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 is now sending notifications to sites over the new search penalty for back button hijacking. We are seeing more Google search ranking volatility. Bing demo'ed some new AI reporting features coming to Bing Webmaster Tools. Google is testing superscript for shopping ad pricing. Google can show how many reviews were deleted.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Bing Webmaster Tools New AI Reporting Features
Krishna Madhavan from Microsoft Bing demo'ed some new AI reporting features that should launch within Bing Webmaster Tools soon. They include citation share, grounding query intent, semantic topic label, and GEO-focused recommendations. -
Google Sends Warning Notices On Back Button Hijacking Spam Penalty
As you know, Google announced a new search spam penalty for back button hijacking. Site owners have until June 15, 2026 to remove any such functionality from its site or it will be subject to a manual action and/or automated algorithmic adjustment. Now, Google is sending email notifications through Search Console as reminders. -
Google Showing How Many Reviews Were Deleted
Google is now showing the number of reviews that were deleted on a specific Google Business Profile due to defamation complaints. This seems to be live in Germany and not other countries right now. -
Google Search Ranking Volatility Heating Up April 27th & 28th
I am seeing new signs of the Google search ranking volatility heating up. When I reported on it last week, the tools began to show volatility trend upwards. But now, while some of the tools are calm, the chatter within the forums has spiked over the past 24 hours or so. -
Google Shopping Ads Tests Pricing In Superscript
Google is testing using a superscript font for the cents portion of the pricing in the Shopping Ads. So when you see a price for a product and it is listed for $99.99, the 99 cents is in superscript. -
Google Putting Green Logo?
Here is a photo from the GooglePlex, the main Google offices in Mountain View, California. I think this is a Google logo shaped putting green? I can be wrong. What do you see?
Other Great Search Threads:
- Sometimes they get a bit delayed, usually they catch up with a bit of prodding. Thanks for the patience :), John Mueller on Bluesky
- Over the years, I’ve used various tools, Chrome extensions, and (obviously) the browser itself to diagnose JavaScript-related SEO issues. But now with AI search, I’ve found myself needing a quick and easy way to check if a pa, Lily Ray on X
- Quick update on the GSC impressions drop Google mentioned a few weeks ago. @suzukik asked Google about the impact to *other* metrics at the Search Central Live event in Toronto and they did explain that CTR was affected as well. Tha, Glenn Gabe on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Ginny Marvin on AI in search, PPC trends, and Google Ads evolution
- Pete Bowen talks about why Google Ads is not just about clicks
- New data: 77% use AI to shop. Nearly 1 in 3 won’t let it spend.
- Adthena launches Google Ads-to-ChatGPT conversion tool
- Bing Webmaster Tools teases new AI reporting updates
- 7 lessons from moving from agency to in-house SEO
- What are you optimizing for in paid search when keywords matter less?
- Cultural SEO: A practical framework for Spanish markets in AI search
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- OpenAI could be making a phone with AI agents replacing apps, TechCrunch
- The GEO Olympics Study: What 231,347 LLM Responses Reveal About AI Brand Visibility, Seer Interactive
- What AI bots are really doing on your site, Oncrawl
Industry & Business
- Apple, Google Crushed California Bill Helping Smaller Rivals, Bloomberg
- Google Faces EU Push to Open Android Ecosystem to Rival AI Services, Bloomberg
- OpenAI Misses Key Revenue, User Targets in High-Stakes Sprint Toward IPO, Wall Street Journal
- OpenAI shakes up partnership with Microsoft, capping revenue share, CNBC
- The next phase of the Microsoft OpenAI partnership, OpenAI
Links & Content Marketing
- Content Operations for B2B: How to Scale Without Losing Quality, Hallam
- The Death of the Ultimate Guide?, SparkToro
Local & Maps
- The underdog maps app that's actually better than Google Maps, Android Police
- Local AI Trust, CTRs Up, Commodity Content, Agentic Search Vision, Near Media
SEO
- Hide ProductGroup and Product data per product in JSON-LD for SEO, Ilana Davis
- How to Integrate PR & SEO for Maximum Brand Visibility, Moz
- New: Yoast SEO Content Analyses scores can now chat with "AI" through new API, Yoast
PPC
- Search Moments: Turning Intent into Action, Microsoft Advertising
- Mastering Google Performance Max: A 2026 Strategy Guide, JumpFly
- Themed Asset Cloning Expands for Mothers Day, PPC News Feed
Search Features
- How to do multimodal search, SEO For Journalism
Other Search
- Google Gemini wants to become a more proactive assistant, Android Police
- Google Wallet adds Aadhaar support in India, expands digital IDs to more countries, Google Blog
Feedback:
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