Since August 1, 2025, Danny Sullivan is no longer the public spokesperson for Google Search. He officially steps down from the role of Search Liaison — which he held since its creation in 2017 — to focus on directing internal projects within the Google Search team.
Key takeaways:
- The "Search Liaison" role disappears at Google with the change of position for Danny Sullivan, who had held it since October 2017.
- Google will continue to provide up-to-date information on Google Search news but through the Google Search Central accounts.
- Danny Sullivan remains within Google's Search team where he manages internal projects.
"Google Search Liaison" disappears
Danny Sullivan announced this change via the Google Search Liaison X account, indicating that the account is no longer active (also on Bluesky):
This account has been deactivated. Please follow @googlesearchc for information aimed at site owners and @Google for the latest updates.
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) August 1, 2025
This announcement is not surprising, since the account's last tweet dated back more than a year. The only official statement from a representative of Google appeared on Search Engine Land:
Danny now holds a new position within Google, where he is working on new projects within the Search team. We will continue to provide up-to-date information on Search and to communicate with users and site owners through various channels, including the Google Search Central accounts.
What changes in practice
- The @searchliaison account is now inactive. Official communications are handled exclusively through Google Search Central (@googlesearchc on X / Google Search Central on LinkedIn / Google Search blog).
- No replacement has been named to date, and the role of Search Liaison does not appear to have been continued.
- To submit feedback or report anomalies, professionals will have to go through the forums, forums or community platforms.
A key role for the global SEO ecosystem
Danny Sullivan was "the voice of Google" for all international SEOs. He acted as a mediator between the engineering teams and publishers, explaining the ins and outs of algorithm updates, relaying questions to Mountain View, and moderating the sometimes heated debates related to changes in the SERP.
For SEOs, this position represented a real source of reassurance: official responses, insights on technical developments, sharing concrete examples during Core Update launches or new features.
His role greatly contributed to making Google more understandable for SEO experts and to smoothing exchanges during periods of major change.
The end of an era for Abondance and SEO professionals
When taking over Abondance According to Olivier Andrieu, the latter reminded us how much Danny Sullivan had played a key role, both in creating Abondance.com in 1998 and in launching his own SEO career. He also told Miss SEO Girl, in 2012, that it was Danny's example that inspired him to create his own media.
For SEO experts, this transition raises several questions:
- Who will now take over to answer doubts and share the sometimes subversive spirit that fostered closeness?
- Should we expect exclusively top-down, more formatted communication, as we observe on institutional feeds?
It's impossible to predict whether a new face will emerge as the preferred point of contact. The future of the SEO/Google dialogue will likely be written differently, balancing formalization, innovation and new communication channels. Read opinions and speculations from Barry Schwartz, Mordy Oberstein, Greg Finn and Anu Adegbola on the subject.
Danny Sullivan in 4 Abondance articles
August 2006 – Departure from Search Engine Watch 
Danny Sullivan departs from Search Engine Watch and the organization of the Search Engine Strategies conferences. He then considers the next steps for his SEO career and already receives many offers.
November 2006 – Creation of Search Engine Land
After leaving Search Engine Watch, Danny launched Search Engine Land with Chris Sherman and Barry Schwartz — a news site about search engines and SEO, very close to Search Engine Watch in its editorial stance.
October 2017 – Joining Google
Danny announces he is joining Google to "better explain to webmasters how search engines work." He leaves Search Engine Land to take on the role of mediator between Google and the SEO community.
June 2024 – Danny Sullivan responds to the Google Leaks
Danny Sullivan was clear: CTR is not a determining factor in Google’s ranking algorithm. If CTR were the only criterion, a new site would be unable to rank because it would not yet have clicks to support it.
The article "Danny Sullivan leaves the position of "Google Search Liaison" that he had held for more than seven years." was published on the site Abondance.
