SEO Weekly News Roundup [February 3 to 7, 2025]

Here’s what happened with Google and across the web last week:

Google began testing AI-generated backgrounds on US business profiles, updated its Search Quality Rater guidelines to include the term “Generative AI,” started implementing its “Misleading Ad Policy,” and reaffirmed that it would focus on original content throughout 2025.

From around the web, Barry Shwartz reports on disappearing Google Business Profile reviews, and Matt G. Southern writes about Google’s 2024 Q4 profits, which confirm the tech giant is focusing on an AI future.

Google Adds Product Studio AI Images To Business Profiles

Google has added its Product Studio AI-generated shopping ad backgrounds to US Google Business Profiles, enabling sellers to create beautiful images to promote their products.

Key takeaways:

Google said it is testing the feature on US Business Profiles.
Google’s Product Studio AI-generated backgrounds enable you to use AI-generated images that suit your product.
The tool is also available in Google’s Merchant Centre and Google Ads.
Business Profile owners who do not want to use it can opt out.

Google Adds Generative AI To Its Search Quality Raters Guidelines

Google updated its Search Quality Raters guidelines, including the term “Generative AI,” which focuses on what is allowed when using AI to create content.

Key takeaways:

Google’s latest Search Quality Raters guideline update confirms what AI can be used for and what the tech giant deems as scaled content abuse and low-quality content.
The company says publishers can use AI to generate content but warns against misusing it.
In its updated guidelines, Google said, “Generative AI can be a helpful tool for content creation, but like any tool, it can also be misused.”
Google also explained how misusing AI to generate content can amount to content abuse, adding sites that violate the guidelines face ranking penalties.

Google Demoting Misleading Landing Pages Under New Ad Policy

Google launched its “misleading ad design policy” last year; on January 25 this year, it began enforcing it, landing pages found to be using misleading ads face ranking demotion and account suspension.

Key takeaways:

Google has begun enforcing its “misleading ad design policy,” saying it will roll out over the next 8 weeks.
In its announcement, Google said ads that mislead users by sending them to a landing page that’s difficult to use or understand will face demotion.
Google also wrote: “Violations of this policy will not lead to immediate account suspension without prior warning. A warning will be issued at least 7 days prior to any suspension of your account.”
The company is using its new “prediction model” to assess ad and landing page quality.

Google Says Original Content Is Essential For 2025

Google’s Gary Illyes told attendees at an SEO conference in London that the company would focus on originality in 2025. This reaffirms what the tech giant said upon the release of its “Helpful Content Update” in 2024.

Key takeaways:

Google is now clamping down on unoriginal and unhelpful AI-generated content.
Websites using AI to create content solely for ranking now face new penalties.
Gary Illyes said: “Originality is something we’re going to be focusing on this year. That’s going to be important.”
Illyes’s comments came after Google updated its “Search Quality Rater Guideline” to include the term “Generative AI,” which focuses on penalizing websites misusing AI to create low-quality scaled content.

From around the web:

Google Local Reviews Decreasing Over Past 24 Hours

Barry Shwartz from Search Engine Roundtable reports on disappearing reviews on Google Business Profiles.

Key takeaways:

Barry said, “I am seeing dozens and dozens of complaints in the forums over the past day or so.”
Google Product expert Vinay Toshniwal wrote: “Google has been actively removing reviews globally, likely due to non-compliance with their guidelines. Over the past week, I’ve noticed an increasing number of reports regarding this issue. However, there are no official updates from Google at this time.”
Shwartz and others say it’s unclear if Google intentionally removed the reviews or if it’s a bug.
Barry provides 26 links to complaint threads where profile owners report missing reviews.

Google’s Q4 Earnings Point To An AI-Focused Future

Search Engine Journal`s Matt G. Southern writes about how Alphabet Inc.`s (Google`s parent company) 2024 Q4 revenue rose by 12%, driven by infrastructure investments, cloud growth, and AI advancements.

Key takeaways:

Matt provides a detailed report on Alphabet Inc.’s Q4 2024 fiscal results, saying the growth has been driven primarily by the company’s commitment to AI.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently confirmed the company`s commitment when he said, “2025 is going to be one of the biggest years for Search innovation yet.”
That innovation includes the company’s massive infrastructure investment, including subsea cable projects and data centers to increase global connectivity.
The report shows the company’s new data centers already provide almost 4 times more computing power.
Alphabet Inc.’s investment isn’t surprising, as it also confirmed that it would build nuclear reactors to provide the power needed to run its AI development.
Matt’s post confirms what Google has been saying since the release of AI-Overviews: that digital marketers and SEO professionals should expect further changes in how Search works.

Terry O'Toole

Terry is a seasoned content marketing specialist with over six years of experience writing content that helps small businesses navigate where small businesses meet marketing - SEO, Social Media Marketing, etc. Terry has a proven track record of creating top-performing content in search results. When he is not writing content, Terry can be found on his boat in Italy or chilling in his villa in Spain.