Daily Search Forum Recap: August 6, 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 Search rankings are shaking up again, after a day or so of cooling, it spiked right back up again. Google Ads updated its political content policy in the EU. Google spoke about negative kewords impacting Google Ads smart bidding training. Google is testing AI Mode tab with an icon and divider. Google has Ask Anything in AI Mode in the product listings. Google also seems to be rolling out a sticky search bar.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Search Ranking Volatility Calmed For Just A Second & Heated Again
  I am seeing a huge spike in chatter within the SEO industry over the past 24 hours. This comes a day or so after we saw some Google search ranking volatility cooling, only to see that volatility spike again the following day.
• Google Search Rolling Out Sticky Search Bar As You Scroll
  Google seems to be rolling out a sticky search bar, so as you scroll down the page, the scroll bar sticks to the top. Google actually made this official in 2018, but then eventually stopped and now it seems to be back.
• Google Ads Updates EU Political Content Policy For September 2025
  Google sent out an email and posted an update that it will update the Political content policy for Google Ads to include the following regional restriction for the European Union (EU). This goes into effect in September 2025.
• Google Ads On If Negative Keywords Train Smart Bidding
  Google's Ginny Marvin, the Google Ads Liaison, was asked if negative keywords are included in the algorithms to help train smart bidding. Ginny Marvin responded, saying they are one of the criteria the system checks for campaign and ad group eligibility.
• Google Tests AI Mode Tab Icon With Divider
  Google is testing adding an icon and a line separator/divider for the AI Mode tab under the search bar. Google always placed the AI Mode tab at the first spot on the left, but now it is testing making it stand out even more with an icon and this divider.
• Ask Anything In AI Mode Within Google Product Search Listings
  Google is testing the Ask Anything In AI Mode feature, which we saw in the people also ask, now in the Google Search product listings. So when you click on a product, there is a new section named Ask Anything In AI Mode.
• Google Android Figurine D.Veloper Badge
  Here is one of the many Android figurines you can find at the Google offices. This one is wearing a Google I/O badge that named this Android figurine, D. Veloper.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Google doesn't offer age data for PMax, but I've tried to model it based on 43 billion impressions from Shopping, Display, Video, and Demand Gen. My core hypothesis is it will look like Shopping, but with less Unknown data, and skewing a bit younger due t, Mike Ryan on X
• Have you searched for www.google.com/search?q=bad... lately? :), John Mueller on Bluesky
• I decoded Perplexity's ranking algorithm through browser requests. 59+ Ranking patterns exposed. Found a configuration scheme + the near-exact config that controls visibility (tested & succeeded) These findings might interest, Metehan Yesilyurt on X
• Right, Search partners and Display Network must be off in Ads Grants Search campaigns. I'll follow up with you directly for more details on the issue., AdsLiaison on X
• What's the AI Mode Adoption in the UK after a Week? I got the data thanks to @Similarweb 👇 It went from 0.1% of Desktop Users in the UK on July 28, 2025 and grew up to 9.2% on August 1st... and has started to decrease si, Aleyda Solis on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• How Perplexity ranks content: Research uncovers core ranking factors and systems
• Google Ads lets you test images, videos in Demand Gen campaigns
• AI search fight: Cloudflare and Perplexity clash over crawling
• From search to answer engines: How to optimize for the next era of discovery
• Google Business Profiles Posts creation tool refreshed
• AI traffic is up 527%. SEO is being rewritten.
• Why your content strategy needs to move beyond SEO to drive demand

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

• Open models by OpenAI, OpenAI
• OpenAI in Talks for Share Sale Valuing Startup at $500 Billion, Bloomberg
• Amazon Will Offer OpenAI Models to Customers for First Time, Bloomberg

Links & Content Marketing

• 19 Expert Tips: Using AI To Help Your Marketing Ops, Content Marketing Institute
• Guest Posting for Link Building: Ultimate Guide to Safe, Effective Backlinks, The Upper Ranks
• Journalism Is Dead. Say Hello to Gournalism., DEJAN

Local & Maps

• Man Awarded $12,500 After Google Street View Photographed His Ass, Gizmodo
• This Top Google Maps Rival No Longer Feels at Home on Android Auto, Big Feature Missing, AutoEvolution

Mobile & Voice

• Apple Support App to Offer New ChatGPT-Like Feature, MacRumors
• Google may delay the release of some of its most anticipated Pixels, Android Authority

SEO

• How I’m Using AI Without Replacing Myself, SEO for Lunch
• How to Track Keyword Ranking in Google Search Console (Step-by-Step), SEO Testing
• AI overviews, chatbots and more: SISTRIX updates in the first half of 2025, SISTRIX
• Could a custom URL negatively affect my site’s SEO ranking?, Google Search Central YouTube
• The top organic position no longer guarantees SEO success, Marketing 4 Ecommerce
• Why Splitting SEO and GEO Functions Doesn’t Make Sense, Chris Green

PPC

• Advertisers Can’t Quit Google, Despite Complaints About Traffic and Ads, The Information
• ​​Impression-based remarketing updates and other product news for August, Microsoft Advertising
• Google Ads Reps: Helpful or Not?, SearchRank
• Negative Keywords: The Unsung Hero of PPC Campaign Performance, PPC Live
• How to Get the Most out of Your PPC Agency Partnership, JumpFly

Search Features

• Our 9 Favorite ChatGPT Alternatives (& How to Use Them), WordStream
• The Big Eight: A New Era of LLM Giants, Search Engine World
• Google Discover Publishers ranking in July 2025, DiscoverSnoop
• If You Ask Google Why It Sucks Now, AI Overviews Will Viciously Bully Google and Itself, Futurism

Other Search

• OpenAI Just Released Its First Open-Weight Models Since GPT-2, Wired
• Perplexity AI Ranking 59+ Factors Revelaed (2025), Metehan

Feedback:

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