Search engines are aggressively redesigning how users interact with links across mobile and AI interfaces, forcing marketers to re-evaluate their sitelink strategies to maintain visibility. The shift toward richer, AI-integrated ad layouts means visual real estate and structured data are now the primary levers for capturing click-through rates.
You can read today's search news in about 2 minutes. 5 stories from 10 sources, roughly 15 minutes of reading, summarized.
Google tests new sitelink design for ads on mobile
Google is experimenting with a new visual layout for mobile ad sitelinks.
The design features a distinct button-like appearance seen by multiple industry experts.
This test is part of a series of recent UI experiments for mobile search results.
Why it matters
Marketers should monitor their mobile click-through rates as changing ad layouts can impact how users interact with paid listings versus organic results.
Act as an SEO architect. For the topic "[TOPIC]", produce a topical authority map: 1 pillar page, 8-12 cluster pages, and 3-5 supporting glossary/definition pages. For each, give the working title, primary keyword, search intent, and the internal links it should send and receive.
A fresh SEO + AI prompt every day. Drop it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.
Tutorial tip of the day· Try this today
Schema
Validate every schema change
After adding or editing JSON-LD, paste the rendered HTML into the Schema Markup Validator (validator.schema.org) AND the Rich Results Test. Validator catches syntax. Rich Results Test tells you if Google will actually use it.
Quick hits· Bite-sized updates
AI Search
Perplexity adds source verification badges
Perplexity now marks verified primary sources with a small badge. Getting cited by Perplexity is increasingly valuable, and verified status improves citation rates.
Content
EEAT signals weighted heavier for YMYL
Anecdotal evidence from multiple trackers suggests Google is surfacing more author-bylined and expert-cited content in health, finance, and legal queries.
AI Search
ChatGPT search adds follow-up suggestions
ChatGPT's search mode now suggests related follow-up queries based on your initial search. Optimizing for question clusters increases your chance of being cited in follow-ups.
Local
Service area businesses get review boost
Google Business Profiles without a physical address now show reviews more prominently in local pack results. Encourage recent reviews, they carry more weight in this segment.
The digest
Everything else worth knowing
Search FeaturesCovered by 2 sources
Google Tests More Sitelinks Designs
Google is testing a new mobile layout for sitelinks in text-based ads.
The design features sitelinks listed line-by-line with darker text and a distinct left-hand margin.
Other variations spotted include versions with horizontal dividers and sitelinks containing images.
Changes to sitelink presentation directly impact the click-through rates and visual real estate of top-ranking search results and ads.
Google updates video structured data documentation
Google updated VideoObject structured data documentation to include the creator and author properties.
The documentation now clarifies which interaction types are supported within the interactionStatistic section.
These changes help Google better identify the entities behind video content and track engagement metrics.
Updating your video schema with these properties can help Google better understand your brand authority and improve how video performance data is interpreted.
Bing now showing sitelinks for ads in Copilot results
Microsoft is now displaying sitelinks for ads within its AI-powered Copilot search results.
This expansion follows recent testing of shopping and sponsored ad formats in the Copilot interface.
The sitelinks allow advertisers to display additional deep links to their websites within the AI chat window.
Marketers using Microsoft Advertising should optimize their sitelink extensions as they now directly influence the real estate and click-through potential of ads in AI-generated answers.