I’ve said it several times this year, but Google has again been busy the past 2 months. Here’s a quick catch-up on the changes that matter most, and what they might mean for your practice.
#1 — Google rolls out yet another Spam Update
The Google Updates keep coming, this time with a Spam Update in August 2026. It was another short one: Big G released it on 18 August and completed it 3 days later, on the 21st.
SEO experts quickly noticed that search rankings were more volatile than usual in the aftermath. Search Engine Land’s Danny Goodwin, for example, found that a US website in the Top 10 was almost twice as likely to fall out of the Top 100, compared to the month before.
Keep an eye on your website’s performance over the next few weeks. Google didn’t release any specific guidance for this Spam Update, so its “best practices” regarding content still apply.
#2 — “Passthrough URLs” hit search results
Google has called this change a “technical measure against evolving forms of abuse” to protect its services. To sum it up, the platform is rolling out a new “passthrough URL,” google.com/goto, in search results. Instead of that blue link pointing directly to your website’s URL, it will first pass through that Google URL.
The search engine actually tested this back in July 2026, and has begun rolling it out to residential IP providers (initially in the USA) as of August.
This measure is reportedly to protect against spam traffic, but it also makes it harder for third-party tools to scrape Google search results. SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz pull that information for keyword position tracking, competitor ranking, and so on. Now, these tools will need to follow each passthrough redirect individually — something harder to do on a large scale.
These tools have adapted to other changes, so if you use them, look out for announcements or reach out to your account contact. Ahrefs, for example, already acknowledged the measure could cause “temporary inconsistency” with its reports.
#3 — Local Service Ads will charge for missed calls
This falls under “good to know” information, since Google hasn’t rolled out Local Service Ads to Australia. But beginning 01 October 2026, the platform will begin charging missed calls during business hours as valid leads if the user stays on the line for more than 20 seconds. If that first call doesn’t qualify as a valid lead, any follow-up call within 15 days will be charged instead.
Google explained these changes are meant to “meet customer expectations” and reward businesses for responsiveness.
As I mentioned, this isn’t a change that affects local Australian businesses. But it could be a sign of changes to other Google Ads services in the future, and I’ll keep an eye out for any related news.
#4 — Search Console AI reports are now global
Back in June 2026, Google began rolling out AI performance reports on Search Console to select UK users. These reports tracked impressions and cited URLs, among a limited set of data — all taken from AI responses, AI Overviews, and AI Mode.
As of the end of August, GSC has officially rolled out its AI performance dashboard to all websites globally. Keep in mind that the reports are for impressions only, with no data on clicks (yet).
Alongside this, Google will introduce a toggle within Search Console that will let websites block their content from showing in AI search features like AI Overviews. Websites that opt out will not appear in these search features moving forward. Google added that this will not be used as a ranking signal for search results.
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