Daily Search Forum Recap: December 24, 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 Ads lowers the active visitors lists to 100 for the Search Network and YouTube. Google Ads Advisor is showing up in the Google Ads reporting. Google Ads is working on fixing a bug with dynamic remarketing tracking and data. Bing wrote about how similar and duplicate pages blur signals and weaken SEO for AI and Search. And Bing is testing a more sources section. Finally, Google did not post its annual search result holiday decorations this year.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• Google Ads Drops Active Visitors To 100 For Search Network & YouTube
  Earlier this year, Google lowered the size of your data segment customer lists to 100 active visitors for the Google Display Network. Now, Google updated that to also be 100 active visitors for the Search Network and YouTube.
• Confirmed Google Ads Dynamic Remarketing Tracking Reporting Bug
  Google has confirmed there is a bug with Google Ads dynamic remarketing tracking where the data is not flowing into the reporting. Adesh, from the Google team, responded that the Google "teams are actively reviewing this and working toward a resolution."
• Google Search Forgot The Holiday Decorations In 2025
  For the past 15 or so years, Google would post holiday-specific decorations at the top of its search results for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Well, this year Google did not. Google did post an Easter egg in the search results, which they do every year, and it posted the season's greeting Doodle, but not the holiday-specific decorations.
• Bing: Duplicate & Similar Pages Blur Signals & Weaken SEO & AI Visibility
  Fabrice Canel and Krishna Madhavan from the Microsoft Bing team posted a useful blog post named Does Duplicate Content Hurt SEO and AI Search Visibility? The short answer is yes, and the long answer is also yes.
• Google Ads Advisor Suggestions Within Google Ad Reporting
  Google is testing pushing advertisers to use Google Ads Advisor from within the Google Ads reporting section. Google Ads suggested questions and prompts at the top of the report, which it thinks you would find helpful to chat with an AI bot about.
• Bing Search Tests More Sources Section
  Microsoft is testing a "more sources" section within the Bing Search results. This seems to load a different user interface, with long card-shaped search results that you can slide through as a carousel.
• Christmas Tree At Google Bangalore Office
  Here is the pretty tall Christmas tree set up in the lobby of the Google office in Bangalore. Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate.

Other Great Search Threads:

• (1/8) What a year for Search! Our North Star has remained the same: helping you ask any question on your mind – any way – and connecting you with the most helpful info across the web. But 2025 transformed *how* we deliver on th, Robby Stein on X
• Are llms.txt files actually worth it for AI crawlers?, Reddit
• “Can we scale?” Meanwhile search volume is down 55%. Sure. Right after Google gives the traffic back. Top-performing keywords search volume down by 25–55% Thanks, AI Overviews, Govind Singh Panwar on X
• If we migrated the googlebot.json file to a new location with a 301 redirect, would that break your fetches? Or the fetcher would just follow the redirect, Gary Illyes on Bluesky

Search Engine Land Stories:

• AI’s impact on search isn’t a secret (How to talk to execs about the new era of search)
• Why ad approval is not legal protection
• Google adds Maps to Demand Gen channel controls
• How vibe coding is changing search marketing workflows
• What successful brand-agency partnerships look like in 2026

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

• AI Brand Impact: How to Measure Value Beyond Clicks, WordStream
• AI Models Provide Incorrect Phone Numbers 36% of the Time: Here’s What You Can Do, Seer Interactive
• Google’s and OpenAI’s Chatbots Can Strip Women in Photos Down to Bikinis, Wired
• Where to use Google’s image generator Nano Banana Pro now, Google Blog
• Google 2025 recap: Research breakthroughs of the year, Google Blog
• The Age of the All-Access AI Agent Is Here, Wired

Industry & Business

• Google hires firm to lobby on permitting, POLITICO
• Google Cloud chief reveals the long game: a decade of silicon and the energy battle behind the AI boom, Fortune
• Google Is Cornering the Market on Energy Wonks, Heatmap News
• Google started the year behind in the AI race. It ended 2025 on top., Yahoo Finance
• Google To Resume Green Card Sponsorship For H-1B Holders In 2026: Eligibility Details Inside, NDTV
• Purdue trustee committee OKs Google partnership for AI for nearly $15K, JC Online

Links & Content Marketing

• 7 Essential Templates to Boost Your Content Marketing Calendar Strategy, Small Biz Trends
• Top 5 Content Marketing Strategy Examples, Cita Directa

Local & Maps

• Gemini on Android Auto is an update drivers either love or hate, 9to5Google
• Google Quietly Working on a New Eye-Candy Android Auto Feature, AutoEvolution

SEO

• Google’s Ranking Signals, DEJAN
• GSC Groups Keywords as AI Queries Expand, Practical Ecommerce
• How to Structure Content So AI Search Engines Use You as a Source, SEO dot co
• Looking back on 2025, what can we learn for 2026?, Oncrawl

PPC

• Google Tests Ad Formats That Push Experiences Bookings, Skift
• Why Every Google Ads Account Needs To Run Scripts, Search Engine Journal
• Google’s shift to AI-generated ads: case study for marketers, Ad Age

Feedback:

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