Daily Search Forum Recap: June 26, 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 has not delivered on performing more core updates, more often and has not communicated about it. But we did have an unconfirmed update over the past two days. Don't fall for SMS review scams and blackmail threats. Google Discover is testing a price tracking widget. Google AdSense for Search restricted access features coming August 25. Bing is testing italics for the URL in the snippet.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Search Ranking Volatility Rumbles On June 25 & 26
  Over the past two days it has felt like there was some sort of ranking adjustment made in the Google Search organic results. Yea, I know, organic search doesn't send clicks anymore, but they are still ranked and it seems like there was some sort of larger shuffle in those rankings.
• Google's More Core Updates, More Often Seem To Not Be Happening
  Over 6 months ago, a Google search representative said we should all expect more core updates, more often. And in the past six months, we have had only one confirmed Google update, the March 2025 core update.
• Google SMS Review & Blackmail Scams
  A couple of years ago, we covered a report by the NY Times on the ongoing issues with review scams and blackmail. Well, the issue is not gone, despite Google responding to that report. From what I am told, it is still relatively common and our own Bill Hartzer was recently threatened and blackmailed with this over SMS.
• Google Discover Shopping Price Tracking Widget
  Google is now showing price tracking widgets at the top of the feed. We've seen products with price tracking markup notifications within the feed but these widget styles may be new.
• Google AdSense for Search Restricted Access Features (RAFs) On August 25
  Google posted a new document on the topic of its AdSense for Search Restricted Access Features (RAFs). Google said, "Starting on August 25, 2025, certain AdSense for Search features have limitations depending on an account's status within the Search Partner Network."
• Bing Tests Italicized URLs In Search Results
  Microsoft is testing italicizing the URLs in the Bing Search results. It is a bit weird to look at and I am not sure why Bing is testing this but they are.
• Google Cloud Cooking
  Here are some photos from a Google Cloud for Startups event where a number of folks got together to do some sort of cooking. Paige Bailey, who works on AI at Google, said they made "delicious stack of pancakes together."

Other Great Search Threads:

• Backlinks is still wort it in 2025, BlackHatWorld
• Creating a new Google Ads account in my MCC. Yes, I am human., Menachem Ani on X
• This is wild. Lots happening in the world of emojis, apparently. "emoji kitchen" is a Google owned feature, but this is next level. I'm sure the sites that are ranking for this query were impacted heavily when it rolled out. h/t B, SERP Alert on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Google AI Overviews rank below Position 1 in 12.4% of cases: Study
• Google Search Console URL Inspection tool: 7 practical SEO use cases
• Is Google Ads wasting your money? Understanding average daily budgets
• An AI-powered process to diagnose E-E-A-T issues
• 4 ways to use Semrush to discover Reddit opportunities

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

• Getty drops key copyright claims against Stability AI, but UK lawsuit continues, TechCrunch
• Google is primed for significant gains ahead. Using options to capture the potential pop, CNBC
• Sam Altman talks the NYT lawsuit, Meta's talent poaching, and Trump on AI | Interview, Hard Fork YouTube
• YouTube Zeros in on Subscriptions, The Information

Links & Content Marketing

• AI to Create Blog Content: When to Use, Intergrowth
• Domain-Level Link Metrics May Not Be Good Predictors of AI Search Mentions, Ahrefs
• How to Interpret the Content Clustering Visualisation in Screaming Frog, SEO Greetings
• Study: AI Brand Visibility and Content Recency, Seer Interactive
• The Ethics of Content Creation, RicketyRoo

Local & Maps

• Android Auto 14.5 is now widely available, other versions in beta, 9to5Google
• Car makers reject CarPlay Ultra as an Apple overreach, AppleInsider
• Google Review Extortion Text Message – Scam Warning for Business Owners, Bill Hartzer

Mobile & Voice

• Can't change smart light colors with Google Assistant? You're not alone, Android Authority
• Email: Gemini will work as your Android assistant if 'Activity' is off, 9to5Google
• Gemini Live for Android adds support for captions, 9to5Google
• Report: Samsung plans to ship just 100,000 Android XR headsets, 9to5Google
• Sam Altman takes his ‘io’ trademark battle public, The Verge

SEO

• 7 Ways to Boost AI Overview Visibility, Women in Tech SEO
• Click End Game: What AI Search Means for SEO, CX and Brand Visibility, CMSWire
• Death of the keyword: the 10 trillion search revolution, Search Pilot
• Everything is now opaque, Jono Alderson
• Fractional Digital Marketing Manager - The Mid-sized Business SEO Solution You Didn't Know You Needed, Nikki Pilkington
• Hands-On ChatGPT SEO Techniques from Top Practitioners, Search Engine World
• The 2025 E-Commerce AI SEO Report: A Comprehensive Study of 100 Websites, AI Page Ready
• Your Google Search Console Data Is Lying To You And Whack-a-mole 404s, Nikki Pilkington
• Intent-Based Optimization: This is What SEO and GEO/AEO/AIO Have in Common (Yet, not Quite), Ann Smarty

PPC

• Update to Healthcare and Medicines Policy United Kingdom and Singapore (June 2025), Google Advertising Policies Help

Search Features

• AI Search Currently Drives Less Than 1% of Traffic To Most Sites, Google Is Still Dominant, and Watch The Long-term Risk of Ignoring Google Search, GSQI
• AI Visibility: How to Track & Grow Your Brand Presence in LLMs, Semrush
• ChatGPT now connects with Gmail, Google Drive, Hubspot and more, Marie Haynes
• Chrome is quietly adding AI Mode shortcut to address bar, Windows Report
• Google announces Gemini CLI: your open-source AI agent, Google Blog
• How to find the best price using Google Shopping features, Google Blog

Other Search

• AI Agents Are Getting Better at Writing Code—and Hacking It as Well, Wired
• AlphaGenome: AI for better understanding the genome, Google DeepMind
• Paywalls are common in online news, but few US adults pay for news, Pew Research Center

Feedback:

Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.