Latest SEO News & Tips From SE Roundtable Blog

Microsoft is testing showing text attributes that can say things like “Free Shipping on Qualified Orders” with an icon next to the search ads on Bing Search. This is not…

Google is testing a new sponsored ads section in the search results named Featured Stores. This reminds me of the from online stores but that was organic/free, not ads.

Google is testing a shaded box design for the stock pricing and information in the Google Search results. Google has these shaded designs in other areas as well but for…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today…

Google AI Mode has had travel planning for some time but according to some in the travel industry, Google recently began rolling out more of these features in the wild….

Microsoft is testing various interfaces for the sitelinks in Bing Search. We’ve seen and reported on Bing testing sitelinks many, many times here, so here are a few more variations.

Google is testing moving your query from the left top position to the right top position of the AI response within AI Mode. This is a subtle change but it…

This is a programming note that Tuesday and Wednesday are Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and I will be offline the next two days. I will be offline on…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google completed the…

Google has completed the rollout of the August 2025 spam update, following a 27-day rollout cycle. This update started on August 26, 2025 and 12 pm ET, and was completed…

Google is testing a new AI Search based option codenamed Darksteel. This reminds me of when we caught Google testing 47 different AI Search options back in March but Darksteel…

As you know, Google dropped the num parameter to see more search results on a page, then the third-party tools scraping became severely impacted and many saw impression declines in…

Google is testing AI-generated product summaries in the AI Mode results, after you click on a specific product. I was able to generate this in one out of every four…

Google is testing a button that takes you from Google Search short translations answers, to the ability to translate a full conversation in another interface.

The Google August 2025 spam update will probably be marked as completed tomorrow, September 22, 2025. That is what John Mueller from Google said deep inside a comment on a…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today…

For the original iTunes version…

Google announced that AI Mode will be coming to the Chrome address bar, Omnibox, soon. This means you can type in long queries and then select AI Mode to enter…

Google is testing placing the citation cards/boxes at the bottom of the AI Overviews, instead of on the right-hand side, on the desktop search interface. This requires you to scroll…

Google seems to be testing renaming the Shopping tab in Google Search from Shopping to “AI Shopping.” Maybe the results in the new AI Shopping tab are more AI-driven?

We’ve covered the What people are saying carousel and section within the Google Search results. We’ve covered the red live label for news stories. We are now seeing the two…

Microsoft is testing various interfaces for the Bing Search local pack results and map. I spotted four different interfaces, some with the map on the page, some without. Some in…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google called the…

A week ago, Google posted a new job named Senior Engineering Analyst, Search, Anti-scraper and within the week it has already been closed out. The LinkedIn page says 49 people…

John Mueller from Google somewhat/kinda made a comment, finally on the impression decreasing with the average position increasing within the Search Console reports. This came after Google dropped the 100…

Previously, we noted a Google AI Mode feature to be able to compare items by checking them off, both for products and local results. Well, Google now has this dialog…

Google “announced” the store widget on its Search Central blog but the weird thing to me is that this store widget is not new, it has been around at least…

Google has made it official and announced updates to Google Discover. That follow feature we covered a few weeks ago is now rolling out officially to all and Google confirmed…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today…

Google Discover may be showing X posts (formerly Twitter tweets) from accounts you follow and not from other accounts that you do not follow. Discover has shown X/Twitter posts for…

OpenAI announced it made improvements to search in ChatGPT. The company said the results are more accurate, reliable, and useful. The update touches on factuality, shopping and formatting.

Markham Erickson, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google told The Verge that searchers want AI Overviews, “contextual answers and summaries,” over links to publishers. But to help…

Earlier this year, we saw some signs that the Google local Questions and Answers feature seemed to be slowly going away, not just in India but other places. Well, now,…

Google is testing a new way to lift a suspension within Google Merchant Center. Some can now do video verification, the same way they can with verifying their Google Business…

Google is testing placing AI-generated search result snippet summaries. Under each Google search result, there is a thing bar, followed by the Gemini logo and then a short AI-generated summary…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today…

Google announced that the old Search Console achievements you would get in those emails for the past few years, well, now there is a dedicated report you can access in…

Did you know Google Search uses some sort of question fringe score? It is part of the Google search data leak from a year ago, but it seems no one…

It looks like the Microsoft Advertising team is at it again. This time Microsoft is now mixing ads within the organic search results in Bing Image Search. So you will…

Microsoft is testing a new search bar/box header for the Bing Search results. The Bing search bar sticks to the top as you scroll through the search results. Google just…

Penske Media, which operates and owns Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Variety and others has sued Google over its AI Overviews. The lawsuit says Google used its content while…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google Search Console…

On Friday we reported that Google Search was removing the ability to show 100 search results per page. And now, we are seeing a lot of people notice that their…

Microsoft sent out an email on Friday informing businesses that changes are coming to Bing Places, the portal businesses can go to in order to update their business details on…

Most of the third-party Google Search tracking tools are broken and not tracking properly. This seemed to start when Google turned off the ability to show 100 search results per…

Bloomberg reports that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating Google (and Amazon) on whether the companies misled advertisers by not properly disclosing the terms and pricing for ads on their…

No, Google Search Console did not add an AI Overviews filter to the Search Performance report. There was a ton of buzz this morning that Google added the ability to…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today…

This week, I covered the ongoing Google August 2025 spam update and how it heated up this week. Google got into hot water over saying the web is rapidly declining….

On Thursday, September 11, 2025, Google updated its search quality raters guidelines PDF document. The last time Google updated this document was on January 23, 2025, over seven months ago….

Microsoft Advertising is testing using three dots, instead of the arrow down, for the sponsored ads URL in the Bing search results. We’ve seen Bing test three dots before but…

Google may be starting to show AI Overviews when you ask for a currency exchange. I can’t seem to fully replicate this but others are starting to see this.

Google has updated the Google Merchant Center pricing policies for September. The changes include updates in the merchant fees, government charges, import and export costs, regional and installment pricing, price…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google Ads announced…

Microsoft is testing putting link icons in the sitelinks carousel buttons within the Bing search ads from Microsoft Advertising. Normally, you’d just see the carousel of sitelinks below the search…

Google is testing adding search refinement options in the sponsored ads in a carousel format. The test shows refinements named “fine-tune your search,” “search specific products” and “specify your search.”…

Google is testing replacing the review stars at the top of the hotel knowledge panel with listing the hotel’s website URL and the hotel’s phone number.

Google seems to be testing a new format for local ads in the search results. These look more like that older card format test we saw a year or so…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. We are seeing…

The Google August 2025 spam update seems to be heating up again. I am seeing both chatter within the SEO spike, while also seeing many of the third-party Google tracking…

Google is testing placing the arrows next to the sitelinks on the left side of the sitelinks. Normally those arrows are on the right side of the sitelinks.

Google is now showing AI Mode shortcuts in the autocomplete search suggestions. As you type the main Google Search box, Google may try to jump you to AI Mode with…

Microsoft is testing expanding the text of the Microsoft Advertising search ads on Bing Search. So when you hover your mouse over an ad in Bing Search, the text expands.

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google AI Mode…

New data from Similarweb shows that almost all ChatGPT users also use Google, but only 15% of Google users also use ChatGPT. This shows that Google, for now, is still…

Since Google launched AI Mode back in March, it has only supported the English language. Google has been releasing it in more countries and expanding it quickly, and now, finally,…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google initially said…

Google’s John Mueller said in a Reddit thread that he would personally go with a traditional TLD (i.e., .com) even if it means having to put a hyphen in the…

Google is testing alternatives to the title “People also search for” at the bottom of the Google Search results. I am seeing “Related your search,” “Search for next,” and “Also…

Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, said in May that web publishing is not dying. Nick Fox, VP of Search at Google, said in May that the web is thriving. But in…

Google AI Mode within Search Labs personalizes your results for dining-related topics. Well, now Google is showing a disclaimer when it does that. The disclaimer reads, “Personalized for you: Now…

Google seems to be using the reviews on your Google Business Profile listings to give responses in its AI Overviews. If you search for your favorite doctor reviews, you may…

Logan Kilpatrick, lead product manager for Google DeepMind, Gemini, and all AI products at Google, said Google AI Mode will be the default for Google Search “soon.” He said this…

The European Union has fined Google $3.5 billion, 2.95 billion euro, for breaking its competition rules by favoring its own digital advertising services. Part of this ruling also says Google…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Apple will be…

This week, we covered the big Google Monopoly remedy ruling that will not end up breaking up the company and was more like a slap on the wrist. Google also…

Apple is reportedly working on a revamp of Siri, Apple Intelligence and its Apple Search features for 2026. Yep, another revamp. Bloomberg reported Apple planning to launch its own artificial…

Microsoft has been beta testing a new Bing Maps interface for the past couple of months. I just recently became aware of it and wanted to share some screenshots of…

We know Google can show AI-generated summary cards in the local panels on mobile and desktop. But I am not sure what this thing is, it was spotted by Stephen…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Court documents reveal…

With the Google monopoly remedies ruling from the other day, we have more documents from the court mentioning more about Google’s usage of user interactions, user data, Chrome data and…

In June we reported that Microsoft was testing a floating Copilot search box in the Bing Search results interface. Now, Microsoft added keyword suggestions next to the floating Copilot search…

Microsoft is testing expandable related searches in the Bing Search results. When you hover your mouse cursor over the related searches, Bing will load more below them.

Google sent out emails to hotels and lodging partners to inform them that they will begin enforcing pricing accuracy on their listings and feeds. The email says that starting on…

I am deeply sad to report that Alan Bleiweiss has passed away on August 22nd. Alan was a true friend to the search marketing industry; he always had a witty…

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google won’t be…

Google is testing a new top bar interface design for the search results page both in light and dark mode. The new design shades the top bar more, so it…