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 says most sites do not need to disavow links but that is not all sites. Google Ads customer match data uploads has some changes coming soon. Google Local Service Ads team is refusing to issue some important credits. Bing has asian-owned labels on some listings. Bing is also testing a go to shopping button. Finally, I posted the weekly SEO video recap today.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google: Most Sites Don't Need To Disavow Links But That's Not All Sites
Google's John Mueller again spoke about the disavow link file. This time he said that while "most sites don't need it, he added but "that's not all sites." Some sites may indeed need to disavow links. -
Google Local Service Ads Won't Credit Calls For Existing Clients (Not Lead)
Google Local Service Ads can be super expensive; each call or click can cost hundreds of dollars. Which is why Google has generally been good about refunding for mistaken leads or issues with those leads. -
Google Ads Customer Match Data Uploads Changes Coming April 1
Google sent out emails to some advertisers about changes coming to the Customer Match uploads in the Google Ads APl. After April 1, 2026, those data uploads are no longer going to work in the Google Ads API and must be done in the Data Manager API instead. -
Bing Search Tests Go To Shopping Button
Microsoft is testing a "Go to Shopping" button within the Bing Search results. This is instead of the narrower shopping section that shows shopping results by just says "see all." -
Bing With Asian Owned Labels On Microsoft Ads
A few years ago, Microsoft Advertising the support of Asian owned labels and attributes on its search ads within Bing. Google has a similar attribute, by the way. Honestly, I've never seen the label on Bing, until now. -
Google Zurich Food Ticket Station
I was at the Google Zurich office back in December and snapped a photo of this little cafe. It looked like a food ticket station of sorts. I may have grabbed a banana, maybe. -
Video: Google Heat Continues, AI Mode Recipe Link Cards, ChatGPT Web Search With Fewer Links & AI-Generated Search Landing Pages
This week, we continue to see ongoing heated Google Search volatility. I posted the big Google webmaster report for March 2026. Google AI Mode added more links to recipe sites. Google AI Mode has this recipe widget but is that a good thing. Google AI Overviews...
Other Great Search Threads:
- OpenAI's @fidjissimo explained on the ACCESS Podcast with @alexeheath that the ChatGPT ad experience is will be unique since users could even ask ChatGPT about the ads running. The model will not know about the ads but a user could f, Glenn Gabe on X
- New this week: Canvas in AI Mode gives you a dynamic space to organize your plans and projects over time, and now it’s available to everyone in the US! Plus, we’re adding support for coding & creative writing tasks, so you can bri, Rose Yao on X
- On Google blog now you can opt in or opt out for seeing an AI summary at the top of internal search results. Don't we all #SEOs wish that Google should offer this exact feature for AI Overviews in search results., Gagan Ghotra on X
- MSN is letting Google index their AI generated (by Copilot) pages - so far it says 13K indexed and back in last week of Jan one of my client (US location) told me these are showing up in their Discover feed - I've not seen these pe, Gagan Ghotra on X
- We have just rolled out Sora 2 generative video in Bing Video Creator. This updated model captures more dynamic motion, richer visuals, and more photorealistic quality with audio integration, so you can enhance your visual prompts, Jordi Ribas on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- AI Max increases revenue 13% but drives higher CPA: Study
- New finding: ChatGPT sources 83% of its carousel products from Google Shopping via shopping query fan-outs
- 200+ AI audits reveal why some industries struggle in AI search
- How to chunk content and when it’s worth it
- How the DOM affects crawling, rendering, and indexing
- How to use AI for SEO without losing your brand voice
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- AEO: Stop spamming Reddit for citations, Product Led SEO
- Anthropic launches AI job destruction detector, Axios
- Anthropic’s Pentagon Feud Accelerates Push Into Consumer Market, Bloomberg
- Bing AI promoted fake OpenClaw GitHub repo pushing info-stealing malware, Bleeping Computer
- How AI Tools Influence the Modern Buyer Journey: A Survey of 1,000+ US Consumers, Semrush
- Introducing GPT-5.4, OpenAI
- OpenAI launches GPT-5.4 with Pro and Thinking versions, TechCrunch
- OpenAI's new GPT-5.4 clobbers humans on pro-level work in tests - by 83%, ZDNET
- The Smart Home Never Quite Worked. Now It’s Getting an A.I. Reboot., New York Times
Analytics
Industry & Business
- Former NPR Host Says Google Trained Its AI On His Voice, Law360
- Canada Says OpenAI CEO Altman Pledged to Toughen Safety Protocols, Wall Street Journal
- Google AI Center Berlin: A new hub for AI research, Google Blog
- Google pledges $50 million to fight superpollutants, Google Blog
- Google’s approach for responsible energy growth, Google Blog
- OpenAI Selects Law Firms Cooley, Wachtell for IPO Prep, The Information
- OpenAI Tops $25 Billion in Annualized Revenue as Anthropic Narrows Gap, The Information
- OpenAI's Altman takes jabs at Anthropic at Morgan Stanley conference, CNBC
Links & Content Marketing
- 3 Content Signals That Earn LLM Visibility, Content Marketing Institute
- 5 Content Marketing Ideas for April 2026, Practical Ecommerce
- How to Build a Content Strategy That Actually Drives Revenue, Michel Fortin
Local & Maps
- Artist Uses Google Maps to Bring the Fallout: New Vegas Strip Into Real-World Vegas, Gizmodo
- Canadian authorities warn drivers to be careful using Google Maps after directions mishap and it’s a win for its rivals, Super Car Blondie
SEO
- From Pulling Espresso Shots to Pulling Search Insights, iPullRank
- How to Optimize Your Product Pages for AI Visibility, Backlinko
- NanoClaw Creator Loses SEO Battle To Impostor Website, Search Engine Journal
- Post Google “…it’s just Not a Meaningful Driver of our Traffic”, SearchEngineWorld
- Reddit Keyword Research: 4 Methods to Find Keywords Your Competitors Miss, Ahrefs
- Self-promotional listicles analysis: Data from 232,000 citations, Peec AI
PPC
- Stop Starving the Machines: Why "Perfect" Brand Segmentation in Google Ads is Overrated, ZATO PPC Marketing
- Use ROMS (Return on Marketing Spend) Not ROAS (Return on Ad Spend), Search Engine People
Search Features
- Yandex Unveils Major Update To Yandex AI Studio For Building Intelligent AI Agents, International Search News
Other Search
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