My monthly AI roundup for October 2026 covers Google AI Mode, agentic checkout, cheaper models and EU AI Act labelling. It closes with a practical checklist for small businesses.
Universal Commerce Protocol: what changed since February
Eight months after my February guide, here is what changed in the Universal Commerce Protocol, who adopted it, and what store owners and SEOs should do now.
Shopify on WordPress: game changer or not?
Shopify now has an official plugin for WordPress, so I compared WooCommerce, Shopify and Shopify on WordPress. Here is my practitioner verdict on which setup fits which store.
Is SEO dead? Think again
Is SEO dead because of AI chat tools? Not even close. Google still handles far more search-like activity, so here is what the numbers say and what I would do now.
Crawl budget: what to ignore, and what actually matters
Crawl budget is a concern for very large or fast-changing sites, not for a normal site. Here is what Google’s current docs say to watch, and what to leave alone.
Why your website cookie wall is likely illegal: 2026 GDPR standards (focus Romania)
For many website owners in Romania, the “cookie wall” (that dark overlay blocking your content until a user clicks “Accept”) has become a go-to solution for tracking. However, recent enforcement actions by the ANSPDCP (The National Supervisory Authority for Personal Data Processing) and updated European guidelines have made it clear: these practices are high-risk and […]
Googlebot’s 2026 shift: Why your content might be “invisible” despite a 200 status
Lots of changes happening on Google’s side lately. One of the latest is related to page crawling file size. It seems that it is not enough anymore to make the page return a 200 OK status in the crawl reports. According to definitive documentation released in February 2026, that success message might be not exactly […]
Universal Commerce Protocol: The Technical Guide for SEOs
Beyond the click: Implementing the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) For two decades, the goal of e-commerce SEO was simple: rank, click, and convert on-site. But with the rollout of the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) in early 2026, Google is fundamentally changing the “click” part of that equation. We are entering the era of Agentic Commerce, […]
The February 2026 Google Updates: Transitioning to Agentic Commerce
The SEO landscape just shifted. As of February 5, 2026, Google has initiated a dual rollout: a broad Search Core Update and a specialized Discover Update. For developers and SEO consultants who prefer custom-built solutions over heavy plugins, this February 2026 Google Update represents both a challenge and a significant opportunity to outpace the competition. […]
Fixing “Access Forbidden (403)” and Crawl Blocks in Google Search Console
If you manage large websites, dealing with Google Search Console crawl errors can be a nightmare. You expect to see green “Indexed” bars, but instead, you are greeted by thousands of URLs flagged as “Blocked due to access forbidden (403)” or “Blocked by robots.txt.” Google tells you that there is an error, but it rarely […]