SEO News
Every day in SEO, on one calendar Edition
SEO and Google Search news from Thursday 5 November 2026, grouped by story.
Google's own announcements are thin on the ground today, with the notable development being the expansion of UCP-powered direct checkout in AI Mode and the Gemini app to Canadian shoppers, alongside a Merchant Center integration planned for next year. Coverage also touches on how Google handles redirects and ranking signals, and on reported throttling of goto result links.
The day's press coverage is dominated by Search Engine Journal, which reports that SERP data providers say Google limits how fast goto links can be followed per results page, potentially affecting stored rank data. It also covers Google's explanation of how server-side redirects affect ranking signals and canonicalisation, a report on ChatGPT ads in beauty and travel running mostly on research prompts, and newly unredacted FTC and state allegations that Amazon inflated ad auction prices during Prime Day and Black Friday. Semrush Blog contributes a practical guide to using Google Keyword Planner.
AI summary Newly unredacted FTC and state complaint details allege Amazon secretly raised ad auction prices by up to 250% during Prime Day and Black Friday.
AI summary Holiday data counting ads in Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and ChatGPT across five shopping categories shows most ChatGPT ads in beauty and travel ran on research prompts.
AI summary Google has clarified how server-side redirects influence ranking signals and canonicalisation.
AI summary SERP data providers report that Google limits how quickly goto links can be followed per results page, so some rank data may store redirect links instead of page URLs.
AI summary A guide explains how to use the free Google Keyword Planner to find terms and where to obtain accurate search volume data.
AI summary Google is extending UCP-powered direct checkout in AI Mode and the Gemini app to Canadian shoppers, with a Merchant Center integration planned for next year.