Daily Search Forum Recap: April 25, 2025

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 reported earnings last night and their ad revenue continues to grow, as does its AI Overviews. Google said image streaming is not SEO friendly. Google mobile it testing new snippet layouts. Microsoft Advertising temporarily suspends the client connection system. Google Search has a behind the music section. Bing is testing two rows of shopping ads. And I posted my weekly SEO video recap.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Ad Revenue Up 8.5%, Overall Revenue Up 12% & AI Overviews Served To 1.5B+ Users Monthly
  Google reported earnings and their ad revenue is up again year-over-year, with an increase of 8.5%, and overall revenue is also up 12%. I should note, it is down from Q4 because Q4 is always Google's best performing quarter, which is why you don't really compare the it to the last quarter, but rather the same quarter from a year ago.
• Google: Image Streaming Is Not SEO Friendly
  Google's John Mueller pretty much said that using image streaming techniques will not result in an SEO friendly outcome. He actually said, "It's a great way to prevent your images from being found through search engines."
• Microsoft Advertising Suspends Client Connection Requests Temporarily
  Microsoft Advertising has temporarily suspended the ability for agencies to send out client connection requests. Instead, the agency needs to reach out to Microsoft support and wait 5-7 days to hear back to be able to manage their client's ad campaigns on Microsoft.
• Bing With Two Rows Of Shopping Ads With Option To Expand
  Microsoft is now showing two rows of shopping ads at the top of the Bing Search results. There is even an option to expand them to show more ads.
• Google Mobile Tests Search Snippet With Blue URL & URL / Site Name Switch
  Google is testing a new version of the mobile search results snippets where the URL is now blue, still clickable. Also, a variation where they are switching the placement of the URL and the site name.
• Google Search Behind The Music Generative AI Section
  Google seems to have added a new section to music knowledge panels named "Behind the music." It seems that this is generated using Google's Gemini AI and gives you a bit of background on the song.
• 1950's Piaggio Ape At The Google Office
  Here is a photo of a 1950's Piaggio Ape, also known as a VespaCar or TriVespa, a three-wheeled light commercial vehicle. It was spotted at the Google offices in Mountain View, California.
• Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Earnings Report, Ranking Volatility, AI Overviews Harm Clicks, Search Ads Grow & More
  This week, guess what, we saw more Google search ranking volatility heat up mid-week. Several new studies have come out showing that AI Overviews hurt click-through rates from search results. Google will stop supporting the...

Other Great Search Threads:

• A new ad platform is coming. There are plenty of opportunities to weave ads into ChatGPT (just like there are plenty of opportunities to weave ads into AIOs and AI Mode). Stay tuned., Glenn Gabe on X
• Online marketing is now actually about correlation, not causation., John Mueller on Bluesky
• TechCrunch Low effort clickbait article that takes things out of context. The podcast hosts asked me a hypothetical question about how ads could play out in AI products including Perplexity. I laid out a scenario. The core poi, Aravind Srinivas on X
• Would save energy and (should) improve quality of the response. Also another way Google could tackle some of the problematic AI responses people have been seeing -> Google Patent Signals That You Might Not Need The Most Powerful LLMs, Glenn Gabe on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Google Ads expands Checkout on Merchant to Demand Gen campaigns
• YouTube is testing AI Overviews in its search results
• ChatGPT with ads: ‘Free-user monetization’ coming in 2026?
• Meta rolls out ads globally on Threads feed
• Google Ads API v17 is going away soon
• Google asserts ownership of all advertiser assets in Local Services Ads
• How to automate your Google Ads workflow with the ChatGPT API
• Domain extensions and SEO: What you need to know

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• Report snapshot templates, Google Analytics Help

Industry & Business

• Apollo's Yahoo Would Bid for Chrome If Court Makes Google Sell, Bloomberg
• Apple to Strip Secret Robotics Unit From AI Chief Weeks After Moving Siri, Bloomberg
• Google Antitrust Trial: DuckDuckGo CEO Says Chrone Worth as Much as $50 Billion, Bloomberg
• Baidu launches new AI model amid mounting competition, Reuters
• Google Says End of ‘De Minimis’ Exemption to Pose Headwind, Wall Street Journal

Links & Content Marketing

• Dispelling Common Myths About Legal Content Marketing, Solicitors Journal

Local & Maps

• Google Maps rolling out full sheet redesign on Android, 9to5Google
• Know Before You Go: New Ai Feature on GBP Profiles, G in Antitrust Cross Hairs & the Coming Shift in Search, Near Media
• Tips for Better Brand Visibility and Local SEO Results, BrightLocal

Mobile & Voice

• Meta rolls out live translations to all Ray-Ban smart glasses users, The Verge
• Perplexity AI enters the smartphone market with Motorola partnership, CNBC
• The Apple Watch Turns 10. Here's How Far It's Come, Wired

SEO

• 9 Compelling Reasons To Invest In SEO in 2025, The Upper Ranks
• Moz’s Brand Authority: Multi-Market, More Features, More Data!, Moz
• OpED: AI is not a Threat – it is our SEO Super Power!, Search Engine World
• Google Merchant Center Image Guide: Requirements & AI Rules, Hill Web Creations
• Hobo SEO Dashboard Enterprise for Taming Large-Scale Website SEO, Hobo
• SEO requires "search market fit", Product Led SEO
• What zero click searches mean for your SEO, Hallam

PPC

• AI-Generated Image Assets in Microsoft Advertising, PPC News Feed
• Checkout on Merchant is now available for Demand Gen Campaigns in the US, Google Ads Help
• Checkout Links Now Available in Demand Gen Ads (US only), FeedArmy

Search Features

• AI Overviews: Fake idiom hallucinations go viral, BGR
• Perplexity CEO says its browser will track everything users do online to sell 'hyper personalized' ads, TechCrunch
• YouTube’s Testing AI-Based Recommendations in Search Queries, Social Media Today

Other Search

• Bot farms invade social media to hijack popular sentiment, Fast Company
• OpenAI rolls out a 'lightweight' version of its ChatGPT deep research tool, TechCrunch

Feedback:

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