In this week’s digital news to watch, the European Commission fined Google €2.95B for abusing dominance in AdTech, with possible divestment on the table. Apple’s upcoming iOS 26 will mostly preserve Google Ads tracking, though stricter privacy in Safari may complicate attribution, giving marketers time to adapt.
Snap launched its App Power Pack with Playable Ads, Sponsored Snaps, and SKAN-friendly tools, promising up to 25% more installs. Google warned that generic login pages can harm SEO by outranking real content. Meanwhile, American Eagle’s controversial Sydney Sweeney campaign drove record customer growth despite backlash, and a new study shows LLM-driven traffic converts at a similar, though still negligible, rate to organic search.
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European Commission fines Google €2.95 billion over abusive practices in AdTech
The European Commission has fined Google €2.95 billion for abusing its dominance in the AdTech market by favouring its own services, notably AdX, over rivals. Between 2014 and today, Google used its ad server and buying tools to give AdX unfair advantages, harming competitors, advertisers, and publishers. The Commission ordered Google to stop these practices and address conflicts of interest in the AdTech supply chain, with 60 days to present proposals. If inadequate structural remedies, including divestment, may follow. The fine reflects the seriousness and duration of the infringement and Google’s history of antitrust violations.
iOS 26 testing reveals mixed impact on Google Ads tracking parameters
Testing of iOS 26 beta versions shows Google Ads’ gclid tracking remains intact in normal browsing, with restrictions applying only in private mode, advanced Safari privacy settings, or when links open via Mail and Messages. Contrary to speculation, automatic stripping is not the default. Safari Technology Preview builds displayed inconsistent behaviour, suggesting ongoing development. Apple’s privacy-first stance continues through gbraid and wbraid parameters, which support attribution but not remarketing. Google counters restrictions with Enhanced Conversions, Consent Mode 2, server-side tagging, and custom workarounds to maintain measurement accuracy. iOS 26 launches in September 2025, giving marketers time to adapt.
American Eagle credits controversial Sydney Sweeney ad for driving ‘unprecedented’ customer acquisition
Despite raising concerns over racial undertones in the “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” ad campaign, American Eagle Outfitters’ recent second quarter has outperformed expectations. This campaign delivered record-breaking engagement, generating roughly 40 billion ad impressions, attracting over 700,000 new customers, and causing headline-grabbing stock gains between 30% and 38%. Although the pun “jeans” vs. “genes” made the headlines, the marketing pivot is widely credited with reenergising brand relevance, especially among Gen Z, and executives plan to sustain the momentum into the holiday season.
Snap announces a suite of new products for app advertisers
Snap has unveiled its new App Power Pack, a suite of tools tailored for app advertisers that includes fresh ad formats like Playable App Ads, allowing users to test-drive a mini version of an advertiser’s game without exiting Snapchat, with enhanced bid strategies, targeting improvements, and interactive features.
Designed to work with both Apple’s SKAdNetwork (SKAN) and non-SKAN campaigns, the App Power Pack is delivering at least a 25% boost in app installs, as per Snap. The rollout also brings Sponsored Snaps into the ad auction, delivering ads directly via the Chat feature, which lifted unique converters for installs and in-app purchases by 18% in Q2.
Additional enhancements include App End Cards, which automatically showcase two images pulled from the App Store at the conclusion of Ads or Stories to increase engagement and downloads. These tools arrive as the global mobile gaming market is on track to expand from $126 billion in 2025 to beyond $164 billion by 2030, highlighting Snap’s deeper commitment to app marketers.
Does LLM traffic convert better than organic?
A new study has found that traffic from Large Language Models (LLMs) does not convert at a statistically significant better rate than traditional organic search traffic. Whilst the study showed a slightly higher average conversion rate for LLM traffic (4.87%) compared to organic traffic (4.60%), this difference was not significant. The study also highlights that LLM traffic is still a negligible channel, making up less than 1% of total site traffic and conversions. The conclusion is that organic search remains far superior in terms of both scale and contribution.
Your login pages may be hurting your SEO
Google’s Search Relations team has warned publishers that generic login pages could be hurting their SEO performance. When multiple private URLs all redirect to the same generic login form, Google’s indexing system can treat them as duplicate content. This can cause the login page to outrank the intended content, leading to a poor user experience as visitors looking for information are instead directed to a sign-in screen. The article suggests several solutions, including using the noindex tag on private pages, redirecting to a dedicated marketing page, or using paywall structured data.
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