Daily Search Forum Recap: December 5, 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 Search Console launched an AI-powered configuration tool that helps you build reports. Google Search Console's average position jumped up for many after the num 100 removal. Google's API doc leaks confirms that service area is not a local ranking factor. Google Merchant Center regional member pricing beta is out. Google Ads has a learn more extention at the top right. Plus, I posted the weekly SEO video recap.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google API Doc Hints Service Areas Not A Local Ranking Factor
  Over the years, we have written that service areas are not used as a local ranking factor by Google Search. Well, the API leak document also implies this to be true.
• Google Search Console Performance Report Tests AI Powered Configurator
  Google is testing a new AI-powered configuration tool, as it calls it, to help you build instant reports based on your natural language questions. So basically Ads and Analytics Advisor but for Search Console, plus this just builds reports and doesn't do actions - yet.
• Google Search Console Average Impression Increased For Many
  If you look at some of the profiles/sites in your Google Search Console performance reports, you may notice a significant increase in the average position being reported. This happened when Google removed the num=100 parameter and is likely due to scrapers not messing up your data.
• Google Merchant Center New Regional Member Pricing (Beta)
  Google Merchant Center is now beta testing regional member pricing, where you can offer different member prices based on the shopper's regions. This will essentially override the member price in the regional inventory feed.
• Google Ads Learn More Button At Top Right
  Google Ads may be testing placing an ad extension button at the top right of the sponsored result on the desktop interface. This button, in this example, shows the text "Learn more."
• Hot Ones At Google
  Looks like Google had its own version of the popular YouTube show named Hot Ones. I am not sure on all the details but I spotted several photos on Instagram and you can learn more over there.
• Video: Google Search Volatility, AI Mode Taking Over Search, Search Console AI Configurator & 22 Year Anniversary
  This week, we, of course, covered the ongoing Google Search ranking volatility. Google is now blending AI Mode directly into AI Overviews. Google’s home page search bar added a new upload feature to take you into AI Mode.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Gemini 3 Deep Think is now available for Ultra users, making available our IMO & ICPC Gold Medal-winning technology. Deep Think shows improved generalization on difficult benchmarks like ARC-AGI-2, and outperforms Gemini 3 Pro on HLE, Jeff Dean on X
• The share of traffic from ChatGPT didn't grow in November. (according to data from 71k+ websites, collected by @Ahrefs) ChatGPT might still be growing in daily active users, but definitely not in the amount of referral traffic th, Tim Soulo on X
• The spam on Google Discover isn't over and continues. Here are some stats from a site currently in English that has a lot of visibility on Discover. Over 1,000 articles in just a few days and very high visibility. That said, I', Damien (andell) on X
• This is not an ad. we've launched apps from some of our pilot partners since devday, including target, and have been working to make the discovery mechanism for apps more organic inside chatgpt. our goal i, Daniel McAuley on X
• Uh oh, Reddit spam has officially infiltrated the SEO community. /r/TheTopAgencies contains only "best agency" lists and is ranking for terms like "best geo agency.", Chris Long on X
• With no malice, I will say the common denominator between the vast majority of "SEO is dead, let me tell you how to GEO" people I have noticed is: they have zero professional SEO experience, Mark Williams-Cook on Bluesky

Search Engine Land Stories:

• Google’s ad tech fixes face EU market test
• Social media beats SEO as SMBs’ top traffic source, survey says
• Google Search Console tests “AI-powered configuration” to create dynamic reports
• How paid, earned, shared, and owned media shape generative search visibility
• Google Discover pushing users into AI Mode
• New AI models are worse at SEO: Benchmark shows sharp accuracy drop in Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT-5.1

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• Gemini 3 Deep Think is now available, Google Blog
• Google rolling out Gemini 3 Deep Think to AI Ultra, 9to5Google
• LLMO/GEO Benchmark Study 2025, Digital Leverage
• The Evolution of Testing in AI Search: seoClarity’s POV, seoClarity
• The Path to AI Citations: What the Top 100 Most Cited Websites are Doing Right, SISTRIX
• 'Godfather of AI' Says Google Is 'Beginning to Overtake' OpenAI, Business Insider

Analytics

• Run Server-side Google Tag Manager On Localhost, Simo Ahava's blog
• GA4 Ecommerce Data Now Powers Google Ads Remarketing, PPC News Feed

Industry & Business

• A.I. Deal Making Is Getting Faster, New York Times
• Bill Gates’ Daughter Lands $30 Million for Star-Backed AI Firm, Bloomberg
• Chicago Tribune sues Perplexity, TechCrunch
• EU to Open Bidding for AI Gigafactories in Early 2026, Wall Street Journal
• Google helps University of Toronto create Hinton Chair, Google Blog
• Google’s Proposals on Ad Tech Antitrust Compliance Tested by EU, Bloomberg
• OpenAI Goes on Defense as Google Gains Ground, Bloomberg
• OpenAI loses fight to keep ChatGPT logs secret in copyright case, Reuters
• Chatbots are now rivaling social networks as a core layer of internet infrastructure, The Decoder

Links & Content Marketing

• 7 Essential Content Schedule Templates to Enhance Planning, Small Biz Trends
• Purpose-Driven Brands Can Deliver Profitable Growth, Content Marketing Institute
• The Attention Economy is Burned Out (Now What?), Chris Green

Local & Maps

• 7 Local Search Ranking Factors That May Challenge Your Current Thinking, Whitespark
• This is the Most Searched for Bookstore of 2025, According to Google Maps, Travel and Leisure

SEO

• Analyzing performance on Google Search, Google Search Central YouTube
• Beefing Up Your Ecommerce Content Strategy for AI Agents, iPullRank
• Future takes action on 'Google Zero' as revenue declines, Press Gazette
• Google Search average ranking improvements are artificial. Here's why., Elie Berreby
• Is a Career in SEO Worth It in 2026? Let's Dive In, SEOjobs
• The Big SMB Website Trends Report: SEO, GEO, & the Future of Traffic, WordStream
• The New B2B Buying Journey: Why SEO Is Your Competitive Edge, BruceClay
• What is SEO 3.0? Preparing for the Next Wave of Search, WordLift Blog
• Cloudflare Has Blocked 416 Billion AI Bot Requests Since July 1, Wired
• Top Black Friday Organic Search Traffic Winners & Trends in 2025, Aleyda Solis

PPC

• Powering peak season success: Partner Q&A, Microsoft Advertising

Search Features

• Google executive sees AI search as expansion for web, Reuters
• 1-888-GPT-0090 - AI voice help over the phone (experimental), OpenAI Help Center

Feedback:

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