Paid Search: a timeline
Paid search: Google Ads, Performance Max, bidding and the reporting around them. Kept alongside the organic news because the two share one results page, and a change in ad layout or ad load is very often the real cause of an organic click-through shift.
Latest paid search news · This month's paid search recap · RSS for this topic · What Google said about it
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October 2026 19 headlines
- ChatGPT Gets Wider Ads, Multi-Image Ads Expands, Expansion & More
- Google Ads API Version 26.1 Now Out Available
- Google Says Target Changes Don’t Reset Learning – 6 PPC Takeaways For BFCM
- Google’s Ads Decoded Explores How AI Is Changing Search Behavior
- Bing Ads Revenue Up 12% With Overall Revenue Up 19%
- Google Ads Tests Sponsored Results With Apple Messages Button
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September 2026 5 headlines
Spam update September 2026 spam update began 24 Sep
- Google Ads is showing advertisers how their spending compares with peers
- Google expands agentic commerce tools ahead of the holiday shopping rush
- Your competitors’ negative reviews could improve your PPC ads
- Matt Van Wagner shares what’s changed, what disappeared and what PPC still gets wrong
- What happens when you stop managing Google Ads through Google Ads?
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August 2026 7 headlines
Spam update August 2026 spam update began 18 Aug
- Google announces October changes to Display & Video 360 API
- Google Alcohol Advertising Policy Update On September 30
- Greg Finn on 20 years of PPC: From exact match to AI Mode
- Google Ads Book Buttons Expand To Search & Performance Max
- The Best PPC Decisions Start Before You Even Open Google Ads
- ChatGPT Ads expands across Europe
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July 2026 2 headlines
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June 2026 1 headline
Spam update June 2026 spam update began 24 Jun
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April 2026 1 headline
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April 2025 2 headlines
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December 2023 1 headline
How this is built
Every archived headline is tagged with topics by keyword. Each month shows the most significant paid search headlines by this site's impact score, plus any Google update that began that month. Months with nothing archived are left out. The archive began in earnest in mid-2025, so earlier months are thin.