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.
A Google search engineer blasts some of the logic and reasoning the DOJ court system used in its Google rulings. Google said Navboost is not a machine learning system and more documents are revealing on its search ranking systems and analysis. Google said stop using different image URLs for the same image across multiple pages. Google said hreflang does not guarantee indexing. Google updated its super G logo. And we are seeing more Google search ranking volatility - how is your rankings?
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Navboost Is Not A Machine Learning System & More DOJ Leaks
We've only covered the Department of Justice vs Google documents here and there but here are some documents that may be of interest to the community here. Google said Navboost is not a machine learning system, instead it is more of a big table. And there are more documents including one on hand crafting signals and another on a debugging interface. -
18 Year Google Search Engineer Rants On DOJ's Anti-Trust Case
Ryan Moulton, a Google Search engineer who worked on Google's search rankings algorithms for over 18 years now, went to X to call out some of what the courts are saying as not true. He went on to say, "This is now the second time I've seen my work cited prominently in a major lawsuit against Google, and I have to say, it has not given me a lot of faith in the court process around issues like this." -
Google Search Ranking Volatility Spiked Thursday - May 12 & 13
Google Search may be pushing out another search ranking update of sorts, I am seeing more signs of tremors and volatility over the past 24-hours. Some of the tools are already picking up on it but the SEO community is noticing some big movement starting on Monday, May 12th and into today, Tuesday, May 13th. -
Google: Stop Using Different URLs For Same Image
Google made what I would consider a logical clarification to its image SEO best practices help document. It now says don't upload the same image under different URL/file names to your site, even if you embed that image on different pages on your site. -
Google: Hreflang Doesn't Guarantee Indexing
Google's John Mueller explained that just because you use hreflang tags on your pages, it doesn't mean those pages will be indexed and/or ranked in Google Search. He said on Bluesky, "hreflang doesn't guarantee indexing." -
Google Updated Its Super G Logo In The iOS App
Google has updated its Google iOS app and with that, the most noticeable change was it updated the super G logo, with a more blended version of the logo. I am not sure if this is going to be the new logo going forward of this is a temporary change for an event, maybe like I/O. -
The Goose - Google Office
The Goose, is a Google office in Los Angeles, the Goose Park area, that launched a few years ago. Well, now take a look at this dazzling lobby area.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Bing is promoting its Microsoft Rewards points in related searches., Sachin Patel on X
- Never saw the description in that gray box. Also interesting that they have directions and times for walking, car, bus, train etc., Anthony Higman on X
- No, there's been no change to callouts. You may be seeing a headline asset showing as a sitelink, AdsLiaison on X
- [Upcoming AMA] AMA with Google's Ginny Marvin on Demand Gen – with a focus on retail but all Demand Gen questions welcome – May 13, 2025 at 1pm EST, Reddit
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google Search traffic decline is inevitable, execs say
- Benchmark Report: 23.9% More Email Sends, 50% Higher Engagement. What’s Driving the Change?
- Google’s $4.7 billion legal storm: Sued in Italy, pays in Texas
- AI Max: Google’s new AI ad tool, explained
- LLM traffic not as engaged as organic traffic: Study
- Google updates image SEO best practices to say use the same image URL for same image across your pages
- TikTok launches $1 million ad credit program to boost U.S. small businesses
- SEO in an AI-powered world: What changed in just a year
- How to get cited by AI: SEO insights from 8,000 AI citations
- 16 reasons why your page isn’t ranking on Google
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Industry & Business
- AI Startup Perplexity’s Valuation Surges to $14 Billion in Fresh Funding Round, Wall Street Journal
- Chegg to lay off 22% of workforce as AI tools shake up edtech industry, Reuters
- Google updating its ‘G’ icon for the first time in 10 years, 9to5Google
- Meet the boss: Liz Reid of Google, Economist
Links & Content Marketing
- 5 questions about backlinks, SEO For Journalism
- How to repurpose your content across platforms? Tips from Metricool, Merca 20
Local & Maps
- Are Embedded Map Components Sending the Right Signals for Local SEO?, SearchPilot
- Case Study: AI Overviews for Local Business Searches, Whitespark
Mobile & Voice
- Apple Considers Raising iPhone Prices, Without Blaming Tariffs, Wall Street Journal
- visionOS 2.5 is here with new Immersive Video and 3D movie tab, AppleInsider
SEO
- An SEO's Guide to Website Accessibility in 2025, Wix SEO Hub
- Do users really show higher intent when they click through from an LLM to a website?, SALT agency
- How Google forced publishers to accept AI scraping as price of appearing in search, Press Gazette
- How to SEO Test Product Snippets for Better SERP Visibility, SEOTesting
- New SEO Poisoning Campaign Targeting IT Admins With Malware, Hack Read
- SEO Consultant Benefits You May Not Know, Leverable SEO
- The Evolution of SEO: How to Rank in an Agentic AI World, SEO dot co
- The Rise, Fall, and Recovery of Forbes Advisor (Study), BuzzStream
- This man started a 'Welsh' news website. He isn't who he says he is, Wales Online
- What is Keyword Stuffing? How to Avoid Doing SEO Like It's 2005, Backlinko
- Google’s EEAT Done Right, Practical Ecommerce
- The B.R.E.W. Framework: How We Decide Which Marketing Ideas to Pursue, Ahrefs
PPC
- AI Will Replace Marketing Jobs As CMO Budgets Stagnate, Says Gartner, AdExchanger
- Google Merchant Center Feature: Brand Management (Beta Overview), FeedArmy
- Image Enhancements Live in Performance Max, PPC News Feed
- Sempai, winner of our Product & Innovation Award, discusses success with Microsoft Advertising, Microsoft Advertising
- Why (And How) Optmyzr’s AI Beats ChatGPT at Managing Google Ads, Optmyzr
- Google Won’t Save You: The Growing Threat of AI Bot Traffic in Digital Advertising, PPC Hero
Search Features
- AI Overviews Research: A State-by-State US Comparison, SE Ranking
- Google Developing Software AI Agent, Pinterest-Like Feature Ahead of I/O, The Information
- Google's Gemma AI models surpass 150M downloads, TechCrunch
- The first-ever UX Study of Google’s AI Overviews: The Data We've All Been Waiting For, Growth Memo
- AI Overviews: Don’t Take It As Gospel | Why AI Quick Answers Aren’t Always Accurate, Dagmar Marketing
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