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.
We are starting to see early signs of the Google June 2025 core update touching down. I posted the big monthly Google webmaster report. Google's John Mueller said links don't really impact core updates. Bing is testing placing Copilot Search at the beginning of its search bar, like Google did with AI Mode. Google is testing e-commerce cards at a glance. Google Ads bans pill pressers. Microsoft Advertising is getting rid of target CPA and target ROAS.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google June 2025 Core Update Volatility Just Began - Do You See It?
Google announced the release of the June 2025 core update on June 30th at around 10:37 am ET. It seems as of July 2nd, we are starting to see the first signs of it actually starting to cause ranking volatility. It is early and I suspect you will all see this more visibly in the next day or so, but it does seem the core update ranking fluctuations have begun. -
Google On Links & Core Updates
Google's John Mueller said that he doesn't think links play a role with how core updates work. He wrote on Bluesky, "I can't think of how these links would play a role with the core updates." -
Bing Places Copilot Search As First Tab & Replaces All With Web
Microsoft has moved the Copilot search tab under the Bing Search box to the first position in that menu bar. With that change, it seems Microsoft renamed the "All" tab to "Web." -
July 2025 Google Webmaster Report
The past thirty days in the Google search and SEO universe was pretty hectic. We closed it out with the June 2025 core update after numerous unconfirmed Google ranking updates over the month... -
Google E-Commerce Cards With At A Glance Label Text
Google has these e-commerce or product cards that show up at the top of the search results. Now, Google is testing labeling them with not just the product category name but also now with "at a glance" added to the name. -
Microsoft Advertising Target CPA and Target ROAS Going Away On August 4th
Microsoft Advertising will soon retire Target CPA and Target ROAS as a standalone bidding strategies. Instead, those bidding strategies will be merged with Max Conversions and Max Conversion Value. This will happen on August 4, 2025, said Navah Hopkins from Microsoft. -
Google Ads Bans Tablet Presses Ads
Google will soon ban ads for tablet or pill presses; they will be added to the list of dangerous products or services. Ads for pill presses, tableting machines, dies, molds, stamps, punches used for creation or imprinting of pills and tablets will not be allowed after September 1, 2025. -
Google Skee-Ball In Game Room
Google loves there game rooms and as you can see from the photo I found on Instagram, they even have the skee-ball games at their office. This was in the Austin Google office.
Other Great Search Threads:
- AI Mode in Search is rolling out this week for 18+ Google Workspace accounts in the US! Very glad to have more people testing it out and sharing feedback, Robby Stein on X
- You can now identify & fix consent settings issues right in Google Analytics. Google Tag Diagnostics are now available in the Google Analytics consent settings hub. This means it's now easier to check for and address any Consent, AdsLiaison on X
- Good Morning Google Land! This is the July 1st edition of 'Core Update Notes'. From what I can see, the June 2025 core update has not landed yet (which is pretty normal). It usually takes 24-48 hours to start seeing impact. But... after, Glenn Gabe on X
- New video from @johnmu.com repeats the line that clicks from Google AI Overviews are "higher quality"..., Barry Schwartz on Bluesky
- Save your favourite brand to get more relevant result I think now with add on feature See in video - Before covered, Khushal Bherwani on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google to enforce phone number verification for Message Assets in ads
- Google to ban ads for pill presses and related equipment
- Auditing the Performance Max black box: A strategic approach
- Microsoft is consolidating TCPA/TROAS into Max Conversion and Max Conversion Values
- Banned terms on Amazon: What keywords can trigger listing flags
- Cloudflare to block AI crawlers by default with new Pay Per Crawl initiative
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Industry & Business
- Apple faces AI talent turmoil as senior Siri researcher departs, AppleInsider
- Google Buys Land for New Data Center in Western Virginia, Broadband Breakfast
- Google data center power use up 27%, emissions down 17% – report, DCD
- Google issues company-wide guidance on using AI to code, 9to5Google
- OpenAI says it has no plan to use Google's in-house chip, Reuters
- Baidu appoints Haijian He as CFO, Reuters
- Google hit with $314 million US verdict in cellular data class action, Reuters
- Google Signs Deal to Buy Fusion Energy From Bill Gates-Backed Nuclear Startup, Wall Street Journal
- We are announcing Sparkasse as our first national credential partner for EU age assurance., Google Blog
Links & Content Marketing
- 5 Best AI Video Generation Tool for Marketing Content, Vocal Media
- How To Adjust Your Content Strategy for Google’s AI Mode, Moz
Local & Maps
- 16 Google Earth Easter Eggs (Recently Discovered In 2025), The Travel
- Change this setting now to avoid losing your Google Timeline data forever, Android Police
- You can blur your home on Google Maps: Here's how to do it — and why, NY Post
Mobile & Voice
- Apple's $96 Million Siri Settlement Closes In Days. Chances Are Good You Could Be Eligible, CNET
- Apple’s AI Siri might be powered by OpenAI, The Verge
SEO
- AI features in Search & your site, Search Console, SEO community insights (Q2 ‘25), Google Search Central YouTube
- AI is changing digital marketing: How to shift your strategy, SearchLab Digital
- Blending SEO and UX to Build Content for Real People, SEO Rita
- Bookmarklets for Technical SEO: A Deep Dive and Examples, Seer Interactive
- Google's Trust Ranking Patent Shows How User Behavior Is A Signal, Search Engine Journal
- How the user search journey has gone from query stacking to query fanning, Oncrawl
- Search Bot Traps That Hurt Crawlability & Indexability | Tech SEO Explained, Lumar
- Stop testing. Start shipping., Jono Alderson
- The SEO Loser Mindset Mentality, Nick LeRoy
- The Traffic WILL Keep Dropping… Are You Ready for a Possible No-Traffic Future, Ann Smarty
- Topical Authority: What It Is, Why It Matters, & How to Build It, WordStream
- Updating the Google Read Aloud user agent, Google Search Central
PPC
- Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Ukraine (June 2025), Google Advertising Policies Help
- How to Use DSA as a Keyword Discovery Tool, PPC Live
- Store Visit Tracking: How to Use Google Ads to Drive Footfall to Your Local Business, PPC Hero
- Upcoming changes to Search and SearchStream responses in Google Ads API, Google Ads Developer Blog
- Updates to Cryptocurrencies and related products policy in Canada (July 2025), Google Advertising Policies Help
- Visibility in Performance Max: Search Terms & Negative Keywords, JumpFly
Search Features
- Gemini’s sparkle icon gets a colorful twist to match Google’s new look, PhoneArena
- Google's Lewis Capaldi search Easter egg is very sweet, Mashable
- AI Mode Research: Sources, Volatility, & Differences between AIO and Organic Search, SE Ranking
Other Search
Feedback:
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