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 won't be broken up, but they will have to share search data - it was a pretty big win for Google. Google uses FastSearch, not the one from 2000, but its own, for grounding. Google Search is testing a new top bar design for its search results. Google local pack tests new direction buttons, several of them. Google Ads gains customization graph options and settings. Google updated its Business Profiles link policies and guidelines.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Won't Be Broken Up In Monopoly Case But Required To Share Search Data
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled on the remedies for Google being declared a monopoly. In short, Google won't be broken up (will keep Chrome, Android and Ads), it will have to share search data and it is barred from making exclusive search deals. -
Google FastSearch Is Faster Than Google Search
Did you know Google has a technology called FastSearch? No, not the one from the early 2000s, but its own Google FastSearch. Google said FastSearch is faster than Google Search, its main search results technology. -
Google Ads Gains Customization Graphs Options
Google Ads has added new customization options for some of the graphing, charting and reporting. This change gives you "Conversion Delay," "Performance Anomaly Insights," and "Notes," and is enabled with adjusted notification icons. -
Google Business Profiles Links Policies & Guidelines Updated
Google has updated its Google Business Profiles links policies & guidelines. Google added new sections for dedicated landing pages, direct action completion, social media sites and a new business links crawability policy. -
Google Search Tests New Shaded Header Design Interface
Google is testing a new top bar interface design for the search results page both in light and dark mode. The new design shades the top bar more, so it is more distinct to the search results section. -
Google Tests New Directions Buttons In Local Pack
Google is testing new direction buttons in the local pack within the Google Search results. Normally, we see a "Directions" button, but now Google is testing "Map it," "Map," "Route," "Go," and "Get there," and maybe more. -
Google Quote Hive Indoor Structure
Here is some unusual hive like structure at the Google office. It has this quote mark icon table in the center of it. I guess this is where the Googlers go to be of one central mind?
Other Great Search Threads:
- AdSense Earnings and Observations - September 2025, WebmasterWorld
- Does anyone like sites that have right-click disabled? If I say it's bad for SEO, will people stop with it? Anyway :-)) That is basically just a quick way to get a rough understanding of potential JS issues. For real JS-crawl / indexing di, John Mueller on Bluesky
- Good news for @Shopify merchants - You can now authorise crawlers using web bot auth signatures to avoid being blocked by their CF layer. Top work @KyleRisley and team., Screaming Frog on X
- This chart is everywhere and is being horribly misinterpreted. This is not where the training data for AI comes from, it is a study done by a SEO firm that claims to show how often sites come up at least once in THE WEB SEARCH FUNCTION of certain AI agen, Ethan Mollick on Bluesky
- With AI Mode, you can see recommendations that are personalized for you. If you search “I only have an hour, need a quick lunch spot, any suggestions?,” AI Mode will be able reference the past conversations and places you’ve p, Google on X
- Just saw this inside Google Ads: Google is surveying advertisers about a new “YouTube Network” option, separating YouTube from the Search Partner Network. If it rolls out, we’d finally, Natasha Kaurra on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google can keep Chrome, but exclusive search deals must end
- Google’s Danny Sullivan: ‘Good SEO is good GEO’
- Google Ads select location assets using Google Maps
- Google Ads enhances campaign filters with new checkboxes
- Google AI Mode model improved for complex STEM questions, says Google
- GEO and SEO: How to invest your time and efforts wisely
- Looking beyond AI: 9 marketing principles that will always matter
Other Great Search Stories:
Industry & Business
- Anthropic Completes New Funding Round at $183 Billion Valuation, Bloomberg
- Apple’s Top AI Researcher for Robotics Joins Meta in Latest Exit, Bloomberg
- EU Google antitrust penalty halted amid Trump’s tariff threats, POLITICO
- Google is having ‘productive discussions’ with Trump lawyers about his deplatforming suit, The Verge
- Google may be sitting on a $900 billion gem that could disrupt Nvidia’s dominance, MarketWatch
- Google’s Adtech Fine Delayed as EU Frets Over Trump Backlash, Bloomberg
- OpenAI shuffles executive roles, acquires Statsig for $1.1 billion, The Verge
- EU Court Backs US Data Pact, Avoiding Fresh Privacy Fight, Bloomberg
- Google critics think the search remedies ruling is a total whiff, The Verge
Links & Content Marketing
- How To Measure Content Revenue and Prove Success, Moz
- Shift from link building to mention building, SearchLab Digital
Local & Maps
- Local SEO for Good 2025: Adaptive Local Content for Every Platform, RicketyRoo
- Yext CEO Submits Non-Binding Acquisition Proposal; Expresses Openness to Alternative Bidders in Pursuit of Maximizing Stockholder Value, Yext, Inc.
Mobile & Voice
- Gemini is landing on Google Home devices on October 1, Android Authority
- Siri ‘saved woman’s life when boyfriend attacked her’, Telegraph
SEO
- 5 SEO Takeaways From Perplexity's Comet Browser, Nectiv
- Expanding Your Title Tag Testing Strategy - Why Title Tags Still Matter in 2025, SearchPilot
- How to Track, Measure, and Boost AI Referral Track, Semrush
- What AI Can’t Replace: Your SEO Talent Pipeline, SEO for Lunch
- Asda Loses VI in Subdomain to Subdirectory Migration, SISTRIX
PPC
- Local Services Ads vs. PPC: Are Google Search Ads Dead?, Jyll Saskin Gales
- Conversion APIs Are Becoming Table Stakes – But Not All Brands Have Bought In, AdExchanger
- PPC Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Beginners, PPC Live
Search Features
- ChatGPT vs. Google: Decoding URL Sourcing for Flight Searches, Pros
- GPT-5-powered ChatGPT will help users in mental distress, OpenAI says, Axios
- 3 new Google Gemini app AI tools for students, Google Blog
- ChatGPT Shopping Results Have Been Updated, Brodie Clark Consulting
Other Search
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