Plus, new AI search advice, the value of vertical video, and more  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ Raptive News MAY 20, 2026 By Emily Rose VP, Content Marketing Hi Raptive, It’s a busy time of year, with end-of-school activities, Memorial Day weekend, and summer travel plans all converging into one chaotic month. No wonder some people are calling it “Maycember.” Google has plenty going on, too, with Google I/O 2026 happening right now. The annual showcase previews the next wave of products, tools, and technologies—especially AI—and gives us a sense of where the internet is headed next. You can catch more of the livestream today, but we’ll break down the biggest updates most relevant to your business. Below, our SEO team shares initial thoughts on what we’ve heard so far and what it could mean for you. Here’s what else is inside: • Google’s advice for optimizing for AI search • The value of vertical video • Must-watch webinars you may have missed What’s new 3 takeaways from Google I/O’s keynotes Yesterday’s Google I/O keynotes reinforced a few things we’ve been watching closely: AI is becoming more deeply embedded across Google’s products, search is continuing to evolve, and the way people discover, evaluate, and engage with content is shifting faster than ever. Our SEO team is still digging into the details, but we asked Philip Elias, VP of Network SEO, to share a few early takeaways that matter most to you: 1. AI features are making search more conversational and personalized. Trusted brands with original, uniquely helpful content may gain value, while quick-answer, commodity content may be more vulnerable to zero-click outcomes. 2. Agentic search is expanding. Google announced search agents that can monitor, alert, and take action for users, so your site’s freshness, crawlability, clear structure, and schema matter more than ever. 3. AI widgets may replace some utility content. Google can generate calculators, trackers, explainers, and dashboards directly in search, so elevate basic tools and generic how-tos with proprietary data, real testing, your expert perspective, video, and community. There’s a lot more to unpack. We’ll keep a close eye on how these changes show up in actual traffic patterns across the Raptive network and share more insights and practical recommendations directly with you. Google’s new AI search guidance reinforces what we’ve been saying Google recently shared new best practices for showing up in generative AI features like AI Overviews and AI Mode. The biggest takeaway: there’s no separate set of AI-only tactics to chase. Instead, Google points to the same fundamentals we’ve been recommending, including helpful, original content, clear expertise, strong technical SEO, useful images and videos, and a good user experience for readers. We go a step further by looking at actual Raptive network data to better understand which factors are influencing performance. You can see that in our March core update analysis, which looks at what’s really driving visibility in AI Overviews. Across the network, pages more likely to appear in AI Overviews tended to reflect strong fundamentals like authority, fresh content, and clean pages. In other words, the work that makes your content more useful and trustworthy for readers is also the work that may help it get surfaced as search becomes more AI-driven. Review Google’s new best practices → Top resource Optimize your images to boost search and social traffic Are your images helping you get more visibility—or quietly holding your content back? Our updated guide shows how to choose, size, and optimize visuals so they perform better across search and social, and support both reader experience and long-term visibility. Read the guide → Quick tip Embed vertical videos to improve reader experience and engagement “Audiences are already used to watching vertical video on social, so bringing that same format to your site creates a seamless reader experience. Results vary by site, but we’re seeing encouraging signals that vertical video can drive higher engagement, especially when you’re using content you’ve already created for other platforms. It becomes even more valuable when you see that engagement happening on the site you own.” Sharon Profis VP, Audience Innovation In case you missed it Stay current with the latest webinars from Raptive experts • Thriving in an AI-first future: Paul Bannister and Tom Critchlow share how AI is reshaping traffic, monetization, and more—and what we can do about it. • Inside the SEO Workbook: Eddie Mercado walks through how to use the SEO Workbook to prioritize high-impact updates and build a repeatable SEO workflow. • Discovering more Google traffic: Eddie shares how Google Discover works and how you can optimize fresh content, titles, images, and performance tracking to grow visibility beyond search. What we’re reading Catch up on news from around the industry • Google: Spam policies apply to AI responses (AI Overviews & AI Mode) (Search Engine Roundtable) • The Economist prepares for a two‑track internet: one for humans and one for AI agents (Digiday) • TikTok updates ad offerings, entertainment, AI, shopping, avatars, creator collaboration (Media Daily News) • All the YouTube news from today’s Google I/O (YouTube) HOUSEKEEPING • UPCOMING SURVEY Google Certified Publishing Partner survey coming next week Next week, you should receive an email from Google (GCPP@qualtrics-survey.com) to complete its Google Certified Publishing Partner survey. It’s short and optional for any creators and publishers in the Raptive network to complete, but your feedback is appreciated. It helps both Google and Raptive better understand your experience and identify ways we can better support your business. Question of the week As AI changes search, what feels most important for your business? 📝 Better content Making posts more useful, complete, and up-to-date 💜 More reader trust Building authority, loyalty, and direct traffic 🖼️ Stronger visuals Using images and vertical video to stand out 👀 More guidance Waiting for clearer recommendations before acting! Thanks for reading! Was this email helpful? You’re receiving this email because you help manage a site that works with Raptive. To ensure our emails reach your inbox, add hello@email.raptive.com to your email contacts. Want to stop receiving Raptive News emails? You can update your preferences anytime. 1411 Broadway, 27th Floor New York, NY, 10018, US © 2026 Raptive. All rights reserved. Unsubscribe | View online