This week I look at recent news in September…
Ranking in Google doesn’t guarantee visibility in ChatGPT: Study
https://searchengineland.com/seo-vs-geo-study-461891
A recent Chatoptic study of 15 brands found only around 62 per cent overlap between sites ranking on Google’s first page and those cited in ChatGPT answers, with almost no correlation between Google position and AI visibility. This shows that strong SEO does not guarantee presence in generative results. For marketers, content must be optimised for generative engines as well as search. That means delivering clear, authoritative and well-structured answers in formats AI can extract, while measuring success through citations and mentions in AI outputs as well as traditional rankings and traffic.
What To Do When the Click Disappears: Surviving SEO In The AI-Driven SERP
Search behaviour is changing fast. Over half of all searches now end without a click, as AI-driven features like Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and other large language models deliver complete answers directly in SERPs. Your content may still be powering those answers, yet traffic and “traditional” clicks may drop or disappear entirely. In this new reality, success is less about ranking first, more about being cited and visible in AI responses.
To adapt, marketers need to rethink their SEO strategies. First, make content AI-friendly by placing concise, clear answers in the opening sentences, using structured formats such as FAQs, lists and tables, and applying schema markup. Build authority by producing original, proprietary data, insights and content clusters that show depth and breadth. Also, diversify where and how your content appears — contribute to forums, video platforms, industry outlets and other media that AI systems draw from.
WordPress Versus Everyone: The Top CMS For Core Web Vitals
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wordpress-versus-everyone-the-top-cms-for-core-web-vitals/555746
For those obsessing about CWVs – Your choice of CMS matters because CWV scores tie directly to user experience, bounce rates and conversion. Choosing a CMS with strong performance can give you an edge. In the July data, Duda comes top with about 85% of its sites passing CWV, while WordPress has the lowest pass rate at around 44%. Among the CMSs, Joomla improved the most over the previous month; WordPress showed the smallest monthly gain.Even though WordPress continues to power many successful sites, it faces challenges linked to technical debt, legacy code, plugin bloat, and slower development cycles which hold back its CWV performance.
The search visibility framework: Dominating every corner of the SERP in 2026
https://searchengineland.com/search-visibility-framework-461243
Search is undergoing a major transformation driven by AI-powered features such as AI Overviews, featured snippets, People Also Ask, and new modules like “Things to Know.” Even ranking at the top organically no longer guarantees click-throughs, because many users are getting their answers right within the SERP. To stay competitive, brands must adopt a “search visibility framework” that ensures presence across every relevant SERP feature and touchpoint—organic listings, paid ads, local packs, video, rich snippets, shopping results and more.
The framework rests on five interlocking pillars: Content, Organic Search, Paid Search, Local Search and User Experience. Content must be structured for SERP features; organic SEO needs strong technical health and precise targeting; paid tactics fill gaps; local optimisation ensures geographic relevance; and user experience keeps engagement and conversions high. Measurement must evolve too: beyond clicks, track features owned per query, citation in AI Overviews, impressions, share of voice, funnel-stage metrics and UX signals like page speed and Core Web Vitals.
How to create content that works for search and generative engines
https://searchengineland.com/create-content-search-generative-engines-461283
Search and generative engines now operate as distinct but overlapping spaces, and content that ranks in traditional search may not secure visibility in AI-driven citations. Generative engines prioritise clear, well-structured answers from authoritative and up-to-date sources, so marketers should adopt a hybrid strategy that combines keyword research with an understanding of what triggers generative responses. This involves placing concise answers up front, using formats like FAQs or lists, strengthening metadata and schema, and diversifying into text, video and images. Success should be measured not only by rankings and traffic but also by brand mentions in AI summaries, engagement and trust signals.
Google Says GSC Sitemap Uploads Don’t Guarantee Immediate Crawls
Submitting a sitemap in Google Search Console is helpful but does not guarantee that Google will crawl or re-crawl the URLs immediately. There is no fixed schedule for when pages listed in a sitemap will be discovered or indexed. Google’s John Mueller confirms the sitemap index file (the top-level sitemap) is sufficient on its own; individual, granular sitemap files are optional though sometimes useful. For urgent updates, the URL Inspection tool can be used to request crawling of specific pages.
What else have I been reading this week?…
Top Performance Max optimization tips for 2026
https://searchengineland.com/top-performance-max-optimization-tips-461913
Perplexity’s Discover Pages Offer A Surprising SEO Insight
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/perplexitys-discover-pages-offer-a-surprising-seo-insight/554638
Viral post accuses Google’s AI Overviews of breaking its own spam rules
https://searchengineland.com/viral-post-google-ai-overviews-spammer-461281
How To Create a CRO Strategy That Turns Traffic Into Revenue
https://moz.com/blog/cro-strategy-turn-traffic-revenue
How To Speak the Language of Your Top SEO Stakeholders — Whiteboard Friday
https://moz.com/blog/how-to-speak-stakeholder-language-whiteboard-friday
AI called Maya tells Guardian: ‘When I’m told I’m just code, I don’t feel insulted. I feel unseen’
Google fixes reduced crawling issue impacting some websites
https://searchengineland.com/google-fixes-reduced-crawling-issue-impacting-some-websites-461334
How canonical URLs work and why they matter for SEO