Daily Search Forum Recap: September 23, 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 AI Mode travel features seems to have expanded. Google's John Mueller spoke about authentication for SEO tools. Bing is testing bolding titles for search results and ads. Bing is testing more sitelinks interfaces. Google AI Mode tests the query on the right side. This was pre-written and scheduled, I am offline todya.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google AI Mode Travel Planning Gains More Features
  Google AI Mode has had travel planning for some time but according to some in the travel industry, Google recently began rolling out more of these features in the wild. These include dynamic day-by-day trip plans, hotel add-ons, tickets, and dining stitched into a single AI conversation.
• Google: Authentication For SEO Tools & Personal Crawlers
  Google's John Mueller posted saying, "Authentication for your personal crawlers & SEO tools is going to be more and more of a topic." I believe, but I can be wrong, this is alluding to the num parameter being disabled and how tools are having issues now with scraping Google.
• Bing Tests Bolds Titles For Search Results & Ads
  Microsoft is testing bolding the title links in the Bing search results for both the organic and paid listings. I am not sure if this was a bug or a test, but I suspect it was a test.
• Bing Tests Sitelinks Interfaces Again
  Microsoft is testing various interfaces for the sitelinks in Bing Search. We've seen and reported on Bing testing sitelinks many, many times here, so here are a few more variations.
• Google AI Mode Tests Moving Query To Right Side
  Google is testing moving your query from the left top position to the right top position of the AI response within AI Mode. This is a subtle change but it is interesting to see Google test these small changes to AI Mode.
• Two Person Google Bike
  Google loves their bikes and here is a unique one, a two person bike. This bike can have two bikers on it, pedaling the same time. The person who posted this on Instagram wrote:

Other Great Search Threads:

• BIG Ads Update (For Advertisers) Josh Silverbauer posted that the Google Ads Conversions GTM template now supports new event parameters. This means you can send richer data directly into…, Adriaan Dekker on LinkedIn
• I added the llms.txt file to my blog, Reddit
• One of the things I noticed when interviewing folks especially for SEO-like roles was the desire to always provide an answer, regardless of whether they had any idea or not. Saying "idk" is more important than guessing something partially right., John Mueller on Bluesky

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Google August 2025 spam update done rolling out
• 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

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

• Europe’s cookie law messed up the internet. Brussels wants to fix it., POLITICO

Industry & Business

• Can Google Avoid a Breakup Twice?, New York Times
• Google to launch 4 subsea cables in Africa, Capacity Media
• Google’s Ad Monopoly Under Microscope as Judge Weighs Remedies, Wall Street Journal

Links & Content Marketing

• I Wouldn’t Hire a Content Engineer, and You Shouldn’t Either, Ahrefs
• Marketing Must Risk Creativity, Even in Failure, Content Marketing Institute

Local & Maps

• Google Maps driving mode has been discontinued and this is why, Super Car Blondie
• I made Google Maps way more useful with just a few tricks, Make Use Of

Mobile & Voice

• This one iOS 26 feature gives me hope for the future of Apple Intelligence, Tom's Guide

SEO

• E-E-A-T is the Goal, Q-Star is the System, Site_Quality is the Score, Hobo
• Alt Text: Small Tag, Big Impact for SEO, Accessibility, & Smart Content Strategy, Level343
• Annotated Page Content (APC), DEJAN
• The ContentEffort Attribute, the Helpful Content System and E-E-A-T. Is Gemini behind the HCU?, Hobo
• The Google &num=100 Change: What It Means for Marketers, Koozai
• UX and SEO: A Guide for Winning the Searcher, Not Just the SERP, Ahrefs

PPC

• Google Ads Adds “Source” Metric to AI Campaigns, PPC News Feed
• Google Launches Official Help Page for Ads Advisor, PPC News Feed

Feedback:

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Note: This was pre-written and scheduled to be posted today, I am currently offline for Rosh Hashanah.