Daily Search Forum Recap: September 10, 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.

John Mueller from Google said it is hard to map positions one through ten in search anymore. A new Google search ranking factors expert study is out, guess which is the top ranking factor. Another Google ads bait and switch marketing campaign. Google Ads has a new Budget or bidding targets for Search campaigns option. Scammers are using the Google Maps contributor program to upload AI-generated photos with phone numbers, tricking users into calling the number in the photo instead of the number on the Google Business Profile listing. Siri processes 2.5 billion requests each day says Apple.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google: The Old Position 1-10 Is Hard To Map For Site Owners
  Google's John Mueller responded to questions about how impressions are counted for Generative AI in Google Search Console. Google has a document that explains that, and John just reiterated that. But what he added was that "the old "position 1 - 10" is hard to map."
• Google Ranking Factors Survey: Content & Backlinks Most Important
  There is a new Google ranking factor survey out for 2026. It has been a while since we had one, and it is here. This one was done by Cyrus Shepard and Dawn Shepard and posted at Zyppy. It says content relevance, backlinks, and content quality are the most important factors, according to the experts who were surveyed.
• Bait & Switch: Google Ads Revoking Credits After Advertisers Spend Them
  Google Ads has been offering new and existing customers credits to encourage them to spend on the advertising platform. But sometimes, Google Ads will revoke a credit, a credit that was already spent within the Google Ads platform, leaving the client spending more than they budgeted for.
• Google Ads Beta Experiment: Budget Or Bidding Targets For Search Campaigns
  Google Ads has a new beta variable to test within its experiments area named "Budget or bidding targets for Search campaigns." This test different budget, target CPA or target ROAS amounts to find the optimal level of spending for your campaign, Google wrote.
• Google Maps Phone Number in Photo Scam
  Scammers are using the Google Maps contributor program to upload AI-generated photos with phone numbers, tricking users into calling the number in the photo instead of the number on the Google Business Profile listing. These scammers are doing this across dozens, if not, hundreds of Google Business Profile listings and reporting them to Google seems to be doing nothing.
• Apple: 2.5 Billion Siri Requests Every Day
  Did you know that Apple Siri handles 2.5 billion requests every single day? Lilian Rincon, Apple's Vice President of Product Management / Product Marketing for Artificial Intelligence, said that yesterday at the Apple Event on September 9, 2026.
• Google Health Tote Bag & Stuff
  Here is a Google Health logo on a tote bag, which is on top of some Google Health logo on what looks like a placemat.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Google Ads telling us to replace DSAs with AI Max as "a smarter way to scale performance in the new era of Search, Greg Finn on X
• See if the Search profile linked to a Knowledge Panel entity is claimed, and get that profile URL. Works on every Google Search Knowledge Panel. 1492 Search Profile Claim Checker is live on the Chrome Web Store. https://t.co/S6HCH8ytyx Click the icon on a Google Search, Damien Andell on X
• I'll pass this along. To clarify though, the Local Customer Optimization feature is for PMax for store goals campaigns, not LSA., AdsLiaison on X
• Personal statement on joining the OpenAI board, Paul Christiano on X
• Wow, new "search profile" design on Google Discover! Now all Google profiles have a large banner, even unclaimed "search profiles." The banner is in the publisher/creator logo colors. But most importantly, the design colors, "follow" button, font color, etc., are all in the…, Damien Andell on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Google’s top ranking factors, according to 131 SEO professionals
• Google’s target bidding shake-up: Why PPC marketers have been here before
• Google updates Location asset requirements without changing enforcement
• Jessica Bowman: SEO can’t win AI visibility alone
• 4 risks hiding in your branded search results
• Caught by Google’s spam update? Don’t make recovery harder
• Manual vs. automated Google Ads campaigns: How to allocate your budget
• The AI hours nobody on your marketing team is counting

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• Announcing ADK for Kotlin 1.0: Building Production-Ready AI Agents in Kotlin, Android, and Beyond, Google Developers Blog
• Anthropic Researcher Jacob Coxon Quits Over ‘Out-of-Control’ AI Fears, Wall Street Journal
• Anthropic wants to test how AI could impact U.S. economy, NPR
• Get more done with the latest Google AI plan updates, Google Blog
• Updated models and usage limits in ChatGPT Voice, ChatGPT Release Notes

Analytics

• Automatically Generate Version Information In GTM, Simo Ahava's blog

Industry & Business

• California Battles Google, Meta Over Restrictions On Recommendations, MediaPost
• OpenAI says working with Samsung on next-generation chips, deepening cooperation, Reuters
• Teachers union reaches AI privacy deal with Microsoft, POLITICO
• Google avoided (yet another) breakup... now remedies are tested, Digiday

Links & Content Marketing

• 8 Proven Ways To Get Content Budgets Approved, Content Marketing Institute
• Two Truths and a Lie About Digital PR, Moz
• Can You Trust ChatGPT or Claude for SEO Writing Advice?, SuccessWorks

Local & Maps

• 10 Downing Street Launches Side Hustles with Google Business Profiles, Online Ownership
• Drive with Carín León on Waze, Google Blog
• How to Get More Yelp Reviews for Your Business, Igniting Business
• AI maps global methane emissions from space, Google Blog

Other Search

• Siri AI public debut complicated by daily usage caps, Apple Insider

PPC

• After Google’s August 17 Smart Bidding Update: What PPC Practitioners Are Actually Doing, PPC Live
• Google Tests Prefill Campaign Feature for Demand Gen, PPC News Feed
• Where Amazon Quietly Wastes Your Budget (And How to Automate the Fix), Optmyzr
• Two Weeks Into Google's tCPA and tROAS Change: Is Performance Getting More Predictable?, Amsive
• How to Build a Google Ads Daily Pacing Script, PPC Hero
• Update to Gambling and Games Policy: Croatia (September 2026), Google Advertising Policies Help
• How to Advertise on ChatGPT: A Step-by-Step Guide, SE Ranking

Search Features

• Track your favorite football team with Google Search, Google Blog

SEO

• How to build your first AI SEO agent (full walk-through), Semrush
• The GEO Analytics Stack: What We Should Be Measuring (But Aren’t), Lumar
• 2026 Google Ranking Factors Expert Survey, Zyppy
• A Little SEO Helper for Finding GSC Opportunities, Grumpy Old SEO
• Real-World AEO & SEO Use Cases for MCP Servers (Prompts Included), seoClarity

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.