Daily Search Forum Recap: August 4, 2026

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 is testing anchor text links in Google Ads sponsored descriptions. The Google Ads preview ad tool is not working. Google Ads is testing a new text disclaimer feature that lets you set the text disclaimer to override descriptions pinned to position 1. Google is currently beta testing a new Search Profiles feature named Handle Swapping. And I posted the big Google Webmaster report for August 2026.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• August 2026 Google Webmaster Report
  Here is the big Google Webmaster Report for August 2026, including of course the ongoing Google search ranking volatility; we saw volatility on...
• Google Ads Tests Anchor Text Hyperlinks In Ad Descriptions
  Google is testing adding keyword-rich anchor text hyperlinks to the ad descriptions in the sponsored results within Google Search. Clicking on the link takes you to the same ad landing page URL as it would if you clicked on the main title link in the ad.
• Google Ads Ad Preview & Diagnosis Captcha Bug
  The Google Ads Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool, where you can preview your ads in the Google Search results, within the Google Ads interface is broken. It loads a CAPTCHA box and doesn't let you remove the CAPTCHA from being displayed. So you cannot use the tool to preview your Google Ads.
• Google Ads Text Disclaimer Override Pinned Descriptions Position One
  Google Ads is testing a new text disclaimer feature that lets you set the text disclaimer to override descriptions pinned to position 1. This is labeled as "new" under where you add text disclaimers in the Google Ads interface.
• Handle Swapping Coming To Google Search Profiles
  Google is currently beta testing a new Search Profiles feature named Handle Swapping. Handle Swapping allows you to switch your handle to any of your linked verified platforms within Google. Some sources say it's launching very soon.
• New Google Sail Tower Office In Austin
  Google announced the opening of its newest office building, called Sail Tower. It is in Austin, Texas and Google posted a number of photos on X and on its blog.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Morning! The publisher favicon in Discover for Showcase panels looks like it’s disappeared again. Is it working for you? Video attached this time. This is a Daily Mirror article but there is no mention of our brand in Discover., Nicola Agius on X
• Heads-up, I said this would happen again. Grokipedia just tanked again on 7/26. That's after originally surging, then tanking, and then surging again in May. It's obviously 100% AI-generated content and there was no way it would remain strong in Google over the long-term. Now it, Glenn Gabe on X
• Small Google Ads doc update "For campaigns using target CPA bidding, Google Ads recommends setting a budget that's at least 10 times your target CPA." Before it was 15 times your target CPA..., Barry Schwartz on X
• The Mystery of ChatGPT's Phantom Index Continues... I have an important update based on the case study I wrote in late June about the site with no Google visibility yet it was being cited heavily in ChatGPT. If you remember, it ends up Bing was ranking the site very well and it, Glenn Gabe on X
• AI overviews, and the debate Google is sending billions of clicks somewhere, vs disappearing traffic, runs outside of the SEO community!, Dennis Goedegebuure on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Google expands Data Manager API with smarter audience management
• Microsoft Clarity adds branded and non-branded AI queries
• Ana Kostic shared why “best practice” cost her client 40% of revenue.
• 4 Google Ads settings and recommendations worth a closer look
• Google publishes guidance for text disclaimers in Search ads
• How to measure your brand’s visibility in Gemini
• Keyword research meets prompt research: A smarter way to prioritize topics
• GEO for people who have to hit revenue targets

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• AI Agents Are Giving Publishers A New Way To Monetize Their Data, AdExchanger
• Further Developments About Internal AI Models Hacking Things, Zvi Mowshowitz
• DeepSeek's new AI model is by far the cheapest of well-known models to run, research firm says, Reuters
• Four holiday reports reveal one big divide over AI, MarTech
• Retiring the DALL·E GPT, ChatGPT Release Notes
• YouTuber Hank Green says his AI usage is ‘not healthy', TechCrunch
• Inside Kaggle’s AI Agents Intensive Course with Google, Google Blog

Analytics

• How to Build a Full SEO Analysis Dashboard with the Moz API MCP Server, Moz
• Branded vs Non-Branded AI Queries in Microsoft Clarity - Understand your customers, Microsoft Clarity Blog

Industry & Business

• The Race to Build an American Alternative to Cheap AI From China, Wall Street Journal
• Anthropic, OpenAI among firms facing new EU AI Act enforcement powers, CNBC
• Introducing Sail Tower, our new office in Austin, Texas, Google Blog
• OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Thinking Machines fight for AI talent, Axios
• White House to Host AI Companies on Tuesday to Review AI Framework, The Information
• 9th Circ. Won't Revive Google Rival's Antitrust Suit, Law360
• ChatGPT accounts for 80% of identifiable House AI spending, CNBC
• E.U. AI Act enforcement powers target OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, qz.com
• Inside Google’s $200bn Wall Street finance machine for Anthropic, Financial Times (Sub)
• Teads Sues Google, Citing Loss Of 6.88 Trillion Ad Impressions, MediaPost

Links & Content Marketing

• A PR Firm Is Using Fake Publicists With AI-Generated Headshots to Spam Journalists With Pitches for Its Clients, Futurism
• I Analyzed Twenty Years of My Own Backlinks. Half of Them Are Gone., Bill Hartzer

Local & Maps

• How AI Is Changing Local Search for Small Businesses, SearchLab Digital
• Teen Hikers Rescued 12 Hours Into Google Maps Hike, New York Times

PPC

• Google Ads API pilot: Secure API Access to your Manager Accounts, Google Ads Developer Blog
• Is Your Agency Cutting Corners?, Hop Skip Media
• Google Shares LSA Guides for Performance Max, PPC News Feed

Search Features

• Apple finally fixed Siri. So why does it feel anticlimactic?, TechCrunch
• Google Chrome rolls out Brave Search as a built-in search engine, Windows Report

SEO

• Your rank tracker is lying to you about AI search, MLforSEO
• The Future of Discoverability, Harry Clarkson-Bennett
• We Tracked 95 Blog Articles for 3 Months. This Is How Many Got Cited by AI., Minty Orange
• Utilizing Bing Product Feeds for Ecommerce AI SEO, Brodie Clark
• How to Optimize Your Content to Get Cited by AI Search Engines, seoClarity
• How topical authority spreads (and where it doesn’t) in ChatGPT [Study], Semrush
• Search Beyond the Blue Link: Agentic Commerce and LLM Readiness | Alex Moss, Advanced Web Ranking
• The IAB’s New Advice On How To Measure AI Search Visibility, AdExchanger

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