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 search ranking volatility is still heated. Google posted new tips on how to write better review responses in local. Google Ads data exclusions for PMax is rolling out. Google Ads experiment center help documentation is new. Microsoft Advertising has a new ad preview hub.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Search Ranking Volatility Remains Super Heated
The Google Search rankings continue to be super volatile and heated even through today. This started back throughout most of January and it has really heated up even more so since January 21st or so. -
Google Posts Tips To Write Better Review Replies
Google has updated its tips to get more reviews help documentation with a new section on tips to write better review replies. This section includes how to make your replies positive and relevant and a section on giving helpful responses to negative reviews. -
Google Ads Data Exclusions For PMax Campaigns Rolling Out
Back in October, we saw signs of the ability to use data exclusions on Google Ads Performance Max (PMax) campaigns. Well, now it seems to be rolling out to many advertisers on Google Ads. -
Google Ads Experiment Center Help Doc
Google has posted a new Google Ads help document named About the Google Ads Experiment Center. This document "is a unified hub for validating strategies and continuously improving campaign performance," Google wrote. -
Microsoft Advertising Launches Ad Preview Hub
Microsoft Advertising has fully released the Microsoft Advertising Ad Preview Hub to all users. "I am beyond excited about Microsoft Advertising's new Ad Preview Hub! This is GA and should be live in your accounts in all markets," Navah Hopkins, the Microsoft Ads Liaison, wrote on LinkedIn. -
Google DeepMind Office A Sims Game
Google has dressed up the Google DeepMind offices into The Sims game. Paige Bailey from the Google DeepMind team posted this on X and wrote, "the entirety of GDM campus in Mountain View has been turned into a Sims game and my 13yo self is ecstatic."
Other Great Search Threads:
- Another week another AI spam portal in Google Discover. (there are much more but I am not going to report all of them)., Valentin Pletzer on X
- I expect the exact UI look & feel will (probably has?) change over time (like all features), but like I mentioned, the tracking for Search Console is generally stable & equivalent across mobile/desktop. That said, I'll check and update here if I hear othe, John Mueller on Bluesky
- maybe a new domain will fix me, Travis Street on Bluesky
- OpenAI sends me an email to use ChatGPT - really?, Barry Schwartz on X
- The .ai TLD is also quite expensive, good on them. FWIW it's on the list at developers.google.com/search/docs/... as a "Generic Country Code Top Level Domain", so it's not specific to the country., John Mueller on Bluesky
Search Engine Land Stories:
- ChatGPT ads come with premium prices — and limited data
- Google research points to a post-query future for search intent
- From searching to delegating: Adapting to AI-first search behavior
- Google Ads debuts centralized Experiment Center
- Why Performance Max looks different for B2B in 2026
- Why first-touch analytics matters more than ever for SEO in 2026
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- AI Job Cuts Are Landing Hardest in Britain, Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg
- ChatGPT can analyze Apple Watch health data. Here’s how a doctor views it., The Washington Post
- ChatGPT Changed Their Algorithm 46 Days Before Announcing Ads, Seer Interactive
- How to Choose Which Prompts to Track In AI Search, seoClarity
- Maia 200: The AI accelerator built for inference, The Official Microsoft Blog
- OpenAI wants to be a scientific research partner, Axios
- Trump DOT Plans to Use Google Gemini AI to Write Regulations, ProPublica
- Inside OpenAI’s big play for science, MIT Technology Review
Analytics
- 5 Google Analytics Reports PPC Marketers Should Actually Use, Search Engine Journal
- Marketing Measurement in 2026: Questions Every CFO Should Ask, Measured
Industry & Business
- Google settles Google Assistant privacy lawsuit for $68 million, Reuters
- Google Targets Publishers' Ad Tech Claims, Law360
- Google–Apple Gemini Deal Underscores Tech’s Antitrust Catch-22, Bloomberg
- Organizations accelerate scientific discovery with AI, Google Blog
- Search Central Live is coming back to South America, Google Search Central Blog
- The SEO Community Jobs Panel, LinkedIn
- Google Android Told by EU to Open Up to Rival AI Systems, Bloomberg
Links & Content Marketing
- Agentic AI in Marketing: How to Build an Authority Ladder, Content Marketing Institute
- How To Build Site Authority and Multi-Channel Relevance in the Age of AI, Moz
Local & Maps
- Google Anonymous Reviews Reshape Visibility, Street Fight
- Apple Maps to Add Improved Tesla NACS Support, Not A Tesla App
- Strava and Komoot finally bring offline maps to Apple Watch, The Verge
- The secret swipes that make Google Maps more usable while driving, Android Police
SEO
- How SEOs Are Using Common Crawl's Web Graph Data for AI Ranking Signals, Common Crawl Blog
- How to Connect Wix Websites to Bing: A Guide by the Wix SEO Hub, Wix SEO Hub
- How to Supercharge AI Visibility for Financial Services, Amsive
- How to Track AI Overviews: Mentions, Citations, Click Loss, and the Traffic Google Won't Show You, Ahrefs
- Information Retrieval Part 1: Disambiguation, Leadership SEO
- Semantic Search Is the Only Search That Matters Now (For SEO and AI Visibility), Ahrefs
- SEO KPIs that actually matter for B2B marketing teams, Hallam
- Understand Your Tech Stack to Find and Fix Render-Blocking JS and CSS, The SEO Community
- Unlearning Old SEO Content Strategies to Improve Brand Visibility, Himani Kankaria
- What if user satisfaction is the most important factor in SEO?, Marie Haynes
- What Personal Intelligence means for organic marketers and executive leadership, SALT agency
- Winter Olympics 2026 - SEO Winners, Insights & Trends, NewzDash
PPC
- Journey Aware Bidding Explained for Advertisers, Hopskip Media
- OpenAI Seeks Premium Prices in Early Ads Push, The Information
- How to Use LinkedIn Targeting in Microsoft Ads (Without Paying LinkedIn CPCs), Optmyzr
- Why Your Paid Search Ads Aren’t Converting Like They Used To, JumpFly
- YouTube Promotions vs. Google Ads: A Cost-Saving Guide, Jyll Saskin Gales
Search Features
- Improvements to search response quality in Voice, ChatGPT Release Notes
Other Search
- Architecting Security for Agentic Capabilities in Chrome, Google Online Security Blog
- The iOS 26 Adoption Rate Is Not Bizarrely Low Compared to Previous Years, Daring Fireball
- Google TV update quietly fixes some long-standing interface issues, Android Authority
Feedback:
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