Daily Search Forum Recap: September 22, 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 completed the rollout of the August 2025 spam update today, September 22nd. Google is testing a new AI Search option named Darksteel. We have some data on the impact of Google blocking the num parameter and how it impacted Search Console. Google AI Mode product listings is testing AI-generated product summaries. Google is testing translate a conversation. I am offline Tuesday and Wednesday for Rosh Hashanah, happy Jewish New Year!

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google's Wild August 2025 Spam Update Finished Rolling Out
  Google has completed the rollout of the August 2025 spam update, following a 27-day rollout cycle. This update started on August 26, 2025 and 12 pm ET, and was completed on September 22, 2025. This was a broad spam update, not a link spam update and was a pretty big and widespread update, similar to the December 2024 spam update but took 20 days longer to rollout.
• Google Darksteel AI Search Option Test
  Google is testing a new AI Search based option codenamed Darksteel. This reminds me of when we caught Google testing 47 different AI Search options back in March but Darksteel was not one of them.
• Google Search Console Impressions Drop Impact With Google Blocking Bots
  As you know, Google dropped the num parameter to see more search results on a page, then the third-party tools scraping became severely impacted and many saw impression declines in Search Console. Google confirmed the num parameter is not officially supported. So what was the real impact on Search Console data?
• Google AI Mode Product Listings Tests AI-Generated Product Summaries
  Google is testing AI-generated product summaries in the AI Mode results, after you click on a specific product. I was able to generate this in one out of every four browser attempts, and here is how it works.
• Google Search Translate A Conversation Button
  Google is testing a button that takes you from Google Search short translations answers, to the ability to translate a full conversation in another interface.
• Google August 2025 Spam Update To Probably Finish Tomorrow - 9/22
  The Google August 2025 spam update will probably be marked as completed tomorrow, September 22, 2025. That is what John Mueller from Google said deep inside a comment on a LinkedIn post. He wrote today, "Just between us, we'll probably mark it complete tomorrow."
• Google Maps Truck
  Here is a truck inside the Google office in New York City. It looks like a Google Maps truck, maybe an old milk or mail truck of sorts?

Other Great Search Threads:

• OK SEO community, have fun with this one. The irony... :) OpenAI is looking to hire a serious SEO person. Oh, and sounds like they will be migrating https://t.co/fKfaMM9d20 to https://t.co/HmGPWSJEcU -> "We are seeking a full-funnel, Glenn Gabe on X
• Search Console shows data for when pages were actually shown, it's not a theoretical measurement. Assuming you're looking for pages ranking for the same query, you'd see that only if they were actually shown. (IMO it's not really "cannibalization" if it's, John Mueller on Bluesky
• Subtwee... subblue: using something as an API doesn't make it an official API., Gary Illyes on Bluesky
• Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We are showing the cause of death for some queries, but it was not appearing consistently. Our systems clearly didn’t get this right, and we're working to roll out a, News from Google on X

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Blog Blunders and Ad Copy Chaos ft Adrienne Shavers
• The latest jobs in search marketing
• Microsoft Ads launches Supplemental Feeds to streamline product updates
• Google warns DOJ ad-tech remedies would hurt publishers, advertisers
• AI progress stalls for SEO tasks despite wave of new models
• AI hype vs. SEO reality: What actually drives leads and revenue
• Broad match drives higher revenue per conversion – but at a cost: Study

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• Referral Traffic in GA4: AI Tools + Privacy Framework [Webinar Recap], KP Playbook

Industry & Business

• German media groups file complaint against Google AI Overviews, Press Gazette
• Google's statement on DOJ proposed remedies in ad tech case, Google Blog
• Google’s plan to build on protected wetlands at Fort Wayne data center greenlit, 21 Alive News
• OpenAI and Ive poach Apple designers, target suppliers for hardware push, 9to5Mac
• OpenAI Raids Apple for Hardware Talent, Manufacturing Partners, The Information
• OpenAI’s video generator Sora can mimic Netflix, TikTok and Twitch, Washington Post

Links & Content Marketing

• AI Citations vs Backlinks: What You Need to Know, Yoast
• How to Conduct Market Research: 7 Steps to Better Insights, Tveyes

Local & Maps

• 5 ways I use this forgotten yet powerful Google Maps feature, Android Authority
• Google Maps gets a cosmetic refresh and minor yet helpful adjustment, Android Police
• Here’s everything new for Apple Maps in iOS 26, 9to5Mac

Mobile & Voice

• Apple’s New AirPods Offer Impressive Language Translation, New York Times
• Gemini Drops: New updates to the Gemini app, September 2025, Google Blog
• How developers are using Apple's local AI models with iOS 26, TechCrunch
• New Apple Intelligence features are available today, Apple

SEO

• An update on recent Google changes to SERP monitoring, Ahrefs
• Google Num 100 Update, Accuranker
• Your guide to crawl budget optimization, Wix SEO Hub
• Conversations on Search With Sean: SEO, PR & AI Trends Shaping Digital Marketing, SearchnStuff
• Does Schema Markup Increase Generative Search Visibility?, AccuraCast
• A Technical SEO's Adaptation To AI Visibility By Nik Ranger [Slides], Dejan Marketing

PPC

• Microsoft Ads Guide: Find Hidden Settings & Get Better Conversions, Dagmar Marketing
• The Search Singularity – Winning the new Game of Search, PPC Live

Other Search

• Edge vs. Chrome: Microsoft promotes its browser with aggressive ads on Bing, Red Hot Cyber

Feedback:

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