March – April 2026 Highlights

Google’s February 2026 Discover Core Update Now Complete

After a relatively quiet start to the year for algorithm changes, Google announced the February 2026 Google Discover Core Update, which began rolling out on the 5th of February and completed on the 27th February, taking around three weeks in total.

Unlike traditional core updates that impact standard search rankings, this update focused specifically on Google Discover, the personalised content feed shown in the Google app and on mobile devices. During the rollout, many publishers reported fluctuations in Discover traffic, with some seeing significant spikes while others experienced noticeable declines.

Because Discover relies heavily on user engagement, topical relevance and freshness of content, volatility is often expected during these updates as Google recalibrates which content it recommends to users.

If you have seen changes in Discover impressions or traffic in February, it is possible that your site has been impacted by this update.

Update info: February 2026 Google Discover Core Update

This rollout occurred on the 5th February and concluded on the 27th.

Quick Facts:

• Name: February 2026 Google Discover Core Update
• Launched: February 5, 2026
• Rollout Completed: February 27, 2026
• Targets: Content surfaced in Google Discover feeds
• Does Not Target: Traditional Google Search rankings directly
• Impact: Some publishers reported significant fluctuations in Discover traffic during the rollout
• Global: Impacts Discover feeds globally across languages and regions
• Recover: Sites impacted should focus on producing helpful, engaging and timely content aligned with Discover best practices
• Refreshes: Discover systems are continuously updated, so changes may stabilise over time

Background

Google Discover first launched in 2018, evolving from the earlier Google Feed. It was designed to surface content to users based on their interests rather than requiring them to actively search for a query. Discover appears within the Google mobile app and on some mobile browsers, providing a personalised feed of articles, news, videos and other content that Google believes will be relevant to the user.

Because Discover is driven by user interests, engagement signals and content freshness, it tends to favour content that is timely, engaging and visually appealing. As a result, it has become particularly valuable for publishers, blogs and content-driven websites, which are able to produce frequent, topical content that aligns with trending topics or user interests.

Unlike traditional search results, where rankings are determined by relevance to a query, Discover operates more like a recommendation system. This means visibility can fluctuate more frequently, and performance often depends on how well content resonates with users rather than solely on traditional SEO ranking factors.

What does this mean for businesses?

The February 2026 Google Discover Core Update rolled out between 5th February and 27th February, taking around three weeks to complete. As this update focused specifically on Google Discover rather than traditional search rankings, some publishers experienced noticeable fluctuations in Discover impressions and traffic during the rollout period.

Businesses that rely on Discover for additional visibility may have seen short-term volatility while Google adjusted how content is surfaced within personalised feeds. Because Discover prioritises engaging, relevant and timely content, sites that consistently publish high-quality content aligned with user interests are more likely to perform well over time.

If your data shows changes in Discover impressions or traffic between early and late February, it is possible that performance has been influenced by this update. As the rollout has now completed, trends should begin to stabilise, allowing a clearer view of any longer-term impact.

Google Updates JavaScript SEO Documentation

Google recently removed the “Design for accessibility” section from its official JavaScript SEO documentation, stating that the information was outdated and no longer necessary. The removed guidance previously advised developers to check how their sites appear in text-only views to help identify content that search engines may struggle to see, such as text embedded in images.

According to Google, the section was removed because Google Search has been rendering JavaScript reliably for many years, meaning JavaScript-loaded content should no longer be considered a barrier for search engines. Google also stated that modern assistive technologies are now capable of working with JavaScript, reducing accessibility concerns that previously existed.

However, this change has sparked debate across the SEO industry, with many professionals questioning whether the guidance reflects real-world crawling behaviour.

What does this mean for businesses?

Despite Google’s messaging, many SEO professionals continue to see JavaScript rendering issues in practice, particularly when important content is loaded dynamically. Elements such as content hidden behind tabs, accordions, “load more” buttons, or interactive elements can still present challenges for search engines if they rely entirely on JavaScript to appear.

Structured data, internal links, images and key page content injected via JavaScript may also be less reliably crawled or indexed, especially when compared with traditional server-rendered HTML. In addition, research has shown that JavaScript-heavy pages can take significantly longer to crawl, which may impact how quickly new content is discovered.

There is also a growing consideration beyond Google. Many AI crawlers cannot render JavaScript at all, meaning they rely entirely on the raw HTML of a page. If key content, links or structured data are only available after JavaScript executes, these systems may not see them at all.

For businesses, this reinforces the importance of ensuring critical content, links and structured data are accessible within the initial HTML where possible. While JavaScript frameworks remain widely used in modern development, relying too heavily on client-side rendering can introduce unnecessary risks for search visibility and emerging AI-driven discovery platforms.

Focusing on server-side rendering, hybrid rendering approaches, or ensuring key SEO elements are present in the base HTML remains the safest strategy for maintaining strong discoverability across both traditional search engines and AI-powered systems.

Google Search Console Rolling Out Branded Queries Filter

Google has begun rolling out a new branded queries filter in Google Search Console, allowing SEOs to quickly separate branded vs non-branded search queries directly within the Performance report.

Previously, analysing branded traffic required manual regex filters or exporting query data, but this new feature automatically categorises queries using Google’s internal systems. This allows users to filter performance data to see whether clicks and impressions are being driven by brand demand or broader discovery queries.

Once applied, the filter allows users to view clicks, impressions, CTR and average position specifically for branded or non-branded queries. The feature works across different search types such as Web, Image, Video and News, helping SEOs gain a clearer understanding of where visibility is coming from.

The rollout is happening gradually and is currently available only for top-level domain properties, meaning it may not appear for all Search Console accounts immediately (Source: Search Engine Roundtable).

What This Means for Businesses

In theory, the new filter should make it much easier to understand whether growth in organic traffic is coming from brand awareness or true organic discovery. Branded queries typically convert well and show strong click-through rates, whereas non-branded queries indicate how effectively a business is reaching new audiences through search.,

However, there are still some limitations at this stage. Because the feature is still rolling out, historical comparisons may not yet be fully available. For example, some properties currently cannot compare branded data prior to late February, which makes longer-term comparisons difficult. In cases like this, many SEO teams will still need to rely on regex filters within Search Console or exported query data to analyse branded vs non-branded performance historically.

It is also worth noting that the classification is automatically determined by Google, meaning SEOs cannot manually control which queries are considered branded. For businesses with generic brand names, abbreviations or overlapping keywords, this could lead to some queries being categorised incorrectly.

While the feature is a positive step forward for reporting, many businesses may still need to continue using regex-based segmentation alongside the new filter, particularly when conducting deeper historical performance analysis.

AI Overviews Are Crushing CTR: New Data Continues To Show a Steep Decline

Recent research from Ahrefs highlights the growing impact of AI Overviews on organic click-through rates. In 2025, early findings suggested that AI Overviews reduced clicks by around 34.5%. Fast forward to 2026, and updated data shows the impact could now be as high as 58%.

That is a huge shift in how users interact with search results. With more answers being surfaced directly in the SERP, fewer users feel the need to click through to websites at all.

What This Means for Businesses

This changes the game. Ranking is no longer enough on its own. Even if you hold strong positions, you may still lose traffic if AI Overviews satisfy the query before a click happens.

Businesses need to adapt by focusing on:

• Creating content that goes beyond surface-level answers and adds real value
• Building a recognisable brand that users actively seek out
• Targeting queries where users still need deeper exploration or action
• Diversifying traffic sources beyond organic search alone

If anything, this reinforces a bigger shift we are already seeing.

SEO is moving from pure traffic acquisition to visibility, authority, and influence within the search experience itself.