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 testing a new ad label header, it makes the ads stick out more. Google Search ranking volatility is still incredibly heated, even over a week after the core update finished. Google is sending out verification notices to Local Service Ads advertisers. Bing is testing a local pack with review source icons. Google AdSense is expanding auto ads to more languages. Google Search has a new video property for ineligible regions.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• 
  Google Search Ranking Volatility Still Heated A Week After Core Update
  
  
  I sound like a broken record, but the Google Search ranking volatility is still incredibly heated and has not let down, even over a week after the Google August 2024 core update was completed on September 3rd.
• 
  Google Tests New Ad Label / Design That Makes Ads Stand Out
  
  
  Google is testing a new ad label and interface that really make the ads way more noticeable in the Google Search results. The ad label still is a black sponsored label, but Google is testing it on a tall gray background, with subtitles like “promoted products” and “promoted results.”





• 
  Google Emails Advertisers On Local Services Ads Verification Requirements
  
  
  In March, Google announced a new verification process for its Local Service Ads program. Well, now, Google has started to email advertisers that need to take the steps to verify their advertising accounts.





• 
  Bing Local Pack Tests Review Source Icons Instead Of Review Stars
  
  
  Microsoft is testing adding the source of the reviews in the Bing Search local pack, instead of showing review stars. So if the Bing Search local pack is showing reviews from Yelp, it would show the Yelp logo, and if it is showing them from Facebook, it would show the Facebook logo.





• 
  Google Expands AdSense Auto Ads To French, Spanish, and Japanese
  
  
  Google is expanding AdSense’s Auto ads to support French, Spanish, and Japanese languages. Previously, Auto ads were worked for English and German languages only.





• 
  Google Search Supports Ineligible Regions Property For Videos
  
  
  Google Search now supports specifying where (which regions) a video is not allowed to be viewed in its video structured data and video SEO documentation. A new ineligibleRegion property was added to the Google video structured data documentation.





• 
  Google Chelsea Market Tile Backsplash
  
  
  At the Google office in New York City, the Chelsea Market location, they have this kitchen area that has the old Google logo, with the location, Chelsea Market, tiled into the wall.

Other Great Search Threads:

• Check scores on perplexity!, Aravind Srinivas on X
• Data suggests that if Google does not recrawl a URL after 129 days URL it falls out of the index, Mic King on X
• Google Loses €2.4bn Appeal In E.U. Over Market Dominance, WebmasterWorld
• Looking at your URL placement in Google’s AI Overview’s isn’t just for SEOs… It’s for anyone trying to gauge brand presence and brand power Run your site vs your competitors in @semrush & see the relative level of URL placement, Mordy Oberstein on X
• On the video from O’Keefe Media Group: The claims here are completely false — they were made by a junior sales rep, secretly filmed while on a date, who has never worked on these topics. As we’ve shared before, we do not manipulate our products or m, Google Communications on X
• The time has come (after being replaced by INP as a CWV) -> Chrome ends support for First Input Delay (FID) “In January, Chrome announced its intention to officially end support for FID. Well, that time has finally come, and as of to, Glenn Gabe on X
• GSC Issue, Reddit
• You randomly stumble across a new website crawler / scraper service – it turns any website into a CSV file (just for sake of something to discuss, I don’t have one for you). Isn’t that cool?, John Mueller on LinkedIn

Search Engine Land Stories:

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

• Glean Technologies Value Hits $4.6 Billion in Funding Round With DST, SoftBank, Bloomberg
• Google signs carbon removal deal with Holocene, Axios
• Google’s AI Will Help Decide Whether Unemployed Workers Get Benefits, Gizmodo
• Google, explained: How it dominates the sell side of advertising, Check My Ads
• News Corp would have lost $9 million in 2017 by ditching Google ads, ex-exec testifies, Reuters
• Sergey Brin says he’s working on AI at Google ‘pretty much every day’, TechCrunch
• Why Google is supporting Holocene’s Direct Air Capture project, Google Blog

Links & Content Marketing

Local & Maps

Mobile & Voice

SEO

PPC

Other Search

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.

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.

Apple Visual Intelligence is Apple’s version of Google Lens but it uses Google, ChatGPT, Yelp and others. Google AI Overviews are showing for commercial queries again, showing product and shopping results. A new report on AI Overviews says about half of the links in the AI Overviews overlap with the traditional organic results. Google is showing Business Profile photos on its review sentiments. And Bing Search has a footer message to search again.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• 
  Apple Visual Intelligence – Local, Shopping & More
  
  
  Apple had its big event yesterday, and during the iPhone talk, they announced Apple Visual Intelligence. Where you can take photos of anything, and it will use Apple Intelligence for local search, shopping, homework help, and more.
• 
  Google AI Overviews Show Shopping Results For Commercial Queries Again
  
  
  Google is bringing back shopping and product results in the AI Overviews for commercial queries. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember them going away but I am told they have now returned. Maybe they went away with the Ray update, when Google restricted how often AI Overviews showed.
• 
  Report: Half Google AI Overviews Links Overlap With Top Search Results
  
  
  A new Google AI Overview study says that about half of the links displayed in the AI Overviews overlap with the links shown in the traditional Google Search results. Plus, the most linked to sources are YouTube and Wikipedia, according to the new report.
• 
  Google Maps Showing Business Photos On Review Sentiments
  
  
  Google is now showing business submitted photos from Google Business Profiles in the Google Local and Maps review sentiments section. So above the reviews, Google may show photos submitted by the business, related to those reviews.
• 
  Bing Search Footer Message To Encourage More Searches
  
  
  Microsoft is testing, showing a notice at the bottom of the Bing search results that says, “Search by typing anything on the keyboard.” This happens when you reach the footer of the Bing Search results. When you start typing, your characters appear in the search box for a new Bing Search session.
• 
  Google Flying Dutchman Cafe In Netherlands Office
  
  
  Here is a photo from the Google Netherlands office, they have a cafe there named the Flying Dutchman cafe. This is the salad station in that cafe and you can see the art on the walls.

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Other Great Search Stories:

Industry & Business

Links & Content Marketing

Local & Maps

Mobile & Voice

SEO

PPC

Search Features

Other Search

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.

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 will sunset enhanced CPC in March 2025. Google Business Profiles sends out broken appointment link notifications. Bing doesn’t yet use ProductGroup markup, but may use it soon. Bing treats 308 redirects like 301 redirects. Bing is testing a button for shopping results named “see details.”

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

• 
  Google Ads Saying Goodbye To Enhanced CPC In March 2025
  
  
  Google Ads emailed advertisers using Enhanced cost-per-click (eCPC) to let them know that in March 2025, Enhanced CPC will be sunset and any campaigns using Enhanced CPC will be migrated to Manual CPC bidding.
• 
  Google Business Profile Appointment Link Broken Notifications
  
  
  Google is emailing some businesses when it detects that their Google Business Profile appointment link is not working. Google’s email says, “Fix your business Google link.”
• 
  Bing Treats 308 Redirects Same As 301 Redirects
  
  
  Fabrice Canel from Microsoft said that Bing Search treats 308 redirects the same as they treat 301 redirects. This is the same as what Google said back in 2021, although Google has been a bit wishy-washy on redirects over the years.
• 
  Bing May Use ProductGroup Markup In The Future
  
  
  Microsoft Bing may use ProductGroup markup in the future for its “captions” in the Bing Search results. Fabrice Canel from Microsoft said while they do not support it yet, “it’s on our radar” and “the team is closely monitoring its adoption.”
• 
  Bing Product Search Results With See Details Button
  
  
  Bing is testing a big blue “see details” button for some of the product listings in its search results. Normally when you hover your mouse cursor over the products, they expand a little but now they are also showing a blue button to “see details.”





• 
  Google European France Fence
  
  
  Here is the fence in front of the Google office in Paris, France, I believe. It is one of those European castle-like fences, but the polls are in the Google red, blue, green, and yellow colors.

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Other Great Search Stories:

Analytics

Industry & Business

• Bill Gates Talks to CNET About AI, Misinformation and Climate Change, CNET
• Google second antitrust trial advertising model, CNBC
• How to fix Google search, Financial Times (Sub)
• Remedies to Google’s Search Monopoly Will Be Decided by August 2025, Judge Says, New York Times
• DOJ May Seek To End or Change Google’s AI Overviews, Hall Analysis
• Google’s $20bn ad tech business to play for at next antitrust showdown, Financial Times (Sub)
• Google’s case in the Department of Justice ad tech lawsuit, Google Blog
• Kremlin claims $235m from Google, Telegraph
• Google’s Ad Technology to Be Challenged in Second Antitrust Trial, New York Times
• Trawling The Google Trial Exhibits For Privacy-Related Tidbits, AdExchanger

Links & Content Marketing

Local & Maps

Mobile & Voice

SEO

PPC

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.