Daily Search Forum Recap: April 30, 2026

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 and Microsoft reported earnings, Google had an insane quarter with continued growth. Microsoft also did well with ad revenue and also hit the 1 billion monthly active users mark. Google Ads recommendations section now has a results tab. Google Ads lets you select if you want to run ads with partners. Google is showing more links within AI Mode. Microsoft Advertising PMax website publisher URL report has new metrics.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Ad Revenue Up 15.5% With Overall Revenue Up 22%
  Google reported its earnings today, its Q1 2026 earnings report showed ad revenues up by 15.5% at $77.3 billion and overall revenue was up 22% at $109.9 billion...
• Bing Ads Revenue Up 12% - 1 Billion Monthly Action Users Milestone
  Microsoft reported its third quarter 2026 earnings and it showed that its search and advertising revenue was up for 12% and that means its ad growth is growing again. The previous quarter it was up 10% before that, up 16% and the one before that was 21% and this quarter...
• Microsoft Ads PMax Website Publisher URL Report Gains Conversion & Spend
  Microsoft Advertising has added conversion and spend metrics to the PMax Website Publisher URL report. So if you check out the report, you will see a bunch more insight and data into the performance of those ads.
• Google Showing More Links & Citations Within AI Mode?
  Google may be testing showing more links and citations within the AI Mode results. Google has done this with AI Overviews a year or so ago and now may be testing it with AI Mode results.
• Google Ads Tests Select Partners To Run Ads With
  Google Ads is testing more transparency around its partner network, letting some advertisers select if they want to run their ads on the search partner network and/or Google Display Network. It is labeled Partners in Alfa.
• Google Ads Recommendations New Results Tab
  Google Ads seems to have added a new tab to the recommendations section named "results." I assume this section will show the results of any implemented recommendations you selected within your Google Ads campaigns.
• Google Coffee Tasting Group
  Google seemed to hire a company called The Coffee Experience to have Googlers taste coffee. I guess it goes through various types of coffees, flavors, styles and educates people on that.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Google's Demand Gen campaigns now support uploadable display ads., Dario Zannoni on X
• Bing hitting 1 billion monthly active users is HUGE. More growth in 5 years than the prior 10. #SEOs pay close attention. The search landscape is shifting fast. Time to optimize for Bing Search and Bing Grounding API alongside Goo, Fabrice Canel on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Can a fake brand win in AI search? New experiment says yes
• SMX Now: The automation drift and how to correct course
• Is there still a long-term game for SEO in AI search?
• Why tracking parameters in internal links hurt your SEO and how to fix them
• 4 signals that now define visibility in AI search
• Searchers just want you to be helpful
• Gartner: 40% of agentic AI projects will fail, making humans indispensable

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• Gemini launches new personalisation features in the UK, Google Blog
• How to build brand visibility in AI search, Semrush
• Where AI Search Sends Traffic: 10-Market Patterns for Your Global AI Search Strategy, Aleyda Solis
• Google's AI Overviews: Updates and changes from SGE to now, SE Ranking

Analytics

• What's the Job of This Page? A Framework for Tagging Pages, KP Playbook
• Configure your Google Analytics settings using Task Assistant, Google Analytics Help

Industry & Business

• ChatGPT downloads are slowing — and may cause problems for OpenAI’s IPO, The Verge
• Google Search queries hit an ‘all time high’ last quarter, The Verge

Links & Content Marketing

• How many blog posts should we be writing to improve our SEO, Walsh & Partners
• SEO Content Strategy: How to Build a Winning Topic Cluster, JumpFly

Local & Maps

• I've used Android Auto for years, and these 5 changes solved my biggest issues, ZDNET
• Hyundai Motor Unveils Tesla-Inspired New Infotainment System, Bloomberg

SEO

• Screaming Frog Log File Analyser Update – Version 7.0, Screaming Frog
• SE Visible Review: What It Gets Right (and Where It Falls Short), Profound
• What the Q1 2026 State of Search Means for Your Business [A CEO Briefing], Eric Herbert
• Website Migration Disaster Recovery: Diagnose & Fix What Went Wrong, Sitebulb

PPC

• Ads in ChatGPT? I Barely Noticed Them - A Gen-Z Perspective, Jack Gabe
• Image Ads Available in Demand Gen Campaigns, PPC News Feed
• Image To Animation Now Documented In Google's Help Center, PPC News Feed
• Location-Based Promotions Enhance Local Ecommerce Campaigns, PPC News Feed
• Google Merchant Center: The Pickup Cost Attribute Explained, FeedArmy

Search Features

• Enjoy new ways to create, search and stream on Google TV, Google Blog
• iOS 27 Features: Siri Camera Mode; Visual Intelligence Nutrition Info, Contacts, Bloomberg

Other Search

• You can now generate files in Gemini, Google Blog

Feedback:

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