Daily Search Forum Recap: June 24, 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 says URL extensions don't matter for SEO, Google said that several years ago as well. Google expanded AI Mode in Labs to India. Google is testing an undisclosed answer box. Google Business Profiles tests social media profile buttons above the Google Posts section. Google Search is going to kill emoji search sites. Google is testing a slim bar on the side of the search results snippet.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Still Says URL Extensions Still Don't Matter
  Google's John Mueller several years after posting a video named "Will removing '.html' from my URLs help my site?" still says URL extensions do not matter for SEO. He said it doesn't matter if you go with a .htm or a .html or go with no extension at all.
• New Google Search Emoji Answer Feature
  Google is testing a new feature to replace all those copy-and-paste emoji websites. You know, when you want to know what an emoji is for a specific emotion and you go to Google and it brings up websites that have the emojis and you can click copy to your clipboard... Well, Google is doing that right in search.
• Google Expands AI Mode To India In Search Labs
  Google has made its first expansion of AI Mode outside of the US by announcing AI Mode is now available in Search Labs for those based in India. As you know, AI Mode is fully live, outside of Search Labs, for all US users and now Google is expanding access internationally.
• Google Business Profiles Tests Social Profiles Above Google Posts
  Google is testing moving the social profile links above the Google Posts section in the Google Business Profiles / local listings within Google Search. This seems to be being tested right now.
• Google Undisclosed Blue Search Answer?
  I am not sure what this is but Google is testing (or maybe it is a bug) an answer box of sorts, in a blue highlight background (grayish on dark mode) with an answer. But there is no label on the result, is it an AI Overview, featured snippet or some other box?
• Google Tests Slim Light Blue Vertical Bar By Search Result Snippets
  Google is testing placing a light blue bar on the left side of the search results snippets title link. I am not sure why Google is doing this but it does add some flavor and color to the search results.
• Blimp Flies Around Google Campus
  I saw some videos of a blimp flying around the Google campus, the GooglePlex, at the Mountain View, California office. I actually believe I saw this blimp when I was at I/O but this is from a different date.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Average position in Google's AI Mode takes more of a sharp-left compared to the zig-zag of a traditional search results page. This approach tends to be more simplified in mobile search results (where the sequence is clear), with there, Brodie Clark on X
• GA4 rates now your Consent Settings for each Data-Stream, Thomas Eccel on LinkedIn
• I see you ChatGPT Shopping they do a reasonable job of removing Google-related tracking parameters, but miss them completely with eBay results. Large sites are so engrained with the Google ecosystem, that ChatGPT are forced t, SERP Alert on X
• Sorry for the confusion! We also show nofollow links. It's a report on the links on the web what we found while crawling for search, it's not a value judgement. (Aside, I imagine the de TLD is receptive to spam reports.), John Mueller on Bluesky
• We’re bringing new colors and enhanced clarity to your data visualizations. Check out the updated line graphs in Reports for insights that pop., Google Analytics on X
• Why is the "malicious" URL found on Discover: These are "cloaked" pages; the user is 301 redirected via these "malicious" pages, and Google sees an "article" page. Here, when I use Google to see the cloaking, the page is: https:, Damien (andell) on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• New in Google Analytics: Consent Signal Ratings
• Google rolls out 1st Order Promotions for Shopping Ads
• AI agents in PPC: What to know and build today
• SEO copywriting in 2025: 6 pillars for ranking and relevance
• How to implement a full-funnel PPC marketing strategy

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

• AI Is Ushering in the ‘Tiny Team’ Era in Silicon Valley, Bloomberg
• Google Cuts Smart TV Budget as It Doubles Down on YouTube, The Information
• SCL Deep Dive APAC 2025: Community Speakers and a New Format, Google Search Central Blog
• Zuckerberg Leads AI Recruitment Blitz Armed With $100 Million Pay Packages, Wall Street Journal
• Google Faces UK Pressure Over AI Search Summary, Advertising, Bloomberg
• Protecting innovation and growth in the UK, Google Blog
• UK may compel Google to change search rankings to ensure fair competition, Reuters

Links & Content Marketing

• Content Marketing Trend Study 2025: What does the data reveal about the future of marketing?, Merca 20
• Top 5 AI Writing Tools to Boost Content Production, DesignRush

Local & Maps

• Android Auto 14.7 delivers the final prep for light theme [Gallery], 9to5Google
• Gemini may soon let you control your smart home from your car, Android Authority
• Google Wants to Get Better at Spotting Wildfires From Space, Wired

Mobile & Voice

• A more Google-y Gemini logo may be right around the corner (APK teardown), Android Authority
• Should Apple kill Siri?, Finshots

SEO

• Deep Dive into AI Overviews: Systems, Signals, & SEO Shifts, Women in Tech SEO
• How AI Powered Search Is Changing Marketing, and What You Can Do About It., Go Fish Digital
• How to Extract ChatGPT’s Fan-Out Queries, Practical Ecommerce
• News SEO: Challenges, Revenue Models, and Unchanging Truths, Barry Adams
• Page-Level vs. Object-Level Targeting: The New Frontier of SEO in the AI Era, SEO dot co
• Reading GSC Reports : What AI Overviews & Indexing Changes Mean, Level343
• The long-term cost of short-term platforms, Jono Alderson
• Training a Query Fan-Out Model, DEJAN
• Websites With More Organic Search Traffic Get Mentioned More in AI Search, Ahrefs
• Finding User Moments Using PAAs and Also Asked (Work in Progress), Chris Green
• Google Lunges and The Great Decoupling, Sara Taher

PPC

• Channel Partner Spotlight: Simprosys’ cross-border success with Microsoft Advertising, Microsoft Advertising
• How to automate your PPC audit checklist, Adalysis
• How to Use Combined Segments for Laser-Targeted YouTube Ads, Jyll Saskin Gales
• Cooking Up Better Shopping Ads: The Recipe Starts with Feed Management, JumpFly
• How are scam ads rising to the top of Google search results, CBS Chicago
• How to find trending keywords in your industry, Hallam
• Microsoft's Audience Ads Now Support App-Level Placement Reporting & Exclusions, PPC News Feed

Search Features

• Gemini in Android Studio adding ‘Agent Mode’ , 9to5Google
• Google AI Mode suggesting prompts based on your past searches, 9to5Google
• AI Visitors Visit Fewer Pages and Bounce More Often Than Traditional Search Visitors, Ahrefs

Other Search

• Checking In on AI and the Big Five, Stratechery
• Chromebook Plus laptops like Lenovo’s sleek, new 14-incher are getting free Gemini AI features, The Verge
• The Reliability Gap: How Traditional Search Engines Outperform Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chatbots in Rosacea Public Health Information Quality, Cureus
• The struggle to get inside how AI models really work, Financial Times (Sub)

Feedback:

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