website positioning by no means stands nonetheless, and neither can we right here at Yoast. In our November 2025 version of the website positioning Replace by Yoast, our principal SEOs, Carolyn Shelby and Alex Moss, broke down the newest shifts in search, structured information, and AI. Whether or not you’re working an e-commerce retailer, managing a content-heavy website, or simply maintaining with Google’s ever-changing guidelines, this version highlights what really issues.
Google updates
Google is refining its search outcomes, phasing out sure structured information options, together with FAQ snippets and COVID-19 updates. However that doesn’t imply you need to strip structured information out of your website. It nonetheless performs a job behind the scenes, particularly for AI retrieval, and will make a comeback later.
For on-line shops, the message is clearer than ever: product schema is non-negotiable. Search Engine Journal’s Matt Southern explains that Google’s new AI purchasing instruments, akin to agent-based checkout and side-by-side comparisons, require that your product information be full, constant, and simply seen. Which means no hiding key particulars behind tabs or toggles. If it’s not simply crawlable, Google’s AI gained’t use it.
Search Console updates
Search Console received a couple of helpful upgrades this month. Question Teams now clusters search phrases by matter as an alternative of particular person key phrases, making it simpler to identify content material gaps and regulate your technique. Model Question Filters assist distinguish between branded and non-branded searches, which is helpful for monitoring misspellings or seasonal tendencies.
Customized Annotations, beforehand solely accessible in GA4, now assist you to log website adjustments straight in Search Console. That is nice for connecting updates to efficiency shifts. E-commerce websites additionally get a small win with delivery and return particulars, which might now be added with out a Service provider Middle account. It’s nonetheless rolling out, so take a look at it rigorously to keep away from missteps.
Google and AI
AI continues to reshape search, and Google’s AI Overviews play a big function on this transformation. Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz’s story on Robby Stein from Google emphasizes that these overviews draw from clear, structured content material, akin to headings, lists, and direct summaries. Phrase counts don’t matter as a lot as readability and extractability.
The draw back? In keeping with Danny Goodwin, in Search Engine Land, AI Overviews have slashed natural click-through charges by 61% and paid CTR by 68%. The takeaway isn’t to chase clicks however to optimize for visibility in AI solutions. In case your content material is simple to extract and cite, you’re in a greater place.
Past Google
Past Google, ChatGPT’s new SDK permits builders to construct apps throughout the platform, which might be significantly helpful for bigger firms in search of to streamline AI integrations. In the meantime, Adobe’s acquisition of Semrush may push the instrument towards enterprise customers, so smaller groups ought to look ahead to pricing adjustments.
On the WordPress entrance, model 6.9 introduces the Skills API to reinforce plugin safety and interoperability. In the meantime, Yoast website positioning’s Website Equipment integration will quickly allow Premium customers to entry Search Console and GA4 information straight inside WordPress, offering a helpful time-saver.
The subsequent website positioning Replace by Yoast
The subsequent website positioning Replace by Yoast is scheduled for December 15, 2025, at 4:00 PM CET. Till then, the main target stays on structured information, clear content material, and adapting to AI-driven search. For e-commerce websites, this implies making certain that product information is correct and up-to-date. For content material creators, it’s about writing for extractability. And for everybody? Keeping track of Search Console’s new instruments to remain forward.
