to SEO best practices and avoiding dodgy, black hat SEO tactics, then nothing should change in your approach. If you haven’t done one recently, now is a good time to conduct an audit of your content. Also note that sometimes these updates come with bugs, so if you’re happy with the quality of your content but your site has seen a drop in rankings or traffic, then don’t make any knee-jerk decisions.

November 2024

Google’s November 2024 Core Update

What Changed:

In Google’s words, the November 2024 Core Update “is designed to continue our work to improve the quality of our search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search.”

Impact on SEO:

Early indications that this might have affected affiliate sites harder than others, which would somewhat align with the quote from Google. It’s too early to read too much into this yet though. High quality content, links and user experience should continue be the foundation of your strategy.

October 2024

Google AI Overviews Expansion

What Changed:

“AI Overviews” (formerly SGE) are now available in 100+ countries.

Impact on SEO:

Optimise content for AI summarisation — use clear headers, structured data, and concise expert-led content to increase visibility in AI-generated snippets. Keep an eye on organic performance and note that you won’t be able to see AI Overviews attribution in Search Console, but you can use a third-party SEO tool (Ahrefs is our preference) to monitor which keywords your site is visible for in AI Overviews.

But generally, keep doing the things that would help you rank in the top organic positions.

October 2024

Google Ads Phased Out Enhanced CPC

What Changed:

Google Ads announced the phase-out of Enhanced CPC (eCPC) for new Search and Display campaigns starting in October 2024, with a full transition to Manual CPC by March 2025. eCPC previously offered a hybrid approach, allowing advertisers to experiment with automation while maintaining some control, which made it accessible for beginners.

Impact on Paid Media:

These changes will potentially make it more difficult for beginners who use eCPCs. If you’re not already doing so, you’ll need to adopt advanced automated strategies like Maximise Conversions or Maximise Conversion Value, potentially with target CPA or ROAS adjustments.

This shift underscores Google’s commitment to machine learning and automation in ad bidding, pushing advertisers to adapt to increasingly automated strategies.

August 2024

Google’s August 2024 Core Update

What Changed:

The August 2024 Core Update refined Google’s ability to assess site authority, focusing more on content depth and expertise, particularly in niche fields. It also improved the algorithm’s understanding of user intent, making search results more relevant.

Google’s statement said “This latest update takes into account the feedback we’ve heard from some creators and others over the past few months. As always, we aim to connect people with a range of high quality sites, including small or independent sites that are creating useful, original content, when relevant to users’ searches. This update also aims to better capture improvements that sites may have made, so we can continue to show the best of the web.”

Google also updated its guidance on Core Updates following this release, and there was an indexation bug that lasted around 4 days following the rollout start date.

Impact on SEO:

Many SEOs believed this update was a reversal of the changes that hit many sites during the Helpful Content Update, although a lot of those sites saw a small ranking improvement followed by further drops.

As is always the advice from Google following Core Updates, ensure your content is useful, comprehensive, and answers user queries directly.

July 2024

TikTok’s Updated Ad Policies on Transparency and User Privacy

What Changed:

TikTok introduced stricter advertising guidelines regarding transparency and user data privacy. Advertisers are now required to be more transparent about how they use consumer data, and ads with misleading claims or unclear data use policies may face penalties or removal.

Impact on Paid Media:

Brands must ensure that their TikTok ad campaigns comply with these new transparency requirements, including clear CTAs and data collection practices. This may require adjusting targeting options and messaging to remain compliant while ensuring ad relevance.

May 2024

Google Ads Keyword Matching Update

What Changed:

In May 2024, Google further refined its keyword matching, making phrase and broad match keywords more contextually aware. The system now considers the meaning behind a query, rather than just matching keywords, making intentbased ads more effective.

Impact on Paid Media:

Advertisers may notice shifts in how their ads are triggered. This makes it important to regularly review and adjust keyword strategies to ensure ads are shown to the right audience. PPC campaigns can now capture more relevant traffic by focusing on user intent rather than exact keywords.

March 2024

Facebook and Instagram Ad Policy Update on AI-Generated Content

What Changed:

Meta introduced new guidelines regulating the use of AI-generated content in ads. Advertisers are required to disclose when AI is used to create ad content, particularly for synthetic voices or images.

Impact on Paid Media:

Advertisers must ensure compliance with these new rules if they use AI to generate any aspect of their ads. Failing to disclose the use of AI can lead to ad disapproval. Brands should update their ad copy and imagery disclosures to meet these requirements.

March 2024

Google’s March 2024 Broad Core Update

What Changed:

The March 2024 Google Core Update, completed on April 19 but officially announced on April 26, caused significant ranking fluctuations throughout the web. This core update continued Google’s trend of refining search algorithms to improve content quality and relevance, particularly targeting manipulative SEO practices including low-value content creation for link manipulation, artificial ranking boosts through outbound links, and the repurposing of expired domains with unrelated content to exploit search visibility.

Impact on SEO:

The March 2024 Core Update heavily impacted SEO, emphasising quality content and targeting practices like low-value content for link manipulation, artificial ranking boosts through outbound links, and reusing expired domains with unrelated content. These changes require SEO professionals to focus on authentic, high-quality strategies to align with Google’s enhanced focus on content integrity and user relevance.

February 2024

LinkedIn Ads Algorithm Update

What Changed:

LinkedIn updated its ad delivery system to favour ads with higher engagement metrics, including comments, shares, and reactions. The algorithm prioritises content that sparks conversation and drives engagement over content with low interaction.

Impact on Paid Media:

For LinkedIn advertisers, this means a greater focus on creating engaging, interactive content rather than static ads. Ads that invite comments or shares are more likely to perform well, so incorporating engagement-driven CTAs will be crucial in 2024.

January 2024

Bing’s AI-Powered SERP Features

What Changed:

Bing continued to expand its integration of AI in search results, focusing on offering rich answers directly in the SERP. This includes detailed answers generated by AI models, summarising multiple sources and providing users with direct answers.

Impact on SEO:

SEO professionals should focus on creating content that can be surfaced as AI generated snippets. For PPC campaigns, it’s essential to ensure that paid content is integrated seamlessly with these SERP changes. Advertisers may need to target new AI-driven features such as “Smart Answers to capture search visibility.

January 2024

Google Ads Privacy Sandbox Rollout

What Changed:

Google accelerated the rollout of its Privacy Sandbox initiative, aimed at phasing out third-party cookies and introducing new privacy-preserving technologies. Topics API and FLEDGE, which allow for interest-based advertising and remarketing without third-party cookies, were expanded to more advertisers.

Impact on Paid Media:

With third-party cookies being phased out, advertisers will need to rely more on first-party data and Privacy Sandbox tools like FLEDGE for remarketing. The shift to interest-based advertising using Topics API means PPC strategies should focus on creating robust first-party data collection mechanisms and contextual ad targeting.

December 2023

Google’s December 2023 Link Spam Update

What Changed:

Google rolled out a link spam update, focusing on detecting and nullifying spammy backlinks. Sites using manipulative link-building practices saw significant ranking drops. Google s SpamBrain AI became more efficient in identifying both purchased and manipulative links.

Impact on SEO:

SEO professionals need to ensure that all backlinks are high-quality, organic, and relevant. This makes authoritative link-building more important, while paid ads should be paired with organic efforts to help sites that were built with questionable SEO tactics, and therefore previously reliant on high volume, low-quality backlinks.

November 2023

Google’s November 2023 Core Algorithm Update

What Changed:

This update fine-tuned Google s ranking algorithm to better understand intent and content relevance, especially focusing on product and service-oriented queries. Sites with detailed, in-depth content saw improved rankings, while overly thin pages were penalised.

Impact on SEO:

This reinforces the importance of well-researched, high-quality content for SEO. For PPC, ad landing pages need to be equally content-rich to align with user expectations and improve conversion rates.

October 2023

TikTok’s Updated Ad Targeting Options

What Changed:

TikTok introduced more refined audience targeting options, focusing on user engagement patterns rather than just demographics. This allows advertisers to target users based on how they interact with content over time, including video watch habits, likes, and shares.

Impact on Paid Media:

TikTok advertisers can now create more dynamic and highly-targeted campaigns. Brands need to utilise video content that engages audiences and keeps them interacting to fully leverage TikTok s new engagement-focused targeting features.

September 2023

Google’s September 2023 Core Algorithm Update

What Changed:

The September 2023 update focused on content relevance and quality, particularly on content that answers users queries effectively. Pages with keyword stuffing or thin content saw drops in rankings, while sites that offered comprehensive, userfriendly information benefitted.

Impact on SEO:

SEO strategies should prioritise depth and quality of content. For PPC, ensure that landing pages directly address user intent and provide a smooth, relevant experience to maintain strong ad performance and conversion rates.

August 2023

Meta’s New Ad Transparency Guidelines

What Changed:

Meta (Facebook and Instagram) introduced new transparency measures, requiring advertisers to disclose more information about their campaigns, especially regarding political or issue-based ads. New ad labels and disclosures became mandatory for certain types of ads.

Impact on Paid Media:

Advertisers need to ensure full compliance with these transparency guidelines. For businesses running issue-based campaigns, being transparent about messaging and content is essential to avoid ad disapprovals or penalties.

July 2023

Google Ads “Enhanced Conversions for Leads” Update

What Changed:

Google Ads rolled out an enhanced conversions feature specifically designed for lead generation. It allows advertisers to track and optimise lead-based conversions more effectively by matching first-party data to better track lead submissions.

Impact on Paid Media:

For businesses focused on lead generation, this feature provides better insights into which ads drive the most valuable leads. PPC managers should ensure their campaigns are set up to capture and leverage this enhanced conversion data for more accurate tracking and optimisation.

June 2023

LinkedIn’s Video Ads Feature Update

What Changed:

LinkedIn enhanced its video ad capabilities, allowing advertisers to run longer video ads and introducing new analytics to measure engagement metrics such as completion rates and video rewatches.

Impact on Paid Media:

For B2B and professional services advertisers, this means greater flexibility in video content and better tracking of engagement. Video ads can now be more informative and detailed, which is particularly useful for targeting decision-makers or promoting thought leadership content.

May 2023

Google’s May 2023 “Search Generative Experience” (SGE) Launch

What Changed:

Google introduced the AI-powered Search Generative Experience (SGE), integrating AI directly into search results. This allows Google to generate comprehensive answers from multiple sources, reducing the need for users to click on multiple results.

Impact on SEO:

While SGE may decrease organic click-through rates for certain queries, advertisers need to focus on creating content that is authoritative and likely to appear within these AI-generated responses. PPC strategies should also shift toward ensuring ads are well-integrated into the evolving SERP layout.

March 2023

Google’s March 2023 Broad Core Update

What Changed:

Google s March 2023 update focused on improving user experience signals such as Core Web Vitals (site speed, interactivity, and visual stability), and further prioritised mobile-friendly content.

Impact on SEO:

For SEO, it’s crucial to ensure sites are fast, mobile-optimised, and provide a great user experience. PPC landing pages that don t meet these criteria may see reduced performance due to lower Quality Scores, leading to higher costs per click (CPC) and lower ad rankings.

February 2023

Google Ads Performance Max Campaign Updates

What Changed:

Google introduced new features to its Performance Max campaigns, allowing advertisers to access more insights, control, and customisation. These updates include asset-level performance reporting and custom audience segments.

Impact on Paid Media:

Performance Max campaigns can now be more effectively tailored to specific goals, and advertisers have more granular insights into which assets and segments perform best. This is particularly useful for fine-tuning ads and audiences across Google s vast network.

February 2023

Google’s February 2023 Product Reviews Update

What Changed:

Google rolled out an update aimed at improving the quality of product review content. This update prioritised product reviews that provide in-depth, firsthand, expert-level analysis, and demoted superficial or affiliate-heavy reviews.

Impact on SEO:

SEO strategies should now focus on creating authentic, detailed product reviews. For PPC, landing pages used for product-driven ads should include comprehensive, expert-level content to align with Google s expectations for valuable information.

January 2023

Microsoft Ads’ Audience Network Expansion

What Changed:

Microsoft expanded its Audience Network, allowing advertisers to reach more users through native ads across Microsoft properties (including MSN, Outlook, and Edge) and third-party partners. Microsoft also introduced new audience targeting features.

Impact on Paid Media:

Advertisers using Microsoft Ads should explore the expanded audience targeting options and take advantage of native ad placements to diversify their PPC strategy beyond Google. This expansion offers opportunities to capture new, engaged audiences.