This week, Erin Sparks and Jacob Mann are joined by Danny Goodwin, editorial director at Search Engine Land, for a special “News from the News” edition. They dive into the sharp rise of Google Ad costs and the troubling effects of CPC inflation, Instagram’s experimental new collaborative Storylines feature, and an in-depth study comparing AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Bing, and Google. The conversation shifts to major legal blows hitting Google’s ad tech monopoly, new research revealing how AI overviews are significantly cutting into click-through rates, and the future of search as generative AI reshapes the landscape. Plus, Danny shares exciting updates about SMX Advanced returning live this June in Boston, marking the first in-person event in five years.

News from the EDGE:

[00:04:29] CPC inflation: How fast are Google Ads costs rising? [00:09:45] Instagram Experiments With Collaborative Stories Feature [00:12:47] ChatGPT vs Perplexity vs Google vs Bing: Which AI search engine generates the best answers? [00:19:30] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: Site Strategics

Focus on the News:

[00:20:32] Court: Google’s illegal ad tech monopoly harmed the open web [00:22:42] Google hit with $6.6 billion lawsuit over search dominance [00:24:20] DOJ unveils plan to end Google’s illegal search monopoly [00:28:58] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: WAIKAY from InLinks [00:30:10] Google Search boss: AI Overviews boost click quality [00:33:59] New data: Google AI Overviews are hurting click-through rates [00:38:05] How generative information retrieval is reshaping search

Thanks to our sponsors!

Site Strategics https://edgeofthewebradio.com/site

Inlinks https://edgeofthewebradio.com/inlinks

X: @ErinSparks

X: @MordyOberstein

X: @TheMann00

X: @EDGEWebRadio

758 | SEL News from the EDGE | Week of 5.5.2025