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.
There are many sites noticing a huge crawl decline recently and we are not sure what the pattern is, is it a Google and Bing bug or something else. Google Search Console performance report for Android App search apperance is broken too. Microsoft Advertising is testing larger fonts for Bing search ads over organic listings. Bing is testing bolding the site name on hover. Google Ads audience exclusions now work on Shopping campaigns.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
-
Some Sites Have Huge Crawl Rate Declines In Google Search Console
There are numerous complaints from SEOs and site owners who are noticing significant declines in crawl rates within Google Search Console. Most who see this, many do not by the way, are noticing the decline starts around August 8th and continues through today. -
Microsoft Testing Tests Larger Titles For Ads In Bing Search
Microsoft Advertising is testing using larger font sizes for the sponsored ads in the Bing search results. This makes the sponsored results stand out just a bit more than the free/organic search results. -
Google Ads Gets Audience Exclusions For Shopping Campaigns
Google Ads seems to be rolling out audience exclusions for Shopping campaigns. Previously, the ability to exclude audience types was not permitted for Shopping campaigns but now some are seeing it available in their accounts. -
Bing Tests Bolding Site Name On Hover
Microsoft Bing is testing bolding the site name in the search results snippet when you hover your mouse cursor over the search result snippet. This is similar to Bing bolding the title on hover, but in this case, it is the site name. -
Bug: Google Search Console Performance Report Search Appearance Android App
There may be a new reporting bug in Google Search Console's performance report specific to the Android App search appearance filter. It seems some are reporting that Google stopped showing impressions, clicks and other data related to that filter. -
Google Balloon Dancer
Here is a photo from the Google Family day event, but this shows they had dancers in balloons. Are they called balloon dancer? I am not sure. But it did catch my eye.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Does this work or am I missing something? If you download your SQR and consolidate the kw column (not search term) and Impr then take the difference of Keyword Impressions and SQR Keyword Impressions - that'll gives you Hidden Search Quer, Greg on X
- Launching 80k Products at Once – Will Google Penalize Me?, Reddit
- Almost a decade later ..... rather than Google seeking feedback around scraped content outranking! Google is showing scraped content at top and is forcing it on users without providing an option to opt-out., Gagan Ghotra on X
- Awesome to see so much excitement for the new Google Finance! We’re continuing to expand access in the U.S… But :) we've heard some of you want to take it for a spin NOW!! We’ve added an opt in via Search Labs so you can skip the, Nick Fox on X
- Easy. Content containing sensitive private information must be protected behind a firewall, login page or other security mechanism. For URLs that webmasters would like to make public but not indexed, Fabrice Canel on X
- Is anyone else seeing weird UI issues with Google's AI Overviews in Chrome? On my end, the arrows and icons look broken or misaligned. I'm using the latest version of Chrome. No issues at all in Firefox, Shameem Adhikarath on X
- Is this bug? or planning to add more options When Click "Show More", cut the 1st line, Punit on X
- Just had this new pop up while changing location settings. New to me, Jamie on X
- Listen this is just anecdotal. It’s one campaign. But I find the extent to which AI Max is expansionary on SPN… deeply disturbing. I’ll be looking to (in)validate this finding in other campaigns/accounts but my earliest recommen, Mike Ryan on X
- Microsoft Clarity is stepping up its commitment to consent and privacy compliance. This is good news for you and for your users., Navah Hopkins on LinkedIn
- Schema markup via microdata instead of JSON-LD?, Reddit
- We're excited to bring Search Central Live as part of the CEE Publisher Day to Budapest on October 2nd this year, Google Search Central on LinkedIn
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Viral post accuses Google’s AI Overviews of breaking its own spam rules
- The fractured future of search: New rules for SEO in the AI age
- LinkedIn Ads or Google Ads? A framework for smarter B2B decisions
- The search visibility framework: Dominating every corner of the SERP in 2026
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Benchmarking in GA4, KRM Digital Marketing
Industry & Business
- Business Professionals Predict AI Will Replace Google by 2030, Bospar
- Google executive says company has cut a third of its managers, CNBC
- Google might lose its $26 billion search deals in antitrust trial, CNBC
- Google to Invest Additional $9 Billion in Virginia Data Centers, Bloomberg
- Report: Russia-based Yandex employee oversees open-source software approved for DOD use, Nextgov/FCW
- The Age of Perception: Why We’re Now Marketing to Machines, Omi Sido
Links & Content Marketing
- 10 Ways Any Business Can Earn Local Backlinks, Amsive
- From Data Overload to Data-Informed: Solving Content Blind Spots with Best Answer Marketing, TopRank
Local & Maps
- Is it legal to use navigation apps while driving in Texas?, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
- There's an Apple CarPlay Maps alternative and it just got a whole lot better, Yahoo
- Long-Tail vs Short-Tail Keywords for Local SEO: What To Know in the AI Era, Local Falcon
Mobile & Voice
- Apple could give Siri a big Gemini upgrade – here are 5 reasons why I really hope that happens, TechRadar
- Apple warns UK against introducing tougher tech regulation, BBC
SEO
- AI Optimization Test: Footers are back like 2003, Seer Interactive
- Perplexity's Discover Pages Offer A Surprising SEO Insight, Search Engine Journal
- What is an SEO & AI Visibility Consultant?, Jenny Munn
- What is Model Context Protocol (MCP), Schema App Solutions
- Dear C-Suite: Stop Betting Your Future on the AI Shortcut, SEO for Lunch
PPC
- Mastering Google Ads Bidding: Your Guide to Every Bid Strategy, Jyll Saskin Gales
- Goodbye VAC, Hello Demand Gen: What YouTube Ads Just Got Right (and What Still Feels Weird), PPC Live
- Political Ads Setting Now Available During Campaign Setup, PPC News Feed
Search Features
- 10.4% of AI Overview Citations are AI-Generated, OriginalityAI
Other Search
- OpenAI co-founder calls for AI labs to safety-test rival models, TechCrunch
- EU and Canada publishers issue joint plea to halt AI 'strip mining' of news, Press Gazette
Feedback:
Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News, add as a preferred source on Google and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or just contact us the old fashion way.
