Search in October 2026: six changes, and which ones need you
Google's AI answers get more links, new Maps rules for businesses, a fast lane for forum posts, Universal Cart and the spam update. What each means for you.
jhonty@jhonty.md ~ % cat README.md
Search is everywhere people look. So is this blog.
Google, ChatGPT, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Maps, Amazon. People search in all of them, and each one picks results its own way. I'm Jhonty, co-founder of SEO Engico, and this is where I write up what we find across all of it: our own tests, what the platforms actually say, and the week's news with a verdict.
- Name
- Jhonty Barreto
- Role
- Co-founder, SEO Engico
- Covers
- Engines, AI, video, maps, stores
- Data.From
- Server logs, Search Console, ChatGPT runs
- Links.Placed
- 65,904, every one by hand
- Measured.On
- Revenue, not rankings
## The search map
Six places people search
Each one decides what to show differently. Open one for what the platform itself says about how it ranks, plus our tests and news on it.
Search engines
The classic results pages, and everything Google and Bing now put around the ten blue links.
GoogleBingDuckDuckGoBrave
AI assistants
Answers instead of links. They search, read a few pages, then decide who gets mentioned.
ChatGPTPerplexityGeminiClaudeCopilotAI OverviewsAI Mode
Video and social
Where people search to see it first: how-tos, reviews and people they already follow.
YouTubeTikTokInstagramLinkedInPinterest
Communities
Real people answering real questions, and a source search engines and AI assistants now pull from.
RedditQuoraForums
Maps and local
"Near me" searches, reviews, and the directories and list sites that rank for "best in town".
Google MapsApple MapsBing PlacesReview sitesDirectories
Marketplaces and app stores
Search with a buy button attached. Every store ranks on its own signals.
AmazonEtsyeBayApp StoreGoogle Play
## Latest
Latest writing
Every post tells you where the numbers came from and how big the sample was, so you can judge whether it applies to your site.
Google's new Maps rules: what you can't put in your Business Profile any more
Google's Maps policy now bans time-bound offers, prices and calls-to-action in your listing. A ten-minute check, what's still allowed, and where offers go now.
Google's AI answers are adding links. Here's how to be the page they point to
Google is adding inline links, an 'official websites' section and bigger related links to AI Mode and AI Overviews. What each change rewards, and what to fix.
What ChatGPT actually opens on your site: 15 days of server logs
We verified every ChatGPT-User visit on two small business sites for 15 days. 166 of 192 went to the homepage. Here's how to run the same check on yours.
Retrieved isn't opened: the AI visibility gap most advice ignores
Pages ChatGPT opened were cited 74% of the time. Pages it only retrieved, 7%. What that gap means, what it doesn't, and the two changes we made.
Ask ChatGPT who's the best and it reads the lists, not your website
We asked ChatGPT for the best plumber in Manchester 8 times. 75 citations, none from a plumber's own site. A Sydney lawyer query did the same.
Search Console impressions are lying to you: how to spot machine queries
One of our posts had 3,848 impressions in 90 days. Every query Google named for it came from a machine. Here's the coverage ratio check we run now.
Nobody pays for a ranking: why our SEO reports start with revenue
Our first revenue report for an electrician client said £0. SEO hadn't failed. Nobody had logged what a single job was worth. Here's what revenue-first SEO needs.
## How I write
Three rules for every post
You see where it came from
Every number tells you which logs, which dates and how many runs. If it's someone else's study, you get the link and their numbers stay theirs.
You get a verdict on the news
The weekly roundup gives you one line on what changed and one on whether you should do anything about it. Often the honest answer is "ignore it".
You can tie it to revenue
Rankings and citations only matter if they bring you enquiries. Where a test can be followed through to money, you'll see that part too.
Work with SEO Engico
Links that stay live. Search you can put a revenue number on.
B2B SEO and link building. We install the measurement before we touch anything else.
Book a search performance audit
seoengico.com