Hello everyone! I’m Anurag Tiwari, representing Business Connect Magazine. October has already begun, and it’s the 13th today — which means it’s time to catch up on all the SEO news, updates, controversies, and discussions from the past month.
October 2025 SEO Highlights: Key Updates from Google, Microsoft, Meta, and More
Yes, this is the October edition of “SEO Last Month”, where we’ll cover all the major updates, trends, and highlights from September. We’ll also explore how these changes might impact your career, projects, websites, and business growth.
First Update of September — From Google Ads
The first major update for September comes from Google Ads. Now, when you set up location targeting for your ad campaigns, you can directly search and target areas around a specific business listed on Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business).
Earlier, if you wanted to micro-target a specific area, your best option was to use PIN codes. But with this new feature, advertisers can now target regions surrounding a particular business more accurately.
This is a smart and strategic move by Google, especially considering how local searches are rapidly increasing in the AI-driven search era. With this feature, location-specific targeting will become much more powerful — and it will definitely help in AI-based and localized ad campaigns.
So, overall, this is a big win for digital advertisers, especially for our PPC (Pay-Per-Click) specialists who rely heavily on precise targeting.
Next Update — Google Gets Relief in U.S. Antitrust Case
The next news is also about Google — but this time, it’s for Google itself. In a recent U.S. court ruling, Google received partial relief — the court decided that Google doesn’t need to sell Chrome.
However, there’s a restriction placed on Google: it can’t force its search engine as the default across all browsers.
Until now, Google had exclusive deals with browsers like Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and even Apple’s Safari, where it paid them billions of dollars to remain their default search engine — and in return, these browsers didn’t allow any other search engine to take that spot.
Under the new ruling, these exclusive deals will now end. But Google will still continue to pay Safari, Firefox, and Opera to remain their default search provider — because, frankly, there’s no other search engine that can match Google’s financial capacity to secure those placements.
So, while the exclusive contracts might stop, the status quo will likely remain the same for users.
Still, the fact that Google doesn’t have to sell Chrome is certainly a huge relief for the company after this court order.
The next update comes from Google Business Profile (GBP) on September 3rd. Google made two key announcements for GBP listings:
Website Field Update:
The “website” field in your listing should no longer link to the homepage of your website. Instead, it must point to a specific landing page on your website that is directly related to that particular listing.Menu & Order Links Update:
The fields for menu or order links must only contain URLs specific to those services. You cannot use links to social media profiles, WhatsApp, or any unrelated pages. For example, the menu URL field must contain the link to the actual menu page, and the order URL field must link to the page where users can directly place an order.
In short, all links in GBP listings must be relevant and action-specific, guiding users directly to the content or action they expect.
September 2025 Tech & SEO Updates: Google, Meta, and ChatGPT
1. Google AI Mode Controversy (Early September)
A small controversy erupted when a Google employee tweeted “soon” regarding making AI mode the default. This sparked speculation and exaggerated reactions online. Later, Google asked the engineer to retract the statement. However, AI mode becoming default is inevitable, as Google has invested heavily in AI integration since Laz Reed became Head of Google Search. Users should prepare, not panic.
2. Google AI Mode Expansion (8th September)
Google expanded AI mode to 180 countries and added support for multiple languages including Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Brazilian Portuguese. Users can now use AI mode natively in their language without translation.
3. Schema Data Changes (9th September)
Google will stop using certain schema types for rich results in Search. The affected schemas include:
Course Information
Claim Review
Estimated Salary
Learning Video
Special Announcement
Vehicle Listing
Low public adoption of some types, like vehicle listings, prompted this decision.
4. Google Pro Tools for Publishers (10th September)
Google launched Pro Tools, a free dashboard for publishers to track metrics such as:
Story performance (views, clicks, upvotes)
RSS feed imports for quicker sharing
AI-powered community recommendations
This centralizes content management and helps publishers optimize audience engagement.
5. Google Search Console – Achievements Tab (15th September)
A new Achievements tab has been added to Google Search Console. Users can now track clicks, impressions, and performance over 28–90 days directly in the dashboard, rather than waiting for monthly email summaries.
6. Google Merchant Center Widgets for E-commerce (18th September)
Three new widgets help e-commerce stores showcase credibility and trust:
Top Quality Store on Google
Store Rating Widget
Store Quality by Google
These widgets display user reviews and improve customer confidence on your website.
7. Google Chrome AI Enhancements (18th September)
Google Chrome launched JNI and several AI features:
Complete browser-based AI task execution
AI mode integrated into the address bar
Users can issue tasks in AI mode instead of standard search
Chrome AI is set to become the default in the coming months.
8. Google Support Update on Niche Tools (18th September)
Google officially stopped supporting NAM 100 tools for scraping search results. This aligns with Google policy against search scraping.
9. Google Spam Update Completion (2nd September)
The latest spam update completed its rollout in 27 days. Most websites remained unaffected; a few experienced minor impacts. This prepares Google for future major updates.
10. Google Search Live in the US (24th September)
Google launched Search Live, allowing users to access search via camera, microphone, or chat directly in Google Search. Users can interact in a conversational, back-and-forth manner. India rollout expected within 1–1.5 months.
11. Meta Ad-Free Subscription (26th September)
Meta introduced a subscription in the UK for £2.99–£4/month. Subscribers can use Facebook and Instagram without ads. Mobile users pay slightly higher due to app store fees.
12. Google AI Agentic Mode for Tasks (29th September)
Google AI now allows users to perform agentic tasks, such as booking a restaurant table directly through AI mode. Currently in beta via Search Labs; public rollout expected in 2–3 months.
13. ChatGPT E-commerce Collaboration (29th September)
ChatGPT partnered with HC and Stripe to allow in-app product purchases. Users can search for a product, pay via ChatGPT, and complete transactions without leaving the platform. OpenAI aims to create a scalable revenue model while maintaining infrastructure investment.
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