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 says old domain name history needs time to shake off. Google Shopping has this new Ask Stores AI chat feature. Google AI Mode now lets you opt into agentic capabilities. Google Business Profile suspensions are increasing. Google to remove more hotel/lodging listings with inaccurate pricing.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google: Old Domain History/State Needs Time To Be Shaken Off
We covered the topic of taking over an old domain name from someone else and how that can sometimes be problematic in the Google SEO world. But here is a more recent comment from John Mueller of Google that is more encouraging on the topic. -
Google Shopping Ask Stores AI Chat
Google seems to be testing or rolling out a new AI chat feature labeled "Ask Stores" within Google Shopping. The AI chat feature lets you "Ask about hard-to-find items, shopping, styling, home finds, trending pieces, brands, selling, and more." -
Google AI Mode Agentic Capabilities Opt In
On Friday, I reported on some folks gaining access to agentic features in AI Mode. Well, Robby Stein from Google announced later that day that anyone in the US can now opt into Agentic capabilities in AI Mode. -
Google Business Profile Suspensions Spike
A number of local SEOs are noticing a lift in the number of suspensions they are dealing with in Google Business Profiles. Many local SEOs are reporting that they are dealing with these suspensions and reinstatements more often now than before. -
Google To Remove More Lodging Listings With Inaccurate Prices
Google said it will be strict in enforcing accurate pricing for lodging listings on Google, both for ads and free booking links. There is no policy change but they will have a "higher standards for price accuracy." -
Samba Dancers Back At Google
Here are two videos of a recent event at the Google office where you have Samba dancers doing their dance. Google had Samba dancers at their offices in Ireland before, so this isn't totally new.
Other Great Search Threads:
- "With an index covering hundreds of billions of webpages". Well, now we know the size of their search index -> Introducing the Perplexity Search API, Glenn Gabe on X
- Starting to see search results where AI is replacing local packs. This is not a better user experience. The 2nd business here actually has reviews, photos etc but they are not being pulled in because AI results are still pretty, Joy Hawkins on X
- I can't speak for Bing (your first screenshot) yet in general overall quality is a very important aspect for search engines, definitely for Google. Looking through your pages on topics that I know more on, I feel things are quite lacking (not in terms of , John Mueller on Bluesky
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Meta to launch no-ads subscriptions in the UK
- The latest jobs in search marketing
- Google Ads tweaks default conversion goal behavior
- $14 billion deal keeps TikTok alive in U.S.
- Google is still 210x bigger than ChatGPT in search
- When SEO becomes just content production – and how to break free
- The global E-E-A-T gap: When authority doesn’t travel
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- Apple Builds a ChatGPT-Like App to Help Test the Revamped Siri, Bloomberg
- Early Referral Data on Google’s AI Mode, iPullRank
- How many clicks are we getting from LLMs?, SEO Testing
- We Tested Query Fan-Out Optimization (Here‘s What We Learned), Semrush
- AI Search Citation Mining, DEJAN
- How developers are using Apple's local AI models with iOS 26, TechCrunch
- How to Monitor and Win Brand Mentions in AI Answers, Ahrefs
- AI groups bet on world models in race for ‘superintelligence’, Financial Times (Sub)
Analytics
Industry & Business
- DOJ v. Google: How Judge Brinkema Seems To Be Thinking After Week One, AdExchanger
- Google’s Ad Tech Defense: The Web Is in Decline, The Information
- How Google abandoned facts for 'free expression', CNBC
- Ad Tech Judge Told Google Shouldn't Control Auctions, Law360
- Can Google be trusted without a break up?, The Verge
- The YouTube Tip of the Google Spear, Stratechery by Ben Thompson
- OpenAI CMO and creatives on first big ChatGPT brand campaign, Ad Age
Links & Content Marketing
- Ideas for Successful Content in AI Search, ZipTie
- SEO Myth: Internal Links Should All Open In New Tabs!, Nikki Pilkington
- The 50 Best PR Pitching Opportunities in ChatGPT, Ahrefs
Local & Maps
- How Changing a Phone Number Format Fixed a Google AI Overview, Sterling Sky
- Your AI is now a local expert: Grounding with Google Maps is now GA, Google Developers Blog
SEO
- An AI Index for all our customers, Cloudflare
- From SEO to AIO: Why Your Content Needs to Exist in AI Training Data, Common Crawl - Blog
- Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): Stop Guessing and Start Testing, Search Pilot
- GEO vs. SEO: A Comparative Guide for Digital Marketers, Semrush
- SEO Forecasting Using Prophet, Chris Green
- Now available in English! We’ve launched the book “SEO Playbook for News Publishers”, the SEO instruction manual for news publishers and media outlets, Clara Soteras
PPC
- How AI is increasing the threat from ad hijacking & impersonation fraud - And how to fight back, PPC Hero
- Threat Actors Use Facebook and Google Ads as Financial Platforms to Steal Sensitive Data, CyberPress
Search Features
- Google Home app redesign with 'Ask Home' rolling out on iPhone , 9to5Google
- Microsoft's latest trick to get Google users onto Bing is with charity donations, XDA Developers
Other Search
- Google's 27th Birthday Doodle, Google Doodles
- Naver vs. Google: Key differences between both search engines, Seoulful Connect
- New Google Postmaster Tools Grade Compliance, Practical Ecommerce
Feedback:
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