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 AdSense earnings is sharply dropping for publishers over the past couple of days. Microsoft Advertising released a guide to AEO and GEO. Google Ads has a faster way to create accounts. Google AI Mode has a more button for shopping results. And no, Google does not charge more in its AI experience than what the merchant has on their websites.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google: Linking Brand Websites Together At Reasonable Scale Is Fine
Google's John Mueller was asked if it was acceptable to link your brand websites together on a brand page to communicate to your users that the company owns multiple brands. John said, it is pretty common to do so and if done as a reasonable scale, it is fine to do. -
Google AdSense Earnings Dropping Again eCPM/RPM - Complaints
I am seeing a spike in complaints from Google AdSense publishers of earnings dropping again over the past 24-hours or so. This is similar to last week, and it also coincides with an unconfirmed Google search ranking update. -
Google: We Prohibit Showing Different Prices In Search/AI Mode vs Website
The other day, I saw the Google News channel on X respond to claims that Google is going to allow merchants to overcharge you for products sold through the new AI checkout protocol. I found it crazy because Google has checks and balances to ensure merchants can't do this and Google responded as such. -
Google Ads Faster Account Set Up With Campaigns
For the past few weeks, Google Ads has been rolling out a new and faster way to set up an account by using an existing campaign. The option reads, "Create an account with campaign for faster setup." -
Microsoft Advertising Releases Guide To AEO & GEO
The Microsoft Advertising team released a new PDF guide named "From discovery to influence: AEO A guide to and GEO." This guide offers "Practical data strategies to empower retailers for AI search, AI assistants and AI browsers." -
Google Kimono For Jiu Jitsu Club
Did you know that Google has branded kimonos and belts for the Google Jiu Jitsu Club? I spotted one in a photo on Instagram. The blue belt says "Google Jiu Jitsu Club" with the person's name and Google logo and the kimono has the Google logo on it.
Other Great Search Threads:
- I am an SEO and sometimes feel like my job is made up, Reddit
- Basically if a site doesn't have a robots.txt, crawling is assumed to be allowed., Martin Splitt on Bluesky
- Following the announcement that Gemini will power Apple's AI features, our data shows that iPhone users have increasingly adopted Gemini during 2025., Similarweb on X
- We’re trying something new this year for the Search Off the Record podcast! We want to chat with more folks from the community, especially those who wouldn't usually put themselves in the spotlight., Google SearchLiaison on LinkedIn
- We’re Hiring! Join the Search & Gemini Partnerships Team, Lisa Landsman on LinkedIn
Search Engine Land Stories:
- How brands can respond to misleading Google AI Overviews
- What 107,000 pages reveal about Core Web Vitals and AI search
- How to choose a link building agency in the AI SEO era
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- Building Community-First AI Infrastructure, Microsoft Blog
- NeuralGCM harnesses AI to better simulate long-range global precipitation, Google Research Blog
- Next generation medical image interpretation with MedGemma 1.5 and medical speech to text with MedASR, Google Research Blog
- Veo 3.1 Ingredients to Video: New video generation model updates, Google Blog
- Health AI Overviews Trust YouTube Over Medical Platforms, SE Ranking
Industry & Business
- Anthropic shakes up C-suite to expand its internal incubator, The Verge
- Ex-Google Engineer Stole AI Secrets To Help China, Jury Told, Law360
- Fed. Circ. Preserves Google, Keysight, Instacart Patent Wins, Law360
- Google defends AI search summaries in Rolling Stone publisher's lawsuit, Reuters
- Google Goes Electric to Get Quick Data Center Approval, The Information
- Google to develop and make high-end phones in Vietnam this year, Nikkei Asia
- How Apple is Using Gemini to Give ChatGPT-Like Answers, The Information
- OpenAI Expected to Run Super Bowl LX Ad as Chatbot Competition Heats Up, Wall Street Journal
- PC shipments just grew unexpectedly amid RAM shortages, The Verge
- Penske Media Sues Google Over Accusation of Digital Ad Market Manipulation, The Wrap
- Pubcon Pro Virtual Starts Tomorrow, SearchEngineWorld
- Ray-Ban Meta Glasses May See Output Double as Demand Surges, Bloomberg
- Google doesn't think it should pay for AI training on most content, Press Gazette
- The Atlantic Sues Google In Latest Ad Tech Antitrust Suit, Law360
Links & Content Marketing
- 9 Experts Explain How Digital PR Can Improve Your SEO and GEO in 2026, Exploding Topics
- Why MoFu Content Is the Key to SEO Growth, Intergrowth
- How Often Should You Publish New Blogs for SEO?, JumpFly
Local & Maps
- Google Update: Department GBPS Are Finally Back, SearchLab Digital
SEO
- 6 Ways to Build Brand Authority for AI Engines, WordStream
- AI Visibility and Citation Monitoring Tools, What SEOs Can Get, SearchEngineWorld
- New: Track brand visibility in Gemini with Yoast AI Brand Insights, Yoast
- SEO 2026: Predictions from Yoast SEO Experts, Yoast
- Should Ethics Play a Role in SEO/AI?, SEO for Lunch
- The impact of GenAI bias on SEO, Oncrawl
- Tools for Fast Search Query Analysis, Practical Ecommerce
- What UCP Means for Ecommerce SEO: Preparing for Agentic Commerce, Aleyda Solis
- AI Visibility is like cutting an onion, Mit ohne bitte
- SEO has changed: Metrics for publishers in 2026, Press Gazette
PPC
- All In on AI: The Future of Marketing in Asia-Pacific, Microsoft Advertising
- Building PPC Workflows with AI: What’s Worth Automating and What Needs Human Hands, JumpFly
- What 2025 in Paid Search Taught Me, PPC Live
- Why You're Losing Money on Ads (And How to Fix It), Jyll Saskin Gales
Search Features
- Google Translate may let you fine-tune context for better results, Android Authority
Feedback:
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