Recent Comments on Search Engine Roundtable

Sensei commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

Given the writing on the wall for what AI will be doing to the economy for at least the next few years, maybe start a YouTube channel called No Income School.

Comment ID #6806343445 12/07/2025 01:07 pm

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

It will mean people will hate it and won't use it if littered with ads, a paid subscription should not have ads

Comment ID #6806314599 12/07/2025 11:53 am

DataDonkey commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

Yeah, ChatGPT is saying they are just showcasing apps built on ChatGPT. It's still an ad even if they aren't directly compensated for it. As far as I'm concerned, ChatGPT is an AI Slop Engine. TechCrunch did a story on these ads/app suggestions this morning, but the story might be pay walled for some: <b>OpenAI says it’s turned off app suggestions that look like ads</b> - <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/07/openai-says-its-turned-off-app-suggestions-that-look-like-ads/">https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/07/openai-says-its-turned-off-app-suggestions-that-look-like-ads/</a> <blockquote>Chen and other OpenAI executives were responding to posts from ChatGPT’s paying subscribers who complained about seeing promotional messages for companies like Peloton and Target. In response, the company said it was only testing ways to show apps built on the ChatGPT app platform that it announced in October, with “no financial component” to those suggestions. (One of the users who’d complained initially about the ads responded skeptically, writing, “Bruhhh… Don’t insult your paying users.”)</blockquote>

Comment ID #6806312817 12/07/2025 11:48 am

Hunar commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

It's funny if you read some of the comments, I think one of the Dev's at OpenAI swears that it's not an Add just a GPT inside. Then all the comments are like uh... That's an Ad...

Comment ID #6806309627 12/07/2025 11:39 am

DataDonkey commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

Unfortunately it looks like ChatGPT may be moving forward with their own ad enshitification. Might be the only way on ChatGPT to get human traffic since what they link to often goes to the wrong pages. Other ad examples have been posted on X as well, including supposed unlabeled ads to Peleton. <a href="https://x.com/BenjaminDEKR/status/1996059933998285094?s=20">https://x.com/BenjaminDEKR/status/1996059933998285094?s=20</a>

Comment ID #6806265840 12/07/2025 09:41 am

DataDonkey commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

Speaking as an American, and a registered Republican voter, I am disgusted with what the Trump admin has done and is doing. Trump's attempt to force his will on our allies and the American people is wrong. This is not something that should happen in a free society, but our freedoms anymore are mere illusions. I would be fine and understanding if the EU/UK told Trump to shove it, and I know many Republicans will do the same when they have an opportunity to vote again.

Comment ID #6806261634 12/07/2025 09:29 am

DataDonkey commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

Our history and current situation are similar in many ways. Although our ideas differ some on the specifics in how this will play out in the short term, I think we agree on how bad the end will be. Thank you for posting your views and engaging with me in this discussion. Hopefully we all find a way out of this mess before we are too buried in it to even breathe.

Comment ID #6806259120 12/07/2025 09:21 am

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

To get the above in Google, have a look at :- <a href="https://tenbluelinks.org">https://tenbluelinks.org </a> They (Google) hide the feature as its not in their best interest. Also in Google, they hide Youtube as a blue link. DuckDuckGo also have a feature to hide AI Overviews, images, videos etc as in below. I do note that there is an advert but search adverts I believe is their only income, they have no phone OS, no external advertising etc. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ef0dc9a09c54b4850fbd8004f21608dc14cf254f59156bd0f40ef36ff262f975.png

Comment ID #6806246256 12/07/2025 08:38 am

googleisjoke commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

yes but no AI here

Comment ID #6806235303 12/07/2025 07:58 am

googleisjoke commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

I wish my sites drop to 0 soon so I don't need to think about this bullshit again - https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c78e733fed81ad05efb5c1fb39ecd96fb5564c547f1b98632b04129bbd9c866d.png

Comment ID #6806234908 12/07/2025 07:57 am

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e7e1adb1712be679621fa4e74f73970e31d333c0ef55f961a8067e1095f2ef08.png This is what search should look like guys, not all the clutter that we see at the moment, it is a breath of fresh air to see this page, hope apple buys them

Comment ID #6806231855 12/07/2025 07:45 am

Rodrigo Calvo commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

Reading through this thread, it feels like a lot of people are experiencing the same thing from different angles. Rankings holding, visibility dropping, ads getting more expensive, and fewer real outcomes. I’ll be honest, I’ve felt this same tension myself at times. One thing I keep coming back to is the mismatch between how we measure presence and how discovery actually happens now. Between SERP layout shifts, zero-click interfaces, and AI-mediated answers, “being there” doesn’t always translate into traffic anymore — even when positions look stable. Not saying this explains everything, but it helps separate pure algorithm panic from a deeper shift in how attention is being intermediated.

Comment ID #6806226944 12/07/2025 07:25 am

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

I am not saying your content is junk AI slop but this means the ad networks are more selective given everything is crashing down.

Comment ID #6806223252 12/07/2025 07:09 am

googleisjoke commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

what would be the best business to start in 2025? I mean something long term that have stability, something you build for 10 years and it stay not crumble..

Comment ID #6806219264 12/07/2025 06:50 am

googleisjoke commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

I thought it was Income School logo haha

Comment ID #6806204223 12/07/2025 05:29 am

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

I disagree, I think we have forgotten that most people don't like AI and that is not going to change. Advertisors will just move money to other platforms like social media where they can track ROI. We will find more ads in videos. I don't like this world for our future generations it is like they are using the internet as an advert machine and everything we do we have an ad forced down our throats. Look at samsung now selling fridges with ads. Problem is most people are struggling they can't afford stuff so the whole economy is messed up. AI will become more expensive and ChatGTP will be like $500 a month so too expensive for the average jo and publishers won't profit from it. That is where I am seeing it headed. LLM's really expensive, Google going full AI mode and advertisors leaving, people not engaging and that makes way for another search engine. Apple won't want the internet like this as it is bad quality for users so I think they will step in.

Comment ID #6806202252 12/07/2025 05:18 am

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

I think Apple already have created one as they were hiring talent to make it - as a back up incase the google deal fell through and now they are wondering if to just launch it, its the only way for them to increase share price, plus they will protect the internet and sell the concept like that, they have not stepped into AI for a reason. Sept 26 we will know for sure.

Comment ID #6806199739 12/07/2025 05:03 am

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

I am only going on my personal experience of managing 2 million PPC for a fortune500 20 years ago before I ran my websites, I pulled back when ROI was not working, or it was unprofitable. I honestly can't see advertisors spending if they can't measure it. If they increase the price of products in this economy people won't buy. I hope I am right but if I am not then we are stuffed. I am just wondering how long this is going to go on or they just serve AI mode and delete the blue links altogether right now they are so far down people can't be bothered to scroll to our websites anyway. I am 1st for most keywords but looked at my recent articles and I am getting on average 3 a day so my new articles are not making any traction. Maybe we all turn to video instead.

Comment ID #6806198577 12/07/2025 04:56 am

googleisjoke commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

not sure if it's relevant, but ad networks like mediavine not accepted my 2 sites, and they used to, even the traffic was from the US and 1st tier countries, I wonder what they want

Comment ID #6806186904 12/07/2025 03:41 am

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

OK, so essentially, let us destroy your economy, otherwise we'll let Russia destroy your countries.... Landau should remember that Europe helped USA on 911 and to a lesser (number of countries) extent on the Iraq war.

Comment ID #6806180313 12/07/2025 02:49 am

clone21 commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

Advertisers spend more money does not mean the search is not dead. The search is literally full now, every query has answers, Google gets enough data from webmasters and their AI can answer every freaking query, no matter you like it or not. For 99% publishers, search is dead, no more moneys.

Comment ID #6806147886 12/06/2025 10:48 pm

DataDonkey commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

I agree with many of your points and wish it would play out the way you described, but I doubt it will. Google, and other big techies, are protected corporations in the USA. There will always be advertisers with the means to pay and small businesses will be destroyed which is what big techies want anyway. Even in a bad economy people will still spend, and with Google at the top of this economy they can write the rules all must follow to increase their own revenues. Those with a 32.55% drop in ROAS can either fine tune their campaigns, raise their prices to cover the cost or get out of ads. Google only needs a few advertisers per serp set to drive click costs up anyway, in addition to other unethical ways Google uses to deplete budgets. And when other countries try to hold big techies accountable, the Trump admin will step in for their defense. <b>Senior US diplomat calls EU policies bad for trans-Atlantic partnership</b> - <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/06/senior-us-diplomat-calls-eu-policies-bad-for-trans-atlantic-partnership-.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/06/senior-us-diplomat-calls-eu-policies-bad-for-trans-atlantic-partnership-.html</a> <blockquote>A $140 million fine on tech tycoon Elon Musk’s social media platform underscores how Europeans undermine U.S. policies even while demanding that the United States provide military protection, one of the top American diplomats wrote on Saturday. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau joined Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other American officials in criticizing the European Union’s fine on Musk-owned X as censorship. But Landau went further than Rubio by invoking broader ideological and strategic concerns. Landau posted on X that the EU’s differences with the Trump administration on many issues undermine the idea of a partnership with the United States despite the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The EU’s regulatory stance could hurt shared Western security and values, Landau wrote.</blockquote>

Comment ID #6806100756 12/06/2025 07:27 pm

googleisjoke commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

these big brands are too rigid, they cannot make a big moves, they just follow what they do, there is always room newcomer could offer something new, see what would you say before GPT came? we had no idea it would become until it became and it's here

Comment ID #6806041609 12/06/2025 04:10 pm

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

advertisors are not sitting there going "oh well, CPA doubled but let's keep going. lets pour millions into something that is not paying back. AI has got worse since November.Advertisors are shocked, this is not what they planned, they did not plan to have less sales and pay more. The ones still spending are the big brands protecting share of voice, and even they are asking hard questions. Google and microsoft are trying to change the definitions to manipulate the numbers ROI to go from view>click>sale to just brand awareness. That won't work and that shows panic, especially as Microsoft has increase the ROI time by 90 days (re: barrys video). So yeah. It's kicking off. Google's Q4 numbers might look fine. But that doesn't mean the people paying those bills are fine, and if they are unhappy to keep paying the bills as they are not making the sales. This will be seen next year, April time. And if ROAS doesn't recover those bills mean Google will stop getting paid. A no click internet means a no ad click internet if no-one is clicking: no-one is buying:. ... from that study: Ecom: Spend up 17.8%. ROAS down 32.55%. CPA up 50% people on here who are in the ad game have already said it is costing a fortune without sales. The public are broke and won't buy at higher prices so the whole thing will implode. I think this is why all the job losses have been scheduled, because too much money is in the stock market and it will go bust.

Comment ID #6806020404 12/06/2025 03:12 pm

DataDonkey commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

There is no hope and wishful thinking doesn't pay the bills. Maybe Judge Brinkema will do something with Google's ad monopoly, but I'm sure Google has contingency plans should that happen which would include years of appeals. Any new lawsuits against Google would take about five years to resolve if we use Epic's legal victory against Google for the timeline. Trump and his admin won't direct the DOJ or FTC to go after Google because Trump thinks winning an AI race is the most important thing, even as small businesses lost over 100K jobs last month. It may be time for those still left in this industry to make some very tough decisions and objectively look at the current state of affairs. Contrary to what you've been saying, advertisers are spending more and many won't abandon Google Ads because they need the traffic to survive. Google controls 90% of the search market so they using their monopoly to shaft advertisers at will. Users are slowly being conditioned to accept AI instead of links to other sites. Organic results will probably be gone within a few years or used sparingly by Google for specific niches.

Comment ID #6805983548 12/06/2025 01:40 pm

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

there's no point in any one creating a new search engine when Google has illegally got 90% of the market and Mehta said they can continue

Comment ID #6805974834 12/06/2025 01:18 pm

DataDonkey commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

<blockquote>they need to deal with the crisis of having no ad money over christmas</blockquote>Where are you getting this data from? From everything I've seen, ad spend has increased YOY which means Google is making more money from advertisers. See this Linkedin cyber monday post that analyzed data from 5,000+ ecommerce stores and 15,000 lead gen sites. Advertisers are spending more and getting less which is Google's monopolistic squeeze. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dcec39554a751baa98511122009dd7a6afcefa551ac9ad922c7f1d2201de19de.jpg

Comment ID #6805970989 12/06/2025 01:08 pm

googleisjoke commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

yeah isn't there a new search engine in the making? I wonder how is this not opportunity for some

Comment ID #6805969602 12/06/2025 01:05 pm

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

They don't care, websites to them are finished, they need to deal with the crisis of having no ad money over christmas they jacked up AI to a crazy amount and this has effected the tools

Comment ID #6805958185 12/06/2025 12:34 pm

Ted (or Big T) commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated December 3-4

Why GSC not updated about 46 hours?

Comment ID #6805952218 12/06/2025 12:18 pm

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