Google to sell chrome?

Hey there fellow SEO enthusiasts, this last whole week has been packed with SEO news and happenings, with some big news like - DOJ seeking to force google to sell chrome to GSC now having insights built into the platform, this was a rather eventful week in the world of search. This is the second edition of this newsletter and i hope all of you are enjoying what i post so far.

In today’s edition:

• DOJ wants Google to sell of chrome and seeking action on multiple Google products

• The sitelinks searchbox is finally gone for all the websites

• Google has finally rolled out ‘insights’ for every GSC user.

The USA's Department of Justice wants Google to sell Chrome.

The DOJ is taking serious steps after Google was found to have sort of monopolised the search market back in August. They're now pushing to force Google to sell off Chrome - their hugely successful browser that holds about two-thirds of the global browser market.

Why is this important?

Chrome isn't just a browser - it's a massive part of Google's data and ad ecosystem. Here's why this matters:

• Chrome typically defaults to Google search

• It collects valuable user data for Google's ad business

• It's deeply integrated with Google's other services

• It has roughly 65% of the global browser market share

What else is on the table?

The DOJ isn't just looking at Chrome. They're also pushing for changes related to:

• Google's AI operations

• The Android operating system

• Default search engine deals (like the massive payments to Apple)

This is possibly one of the most aggressive moves we've seen against big tech monopolies. If it goes through, it could completely reshape how we think about browsers, search, and digital advertising.

The Sitelinks Search Box is officially gone.

Yes, after a decade of helping users search within websites directly from Google's search results, Google has decided to sunset this feature.

What exactly happened?

Google has completely removed the sitelinks search box feature from search results. If you're wondering what this was - it was that neat little search box that appeared under some website listings in Google search, letting users search within that specific website without visiting it.

Why did Google do this?

Pretty straightforward reason actually - people stopped using it. Google noticed a significant drop in usage over time and decided to simplify the search results by removing this visual element.

What does this mean for your website? Here's the good news:

• This doesn't affect your rankings at all

• Regular sitelinks are still showing up as usual

• Your existing search box schema won't cause any issues

What should you do? Honestly? Nothing urgent:

• You can keep the schema on your site (it won't hurt)

• If you want to clean up, you can remove it

• Make sure not to remove website structured data if you're using site names

Recommendations feature in GSC now out for everyone

What's this all about?

Google has fully rolled out their recommendations section in Search Console. Think of it as your personal SEO advisor sitting right in your GSC dashboard, helping you spot opportunities to improve your site's presence on Google.

What does it actually show you? These recommendations focus on three core areas:

• Indexing issues

• Crawling problems

• Serving optimizations

The cool part?

It's not just new data - it's actually making existing Search Console data more accessible and actionable. Instead of digging through reports, you get direct recommendations based on your site's performance.

"But I don't see any recommendations!" Don't panic! This is actually good news. If you're not seeing any recommendations, it simply means Google doesn't have any suggestions for your site right now. They update these regularly, so keep checking back.

My take on this:

While this is a helpful addition to Search Console, remember - these are automated recommendations. As someone who's worked with numerous clients through Upsero, I can tell you that not all recommendations will make sense for every site.

Quick tip: Before implementing any recommendation:

• Evaluate if it aligns with your site's purpose

• Check if it makes sense for your business model

• Consider your site's unique requirements

• Test changes carefully

For example: If you run a news site and Google suggests adding product listings - that might not be the best move for your audience.

SEO thread of the week

Ending notes

This was a rather eventful week, with a lot of things that you can tinker around with. The tip of this newsletter would be to continue building on top of your current systems and optimize for keywords that matter to your business/site. I would see ya’ll in the next edition with even more interesting news and insights.