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.
Cloudflare's CEO is confident Google will give them a way to block AI Overviews without it impacting normal search. Google AI Mode is supposedly rolling out to Workspace accounts in the US. Google Keyword Planner tool now gives you more ways to segment the data. Google is testing low, high and typical price labels on search result snippets. Google Business Profiles reverifications spike after suspensions increase. Google Hotel ads with nearby placement units.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Cloudflare: We Will Get Google To Provide A Way To Block AI Overviews
A week or so ago, Cloudflare announced it would block AI bots by default and offer a new pay per crawl initiative to compensate you all for your content that AI just consumes for free. But as most SEOs know, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews can't be blocked without really blocking your site from Google Search. -
Google Says AI Mode Rolling Out To Workspace Accounts
Google's Nick Fox said that AI Mode has begun rolling out to Workspace accounts in the US. Nick Fox said this started on July 2nd but he clarified later that it did not fully roll out to all accounts yet, but rather it is rolling out. -
Google Keyword Planner Update Gives Breakdown By By City, Region & Device/Platform
Google has pushed out an update to its keyword planner tool that gives you new forecast views to get predictions on your keywords by regions and device/platform. The update also mentions that grouped ideas are now in your keyword ideas section. -
Google Tests Low, Typical, High Price Labels In Search Result Snippets
Google is testing labeling search result snippets with "low price," "typical price" and I assume "high price" directly in the search results. We've seen these for product grid results before, but I am not sure if we've seen them for normal search result snippets. -
Google Business Profiles Reverification After Suspensions Increasing?
A number of local SEOs are stating that Google is now requiring businesses that had their Google Business Profiles suspended to reverify at a higher rate than normal. Meaning, the business needs to go through the verification process again to be activated within Google Business Profiles. -
Google Ads With Nearby Hotel Placement Units
Google seems to be testing a new ad unit for hotel or nearby listings that have big blue buttons to book at the site being listed. I am honestly not sure if this is new but I am told it is. -
Sing-A-Saurus Visits YouTube
Here is a funny photo from the Google office of a character named Sing-A-Saurus who visited the YouTube headquarters. There is a video of Sing-A-Saurus dancing as well on Instagram.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Hard to prove but interesting to see both SEL and SER with double listings at the top of my Discover feed after adding them as "Preferred Sources" in Top Stories. I'll keep an eye on this to see if others show up at the top that I m, Glenn Gabe on X
- Local Search is the last remaining moat of Google Search. It’s going to take a while. But we’re improving!, Aravind Srinivas on X
- What I LOVED about SEO was creating web content to solve a specific need, and Google could direct a user to that content at the exact moment they needed it Inform + Delight = Magic Now, Google summarizing the content for AI and skipp, Cyrus SEO on X
- Good Morning Google Land! This is the July 6th edition of "Core Update Notes". Again, the core update rolls on and there has been a lot of volatility across verticals (including what looks like a reviews update prior to the core upda, Glenn Gabe on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google faces EU antitrust complaint over AI Overviews
- 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
- How to Identify and Report AI Traffic in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Measure Minds Group
- Audiences in GA4, KRM Digital Marketing
Industry & Business
- EU sticks with timeline for AI rules, Reuters
- Google to Propose Price-Comparison Box in Search to Appease EU, Bloomberg
- Google's AI Overviews hit by EU antitrust complaint from independent publishers, Reuters
- Google's DMCA Transparency Report 'Freezes' After Recent Volume Surge, TorrentFreak
- The AI-Optimization Startups Betting on the End of Google Search, Wall Street Journal
Links & Content Marketing
- How To Write Headlines That Hook: 8 Questions To Ask, Content Marketing Institute
- The Power of Reactive PR & Content: Drive More Traffic & Media Coverage, Koozai
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
- Meet the Chinese start-up behind Google’s Android XR-powered augmented reality glasses, South China Morning Post
- Trump’s pressure on Apple to make All-American phones ignores the last tech giant that tried and failed, Fortune
SEO
- Google kills the fact-checking snippet, Nieman Journalism Lab
- Guide to Mastering SEO for Google’s AI Overview, Koozai
- Influencing AI Responses - A Controlled GEO Experiment, Reboot Online
- The 23 Best Free SEO Chrome Extensions, Go Fish Digital
- How AI Is Transforming SEO Strategy, Vixen Digital
- How often do LLMs visit llms.txt?, Mintlify
- How to Turn LLM Noise into Brand Strategy Using Entities, Waikay
PPC
- Complete Guide to Looker Studio As Ultimate PPC Performance Tracking Tool, Hopskip Media
- The Case for Building Microsoft Ads From the Ground Up, PPC Live
- AI Max Now Available for Ad Grants in the US, PPC News Feed
- Google Ads Performance Max: Is It Right For Your Business?, Jyll Saskin Gales
- Microsoft Washes Its Hands Of Ad Tech; Google’s Network To Get Work, AdExchanger
Search Features
- Full List Of Prompts For Gemini's Transparency / Debug Tools, Ecommerce Consultancy
- Google's Oasis tour Easter egg is madferit, Mashable
Other Search
- DeepSeek Debrief: >128 Days Later , SemiAnalysis
- SearchGPT using Google, or just Common Crawl?, Search Engine World
- The AI Birthday Letter That Blew Me Away, The Atlantic
- AI Hallucinations: Whats Really Happening, HuffPost Life
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