Anyone can say they’re the best. Thankfully, Google is at last cracking down on the performance of self-promoting listicles – a win for cleaning up the industry. Elsewhere, we look at the potential impact of more countries rolling out teen social media bans, and Google’s change to the increased visibility of pMax placements.
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SEO
1. Google rolls out the February 2026 Discover Core update
Google’s first Discover specific core update kicked off on the 5th of February and wrapped up mid-month, marking the first time the feed has received its own dedicated algorithm overhaul. Their goal? To reduce clickbait, show more locally relevant content, and to surface more expert, original sources.
Early data shows a ‘domain contraction’, where the feed is pulling from fewer, more specialised sources rather than the usual sea of generalist news sites. If you aren’t a hyper-niche authority or a local entity, Google is essentially shrinking the playing field and telling you to stay in your lane. Over in the US, they have even installed a geographic wall, purging non-U.S. domains and ‘curiosity-gap’ headlines that used to print money for low-effort blogs.
This is a win for niche-authority sites and regional press, as the reach of engagement farming content and international publishers is suppressed.
Sources: Search Engine Journal, Google Search Central
2. AI Performance reporting comes to Bing
Microsoft rolled out a beta AI Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools, giving publishers a look at how often their content is cited in Copilot, Bing’s AI summaries, and partner integrations that use Bing AI (like DuckDuckGo’s AI chat).
A peek at the feature shared by Bing
You can now see total citations, which pages are being grounded, and the specific queries triggering those AI responses.
This provides helpful, free insights in a marketplace flooded with paid AI performance tools – if you don’t already have Bing Webmasters set up, now is the time.
Source: Search Engine Land
3. Google add AI-powered configuration to Google Search Console
Are the days of the fiddly date selector finally over? We hope so. Google has rolled out an AI experiment to the Search Console platform that allows you to describe the data you want to see.
This will ultimately help business owners that rely on the tool for website insights to get their hands on the data that matters to them faster, with a simple AI prompt interface connecting to the filters. No more messing around with Regex. We’ve found that the interface isn’t bulletproof – it’s still experimental – so check the results you get carefully.
Source: Search Engine Land
4. Google listed its Googlebot file limits and sent the internet into a freak out
Earlier in the month, Google updated its documentation to explicitly state what many suspected but few had measured – Googlebot stops caring about web pages after they hit a size of 15MB. The hard caps include:
- HTML/Web Pages: 15MB (Googlebot ignores anything after this).
- PDFs: 64MB.
- Other Supported Files: 2MB.
The SEO community spent the month in a minor spiral over this, but it’s mostly noise. Realistically, 15MB of pure HTML is absolutely massive. To put that in perspective, the Lord of the Rings trilogy in plain text is about 3MB. If you’re going above 15MB on a single web page, you’ve created a digital monster.
Source: Search Engine Land
5. Are Google finally cracking down on self-promoting listicles?
Earlier in the month, voices in the SEO community began reporting a crackdown on self-promo listicles. You know the ones, those ‘Best [Service] in [Year]’ articles where companies stick themselves at the very top. So legit.
Lily Ray was the first to sound the siren on February 3, 2026. Her analysis of SaaS and B2B sites showed specific drops of 30% to 50% in organic visibility – a pretty hard hit.
There’s a difference between providing a fair comparison that shouts out your USPs, and blindly ranking yourself 1st with no real evidence or grounding. The data is still building, but it’s likely that this is another one of those classic SEO ‘it works until it doesn’t’ moments.
Source: Lily Ray @ Substack
Digital PR
1. BuzzStream releases its ‘State of Digital PR’ report 2026
BuzzStream, the outreach CRM tool, has released its 2026 ‘State of Digital PR’ report, which reveals key trends in the current landscape of digital PR. The report, in its second year, uses survey data from 150+ digital PR professionals to understand how they’re addressing challenges and capitalising on new opportunities.
While some trends weren’t surprising or hadn’t seen much change since last year, here are the headlines you should know:
- Pitching guest posts, sharing social media content, and community management (forums, etc.) are all perceived to be part of DPR (by 32.4%, 18.2%, and 16.2% of respondents respectively)
- 39.2% of agencies/DPRs don’t know their average cost per link. 19.6% believe it is $300-500 (the most common answer). The share of teams reporting a cost per link of $750+ has surged from 3% to 10.2% in 2026, suggesting coverage is requiring more peoplepower – and therefore, more money – to secure.
- The percentage of people saying they ‘never’ pay for links is down from 87.3% to 81.1%, suggesting this tactic has perhaps been further explored in 2025.
- The number of people building lists manually is up from 25% last year to 32.4%.
- 78.4% of respondents said they are tracking the impact of DPR on AI visibility for stakeholders.
- 66.2% are using DPR specifically for getting mentioned in AI citations – but there’s been a 5% decline in the number of people using it to increase sales and drive qualified leads
- 68.2% believe DPR is more effective than 12 months ago – a 20% increase
- DPR was found to be more challenging than last year for 75% of respondents. 32.4% also believe it’s more challenging to sell it to stakeholders.
- About 41.2% use AI to write email pitches, and even fewer (27.7%) for crafting press releases. This is probably a good thing after hearing the backlash from journalists about AI-written pitches.
From where we’re standing, it seems Digital PR has been proving its value over the past year, and we know it’s only the beginning. With over two-thirds believing DPR is more effective than 12 months ago, and the same number using it specifically for securing visibility in AI citations, it’s clear DPR is earning its place as an indispensable marketing channel.
With competition for coverage becoming fiercer than ever, however, the use of tools and AI platforms for list-building and press release creation has seen a noticeable drop. This is understandable, as PRs are competing for the attention of fewer journalists, so authenticity is the best tactic. Well-researched, tailored media lists along with genuine, person-led pitching will continue to win out.
A surprising number of PR pros still aren’t tracking cost-per-coverage, but we feel this is essential for gauging value and performance for stakeholders. Knowing the average cost-per-coverage across the industry can help measure whether your campaigns are under- or over-performing. But don’t be disheartened if you’ve seen your cost per coverage increase in 2026; it seems this is a trend PRs are seeing across the board, likely due to the aforementioned increased competition for coverage.
Source: BuzzStream
2. Publisher Reach PLC reveals it’s launching a directory of trusted PR agencies
The Mirror publisher Reach PLChas confirmed it is compiling a directory of trusted PR agencies, and considering blocking emails from domains it doesn’t trust, to stop the rise of fake AI ‘experts’.
AI ‘experts’ have boomed since the dawn of ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms, with reports of PRs using these tools to generate ‘expert’ commentary so they could turn around journo requests faster. However, journos were quick to spot the signs, and wasted no time naming and shaming the PRs who’d resorted to such methods. PR professionals are torn on media company Reach’s measures to curb fake AI ‘experts’, with some concerned that the move could create further issues.
It goes without saying that the use of AI experts should be a clear no-no for all PRs. Journos can spot them from a mile away, and you don’t want to risk your whole relationship with them for the sake of one PR opp. It’s a dishonest and underhand technique.
The risk for PRs in this approach is that it could be all too easy to end up on the blacklist, either accidentally or by making one simple mistake. To avoid this, agencies would need every PR employee to be vigilant against using AI in the wrong contexts, as well as other points of good practice (such as not blasting out irrelevant pitches). Only time will tell what the database will entail, and what dictates an agency being listed as ‘trustworthy’. A clean up for the industry, though, can never be bad news.
3. Journo request database Synapse announces move to paid subscription model
PR pitching platform Synapse Media has announced in an email to existing PRs that it is moving to a paid subscription model, after being free to use for the past two and a half years. Launched in 2023 by former Gorkana and Dow Jones executive Charles Russell and backed by PR veteran Mark Borkowski, Synapse set out to address a longstanding industry challenge: the overwhelming volume of email pitches bombarding journalists.
Since then, the platform has seen a wave of uptake amongst journos and PRs alike, making it one of the leading platforms for monitoring media requests, providing experts, and pushing out pitches. The platform will remain free for early adopters until April 2026, who can lock in a discounted plan in the meantime to save on the full subscription price.
We all knew this day was coming. With any new tool – especially one that’s seen the successful adoption that Synapse has – free usage usually only lasts so long. It appears it will still be free for journalists to use, following the same structure as tools like US-focused Qwoted. As with all things in this space, newer media marketplaces will no doubt continue to emerge, so many PRs may choose to switch to other free options.
Source: Synanpse Media
PPC
1. Performance Max placement reporting gets real
Google Ads started surfacing actual Search Partner domain data inside the Performance Max placement report. Not just vague categories. Real domains.
For a product that has lived in a black box for years, this is a meaningful step. You can finally see where impressions are landing and make informed exclusions instead of crossing your fingers.
Source: Search Engine Land
2. Google may automatically re-enable auto-paused keywords
Advertisers noticed Google re-enabling keywords it had previously auto-paused for low activity. Google confirmed this behaviour, saying it was “uncommon but expected”.
A very important detail: this applies to keywords Google paused itself, not ones you manually paused. Still, automation making structural changes without direct input should always be monitored. If in doubt, check change history, and keep a close eye on how this affects your accounts.
Source: Search Engine Land
3. Multi-party approval rolls out in Google Ads
Google introduced multi-party approval for sensitive account actions such as adding or removing users. Certain changes now require a second admin to sign off, with a 20 minutes window to accept or deny the change. If the window expires, the change is denied.
This is one of those quiet updates, and a welcome one at that, that really matters. Ad accounts are high value assets. Extra security may not be terribly exciting, but it is necessary.
Source: Search Engine Land
4. Budget pacing adjusted for scheduled campaigns
Google announced updates to how monthly budget pacing works when ad scheduling is applied. Instead of underspending due to restricted hours, spend may now be distributed more assertively within active time windows.
If you rely on tight scheduling, watch delivery closely. Concentrated hours could now mean concentrated spend.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable
4. Meridian Scenario Planner launches
Google introduced a Scenario Planner within its Meridian marketing mix modelling tool, allowing advertisers to forecast the impact of different budget allocations before committing spend.
This is more strategic than tactical, but it signals where Google wants advertisers to operate: less reactive bidding, and more predictive modelling.
Source: Search Engine Journal
Paid Social
1. EU says TikTok must disable ‘addictive’ features like infinite scroll
The European Commission has accused TikTok of breaching the Digital Services Act by using design features such as infinite scroll, autoplay and its recommendation engine in ways that may be harmful and addictive, particularly for minors. Regulators are pushing TikTok to disable or significantly modify these engagement-driving features within the EU, or risk fines of up to 6 percent of its global annual turnover. TikTok disputes the preliminary findings and argues it already provides user safety tools such as screen time controls and parental features, and it plans to challenge the decision.
The impact depends on how the cookie crumbles. If TikTok are compelled to make these changes, reduced continuous scrolling behaviour could lower overall time spent in feed environments, potentially decreasing impressions, engagement rates and available inventory. And any changes to recommendation systems could weaken targeting precision, leading to increased CPMs and reduced performance efficiency. As a result, advertisers would need to shift their creative strategy toward stronger hooks and faster conversion tactics, if campaigns couldn’t continue to longer rely on prolonged passive consumption to drive results
Source: TechCrunch
2. More countries moving to restrict social media access for children
Last month we reported that the states of Goa and Andhra Pradesh in India were indicating they might follow Australia’s world-first teen social media ban, and it seems the movement is only growing in momentum.
Governments in Denmark, France, Spain, Greece, Slovenia and at home in the UK are all considering or advancing similar age-based restrictions, with variations in age thresholds and enforcement mechanisms.
As we reported in January, it’s unclear yet if the ban is working successfully in Australia.
As we predicted ahead of Australia’s ban, marketers may see shrinking youth audiences on social platforms in regulated markets, which could require adjustments to targeting strategies and audience segmentation. Age-verification requirements or restrictions could increase compliance complexity and ad targeting limitations, as platforms and advertisers must adhere to stricter rules about who can be reached with certain content.
Source: TechCrunch
3. Meta launches Manus AI integration in Ads Manager
Meta Platforms has added integration for Manus AI (the autonomous AI agent technology it recently acquired), directly into Meta Ads Manager, making it accessible to advertisers through the Tools menu in their workflow and in some cases via in-app prompts
Manus AI is designed to assist with tasks such as audience research, report building and campaign analysis, giving advertisers built-in AI support to streamline reporting and insight-driven work within the ad management interface
The move underscores Meta’s strategy to embed more AI-driven automation and assistance into its core advertising products, potentially demonstrating measurable value from its large AI investments by helping advertisers improve and optimise their campaigns
The integration is likely to save marketers time by automating research, reporting and analysis tasks that would otherwise be done manually. However, Meta’s previous AI enhancements within its ad products have often been seen as ineffective or irrelevant in real campaign execution, so we foresee skepticism about whether Manus AI will deliver meaningful performance improvements.
Source: Social Media Today
4. TikTok joins the European Advertising Standards Alliance
TikTok has joined the European Advertising Standards Alliance as a digital member to reinforce its commitment to responsible and self-regulated advertising in Europe. By adopting EASA standards across its operations, TikTok aims to align more closely with European expectations for ads that are legal, decent, truthful and socially responsible. The move is also positioned as part of TikTok’s broader effort to reassure advertisers and regulators, especially amid ongoing scrutiny related to its ownership and business practices
Increased emphasis on self-regulation and compliance could lead to stricter ad quality and transparency expectations on TikTok, which may require marketers to review and adjust creative and messaging to meet these higher standards. The move may signal deeper collaboration between platforms and European regulators, suggesting that further policy changes could follow. As ever, marketers must stay agile where compliance frameworks continue to evolve.
Source: Social Media Today
In this ever-changing world you need not just the best tools but the best minds on your side. Excellence is the only differentiator. Not 100% confident your performance marketing is working? Call the auditors.