Recent Comments on Search Engine Roundtable

2026 commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

That's the earnings I mentioned RPM is horrible as well, half or even 1/3rd of what it user to be earier

Comment ID #6823806082 01/14/2026 11:17 pm

Daniel commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Do you have any news or good signals?

Comment ID #6823791823 01/14/2026 10:17 pm

clone21 commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Its over guys, do other things now.

Comment ID #6823783320 01/14/2026 09:47 pm

Dimitris Abrazis commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Rpm?

Comment ID #6823711016 01/14/2026 06:13 pm

Durant Imboden commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Some of the the money has moved to sponsored pitches by the YouTubers. I'm getting really tired of having to fast-forward through first-person spiels for VPNs, prepared meals, and mental-health sites.

Comment ID #6823707251 01/14/2026 06:04 pm

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Yep, its been noted before no ads in AI Overviews but it people went to sites, they'd be adverts. I wouldn't be surprised if its part of Google's aim to destroy the competition and then add ads.

Comment ID #6823665257 01/14/2026 04:34 pm

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Bet if you web results, you'd get Youtube masquerading as a blue link. I do when I look up certain items in my niche.

Comment ID #6823664069 01/14/2026 04:32 pm

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

I think that happened to me, changed to Business, I need to investigate, thanks for the reminder.

Comment ID #6823661847 01/14/2026 04:27 pm

Bill Scott commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

What's new?

Comment ID #6823648360 01/14/2026 04:01 pm

Ted (or Big T) commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Last AdSense news: AdSense support changed my account from Individual to Business (I wanted it to change). That's ok, but when I created new business email, they blocked it :D So, WTF? :D I filled out the appeal, now I'm waiting.

Comment ID #6823635758 01/14/2026 03:37 pm

Dimitris Abrazis commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Nope, not a good idea. I got MS from this job. I love my job very much (tech press) but this is killing me. Google is ruining my passion. I started my website 14 years ago with no money and managed to get it to be the biggest website in my niche in my country by far, with just work endless hours. Now everything down the drain and we never use AI or copy pasted content. Big tech are just evil. Noone is getting the traffic we are losing, just them... They just can't stop causing trouble. All this mess will cause a global economic collapse. Gemini is now after eshops. They will start selling thing directly in Gemini and search (AI Overviews) and they collaborate with multibillion eshops (amazon, target, etc). The end of every job is near... An when no-one has a job... war is coming to reset the economies. this is how capitalism works and always worked.

Comment ID #6823630728 01/14/2026 03:27 pm

Helga commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Sir I do agree. That sounds like a healthy approach and mindset to have. I wish my grandson Robert would learn from you.

Comment ID #6823625793 01/14/2026 03:18 pm

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

This is worrying: a Police Chief uses AI to make a decision on a contentious football match, and the basis for his decision never existed. Just another example of AI Hallucinations. It's the use of AI I'm bringing this to attention, not anything else. Apparently, he used CoPilot. "Before Mahmood's statement, Guildford admitted an AI tool was responsible for providing incorrect evidence that referred to a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham that never took place - something he previously denied" <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c394zlr8e12t">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c394zlr8e12t</a>

Comment ID #6823624953 01/14/2026 03:16 pm

Dimitris Abrazis commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Nagging makes me feel worse but that pushes people to talk so we can learn how much are normal websites affected. I don't think that is has to do with Trump, which I don't like, but with the fact that in order for US to win the AI war, Big Tech has no limits and boundaries on what they can do. Grok is making pictures of underage kids almost naked and nothing happens. If I had something like that on my website i would be writing from a 10 yr jail. In a recent roundtable with Google, a friend of mine attended in Zurich, they told them that they should forget about the traffic from google and they should search for other ways to get traffic, which is insane, especially when Google is the Internet these days.

Comment ID #6823616395 01/14/2026 03:01 pm

Mark Ting commented on Google Says Linking Brand Websites Together At Reasonable Scale Is Fine

abc.xyz -- the alphabet inc site -- links to google.com (an alphabet company) in it's footer. I might go about cross linking sites with something similar approach and style wise, as opposed to a "page" for your family of companies.

Comment ID #6823607734 01/14/2026 02:45 pm

DonMendo commented on Google AdSense Earnings Dropping Again eCPM/RPM

An issue that will probably be resolved eventually won’t bring the lost revenue back to users, as usual. It never seems to work the other way around—Google never loses money.

Comment ID #6823607175 01/14/2026 02:44 pm

Helga commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Sir many others feel your frustration with Google and you are not alone. My grandson Robert and I do as well. All that frustration needs an outlet. Others here such as Mr. John A. User choose to blame President Donald J. Trump for all their problems which seems to provide some stress relief. Perhaps trying this method may help.

Comment ID #6823603343 01/14/2026 02:37 pm

Barry Schwartz commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

I was on already https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLbMXmSWUbc

Comment ID #6823576775 01/14/2026 01:48 pm

MrSEO commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

yup and with every update it has got worse. HCU has allowed AI slop to thrive whilst bing seems to avoid all the junk

Comment ID #6823570924 01/14/2026 01:38 pm

UncleKrusty commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

It's too early for hard numbers to come in, but some who monitor ad spending of online stores have already reported increases in digital spend. Forecasts have YoY Q4 growth between 10-16%, and I've not seen one report of a decline in digital ad spend. If you've seen such a report, or even a forecast of ad spending declining, please post the link. I'm not saying Google's ad product works because they're a monopoly. It's just because they are a monopoly businesses have little choice but to pay Google's going rate, sell on/advertise in marketplaces or hope for the best with a very limited amount of organic traffic to achieve new customer acquisition goals.

Comment ID #6823563661 01/14/2026 01:25 pm

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Thank you. That's the point.

Comment ID #6823556043 01/14/2026 01:12 pm

UncleKrusty commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

All the news I've seen <a href="https://www.adroll.com/state-of-digital-advertising-report">https://www.adroll.com/state-of-digital-advertising-report</a> indicates digital ad spending will grow from 10-16% during Q4 2025. Since Google is the dominant player in the digital ad space, they're likely to benefit the most. The severe reduction in traffic for online stores, especially during the holiday shopping season, forces many of them to use ads to convert inventory in cash. To recover the cost of those ads, sellers increase prices which we did for years until we finally pulled the plug on Google Ads.

Comment ID #6823555817 01/14/2026 01:12 pm

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Being a monopoly Uncle, doesn't mean the product still works. Look, advertisers pay for clicks that convert into sales, not impressions or brand awareness that go nowhere. If people get their answer in AI Overviews and never click through to our sites, there's no conversion or discoverability. Advertisers aren't stupid, they'll immediately stop spending, cause I worked this side managing millions. Q4 could mask it but I still stand by my prediction. Christmas spending means a strong Q4 but not as strong as before AI came out. Le'ts wait for Q1 2026 when brands look at their numbers, and sales. We'll see it by mid-late 2026 a complete ad crash.

Comment ID #6823554939 01/14/2026 01:10 pm

FF222 commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

They're not pulling budgest AI, but just because the economy is crashing and AI isn't working either. If it would be working for them, then they'd have more money left to spend on ads.

Comment ID #6823541028 01/14/2026 12:46 pm

FF222 commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

"The DOJ stated in closing arguments, in the ad case Google lost, that Google controls 91% of the digital ad market. It's unrealistic to believe Google's advertising revenue is down 70% considering their dominance and how much they've reduced organic traffic." This is a double non-sequitur. Neither from Google having a 91% market share, nor from the fact they've reduced organic traffic follows that their revenue can't drop 70%. I'm not saying it did drop that much... just that none of the previously mentioned two things would exclude that as a possiblity.

Comment ID #6823540058 01/14/2026 12:44 pm

Martin Martines commented on Microsoft Advertising Guide To AEO & GEO

Thanks a lot! :)

Comment ID #6823534258 01/14/2026 12:34 pm

Rowan commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

Since last year, I kept saying Google will get their comeuppance. Karma will strike them. But they ended up being a $4 trillion company and they’re really leading the AI race now. Even OpenAI is worried and they’re getting their team to innovate ChatGPT further. This is absolutely wtf. How did we all get to here?

Comment ID #6823519965 01/14/2026 12:07 pm

Rowan commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

We all got thrown under the bus. The worst part of all? Googlers from the Search Team (JohnM and the rest) have been lying to us all these years. I remember reading some regulars here said they were destroyed in 2022, but clung on, hoping the next update would fix things. And when it didn’t, Googlers told them to wait for the next update. They were strung on for years until now. And after 3-4 years, they got totally obliterated. I can't imagine how crushing it must be, especially after all the time, money, and effort spent. This is absolutely appalling. Google is absolutely despicable.

Comment ID #6823519077 01/14/2026 12:05 pm

Rowan commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Around January 12

I’m sorry to hear that… I was hoping all of you would fare better than before. Unfortunately, seeing all the comments, it seems that whatever happened in January is the final nail in the coffin.

Comment ID #6823517561 01/14/2026 12:02 pm

Claire commented on Google Prohibits Showing Different Prices In Search/AI Mode vs Website

liars!!!!!

Comment ID #6823513841 01/14/2026 11:55 am

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