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 is again showing competitor ads above local listings, this time the reviews. Google will host a creator summit later this month, it is invite-only. Google Ads has a negative keywords tab in the keyword planner tool. Google Search is testing list articles. Google Merchant Center added video generation in Product studio and Amazon MCF integration. Google clarified its robots.txt documentation a tad.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
-
Google To Host Creator Summit At GooglePlex Later This Month
Google is reportedly going to be hosting an invite-only creator summit at the end of this month at the Google offices in Mountain View, California, aka, the GooglePlex. Danny Sullivan, the Google Search Liaison, seems to leading this summit, along with several Google Search team members. -
Google Search Showing Competitor Ads Above Local Reviews
Google has done it again, it has shown ads from competitors directly above the reviews section of a Google local listing. -
Google Ads Adds Negative Keyword Tab in Keyword Planner
Google has added the negative keywords tab to the Google Ads Keyword Planner tool. This gives advertisers more data and tools to add keywords to exclude from their Google Ads campaigns. -
Google Search Tests List Articles
Google Search is testing a new section in its search results for "List articles." Google then shows you articles that are like top ten or top whatever number list for any topic. -
Google Clarified Support For Robots.txt Fields With Tiny Change
Google added eight or so words between brackets to clarify that fields that aren't explicitly listed in the robots.txt documentation aren't supported. Why did they do this? Because sometimes Google gets questions about it. -
Google Merchant Center Adds Video Generation & Amazon MCF Integration
Google announced two new features for Google Merchant Center (1) Video generation in Product Studio and (2) Amazon MCF integration with Merchant Center. -
Fancy Google Chess Desk
Google's Colorado office has this fancy room, an intellectual room (if you will), that has this fancy chess board with fancy chairs and a desk.
Other Great Search Threads:
- @johnmu just said he doesn’t think there will be a Google core update an hour after the end of his keynote session, like last time he did the #BrightonSEO keynote…., Simon Cox on Mastodon
- Google Ads AI features committing trademark infringement is a badd look. not the first time I've seen this. Google's AI puts a headline for a law firm brand name and then the ads are for different law firms not the law firm in the, Anthony Higman on X
- Gutwrenching to say that GGRecon will be closing its doors in two weeks. After 13 months battling against Google, we've run out of runway. The whole team is incredible, and working with them has been one of the greatest joys of my, Lloyd Coombes on X
- I can't stop laughing at this: A federal judge has accused Google of submitting "unhelpful" spammy content to the court, Nate Hake on X
- Sure, I’ll take your survey #GoogleAds . But let’s be real “if I actually tell the truth, you’re just going to get offended anyway, Govind Singh Panwar on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Visual content and SEO: How to use images and videos in 2025
- Structured data and SEO: What you need to know in 2025
- The art of AI-enhanced content: 8 ways to keep human creativity front and center
Other Great Search Stories:
Industry & Business
- AI revolution in travel ‘well underway’, says Google industry manager, Travel Weekly
- Big Tech has cozied up to nuclear energy, The Verge
- Catching Up on Two Keyword Ad Cases, Eric Goldman
- Google leases 1.1M square foot warehouse as part of D-FW push, Dallas News
- Google must crack open Android for third-party stores, rules Epic judge, The Verge
- Is Google Losing Search Market Share?, SparkToro
- The OpenAI Talent Exodus Gives Rivals an Opening, Wired
- Why Google is appealing the U.S. Epic Games verdict, Google Blog
- How Should Advertisers Navigate A TikTok Ban Or Google Breakup? Just Ask Brian Wieser, AdExchanger
Links & Content Marketing
- How IBM Uses Data To Power Account-Based Marketing Strategy, Content Marketing Institute
- What to Do If Your Site Gets Penalized for Link Building: Avoiding Penalties and Navigating Paid Links, Sterling Sky
- Why AI-Powered Content Creation Is a Game-Changer for Marketers Everywhere, BruceClay
Local & Maps
- Ep 177: Places Sites in US? Allure’s Ongoing Google Review Fraud Scandal, FTC Targets AI Tool Rytr for Fake Review Generation, Near Media
- How to use Google Maps Timeline to revisit past trips, Popular Science
Mobile & Voice
- Android Auto seems to be preparing support for more calling apps, 9to5Google
- Apple Watch Series 10 Review: A light update, in both features and weight, AppleInsider
SEO
- Beginner’s Guide to Shopify SEO Auditing, Sitebulb
- Download This Free Quarterly SEO Plan Template, Jenny Munn
- Perplexity Is Referring Modest Traffic to Publishers, AdWeek
- PSA: The importance of catching sneaky mobile SEO problems in Google’s mobile-first indexing world [Case Study and Tools], GSQI
- The future of SEO in the age of AI search engines, DAC
- The Race to Block OpenAI’s Scraping Bots Is Slowing Down, Wired
- Why isn't my real estate Google Business Profile showing?, SEO Savvy Agent
PPC
- Demand Gen Campaigns Get Default Video Partners Opt-In, PPC News Feed
- Does Ad Strength matter in Google Ads?, Jyll Saskin Gales
- How Keyword Prioritization Works in Google Ads (+What It Means), WordStream
- Performance Max Study: Evaluating Popular Strategies For ROI, Optmyzr
- TikTok joins the AI-driven advertising pack to compete with Meta for ad dollars, Digiday
- Understanding Keyword Competition in SEO and PPC, Semrush
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 and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or just contact us the old fashion way.
