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 normal SEO works to rank in the Google AI Overviews. Google released the Google Trends API, it is limited access now. Google released its earnings report - yea, ad revenue keeps climbing. OpenAI may be crawling the LLMS.txt file but Google says it won't. Google spoke about CSS and SEO and also about show web pages. Google AdSense removed a blocking category.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google: Normal SEO Works To Get Into AI Overviews
Gary Illyes from Google said at the Google Search Live Deep Dive event yesterday that you don't need to do GEO, LLMO or anything else to show up in Google AI Overviews, you just need to do normal SEO. -
Google Announces Google Trends API
Google has released an alpha version of an API to access Google Trends data - the Google Trends API. "This new API will help Researchers, Journalists, and Developers to understand Search behaviors and patterns," said Daniel Waisberg of Google. -
Google On CSS & SEO
Google's John Mueller and Martin Splitt spoke for just under 40 minutes on the topic of CSS and SEO. They covered why CSS files matter for SEO, how modern CSS frameworks impact pages, and the SEO implications of CSS class names and pseudo elements. -
Google On Show Webpage SEO
Google's John Mueller gave some advice on how to handle show web pages, for when the event or show or performance is complete. How do you handle those old show URLs. He said it is similar to dealing with products and he gave similar advice a couple times around event web pages. -
Is OpenAI Crawling LLMs.txt Files? Google Says It Won't.
Recently, Google said that no AI system is currently using the LLMS.txt file. But maybe some are starting to? OpenAI may be starting to discover and crawl LLMS.txt files on websites. While Google's Gary Illyes said they won't be doing that. -
Google AdSense Removing Significant Skin Exposure Block Control Category
Google announced it will be removing the block control category named "Significant Skin Exposure" from the block controls. That means if you have apps or websites where you want to ensure ads don't have a lot of skin in the ads showing, you won't be able to do that after July 30, 2025. -
Google Ad Revenue Up 10.4% & Overall Revenue Up 14%
Google reported Q2 2025 earnings today, which showed Google's ad revenue was up again year-over-year, with an increase of 10.4%, and overall revenue is also up 13.8%. -
Google's Dino Stan Alive
Google's Veo3 is pretty impressive, for example, Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, shared how it can take a still photo and make it come to life. Here is a GIF and video of it in action, he shared this on X.
Other Great Search Threads:
- So I Could Be Way Late On This, Idk. But Have These Topic Audiences For Legal Always Existed In Google Ads?, Anthony Higman on X
- Excited to share Lifetime Budgets (LTB) are live for all Audience Ads customers! There's never been a better time to add @MSFTAdvertising to your marketing mix! Note LTB have a 365 day limit and can't be applied to shared bu, Microsoft Ads Buddy on X
- People use the disavow file for wildly different reasons, it's definitely not useful as an "admission of guilt". (But, perhaps, if that discourages people from using it unnecessarily, maybe that's not a useless misconception :-)), John Mueller on LinkedIn
- We're hiring a Principal Software Engineering Manager role on my team! If you're excited about building core web data platform that power search and AI across Microsoft Bing, Copilot, and, Krishna Madhavan on LinkedIn
- Yes. If the sitemap changes, change the lastmod in the sitemap index., John Mueller on Bluesky
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Microsoft Advertising rolls out Lifetime Budgets for Audience Ads
- Microsoft Advertising expands remarketing list sources to 20 campaigns
- Google Ads adds ‘Branded Searches’ as new conversion metric
- Google Analytics adds Reddit Ads integration, lead gen tools
- Google Ads Target Impression Share explained: Pros, cons, and when to use it
- The AI-driven reputation repair toolkit: What’s working in 2025
- How to justify your SEO budget in 2025
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
Industry & Business
- Alphabet Q2 earnings call: CEO’s remarks, Google Blog
- Apple and Google face more UK antitrust scrutiny over mobile ecosystems, Reuters
- Apple, Google Face Tougher UK Rules to Rein In Mobile Power, Bloomberg
- Google Deal Brings Energy From Nuclear Fusion Closer to Reality, Bloomberg
- Google's $85 billion capital spend spurred by cloud, AI demand, CNBC
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warns of an AI ‘fraud crisis’, CNN Business
Links & Content Marketing
- AI's Impact on Media and PR SEO | Lexi Mills, iPullRank
- Tech Breakups: Trade Up, Break Up & Glow Up, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- 7 Local SEO Mistakes That Cost You Customers in Seattle, Logic Inbound
- Check out the first images of wildfires detected by FireSat, Google Blog
- Drive with The Bad Guys on Waze, Google Blog
- New GBP Chat Feature: Exclusive Interview with Lead Engineer, Google Business Profile on YouTube
- Why You Should Get Reviews from More than Just Google (Review Diversity), Igniting Business
Mobile & Voice
- Sundar Pichai thinks that phones will still matter for at least a few years., The Verge
- Google teases 'major improvements' for Assistant and Home, 9to5Google
SEO
- Becoming a commercially minded SEO (make more money), Harry Clarkson-Bennett
- ChatGPT Referral Traffic Trends: Challenging Organic Search, Siege Media
- Do We Need A Separate Framework For GEO/AEO? Google Says Probably Not, Search Engine Journal
- How Important is SEO for AI Visibility (AIO/GEO/SEO for AI)?, Ann Smarty
- How to Optimize Your Site for AI Search: The AI SEO Playbook, DAGMAR
- Is Traditional SEO Becoming Obsolete?, Moz
- Sometimes, the Hardest Part of SEO Is Actually Getting It Done, BruceClay
- Experimenting with measuring soft navigations, Chrome for Developers
- Google’s latest core update leaves publishers rattled, Digiday
- The Case for Zero-Click Content in a Zero-Trust Ecosystem, SparkToro
PPC
- Adpulse & Microsoft: SMB Growth with Performance Max, Microsoft Advertising
- Google Adds Branded Searches as New Conversion Metric, PPC News Feed
- Google Ads Keyword Tool to Enhance Visibility, Hopskip Media
- 4 Best Practices for Service Provider-Focused PPC Campaigns, JumpFly
Search Features
- Google adds new Discover feed button to save you some scrolling, Android Authority
- Google Photos adds new AI tools including Photo to Video and Remix, Google Blog
- Google's AI Overviews have 2B monthly users, AI Mode 100M in the US and India, TechCrunch
- YouTube Shorts introduces new creation tools, YouTube Blog
Other Search
- Are LLMs.txt Files Being Implemented Across the Web?, Archer Education
- Gemini web app starts rolling out homepage redesign, 9to5Google
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