Recent Comments on Search Engine Roundtable

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

Just to clarify, when you say GoogleBots, do you mean those that identify as GoogleBot or those you suspect as Google. I have so many visitors without referer string, I class those as Bot, not all can be traced back to Google..

Comment ID #6846112250 03/04/2026 05:43 pm

John A. User commented on ChatGPT-5.3 Instant To Show Fewer Links In Web Search Results?

I thought OpenAI was looking to renogiate to get out of those clauses that Anthropic hated. Expect more news soon. I expect Grok to continue but individuals to walk. I don't see it as being woke rejecting autonomous robots. I do kinda disagree with surveillance. If they use it to catch people then fine but it's the ok there reasons I don't like.

Comment ID #6846093687 03/04/2026 05:02 pm

UncleKrusty commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

Before I replied to Dave's post above about seeing more spam in the SERPS, I did a very general product search of a product we make. The results were clean with no spam, but I realize different industries can be wildly different. What I searched for was "Widget Name" and the results were: Amazon People Also Ask Box Discussions and Forums Box Us Popular Products Box Reddit Not bad to be #2, but we're drowned out by those boxes and getting no traffic at all. By no traffic, I mean 0 visits from Google. I'll have to keep an eye on this because one minute we're #2 and the next minute nowhere to be found just like during an update. But this has been going on for weeks and not typical of any algo update I can remember. That's why I think something bigger than the typical algo related flux.

Comment ID #6846048040 03/04/2026 03:28 pm

MrSEO commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

If so then it would make sense why I'm ranking, slop and parasite not getting ahead of me which ultimately is the end game right? I do expect and wishfully hope that AI becomes the judge of content because I know the sites in my industry in the top 10 won't survive. and they don't deserve to.

Comment ID #6846041707 03/04/2026 03:15 pm

UncleKrusty commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

Google has moved to an AI first company, whether for good or not. The game has changed, and I don't expect past algo updates to be a good prediction of future algo updates. Remember Google said we would see more updates in 2025 and that turned out to be false. I would think during an algo to AI transition process users may get one or another until AI has everything within its system. I'm just speculating here, but the length of time this volatility has been going on has to be historic.

Comment ID #6846039167 03/04/2026 03:10 pm

MrSEO commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

maybe, but also the last 4 years google has always released a core update in March. it would make sense. also if ai was running the algo in full then I would expect a massive shift in results probably more so than a regular core?

Comment ID #6846035099 03/04/2026 03:02 pm

UncleKrusty commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

What you describe still could potentially happen during an algo to AI handoff process if the AI yet hasn't applied those variables that suppressed those sites. I just don't recall such a long period of volatility. There has to be a reason why this extreme volatility is going on three weeks straight. Maybe Barry knows if this volatility set a record and if so by how much. If he did, I'm sure it would make a good featured story. :)

Comment ID #6846033931 03/04/2026 03:00 pm

MrSEO commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

This is different, as im seeing 4 completly surpressed sites come back to life and flooding with new keywords and in good positons, this only usually happens on core movements, I would expect sooner or later it woudl run fully ai to actually understand slop, hacked, repurposed etc..the chat bots can see it so I imagine the old algo is outdated. since 2023 its been a mess. with only domain authority being the leading rank win. not experise, reader opintions etc.. and now the web is just one big slop filled ai directory

Comment ID #6846030669 03/04/2026 02:53 pm

UncleKrusty commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

It has been volatile for a long time. Maybe this volatility is NOT the usual tremors before a big algorithm update but Google retiring their ranking algorithm as AI takes over.

Comment ID #6846027956 03/04/2026 02:48 pm

MrSEO commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

this is what always happens before a big update drops.. but you're right it usually ends in losing more traffic lol

Comment ID #6845990880 03/04/2026 01:34 pm

UncleKrusty commented on ChatGPT-5.3 Instant To Show Fewer Links In Web Search Results?

I tried ChatGPT (not logged in) and searched for a product we make and was shocked to see our product image actually links to our correct page and not someone else's product as I saw before. I only searched by the product type with nothing else to identify our specific product. You may want to try doing a general product search instead of being so specific. Even with product images on ChatGPT linking to our product pages, we're not getting any traffic from them at all. None of these AI engines are any good at helping shoppers. Also ChatGPT may be losing a lot of users. <b>ChatGPT Loses 1.5 Million Users Amid Pentagon Deal — Report</b> <blockquote>A new website, which has been urging users to boycott ChatGPT and tracking those who have, claims that more than 1.5 million have already left the AI service. This comes after OpenAI allowed the U.S. Department of Defense deploy the company’s AI models in its classified network.</blockquote>Full story: <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chatgpt-loses-1-5-million-134046679.html">https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chatgpt-loses-1-5-million-134046679.html</a>

Comment ID #6845948535 03/04/2026 12:10 pm

UncleKrusty commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

Nothing more than normal. Even if Google wanted to fix it, which I doubt they do, they don't have the skill or will to get it done. Anyone who cared has either left the company or has been reassigned to a non-search role. Google's AI can't fix it either since it has the intellect of a first grader, if that.

Comment ID #6845943490 03/04/2026 11:59 am

Simple Finance Blog commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

Google bot traffic hitting my site again for the third day in a row. It's usually at 1am but yesterday 8pm. They're crawling for some thing/reason still....

Comment ID #6845922472 03/04/2026 11:16 am

Daniel commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

Exact same for me across all our sites

Comment ID #6845887310 03/04/2026 10:03 am

Dave commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

Has anyone seen a rise in spam results since Saturday? I am seeing a lot of expired domains recently repurposed ranking.

Comment ID #6845881768 03/04/2026 09:51 am

DataDonkey commented on ChatGPT-5.3 Instant To Show Fewer Links In Web Search Results?

Once again I did a search for a specific product (hammer) by using the brand name, sku and upc in the prompts. I had to spoon feed OpenAI's shit bot a direct product link myself because it's too dumb to return a link where I could buy it at. It can be bought at the manufacturer's site and on Amazon though it is out of stock on Amazon. ChatGPT's search the web responded by apologizing for its stupidity in not returning the manufacturer link to buy it at, and suggested I search ChinaZon. Now here's the fun part. I changed my prompt to find the cheapest product price and gave it the brand name, sku and upc for the hammer, but gave it a direct link to a snowblower for sale on ebay, and OpenAI's shit bot replied "Ah, yes! It looks like you’ve found XXXXXXXXX listed on eBay for a potentially cheaper price." I wouldn't call this useful. If anything, ChatGPT's search the web option is useless as shit and a total fraud. People need to try this for themselves. Looks like a fake it till you make it shit bot to me.

Comment ID #6845873876 03/04/2026 09:35 am

DataDonkey commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

A mix of extreme criminal activity/market manipulation and incompetence has molded Google into their current form. Nothing good will come of it since American government has put them in a protected class. For Google, quality and integrity takes a back seat to profits. We are on the 19th day of high volatility (9.4+) on the Semrush sensor and not a word from Google. This had me thinking about the DOJ not seeking any fines for Google's criminal conduct as if they committed victimless crimes. But then my thoughts went further. With a world so dependent on Google, why didn't the DOJ demand Google better communicate details of these updates to all the businesses and consumers who rely on a fair and functional search product? With revenues exceeding $100 billion in just one quarter, shouldn't Google be required to provide better support for their search product?

Comment ID #6845857389 03/04/2026 08:59 am

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

Cool but tomorrow it'll be F..k Google, back to up to your evil ways.

Comment ID #6845852664 03/04/2026 08:48 am

John A. User commented on ChatGPT-5.3 Instant To Show Fewer Links In Web Search Results?

Wouldn't expect anything less from a scumbag company. I try to block both ChatGPT and Anthropic

Comment ID #6845852062 03/04/2026 08:46 am

DataDonkey commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

<blockquote>if you make any complaints they will delete your post!</blockquote>I bet Google has post takedown privileges as part of the $60 million a year contract they entered into with Reddit. This way Google can quickly bury the truth and control the narrative so they can continue victimizing everyone for profit. I'm sure Google does the same with the media companies they contracted with.

Comment ID #6845850424 03/04/2026 08:43 am

MrSEO commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

Today I'm seeing massive keyword movements "positive" across all my sites, saem traffic though.

Comment ID #6845839339 03/04/2026 08:14 am

Kes Phelps commented on Google Testing Bolding Site Names In Search Results

Just as it bolds 'recent announcements on our blog,' for 'seo news'. Why wouldn't it? What was your query?

Comment ID #6845836097 03/04/2026 08:05 am

rl commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

anyone put a new site online in the last weeks, everything good... but nothing happens? I mean, NOTHING. You put up a site with very good (probably excellent) content, while the serps are populated with old, bad, sometimes broken pages - what ties them all together is the fact that they are old - that's the only merit.

Comment ID #6845830279 03/04/2026 07:48 am

Jon McNamara commented on Google Discover Feed Showing More Social Media Posts

Yep, going back to my comments in the "Google Search Ranking Volatility Heated Into March". As the weeks/months go on I think google is leaning way into things like user interaction, a NavBoost on steroids, etc. For simplicity sake, at a 10,000 foot level, say they are using the TikTok, Instagram, etc. approach. As the fact is that is what people interact with....opinions, social feeds, stuff that they react to emotionally (anger, funny, etc.), etc. So now they confirm Discover Maybe someday google search will be Clickbait focused!

Comment ID #6845822070 03/04/2026 07:24 am

Claire commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

thinking of going with adwords? think again... <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/PPC/comments/1rkcdz7/at_this_point_google_is_just_robbing_the/">https://www.reddit.com/r/PPC/comments/1rkcdz7/at_this_point_google_is_just_robbing_the/</a> just read that subreddit... many complaints... i also realized some subreddits relating to adwords have full censorship... if you make any complaints they will delete your post!

Comment ID #6845812133 03/04/2026 06:51 am

Daniel commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

No, articles are posted daily.

Comment ID #6845805265 03/04/2026 06:27 am

seo growsharp commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

i guess, there were no new changes that has been updated in your site, or any new pages added, so your page is very static without any change the date that you are looking at is the last time that google has indexed and crawled through you site, thats it !

Comment ID #6845790463 03/04/2026 05:31 am

Ankit commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

Its crazy shuffle, changing every few hours from top position to last on the page 1 Going on for last 2-3 weeks with no sign of relief.

Comment ID #6845758598 03/04/2026 03:00 am

Daniel commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated Into March

On one of my sites, Google seems to be sleeping. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/867a19ec2bd620ca2e51341ea3a612ae808c7e353e61ae745e22dc40e68939fb.jpg

Comment ID #6845745837 03/04/2026 01:41 am

DataDonkey commented on Google AI Mode Sidebar Links Don't Pass Referrers

Wish I could do the same, but with a store we get direct visits.

Comment ID #6845717636 03/03/2026 10:53 pm

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