Daily Search Forum Recap: July 4, 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 AI Mode lets you do follow up questions in non-English languages, despite it only supporting English. Google AdSense has new fill empty in-page ads that will become the default, unless you turn it off. Google Merchant Center automatic shipping updates. Bing is testing local place listings in green. Bing is testing zoomable and sticky related searches. And I posted my weekly SEO video recap. Have a great July 4th weekend all!

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google June 2025 Core Update, Search Volatility, Insights Report, Ads & More
  This week, we finally had an official Google update, the June 2025 core update, which seemed to have kicked in on July 2nd. We also had an unconfirmed update on June 28th...
• Google AI Mode Can Respond In Non-English Languages
  Did you know that Google AI Mode can respond to your questions in other languages than English? When Google launched AI Mode, it launched in the US and English and then in Labs for India but also English only. The help documentation says it supports English only as well - but it can respond in Japanese, German and other languages.
• Bing Search Tests Zoomable & Sticky Related Searches
  Microsoft is testing zoomable and sticky related searches in the Bing Search results page. So one variation has the related searches stick to the right top of the screen as you scroll and the other will zoom into the related search, as you hover your mouse cursor over the feature.
• Bing Tests Local Place Listings In Green
  Microsoft is testing showing the local/places listings in green within the Bing search results. Normally you'd see them in the normal white background color but here it is in green.
• Google Merchant Center Gains Automatic Shipping Updates
  Google Merchant Center is rolling out automatic shipping updates under the automatic improvements tab. "Automatic shipping updates improve the accuracy of shipping information of your products. The feature can help your customers predict when they get their orders, and it can help improve your overall shipping performance," Google said.
• New Google AdSense Fill Empty In-Page Ads
  Google AdSense announced a new feature to "Fill empty in-page ads" by showing "contextually-relevant suggestions related to your page and site inside unfilled ad spaces." In short, if an ad is not filled by Google on your page, then Google will look for other ways to monetize that ad spot.
• Doogler On Google Ball Bollard
  Here is a photo of a Doogler, a Google dog, sitting on one of the ball bollards in the Google parking lot. I found this on Instagram.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Google tests a light blue background for the links shown in the “Top stories” section and “Squircle”-shaped favicons., Radu Oncescu on X
• "Google shopping Price Tracking" Also available in Google app notifications. "Price drop for you.", Damien (andell) on X
• Did you know @MSFTAdvertising allows you to create up to 300 PMax campaigns per account? We understand some marketers like the flexibility to segment campaigns and are proud to offer that option., Microsoft Ads Buddy on X
• Google's page speed insights tool will replace performance audits., Khushal Bherwani on X
• I don't recommend clients write meta descriptions anymore. This seems to lower the threshold for Google generating query-dependent meta descriptions. Over many tests vs controls of groups of pages with/without MDs, on different client, Mark Williams-Cook on Bluesky
• SEO was claimed dead in 1997. web.archive.org, Gary Illyes on Bluesky

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Tax settings no longer needed in U.S. Google product feeds
• How to stay grounded (and inspired) as AI changes search and SEO
• Shifts in data privacy are forcing a return to marketing fundamentals

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• Website Traffic Down? Know These Common Mistakes & Solutions, Analytics Insight

Industry & Business

• CEOs Start Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud: AI Will Wipe Out Jobs, Wall Street Journal
• Google Might Be Next to Settle With Trump, The Atlantic
• Google Tries to Win Over Publishers Amid AI Search Tensions, The Information
• Google’s electricity demand is skyrocketing, MIT Technology Review

Links & Content Marketing

• Why Brands Should Consider the Substack Platform, Content Marketing Institute

Local & Maps

• Apple CarPlay Ultra vs. Google Built-In: How the Next-Gen Auto Software Rivals Compare, CNET
• How To Rank in AI Overviews for Local Search Results, Local Falcon
• Google AI Overviews & the Future of Local Search, Local Data Exchange

Mobile & Voice

• Apple might give up and use ChatGPT or Claude to power Siri, BGR
• Google is testing a smaller, more reachable Gemini overlay on tablets, Android Authority

SEO

• 99 AI SEO Statistics for 2025 (Most Up-to-Date Data), Joe Youngblood
• AI Search Changes Everything!!!! (except It Doesn't), Nikki Pilkington
• Does Being Mentioned on High Traffic Pages Influence AI Mentions?, Ahrefs
• How to Research and Analyze AI Overviews with Semrush, Semrush
• Automation in SEO: When to use it, and when to think twice, Hallam
• The 7 traits of highly effective SEO leaders, Product Led SEO
• Why SEO Should Be Involved at Start of a Migration, Koozai

PPC

• 5 global holiday shopping trends to drive advertising success in 2025, Microsoft Advertising
• 7 reasons the Paid Media Manager is more vital that ever, PPC Hero
• Incorrect Member Prices Could Lead to Disapprovals, PPC News Feed
• Tax Settings No Longer Needed in U.S. Product Feeds, PPC News Feed

Search Features

• AI Search in 2025: Three Key Insights from BrightEdge's AI Overview and ChatGPT Analysis, BrightEdge
• Fourth of July 2025 Doodle, Google Doodles
• Referral Patterns in Google AI Mode: Understanding the Early Data, iPullRank

Other Search

• LLM Brand Visibility: What Does AI Think Your Brand Does?, Sitebulb
• Now open source: our Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) libraries for age assurance, Google Blog

Feedback:

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