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 may show sites with manual action penalties in the AI Overviews. We are seeing a lot of chatter from within the SEO community about Google ranking volatility but the tools are still pretty chill. Google Ads added additional promo code options. Google Ads has new legal waivers for images. Search market share numbers suggests that maybe Google is losing market share.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Search Ranking Volatility (Chatter High / Tools Low) - Mid-January
Over the weekend I reported that the Google Search ranking volatility tools finally began to calm. But the truth is, I have seen a big spike in chatter around Google ranking changes over the weekend and more so through Monday. It seems that while the tools have calmed, the chatter has heated. -
Google Can Show Sites With Manual Actions In AI Overviews
Did you know that sites and pages with manual actions can potentially show up in the Google AI Overviews. So while the page has a search penalty and won't show up in the main Google search results, it can still show up in the AI Overviews at the top of the Google search results page. -
Google & Bing Search Engine Market Share Data Over The Year
Statcounter's search market share data for the 2024 year is up and there are a lot of ways to look at this data. At Search Engine Land, Danny Goodwin wrote Google's search market share drops below 90% for first time since 2015. But when you dig in, the data might also tell other stories. -
Google Ads Adds Additional Promo Code Options Under Promotion Details
Google Ads has added two additional promo code options under the promotion details section of promotions assets. Instead of there being a way to enter a promo code, you can now also offer bar code or QR code methods for promotion codes in your ads. -
Google Ads Adds Legal Waiver For Images
Google has added a new checkbox for you to comply with when you upload images to Google Ads. This is Google having you sign a waiver that "own all legal rights to the images on the landing pages." -
Google Fog
There was a deep fog near the Google office in San Francisco, overlooking the bridge and San Francisco hills. This photo was captured and posted on Instagram.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Google going hard with ads right now for Google Ads and LSA (first time I have ever seen an lsa commercial) funny too that the only feature they pushing now is the green check mark after they just removed all LSA features from tax, Anthony Higman on X
- Hey, i'm looking a few testers of upcoming tool about BING Webmasters API. Idea is simply to check URLs about their crawling status and show it in sheet. At this time it isn't fancy - no export, filters or bells and whistles. Drop, Peter Nikolow on X
- On the one hand, it's hard to tell what you're really seeing - traffic, impressions, indexed URLs, something else? On the other hand, I worry that zip-code + metadata is a bit thin & commodity-data and search engines might not be keen to in, John Mueller on Bluesky
- PPC Live is getting a revamp and I promised my web designer that I wouldn't create new pages - but when the gremlins start working in my head - I just can't help myself!!!, Anu Adegbola on X
- Quick update on the site that surged like crazy *with* the December spam update that was pumping out a ton of AI-generated content (like millions of pages). That was short-lived... looks like a manual action now. The site has been c, Glenn Gabe on X
- There’s no better proof that your content doesn’t matter than a big brand hit by a site reputation abuse penalty ranking with error pages that have zero content. That’s exactly what is happening with AP Buyline pages. https://t.co, Goog Enough on X
- To all of those who have asked, I *will* be going to the Inauguration on January 20th., Aravind Srinivas on X
- What's your favorite HTTP response code & why?, John Mueller on Bluesky
- Worldwide Search Engine Market Share 2024, WebmasterWorld
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google Ads launches new promo code formats for Promotion Assets
- Supreme Court lets $7 billion Meta ad fraud case proceed
- Google’s search market share drops below 90% for first time since 2015
- How to tank your Google Ads account in 10 days
- How to avoid 10 common SEO interview mistakes and land your next job
- Google quietly updated the News and Discover manual action policies
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Website Heat Map Tool: Microsoft Clarity, The Ultimate Tool for UX and Conversion Success, Go Fish Digital
Industry & Business
- Biden Administration Adopts Rules to Guide A.I.’s Global Spread, New York Times
- Bing’s Struggle For Market Share Remains An Uphill Battle Against Google, Tech Business News
- Nvidia’s Top Customers Face Delays From Glitchy AI Chip Racks, The Information
- OpenAI Courts Trump With Vision for ‘A.I. in America’, New York Times
- OpenAI presents its preferred version of AI regulation in a new 'blueprint', TechCrunch
Links & Content Marketing
- 4 Ingenious Ways to Use GIFs to Make Your B2B Content Marketing Pop, Spiceworks
- Best Content Marketing Platforms For 2025, Influencer Marketing Hub
Local & Maps
- How Much It Will Cost To Keep Google Maps In Your Buick, GM Authority
Mobile & Voice
- Gemini app adds 2.0 Experimental Advanced on Android, iOS, 9to5Google
- Google TVs are getting a major Gemini upgrade in 2025 - here are the 3 best features, ZDNET
- Here's a demo of Gemini Live's 'Talk Live about video' feature, Android Authority
- Here's a demo of Gemini Live's upcoming file upload feature, Android Authority
- iOS 18.4’s new Siri powers get me really excited for Vision Pro’s future, 9to5Mac
SEO
- Crawl Budget Optimization - The Battle Against Index Bloat, Level343
- Ecommerce Technical SEO: Common Errors and How to Fix Them, Bluetuskr
- How to Integrate LLMs into Your SEO Workflow, Moz
- How To Prepare For The Rise Of AIO & Reddit For SEO, Foundation Inc
- Scam links on government sites: How SEO poisoning threatens public trust, India Today
- Using Gemini to understand and improve your E-E-A-T, Marie Haynes
- What Is a SERP? Search Engine Results Pages Explained, Semrush
- What Is the Importance of User Intent in Search Engine Optimization?, Bruce Clay
PPC
- Google Ads tests video asset option, Receptional
- How to Handle Google Ads Bugs and Changes, Cypress North
- The Top Google Ads Trends for 2025 (+How to Take Action Now!), WordStream
Search Features
- Circle to Search could soon get a "Get Game Help" feature, Android Authority
- How To Interpret Data From Google's Chrome UX Report, DebugBear
Feedback:
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