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 again says consistency is the biggest technical SEO factor. Google Ads campaign total budget for PMax is live. Google released new AI Mode travel AI features. Google Search did a big weather update for the weather responses. Microsoft Advertising has Bing Ads with related to labels. Plus, there is/was a massive Cloudflare outage but does that impact Google and your SEO? Note: If the links don't work, please try back later when the Cloudflare issue is resolved...
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Cloudflare Outage Impact On Google, Bing & Other Search Bots
Cloudflare, which is used by around 20% of all websites (including this one), is having major outages this morning. Lots of site owners are concerned with how this may impact Google, Bing, and other crawlers. The truth is, these search engines have seen this many times before and it can handle it. -
Google: Consistency Is The Biggest Technical SEO Factor (Still In 2025)
For a decade now, Google's John Mueller has been saying consistency is the most important SEO advice you can give someone. In 2025, he said it again, posting on Bluesky, "Consistency is the biggest technical SEO factor." -
Google AI Mode Adds Travel AI Features: Agentic Booking & Research
Google added new features to AI Mode including agentic booking for travel and Canvas for helping you build your vacation. The agentic booking works with dinner reservations and Google previewed booking for hotels and flights. -
Google Ads Campaign Total Budget For PMax Is Live
Google Ads has rolled out the "Campaign total budget" feature for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns. This was available for other match types and is now available for PMax. -
Google Search Weather Results Update - WeatherNext 2
Google confirmed a new search algorithm update - well, this is just a weather feature - but it is a stormy one. Well, maybe not. Google said Google Search's weather results were updated to what they call WeatherNext 2 - Google's "most advanced and efficient forecasting model." -
Bing Microsoft Advertising Ads Label - Ads Related To: Query
Microsoft is testing a new ad label for the Bing Search ads labeled "Ads related to" followed by the query the ads are related to. In the example below, it shows "Ad related to: Cushions" -
Google Bike Shop Cafe
Did you know Google has a bike shop, maybe a cafe? I am not sure. It looks like they have a spot where they can repair the Google bikes you see all over its campus. But the sign mentions a cafe. So maybe you grab a coffee while they are fixing the bikes?
Other Great Search Threads:
- Best Practices to Keep Your Account Secure, Google Ads Community
- Focus on news publishing? Big domain name change going on now. msnbc.com to http://ms.now. I see http://ms.now start picking up visibility a few days ago. I see ~50K urls indexed already. Should be, Glenn Gabe on X
- Will agentic browsing be the next big thing?, John Mueller on Bluesky
- @elonmusk congrats on the progress!, Sundar Pichai on X
- server host refusing to noindex robots.txt (it's indexed), Reddit
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google tests “Journey Aware Bidding” to optimize Search campaigns
- Google offers a “less disruptive” fix to EU ad-tech showdown
- Small tests to yield big answers on what influences LLMs
- Most ChatGPT links get 0% CTR – even highly visible ones
- Microsoft Advertising adds AI-powered image animation to boost video creation
- Google can book your flights, hotels and dinner reservations using AI
- How to build an organic Reddit strategy that drives SEO impact
- 6 overlooked ways to repurpose content and unlock new organic growth
- Google Search Console rolls out custom annotations for performance reports
Other Great Search Stories:
AI & LLMs
- Google Vids expands access to AI tools at no cost, Google Blog
- I Tracked AI Brand Mention Volatility Across 481 Sites — Here’s What I Learned, The Freelance Coalition for Developing Countries
- OpenAI's Fidji Simo Plans to Make ChatGPT Way More Useful—and Have You Pay For It, Wired
- The 2026 AEO / GEO Benchmarks Report, Conductor
Analytics
- Google Analytics spike from China and Singapore is a known issue, Tech Issues Today
Industry & Business
- Google is fighting the defamation battle Meta caved on, The Verge
- Google to Invest $40 Billion in New Data Centers in Texas, Bloomberg
- Supporting Africa’s work to modernize data systems, Google Blog
- Tech Giants’ Cloud Power Probed as EU Weighs Inclusion in DMA, Bloomberg
- USC Sues Google for Infringing Mapping Patents: Just Another Form of Anticompetitive Conduct, JDSupra
- What Google Has That OpenAI Doesn't, The Information
- Baidu's third quarter revenue falls 7% as ad slump offsets cloud growth, Reuters
- Google boss Sundar Pichai warns 'no company immune' if AI bubble bursts, BBC
Links & Content Marketing
- Content Orchestration: The 2026 Marketing Shift, Content Marketing Institute
- The New Content Formats Winning in AI Search, WordStream
Local & Maps
SEO
- AI Search Trust Signals: The Practical Audit (2026 Guide), Semrush
- How to Perform an A/B Test for SEO, SEO dot co
- Search Console, AI, and HTTPs updates Search Console (Q4 ‘25), Google Search Central YouTube
- Why GPT-5 Sends Less Traffic to Websites Than GPT-4.5, SALT.agency
PPC
- Discover what’s new in Demand Gen with November’s Drop, Google Blog
- Introducing Image Animation and Performance Comparison for Better Creative and Richer Insights, Microsoft Advertising
- The Top 50 Most Influential PPC Experts of 2025, PPC Survey
- Your ROAS Looks Great. So Why Is Your Profit Shrinking?, Hopskip Media
- Offline Conversion Tracking for Google & Microsoft Ads: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Set It Up, JumpFly Digital Marketing Blog
- Upcoming US states with comprehensive privacy laws, Google AdSense Help
- Upcoming US states with universal opt-out mechanism, Google AdSense Help
- When should you switch from Max to Target bidding?, Adalysis
Search Features
Feedback:
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